Introducing Emmeline

Emmeline is not a person, she is this super sweet apron designed by the wonderful Meg of SewLiberated. I purchased the Emmeline Apron pattern about a year ago fully intending on making one for myself but of course some things got in the way and I didn't have much personal sewing time last year.

My friend Stephanie has been hinting for as long as I have had this pattern that she certainly wouldn't mind being a product tester if I wanted to make this apron for her and she just had a birthday this past week so what better motivation than to make it for a gift! I finished this apron up with literally no time to spare. I was clipping off loose threads when getting dressed for dinner, but the important thing is that I finished it and she loves it!

This pattern was so great to work from. It was clear, with no errors and everything worked out brilliantly. It took me a little longer to finish it than I thought (ahem... see clipping threads off while getting dressed) but it was still a great sew. I am sure that I will be making one for myself soon (most likely reversable with these fabrics!)

Sewing for the Camera

Photo credit: Birdful Stitches (used with permission)

My great friend and personal webdesigner, photographer and parenting mentor Stephanie suggested that I make her a few padded camera lens bags using a pattern from the etsy shop Birdful Stitches and I happily obliged. During our last playdate she picked out her fabric and then I set out sewing last night.

The first Lens Luggage case that I made for Steph - more are on the way!

This was super quick and a fun sew. The pattern was great, clear and illustrated with lots of photos. I highly recommend it for anyone with a DSLR (Birdful Stitches also has camera strap patterns as well as case patterns for e-readers such as the KOBO or Kindle).


Are you a photographer in need of a lens case? I don't think that I will be adding these to the readymade section of beebee buttercup but I would be more than happy to make up a few at a fair price for any photographers that are unable to do so for themselves. Just send me an email (bonnie@bumpsandbuttercups.com). (If you can sew, just click on the link above to go to Birdful Stitches to get your own PDF).

WIP Month Wrap Up

All in all I think that work in progress month was a great motivation for me to finish some projects that have just been piling up for literally years. The best news is that now that I have cleared some space from my cutting table I can get started on some new projects (without the guilty conscience of knowing that I have other work to be completed). Here is a little recap of what I was able to accomplish in February in the WIP department.

As a reminder of how this month started this is what my table looked like at the beginning of February.


And here are the finished projects from the month:


Mom's table runner. I will be making more of these in the near future!



Nick's Quilt. Ah, I can't even tell you how good it feels to have this baby finished. I love love love how it turned out and even more than that I love being able to USE it!



Ladybugs Quilt. I still feel guilty that I didn't get around to making it when Sweetpea was still in a crib so I'm sure very soon there will be a single bed sized quilt for her as well. I really love how this quilt turned out, it is so bright and cheery. Perfect from my outgoing Ladybug. This was my first time machine quilting anything of this size on my home machine and not only did a learn a lot but I had so much fun doing it!





Nursing Covers. These had been sitting for a little while half finished and I just couldn't get myself motivated enough to actually finish them up!



Valentines Aprons for the Girls.



Here is my cutting/assembling space now. Thanks to Nick for putting up some much needed shelving! I still have some work to do but I would say it is a vast improvement.

And a big thanks goes out to my great friend Stephanie who also completed a major overhaul on the appearance and functionality this blog!

Bread Bags (and warm bread to go in them)

This week seems to be about food... and I'm ok with that, especially when I can find a way to sew for my food. We love homemade bread around here (note, I said homemade, not handmade. I use a bread maker and I'm not ashamed. I am convinced that I don't have the skill for making bread by hand - although I would love it if I did) but I always struggle with how to store it. Usually we use a super large zip lock bag and it works well enough but by the end of the second day (provided that there is any bread left) the bread starts to get a little soggy and sticky - especially in the summer with the humidity.

I remembered reading this post about using vintage linen tea towels as bread bags, and just happened to have a scrap of linen the perfect size. I whipped up this bag in just a few minutes while the bread maker was doing its magic and voila here is fresh bread and a new bag to keep it that way.

Swoon...

