baby girl quilt

 I have been waiting to post this for awhile and now that I have given the quilt to my good friend, Angela for her baby girl, I can share it with you.  I am starting to love piecing baby quilts.  Of course, I understand that the work on them is quite small compared to the larger quilts, but it is good to practice my quilting skills on these little pieces of work. 

I attempted to make very random blocks with all the pink, green and turquoise fabrics that I had for a little girl.  As I made each block, I wasn't sure if it would be a big ol' mess or turn in to something unique and sweet.  I just kept going until I had twelve blocks done and then laid them out on the floor until they looked as though there was a little pattern to my madness.  I used strips of a pink and white fabric I had picked up from Joanne's to separate the blocks and I think it helped break up the madness a bit.  

 The back of the quilt was a solid pink on pink fabric that had silhouettes of boys and girls that I have had for awhile and can't remember who made it.  I don't have any left or I would look for the source.  But, I think it was cute to have a children on the back of a baby quilt. I free motion quilted and made the pattern rather large swirls.  I like it, but wish that I would have done them closer together.  I was afraid to go wild with the quilting, but I think next time, I will just have to be a little more "free" with the free motion!

amazing weekend

  I might over use the word amazing, but sometimes it is the only word I can think to describe certain events or projects in my life. I guess that's why my blog and business have the title "amazing mae" which is named after my daughter who I think is amazing. This past weekend I was able to attend the Snap Blog Conference with my dear friend Melissa of the Polka Dot Chair.

 (notes from SEO class - I need a do over because I didn't understand everything, so I drew.  Reminded me of how I felt in college!)
I didn't know what to expect and in my mind, I was really going as a support to a friend. I did not realize the impact it would have on me and what an eye opening experience it would be to attend. Not to mention, it was so much fun. The classes were helpful and entertaining. They ranged from Photoshop basics to how to succeed in a blog business.

(a project from the new Make and Takes)
I was able to hear Marie LaBaron from Make and Takes and Courtney Dial from Pizzazzerie talk about their new books that had just recently come out and we were given copies of their book as well. My daughter has already gone through the Make and Takes book and planned out two crafts she wanted to make right that minute. I was able to meet bloggers and make some amazing friends that are the women behind these creative blogs. All the ladies that I met were anxious to find out what I was up to and quickly become great people to share ideas with. 

 One of the highlights of the weekend was shopping at The Queen Bee Market that Mique of 30 Handmade Days and her sister Jessica of Allora Handmade put on. They have been doing this in Southern Cali for the past few years and since my family is in San Diego, I have always wanted to visit family and the Queen Bee at the same time. It was awesome. I came home with a few charms from the r house couture and a yellow vinyl case for my camera from Camera Coats. I could have spent way more money if a.) I had it and b.) I had a way to get it all home in one suitcase! 

(my cute nephews swimming in the hotel pool and of course, my yummy meal from In-N-Out Burger)

It didn't hurt that it was at Thanksgiving Point, which is beautiful and close to my extended family and some dear friends. I got to go and visit two sweet friends that used to live here in Louisville. My sister and brother in law and two of their boys came to swim at the hotel pool with me one night. It also didn't hurt that I was able to eat at The Blue Lemon, Kneaders and In-N-Out. Seriously good food. I would go anywhere for good food, but when it's right in front of you (or a 10 min drive), it is so awesome. I was introduced to Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakery which I am so glad is not near me or I would gain weight like wild fire. So sweetly divine. Have you tried? I am honestly still on a high and looking forward to attending Snap again next year!  I was able to be with my best friend and meet new friends.  It doesn't get much better than that.

Now I am back to soldering charms for the Kentucky Derby and filling orders that came in while I was away.  Yay!

easter dress

Keeping it simple, I used an older Lizzie McGuire Simplicity 3513 as the pattern to my daughter's Easter dress this year. I had purchased in several years ago when a big fabric store here was going out of business. In fact, I picked up a lot of patterns then, but in digging through my box of patterns I realize that most are size 1-4T which is too small for my daughter.

So, I guess I will have to save those for when I make gifts!

I bought this fabric at Hobby Lobby last Fall knowing I would use it for a dress for Mallory some time in the future. I love the new fabrics that they are carrying at Hobby Lobby. They are a fraction of all of the other lovely fabrics that they carry at the quilt shop. This pattern has a an elastic bias gathering in the front, bias in the arm holes and gathered fly away sleeves. It is still a bit big in the arm holes, but not too big. It has plenty of room for growing and when you sew something it's always good to get plenty of use out of it.

custom mother's bracelet

I made a bracelet similar to this last year for my mom last year for Mother's Day and one for my mother in law too.

