Handmade Vera Bradley Wallet Knock-offs

So, I found this amazing, awesome, super-duper fun tutorial to make Vera Bradley-like wallets. (You can find the tutorial here: ThimbleAnna's Blog)

I tweaked the tutorial a little to make them have rounded corners (instead of square) so they'll look more like Vera Bradley's.

I made the first one for my sister for her birthday.

The 2nd one I made for me. :)

And here's the cake I made for her (and her friend's) birthday. I only had one decorating bag left, so i was limited to two colors. they wanted pink and blue, but it looked like baby colors to me, so i changed it to pink and purple. Now it was only girly colors....

xo, charlotte

do. Good stitches {a Charity Bee}

Back in June or July, I was looking at virtual sewing bees and wishing I could be in one. I went to tons of different websites looking for a way to sign up when I finally found it.

do. Good Stitches. 

I signed up on their little document and waited, and waited, and waited, (i admit, i actually signed up again, thinking my first one didn't go through....)  :/   Finally, about 2 months later, they had enough people to start a new group! We were called "Trust" and we were benefiting "My Very Own Blanket".

Ok. Long story, short, We started in September, and have started 3 quilts, one of which is already finished! :) Each person does 2 blocks per month, and there's 10 people. 5 of the people have more commitment than I do, so they get to assemble the quilt top, design a back, and sew together the finished quilt.

Here's my September Blocks:   (Card Trick Design)

And the finished quilt:

October Blocks:     (Greek Cross Design)

And my November Blocks:     (I called it 5 stripes...very creative, i know)









I think I love the November blocks the most. The dark gray and blues look so modern....and legit.... :)

Anyways, if you think that you'd like to do this, you can sign up at the do. Good Stitches homepage on flickr.

xo, charlotte

1st quilted quilt ever--done!

yep, I finished my first quilted  quilt, ever. I've made two other quilts, but I just tied little knots of yarn through all the layers to secure the batting.

this time, though, i actually attempted quilting--machine quilting. Hand-quilting will be for a different day... :)

i had tried spray basting, since i wanted to get this done in one day, and didn't want to invest 1-2 extra hours pinning it... it worked really well!

this quilt was meant to go in our living room (the blue back went with the walls). i had started the quilt before we got new furniture though, so the black and white doesn't really go with the new brown furniture. i made the binding brown though, so maybe it'll look better.

this pattern was from Elizabeth Hartman's book, The Practical Guide to Patchwork, it was called snapshots. probably because the little black and white squares look like a collage of pictures... :)

i'm so excited that it's done though! only one more quilt to finish before january 1st...
the next quilt i have to finish though, isn't as pretty. it looks like a rainbow threw up...
 i had no color scheme, so i'm brainstorming how to make it look better... :)

(maybe i could separate the blocks a little by adding white strips between them.)

(or i could alternate a "puking-rainbow" block, and a white block...) 

any suggestions?

xo, Charlotte

Giraffe Headbands

This is a total coincidence. I didn't mean to post about those adorable little petite lap giraffes before posting about my giraffe headbands.

Since my cross country team is so great, I had the idea to make all of them headbands--well, all the girls at least. I didn't want to give them to the boys because:
a. they would lose them
b. they would make fun of them
c. they wouldn't wear them
                 or
d. all of the above  <-- definitely this one... :)

Anyways, I went JoAnn's, picked out some nice anti-pill fleece in giraffe and orange prints, and tried to race my way through making 18 headbands before the regionals meet.

Why giraffe? Well, as you know if you read the previous post, i love giraffes. and i think that cheetah prints are overused. (cheetah was my other option).

Why orange? Well, it was also hunting season, so the bright orange helps with that....and it's also one of our team colors... :)

Well, I finished them...yes, it was the night before, but i still finished...and everyone loved them...i hope... :) (oh, and i also embroidered everyone's name on them... had to try out all the nifty features on my new sewing machine!)

xo, Charlotte