What about you, do you make homemade bread? What about handmade bread? And how to YOU store your bread ? Please leave a comment - I love to hear from you.

Tie On Kitchen Towels

Around here we are big fans of the hanging kitchen towel. Maybe that is because our girls are big fans of stealing the kitchen towels (not to mention the dish cloths but I think that we have covered that subject already). Sadly, I have but one hanging kitchen towel, it is a crocheted one that Nick's aunt made a few years ago and well - it looks like it has been in rotation for a few years.

See the sad looking, well used, old green towel? Vast improvement I'd say!

When I did the overhaul on the washcloth drawer, I started to think that I should probably do the same with the towel drawer and that is when I stumbled upon this tutorial by Trey and Lucy. So simple but so fabulous! Why didn't I think of that sooner? I made one up a few in no time while the girls pulled 'played' in thier rooms and am in the process of making a full collection for the kitchen, but its going to have to wait for the weekend as this is what happens when I try to work during the day!

I love to read your comments! Do you have any favourite simple tutorials you would like to share?

Kids Art :: Making Books

You might be wondering why the sudden shift to all this book related content? This was primarily a creative blog - so whats with all the literature right? Well for me reading goes hand in hand with creativity. My earliest creative pursuits were making my own books, even before I could write. My favourite school project ever was in grade 1 or 2 when we spent the whole year writing books. The classroom moms made book covers for us out of recycled cereal boxes covered with wallpaper samples and then "bound" them by sewing them together. I was in heaven.

Over the weekend I thought that the girls might like to try their hands at making a few books. When they are older I will have them write the stories themselves (even if I have to do the actual writing part at first) but for now I found this great website with all sorts printable children books. These print outs make a fabulous last minute art project as there really isn't much prep at all.

When we have a little more time I would like to make the girls some books a la this post from Soulemama (these books are also a little more reminiscent of the books I made as a child).

What are your favourite kids art projects? Do you and your kids make books? If so how? Please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you!

Machine Quilting for Ladybug

I started machine quilting Ladybug's quilt this week. This is the first time that I have quilted anything this size on my home machine (my previous lap quilt was quilted on a family friend's long arm, and I don't know that rag quilts really count as quilting - at least not in this sense) and this is the first time that I have quilted anything on my new machine so there is a bit of a learning curve. So far I have managed to have only a few puckers and just a little bit of bunching so we will see how things look after I am finished. I am hoping that when I wash and dry this quilt the crinkle effect will hide any, shall we say imperfections. (I am wondering if this crinkles/bunching were because I didn't have things laid out quite right when I was basting??)

I am doing simple straight line quilting using my walking foot for the majority of the quilt and I am stippling in the large side boarders. So far I think its coming along nicely. I haven't had as much time to work on it the last few days but I am hoping to have the quilting part finished early next week and then I can bind it (my least favourite part of making anything quilted) and put it into use.

Do you have any machine quilting tips or tricks for avoiding bunching? Any suggestions? Please leave a comment because I would love to hear from you and your tips would be much appreciated!

Mail Bag

I was asked by a dear family friend to make a mail bag for her father-in-law. He is in a nursing home and she wanted a bag for his door to serve the function of collecting mail, but also to triple as a bit of decoration and also a name plate.


I used the tutorial in One Yard Wonders. I made a slight modification in size because I didn't have quite enough fabric to use the authors measurements (I think the shape was cut 10.5 x 13" and I can't remember what I did for the hang loops). The fabric is a woven Nova Scotia tartan (Carl's favourite colour is blue) and it is lined with a pale yellow cotton. I used a simple block letter embroidery for the name, again on yellow cotton, and love how it turned out. I added a little Velcro to the middle of the bag to hold it closed when it is empty, because when it hung open it was a little difficult to read the name.

I'm really happy with how this turned out and will be making a few more projects from this book soon - so I promise to share when they are finished.

What do you think? Have you made anything from this book? Please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you!

