Gingham Apron Sew Along part 1

So I joined the Gingham Apron Sew Along 

(see the button on the right hand side of the blog for more info)

and I finally picked my fabrics today.

I was originally thinking red and yellow gingham,

but this rooster fabric changed my mind for me :)

So red and black it is!

And I HAD TO add jumbo red ric rack, right?

I'll post more pics when it's done.

I haven't sewn an apron for myself in years.

Should be fun!

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!!!

Owl Needlebook Tutorial

Back in July of 2014

I was invited to be a part 

of the Creative Troupe for C&T Publishing.

They publish wonderful craft and quilting books.

It's a really fun opportunity for me

 to get to play with new products

before they are released to the general public.

The hard part has been keeping it all very quiet all this time.

I'm not very good at keeping secrets  :)

Today I received the email that said

we can finally show off our projects!

I recieved a roll of Kraft -tex in chocolate brown.

(you can find it here)

What is Kraft-tex you ask?

It feels like construction paper 

and it is actually made of paper,

but after you wash it something amazing happens.

Yes, I said wash it.....in the washing machine.

It takes on the characteristics of leather.

The more you wash it, the more "leather-like" it becomes.

I washed mine and dried it in the dryer 4 times.

It's sturdy and easy to work with.

You can sew it and cut it and paint on it.

The possibilities are endless!

It's just plain awesomesauce.

You can find my Owl Needlebook as

well as the other fun projects submitted on Pinterest.

https://www.pinterest.com/ctpublishing/krafttextm/

You can also print the tutorial for my Owl Needlebook

 by clicking on the green print bar 

on the lefthand side of the page.

Happy Crafting!!!

Back to the beginning......

Some of you might know this,

but when I started blogging,

I was joining every apron swap I could find.

I met some life long friends that are now 

a big part of my daily life :)

Although I don't swap aprons anymore

I decided to join the Apronista's Apron Sew Along!

Connecting with old friends from "the old days"

of swapping will be so much fun.

This time the apron stays with me.

This is the pattern I have chosen.

No fabrics picked out just yet.

This deserves a special fabric shopping day all it's own!

I'll keep you updated as it goes along.

Hop on over to the Apronista's website and join the fun!!!

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!!!

Better Late Than Never :)

I've been sewing so much for my etsy business lately

that I needed to take a day to sew just for fun.

I decided to use the time to get caught up on 

some long over due projects.

I stitched these Halloween/Fall charts for my friends,

Gena, Denise and Amy.

My plan was to have them ready to go before October.

Well I finished all the stitching,

but never made them into pillows.

Until now :)

I also stitched Captain Kirk for Gina for Christmas.

(Yes....he is also late)

Then I turned my attention to a table runner

that I had completed the top last year some time

and I machine quilted it and did the binding by hand.

I think it will be cute for Easter :)

It's made from a Riley Blake charm pack.

Love the colors! 

It always feels so good to chip away at my "to do" list.

Now it's on to the next thing :)

Happy Birthday to Me :)

 For my Birthday,

my wonderful hubby wanted to go Antique shopping with me :)

While I was looking at embroidered handkerchiefs

he called out to me from the other room.

I told him I'd be there shortly.

The next thing I know

the owner of the shop comes in the room

and tells me that my husband wants to show me something.

Hmmmmmmm?

I came into the other room to find him all smiles

standing next to this beauty!

He had already checked it over

and decided that I "needed" to have her.

(Yes....he's awesome )

So we rescued her from the dusty Antique shop

and brought her home to live with us.

She will join my other beauties.

You can see them HERE.

According to Singer's website,

she was born in Scotland in 1910.

She is Lotus model 66K Treadle machine.

I'm still deciding on a Scottish name for her :)

Then my Mom gave me this darling vintage pin cushion!

She made new crocheted flowers for the top.

It's filled with horse hair.

Isn't it just the sweetest thing?

Birthdays are definitely a good thing :)