Peace, Hope and Love

Last night I finished "Peace"

the 3rd installment from Little House Needlework's

"Little Sheep Virtue" series.

There will be 12 in all.

Not quite sure what I'll do with them all just yet.

They finish out at 4" square.

I'm still thinking a table runner of some sort.

The chart called for teal floss and what looks like

water with 2 little fishies under the little lamb

but I wasn't feelin' it,

so I added a extra little white flower instead

and kept the green grass going all the way across.

And of course I added extra red :)

I like the way it turned out.

Now I'm waiting for the mailman 

to bring the next chart :)

Happy Tuesday :)

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Yesterday I spent a bit of time at the machine

and made these little corduroy purses 

for my little ladybugs. Evie and Sofie :)

I used NewLook 6016.

I bought the pattern for the jumper

and leggings but the little purse was a bonus.

I think next time I'll just make up a pattern of my own,

because I'd like the purses to close

and these are just open on top.

Cuteness, none-the-less :)

I also finally got around to making the 3 grocery bags

for my dear Sewista buddies

Denise, Regena and Amy.

We do swaps a few times a year between the 4 of us

and this time is was grocery bags.

We used my favorite grocery bag pattern

by Michelle patterns and you can find it here.

It's quick and easy and in my opinion

it's the best one out there.

(and I've made a bunch of other ones

 and didn't like any of them)

I use mine all the time and get so many complements!

And last but not least,

I received my fabric order yesterday.

It's called Happy Together by Riley Blake

and I'm using it in an upcoming project.

Aren't those tiny houses and hexies just to stinkin' cute???

Friendship :)

Last night I finished stitching

Lizzie Kate's "Friendship Begins".

I stitched it on 28ct Carnation Pink Jubilee

with 1 thread over 1.

I changed all the colors

because the recipient loves pinks :)

I wanted to make my dear friend a needle book

and this is how it turned out.

I used pink and white wool felt inside

to hold the needles

and a red heart button to close it.

For the borders, tea pot, cups and tablecloth

I used rayon floss that my Mom gave me

from Germany.

The floss bundles say Elga Stickseide

but I can't find color names on the packaging.

I've never worked with rayon before

but it's very pretty and I love the sheen it gives.

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!!!

April Showers Blog Hop!

Welcome to day 3 of the April Showers Blog Hop!

I'd like to thank Madam Samm of Sew we Quilt for all  she does

and our cheerleader Erin of Sew at Home Mummy!

We were challenged to make a mug rug that showcases

something that inspires us in April.

For me it was this adorable fabric I found

 that has these darling egg cups on it.

Eggs make me think of Spring and new beginnings.

It also reminds me of  breakfasts

of soft boiled eggs sitting in the most adorable egg cups.

Being from Holland,

egg cups are part of everyday life.

I've not noticed it as much here in America.

At least not with any of my friends growing up.

But we always had them in our house.

We had several different sets with matching spoons.

I have a cute set of 4 that I found on ebay 

with silly faces from Germany

that I just had to buy for my 4 grandsons :)

Each one is a different color

and each one has a different silly face.

I guess I'd better get some girly ones

now that the 2 little princesses have arrived.

My mother has the most beautiful

wooden egg cups with delicately carved 

and hand painted flowers that rise up

and hover over the egg.

For this mug rug

I fussy cut a small portion of the fabric

that had my favorite egg cups

and added co-ordinating fabrics

for the top of the mug rug.

I back-stitched the outlines

and drew some flowers and vines

for embroidering around the edges.

That little chicken and lamb just get me every time!

You can click on the photo to see more stitching details.

This little chickie didn't make it to the front

because there wasn't enough room

so I added her to the backside :)

Now I have a fun little mug rug to bring a smile to my face

when I enjoy an egg for breakfast !

Don't forget to check out all the other amazing crafters:

Hayley @ Mrs. Pickles

Karen @ Sew Much 2 Luv

Mélanie @ Les passions de Cliodana

Cindy @ Quilt Doodle Doodles

Jamie @ Busy Bee Quilts

Judy @ That Other Blog

Regena @ The Distracted Domestic

Amy @ Domesticity and other Ponderous Things

Denise @ My Whittle Adventures

Heather @ a Reformed Heath'n

Marica @ ~Englating~

Beautiful Springtime!

Today I tagged along with my Daughter

and Daughter in law as they took all 6 grandchildren

on a homeschool fieldtrip to the Flower Fields

in Carlsbad, CA.

I had to get up before the crack of dawn

for our 2 hour drive to Carlsbad.

But as you can see,

it was well worth it.

There were birds of all kinds

and even CHICKENS!!!

I'll admit it,

I have chicken envy.

Maybe one day I'll have a chicken or two.......

I'm in awe of God's handiwork!

The children learned about different kinds of flowers

and where they came from

and really enjoyed smelling the roses.

My Mom came along for the adventure as well :)

My 3 oldest grandsons,

Elijah, Caleb and David.

Little Miss Evie wanted to smell every single bloom :)

I love it when the little girls hold hands.

I can only image the fun they will have growing up

just 7 weeks apart in age :)

Miss Evie and Miss Sofie love love love their Oma :)

How cute is this?

Elijah, the oldest,

looking after his cousin Evie, the youngest.

Makes my Nana heart happy :)

Now it's "man time".

Just 4 cousins...hangin' out :)

Elijah, Caleb, David and Gabriel.

What a blessed day!

Finishes and A New Begining :)

Hard to believe that it's already April.

Does time go by faster the older you get?

It sure seems that way to me.

Anywho.....

thought I'd share a few finishes with you.

The first one is a LK Flip-it #F24 May.

I changed out the colors to make it a bit more vibrant.

Don't you just love that little snail charm?

Then I finished #2 in the Little House Needleworks

"Sheep Virtues" series.

I can't wait for #3 to arrive!

I just HAD to add red.

After all....it is my signature color :)

And now I'm on to a new little LK chart.

So what are YOU working on??????