Brrr! -- polar bears!

I finished up this toddler quilt today for a great-nephew for Christmas.  It measures about 50" x 50", and is a D9P (disappearing 9 patch) design.  I used prints from the Brrr! line by Laurie Wisbrun. A set of fat quarters in 6 of the prints was a gift from my sewy friend Nancy (THANKS NANC!), and then I purchased more yardage from my favourite Toronto quilt store -- Sew Sisters :)

Here's a fun tutorial for the block - I quite like her colour block version, and will probably try it :D

Front of Brrr! D9P quilt - freshly washed after completion, and hanging on the clothesline to dry :D

Here's a close-up of the QAYG quilting on the quilt - the centre of the picture is the centre block - it's quilted in both directions - the other blocks are quilted in one direction only.

Here's the back of the quilt, translucent in the sunshine, lol.  I had more of the fabrics from the front so I whipped up an extra D9P block to make the backing more kicky :D

Construction notes for my reference:
WOF (3/8") seam allowance ... 6.5" squares ... 19-20" backing and batting squares ... trim down to 17 1/4" block (8 5/8" cut from centres) ...  2" cover strips (next time use 2 1/4") ... binding cut to 2 3/4" wide (perfect with 3/8" s.a.), needed 6 strips. 

Superhero capes!

I spotted this tutorial a while ago and thought it would be fun to make these for a couple of young kids I know :D The recipients are 3 -- I made these in the largest size (marked as 4T+).   I had a slender 4 (almost 5) year old try one on, and I thought it was too small for him, so I would use the large size for a kiddo up to about 3, and would increase the length and width for 4+.  The smaller size is probably good for a 2 year old (I haven't tried it though).

The little "blob" you see on each of them is a superhero button - the package didn't have any GIRL superhero designs (??!!) so the red cape has a red button that says BOOM! and the blue cape has a superhero character :) These are REALLY quick to make up - under 2 hours start to finish - and nothing difficult or fiddly. I got the superhero emblem/alphabet here (freebie), and did the initial in the recipient's name :) The blue solid fabric is a king size sheet that I got on clearance at Walmart for $5 - score!

A few more early August bib-ly finishes, for Blue Hills.  I'm going to see if they want some superhero capes too, when I can figure out some more accurate sizing for older kids :)

Welcome August :)

I think I need to find a random post title generator website - that's got to be better than drawing a complete blank or welcoming a month ... by name, LOL!

Boxy bag and earbud pouch for Miss B - she doesn't read my blog, but her mom does - and her mom will be here this afternoon for some fun sewing+crafting time, so she can take these home to Miss B :)

Close-up of the 2 colour zipper - COOL!  Bought it during a trip to the fabric district in Toronto a few months ago :D

Upsized earbud pouches - original tutorial here - these are going to Blue Hills, and my BH contact will be here this afternoon for some fun crafting, so she can take the latest batch of goodies to work with her next week :)

HAHA don't ask me why this photo has a black border and the others don't - I have no idea!  This is an SMS pencil pouch :)