{Recent Projects}

Well it's been a little while since I posted, mainly because I've been busy working on a few different projects! I'll try to get them all re-capped here on the blog!

1) First, a quilt I just finished a week or so ago! This is for a good friend of mine that I've known for YEARS who is expecting a little girl in a couple of months!

Her & I have been pen pals for probably about 10 years, and in one of her letters she mentioned that they were doing a "jungle" theme in her nursery! I saw this fabric at Joanns and thought it would look really cute!
Her baby shower was this weekend, and when she opened the box up; she mentioned that this is the same fabric she had seen and picked out for some other items a friend of hers was making for the room! :)

Some may call it a coincidence, but I think it's a God thing! :) Just reminds me that what I'm doing is somehow more important than just a warm blanket.

I'm calling this pattern "interrupted chevrons" :) I loved all the coordinating colors, but also really wanted to highlight the CUTE main fabric. 

{By the way, I'm realizing that I really should IRON these puppies before taking pictures! I always fold them up while I'm sewing the binding, which is the last stage, and then they get these horrible creases in them!}

2) One of my next projects was a DIY, rather than a quilt! I had been really hating our address letters, because they were tiny, hard to read, and just plain BLAH.

BEFORE:

 I had seem some different Pinterest inspirations, and this is what I came up with:
AFTER: 

I love that it's so much bigger, brighter, and CUTER! :)

3) Another cute DIY I did was inspired by, or should I say requested by a friend of mine from church! She was putting together a baby shower for a mutual friend of ours, and when I asked how I could help, she asked if I'd make a cute fabric banner to hang up for decoration!
I had seen these around a bunch on pinterest, but hadn't ever tried to do one of my own; but boy I'm glad I did! I think it turned out super cute, and it was SO simple! (Maybe I'll try a tutorial on it soon!) I'm considering adding this to my Etsy "arsenal". :)

I'm bummed that I didn't get a picture of it hanging up at the shower, but needless to say, I was proud of it! :) Can't wait to try others in various sizes and materials! 

4) Next project was another DIY, this time for our kitchen!
The BEFORE:
This is how we kept track of the dishwasher status (which is important when you have different people loading/unloading/starting the dishwasher all the time--this was a step up from always having to ask "is the dish washer clean or dirty?", but still not quite practical or CUTE enough. :)

I was inspired by some different Pinterest posts that used scrabble letters, but rather than having to rob from our game, or order new letters, I raided my collection of left over letters from the "Love" project I did in our bed-room last year, and this is what I came up with:

The After:

 Much cuter, if I do say so myself! :)

5) And last but not least, a quilt I finished just last week; a custom commission by my sister for her friend who is due with a little boy in the near future:
We checked her baby registry and saw that she had a kind of nautical/whale theme going, and we found this cute whale themed fabric at Joanns to use for the backing! The front is just coordinating solids & patterns, with some personalized embroidery!

Then as a surprise, both to the recipient, and my sister,  I made some cute "extras" withe leftover whale material!

 Overall, I'm really happy with how it all turned out! For the burp cloths, I just used the multiple layers of flannel/cotton, rather than the diaper core I had done before. I just wasn't as happy with how those were looking after I was finished, and I think these turned out super cute! I may consider adding additional layers inside to add extra absorbency, but I need to test it.

Well that's it for now! I'm working on another quilt to sell (sneak peak pictures going up on Facebook today), and then I have three custom projects to work on after that! :) Phew, keeping me busy, but loving every minute of it!

:) Until next time...

{This Quilt will be a family Heirloom that will be passed down through Generations...}

...No pressure, right? :) 

That's basically what my brother in law, Yandy told me as we were working through the designs for my most recent quilt project! He is in school/training to become a chaplain with the army, and wanted a quilt to keep with him, especially when he is assigned to a squad that gets deployed. The idea behind it is that it will have references to the people he loves most! 

He's handy with photoshop, and he worked up this great design for me to go off of (after we talked through some plans when Mikhal & I were there visiting in December):

After a few months of on again/off again work: Here's the finished product! 

(Let me just tell you, this thing is pretty HUGE. Mikhal had to stand up on the railing of our patio deck rail holding the corners for me to get a good picture of the whole thing!) 

 This blue material is a reference to the color Yandy & Tanya had in their wedding (11 + years ago!) 

 Yandy helped me decipher the many different types of camo material, and we ended up getting this one at: Army Surplus World. I was so happy with how quickly it arrived, and just the overall quality of the product! 

