While sometimes my blog sits empty of updates I assure you, I'm busy on something. Something these days may just be a day full of cleaning, diapers, feedings and cooking but on some days that something is sewing too! Liam gave me a good nap this morning and I whipped up these purses to donate for my cousin's Bowl for the Cure event to raise money and awareness for Type 1 Diabetes. The Valori Wells pattern, Nested, is great. I can't remember the last time I made something this cute with only 2 pattern pieces. Simple and doable.

I made the small and medium sizes from Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane fabrics and used the craft zipper technique. They turned out rather lovely!

Wow. What a whirlwind the past few weeks have been. I took Nina to the Cleveland Craft Coalition to sell some of my Bib Necklaces and Custom Baby Quilts and met some fantastic new crafty friends you have to check out! Clara of Embrace Imperfection had some fantastic woven and knitting wearables, my new favorite wall art desiger Stephanie Urban of Little Lion Designs with her amazing, earth friendly creations and Four Fish Ink with their fun and creative ink paintings were there. So proud to have been part of this event with all the creative people in my hometown of Cleveland!

Part of the preparation for this show was to help me get my creations on the market so I am very happy to announce I opened the Nina Store! That's right, now you can buy Nina products online. Keep your eye on the store as I am working on adding more products over the next few weeks. 

Our next adventure took us to CHA's Summer Supershow in Chicago. What an amazing place. I'm a big fan of paper crafting and have been making my own cards for years now. I'd like to scrapbook too, someday! I was so grateful to have my mom there as it was Liam's first airplane trip and my first official "working mom" assignment.

I got to share this time teaching with my super fabulous buddy Ellen March who was there teaching her t-shirt makeover and announced she will be hosting a new PBS series, Sew It All that begins airing early 2011! While teaching my Bib Necklace I had the awesome opportunity to connect with some fantastic people. Beth Engelman wears many hats but one of them is running a super fun site called Mommy On A Shoe String. Great tips and tricks for doing fun things for and with your family on a tiny budget. I also met Christy Nelson and look forward to having some fun with her craft challenges! You never know when some Nina creativity is going to pop up so make sure to check the site out and join in the fun. We have the Summer Creative Challenge going on right now. Just post, vote and maybe you'll be the winner!

Besides his first plane trip, July was a big month for my Little Bug. Liam, after some rather frusterated attempts, rolled over, both directions, in one day. His first giggle was an amazing event too. He can be quite the chatter box and I am so looking forward to the months ahead as he keeps learning and changing almost everyday!

I've had a post on diapers and now we're onto bibs! Bibs for big girls though. I absolutely love these new bib necklaces that are so trendy right now. I've seen them all over in the stores and online so I decided to design one myself! This is a super easy, scrappy project that requires minimal skill. My sample used Nicey Jane fabrics from Free Spirit by Heather Bailey. They were all scraps from another project I just sent to the publisher and I am sure I will be sharing on here soon! Coupled with a simple tank top or t-shirt, jeans or a skirt this little accessory adds some personality and a feminine touch to an outfit as you fly out the door. I could just be speaking for myself on that "flying out the door" part though.

I will be teaching this project at CHA in Chicago the end of July and am very excited to be in the classroom again! Only adding to the excitement is the fact I get to bring my little guy along for the ride. Liam is getting so big and at 12 weeks old now we finally have a bit of a routine. It is nice to have something reliable emerging. His smiles are to die for and when he is asleep I find myself tip-toeing in to just peek at him! He makes fun clucking and cooing sounds now and is very eager to figure out sitting up as well as some way to move. I'm preparing myself for my last summer not chasing this little guy!

Time flies! I can't believe it has been a whole week although I have to admit that my weekdays and weekends are all mixed up and that certainly makes the weeks run together. Liam is 10 weeks old now. Growing like a weed and changing so quickly. He is smiling and holding his head up completely on his own. If I put him on his tummy he immediately props himself up on his forearms and elbows to look around. He is so curious and fun to watch. I know chasing him like crazy is just around the corner!

Before too much more time passed I wanted to share another great gift we got when Liam was born. It is from a fellow reader (Hi, Jamie!) who so sweetly sent these little items for Liam! The gift above is so adorable. It is a bundler made out of fleece. Can you see the print? You guessed it, owls!

