I-Spy Baby Goodness

Two lovely ladies in my department are having babies this fall, and so I wanted to stretch my quilting skills and try a few baby quilts. I have liked the idea for awhile of doing an "I-spy" quilt, but finding all those fabrics and cutting them into tiny squares would be waaaaaay too taxing for me...so I bought some from Sew Together on etsy. They're adorable! I got a set of doubles, so I could make each quilt like a matching game (I'm a teacher, so of course everything has to be educational...)

My first quilt ever was a disappearing nine patch, and I used the same pattern here, based on a tutorial by Obsessively Stitching. (The same blog guided me through my first quilt ever!) Aren't they cute?

Since I've been reading about it so much lately in the bloggy world, I decided to sign them. It was quite tricky, but I figured out a method that worked for me.

It has become somewhat of a tradition in my department that I always knit little animals for my co-workers when they have babies, and I didn't want to disappoint on that front...but I went in a slightly different direction. For the past few months I have been obsessed with this book:

So I made some monster friends:

My mom gave this one as a gift to a friend's son who is welcoming a baby sister. This is my favorite.

After all, what could be snugglier than a giant monster? She's big enough to double as a pillow.

Knitting has been my go-to craft this month because hubby and I have been moving - we are staying with my parents for awhile while we finalize the sale on our (hooray!) new house. I just broke out the sewing machine today, so hopefully I'll have some new projects to share soon!

Possibly the coolest thing I have ever made...

Simple things amuse simple minds...and I think this toy is amazing :)

I bought this kit at a local shop called Knits and Bolts while I was up in Vermont. They had a sample of this toy by the register and I was mesmerized by it. It was actually easier to put together than I had thought, although the whole thing is finished with invisible thread from the outside. I have discovered that I do not like invisible thread.

I'm not sure the pictures can do it justice, but here goes:

The whole thing can be opened and closed different ways so that you get different fabrics on the outside. I just think it would be lots of fun for a kid to play with! Especially if you picked different i-spy type fabrics :)

Home Sweet Home!

And back in front off my sewing machine!
I have a few projects in the works, but Rufio likes this one the best.

More to come!