Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Valentine Stitching

I've been doing a little Valentine stitching.


This is a pattern from Chestnut Junction. It's a redwork stitchery pattern that I tweaked a little bit. The original pattern is all stitching. I decided to add the felt hearts and buttons instead of stitaching those. I used a piece of fabric to stitch on that I had tea stained and I used fabrics I already had on hand to do the piecing around it.

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. And again, I had everythin on hand already.

Go Thrift!! lol

Monday, January 24, 2011

Annie BOM #5

I finally got the borders sewn on my #5 block for the Annie BOM that Sharon is doing.



I've had the block stitched since October but didn't get around to getting the borders sewn on until yesterday.

Why does it take me so long to do something that only takes 5 minutes?

These are all looking so cute, I can't wait to get them all done and put together!!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Binder cover

Last night Kirsten called me to let me know that she needed a new binder for Health class. Naturally, I was almost home when she called (we don't live in town.)



As I was driving I was trying to figure out how to make things work without having to turn around and go back into town and I remembered that Addison had thrown a binder away the night before.


I told Kirsten to go dig in the trash and see if she could find it. She did and she did. She was complaining that it was all torn up and she couldn't use it (duh, that's why Addison had thrown it away.) Anyway, I told her that when I got home I would just make a cover for it and then she would still be able to use it.


So, I went out to my 'studio' and dug out some fabrics and got to work. I had no pattern to go by, just a general idea of what I was trying to accomplish.


Here's what we wound up with:



I knew right away that I wanted to use the green fabric with the vegetables on it since it was for Health class. Kirsten thought that was a cool idea too. I didn't have enough of the green fabric so I had to do the insides in something else. Addison was 'helping' me and chose the blue fabric that I used. (She was really out there with me because since I was going to be doing something 'cool' to the binder she wanted it back. lol)


Anyway, the blue goes all the way down on the inside of the binder and the green on the inside is pockets. I also glued some batting to the outside of the binder to make the look a little smoother since it was in pretty rough shape.


I'm still trying to decide what to do on the front of it to decorate it up a little. I'm thinking maybe just 2 or 3 yo-yo flowers or something like that. Just a little something extra, you know?


Anyway, the only thing I would have liked to have done differently is on the inside. I wish that I had had enough material to come all the way over to the rings. I'm still trying to think of something to do to get that part covered up. Kirsten is happy with it just like it is, but I just can't let go. It's just not done enough. lol


Of course, the other two girls have been trying to decide what fabrics they want me to use to make binder covers for them. They've already been talking about how they'll be the only kids in school with such awesome binders. lol Addison is already trying to decide how much her friends should have to pay if they want me to make one for them too. They are certainly my biggest fans. Gotta' love it!!!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Stitch Along

I decided to participate in the Doodle Arts stitch along over at Lark Crafts. (click on their name for the link to the first pattern in the stitch along.)


Here's the first stitchery in the series.


It stitched up so quickly and that little troll is just so cute!!

I don't have a lot of options in my little town for fabrics to stitch on. Because of that I've learned to look for fabrics in the items that are available to me. I was in Goodwill last week and bought a blazer made of a nice heavy, ecru, 100% cotton. I was cutting the pocket off to use for another stitched piece and it occured to me to use part of the sleeve for this little pattern. Since it was already hemmed on one end and sewn in a circle I decided to make it into this little bag.

I'm still trying to decide whether or not to put handles on it. We'll see if I get around to it or not. lol Regardless, I love the way it turned out and there was minimal sewing involved to turn it into a bag. I kind of like it when an idea strikes that pushes me into thinking outside the box.


Oh, and it fits in with my theme of thrift for the year. A double win!!! LOL

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Quick and fun scarf

I was puttering around online the other day (I know, what a stretch!) and I saw a picture of a scarf that had an animal at each end. It was really cute.


I don't have any idea about how that scarf was made, but I did one of my own.


First I asked Addison if she had any stuffed animals that she didn't want anymore that also had black in it. I asked for black because I knew I had some black fleece on hand.