I was excited to make this one a few weeks ago as a custom order.

I haven't added this to my etsy shop yet, but will soon in time for Mother's Day.

Each charm has a child's initial and the birth order number on the other side.

a few baby gifts

I have been sewing quite a bit lately - mostly small projects(pjs for the boys and the little girl, an Easter dress, baby gifts), but just haven't taken photos of the finished projects with the exception of these gifts for the babies.

With a double baby shower this week, I got to make a few gifts for a future little boy and a future little girl. As usual, I stuck with quick projects that I know well. Someday I will branch out, but until that day, I will be able to swiftly put together a package for a new baby.

The gift for the little girl was a one yard flannel blanket using purple and white striped flannel on one side and a flannel patchwork pattern of vibrant colors on the other.I used a piece of turquoise flannel to applique a heart on the purple and white side for a pop of color.

I just sewed the blanket right sides together leaving a 6 inch opening for turning it right side in. Then, zig zagged stitched all the way around the perimeter.The gift for the baby boy was a set of four bibs using two different rocket ship fabrics, flannel and terry cloth. I used the bib pattern found here at juicy bits blog. I use industrial snaps at the top instead of Velcro because I like the look of the big shiny round snaps on something so delicate!

sweet baby quilt for baby boy

One baby quilt at a time - that's my progress timeline with quilting. I like to quilt, but just a bit! A few years ago, I printed off this Sweet Baby Quilt pattern by Jackie Clark at Windham Fabrics online. I forgot about it until I was going through my big binder of sewing ideas and found it. I thought it would be a great easy pattern for me to go beyond the last two baby blankets I made with just strips like here and here. I changed up the sides a little because I didn't have enough fabric to do a solid strip on all four sides, so I added another fabric to help. The back of the quilt is a soft grey corduroy that I got at WalMart a few years ago when they were getting rid of their fabric department. I just used a very lose chain pattern for the quilting to keep it simple!

layered skirt and bunnny applique just in time for easter

When I saw Dana's tutorial for a layered skirt, I was hoping I could get a few made for Mallory. So, I started with one that would match the bunny applique shirt I had just finished for her. I didn't quite have enough of the vintage floral sheet left, so I used pink chambray for the ruffles and the floral sheet for the straight pieces. It went together so quickly which means I need to get out my yellow and purple seersucker to make a few more.

bunnies and chicks in the etsy shop

A little shop update full of bunnies and chicks!

going in the shop this weekend

check out the updates to the shop HERE

charm(s) winner(s) announced

If you knew me really well, you would know that I couldn't just pick one winner. So, I picked two! The WINNER WINNER (the first name my son drew) will win the round beveled LUCKY charm with 18" ball chain! And she is:Michele Steel - who left this comment on my facebook page: Traci you are amazing! I love them all!Now, the RUNNER UP WINNER will get this 1/2" X 1 1/2" so LUCKY charm with a vintage Irish lad on the back and a 24" nickel ball chain. And, she is:

HereIAM who left this comment on the blog: I so love the custom name charm. My 4 babies names are going to look so cute in it. Can't wait to order!

So, ladies, email me your mailing addresses to traciu73@yahoo.com. I am excited to send these out so you will have time to wear them before St. Patrick's Day.

are you feeling LUCKY giveaway

I have been wanting to have a giveaway for awhile now and when I made this charm, I knew it was the perfect one for one LUCKY winner. So, here it goes:

LUCKY SOLDERED CHARM (WITH 18" BALL CHAIN) GIVEAWAY

Here's how you get a chance to win:
1. For one entry, go over to my etsy shop and look around. Then, comment on this post telling me which charm you like.
2. You can get another entry if you leave a comment on Amazing Mae Charms Facebook giveaway post/album.
3. The deadline is Wednesday, February 29th at midnight Eastern time.

slice of life

I was looking through my camera roll on my phone and found some photos that describe my children so well and thought I would share.

My seven year old, Gage, is an electronics lovers. His weekend request is to go to the mall so he can hang out at the Apple store. Last weekend we did just that and I took this picture of him in his element.

I have a teenager now. Trevor is only 13, but his teenage attitude is starting to creep out a wee bit. Here he is on a Sunday night after church hanging out with his mom - at least he will still do that!Mallory (5) is in love with stuffed animals, especially the Muppet, Pepe. She sleeps with him every night. I took this picture of her Saturday morning when she came in to our room to wake us up - Pepe in tow.
Boston (10) took this picture of himself with the Old Camera app on my phone. He took a few others, saved them and left my phone on my bed side table before I even knew he had come and gone. He's always quick.