Friday, March 29, 2013

So "Egg-citing"

And the giveaway winner is......

Congratulations to Denise who wrote:


"That is fabulous! I love it 
and I think it's my favorite of your projects -
 along with the ironing board cover,
 the needlebooks, the aprons, etc. :o)
Just awesome and a great idea! 
I wouldn't want to poke pins in it!"


Your eggs will be on their way today!!!
Thanks so much for everyone who played along.
I enjoyed reading all your comments!!!

Have a blessed Easter everyone!







Thursday, March 28, 2013

All Buttoned Up :)

With Easter quickly approaching
I couldn't resist making dresses for my little granddaughters :)
I used "Fly a Kite" by October Afternoon
in mint green  for Evie
and "The Simple Life" by Riley Blake
 in pink for Sofie.


A while back I found this adorable old pattern at a Thrift store
for 50 cents and checked through the pieces to make sure 
it was complete.
It's McCalls 8191, probably from the 80's.

Someone had already used it before
and circled the size 4 on the outside of the envelope.
I started cutting everything out
and when I got to the collar piece,
(which of course was the LAST thing I cut)
I realized that who ever used this pattern
only needed the size 4
so she threw away the size 2 and 3 collar pieces.
*ugh*
All the other pattern pieces were multiple sizes
so I had no problems there.
Anyhoo.....
I used my printer to shrink it by 15 %
as was able to make it work.
I love using old patterns
and making them current by using modern fabrics.
With children's clothes its easy to do.

And last but not least,
I decided to use covered buttons.
With the Dritz kit it's super easy to do
and having matching buttons gives the dress
such a custom look that I just love!

It only takes a few minutes to do 
and it's really fun!
If you've never tried it
I highly recommend you do!
You can buy the kit in the size you need
and it comes with the buttons as well.
If you need additional buttons
you just buy the refill.
The button kit was $2.99
and the refill was $1.99.
Much cheaper than buying fancy buttons.

Voila!
Cuteness all buttoned up :)


Monday, March 25, 2013

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.......)





Friday, March 22, 2013

Stitch Me Up Blog Hop!

Welcome everyone!
First of all
I'd like to thank Madam Samm and our Cheerleader Jane
for all their hard work behind the scenes
as well as the very talented Debbie and Cyndi
for sharing their amazing talent
by offering the beautiful patterns for this hop! 
This has been one of my favorite hops so far.
I used the "Nana's Chair" pattern
and shrunk it down a bit.
I wanted to make a ginormous pin cushion
and thread catcher.
This hefty cushion measures 7" by 8" by 3".
I used batting and crushed walnut shells for weight.
My wonderfully talented friend Denise
made a pincushion and thread catcher set
for me for my birthday last year
and I use it daily.
It's gorgeous and weighted
and the fabric is adorable!
I mean red polka dots.....nuf said :)
My only problem is that my sewing machine table
is slippery and I knock it down at least 5 hundred times a day.
So I will move that one to the living room 
to use when I cross stitch every night.
It sits so nicely on the arm of the couch :)
 
For this one I thought I would try
some of the fabric with the little grippy dots
that you use for footed sleeper jammies
for the under side of the cushion
to keep it from slipping
and it worked like a charm!
No more slipping off the edge
and on to the ground :)
I'm sure that my lack of grace and co-ordination
as I move through my little sewing room
may play a part in the pincushion ending up 
on the floor repeatedly...........?

The thread catcher unbuttons for easy emptying.
This project just kind of "evolved".
I didn't use a pattern
and I'm really quite amazed that it turned out so well :)
Here's a close up of the embroidery pattern I chose.
I'm in awe of people who can draw like this. 
And now for the giveaway:
How about a set of 10 fabric Easter eggs?

Just leave a comment telling me
about your favorite Easter tradition.
You don't have to be a follower to enter,
but if you are, please leave a SEPARATE comment
letting me know, for a second chance to win.
You have until next Friday the 29th to enter.
I'll announce the winner on Saturday the 30th.
(Please know that I love reading all your comments
but I may not be able to respond to each of you)
Good luck!

Don't forget to check out all the other amazing projects
today from these other talented bloggers!!!!




Thursday, March 21, 2013

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!!!!

Friday, March 15, 2013

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.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Sunshine and Simplicity

It's a beautiful day here in Southern California.
The high for the day is 75 degrees :)
It's a perfect day to sew something fun!
I grabbed the floral corduroy that I found
on clearance at Joann's a while back
and used Simplicity 1724 View D
to make these fun jumpers
for my beautiful granddaughters.
I used red and white polka dot cotton
for the facings and covered buttons on one 
and the other one in bright pink and white polka dots.
I love little girls in corduroy jumpers.
It's just so classically cute :)
I can't wait to see the
girls in their new outfits!

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Egg-ceptionally fun!


I'm not an "Easter Bunny" girl for several reasons,
but I do love eggs.
Maybe the connection to chickens?
Anyhoo.....
some months back I came across this wonderful tutorial 
for these darling fabric eggs.
I'm so glad I bookmarked it!
It's from Retro Mama's blog.
Make sure you go visit her awesome blog :)

Aren't these just too cute?
They are addicting.
I ended up making 38 eggs today
with more cut out for later.
Some are for me,
some are for family members
and some are for my shop.


The fun part is that you can use up some scrap fabrics!
Also, you can cut 2 panels from one charm square
which is also fun if you have a charm pack.
That way all the fabrics co-ordinate already.
I used scraps and a few charm squares today.
Gotta love scrap buster projects :)



Thursday, March 7, 2013

Coffee, Tea...or Owlie?


When I saw this Owlie Mug,
I just couldn't resist :)
It HAD to come home with me.
I knew that I wanted to make a mug rug
to match one of the owls on the mug.

The design was just screaming at me
to do an applique
and patchwork :)


"WHO" wouldn't love
their favorite beverage in this mug
with a treat (or two) resting on this fun little coaster?


Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Sneak Peek :)

Just thought I'd show you a sneak peek 
at what I'm working on :)
Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to show you 
the whole project.

I also wanted to show you the fun stuff
that the mail carrier brought me yesterday.
Do you see that little bunny?
How cute is that?
Seriously!!!
The bunny and the sheep are 
cross stitch charts and fabric 
They are auto-ships that I signed up for.
Who doesn't love fun in the mailbox every month
and at a discount price to boot?
The trim packets are from Peachy Cheap.
Every day they have one "deal"
and when they are sold out, they're gone.
It can be addicting,
but you can find cool craft supplies
really cheap :)