It's Giveaway Time!!!

I am currently stitching #9 (Kenny Kangeroo)

from the free Animal Advent series by Brooks Books.

You can find the charts HERE.

She is generously offering these charts,

one per month through October 2015.

Each one is just so adorable!!!

I also joined her Facebook group for this series.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/animaladvent/

I am stitching these on 32ct Blue Petit Point Belfast Linen

that I got from Crazy Annie's Stitchin.

So what is this giveaway all about?

Well here's how it works.

Just leave me a message in the comments 

with your guess of  which 3 of the following 

completed animals are my personal favs.

You must have all 3 correct to win.

If no one gets all 3 right I'll choose a winner

from those who get 2 right :)

The prize will be a surprise giftie

handmade by me.

I will announce the winner on Friday night Jan 30th.

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!!!

Getting back to my old habits :)

I'm not a New Year's Resolution kind of girl.

But I want to get back to some of the things 

that make me happy.

Some of you may know this already,

but my hubby, our son, our son-in-law, 

our nephew, and who ever else wants to join in,

get together at our house on Friday nights

to smoke cigars, watch movies

and solve the world's problems over coffee :)

(They smoke outside.....of course)

I used to sew on Friday nights

but this past year I've been so busy with my etsy business

that I've been too tired to sew.

But not tonight!

I finished up these 2 pajamas for 

Evie and Sofie.

I used Butterick B6123

that comes with the matching pattern for their dolls.

Don't you just love this flannel?

I was so happy to find it in both purple and pink.

Evie loves purple and Sofie loves pink.

The dolls already received their jammies on Christmas Eve.

I'm hoping to get a picture of the girls with their dolls.

Maybe their Mommies will be nice enough to take 

a photo or two for me :)

Meet Madeline :)

So this is Madeline :)

She came home to live with me today.

(Hey....don't judge)

I don't think I'm too old to play with dolls....yet.

If the hubby can buy a train set and a slot car track

"for the grandkids"......

then I should be able to buy a doll

to play with the granddaughters too :)

As you can see, 

I have plenty of patterns to sew for my girl Minions

and their dolls.

These are Sofie and Evies dolls.

I have a feeling that they will get along just fine

with Madeline.

They very much enjoyed their Christmas dresses.

And I also made matching jammies for them. 

I guess I'd better get busy sewing some clothes for Madeline

so that she doesn't get jealous :)

Why didn't you tell me????

So these little guys are pretty amazing......

I can't believe I didn't know about them.

You never told me.....

Do you see that dark line on my finger?

(yes I know....I need some hand lotion...stat!)

That is not a splinter in my finger,

it's a blood filled "channel" 

made by the back end of a needle

pushing through my flesh.

Yes, it hurt.

And no, it's not the first time I've done this.

I just haven't been able to find a thimble 

that will allow me to "feel" what I am working on -

Until now! 

These little sticky leather pads are reusable!

You can even stick them on your sewing machine

or cross stitch frame until you need them again.

Genius I tell you!!! 

It doesn't get in the way of my stitching! 

Can you tell I'm excited?

And I only paid $5.99 for a dozen!

Now that's a good deal :)