A Little Christmas Making

I'm not sure when or how it happened but somewhere along the line we became a "baby-doll" family. I mean a hard core, baby-doll family. Since day one I have tried to give the girls well rounded play opportunities: we have lots of books and puzzles, a play kitchen (that has been played with every day since they recieved it) and play tools, arts and craft supplies etc. and baby dolls. One day Sweetpea decided that her baby doll needed to be fed, changed, walked, rocked, sshhhhed and put down for naps (right about the same time that she noticed that I did these things for Ladybug each day) and she has passed this love for the baby doll on to her sister.

The girls have decided that our kitchen wash cloths really make the best blankets for thier babies. They are the right size for napping on the couch, riding in thier strollers, changing their bums (yes, they regularly change thier babies diapers) and cleaning up spit-up. I have noticed that our supply of wash cloths needs a little... attention. ahem (2 babies x 3 years of use = yuck!). So this year for Christmas the girls are getting a fully stocked drawer of new flannel washcloths for thier babies. I will simply switch over the wash cloth drawer and replace the old with the new, I have been aroud these girls long enough to know that if I were to actually gift these as 'baby blankets' they would never be used. I think part of thier fun is emptying the drawer.

Here is the update on Ladybugs quilt. I am piecing the top together tonight and wishing that I had a design wall or a large enough space to be able to lay things out on. I am aware that this photo is garbage but there is no lighting in my bedroom and no where else to lay out the blocks. Oh well.. my dream sewing room will have a design wall! I doubt if it will be ready for Christmas morning because baby girl is cutting teeth and I'm not getting much work time - but she won't noice if its a day or two late, I'm sure of it!

Sweetpea's Birthday : Handmade Edition

Unfortunately there was not a lot of making for Sweetpea's birthday this year. I wanted to do more, however I was slammed with last minute Christmas orders for beebee buttercup and it became unrealistic to fit anymore into my already packed days (and our 3 weeks straight of sharing the stomach flu didn't help either!).

She did receive of course the pink princess birthday cake that she requested. I attempted to make somewhat of a copy of her birthday crown oh her cake, and she was quite proud of both of them.

I also made her a monogrammed library bag. I got the idea from this tutorial however I made a few modifications to suit our needs (namely making it square instead of round. I know that aesthetically it is more pleasing as a round bag but I figured that we would have some trouble with the large board books that the girls are so fond of checking out).

We are always misplacing our library books around here, so I wanted her to have a place that she could keep them between library visits. She is also very interested in checking out her own books at the library and now she can be just a little more independent in this by carrying her own books. She was quite excited. (The little pocket at the front can carry her card once she gets old enough to have her own). I made the straps a little long for her because I know that more often than not I will be carrying her bag to and from the library, but she really loves the idea of having her own bag.

I hope to share progress on Ladybug's Christmas quilt this week.

Bloomin Earth

This past weekend I had the pleasure of being a vendor at Bloomin Earth, a seriously fabulous annual event in Kitchener Ontario. Bloomin Earth is a handmade marketplace and eco-fair, there was everything from fibre artists to organic clothing and skin care.

Here is my table:

Here are my snuggle quilts (with Lynn from Patchwork Butterfly in the background)

And my good friend Lynn from Patchwork Butterfly (check out her blog for new dress listings that are available to go home now).

I didn't get a chance to take photos but I also wanted to share the shops of some other great artists. The event's creator, Megan of U ROCK, Jasmin of Ribbonheadz, and .... Stephanie of lealou..

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported KW's growing indie handmade scene!

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Apron Love

It has come to my attention that I have never shared any apron love on this here little blog... which is strange considering I am completely smitten with the apron. I love everything about them, their look, thier function... and I just LOVE to wear them. Until recently I have never made one... again... strange.


Last night I was up sewing for Bloomin Earth (it is this Saturday by the way and if you live in the Kitchener area you should definitely check it out) and around 10pm I realized that I really needed (ahem... wanted) some sort of a "vendor's apron" to hold my business cards, change, pens etc. So off I went and the best thing was that I had the perfect amounts of fabric in my stash. My apron is based on this tutorial here by Kitschy Coo. I have seen vendor aprons before that have a bunch of cute looking pockets at the front, but was drawn to the clean look of this one. As Amanda says herself there is nothing worse than pens and cards falling out of those all too cute tiny pockets. This was a super easy sew but I did make a few modifications.