She came back with a panda.


So, I cut it in half, took out a little bit of the stuffing, and stitched a half to each end of my fleece.


Lickity-split, in a matter of 5-10 minutes, she had a new scarf.




Forgive the model. I can almost never get her to act normal in a picture.


Although, really, for her this level of silly is normal.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Cousin Eddie Cap

1) My family loves the movie "Christmas Vacation" and we usually watch it (more than once) during the Christmas Season.

2) Yesterday, we were meeting up with Dax's family to go watch a hockey game. His step-Dad had mentioned recently how his ears got cold when he would go outside to excersise, especially if he was riding his bike.


Because my mind works the way it does sometimes, I put those two little tid-bits together and made him a cap.




Cousin Eddie style:



We all laughed so hard when he put it on!!

I got the pattern off of Thread Banger. The pattern doesn't come with any instructions on how to put it all together, but there is a video. I had to deviate from it a bit because my fabric is kind of a micro-fiber on one side and the fuzzy (lambs wool like) stuff on the other side. That meant that I didn't have to line my cap, it was already done for me. It also meant that I had to re-think seam allowances--like where I needed to leave them in and where they needed to be taken out.


But seriously, it took me less than 30 minutes to get it done. And that includes cutting it out and digging around to find the strips of leather for the ties. lol


It was fun and quick and we had a lot of laughs with it last night.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Valentine's on my mind....

I'm already thinking about Valentine's Day. Is that some kind of sickness? Do I need to take some time in between holidays instead of just rushing on to the next one?

Regardless, I have a work in progress and I'm really liking the way it's turning out.

But, yesterday I got up earlier than anyone else in my house so I snuck out to my craft room.

I say 'snuck' because if anyone knows I'm going out there, they can't stay away. I've asked more than  once if there is some kind of alarm that goes off in the house when my butt hits the chair in my craft room. They keep telling me there isn't one, but I'm not convinced yet.

Anyway, I spent some time out there tinkering and came away with this:



It's always so exciting to sit down and work on something and actually come away with a finished product.

We all need a quick project thrown in every now and then.

It's even better that I already had all of the items on hand. I used jump rings to make the chain and the hearts are buttons. It makes me want to get in there and make more, which my girls have all asked for anyway. :0)

Saturday, January 1, 2011

It's a new year........

Welcome to the new year.


Like many other bloggers, I like the idea of a word to guide me for the new year.


It took me quite awhile to settle on just one word. I really kept going back to some of the words I've used in the past. I guess maybe I didn't get the ideas associated with them as fully developed as I'd hoped. Whatever the case may be, it took more consideration this year than it has in the past. But I finally settled on


I chose thrift because this year we have decided to make a real push (and the associated sacrifices) to get all of our debts paid off, both in our business and at home.  I've already made a big step in that direction by changing our insurance coverages on our vehicles and our home. I saved over $2000 for the year!!!! Can you believe that? I didn't think it was really possible, so I was shocked........and a little sickened that I've wasted that much money for who knows how many years.

Anyway, I'm hoping to not buy so many new project supplies and work my way through using up some of the things that I already have. It will not only save me money, but will also help to clean things up a little.

Last year I chose two words, one of which was calm. I gave it the good-old-college-try, but because of the actions of others in my extended family, it turned out to be a year with a lot of hurt feelings for my husband and anything but 'calm'. Fortunately, the offending family members don't live near us so we were able to block much of it our from our daily lives. And, since I really try to be a peacemaker, I offered advice that would have solved the whole issue early on, but was (in a round about way) told to mind my own business. So be it. The issues still haven't been resolved, but my husband is at peace with it, and really, he's the one that matters to me.

But, after all of that, I can say that I didn't even consider 'calm' as a word for this year. lol I'm just hoping that 'thrift' won't have the same opposite effect that calm did last year.

Do you chose a word for the year? If so, what did you chose and why? (if you don't mind sharing)

I hope that everyone has a year blessed with love, happiness, and abundance.