Colter's Toy Box

Well, I did it!  I completed four quilt, three (technically four) rag purses and upcycled a t shirt in two weeks.  Each project was a labor of love and I couldn't stop 'foofing' on the quilts even though they were about to be auctioned!  It's kind of funny that when I made the rag purses, one of them had a very minor mistake so I decided that I liked the mistake and kept that purse for myself!  Ha!

I made three t shirts quilts for the auction and one standard rag quilt.  The standard rag quilt was made to represent the NBA team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.  The other t shirts quilts were of the Oklahoma Sooners, Oklahoma State Cowboys and another OKC Thunder quilt.  I had an amazing experience buying the t shirts for the OU and OSU quilts. 

Since I live in Texas it is very difficult to find OU and OSU t shirts so during a trip to Oklahoma (during the tornado outbreaks, different story), I went to a consignment shop named Bargain Lady and was met at the door by the two sweetest girls.  I told them I was shopping for OU and OSU shirts.  I told them I needed a lot of them and they inquired what for so I told them I was making quilts for a children's cancer charity.  The two of them searched the store with me as well as the manager.  They gave me all kinds of discounts and even lowered the price on one shirt over 90%.  They were awesome!

Then I began shopping on eBay for more t shirts when I began auctioning for an OU t shirt from a lady named Kasie.  She contacted me about a mistake in the listing about the size of the shirt.  I told her that the size of the shirt didn't matter since I was making a quilt.  She asked was the quilt was for and I told her about the charity.  She refunded my money as well as the postage, sent two extra t shirts because her husband is from Oklahoma as well as the good cause.  I sent her a pic of the quilt and the results of the auction.  The OU quilt sold for $500 and the items I made generated $2025 for my cousin's charity.  I'm so excited for the children who will benefit from this money!

I had a great time at the event where I saw friends and family I haven't seen for such a long time.  I'm posting several pictures of the items that I made and sold for the charity.  Now I'm auctioning a custom made rag quilt for a former co worker of mine that is battling her second round of stage 4 breast cancer.  There is an online auction for the quilt and so far the bid is $200.  The auction ends at 10 pm on Friday, June 21st...my mother in law is adding $50 to the final bid amount.  Let's hope we can get a whole bunch of cash to help her with the costs!

Photo Quilt

A long time ago, I purchased some photo fabric for a quilt I was planning in remembrance of my little Lucy.  A min pin/Chihuahua mix (I called her a Miniature Pinschuahua) was the best dog ever.  She lived to be almost 15 years old and when she died it left a huge gaping hole in our family.  However, like most projects in my house, Lucy's quilt has been put on hold over and over again.  Now that I think about it, I keep complaining that I'm making all of these quilts and giving them away and I don't have one of my own...well, I digress...

Anyway, I decided that I was going to use the photo fabric to make my parents a quilt celebrating their children and grandchildren.  Boy, was this quilt a labor of love!  My fellow quilters will understand that as a beginner, rag quilts are much easier and forgiving than a standard quilt.  So of course I decide I'm going to attempt a standard quilt because why would I want to do something a little easier?  Ha!  Oh, and I also wanted to use a can of spray adhesive but that's a completely different story for later...egads...and

I better not forget the use of Wonder Under...again another story...

I chose purple as the main color and used black and white photos as I thought the black and white photos would look better with the purple...here's a few pics of the final product...

 After I complete my mother's day quilt (pics coming soon), I am going to make come crafts and quilts for a children's cancer charity.  I am making rag quilt purses for the first time using the following tutorial.  I hope it/they turn out cute!  I made four rag quilts last year for my cousin's charity and they auctioned for $1200!  That was 10% of the profits!  I don't want this to sound boastful, I just was so excited to be able to help out a charity.  Wish me luck!http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=198049.0#axzz2RM4JxgU1

It's been awhile since I've posted anything but I'm still crafting away.  I recently made a quilt for a friend who is going into "round two" of a cancer battle.  I stayed away from the pink ribbon motif because I don't think my friend is into it and my mother told me that some people might think it's depressing and overdone.  Anyway, I chose a colorful assortment of fabric including purple, orange, green as well as a super cute dragonfly pattern.  After delivering the quilt, my friend posted in her cancer journey journal how much she loved it.  She also sent me a sweet text message about how she was already using it as she laid on a heating pad.  Dragonflies are considered a symbol of renewal and I'm hoping with that along with a healthy dose of prayers, she'll beat this!

 

 

Now I'm working on a photo quilt for my mom.  I'm using various shades of purple (her favorite color) and found ink jet printer fabric.  I found 16 photos of all of us kids and her six grandchildren.  The photos were changed from color to black and white.  I'm getting a little braver in my quilting and have decided to do a traditional quilt instead of a rag quilt.  The thought of binding the three layers together freaks me out a little, but I know I can do it.  Besides, I need to step up my game!  Happy crafting to all!

