Giveaway Winner

Thank you so much to those of you who entered my Baby Blanket Giveaway! I truly truly appreciate all of your thoughts and support.

I am beyond thrilled to announce that the winner is:

Heather of the inspiring and beautiful blog, one of my favorite reads, Joshua's Girl! (Heather, please email me with your information when you get a chance! :)

I chose today to announce the winner of my giveaway in honor of my mom who would be celebrating her 58th birthday today.

Among many other things, my mom is the woman who taught me how to sew. I will never forget the summer she and I laughed, argued, and struggled away at the kitchen table as she first taught me this great skill. Those sweet memories come to mind each and every time I sit down at my machine and get lost in my stitches.

I know she would be so excited for me to be combining my love for sewing and design by opening my very own little shop and sharing my creations with others.

Thank you, again, to those of you who entered!

And for anyone interested, here is a link to my Etsy Shop, Cotton & May, and here is a link to my shop's blog.

New Shop + Giveaway

There's a new little shop over in the crafty land of Etsy!

It's called cotton & may and I am the artist behind it! In my shop you can find, not only a sneak peek at my littlest guy's heart-wrenching smile, but also handmade - you guessed it - swaddle blankets, all designed and sewn by little ol' me.

The shop listing showcases four different desings that are already sewn, pressed and ready to go, but I am also more than happy to custom-design a blanket that will coordinate with a particular theme, character,  color, etc. With so many beautiful, fun fabrics out there, the options are endless!

In honor of my shop's debut here on the blog, I am giving away a blanket to one of my sweet readers. The blanket will be of the winner's choosing from the four different designs showcased in my shop listing and pictured above.

Since the main reasons why I decided to open my shop is because I find so much joy in sewing gifts for others, all you have to do to enter the giveaway is share with me either in a comment below or in an email {laura.aspoonfulofjoy@gmail.com} which blanket you would choose and who you would give it to if you were to win. And even if there aren't any babies in your life at the moment, keep in mind that while these blankets are ideal for swaddling, they are also the perfect size for toddlers and young children too! (My four-year-old and two-year-old sleep with theirs every night!)

The winner will be announced four weeks from today on Friday, January 8th, in honor of my mom's birthday. 

And if you feel so inclined, check out my shop blog where I hope to post more frequently in the future. ;)

Simple Tie-Back Curtain in Imperial Toile

I have finally completed my first sewing project in a while that is not a baby blanket.

It's a curtain! (Possibly the only thing easier to sew than a baby blanket.)

A simple tie-back style for the small window in our living room to complement the white floor length curtains hanging from our front bay window.

I'm not a huge fan of blinds or shades except in the bedrooms so I wanted to make something that would be easy to open and close as needed for sunlight and privacy purposes.

I love the toile fabric and I love the fact that it coordinates with but doesn't match the other curtains in the room. It gives a relaxed, country look, in my mind anyway.

The green ribbon had been sitting in my craft box since my bridal shower (thanks to Pottery Barn Bridal Registry gifts :) and was the exact shade of green as some of the throw pillows on my couch.

The entire process from beginning to end took me less than an hour. Of course, I decided to work on it during a random burst of energy around 9 pm which might help explain why it's a little crooked. ;) But that can be easily remedied and it's not noticeable unless the curtain is closed so I'm not too concerned with fixing it until after the baby arrives and things have settled down. (In other words, never! ;)

Next up on my project list: toile throw pillow covers to match.

Nursery Rhyme Toile/White Flannel Baby Blanket

With all the baby blankets I've been making lately, it only occurred to me a couple of weeks ago that I should make a blanket for my own little bundle that will be arriving soon.

As much as I wanted to wait and make it after the baby arrived so that I could choose a gender specific fabric, the realistic part of me knew that if I didn't get it done now it would probably not get done for a while.

Besides, how absolutely precious is this fabric? It will be perfect for a boy or a girl and I'll be able to use it with all my future babies, regardless of their gender.

I paired it with a solid white flannel because I just love the simplicity of white for newborns. To give a little bit of contrast, I did the stitching in light brown on the white flannel side.

I absolutely love how perfectly the classic toile pattern goes with our old fashioned cradle.

I literally sighed a big sigh of relief when I finished it yesterday because I had become a little bit obsessed with having it ready in time for baby's arrival which could be pretty much any day.

