Elk Grove Cheater Baby Quilt

If you follow me on Instagram (I'm @gwennypenny2), you already got a sneak peek of me working on this quilt. It was supposed to be a Christmas present for my nephew who was born almost two weeks ago, but I got it done before Thanksgiving and really wanted to deliver it to him, so we're back down to a big fat zero in the Christmas sewing department :)

The front and back fabrics are from the Elk Grove collection by Jay-Cyn Designs for Birch Fabric. This was a quick one because I used the Elk Grove Patchwork print for the front, no piecing required. Just layer, baste, quilt, and bind. I had this done from start to finish in about 2.5 hours!

The back is more Elk Grove...

The binding is also from Birch Fabric, from their Mod Basics collection...

It's nice to sew something for a boy once in a while :) Around the time I started thinking about making a baby quilt for my nephew, Jodi from Sew Fine Fabric contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in a little barter. I have been ordering fabric from Jodi's shop for about a year and a half now. She and I have very similar taste in fabric, so I know that if it's in her shop, I probably need want it! I have ordered from her several times, and I'm always amazed by how quickly I receive my order (flat rate shipping is only $2.50 in the US, $4.50 to Canada!) and how nicely the fabric is put together. She has an amazing selection. I highly recommend Sew Fine Fabric.

You can also find Jodi on Facebook, her blog, Pinterest, and Instagram. Oh, and make sure you sign up to follow Sew Fine Fabric in one of these ways so that you can find out about sales and new fabric in the shop (I took advantage of her 15% off sale a couple weeks ago :)

P.S. I was compensated with fabric for this post, but the glowing review is all mine. I have ordered from Jodi many times over the past year and a half (including once more two weeks ago!), and I will order from her again!

Suburbs Quilt

This fall I hit a deadline that crept up on me much quicker than I thought it would... Time to make my youngest a twin-size quilt so that she could move out of her toddler bed. I dread huge projects like this... if it can't be done in a day or two, I avoid it like the plague. So, of course, I waited until the last possible minute on this one until I couldn't put it off any longer. I really wish I was a process-loving person, but I'm a "final product loving" person ;)

The pattern is Suburbs from Allison Harris (Cluck Cluck Sew). My daughter picked it out herself. I was a little more than thrilled because I love this pattern. I decided to go with wavy quilting lines. I've never done anything by straight-line quilting, so I was afraid the wavy lines were going to look like a complete novice (or drunk person :) quilted it, but I absolutely love the way it turned out.

I'm also happy to report that all but the blue sky fabric and the backing came from my stash!

The entire back of the quilt is one fabric. It's from the House & Garden collection from Cloud9 for JoAnn's. I love the little pink birds on this...

So glad that this one is checked off the list. I actually have another quilt on tap... a cheater baby quilt. Much more my speed... should be able to hammer this one out pretty fast :)

Cowl Neck Bimaa Sweater

Last spring I saw the most adorable cowl neck shirt on Sarah's blog EmmylouBeeDoo. I'm a sucker for a cowl neck, and a cowl neck on a little girl? Who could resist that?!? I told Sarah that I was definitely making one this fall, and in September, I did.

I love this shirt! It is the most adorable thing ever! This one is for my three and a half year old, and I'm currently in the process of cutting fabric to make one for my oldest, too. You would not believe the number of compliments my daughter has received when she wears this shirt.

The Bimaa Sweater PDF pattern comes in six nested sizes − 12 months all the way up to a size 6 − with three different options: cowl neck, shawl collar, and hoodie. I was amazed at how easily this shirt went together. Knits can be so tricky, but this shirt was a breeze. The banded waistband and cuffs are quickly becoming a favorite of mine... much easier than hemming. I found the pattern to be true to size (note that this shirt is designed to have a slim fit).

The fabric came from JoAnn's. I have a really hard time finding knits that I like at JoAnn's, and honestly I wasn't a big fan of this one when my daughter first picked it out, but it turned into such a sweet little shirt.

This pattern is available in Sarah's Etsy shop, LouBeeClothing. It really is an amazing pattern. (I just want to add that I was not compensated for this post. I paid for the pattern myself, and I'm so glad I did :)