These are hilarious and super cute burp cloths. They are a great gift idea too. Tri-fold cloth diapers with decorative fabric and grosgrain ribbon then a fun design or saying embroidered above! Thanks, Jamie!

It's my first Mother's Day. My mom's first grand-Mother's Day. I guess I didn't realize how much I've always dreamed about what today would feel like and I have to admit it is pretty amazing! Ever since Liam was born I have had little realizations of what it really means to be a mom. Taking care of him, changing multiple blow-out diapers in one day, picking out his little outfits, bathtime, late nights, middle-of-the-nights and early mornings. But I've come to know, even feel the difference between those responsibilities and what a mom really is.

A mom would do anything for her child. I can't explain the amount of love I have for my little guy or the way it makes me feel to watch him grow and change, even smile. Even when he is unhappy, I would do anything to make sure he was comfortable and content. You learn about unconditional love as a mom. You love a little someone who can't even understand what love is. A little person who can do nothing but need you every second and yet just when you don't think you have anymore to give you find it in you to do just that. A mom is surrender. A mom is sacrifice. A mom is love.

To all the moms, grandmas, and great-grandmas, Happy Mother's Day and thank you for being a mom! 

I can't imagine what I touch more, every day than diapers now. Clean, dirty, cloth, disposible. They are so amazing and tiny! Liam just graduated in sizes last week. My little guy is over 11 pounds now and I found myself a little watery-eyed when going through his drawers this week putting his newborn clothes in a pile to make way for the new big boy clothes. Such a little man now!

On the note of diapers, here is another amazing handmade gift that we got when he was born. My dear friend Sue Scott made this diaper bag for Liam. I love the sturdy straps and the velcro opening in the top makes it super quick to get into. It came complete with a pillow and blanket, perfect for those little overnights at grandma and grandpa's house!

A lot changes when you become a mom. All you moms and grandmas are smiling, laughing or nodding your head now I'm sure! The littlest things like taking a whole shower, using the restroom and eating a warm meal become amazing blessings and things you don't take for granted. After a few weeks with a very unhappy little Liam we have determined that he may have a sensitivity to dairy protein. Fortunately this is not uncommon with infants and there are a variety of non-dairy alternatives these days. I can highly recommend the coconut ice cream now! Now that we have that in some realm of control Liam seems to be getting more happy and has even graced us with a few smiles! That also leaves me with a few moments while he is resting to show off some more of the amazing handmade gifts we got when he was born!

This AMAZING quilt was sent to us by my friend Ellen. We love it and I really do mean we. Liam has just started enjoying time on his belly and because he can not make out colors yet he really enjoys laying on this looking at the black and white. It is such a cute pattern and the fabrics are adorable. Maybe that's because I am partial to polka dots! To keep it all together, Ellen used this fantastic rocket embroidery that compliments the rocket patterns in the quilt.

As Liam grows (6 weeks tomorrow!) I'm searching everywhere for cute boys things to sew.  I would love to have some things ready to put him in this fall. If you have any good resources please pass them along in the comment section or visit the NINA fanpage!

Not only did my project make the cover of Creative Machine Embroidery for the May/June 2010 issue but we have some fantastic designs available as a free download too!

The Guac Apron embroidery designs are available in VP3 format to download in the Project Download section. For other formats visit www.cmemag.com. Each design is part of the recipe, so you can embroider and cook at the same time. Or maybe make the guacamole to enjoy while you sew? For complete directions to make the apron pick up the May/June CME.

The past few weeks have changed my life. Even now I'm sitting here typing with one hand, the other arm holding Liam. Motherhood is everything and nothing like I imagined! It's an amazing rollar coaster for sure.

In the past few weeks since Liam was born we've gotten cards and flowers and gifts galore! They are all so thoughtful and so appreciated. In the next few posts I thought I would share some of the handmade ones with all of you. So here is the first!

This is the beautiful quilt my Nana made for Liam. So beautiful and simple at the same time. She tucked little accents of teal flat piping between the main pieced section and the border and then between the border and the binding.

