Men, Men, Men, Men :)

I don't often sew for men.

From time to time I'll sew some pajama pants

or a shirt or two.

Last year for Father's Day I made mug rugs for my guys.

The year before it was cup cozies.

So I thought why not make a few mug organizers

geared more towards men for the shop?

It's a fun little gift and you can combine it

with an awesome pen

or fill it with their favorite snacks.

I think I'll make one for my hubby

as a safe place to keep his reading glasses.

(Not that he's getting old and needs glasses to read or anything :)

I liked the idea of the wine corks

paired with quilter's linen. 

And I don't know about your man,

but my hubby has a watch addiction :)

Then of course there are the Trekkies :)

And last but not least,

the handy men....God bless 'em :)

I also wanted to share something AWESOME with you all.

Maybe it's just me

but from time to time

I knock my bobbin box onto the ground 

and my bobbins go flying all over the room.

And of course they unravel

as they are flying everywhere.

Drives me nuts!!!

Anyhoo...

I came across this awesome bobbin box by Dritz

when I was at Joann's the other day.

It holds 28 bobbins and sells for $7.49.

But as I always say: I never pay full price!

I whipped out my 50% off coupon 

and scored this beauty for $3.75!

The foam holds the bobbins in place.

Can you do this with your bobbin box?

It just makes me sooooo happy :)

So I'm off to buy another one

because as we all know,

28 bobbins is just simply not enough :)

Oh...I almost forgot to mention

that the lid snaps shut so even if I knock it down

those babies aren't goin' anywhere!!!

Side Kicks :)

So I made some more project bags

and this time I decided to make a few

"Side Kicks".....

What is a "Side Kick"?

They are smaller bags that match,

and they have smaller wool felt hearts :)

They measure 5" x 8".

The perfect size for your embroidery scissors

and some floss.

My daughter and my dear friend Marcia use the project bags

to carry their Bible study materials in

and the new smaller size will be perfect for pens and highlighters.

My daughter in law just told me that she wants

one for her Bible study books too!

Come to think of it,

I should probably make myself a set for Bible study........

The problem will be which fabric to choose :)

Too.....many.....choices.......!

(or maybe I should keep the Cosmo Cricket Early Bird....

after all, it's all the fabric I have left and I do love it sooooo.......)

More or less.....

Ok.....so when is "more" better?

When is "less" the way to go?

Are you tired of seeing "more" aprons,

pot holders and project bags yet?

Would "less" be better?

It's Ok...

you can say it.

Enough already!!!

I promise that tomorrow with be 

something completely different.

I'm taking part is the 

Stitch Me Up Blog Hop 

that is already going on now.

Click on the link on the right 

to see the amazing needlework

from day one and two.

My turn is tomorrow

so be sure to stop by again tomorrow

to see what I came up with

as well as another giveaway!

I made a few "little girl" project bags

for those of us who are planning to teach our

precious little ones to stitch :)

Hope you have a great day!

See you tomorrow!!!!

A new box of crayons......

I don't know about you,

but shopping for fabric

is like getting a new box of crayons to me.

I love combining fabrics!

Having the etsy shop gives me the opportunity

to play with colors that I wouldn't

normally pick for my own use.

It's like painting a picture :)

 

I'll be honest,

sometimes I just want to hold it

and admire it........

But seeing it take shape into something useful

is probably my fav :)

Well, I have 2 more aprons already cut out

so I'd better get back to it.

Is it just me????

Is it just me,

or do you hang on to certain fabrics because

you love them so much you can't bear to cut into them?

I bought this stinkin' adorable coffee cup fabric

with the matching red polka dots

 (red & polka dots....shocker I know)

because I love me some coffee.

I planned to make myself a fun apron.

But lets' be honest here,

I probably wouldn't wear it because

I'd be afraid to get it dirty....

So I did the unthinkable....

I cut into my precious fabric.

My hope is that someone will love it

as much as I do :)

My nutritionist says that coffee causes a gluten response

in my body, so no more coffee.