Here are some details of the different blocks:

Tanya- Yandy's wife (And my husband Mikhal's sister)

Daniel (or Danny) is Tanya & Mikhal's youngest brother who has been living with Yandy & Tanya for a couple of years now. 

Hannah is their oldest daughter (just turned 4 this last month)

Michael is their 2nd (about 18 months) 

Isabel is the name they would like to give a little girl that they plan on adopting some day in the future.

And last but not least for the "kids": Chester their dog (who they've had quite a bit longer than Hannah!) & Shadow, their cat; a more recent addition to the family 

 Yandy also thought it would be cool to have some references to his mission/calling!

This is the Army Chaplain insignia. 

This was one of the aspects that I was a little nervous about at first, but I ended up making our own "patch" version by getting custom material at Spoon Flower!  And because it was only a small piece we needed, I was able to do it on a $5 test swatch! :) Once it arrived, I sewed it to some interfacing, turned it inside out, and appliqued it on! I think it'd be hard for me to be happier with how it turned out! 

This is the Army Chaplain Motto.

Yandy's favorite verse: "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."

(This was one of the only real modifications that we had to make to the original design: doing just the reference of the verse, rather than the whole thing. It was pretty hard to see my letters for the embroidery on the black background fabric, and I just knew that having to do so many more words, and so much smaller would be too stressful.) 

And lastly, the Army Chaplain cross, which I believe is a patch they wear on their uniforms to distinguish them from the rest of their squad.

Another cool detail that is not pictured is that Yandy has plans to sew on the patch of the different squads he may be assigned to, to the big plain camo blocks (see the big picture) to make it even more personalized throughout his time in service. 

Overall, I am SUPER happy with how it turned out, and honored to be a part of making a family memory that I hope will be treasured for years to come! 

And I think Yandy was pretty excited to receive it... :) 

Until next time... 

{Changes}

Well, it's been a few months since I posted last, and I've decided to make a change to the name of my blog! I actually took a step back in September & started up an Etsy Shop. I chose the name of my shop to be, "Made with Love that can be Felt" and I figured that I would modify my blog name to allow for continuity between the two pages. 

Here's my shop description as copied over from my shop:

"The name of my shop originally started as a funny play on words about 4 years ago. At the time, I dabbled in making greeting cards for friends and family with felt cut outs on the front in various shapes, patterns & designs...of course, when working with felt, "made with love that can be felt" has a pretty specific (and slightly corny) meaning. 

Over the past few years, though, while my aesthetic and skills have also been growing. The meaning of "Made with Love that Can be Felt" has really evolved into more of an idea that items can be handmade with quality, care and love that can really be felt before the item is even received! 

My passions are currently in quilts for babies & children, but I am also venturing out into the wonderful world of baby supplies (pacifier holders, changing mats, burp cloths, etc.)

I appreciate you visiting my little corner of the crafting world, and hope you find what you're looking for!" 

My problem is that I haven't taken the step to actually list any items yet! I've been struggling with the pricing aspect; worried that I may sell myself short & not make a profit, or that I will end up charging too much. 

Mikhal & I are on vacation (again!) right now visiting his sister & her family, and his brother in law in Missouri, and I plan on posting some items (burp cloths, binky leashes, etc...)  AS SOON as I get home. No more procrastinating! As a few friends have encouraged me, even if I don't get my pricing exactly right on my first few items, at least I'll be getting myself out there! :) 

I went back through & updated a few of the quilts I've made recently, the one I'm most excited about it is: 

A Panda Quilt for my brother in law, Danny! :) His 16th birthday is later this month, and he had been asking me for a panda quilt for YEARS! (Almost as long as we've been married). I had always kept it in the back of my mind, but couldn't figure out how to put it into practice without making it look like it was for a baby. For instance, I could have done embroidery, or applique, but I just didn't think either of those was right! I finally had the idea to try a linear/abstract Panda, and this is what I came up with. :) 

SO SO SO happy with the results. :) (And so is Danny! We surprised him this week with a birthday party & his quilt, which he had NO idea about!)

I had to do SO much math to figure out the layout of his face, though. I have pages & pages of notes. I think that is one of the reasons I am so excited about the finished product. There were times when I was working on this that I really felt like giving up, so it is that much more rewarding to finish it, and to have it turn out like I planned! :) 

Anyway, in other news, I feel like I need to start putting a little bit more time & effort into this blog! I was thinking about all of the things I really enjoy doing, but don't feel like I am GREAT at (photography, crafting, writing, etc..), and I think that getting some of the details of my crafts down in words & pictures would be helpful to help me get better at all of them! I also always really envy the stay at home moms that are able to make such great blogs, so they are my new inspiration! 