Each little block has not only beautiful quilting but these adorable little owls embroidered in the center of the squares! I love it and it will be a treasure for Liam for years to come.

Although about 2 weeks early, baby has arrived! Liam Jeffery was born at home on March 5th at 11:44pm. He weighed 7 pounds and was 20 inches long. It was an amazing experience and the family is doing great! Stay tuned for all the fun projects I've got my hands into for this little guy. Birth announcements, thank you cards and finishing the owl decor for his bedroom!

I was completely shocked and excited to find that my project made the cover of Creative Machine Embroidery! For all the juicy tips on how to turn a turtleneck sweater into this trendy little number make sure to pick up the March/April 2010 issue of the magazine for the full directions! The Hooping Knits in the video section of the site may be a good one to watch as you sit down for this quick make-over. This is a great issue to have as they are celebrating Earth Day and will have some green (eco-friendly) crafting projects as well.

I'm currently finishing up the next book. We've added some projects I know you guys will love and I am excited to get it out to you all. Hope you're staying warm!

I had some supply shopping to do at my local craft store and was excited to see the new Best of Sew Simple book in stores! This is a great collection of projects (a few of my projects found their way in there too!) that are not only fun and trendy but can be accomplished by beginning to advanced sewers. The technique section in the back is very informative and if used with the Videos section on the website you can't go wrong!

I'm like a little kid at Christmas. All new Anna Maria Horner fabrics are out! If you haven't seen them yet make sure to visit her beautiful little shop and drool.

You will notice the prints are from the Little Folks line that came out last year (with a few beautiful additions), however the debut of the Dobby Dot and Voile to our cotton filled world tickles me to no end!

Beautiful light-weight silky cotton voile will be perfect for a blouse pattern I've been holding on to and the dots are begging to be made into a brightly colored scarf to cheer the dreary Cleveland weather we've been having. I've already ordered mine and can't wait to play! Now if I only knew if this little arrival was a boy or girl...

I’ve always loved fabric wall art. Big or small, embellished or bare fabric, they are beautiful to me. Maybe it’s because I love being around fabric. Maybe it is because I can’t draw or paint or sketch like I would like to be able to, so the blank canvas, fabrics cut and shaped, sometimes embellished are my replacement of this skill. 
This made wall décor for the nursery incredibly easy for me. Owls + blank canvas + fabulous fabrics = wall art I can do and afford! So to continue the spirit of giving, I thought I would post the directions for the owl wall art.

Buy your canvas.
Art & craft stores such as Pat Catans, Michaels and JoAnns all carry artist canvas. Don’t bother with the expensive kind since you’ll be covering the actual canvas. The ones I used were 10 x 10 in size.

Cut.
From your background fabric cut a piece that will cover your canvas size with at least 3” extra on each side. This extra fabric will allow you to wrap around the edge of the canvas and to the back for securing.

Design.
I used our nursery fabric, Alexander Henry Spotted Owl, for inspiration on the owl shapes and sketched and erased paper until I was happy with the results.  In the past I have done image searches and found clip art to trace. Just make sure to respect copyright laws and use clip art or photos that are royalty free or that you own.
1.) Once you have the images sketched on paper, trace the sections (each part that will be in a different fabric) onto Steam-A-Seam II Lite.
2.) Roughly cut them out and peel one side of the waxy paper (the side without the sketching on it) away from the sticky glue. Put the shape glue side down to the wrong side of the fabric.
3.) Press with a warm iron, no steam. Cut on the lines to cut out the shapes. Peel away the remaining (second) side of the waxy paper and arrange the shapes back into the original design you sketched in the center of the background fabric. Press with an iron and use steam to make the bond permanent.

Decorate.
Embellish to your heart’s content. Ribbons, couching, decorative stitches, free motion or just let the fabric speak for itself.

Cover the canvas.
You will need a small staple gun for most fabrics. I found a cheap “girl toolkit” and have found it handy in many crafting and home repair situations. There is no right or wrong way to cover the canvas. I have found that starting on one side and moving to the opposite side, rather than working in a circle around the canvas edges, provides much more professional results with less buckling and bubbling of the fabric. If your wall art is going to have the sides exposed, make sure to wrap the fabric all the way to the backside of the canvas and staple there so the staples can’t be seen. Staple away!