I was "coffee free" for 18 months

and then decided that maybe the good Dr. was mistaken.

I mean how can something so fantastic 

be bad for me?

So I tried it.

After 3 days of morning coffee

my fibro pains came back.

A very good reminder of what

my daily life used to be.

So now I just have to settle for the smell of coffee

while my hubby gets ready for work in the morning.

I drink tea now.

Many kinds and flavors.

It's just not coffee......*sigh*

It never will be.......

Covered in threads......

Ok.....I'm still here.....

just covered in thread :)

Makes me think of my home growing up.

My mom was always covered in thread

and come to think of it,

so was everything else in our home.....:)

I feel like I haven't had much to share

on my blog lately,

but I've been so busy.

Which (Praise God) is a very good thing.

I made these ruffled dish towels

to match an apron and pot holder set

that one lovely customer ordered.

I also finished up these Business card/ID wallets

for the shop.

Also a couple of stitchable needlebooks.

And more project bags and mug oranizers.

I've also been doing A LOT of cross stitch

in the evenings.

I really need to make some cute

pillows and things out of them.

What are you all up to these days?

Fun times ahead!

Times have been tough for many families this past year

and our household has not been immune to it.

Clearly this has been a season to lean on the Lord

and know that He is in control.

We are in good health and have a roof over our heads

and food in the pantry.

I can't complain :)

I just kept thinking that this would be

the perfect time to really work

at growing my etsy business.

God is truly blessing my efforts 

and things are really starting to pick up.

I am so thankful that He has given me 

the ability to work from home

and that He just keeps opening up

new opportunities for me that I never saw coming.

I really believe that there are fun times ahead.

Today I've added a few more bags and organizers.

There are fun fabrics for those who craft with cats

(you know who you are :)

as well as Mary Engelbreit and Warren Kimball :)

Also I've added this darling set made with imported fabric

and quilter's linen that reminds me so much

 of Little House Needleworks.

This set can only be purchased through 

Crazy Annies' Stitchin.

I've also started a Facebook page for Sewmuch2luv

(you can click on the link above on the left)

and I should have done it long ago.

I've met some really sweet people in such a short time!

I will be offering coupon codes 

and showing new items there,

so if you are interested in hearing about specials

and coupons please join me on Facebook :)

A "New" Old Love Affair

I know that I've mentioned before that I have a deep love

for my German Erzgebirge Nutcrackers.

So much so,

that they stay in a display case in my living room

all year long.

They are just too precious to put away.

(Yes....those are their legs in these photos)

Now I'll introduce you to my other deep love,

my flower girls.

My Mom brings home a new one for me

each year when she comes home from Germany.

I love the feel of the wood,

I love the cheerful little faces,

I love the bright colors.

Are they not perfection????

So imagine my joy when I stumbled across

Natalie Jo's ah-mazing artwork on etsy the other day.

I'm sure you can see why I have a "new" love affair!

She is right here in the USA :)

Her shop on etsy is called Piccalilli Patchwork.

She makes the most darling pincushions 

and miniature goodies! 

I fell in love with this darling pincushion,

but when I started looking at her previous works

I fell DEEP in love with "Maida".

She is a dark haired beauty 

that reminds me of my husband's Cuban heritage.

Unfortunately she was already sold....

Imagine my delight to find that Natalie Jo

has generously written a tutorial on her blog

www.piccalillidays.blogspot.com

on how to make my own!

You can purchase the doll components

already painted in her etsy shop!

I'm in heaven!

I also ordered a set of matching flower pins

that she also makes in her shop!

Look how carefully and lovingly she packaged

all my goodies! 

Can you see those tiny beads for buttons

and that is seriously the smallest gingham I've ever seen!

I squealed when the package arrived!!!

It's not very often that you come across a true artisan

that truly loves what they do.

Thank you Natalie Jo!

I can't wait to get started and I'll be sharing

my photos when Maida is complete :)