Search Results for: grandma jane

From Grandma with Love………Christmas Janey Jumpers

So my mom, Grandma Jane, has done it again!  To be totally honest, I don’t think I have ever received something my mom has made and not been totally thrilled.  For one, I put a huge value on handmade items and two, she and I have very similar taste.

I was really excited when my mom said that she wanted to make the girls Christmas dresses.  Usually I like to do the kids special occasion outfits, but with having three little ones now, I was more than happy to have someone lighten the load.  Mom said that she wanted to make the dresses from my Janey Jumper sewing pattern ~ how fun is that?

This is View B from the Janey Jumper pattern.  Now I did give the instructions in the pattern in regards to the center panel, ruffles, ect., but mom picked out the fabric and trims totally on her own.  She used Kate Spain’s “Flurry” for all the Christmas outfits. 

Matilda’s dress is the red one and Savannah’s dress is the green one.  I love the red ribbon trim with little white stitching.  I think it’s really fun to have my kids coordinate with one another, but not totally match.

When I opened the package from my mom I was excited to see the onesies for Caspian, which were a total surprise.  Mom included a striped zip-up sweater for the little man as well (it just didn’t make it into the picture).  She said the Christmas tree onesie was a last minute addition, but I really like it.  Plus the green and red tie onesies can be worn after Christmas as well.

I can’t wait to get all the kids dressed up in their Christmas best.  Savannah has a family holiday party at her preschool this week, so I think I’m going to dress all the kids up for the festivities.  I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season as much as we are ~ I just love Christmas!

To view more of the beautiful handmade pieces that have been sent to us from my mom, Grandma Jane, click HERE.

From Grandma with Love ~ Orange Chevron Quilt

My mom (Grandma Jane) always seems to make the girls the perfect birthday presents and Savannah’s 4th birthday was no exception.  Mom told me she was working on something ‘orange’ for Miss S., but this lovely orange chevron quilt was a total surprise to everyone!

Mom was inspired by this quilt from Red Pepper Quilts.  The unique design is created by the placement of half-square triangles.  This would be a really great project for someone that is just getting into quilting.  The design is beautiful, yet the piecing is quite straight forward.  There are so many things you can do with half-square triangles.  We’ll be showing you some of the many uses in the coming weeks!

Grandma Jane purchased the Tangerine Tango Fat Quarter Bundle from our blog sponsor, Fat Quarter Shop, and added a few other orange prints that she had on hand.  The white was cut from a bolt of white bella solid in ‘snow’.

The back of the quilt is yardage from ‘Fresh’ by Deb Strain for Moda in Garden Lattice Orange.

This quilt is the perfect lap sized quilt.  Savannah has definitely taught me that the color orange is truly wonderful.  So happy and so fresh.  I’m an orange convert, for sure!
Starting next week Grandma Jane will be sharing how to sew a quilt from start to finish with a free, original ‘circle’ quilt pattern she has created for The Cottage Home blog readers.  
I’m so excited for her week long series and I hope you are too ~ it’s going to be great!

From Grandma with Love………A Christmas Quilt

So is it too late to share something from Christmas?  Well, maybe so, but better late than never!

My mom and Allen (aka Pepo) flew in from Texas to celebrate an early Christmas with us the weekend prior to the actual date.  We had such a lovely visit, though it’s always shorter than I would like, but it certainly makes me appreciate the time I get with my mom and Pepo all the more!

Mom made this gorgeous, twin-sized Christmas quilt as a gift for us this year.  I can’t even express how much I love it.  It’s big and cozy and can cover up our entire family snuggling on the couch.

Last year I had given mom, The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman, so the pattern she used for our quilt was ‘Small Plates’ from this book.  The front is basically done using ‘Flurry’ charm squares (5″ precut squares), ‘Flurry’ jelly roll strips, Moda white solid squares and cut 2 1/2″ strips.  She also cut some additional pieces from yardage she had on hand.  This is a wonderful quilting book that ranges from beginners up to intermediate quilters.  If you are looking for a new quilting book to add to your collection, I can’t recommend this one enough.

Now for the backing, Mom had to do a little creative improvising due to the amount of fabric yardage she was able to purchase.  So, she came up with this (see picture below) backing that I almost love as much as the front!

Pepo helped Grandma Jane sandwich the quilt, so he got a little credit on this one.  Mom includes a label on each one of her quilted creations. These items will be passed down for generations to come, so I love that she dates each quilt.
I don’t know if you remember, but Grandma Jane made the kids Christmas outfits from the same line of fabric (click here to read more) ~ Kate Spain’s ‘Flurry’.  Even though the kids will eventually outgrow their Christmas outfits, we will have the Christmas Quilt to remember Christmas 2011.

