Father’s Day Superhero Gift


superhero

I was on the hunt for a simple, creative and fun idea for Father’s Day this year, and I found just the thing.   I used these printables from AlphaMom to put together a superhero box for the superhero of a Dad that lives at our house.

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It was a lot of fun picking items to go with each label.  I ended up making a few of these gifts for different people and it was fun to customize it for each person.  I couldn’t find a wood box that worked, so had to settle for a plastic box instead.  I lined it with white tissue paper so you couldn’t see what was inside it, and it worked out just fine.

This is what it looked like when it was “delivered” to our superhero:

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How was it received?

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The kids loved watching their Dad open the gift, and gratefully he was funny as could be as he went through each item.  What made the whole thing really amusing was that I thought he knew all along that we had put it together, but it wasn’t until he got to the very last item in the box, a cold can of Hero Juice (Dad’s root beer) that he realized I didn’t just order the box from somewhere.  What tipped him off?  The can was cold.  We all laughed and the group hug he finished with brought a smile to my heart.

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One thing I like about these printables is that they don’t actually say anything about Father’s Day on them, so you could use them for a birthday or anytime you need a little thank you gift or pick-me-up for the superhero at your house.  It wasn’t a fancy gift, but it did put a smile on our faces, and the snacks were much enjoyed by my husband.  It was a great gift!

Jennifer

Summer Weave quilt


summerweavequilt

A couple of months ago, while searching for a particular fabric print online, I stumbled upon images of a collection called Lilified by Kanvas Studios for Benartex.  I’d never seen it before but liked the crisp colors.  It was so summery and I was tempted by several prints but didn’t purchase any at the time.  About a week later I went to a sample sale where I stumbled upon samples of every print in the collection which I quickly purchased for just a few dollars.

The collection comes in two colorways, a green/blue combination:

lilifiedblue

and a pink/orange colorway:

lilifiedpink

The line includes a few patterns that I think are great stash prints.  The first are these awesome lattice-type prints which I particularly like in orange, pink and green/white:

lilifiedfavs

These two were also favorites.  The prints on the right would make awesome quilt backs, and the prints on the left belong in a low-volume quilt:

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The samples came in all different sizes, the smallest being 8.5 x 5 inches.  My favorite print came in this small size and I forgot to take a picture of it before I began cutting and sewing.  It’s a little baptist fan type design in pink/white and blue/white.

I’m so pleased with myself for making something right away with these fabrics instead of letting them wait in line behind other projects.  It’s fun to get something new and start sewing with it immediately!  I knew I wanted to spotlight the larger scale fabrics, especially those with the medallions, but had mostly small pieces to work with.  There was not enough fabric for fussy-cutting to center the patterns but I’m happy with how it turned out.  I wanted something light, bright and summery for my little girls to play on in the yard this summer.

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summerweaveback

There was enough fabric left to piece some strips for the back. I paired it with some Joel Dewberry yardage I had on hand.  I’m really working on making do with what I have and it feels good to use something up!  I kept the quilting simple, using straight lines that echo the design of the quilt.

summerweavebinding

The Michael Miller clown stripe in black was the perfect binding for this quilt.  It makes me smile.  This is the second quilt I’ve bound in a black and white print this year and I’m fast becoming a fan.  Once again, a machine stitched binding.

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The “Summer Weave” quilt measures approximately 64 inches square.  The design was my own making and I’m sure I’ll use it again, as it would be easy to adjust the size of the quilt by adding strips to the “weave.”   I had some extra help in the form of young children when I was basting, and there are some spots that didn’t get pulled as tightly as I would like.  I’m not worried about it, though, because it will just crinkle up when I wash it and we’ll love it even more.

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Have a great day!
Jennifer

Marcelle Medallion progress


Mmedallionprogress

I finally got my Liberty Love book back out and got working on my Marcelle Medallion quilt top.  It hung for too long without me touching it, and I’m so happy to be working on it again!

marcelleborders4to6

Borders 4-6 are now finished, and as I suspected, none of them took long to complete.  Isn’t it funny how many things we don’t start because in our heads it will take too long?

marcellecorner

I like the Field Study poppies print for border number 6, and the citron as corner posts makes me smile.  Actually, the whole thing is making me smile.  Lots of color, and it sure feels good to be working on it again.

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Only two more borders to go!

Jennifer Linking to Freshly Pieced

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