A Few Shop Highlights: Quiet Books, Photo Books, and a Quilt!

As I mentioned before, I've been busy making things for the shop lately.  I'd like to share some of the things I've been working on.

First up, I've made a few fabric photo books, each with something new to it.

This book is the first one I've made with an odd number of page spreads.  Because of the way they are put together, I made this one with a binding along the edge.  Yeah, I stitched that baby through 12 layers of fabric.  Any more than that and my machine might have exploded.  

This book was made completely from organic fabrics.  I was more limited in my fabric selections for the inside (I so wish I could show you - but out of respect for my customers, I won't).  I do wish I had used something else for the letters, though.  And don't you love the little family of owls?

This book was made for a family who is adopting a little girl from China.  They had me make this book to send to her in the orphanage while they wait to go pick her up.  How cool is that?  Each page has words in English and in Mandarin. 

Next up is this set of bibs. I tend to make bibs for my shop, but then pull them out because they are difficult to sell (the Etsy market is very over-saturated with bibs right now), and they make the BEST baby shower gifts - particularly since I always seem to have a few on hand.  Why did it take me this long to think of adding rick rack to my bibs???

I was super excited when a customer contacted me on Etsy and asked if I would finish this quilt for her. She had the top finished, just needed it quilted and bound.

Oh, and it was Queen/King sized.  Nothing I can't handle though, right?  ;)

I just did an overall stipple to keep things nice and simple.

I pulled this binding from my stash and it seemed to fit perfectly with the colors and prints in the quilt.  Woot!

Next up, quiet books.
I bought some new buttons and couldn't wait to use them in one of my color books.  Can you spot them?  I'll give you a hint - the new ones are a car, a giraffe, and an elephant. )

I also made a TON of these baby quiet books for Easter/Birthday orders.  Here are two books for Eliza and Kendall all ready to sew into books.

I also got to make these cute books for twins Liam and Quinn.  I don't get to make these bigger books very often (they are a little more expensive), so that was fun.

And lastly - some new Rummy mats.  I actually had two different customer requests last month.

For this mat, my customer wanted something extra long, with beige backgrounds and this touch of ADPi blue.  This Rummy mat is big - 24" by 48".  It was fun to make something a little different.

And lastly, this customer requested some extra personalization in the center of his mat.  It's inspired me to add a personalization option to my listings - soon.  :)

Whew!  What's next?

Catching up!

Oh man, November and December were CRAZY!  My Etsy shop exploded, which is a good thing of course, but it kept me super busy trying to keep on top of all the orders.  Not to mention the commissioned quilts I started in October and finished in December (more on those later).  Whew!
But for now, here are a few quick photos of some of the things I made in November and December 2015.  :)

Korbin's Growth Chart
One of my long time/favorite customers on Etsy (who happens to be my sister-in-law's mother) ordered another growth chart for her newest grandson.  The mom requested red/orange/gray to match his brother's blue/green/gray growth chart.  I had fun trying to get some artsy shots of this awkward shaped object with my weaksauce camera and yellow walls and toddler helpers.  :)  But the best part about making this growth chart was getting to deliver it personally.  Korbin's grandma is one of the sweetest ladies I know.  :)

Starburst/strings pillow
I thought I had some pictures of this, but apparently I don't.  I've been using it for three months on my rocking chair, so I pulled it out for a quick photo just to prove I actually finished it.  ;)  More photos of it HERE.  I made this pillow as part of my guild's challenge to make something from scraps.  I pulled out my TINIEST scraps to make the two sides of this pillow.  I really want to make something bigger with my strings someday - I have a TON of them.




Noah's Stocking
Whew!  Now everyone in the family has a stocking.  I should have taken a picture of them all lined up.  It's a little embarrassing - you can definitely see the progression of my sewing skills over the years!


Camera Strap Cover
My sister is an avid Harry Potter fan and a self-proclaimed Ravenclaw, so I whipped up this blue and silver camera strap cover for her fancy new camera.   Tutorial HERE.

 I also made a whole bunch of these little tissue holders to give as gifts at a party.  I made a few extras for myself, of course.  Tutorial HERE.

Crayon Rolls
I made these for my boys' 4th birthday.  They LOVE these little notebooks, so I had to make a spot for them.  They are also obsessed with all things super hero lately.  (Although if you were to ask them now, they would say Darth Vader is their favorite...)

