christmas 4 of ???

i love my nephew, he is SO full of energy.  and he is really into the avengers.  i found this cotton online and immediately thought of him.  but i wasn't sure that a cotton would hold up with this 'all boy' kid.  so i lined it with another slightly thicker/stiffer cotton.  if i do it again i think i'll just go with another cotton.  but it was pretty easy to make.  hopefully he can get good use out of it.  

christmas 3 of???

way back when (i think pry 2002) i decided to make a quilt for my nephew & niece.  i wanted them to each have something that they can say 'aunt kelly made that for me'   she got a cute ladybug & flower quilt, he got a farm themed quilt to remind him of grandma & grandpa's place.  as i got more nephews they each eventually got a quilt for christmas.  there has been a husker 'n' quilt, construction quilt, sports quilt, and a railroad quilt.  last year it was a fun circle quilt for my niece. 

this is c-dub's quilt.  number 8 of 11-so far. 

christmas 2 of ????

each year i make an ornament for my kids (all 6 of them now), my nephews & nieces (SO happy i get to say nieces now not just niece) and other family members/friends.  its something that i remember as a child my great aunt doing.  it was always so fun to see what we got each year.  i think that many were homemade, & many were a moose-her maiden name was moose! and each year mom would write down on sheet of paper in each of our ornament boxes who gave us each ornament for the year.  now that i have my own family, i have my list so that i can add to it.  i have also started a list for each of my kids & their own ornament box.  some day i hope that they do the same.  

round 2 of quilts

i used to have 5 nephews and 1 niece.  then i got remarried and gained another niece and 2 more nephews.  then my siblings had (well my brothers wife technically) had a girl each so i got 2 more nieces.   the original 6 each got a quilt for christmas 1 year.  i thought that it would be nice to give them something i had made, that hopefully they would keep forever and always think of me.  my sister in law told me that my niece had to sleep with her quilt top down and facing her. so for s i know it will always be something that will make her think of me.  
and while i was SUPER excited to finally have more nieces (its fun to buy for a girl other than your own) that meant i needed to get my behind in gear!  so i figured i had better start with the oldest.  i have had some of the fabric for this for over a year, but ran out of time last christmas.  and i am glad that this was a quick pattern to put together, cause i got a late start this year.  while i cut the strips & squares, z helped me by tracing the circle on a smaller strip.  then he helped by putting a circle on a square for me to sew.
i love how bright & colorful it is.  now to find a pattern & fabric for the next nephew......

happy christmas & merry new year

 happy christmas from the schlarecki's. (that is what big a calls us) its been a crazy month trying to get ready for christmas at this house.  i am not all matchy & theme oriented when it comes to christmas decorating, but for some reason i have a thing will all our stocking having to look at least coordinated.  so while they are all a different quilt block pattern, they all have matching fabrics.   it was fun picking out all the different blocks.  maybe after christmas i will have time to get to t's.  we almost need a bigger banister to get them all hung.  but as little a put it-we have a big family and we love it!

each year when i get new nephews or nieces i make them a 1st christmas ornament along with the one that everyone else get.  this time i had to make 3 (lucky mom got 3 in 1 year) and yes i know i am missing 1, but i screwed up on stamping the tags and figured it was better to make sure that my new nieces got theirs at christmas.  

and these are the ornaments for the year.  it was fun thinking of christmas/winter words.  but i needed more vowels!

i heart my aunt

my sister recently let us know she is expecting in september!!!  i am SO excited!  1st niece or nephew for me from one of my siblings.  so of course i had to make her a bib for the baby.  

cant wait for the arrival of baby j!