This quilt will be pulled out each and every Christmas and will be treasured always and forever.  There is something so comforting about snuggling up in a handmade work of art made by someone you love.  It really feels like my mom is here hugging me even when she’s miles and miles away.
On another note:  Grandma Jane has agreed to guest blog this year with some quilting tutorials for everyone.  I hope you all will welcome her with open arms when she makes her first appearance on the blog.  SO excited that she’s agreed to share her talents!

From Grandma with Love……..Cherry Picnic Dresses

I mentioned in my last “From Grandma with Love” post that Grandma Jane had made these adorable Cherry Picnic Dresses for the girls.  So here they are –   I absolutely love them and they fit perfectly!

I just love coordinating sister looks where they are matching, but not exactly the same.  Mom found this fabric at her local Joann Fabric store and thought it just shouted summer picnic and I couldn’t agree more.

Matilda’s dress is so sweet with the pleated top and the button detail across the front.  Her dress has three medium sized buttons in the back and has the plaid accent at the bottom.  I’ve been kind of into the square neck-line lately and I think the pleated top just makes the dress!

Miss Savannah’s dress couldn’t have been designed more perfectly for her.  She is really into collecting things and sticking them in her pockets (you should have seen the mound of rocks she had in her shorts the other day).  These pockets are nice and large and are set at just the right height for her little hands.  I also love that Savannah’s dress has encased elastic in the back which makes for a very comfortable fit.  And my favorite detail of this dress is the piping that has been added in around the bodice edge……mom knows I love that piping!

What’s even more fun right now, is that the girls love to be matching.  I know this is not going to last long, so I’m taking full advantage of it for right now.  But with them only being 16-months apart they pretty much have the same taste in clothing and both love wearing dresses!
Thanks Grandma Jane, handmade gifts are the best!  
We love all the pretty things you’ve been making and sending for the girls!

Happy 18th Birthday, Savannah!

Dear Savannah,

Eighteen years ago it was hard to imagine the day where I have an adult child, but here we are and the day has arrived. Happy 18th Birthday, Savannah! This will be my final letter to you here on the blog since you are an adult now. I’m sure you’ve had enough of your childhood shared online and you’d probably like to move into adulthood with a little more privacy. So here are some things that I’d like to remember about your on your 18th birthday and some things that you might like to remember about your 18 year old self.