Finishing.
If your wall art is going to have the sides exposed another nice way to finish the canvas is to use a coordinating grosgrain ribbon or fabric along the sides to cover the staples. Hang and enjoy!
 

Here are the other ones I did for a series of 3. The striped one was inspired from my shower invitations!

I would love to see some of your wall art pieces! Share them on the Nina flickr page or the Nina Fan Page!

January started out perfect. My mom and sisters were in Ohio and threw me a beautiful baby shower. The soups were all homemade. Yummy salads. Handmade bread. Don’t even get me started on these amazing desserts.

Mint chocolate brownies and almond amaretto treats graced every table and were promptly gobbled up. Each place setting was completed by a perfect thank you gift handmade by the aunts-to-be! Aren’t they adorable?!

I'm finding that certain events trigger the "holy-cow-I-am-really-having-a-baby" feeling. Being with my mom and sisters over Christmas and New Years was one of those. I've always been a daughter. It was my first role in life. Now more than ever I look just like my mom.

My second role in life was sister. The five of us have always been close. I may not be the tallest but I'm still the oldest!

Adding the role of wife was natural. Now being in the midst of all these roles at once over the holidays made me realize that the role of "momma" is coming. Scary and exciting!

Per my promise, there will be a new post up shortly with some pretty "hoot-worthy" wall art. If you want a preview visit the NINA facebook fan page!

Happy 2010 everyone! I can't believe 2009 is gone. Done. The memories I have from last year are fabulous and I am looking forward to a new, amazing year as Nina grows and as Jeff and I welcome a new member to our family. We celebrated all of our Christmas' and I will update you all with pictures soon from that and the baby shower!

In the meantime I wanted to make sure you stop by your local craft or sewing shop and pick up a copy of the new sewing directory Sew It All. This is a special issue brought to you by the same lovely folks that publish Sew News and Creative Machine Embroidery.

There are some projects from me in there (like this super quick mesh eco-friendly produce bag) as well as other super creative sewing and embroidery projects to get your new crafting year started of easy and painless! Check them out at www.sewingdistrict.com too!

The box of holiday wonderful will be going out to Jamie Estes! Jamie participated in the Nina Facebook Fan Page comment contest and won an assortment of designer fat quarters (from designers like Amy Butler, Heather Bailey and Anna Maria Horner), a box of Iris polyester thread and a signed copy of my book Make It You: Your Space. Congrats to Jamie and enjoy!

We had a massive burst of holiday cheer around the Dennis household this weekend. Saturday morning the cookie bug bit me! After ten dozen peanut butter blossoms were made I moved onto these delicious-even-in-pictures-caramels. I would highly recommend these not only for taste (they are super yummy) but they look great, you can't mess them up and the are very time and budget sensitive. They are an even better project if you have kids that can help you unwrap all the caramels and put the sprinkles on after you drizzle the melted chocolate.

The other holiday surprise was a call from the furniture company Saturday morning. The baby furniture was delivered Saturday afternoon and I think I've gone in every day since just to make sure it is still real! I am so happy with our decision and love the quality that Twin Locust provides. Jeff and I are super jealous of the baby now! We rounded out our weekend by finishing up our Christmas shopping...now I just have a few handmade projects to finish up!

On another exciting note, if you're a fan of Heather Bailey make sure to check out her new fabric line, Nicey Jane. So feminine, light and vintage. Beautiful designs and colors. If you get the QuiltHome.com newsletter you'll see they have a discount on this brand new line as well as 25% off Amy Buter's Midwest Modern and Midwest Modern 2 lines! Yay for the holidays!

Don't forget tobecome a fan of Nina on Facebook. 2010 will be full of fun stuff and we will be running Facebook only ideas, posts, specials and information.

I can't believe it is December. Halloween and Thanksgiving have both come and gone. The weather dropped to 24 degrees today and I'm just counting the minutes until the feathery white powder starts falling from the clouds!

