3 lovely designs: custom baby bedding.

The next big project in my queue is custom baby bedding for my friend Kelly at Blush!nk.  She wants something modern and graphic with lots of patterns mixed together.  And no cutesy animal prints in sight!  Kelly actually came up with the design of the quilt on her own, and I think it's great!  I can't wait to start sewing it together for her little baby boy!

The blue on top is not quite so drastic in person, and the fabric that is second from the bottom is actually nice buttery yellow color.  The crib skirt, bumper, and pillows will all coordinate with the quilt.  I'm so excited to see how it all turns out!  This is going to be a fun one.

If you're interested in custom baby bedding, please email me at bijoulovely@gmail.com

7 a new stack.

Because I really needed more fabric.  It's not like our entire guest bed is filled with fabric stacks right now or anything.  But it was on sale! 

I can't wait to try to make some of these! And maybe one of these?

1 SYTYC week 2.

Don't forget to vote this week at SYTYC!  The theme for week 2 is "Bath Time".

And if you haven't seen my project from last week, check out my ruffle quilt!

18 lovely designs: ruffle quilt.

Did you guess my SYTYC project last week? A pretty ruffle quilt made of Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks Pastry Line.

I love the ruffly texture and the softness of the voile.  The back showcases the fabrics in a gray frame that matches the gray binding.

I kept the quilting simple with straight lines across the white scallops on the front.  

I've had the idea of this ruffle quilt in my head for quite some time now, it was nice to be able to put my thoughts together into something tangible and I couldn't be happier with the result.  Stay tuned for a tutorial later this week!

5 zebras and sisters and birthdays. oh my.

A zebra print bag for my baby sister's birthday on Saturday.

She requested a slouchy bag that would match the coin purse I made her for Christmas, except with watermelon pink on the outside.

Quite fitting for this gorgeous 15 year old, don't you think?

She's in her dance costume in this picture, she doesn't usually wear spandex and full costume makeup.  But don't you want her eyelashes?  They are seriously like a mile long.  Why didn't I get those genes? 

Anyway, back to the zebra bag.  The stripes are made of chiffon and sewn on using a zigzag stitch.

Three small strands of braided chiffon are braided a second time to make each handle.

The lining is made of dark gray linen with a few pink pockets for storage.

I hope she likes it!

1 SYTYC week 1.

The first round of projects has been posted on So You Think You're Crafty!  The theme of the week was "Folksy".  Go check it out and vote!  I'll tell you which project was mine next Monday. 

3 lovely inspiration: color cards.

I like to do things backwards sometimes and choose a color palette for things before I have a design in mind.  I won't have a clue what type of project I am going to start, but I will already know which colors I want to use for it.  One of my best sources of color inspiration is The Inspired Bride.  Yes, it's a wedding blog and I'm already married.  But it's one of the few wedding blogs left in my reader because it focuses on design as much as it does on weddings.  Maddy puts together gorgeous color cards that are just waiting to be translated into a project.  Here are a few that I have saved in my inspiration folder.

All color cards from The Inspired Bride

This last one is my absolute favorite.  The colors are just so rich and beautiful.  It must be meant to be since her inspiration picture is a presser foot!  Now if only I could figure out the perfect project to use it on...

6 special sunday.

I've had quite a few new followers (over 100 now! yay!) stop by in the last few weeks and I very rarely share pictures of myself on here, so I figured I'd post the photo my husband took of me for my bio for SYTYC to put a face to the blog.

Adam said it was a special Sunday because I actually got dressed and ready!  I'll admit I usually hang out in sweatpants and a ponytail on Sundays.  It's supposed to be a day of rest, and I love a good rest from the hair straightener.  Of course when we finally had time for a photo op today the sun was too bright so we had to hide in the shade, which accentuates my paleness....thank you Midwestern winters.

The SYTYC competition starts next Monday and I've been working hard on my project for that lately, hence the lack of blog posts! I've got a baby quilt and new bag to start this week as well, so I'll be posting about those in the near future.

6 lovely inspiration: pixel rug.

Wouldn't the design of this Pixel rug from Tufted make an amazing quilt pattern?  

Found via Design Milk

I find myself looking for potential quilt patterns everywhere lately.  It's a disease.

13 so i (might be) crafty.

I hope you all had a nice Easter weekend!  Were you able to guess which project was mine on So You Think You're Crafty last week?

The laptop messenger bag!  It's made of linen with very subtle striped thread accents and was inspired by this J.Crew color scheme.

There's a thick layer of felt sewn into the lining to help protect the precious goods, and I made sure to add lots of little pockets for pens, business cards, a phone, etc.

It's a perfect casual bag for spring, and has been carting my laptop to work since I finished it.  

If you voted for my laptop messenger bag, thank you!  I made it through the audition round and will be participating in Session 3 of the competition, which starts on April 19th.  I can't wait to start on the next project!

6 ribbons and pearls.

A pretty necklace for a wonderful friend.  

Making necklaces is such a nice break from sewing sometimes!  This one is black double face satin ribbon with very light pink pearls.  

Sadly the pink doesn't really show up in the pictures!  Maybe a pink background would've helped?

I hope you all have a nice Easter weekend!  We'll be traveling to the UP to celebrate.  I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend with family and friends!