Until next time... (Which hopefully won't be too far down the road)

{Quilts}

Over the years I've made quite a few quilts...and while I've tried to do a good job of documenting & keeping track of them all, I think I certainly could do better! I've decided to try & re-create a list of all the quilts I've made, and the approximate timeline (I'll do just years for now, because it's hard for me to remember the months in most cases!)

Here we go:

1. Pinwheel Quilt (Approx 2005 With Mom & the Quilting group from the church I grew up in--they created this quilting "monster".)
2. Scrappy Quilt (2005 That I keep with me in my car)
3. American Flag Quilt (2005 Christmas present for one of my best friends, E!)
4. Red & Black, "Checker" Quilt (2007 Christmas present for my then fiance, M.)
5. Fall Colored Trains & Trucks Quilt (2008 Baby Present for my nephew, LK)
6. Eagle Quilt (Dad's Birthday Present, 2008)
7. "BlueBerries With Sal" Quilt (Mom's Christmas Present, 2008)
8. Blue, Green & Brown Dinosaurs Quilt (2008?--Paying customer!)
9. Hippie Flowers Quilt (2008? --Paying customer!)
10. Pink & Purple Flowers Quilt (2009 Baby Present for my niece, HL)
11. Nursery Animals in "windows" Quilt (2009 Baby Present for my neice, MF)
12. Nursery Animals in forest Quilt (2009 Baby present for my nephew, DK)
13. Pink & Blue Boxes Quilt (2009 Baby Present for my niece, AF)
14. Russian Animals Quilt (2009 Baby present for my nephew, IK)
15. Flannel Dinosaurs Baby Quilt (2009? Gift for co-worker's Son)
16. Animals in Boxes Quilt (2010 Baby Present for my nephew, JF)
17. Russian Cars/Trains/Trucks Quilt  (2010 Baby Present for my nephew, MF)
18. Butterflies in Silk Quilt  (2010 Baby Present for my 2nd cousin, MT)
19. Trees Quilt (2010 Baby Present for Coworkers daughter, AR)
20. "Aren't you Far more valuable to God than they are" Quilt (2010 Baby Present, LJ)
21. Blue/Green/Brown Flowers Quilt(2010 Birthday Present for my sister, J)
22. Zoo Animals (Printed) Quilt  (2010, 1/2 of the set of twin quilts for JF)
23. Zoo Animals (Pictures) Quilt (2010, 2/2 of the set of twin quilts for JF)
24. Elephants in Brown Quilt ("Happy Day Present" for a friend's daughter, AJ)
25. Butterflies in Purple Quilt ("Happy Day Present" for a friend's daughter, RJ)
26. Caterpillar in Pink Quilt (2011 Baby Present for Friend's daughter, MG)
27. Young Life Wall Hanging (2011 Young Life Auction Item)
28. Pink Boxes Quilt (2010 Baby Present for my niece, MK)
29. Big Blue Polka Dot Quilt (2011 Baby Present for my nephew, TF)
30. Giraffe & Friends Quilt (2011 Baby Present for my nephew, IV)
31. Green & Brown Flowers Quilt (2011 Baby Present for 2nd cousin, AP)
32. Fishing Scene Quilt (2011 Baby Present for my nephew, ML)
33. Frog on Stripes Quilt (2011 Baby Present for my nephew, CD)
34. Purple Zebra  (2011 Happy Day Present for my sister in law, MF)
35. Manly Flannel Quilt #2 (2012 Quilt for Husband, Late Christmas Present)
36. Fall Colors with Fuzzy Tree Quilt (2011, Christmas Present for my niece, CB)
37. "The Bears" Football Quilt (2012 Baby Present for my co-workers son, EG)
38. Brown/Green/Blue "Paisley" Quilt (2012 Birthday Present for my friend, CH)
39. "You are my Sunshine" Quilt (2012 Baby Present for my niece-in-law, HN)
40. Fuzzy Elephant on Polka Dots Quilt (2012, 1/2 of the set of twin quilts for PM)
41. Fuzzy Owl on Polka Dots (2012, 2/2 of the set of twin quilts for PM)
42. Manly Flannel Quilt #2 (2012 for a sick coworker)
43. Neon Green, Pink & White (2012 for my new niece, SPF)
44. Fearfully & Wonderfully Made (2012 for my neice, DK)
45. Denim Quilt (2012 for my friends baby, Baby Graham)
46. Panda Quilt (2012 for my brother in law, DF)
47. Neon Green, Blue & White (12/2012 for my new nephew to be born 01/02-2013)
48. Princess Quilt (LM's Niece 02/2013)
49. Pink/White & Green Chevrons (FOR SALE on Etsy)
50. Brown & Blue chevrons (Niece born 01/2013, SF)
51. Army Memory Quilt (03/2013 For my brother in law, YL)
52. Girly Jungle (Scarlett B. 06/2013)
53. Green/Gray/White & Black Chevrons (LW, 08/2013)
54. Pink/Yellow & White Chevrons (LVF 02/2017)
55. Garden Fence (Entered in Puyallup Fair, 09/2013)
56. Hello Kitty Quilt (MO 09/2013)
57. Blue & Brown Elephants (01/2014 approx. VF Baby #8)
58. Colorful Zoo (04/2014 - EB)
59. Scrabble Quilt (04/2014 - K&J M Wedding)
60. Primary Colors Zoo quilt (EB, Due 07/2014)
61. Volleyball T-Shirt quilt (LR 10/2014)
62. Girly Jungle Quilt #2( 10/2014 - Gifted to a friend's baby, IB 02/2017)
63. Ruffle Quilt (10/2014 - Gifted to Neice, to be born 04/2017)
64. Boxed Hippie Flowers (10/2014 FOR SALE on Etsy)
65. Circus Animals Quilt (2014 -Sold in 2017 for MP's co-worker)
66. Blue/Mustard Arrows (10/2014 for HS)
67. Denim & Cars (11/2014 FOR SALE on Etsy)
68. Blue Polish Elephants (01/2015 for Mom's Co-worker's baby)
69. Green/Grey Houndstooth (04/2015 for LS Baby #2)
70. Blue/Grey Houndstooth (04/2015 for CG baby #1)
71. Audrey Hepburn Funk (05/2015 for JF- Living Room)
72. Primary Colors/Airplane (05/2015 for Friend's Second son, OG)
73. Blue, Teal & White Birds (06/2015 for Neice, NPF)
74. Colorful Living Room Quilt (J&EH - Living Room 01/2017)
75. Green/Grey/White & Yellow Animals (NAF 02/2017)
76. Black & White "Crosses" Quilt (For AS & LS's 3rd son, IS 05/2017)
77. Black & White Scrappy Quilt (Gifted to PH & SH for adopted son, SH 12/2017)
78. Lizzie's Nursery Quilt (07/2017)
79. Fun Neutral Triangles (For TH's Son born Fall 2017)
80. Boho Baby Quilt (To be Sold..?)
81. Bow Ties -Green, blue, grey and white (J&EH's Baby boy, due April 2018)