Baby preparations took over last month. We managed to paint the baby's room and I am almost finished with the curtain. Furniture is suppose to arrive next week (the most exciting Christmas present besides new dining room chairs!) and then it is full speed ahead. Bedskirt, bumpers, quilt, wall art...I get excited just thinking about it.

Jeff and I also decided to get away for a little while. A fantastic 'babymoon' of sorts celebrating both our birthdays, our anniversary and Christmas.

We decided on Mexico and had such a wonderful time! Chichen-Itza, long days at the beach relaxing and reading.

And dinner with Captain Jack Sparrow!

If you have a moment, wander over to the black hole of Facebook. Nina has a Fan Page up and we're loading special Facebook only content up there. So come on over, become a fan!

My husband and I have decided not to find out what the baby is. As I know I am speaking to a bunch of creative, crafty people you will understand how incredibly hard this is for me! When it comes to decorating I love to have a place for every storage bin and wall art. It is a great challenge and the nursery decision has been made.

Owls. It really doesn't get much cuter than that, right?! The colors are perfect and neutral and will let me decorated the nursery to go beyond the "baby" stage. So now I'm obsessed with them. I look for owls everywhere. If you know of any cute pieces please send me the link!

I think this is about the room color I am looking for. This little tree, painted like a burch tree and instead of painted leaves I am going to cut the leaves from fabric and starch them on the tree like in my book Your Space.

Cute pieces of wall art and little owls for a shelf will compliment the other wall without looking cluttered.

I'll have the curtains done shortly and will post those too! I would love any links or sites that inspire you for nurseries! Just leave them in the comment box!

I love fall. Crisp leaves and late night fires with friends. All my favorite colors painting the forests. Smores, apple pie and rich, veggie-filled stews. Sweaters and air just cool enough you can start to see your breath on it.

Our little family celebrates a lot during the fall too. Our anniversary in September, Jeff's birthday (he celebrated the bit 3-0 just days ago) in October and mine in November. But this fall brings another sort of fun and celebration. It brings the anticipation of a new family member in the spring! Little one is expected to arrive the end of March and we are beyond excited. My advanced apologies for all the baby blogs and projects that are going to result from the next 5 months!

Speaking of projects, don't forget to wander over to the Project Downloads and make the Autumn Leaves Table Runner to grace your home during this beautiful season!

The bulk of the projects are out the door and while a little rest from the machine was needed I did manage to sneak in a few projects. I can officially say I have worked my fingers to the bones.

Remember my friend Lindsey who's little angel got these as a baby gift? I can't believe it has been a year and Becca is crawling like crazy and on the verge of walking. She is expressive and unique, full of personality and little baby faces that mirror Lindsey's expressions. To celebrate I finished the quilt that Ali started and it turned out beautifully.

The pink and green coordinates perfectly with Becca's current bedroom colors saving from having to repaint (you're welcome Dave) and Lindsey loves cherries.

To quilt, I used a free motion technique to paint stems on the cherries and veins in the leaves.

In the plain squares I used the cherry applique as inspiration to create a free motion design.

Free motion is a setting the majority of machines have these days. Disengage your feed system by either lowering your feed teeth or using a plate (that comes with your machine) to cover them. Then select a straight stitch and begin to sew. Since you do not have a feed system to control stitch length or direction it is up to you where you go and how fast! This video covers one type of free motion called stippling but will also teach you the tricks to setting up for free motion quilting! 

I never thought about that until this week. Where would you turn if you had 17 projects to complete, proof, and send off in 5 days? I didn’t even look around me for help. I flew out to my mom and sisters. Although I felt like I was pushing child labor laws ( Ali is 11) to the limit almost every day I was there one of my sisters said something to me about how much fun they were having. Fun?! Yes, we’re a topsy, turvy group. We had so much fun sitting around sewing for hours on end it didn’t seem like work anymore. The deadlines disappeared and it just turned into being together.

While most of what we worked on I can’t show you yet, the younger girls, Ali, Clara and JoHannah finished up a king sized quilt that we have been working on…

Ali completed two baby sized quilt tops…

And Braeton took naps for all of us. He matches perfectly with Heather Bailey's Pop Garden!

I miss them all already and even the fantastic Japanese Steakhouse dinner wasn't enough to thank them!

