gingham quilt

When Amanda Jean posted an in-progress shot of her gingham quilt back in 2010, I knew I had to make my own. Fast forward to last fall, to right before we moved into a new house, when I finally did. Using remnants from my stash (including scraps from our gray wedding day tablecloths), I made a mini version to hang above our bed.

I backed it with a cute Lizzy House print, hand quilted it using gray perle cotton, and bound it with a mini yellow gingham.

Though it's simple in design, and came together really quickly, it is one of my favorite quilts to date!

cross-stitch project: custom dog bandanna

Though quilting has definitely occupied much of my time the past few months, stitching has not stopped:

{Detail shot of a custom dog bandanna made from purple gingham for an October wedding. The original bandanna I made appeared both online and in Brides magazine this fall.}

cross-stitching on gingham

I've been experimenting with cross-stitching on fabrics other than aida cloth, and lately I've turned my attention to gingham. With its built-in grid pattern, it's the perfect backdrop for cross-stitch---and so much fun to stitch on!

embroidered button swap: what i sent

This past month, I participated in the embroidered button swap organized by the blog Feeling Stitchy. For my swap partner, Adaiha, a lover of woodland creatures, bright colors, and vintage material, I made a set of six buttons featuring a little owl.

I used a combination of vintage turquoise and yellow gingham fabric for the buttons' backgrounds, and embroidered the six little owls in black floss. I initially spotted the adorable owl on this set of coasters, and eventually traced the pattern back to Pimp Stitch.

I put a few other goodies in Adaiha's package, including a few vintage sewing supplies, as well as some chocolates. Pictures of my lovely buttons from Adaiha (and a few other awesome goodies!) to come later this week.