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...