Quilts in the hopper at this moment:

Quilt for Baby Frolov #3
Pretty Floral
Scrap/Stash Busters 

I know for sure I'm missing some...but I'll make sure to come & update it more frequently from now on. :) 

Until next time! 

{Busy Busy Busy}

I've been super busy recently working to finish (3) quilts before leaving to Alaska to visit M! Here's how they turned out:

The first two are for twins that my co-worker & his wife just had! They wanted to be surprised on their genders, so I picked what I thought was a cute, but still gender neutral theme! 

I used cotton for the piecing, and then "snuggle" flannel & "minky" for the applique. :) I LOVe how the 3D parts (elephant's ear & owl's wings) turned out! 

Then the third quilt I made for a friend of mine who has been sick & in the hospital for the past month! Made entirely of quilter's flannel, this thing is SO cozy. It's kind of a weird quilt to present in the middle of July when we've been having 80 degree weather, but I think he liked it anyway. :) 


Some details:
Started this on June 23rd, finished July 10th. 
Approximate Dimensions 7"x5".
Fabric used: Quilters Flannel (next time I'll write down the collection/designer!) 

I ended up quilting this one instead of tying because I wanted a more grown-up, masculine feel, and while it was quite a bit of work to get it through my standard machine, I think it was well worth it! I did realize that I need to get a separate "walking" foot for my machine though, that will help immensely when quilting my next project! Since I quilted this monster (well, big for my tastes, it was only a twin!), I feel like I don't really have an excuse not to practice my actual quilting on some of the baby quilts I'll be working on in upcoming months. :) 

But first--vacation! I'm leaving tomorrow for 10 days in Alaska, and I still am not quite packed! I'll try & update on the goings-on there while I'm there if I have time, or when I get back. :) 

Until next time!