I have had an image in my head of this being the first blanket my baby is wrapped up in when it's born and I was determined to make that image a reality! ;)

Now that the blanket is finished, all I need is a baby to swaddle in it!

When I held the finished product up for my three-year-old to see he told me we should write a note on it that says: "Baby, we are so excited for you to come out!" :)

Nautical Bunting/White Flannel Baby Blanket

Although my nephew's first birthday isn't until June, I decided to make his gift really early this year because I'm not sure how much free time I'm going to have once #3 arrives.

Since I've been in baby blanket making mode lately, it just made sense to whip one up for him as well.

As soon as I saw this Michael Miller fabric from fabric.com I knew it would be perfect for the little guy. My brother-in-law sails so this pattern couldn't be more appropriate plus it's just plain adorable. I love all the bright colors.

My sister tries to use organic products whenever possible so I found a white, organic flannel fabric for the back. I figured it would be a nice, subtle complement to such a big, colorful design on the opposite side.

My three-year-old loves anything orange so when I asked him what color he thought I should use for the zig-zag stitch around the edge, not surprisingly, he said orange. Luckily, it coordinated nicely with the rest of the colors.

I decided to be daring and try rounding the corners. I must admit it was even more difficult than I expected. They are far from perfect but hopefully my sister won't be too harsh a critic. ;)

I still have a good amount of fabric leftover so I would love to make him a matching bib if I have time. We'll see...

Bicycle/Polka-Dot Flannel Baby Blanket

One of my closest friends is expecting her first baby in a few weeks.

Her baby shower was last weekend and since I was so pleased with how my boys' flannel blankets turned out, I knew I wanted to make one for her baby as well.

She and her husband are very into biking so I decided to go with a bicycle theme for my gift. 

Baby's gender is a surprise so that made shopping for fabric a bit more difficult but I am very happy with the patterns I chose: Riley Blake Fancy Free & Cozy Cotton Flannel Mini Dot, both from fabric.com.

To make this blanket a little more special for my friend and her baby, I challenged myself to conquer my fears and figure out how to use all those fancy stitches my machine is capable of. Again, I had to keep it gender neutral, so I went with a pretty vine stitch in yellow right down the middle: simple & sweet.

In lieu of cards, guests were asked to bring a children's book and attach a signed sticker label (that was included with the invitation) to the inside cover to go along with their gift. 

Keeping with the bicycle theme, I selected a classic, Curious George Rides a Bike.

I love the way this blanket turned out and, while I realize it's nothing fancy or elaborate, I am happy with the progress I've made in my sewing endeavors. :)

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Linking up with Raising Homemakers today. 

Vegetable Friends/Pinstipe Flannel Baby Blanket

Last year I bought the most adorable fabric on clearance at Ikea for my boys. Although I hadn't pulled out my sewing machine in years, I had hoped this purchase would serve as some motivation. And it did... over a year later but better late than never, right?

Both my boys love blankets and my three year old especially loves to tuck his stuffed animals in "nice and cozy."

So for Christmas I made them each a throw using a blue and white pinstripe flannel from Hobby Lobby and the Vegetable Friends fabric I had purchased from Ikea.

Each afternoon during the boys' naps, I sat at my sewing machine stitching away with a big mug of hot tea, my kitten curled up at my feet, Christmas carols playing in the background and even some snow flurries outside the window. So cozy.

I am so happy with how they turned out! They look adorable on the boy's beds and are the perfect size for toddlers who like to drag their blankets everywhere they go.

So far we have used them for living room picnics, tent building and, of course, cuddling on the couch together.

These blankets could not have been easier to make. I am very much a beginner at sewing and, like I said, had not used my sewing machine in years. (Four and a half years, to be exact, since my last sewing project was aprons for each of my seven bridesmaids the summer before I got married. :)

I based my blankets off this easy-to-follow tutorial, with a few adjustments.

Now that my sewing machine is all set up and ready to go I am addicted. I have quite the growing list of projects that I hope to complete before baby #3 arrives in a few months...

(And in the 50% chance that I am having a girl, there is a Pinterest board practically devoted to pinafores and sundresses for her. ;)

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Linking up with Whole Hearted Home today.