Random Acts of Cuteness

Our office recently moved to a new location.  There are no lunch places within walking distance but there is a café in the basement. The food is good and the service is great. Naturally, I became a regular :-) Fami works in the cafe and she is usually behind the counter so it was a few weeks before I noticed her pregnant state. To be sure, I asked Frank - Is she expecting a baby. Frank nodded. When I asked, he told me that the baby is due in October. She'll be going on leave soon.

So I did what most of us quilters do. Make something for the baby, and in a hurry.

First stop was burp cloths. 

Flannel Burp Cloths

Set of Four

Terry Cloth on the back

That took an hour, even with the ergonomic design.

Could I make a quick quilt?  Once upon a time, before the great calamity, when I was browsing a thrift store, I came across a cute alphabet animal fabric. As I started reading the animals in alphabetical order, my mind jumped ahead.

Animal Fabric

 "What animal begins with an X?"  "Are they just going to skip X."  "Only 25 letters in the alphabet???" And then I found X-tinct. Very clever indeed!!! 

Used Easter Snoopy fabric as backing. Walking foot quilting following the printed lines. It finished at about 42" by 31". Not quite a quilt but maybe it can serve as a play-mat? 

Cute Koala bear

A turquoise binding completed the look.

Snoopy Rules

Adorable!!!

Labelled

It is cute and soft and the baby has lots to see.

Paul, the model

42" by 31"

For the baby, I said, as I handed Fami the bag with the quilted play-mat and the burp cloths.  Her face lit up and she thanked me. "It is perfect for a boy," she exclaimed.  

I hadn't known but the universe always does :-)

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Jill is one of my co-workers. One day she came to me with a "random request". 

Jill: And you can tell me to go fly a kite if you are not up for it.
Me: I am listening.
Jill: My nephew turns five next week and he has been asking for toy underwear. 

Me: Underwear made with toy fabrics?
Jill: That he has.

Me: Oh. What then?

Jill: His toys do not have underwear.

Me: Like doll clothes?

Jill: Not quite. Underwear for Miss Piggy, Gerald, Tiger and Bus Bus.

It was the sweetest thing. A 5-year old was concerned that his toys were running around without proper covering.  If we cared for each other half as much we could solve most of world's problems.

It can be done but I need measurements, I asked.  Once I had those I dropped everything to make underwear for Gerald, Miss Piggy, the Tiger and Bus Bus. It became my Dreami (drop everything and make it) for August.

My first try using ugly fabric

Chosen Fabrics

Toy Underwear - Models Needed

These looked cute but I wasn't sure if they would fit the toys.  Fortunately (and for no valid reason other than this) we have a plush frog who happily modeled for me. 

Model Frog - This worked!!!

Thank you Froggie :-)

Very good model :-)

Model with a Smile :-)

The toy underwear were delivered to Jill and I anxiously waited for the verdict. I got a text from Jill and then the pictures followed. 

My heart just melted. 

The remaining fabrics from the toy underwear were quickly turned into zippered pouches which Jill purchased immediately. 

Dinosaurs

Penguins

In Space

Stuck in Traffic!

No butt was left uncovered. Crayons, pencils and erasers found a safe haven. And everybody lived happily ever after. 

Sharing with Sandra's Dreami Linky.  Also sharing with all my favorite linky parties.  See full list on the sidebar.

Last Call - The Positivity Linky Party ends at midnight on August 30, 2021.  Prizes announced on Sunday, September 5, 2021.

Celebrating women

My mom was just 14 when she was married off (nobody asked her). Of course she was not "sent" to her husband's house for another year (she was too young).

My dad encouraged her to continue her education. She completed high school and received a BA in Geography. I was born.
She furthered her education and received an MA in Economics. My sister was born.
My dad encouraged her to get a job.  She refused flatly.
No, she was determined to be a full time mother and a homemaker.
And that was that.

My sister, mom and me

Some 20 years later, when I got married (arranged), my husband expected me to be a homemaker.
No, I said. We (He and I) both went to school for Architecture and got the same degree.
Why should I stay at home, I argued.
He replied that I should be like my mother, who sacrificed her career for the sake of her family.
You miss the point, I retorted.  She had a choice and she chose to be a homemaker.
I should have the same choice.

Of course, he did not see my point. I left.

Mom and me in 2007

Mom approved of Paul (Her looks says it all)

We live in a world where many women have no choices and no voices.
So when I came across this fabric at Joann's, it made me sing and dance with joy. I had to drop everything and make (something with) it.

STEM Gals

Me: Look. look, Paul. I love this fabric.
Paul: It is nifty.
Me: It is more than nifty. It is both aspirational and a reflection of our times. It not only shows women in science. It shows diverse women in science.
Paul: Is that so?
Me: See there are five of them and each one has a different hair color.
Paul: What are you going to make with it?
Me: Everything.
Paul: Everything?
Me: Yes. Sheets, bed-covers, pillow-covers, curtains, may be a dress and...
Paul: Start with a pencil case.

Gotta love this man. He knows how to push my buttons and rein me in - all at the same time.
So I started with a pencil case. But made two.

Zippered Pouch

Two Pouches

Loving it :-)

The sliver leftover became part of a mug rug.  I purposely offset the scientist gal to the the side so that even when you place a coffee mug and a cookie on the rug, you can still see her.

Mug Rug

And then inspiration struck...

Fussy cut girls, each in her own place doing what she loves.

