Gifts from the Heart

I have always loved the idea of homemade gifts and have only recently decided that I could probably make some gifts from the heart myself. It is completely satisfying to make something with your own hands and then wrap it up to give to someone you care about. My only problem is that I have had SO many occasions this year that the gifts have been last minute creations, unfinished but gifted anyway, not even started so had to buy a gift or still frantically working on.

Let's see....I had my twin nephews' 1st birthday in February and they got these.

A second cousin had her first baby in February so Mom and I made this blanket for them.

A cousin had a baby girl in May so she got this.

Two nieces had May birthdays. One turned 14 so I figured she'd rather have something from the store. (I have something homemade in mind for her for Christmas.) The other turned 3 so she got these.

Mother's Day was in May also. I got a crazy idea just a couple of weeks before to make table quilts for Mom and my Mother-in-law. I had fabric in my stash to make Mom's, so quickly got it pieced then tried my hand at machine quilting.....you can definitely tell I'm a beginner! I didn't get the binding on but gave it to her anyway (it's back in my closet waiting for me to finish). I didn't make it very far on my Mother-in-law's.....I went to the fabric store and found the perfect fabrics for her but just ran out of time. It is still on the list!

A niece and Leah had birthdays in June. My niece wanted a Wii game so that took the pressure off for her! I really wanted to finish Leah's quilt for her 4th birthday but didn't get it done. Maybe for her 5th....?? The only homemade gift she got was this shirt.

The current gift is for my cousin who is expecting her first child (a boy) any day now! The baby shower was over a month ago...(missed that deadline)....her due date was 4 days ago...(missed that deadline too)! I have been frantically knitting trying to get it finished at least before he's a year old but just managed to get halfway through it today! I have spent many hours on this...it is taking a lot longer than I expected. The good news is that it is knit from corner to corner so at least the rows will get one stitch shorter with every row I finish!! Don't get me wrong...I still have a long. way. to. go. I love it though. I love the shade of blue and I love the pattern. It is very simple....garter stitch all the way with a nice, simple eyelet around the edge. To me, it says "Boy"!

These are the gifts that have been (or soon will be) crossed off my list. The "to make" list is much longer and I can't wait to get more of these gifts from the heart into the hands of my loved ones!