Lastly, Rummy mats!  I made 12 of these babies in 2 1/2 months.  Yikes!  Next year I'm going to make them ahead of time so I'm not completely swamped during the Holiday season.
I took this picture one day to show the difference between my very first Rummy mat and my 30th Rummy mat.  I would like to think that my skills have improved.  ;) 



 Wahoo!  These are finishes #2 (pillow), #4 (stocking), #11 (growth chart), and #12 (crayon rolls) from my Quarter 4 Finish-Along list.  Linking up!

The Year of the Stockings and the Rummy Mats

So I've already dumped a bunch of new finishes on you (see my last post), but I decided to save these for a post of their own, since so much of my December was devoted to them.  :)

Like I mentioned, my Etsy shop exploded with big, time consuming orders around mid-November this year.  Most of these orders were for Rummy mats and stockings, which is awesome.  The hubby is proud because these are the things he convinced me to list because they are so unique. 

So, here are some more of the things I finished in December 2014:

First up, Rummy mats.  I actually made two of these (not counting the three I made before December - I can't believe people like these as much as I do!), plus sold one that was already made.  This one was ordered by a little family in Australia, which is cool.  They were nice enough to send me a photo of the mat being used on Christmas morning, along with a super nice thank you email.  SO AWESOME. 

And then there were the stockings. 

We got a new nephew in November and since their family already has tons and tons of quilts, Braden's mom requested that I make a stocking to match the rest of the family's.
So I started with a simple cross stitched cuff in the same font, with a border to match Daddy's stocking (since Connor's cuff matches Mama's).  

Then I attached it to a stocking made from flannel houndstooth, to match brother's stocking.  

Here are the two brothers together.  :)

Next, I had a lady order four stockings from me (only three are pictured) with plain cuffs because she wanted to cross stitch them herself.  It was a little tricky, but I figured it out!  The cuffs in the front are not backed completely (just along the edges), so that she would be able to reach her hand back there and work her stitches into the already finished cuff.

 She requested snowman fabrics and I added some fun custom quilting (sorry it is so hard to see).  Snowflakes for the black one,

Bubbles for the blue one,

And cross-hatching for the green one.

This next set of stockings were fun to do.  The Mom sent me a picture of her childhood stocking and asked if I could make two more to match it.  So I altered the cuffs a little and tried to copy the font on the original stocking as best I could.  I think they turned out pretty cute!

Whew!  Is it too early to start thinking about a stocking for the little one due in May?

Since Braden's stocking was on my Quarter 4 Finish Along list (#3), I get to link up here:

WIPs and Stuff

It's been a little while since I've shared something quilty here, so I thought I would let you all know what I'm in the middle of.  Things have slowed down quite a bit around here now that the boys only nap a couple of times a week.  Urgh.  But I have been making things.  I've had a few Etsy orders, which is great - it just means less time for quilts.  :)

First of all, I've been making lots of progress on my Christmas quilt.  I pulled all the leftovers from the front and pieced them together into blocks.  From there I asked my Instagram friends for advice (by the way, I'm on IG now!  You can find me here:  tiffsewinsomethin).



On of them recommended that I sew them into presents.  Turns out that will fit perfectly with the front, so that's what I did!  I spray basted this quilt and I am a TOTAL convert - love spray basting.  The secret is to iron it to set the adhesive.  And you can even do that while your quilt is still tacked to the floor!



By the way - here is the top of the Christmas quilt.  Now I'm about half way through stitching in the ditch for every block.  I don't think I'm going to do any fancy quilting on this one.  I want it soft.

I also got an order for three custom made Rummy Royal/Tripoley mats and have been plugging away at those:

And then there are my bee blocks.  All of these were on time, I just haven't gotten around to posting about them yet here.

July's block was for Sandra.  She just finished her quilt and it is AMAZING!  Check it out HERE.


August was Brittney's month.  She's making an ABC quilt using the Spell it with Moda patterns.


And September's block is for Jaime.  She's making a pixelated quilt, so this block doesn't look like much right now, but her finished quilt is going to be phenomenal!

I also spent some time making these custom hot pads for my shop.  My sister-in-law's parents just bought a cabin (and it's GORGEOUS - we were lucky enough to visit last weekend) and she ordered some new hot pads to match the new decor. 

 You've seen those hot pads with the two pockets for your fingers, right?  Well - my SIL's mom wanted something with a strap instead.  Something that is easier to slip your hand in quickly.  Genius, isn't it?  I'm surprised I haven't seen more like these before.  I should make a whole bunch for myself...

Linking up with Lee: