Finished Nordika Scrappy Trip Quilt

A couple days before Christmas, I wrote about some of my 2014 goals. The first item on my list was a scrappy trip quilt using Nordika by Jeni Baker. I really loved my first scrappy trip quilt that I made for my nephew. When I bought some Nordika and coordinating solids and oval elements from Art Gallery, I knew I wanted to make another scrappy trip quilt for me. After Christmas, I got the itch to start this quilt, and I finished it a couple days after the new year. Not bad for accomplishing my first goal of 2014 so soon into the new year.

I initially planned to use the same layout as my first scrappy trip quilt, but after piecing a couple rows together, I changed my mind and used this layout instead.

It's funny that my favorite block, which is made up of blue, gray, black, and berry, really jumps out at me in this quilt (fourth row from the left, fourth block down).

For the backing, I used a variety of solid flannel strips that coordinated with the colors on the front.

The binding is the yellow bias plaid print from Nordika, which ended up being the perfect fit! I stipple quilted on the sides and then I quilted the rest in meandering loops.

The quilt measures about 72 inches square and it's been in constant use at my house for the past two months--my favorite!

Easter Dress

So I don't sew clothes. I've sewn a couple skirts in the past, but most of those times, I went to my mom's house for help. At quilt market last May, I met Jennifer Paganelli (such a genuinely nice woman) and bought her Girl's World book, thinking it would be nice to have a bunch of patterns to try for my girls.

When I brought the book home, my older daughter loved looking through it. In fact, she pretty much thought the book was just for her. I never ended up making anything out of it. Until today.

I saw the dresses Kayli made for her girls and was motivated to try making an Easter dress for little miss A. I typically don't keep yardage of fabric on hand since I'm a quilter and prefer smaller cuts, but I happened to have a few yards of this Art Gallery fabric that I also bought at quilt market last May. Thankfully, my daughter approved of the non-pink options I gave her.

I used the Mary Sash Dress pattern from Jennifer's book.

Little miss A is on the small size, so although I used the XS pattern piece for the bodice, I still had to alter it a bit. I also wanted the dress to have wider straps at the shoulders.

And I kept the length of the sash the same, so it makes a nice big bow on the back.

The only real problem I ran into was a result of taking the bodice in a bit. You see, my children are blessed with larger than average heads (I like to tell myself it's because they are so smart). The altered bodice fit really well...except for the fact that I couldn't get it over my daughter's head. So I called my mom and asked her what I could do so I didn't have to start over. She suggested that I cut a slit in the back and add a button. So that's what I did. Although, I haven't attached the button yet.

You may have noticed her princess shoes. She was very excited to try the dress on, even though I hadn't hemmed it yet. She had to go find her shoes and her brother insisted on dressing up like a prince, which meant that he put on jeans (as opposed to the comfy lounge pants he was wearing), a long sleeve gray shirt, and his church shoes.

Overall, I think it was a success. I'm happy it came together pretty easily and that we found solutions for the couple snags I ran into. Best of all, it's daughter-approved. And perfect for practicing your curtsies.