Flower Power :)

It's finished! It's finished!

This darling little quilt for my sweet Minion Sofie :)

Who is that handsome guy hiding behind my quiltie?

My hubby is the bestest!

OK....

back to the quilt.

I had the quilt top finished for quite some time

and then I finally got around to sending it out for quilting.

I mailed it off to Donna's Lavender Nest.

Didn't she do an AMAZING job? 

I love the way she quilted flowers that mimic the flowers

of the orange boarder and backing fabric.

This is the first quilt that I've sent out to be machine quilted

and it won't be my last.

Her service is excellent and Donna is a dream to work with!

Here is a photo of the backing fabric. 

I made a matching pillow case as well :) 

I stopped by my son's house last night 

and Sofie thanked me again for her new quilt.

I love my Minions!!!

It's Shark Week!!!

My sweet Caleb turned 9 years old on the 22nd.

It's so crazy how fast children grow.

Amazing that I don't seem to age at all....HA!

He's been asking me forever....FOREVER

for a shark.

I stumbled across McCalls M7103 a few weeks before his brithday

and I knew I had to make it for him;

(His dad, my son, isn't all that excited about a huge shark in 

their small home, but hey, that's what Nana's are all about...right?)

Just look at that face!

Now his big brother Elijah wants a Hammer head shark......

I can already see my son's face when I show up with that "little" beauty :)

Even my hubby got in on the fun!

Now I need to finish up Sofie's quilt this week

and I'll show you pics of how adorable the quilting turned out.

Have a lovely week!!!

Home School Organization :)

A few weeks ago my grandson David (age 7)

called out from my bathroom-

"Mommy....you need to come and see this!!!"

Of course you have to wonder what he's 

so excited about, right?

Well it was my mug organizer with all my make-up brushes.

I usually put it away when the Minions come over

just in case one of them decides to get "artistic" with the brushes.

Well I forgot this time and he thought Nana made the 

coolest thing he's EVER seen!

He asked me to make one for him with Avengers fabric

and of course, Evie needed one too.

They wanted them for the home school desks.

Pretty awesome :)

Makes my Nana heart happy to see them

using something I made for them

and I hadn't really thought about how handy

they would be for home school as well as crafts. 

Daisy May....your quilt is finished :)

Woo Hoo!

Another finish for 2015 :)

Daisy May's baby quilt is done!

I used the same pattern as I used for her sister Evie's quilt

and you can see it here.

This time I used "Sidewalk" by October Afternoon

and used a fun polka dot flannel for the backing.

I hand stitched the label :)

I hand quilted it with big stitches 

using perle cotton floss size 8.

I can't wait to see her wrapped up in it.

She makes everything adorable....

don't you agree? 

This and That

It's a brand new year 

and I'm trying my best to really make a dent

in my pile of unfinished projects.

First up is the baby quilt that I started last year

for my sweet little Miss Daisy :)

She'll be a year old in May,

so I need to get this one done.

Since I showed you the thimble pads I use

 for embroidery and general stitching,

I thought I'd show you the only thimble that works for me

 when I'm hand quilting.

It's the Protect & Grip Thimble by Clover.

The metal end is perfect for pushing

 through layers of fabric and batting

and the rubbery part grips your finger nicely

and still allows you to "feel" your fabric.

I also wanted to show you Miss Evie

and her baby "Quinn" 

(she has changed her name several times)

with their matching jammies.

I found a few scraps of flannel and made a pair

of summer jammies for Maddie :)

She'll need them when we have sleep overs.....

I've been blessed with lots of orders in the shop

that are keeping me busy as well :)

I hope your year is off to a good start!!!

3 year olds never forget....

Little Miss Evie Marie found some fabric remnants 

with Disney's Ariel on it 

months ago in my sewing room.

She asked me to make an Ariel purse for her.

Of course I said yes :)

Well needless to say,

I've been busy 

and haven't gotten around to making her purse.

And she never forgets.

Never....

Every time she comes to my house,

she asks me. 

Every.

Single.

Time.

I finally got it done.

I just winged it

 based on the sizes of the fabric pieces that I had.

I lined it in the fun aqua polka dots

and used batting to give it some body.

A bit of red rick rack and it was done.

