Baby Blessing Quilt: Part 8 (Putting It All Together)

A lot of time and heart has gone into this project, but now that it is finished I am very happy with the end result of this Baby Blessing Quilt. (I hope the new mother agrees.)

To be honest I have never seen or hear of  a Baby Blessing blanket before, but it was an idea I came up with a blessing for the new life and the friend who is now a new mother living a few states away. I couldn't be there when her daughter was born, but hopefully this will be something special to her.

Here is an  overview of how it all came together.

Embroidery Work of Five Pieces
Piece 1 (with short colorful blessing)
Piece 2 (with baby girl's name and birth date)
Piece 3 (with my own blessing)
Piece 4 (with Irish Baby Blessing)
Piece 5 (with Jewish Blessing)
 

The pieces were then sewn together using my trusty sewing machine and ironed. (See Step 6.)

I then added more embroidery and more fleece hearts. (See Step 7.)

I sewed the front to the back (wrong sides together) all the way around leaving a seam to be frayed. I chose a pink and white checked flannel for the back side. (Design choice.) Then using my machine I added swirls all the way around randomly to secure the two sides from creating a pouch inside.

It took awhile, but I then frayed the edges all the way around. This takes a lot longer then a more "finished" edge, but it was what I wanted for this project.

Finished and pressed it's ready to be packed and mailed to the mother and child.

Baby Blessing Quilt: Part 6 (Piecing it Together)

I pieced the small blessing quilt together, first laying it out, then sewing the three pieces of the left side and two pieces of the right side before sewing the right and left side together.

It's starting to take shape... literally.

Part 4: Baby Blessing Quilt (4th peice)

The fourth piece of the Baby Blessing Quilt is larger than the rest with an Irish Baby Blessing embroidered in black on rose fabric with a butterfly and heart added (not obvious to see but the letters show better in person and the other bits are as much for texture as anything else - sometimes subtle additions can be a nice added touch).

Piece Four (still no square).

It reads:
"May all blessings of our Lord touch your life today.
"May He send his little angels to protect you on your way.
"Such a miraulacous gift sent from above.
"Someone so precious to cherish and love.
"ay sunshine and moonbeams dance over your head.
"As you quietly slumber in your bed.
"May good luck be with you wherever you go.
"And your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow.
          "-Irish Baby Blessing-"

Part 3: Baby Blessing Quilt (3rd piece)

For the next piece in the Baby Blessing Quilt I added my own message embroidered on rose fabric with a piece of yellow appliqued on top. I left the edges of the yellow raw after I secured around the edges with embroidery work.
 
Piece 3 (another clue to the overall look):

 (Reading "May the world be full of many more blessings").

Charm Hemp Necklace

This is just hemp charm necklace is an example of something fun I was playing around with. The charms were made with tiny bits of white Sculpey clay and bits of twisty ties inserted into the clay before they were baked (according to the direction on the package). I made a flower, a heart, a rose, a flat disc (to be used as a peace sign), and a small ball (to be used as a small globe).

They were then painted with acrylic paint (the globe with green bits, a peace sign on red, an orange and yellow flower, a yellow rose, and a black heart).

Once dry, the charms were used in making the hemp macrame necklace, made using an equal combination of simple half and square knots. (I used twenty of each in the pattern.) The clay charms were attached to the central strand in an equal spacing as I worked. The end is made from a loop and a button to act as the clasp.

Macrame is one of many of the retro 60s crafts that were the most popular at camp. I taught macrame knots pretty much every week to campers and the knots are often used in making friendship bracelets or anklets. I had a hemp and bead anklet my supervisor at my first camp made me and other staff members.

Bottle of Irish Spirit - Video How To

Check out my video for the complete how-to, from just en empty bottle start to finish project.

Bottles of Irish Spirit

Still in the prep work for my St.Patrick's Day dinner I knew I needed some festive centerpieces for the table. So, I came up with these festive Bottles of Irish Spirit.

Using an empty and clean green bottle, I removed the labels, then dried thoroughly. (In this case I used bottles from Hard Cider that were in my recycle box.) Using a white and shamrock ribbon I attached a "label" with my hot glue gun (a wonderful invention). Then embellished the bottle by attached a fabric white rose I made before hand and ribbon to the front, again with the hot glue gun. (Find the instructions for the Fabric Rose here.)

Inside the clean bottle (no cider remnants here), I stuffed some green shamrock decorative wire I had left over what something I wore to a St. Patty's Day party last year. (Don't worry there was more involved than just the shamrock wire.) Then topped the bottle off with a green felt circle and a little bit more of the white ribbon with my hot glue gun.

The whole project cost nothing extra, using things I already had here, empty bottles for recycling, and scrap fabric from the place mats I already made and took very little time. And they are going to look great with the rest of the St. Patty's goodies for my table.

Handmade Incense Burners

 After I made the Hippy Chess Set I was inspired to try some new projects with hand sculpting clay into things. I had been considering a way top make incense burners for some time and settled on a design that had a cup or saucer like bottom to catch the ashes with the incense sticking up from a central like place.

Using some of the clay (More Information on Sculpey Clay)I had left over from the chess set, I formed the base first, making a kind of basin to catch the dropping ashes and to serve as a base for whatever went on top. Then building on what I did with the chess set I started with three designs... a hippy mama holding a rose in one hand and a place for the incense stick in the other, a hippy shaman standing under a mushroom, and a rose. (I learned how to make roses for this: check out making a clay rose.) I baked all of them as per the directions on the clay.

When everything was hardened and cool I brought out the paints and started the the decorating process. (You could use the colored sculpting clay, but I had bought all white so I could play with colors.) The color really made them come to life.

I've played with a couple other designs since these pictures were taken, including a couple of fish for a friend.

Check my incense burners here too: http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/handmade-clay-incense-burners