gift idea help for my mom

[ecoteat]

My husband bought me a new sewing machine for my birthday, and then my mom totally surprised me and sent $100 to put towards it, too! So I want to sew her something nice for Mother's Day or her birthday (in June). But I don't know what! She's a jeans and casual shirt kind of girl. If I went the clothes route, I was thinking maybe some sort of jacket/cardigan. Like a quilted jacket, but not something that looks like it was made out of a quilt, kwim? Any pattern ideas? Or I was thinking a quilted wall hanging for the new addition on their house that has a bar in it, but I can't think of something bar-y (Mom loves wine and dad is into fancy beers) that isn't also cheesy. Help! I wish I could just make her a nice skirt or apron and be done with it, but she doesn't wear skirts and doesn't cook much either.

[caiesmommy]

I made my grandma a small wall hanging of iron on transfers of all of her grandchildren and my ds(her first greatgrandchild) And she LOVED it!!! I think it was her fav bday gift she examined how it all got put together and just thought it was the neatest thing. I made a very simple one cause I'm a new sewer but there were some really cool looking ones in a book i saw at my library...search online for memory quilts.

[mamarhu]

Maybe a short kimono-type jacket or Hapi coat? Can be as elegant or casual as you like, depending on the fabric and what you wear it with. Folkwear Patterns has some good choices, also one that gives options for a quilted version.

[orangefoot]

Totally not what you were thinking of but you could sew her a reuseable shopping bag from calico or similar and get your little ones to decorate it with fabric paints.

Or a bag with dividers to carry bottles in? Or an every day shoulder bag to complement her jeans and casual shirts?

[kandkrose]

i'm definitely voting for the bag/purse route