Celebrating Women

Small Finish - Big Smile

Love this fabric

Is it still a Dreami if it is a fabric that sparks the process?
I am sure Sandra will agree.

Is it a coincidence that I came across this fabric this month - Women's History Month?
Possibly. But I do believe that the Universe works in magical ways.

I have named each one of these wonder women.

This is Sveta, named after Svitlana Mayoboroda, a mathematician from Ukraine.

Sveta

I am calling her Taywa, after Taiwo Olayemi Elufioye who is a Nigerian pharmacologist and researcher.

Taywa

Her name is Eve, after Eva Maria Neher who is a German scientist doing research in biochemistry and microbiology.

Eve

And she is named Myla, after Mayly Sanchez who is a Venezuela-born particle physicist.

Myla

The names of my quilty gals are inspired by these women in science today.  I have included links to their wikipedia pages because I can use a shot of positivity to conquer whatever obstacle lies in my path today.

So I may not have made everything from key-fob to curtains from this fabric but I can definitely be inspired from here to far and beyond. What will you conquer today?

I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties. See full list on the sidebar.

Winners!!!

Animal House Giveaway winners are comment numbers 84, 87 and 3.

Each winner will receive 20 five-inch squares, including at least one square of their favorite print.

 #3 - Alison likes cats on the green background.

#84 - Cathy likes the foxes.

#87 - Sheila like the cows.

Emails have been sent to the winners.  As soon as I receive the addresses, I will send out the bundles of cuteness. Thank you so much for playing.


Happy Holidays to you all!!!

Animal House and a Giveaway

The quilt was completed on Sunday but taking good pictures was a challenge due to limited daylight hours.  And then snowy or cloudy weather AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH.
I am dying to show this one.  Here is the flimsy.

A beautiful day

Here is the back story of the quilt.
You know that Angela Walters is the queen of FMQ. Since I do not FMQ, (not even to save my life), I had not dived into the pool of Angela worshippers but admired her beautiful work from the sidelines.

But when Angela Walters joined forces with Craftsy (I am an affiliate) for the Midnight Quilt Show, I could not resist her awesomeness any longer.

In May, Angela did this show - Scrappy On Point Triangle Quilt. It is a free pattern.
I did like the pattern, but it seemed incomplete.

Scrappy On Point Triangle Quilt Pattern

The blocks looked like a cute roof, but it seemed that the house was missing. Just my opinion.
Angela had built castles in the air. It was up to me to put foundations underneath. The question was who should live in that house.

Chapter challenge

About the same time, my quilt guild announced the Chapter Challenge for the next Quilt Show - A quilt with Animals.
And I had this AHA moment. I knew what I had to do. I had to take Angela's roof blocks and place them over animal houses.

OK, I did modify the pattern, so that I could use jelly roll strips for the background. 
I started with 1.5" fabric strips. Sew two together along the length. The resulting combined strip set will be 2.5" wide. Placed RST with the 2.5" white jelly roll strips and stitched on both sides to make a tube. The rest of the pattern is the same to get the roof shapes.

Strip set

Making a tube

I did that with several strip sets. Made several roof blocks.

Assembly Line

Now comes the fun part - the houses and their adorable inhabitants.

Black & White need not be boring

Foxy!!!

Scary!!!

Time to put them together!!!

So cute

Holy cow!!!

Heard the buzz?

Oh design wall!!!

Rows of houses and the quilt top comes together.

Coming together

Yes, crabs have a house too!

So cute and so cheerful. I am calling this one Animal House.

Finished Flimsy - Happy Dance

I chose a crabby fabric for the backing. Why not? Let's take the animal theme all the way.
Quilted it using my walking foot, obviously. Just lines. I believe that is breeze - Houses in the Breeze.

Finished

The bright orange binding makes everything pop and matches the backing too :-)

Orange Binding Pops

How many different animal fabrics are in there?

Did you see the hedgehogs?

Not all. But a lot of them. There are several that did not make the cut.

Owls are a hoot!

So many owls. What a hoot :-D

The cows and the monsters are my favorite. But the cats have so much attitude. Shall we say Catitude?

Under the Tree

The finished quilt measures about 44" by 61". I am that after a wash it will shrink to under 60" along the length. It needs to be under 60" to qualify for the show.

Bundle of Joy

They may not be measuring each quilt, but I'd hate it if a small technicality kept this bundle of cuteness from making it to the show.

Paul, the model

Here is a close-up of the quilting.

Walking foot quilting

Labelled

I love it!!!

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And if you love a good sale, Connecting Threads is having a sale - all solids are 40% off.
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But if you are done spending money, here is a giveaway for you.  I started this blog four years ago. I know time flies, especially since I have been having sew much fun.

To celebrate this anniversary, I will share with you my 5" squares of cute animals.  There are three prizes - 20 squares each of animal cuteness.

Sample of squares in the giveaway

If you'd like to get your hands on these adorable, darling fabrics, please leave me a comment, telling me which animal fabric is your favorite.  If you follow me, leave me a second comment telling me how you follow me.

If you are a no-reply blogger, please include your email. Or better still stop being a no-reply blogger. Here is how http://www.sewathomemummy.com/2013/01/are-you-no-reply-blogger.html

This giveaway is now closed. Winners announced here.
I will announce the three winners on Christmas Day.  
Wishing you a joyful holiday season.
I will be linking with all my favorite linky parties. See the full list on the sidebar.


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