Best part is the she loves it :)

Some Kitty Cuteness

My adorable Evie just turned 3 on July 1st.

She asked me so sweetly if I was going to make her 

something for her birthday.....

How could I say no?

Since she love kitties,

I chose Michael Miller "Happy Hills Calico Cat" fabric

and paired it with some coordinating fabrics from my stash

as well as some pink gingham and bright polka dots.

I used "The Cupcake Dress" pattern by Pink Fig.

I love that the pattern comes with all the sizes

from 12m - 10 yrs! 

The pattern was FTS (fun to sew)

The back of the bodice requires smocking 

with elastic thread.

If you've never tried it,

don't be afraid to give it a go.

You'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is.

I just had to share a picture of the darling little dress shoes

that we bought for Evie as well.

They have tiny little 1/2" heals and beaded bows.

I love how tanned her legs are 

and of course, the band-aid :) 

Well the dress turned out to be a big hit.

She has worn it everyday for 4 days,

even sleeping in it and wearing those shoes to bed.

Makes my heart happy :)

Treaures :)

Yep....my hubby is pretty awesome!

He is a treasure for sure :)

(He's going to kill me for posting this photo)

He had a few days off last week 

so we went to a few of our favorite antique malls.

I forced asked him to wear these fun glasses for a photo.

I had no idea at the time

that our son would use it

for his caller ID on his iPhone :)

Now every time his dad calls him

this is the photo that comes up.

I love my son :)

Anywhoooo....

I wanted to share a few of the other treasures 

that made their way home with me.

As I mentioned before,

I've started collecting vintage needle books

for my future sewing studio.

Well I was SUPER excited to find 

this Western Auto needle book.

I worked at Western Auto from my first year

of high school through

getting married and both of my pregnancies.

So many fun memories and I learned so much

during my 8 years. 

How cool is that?

You just never know what you'll find! 

How cute is this Needlecraft Magazine from May 1928?

I love the graphics and the colors!

I also love love love that orange kitty

sitting next to her.

I had to say goodbye to my orange kitty, Arthur

 on May 5th of this year.

He was 14 years old and I miss him every day. 

This magazine is a large size

and measures 14" by 11"

and I plan to frame it for my future sewing room as well :)

I love the charts and old advertisements inside.

So cool! 

I think it was $6.00 well spent :)

I also have a weakness for hand stitched handkerchiefs.

It blows my mind that these beauties are all done 

by hand with super tiny stitches

and you can find them for just a few dollars.

What am I going to do with them?

I have no idea.

But I love them

and my collection just keeps getting bigger.....

And it's not just old things that make their way into my home.

How fun are these 3 patterns?

$2.00 each.....yes please!

The hubs and I fell in love with vintage match box holders recently

and started bringing them home as well.

They are made out of metal

and some have decals on the front

and some are just plain.

We found the 2 on the right 

to add to our little collection. 

And my love of vintage handkerchiefs continues.

These will be given as gifts,

tucked into a greeting card for friends

or in my purse for 

when I am overwhelmed 

by a beautiful worship song on Sunday mornings :) 

I also wanted to share pics of these adorable toy sewing machines

that we saw.

No, I didn't buy them :)

OK...I just had to share this creepy little kitty.

Who's idea was it to 

make a slot for scissors

RIGHT IN HER CUTE LITTLE FACE?

And a pincushion on the top of her head????

Seriously people!

Is it just me?

Not cool.....

Happy May!!!

How is it May 1st already?

I can't believe how quickly 2014 is flying by!

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival

of grandbaby #7.

She must be warm and cozy where she is,

because she is clearly not in any hurry to be born :)

Hopefully this weekend I'll have pictures

 of her sweet little face to share.

In the meantime I'll just keep sewing to pass the time.

You may have noticed the blog button 

for the She Who Sews Challenge

 on the upper right side of the blog.

You can click the blog button

to read more about the challenge.

I've joined the challenge and I'm absolutely in LOVE 

with this fantastic fabric line by J.Wecker Frisch.

I can't show you what I"m working on just yet,

but I can show you a project bag that I have in the shop

that I made from the She Who Sews fabric.

You can see more pics HERE

Stay tuned for pics of my little Daisy May

and pics of my project for the challenge :)