baby quilt for Zachary

Our nephew and his wife welcomed son #2 - Zachary - to their family in November, 2013. Fortunately they are a patient couple, since I'm just now getting to work on his baby quilt.

John (the daddy) provided me with the paint colors for Zachary's room - a light grey and medium blue - and I set to work choosing the fabrics. They are all Kona solids except for one leafy print from Vanessa Christenson's line "Simply Color" for Moda. This is the final layout before sewing, and it was 100% inspired by this quilt I saw on Pinterest. I have no information about the maker of the original quilt, but isn't it fabulous?!

seaside pillows

It's nearly auction time again! This year I decided to make pillows rather than a baby quilt for my sister-in-law Lisa's school fundraising auction. She is the principal of the K-8 segment of a wonderful Lutheran school in central Illinois.  This is the perfect occupation for her since she's one of the most caring, loving, and positive people you'll ever meet. Her enthusiasm for education and for the Lord is boundless and infectious. She's also one of my biggest cheerleaders :)

So back to the pillows... I chose these colors because they make me think of summer and warm breezes on beautiful beaches, and Lisa loves the beach!

Field of Tulips top finished!

Hopefully this will hasten the arrival of spring here in the land of unrelenting snow and cold (aka Illinois). Maybe it's working already because just last week I saw tulip bunches for sale at my local Trader Joe's, and this week our temps are finally going to climb above freezing!

Tree of Life 2013 finish

Somehow I skipped posting these photos of my completed Tree of Life quilt last year. It's obvious from all the photos that it was actually completed in late summer/early fall - when the grass was still green and the breezes still warm. These photos are a great cheer to me today in these early days of February when it is snowing (again!) and I'm seriously contemplating running away from home until May!

Valentine Button Heart - a free pattern for you

Happy February!

I created this little piece of stitchy love and wrote a pattern that I'm sharing here with you.