  1. You are living in NYC all on your own. You graduated high school a year early and moved there at just 17 years old to study dance at the Steps on Broadway Conservatory.
  2. You have really improved your cooking skills this year since you have to prepare all your own meals. You barely knew how to boil water before you left, so I’m impressed with how much you’ve learned in such a short amount of time.
  3. You’ve started singing in NYC. You always refused to sing growing up since you identified more as a dancer, but since your school requires singing, you’ve really taken to it and, dare I say….maybe enjoy it? It’s fun helping you select songs for different genres. And I’m glad you come to me for advice.
  4. You are still super organized and on top of things. You plan ahead and don’t save things for the last minute. Since you’ve moved to NYC, you definitely keep your room more neat and tidy. Probably because it’s such a small space, but it’s nice to see you make a change from the way you used to leave your room at home.
  5. I miss you so much and you miss me. You say I’m your favorite person and that really warms my heart. You still love to call me and tell me all the details of your day. We text many times a day and I don’t think I’ll ever stop missing you when we aren’t together.
  6. You are turning 18 on the same day as Grandma Jane (my mom) is turning 70! How cool is that? Two milestone birthdays. You are coming home a day or two after your actual birthday, Grandma Jane and Pepo are flying in from Texas and Uncle Ben, Aunt Brooke and Luca are flying in from Colorado and we are celebrating BOTH of your birthdays.
  7. For the last several years, you have said that you wanted to end up dancing in a professional contemporary dance company. I think you have now opened your mind up to other potential opportunities and are definitely more open minded about your dance career. You just want to be able to make a living doing what you love…..dancing and performing!
  8. You have made a lot of friends at the Conservatory. People definitely appreciate your work ethic, funny personality and kindness. You are a REALLY nice person. For some reason a lot of them call you Papa Wilkes. I’m not sure why exactly, but it’s cute. Some people you’ve mentioned a lot are Kenzie, Sierra, Mia, Gabrielle, Reid, Scott, Aleah, Arden, Shelby, Gabriela, Gabi, Selah and that’s all I can remember off the top of my head.
  9. You are already panicking about finding a job after you finish your dance program. I like that you are aware that you need to support yourself at some point, but I’d love if you would take a little more time enjoying being in NYC on your parents dime and a little less stressing about the future. Enjoy the journey and don’t stress over the destination.
  10. Speaking of stressing out. You taught me a really good lesson recently when you were home for Christmas. I was VERY nervous about your youngest sisters Level 6 gymnastics meet since her first one didn’t go as well as planned. You told me that I need to stop worrying about things out of my control. You said that God has a plan for everything and what will be, will be…it’s already been determined Him. And you asked if I though that God made mistakes. It really helped bring a sense of calm to me. Because even if JoJo fell off the beam, it was in God’s plan and that would have happened for a reason. We don’t always know the reason in the moments, but usually God reveals His plan to us over time. I really appreciated your wisdom…..now follow your own advice and stop stressing about AFTER graduation. God has a plan.
  11. You dyed your hair red before you left for NYC to hopefully make your look stand out a little more. I was quite shocked that you wanted to do something that drastic since you’ve never even had highlights, but it looks really fantastic on you!
  12. Sometimes I think you miss your dogs more than you miss your family. Well I know I am your favorite, so you definitely miss me, but I think the dogs might come next. You wish you could have them in NYC with you. You especially miss Scotty because he is attached at the hip to you when you are home.
  13. Some of your favorite foods are cheeseburgers, Navel oranges, my tortellini alfredo, Panera broccoli cheese soup, Grandma Jane’s blueberry muffins, southwest salad and avocado toast.
  14. You love being alone. You can act like an extrovert when you need to in social settings, but you are an introvert at heart and truly love your alone time.
  15. You really enjoy making things and having some type of craft project. You love making these miniature book nooks out of wood. We have them in our hutch in the great room and I love looking at your creations. You also got a diamond art kit from Gigi and Grumpy for Christmas and are currently working on that in NYC. I think you would really love crocheting or even hand embroidery but I’ve offered to teach you and so far you’re not interested.
  16. You love having a calming, tranquil living environment. Your apartment is decorated with white, cream, beige, sage green and light blue.
  17. You’ve gotten really good at taking the subway. The first time I visited you, you seemed to really have it down and can get pretty much anyway by subway or walking.
  18. You’ve been enjoying streaming some different shows this year. You were really into Young Sheldon and The Middle and like having those episodes playing when you are in your apartment.
  19. You love Christmas. Like looooooooooove Christmas. You decorated your apartment after Halloween and for all I know, you still have your Christmas decor up! That’s your favorite holiday of the year!
  20. You’ve been the only person in your dance program under the age of 18 so you love to remind people that you are still a minor child. But that’s a thing of the past because you are an official adult now!

Savannah Rose, I am SO proud of you! You have already done such amazing things with your life. It’s so fun watching it all unfold. I can’t wait to see where life takes you into adulthood. I know you are destined for greatness. You are the most deserving person. I love being your mom and I am so grateful you are mine.

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

I love you from here to the moon and back again!!

Love,

Mama

Happy 17th Birthday, Savannah!

Dear Savannah,

Today you turn 17 years old! Happy Birthday sweet girl. I cannot believe this is your last birthday that I will have with you living at home. These years have just flown by and I could not be more proud of you. Here are some things I’d like to remember about you when you turned 17 years old and some things you might like to know about your 17 year old self.

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Happy 10th Birthday, Josephine!

Happy 10th Birthday, Josephine!

Dear Josephine,

Happy 10th Birthday, sweet girl!! How are we already here? How is my baby already double digits? I truly cannot but believe it. Here are some things I’d like to remember about you when you turned 10 years old and some things you might like to know about your 10 year old self…

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Happy 15th Birthday, Matilda!

Dear Matilda,

Today you turn 15 years old! It’s hard to believe how fast you are growing up. Here are some things I’d like to remember about you when you turned 15 years old and some things you might like to know about your 15 year old self……

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Happy 9th Birthday, JoJo!

Dear JoJo,

Today you are turning 9 years old! My littlest little is 9……I can’t believe it!! Here are some things that I’d like to remember about you when you turned 9 years old and some things that you might like to know about your 9 year old self.

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Happy 12th Birthday, Caspian!

Dear Caspian,

Happy 12th birthday buddy! I can’t believe how fast you are growing up and that you are now in 6th grade. Here are some things I would like to remember about you when you turned 12 years old and some things that you might like to know about your 12 year old self……

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