First, I made the actual apron part a little wider, I like to keep an order/reciept book with me and wanted to have room. So instead of making it 18" wide, I cut is 22" wide (I kept the length the same). I also decided against putting in a zipper pocket for change. I like to keep my money on me but don't like to to be zippered into the actual apron, so I will be using a separate zipper pouch for change and bills that will fit nicely in the apron but not be a part of it. Its nearly impossible to see in the picture but the apron part is basically 2 large pockets - which is perfect (nothing worse than a bunch of small pockets that nothing - including your hand - can fit into!).


I used a heavyweight brown linnen/cotton canvas for the backing fabric, my favourite carnival bloom for the front and a super fun coordinating aqua/brown dot fabric for the lining and straps. Speaking of straps, did I mention how much I love these thicker straps? Amanda was right, they really are the most flattering strap for this type of apron. I also love the look, they feel like they should be in a 1950's diner - which is fabulous!


Anyways, I am just in love with my new vendors apron, and am sure it will get a lot of use as a crafting apron as well (how many times can one loose her tape measure, pins and scizzors when sewing?).


I do hope to continue this little bit of apron loving around here... and hope that in the near future I will have a few new aprons to show you!

And don't forget about my give away for a free snack and sandwich saver from beebee buttercup! The contest is on until Sunday night. All you have to do is leave a comment on yesterday's post to be entered.

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I'm still alive... but currently chained to my sewing machine

I think it just needs to be said... I have turned into a very bad blogger lately. Its one part lack of time, one part lack of sleep, one part lack of new projects, and one part lack of having anything remotely interesting or worth while to blog about. But that being said I just thought I'd let you know what I've been up to these past few weeks.

I have been up to my eyeballs in fabric just trying to get read for Bloomin Earth this weekend. I am so stoked for this show I cannot even tell you. I mean, come on 70+ local vendors selling their handmade and/or eco-friendly wares? Um... YES PLEASE! (and it doesn't hurt at all that beebee buttercup is going to be there as well). I promise to have pictures first thing Monday morning.

And here is just a little sneak peak at what I'm working on tonight: Snack and Sandwich savers. A fabulously fun and colourful alternative to wasteful Ziploc bags and bulky Tupperware. More information here.

I doubt I'll get a chance to check in before the big show on Saturday so I'll see you on Monday (and thanks for stopping by even though I've not been over in this space as much as I'd like to).

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The project that took forever (and a day)

I am embarrassed to admit how long ago I started this project. But I will tell you that it was 2009 and there were still leaves on the trees! I decided to make a quilted photo wall hanging for one of my best friends as a house warming gift. She and her boyfriend custom built their first home and moved in the end of October. I had a few challenges to say the least with this project that made it nearly impossible to have it done in time for her housewarming party. Some of it is my own fault, some was as a result of inferior materials and some issues were probably just because this was one of those projects.

Regardless of the issues that I had with this project I still had so much fun making it because the intended recipients are so close to my heart. Sometimes handmade projects take a little longer than expected (in this case 5 months longer) but its the fact that so much love goes into them that makes them special.

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Tea for Tutu

I have been busy finishing up on some gifts for my nieces and at the same time getting ready for the launch of the Sweet Pea Tutu over at beebee buttercup.

Luckily for me my nieces loved thier new tutus and had no problem posing for a few pictures. My own little Sweet Pea had to get in on the action as well! Ah... little girls are so sweet aren't they?

I had about as much fun as the girls did taking pictures as they danced around to the "Nutcracker Suite" as hummed by my sister in law. It is such a rare treat that we are all together (they live 6 hours away, and my poor Sweet Pea can't make it 30 minutes in the car - with gravol or any other homeopathic remedy out there - without being sick in the car)... so when we are we make the most of it, heace the dance performance on the deck, the late nights talking, the chaotic swimming at the local pool and shopping trips, and the walks that go on for just a little longer.

