catching up

Last week I finished some handmade gifts that I can't show yet, and one that I can. Here's Grandma M's quilt:

and the back:

I know I've shared some of this before, but here's the story behind this quilt, really quick. My husband's grandfather died in March 2008 and when his grandma was giving some of Grandpa's clothes to him and my boys, I offered to make a quilt using his shirts.

I got a bit sidetracked along the way--it's been nearly 3 years--but the quilt is finished and she'll get it on Christmas. I really hope she likes it. I started out with these somewhat modern quilt blocks and part of the reason the project sat for so long is that I wasn't sure she would like it. I showed them to a friend who told me to just continue and finish the way I'd started, and I'm glad I did. I chose a more traditional floral fabric for the back and hope she'll like that as well. I didn't buy quite enough fabric for the back (by accident/bad memory) and that's why I added the big square-in-a-square block.

I also got my daughter's Christmas dress finished this past weekend (quilt made by my friend Lorilee):

The pattern is from Ottobre 1/2007, #6. I made it in size 80 with 86 length. It's too wide for my skinny girl, but it will be ok. The fabric is embroidered black mini-cord from Jo-Anns. Here's the back:

I'm glad the ruffles show up in this picture. I think they're really cute! The black fabric was a bit of a challenge to work with, especially when I was undoing stitches that I couldn't see very well. I enjoyed making it though... it's nice to remember that making clothing is so much faster than making quilts!

Finally I wanted to show off this hat. It was given to me by fellow KCMQGer Julie, who brought it over to me and said she reads my blog (and had read about my hat making pursuits) and wanted my boy to have this. It didn't fit the oldest (HEED! Pants! Now! name that movie, anyone??) but it's perfect for my 6-year-old and he likes it a lot. Thank you, Julie!!