Howdy Cowgirl

A few years ago I picked up a panel to make a little cowgirl and her horse, pillow and her own quilt from the Howdy fabric line by Stacy Iest Hsu.  I finally got around to sewing it all together for my granddaughter.  The fabric in it coordinates with the little quilt that I made for her, see the previous post.

I first started with the little cowgirl.  She is just so sweet.  I made the skirt and bandana to dress her up like a cowgirl.  She also comes with a pillow and her own quilt to make.  

The pony was fun to make, too, however I had to shop around for just the right sized dowel.  I set her in the bed along with the new Bow Tie quilt that I made for my g-girl.  The whole set took much longer to make than you would think - ha ha!  But I like how it all came together in the end.  

Now to see what other panels I may have to sew...

 

Bow Tie Quilt - Quilt #1 for 2024

One of my Facebook groups that I belong to is Fig Tree Quilts.  Joanna Figuera has many pretty soft fabric lines, patterns and quilt-alongs on her page.  I have loved her fabrics for a long time.  She is often featured in American Patchwork and Quilting Magazine and last quarter she had a pretty Bow Tie quilt with a quilt-along.  

I always want to join the quilt-alongs when I see them, but don't always have the time for sewing them.  A couple of months ago, I re-evaluated my spare time (ha ha, right?).  And I decided to make more time for sewing in my life.  As part of my day, I have added 20 minutes per day in my sewing room.

This has been a game changer for me.  I have made time to sew and I am loving it.  I am even cleaning up and organizing my sewing room, a little at time, of course.  

So for my first quilt that I have finished in 2024, I sewed along with the Figgies and made a little quilt for my granddaughter who is turning three.  

For my quilt I used a fabric line that I've had for about 3-4 years called Howdy by Stacy Iest Hsu.  It has cute little cowgirls on it, along with cowboy boots, horseshoes and pretty paisley fabrics.

Here is a close-up of the fabrics.  I just love the pretty pinks and how the aqua fabric gives it a little contrast.

After I finished the quilt, I made a little pillow and pillowcase for her with some of the leftover fabric.  I would still like to make her a banner for her room and possibly a table topper for her end table.  It's a nice addition for her big girl bed and I can't wait for her to use it.  

 

Cinco de Mayo Cards

I know that I'm a little bit late to celebrate Cinco de Mayo for this year, but I wanted to post some cute cards that I made for my sister's birthday, which is on May 5.  Growing up, we didn't know about Cinco de Mayo, but now it's a fun way to add to her celebration!

For my cards, I used the Taco Fiesta stamp set and some older flowered papers in bright colors.  The saying is from Birthday Fiesta, an older stamp set.  

For the next card, I made a side fold and cut out lots of cute guacamole images.  I just love the bright colors in the papers.  

The third card is a horizontal book fold card.  This time I highlighted the red chili peppers for the focal point.  

Because I loved the cards so much, I made more of them.  I switched up some of the papers and modified the colors.  They're like eating chips, you can't stop at just one!

 

Flora Cards

 This week I was playing around with the Two Tone Flora stamp set and the pretty Fancy Flora papers.  I had ordered them last year but have not had a chance to use them yet.  

I layered a piece of the Fancy papers under the beautiful cut out on the front of this card.  The sayings are stamped on an oval cut out and framed with a scalloped edge.  Then I stamped some of the pretty flowers using Calypso Coral and stamping off for the secondary part.  The sprigs are punched using the Bough punch out of different green designer papers.  I got the idea from Patty Bennett.  

For the second card, I sponged Soft Succulent ink onto white cardstock using the cut out from the Two Tone Flora set.  This gave the card a soft, sweet look.  I added a strip of white for the saying space and framed it with some gray designer papers and a piece of peach paper.  Then I added two of the pretty flowers that I stamped and some punched out sprigs.  

Here is the card with pink flowers stamped in Sweet Sugarplum ink.  The card is so pretty I could make them all day, trying out new flower colors and arrangements.  I got the idea from Cindi Brewer.  

For my third card, I wanted to change up the colors and use another one of the pretty papers.  I saw this idea by Jamie Barbarczy and love the set made up in pinks and purples.  I cut out a tag from the designer papers and a white one for the saying.  I love the Stitched Greenery die on the front - this is the first time that I have used it and I will definitely be bringing it out more.  

The photo looks terrible but the cards are so pretty.  I had a lot of fun working with this set.   Wish I had time to make some more!