Need a snack?

Did you guess right?

We do a lot of snacking over here... I mean a lot. If the girls don't have a piece of fruit, goldfish cracker or something else "yummy" in their hands they are asking for something. Like a lot of moms when I go out I go armed with snacks. Tupperware just doesn't fit in my diaper bag along side cloth diapers and I hate to use and then throw out plastic zipper bags.

I have been wanting to make the girls some fabric snack bags for quite some time but my project wish list just seems so long some days. But yesterday I sat down and did it (my house is a completely disaster as a result but I'm ok with that). This is the first snack saver that I made - it measures aprox 5 x 6.5" and is the perfect size for Sweet Pea to hold and fill with her crackers. Although I can see this as also being her new treasure bag, crayon carrying case, or place to hid mamas stuff. Ahem... like my memory card for my camera. I really love that the RipStop Nylon is waterproof making this perfect for carrots or fruit pieces (or Amish frienship bread... yum!), and the even she can open and close the Velcro.

Tomorrow I will be making a larger size for bread - it really is hard to find any sort of container for homemade bread sandwiches which tend to be larger than those made on wonder bread - and a smaller size for Lady Bug's snacks. Despite the fact that she thinks she is 2, she really is just 11 months old and would probably benefit from having something a little smaller to hold on to.

They are available for sale in my shop

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My toddler ate my homework... or something like that

I was going to take some pictures of my newest project... however as Sweet Pea (aka toddler tornado) was sitting on my lap she managed to stick the memory card for my camera somewhere in my computer and I cannot find it. Either that or she ate it - and I wouldn't put it past her.

So that being said there will be no pictures until I either a) find the memory card - unlikely or b) buy a new one - more than likely.

I will tell you that this project is a little something that I am making just in time for Bloomin Earth. I have been wanting to make some of these for Sweet Pea for a while now, but for some reason the way to hide the seams was eluding me. This morning I let the girls pull all the clothes out of their dressers to buy me a few minutes of peace to figure it out. A few muslin scraps, and ripped out seams later I'm there! I can't wait to show you the pictures (once I find that memory card).

Any guesses on what I made?

I will leave you with a picture from earlier this week when the girls discovered the pure bliss that can be found while throwing all the clothes from their dressers (an no Sweet Pea was not supposed to have that soother!). After I finished sewing both rooms looked a lot like this - but that's the price you have to pay for a few minutes of free time!

Another Snuggle

Lately all it seems that I can pull off my sewing table is snuggle quilts. I don't mind - I love making them and they are a fairly quick sewing project being 28 x 28 (which is great for the "project" sewist in me). I really must make one for Sweet Pea one of these days, she gets so confused when she sees them but I won't let her have them!



This was a custom order for a sweet baby girl on the day of her baptism. I embroidered her name in the center square and this is entirely made of soft flannels and minkee. It is so soft. I hope she loves it!

I remembered to photograph these ones!

I have been sewing and sending thing out of here faster than I can take pictures. I don't know why I always forget to photograph my work. Ah well... I can add "remember to photograph work" to the list of new years resolutions!

In the spirit of sticking to my resolutions I remembered to photograph this sweet pair of snuggle quilts before they were passed on to their new, very excited, owners. About the only thing sweeter than a snuggly quilt, is a pair of snuggle quilts for sisters! I added in the name embroidery for them in the center square and I think they turned out great!

Blog catch up

I didn't get a chance to blog about this sweet snuggle quilt yet. It found its way to its new home about 2 weeks ago and I loved it so much that I will be making another. It really is a soft and cuddly quilt! I used pink minkee, cream flannel, and black fleece. OH to be the babe under this quilt! That being said, I'm pretty sure that in addition to her new blankie that I made her for Christmas (that I have yet to photograph!) I think that ladybug need one of these too!

I have been having so much fun making rag quilts lately, and even more fun since I started using my favourite designer prints, and minkee.