Wherever you are I hope you've not been getting the crazy heat we have here in the Cleveland area! The past few days have been in the 90's with high humidity making me incredibly grateful I am spoiled with AC! As is the story these days I have been hard at work on the book but with some more fabric arrived some yummy patterns I just adore!

They are from Art Gallery Fabric. If you can stop staring at the beautiful covers and peek inside the directions seem simple and easy to follow. My First Playmat is brilliant. A safe, clean quilted mat for baby to play on and later on, learn shapes and matching. I have 4 friends expecting in the spring and I figured I need to get an early start on gifts. This with a few embroidered onesies and WOW personal gifts with style!

The Toybox is so cute and smart. Not only could it be used as a toybox, as suggested, but I can imagine making a few of these to house some of my samples, finished quilts or blankets and sleeping bags when not being used.

Next week brings a much needed trip to my east coast family and friends. I'm so looking forward to it! As you can guess, I'll have pictures and stories galore!

Apparently you all like free download embroidery designs! That is super exciting as there are more on their way in the coming months. Here it is again if you missed out on the adorable pumpkin design post. Also, when you finish a creation make sure to post it on the Nina flicker account in the Happy Lanturn Creations set. I can't wait to see all the cute projects!

Here are a few pictures from the weddings we attended in July.

Weddings are such an amazing time. Jeff and I are coming up on our second anniversary and I never imagined when I said "I do" that time would fly by this quickly. As I watched these weddings I didn't have to remember how these new couples felt because I still feel it and I am so grateful for that! That's my hubby playing classical guitar for our friend's ceremony music.

As you can imagine the writing the copy for the book has knocked a few other things out of balance. A clean sewing room for instance. I've spent all morning moving, organizing, sorting, dusting and throwing away and it feels great! I found some great recipes I have been saving and marched them into the kitchen for making. A zillion books that can be put back on the shelves. Magazines that can be sorted through and cut out projects that can be sewn. I can finally see the tops of my tables and can move onto more important things, like messing it all up again sewing all the samples for the book! I really hope you all like what is coming your way!

Summer is rushing by and fall is eeking its way in. I can't believe it is going to be August this weekend! To usher in the fall we have this cute little guy modeling my latest project from Creative Machine Embroidery...and it comes with a bonuse you'll fall head over heels for!

A free embroidery design! Pick up your copy of the September/October issue of CME for the direction and download the design.

The VP3 and VIP formats are available on my site in the Free Project Download section. Make sure you follow the directions at the top of the page to download the designs. For additional formats visit www.cmemag.com. Not only does this make an adorable treat bag but the design can be used to decorate pillows, lanturns or even a t-shirt. Visit the How to Videos section for tips and hints on embroidering on knits!

Elliott is giving a perfect demonstration of what I am feeling today. Like hiding out and taking a nap. Isn't he the cutest?! I caught our little cuddle bug just like this and was lucky enough to grab the camera and get back to him before he had moved.

Our weekend was very eventful and I will have pictures to follow. Two weddings in two days!

I wish I could take a picture of excitement.  It has filled every corner of my dining room table in this picture.

Work on the book has taken all my time recently but believe me, it will be worth it!

These will be a beautiful quilt soon. Will share more soon! I believe it is time for another bubble tea.

Things are moving at a furiously wonderful pace around here lately. Work, eat, work, sew, scrapbook, card making, weddings, naps, sunshine, friends, hamburgers…I love summers like these! I also happened upon my new favorite drink. My husband told me he had heard of them years ago so if you’re as out of the “cool things to sip on” loop as I am you’re going to love these. Bubble Tea. Amazing. My favorite coffee shop downtown Cleveland near where I work is Phoenix. I love the atmosphere and décor. I’ll have to ask to take pictures next time I’m there to show you some of the cute little artwork pieces! In any case, bubble teas. Apparently you can get them blended or on ice. At Phoenix, they have mango, plum, green tea, black tea and coconut. They are served with a gianormous straw just like in the picture so you can slurp up the fun tapioca pearls. So much fun!

A green bubble tea and this delicious blueberry muffin were my marvelous breakfast yesterday. This is the correct way to eat muffins too. Just ask my little sisters.