The Making of "Mitzi's Makings"

I came up with the idea of making handmade items to sell as a way to pay for my many crafting hobbies.  I kept crafting but never went through with the idea of selling my "makings."  Not so long ago my sister in law told me about Etsy.  I have been on their website many times just browsing but I've never had the courage to open my own store until now.  I've almost completed my etsy store but now I lack merchandise!  Oh well, I have almost completed a baby quilt and have several more on the agenda...

My original intention for selling merchandise was to make a little extra money to keep up (as I've said before) my not so secret stash of fabric.  Sometimes I get a little embarrassed when an employee at the fabric store will ask me what I am making and I usually say that I'm quilting.  However, many times I just like the fabric and want some of it.  Now my intention for opening an etsy store is to make money so that I can continue making quilts for charity and replenish my fabric stash too. 

I'm posting a few pictures of quilts I did a for a charity last summer. 

New projects...

Today was a great day...I got a few things done around the house and was still able to make some time from quilting...I receive my accuquilt fabric cutter today with a bundle of dies/templates to cut various shapes of fabric pieces...I gave it a whirl and presto it works like a charm...I realized there is a template that will work for the memory quilts I am making for all of my late father in law's grandchildren.  Should cut the time for making quilts WAY down!  I'm posting a pic or two or so of some of the completed memory quilts for Pop's children...

I'm back...I did a little research and found several organizations wanting quilts donated.  One notable organization is Cooks Childrens Hospital in downtown Fort Worth.  Their need has inspired me to pull out scraps from a quilt I made my precious niece, Elliana.  I'm now on "the hunt for red october" through my many not so secret bins of fabric for all scraps that could be used for children's quilts.  I'm so excited!  I'm still working on other quilts but I love working on multiple quilts simultaneously.  Not sure why but I do loving working with all of the pretty fabrics.  Wish me luck!  I'm posting a pic of Elliana's quilt so that you all can see some of the fabrics I'll be working with for these rag quilts...

Quilts

I discovered quilting about 10 or so years ago.  I gave it a shot and made a couple of "unquilted" quilts aka blankets.  I gave up quilting fairly quickly and didn't pick it back up until maybe two years ago when I decided to give rag quilting a try.  I made an Oklahoma State themed quilt for my Aunt and Uncle as a Christmas present.  The Christmas before, my Uncle, as he was opening his Christmas gift from me, asked which placethis year's gift card would be from.  I have to say I was quite embarrassed because he was implying that gift cards are impersonal and showed little thought from the giver.  With that said, I love getting gift cards especially to places where I can purchase fabric and other miscellaneous craft supplies.  Well, back to quilting...

The OSU quilt was such a big hit that the next year I made a few more for Christmas gifts as well as a baby quilt for my niece, Elliana.  In June of 2011, my father in law, Pop, passed away leaving a huge gaping hole in my husband's family.  I asked my mother in law if she would allow me to make memory quilts out of Pop's shirts.  She gathered up his shirts and I have been making the quilts ever since.  I have made four of the quilts so far.  One quilt for my mother in law and one for every one of Pop's children.

I am now on a quest to make three more quilts, one for all of the grandchildren, Casey, Jesse and Landry.  It pains me to know that Landry will never know his paternal grandfather but I hope a quilt will give him a sense of who his grandfather was.  Each shirt symbolizes something special about Pop.  One shirt was from his volunteer days at a local elementary school.  Several other shirts had camping/fishing themes and others were just plain work shirts which symbolizes Pop's incredible work ethic.  I hope to finish these quilts by Christmas of 2013.

I work on several quilts at one time so that I don't get bored.  I have the grandchildrens quilts as well as a quilt for me which is special because I have never made one for myself.  I'm using scraps from other quilts as well as new fabrics to sew quilts for the local childrens hospital.  I can't wait to see how they all turn out.  Maybe I will post a pic of them when I'm finished.

With that said, I must tend to a crying baby...Happy quilting and crafting to all...

Bloggingly Challenged

Here I sit in my recliner attempting to create my first blog.  My laptop is making creases in my thighs like I've been sitting in one of those old lawn chairs that leave you with "waffle" legs attempting to create my first blog.  I have no idea what I'm doing but I'm alright with that since that seems to be my mantra as of late.  So here it goes...

My name is Mitzi and I am a first time mother (at 43 years old) to my very own miracle baby boy, Landry...law enforcement was my previous profession as well as also being a professional college student...I finally achieved a life long dream of graduating from college in 2009 with a B.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice... Ten days later I began graduate school and in 2011 I graduated with an M.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice. 

I married my husband in January of 2010 and the plan was to take a few months off after graduate school and then look for a new job.  Instead I found out I was pregnant with Landry.  My hubby and I decided right away that we were given an extremely precious gift from God so I would not work outside the home.  I became a wife, mother, life coach to Landry, chef, baker and a crafter and writer wannabe...

In order to stay home, we have made a few sacrifices but it has been all been worth it.  By starting a blog I want to "journal" this new chapter in my life...