Christmas Sewing~

I can't show you everything I am sewing for Christmas gifts because...

ahem, hi Mom! :-)  Some things just need to be secret a while. LOL

But I can show you this sweet mug mat I made for our DGD.

The machine embroidery design is from Sweet Pea.  If you have an embroidery machine, she has a lot of cute designs!  She does a little sew along every month and this was November's project. I just finished mine late because of our November travels.  The cookie block is a little pocket.  Santa is done in velvet and his beard is a double layer of flannel.  I think I may have to make another for me! LOL  ;-)

Are you finished making the gifts you want to make, or like me, will you be sewing until the last minute?

Until next time~

Happy stitchin'!!

Buttons!!

I love buttons, although I've never had very many~ but that changed for me this week! :-)

My friend sent me her button box because she is downsizing her sewing things.

I am just thrilled she thought of me! :-)

Just look at all these beauties~~

And that isn't all! There was a little smaller tea can too.  

I have been enjoying sifting through them and I found this 'key' in them.

At least I think it is some kind of key to something~ do you know?

Do you have one or have you ever seen one?  

I am real curious about it and have written to her too. ;-)

Are you busy sewing gifts for Christmas?  I have a few more to do,

sorry no peeks yet. I'm not sure who reads my blog! ;-)

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

A Little Catch Up~

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First~ JJWelch, you asked a question about my fabric in my Oslo Craft Bag. But didn't leave me an email address, so I hope you see this. :-) Congratulations on your new featherweight!  The fabric I used is called 'And Sew On' by Fresh Designs for Henry Glass. I found it in a little shop in Yelm, WA called GeeGee's. Their phone number is on their website and they are some of  the nicest quilt shops ladies I have ever encountered!  Good luck!

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Next~ 

I have over 120 4-patches in that pile of strips in my previous post!  :-o I even surprised myself!

But since I need over 200, I had to go back and cut more strips. After sewing them up, I am still 30 short. Will I ever get these 4-patches finished?

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Finally~

While gone on our trip Liz at Moments blog revealed her newest pattern~ Grace

I had the pleasure of testing this one and I really enjoyed it!

It is unique.

I made mine in Christmas fabric that I picked up at Hobby Lobby last year.  I love this festive fabric!

It is decorator weight, so I didn't need a lot of interfacing.

The inside is another Christmas looking print I had in my stash. :-) Don't you love a healthy stash?! LOL

I have started carrying this one this week and have gotten some lovely comments.  :-)

Are you busy doing holiday sewing? I have a number of irons in that fire and will be back soon to show you some completed projects. Until then~

Happy stitchin'!!

Sew On!

Hello!

I know it has been a while, but life does happen. In this case my sweet sister-in-law passed away and hubby and I made the 1500 mile (one way) car trip to get back to the mid-west for her services.  It was a bittersweet trip.  Although she was in constant pain from a number of health issues, she never complained. She left us way too soon.  :-(

On the flip side of that trip, we were able to see our families.  His sisters flew in for the services, and we spent a day traveling to visit his Mom in a nursing home.  We stayed with my parents as they were centrally located... and no way I was going to travel 1500 miles without spending a bit of time with them! ;-)  I got to spend some time sewing with my Mom, and I even scooped snow on our last day. LOL  We got back here right before Thanksgiving and spent the day with 2 of our kids.  It was a great day and they spent the night so DD and I could do a little shopping and crafting too. :-)

My niece spent time studying in Ghana last year and she sent my Mom a box of fabric.  Really interesting batik fabrics.  I wish I had taken a photo of them all.  Anyway, we made the Barbados Bag by Pink Sand Beach Designs .  

One for my niece and one for my DD.  Sorry the lighting is kind of dark. 

I guess snowy days will do that. ;-)

Are you sewing on Bonnie Hunter's  En Provence Mystery?

The first step is 4 patches~ lots and lots of 4-patches!  Yesterday I went through my bucket of neutrals and cut a 2 inch strip from each of them.  My neutral bucket has really gone down! There was a time that I couldn't get the lid closed~ now it closes with room to spare. ;-)  Anyway, I don't think I have enough strips for 220 4-patches! :-o  

This is all my strips sewn together.  Any guesses on how many 4-patches I will get? 

I know there are some uglies in there! LOL Maybe if they are small enough... ;-)

That's all for now~

I'll be back to see who guessed closest as soon as they are pressed and cut. ;-)

Until then~

Happy Stitchin'!!

A Fun Craft Bag~

It has been quite a few months since I tested this pattern for Sara @ Sew Sweetness.

 

The Oslo Craft Bag~

 

 

She designed it for a magazine and now that the magazine has released it (or however that works! ;) ), she is able to share it.  And guess what!!??  She is offering it as a free pattern for her newsletter subscribers. So be sure to hop over to her blog and sign up! wink-wink!

I found those nifty button mitten clips at Hobby Lobby and decided to use them for my handles. I made faux leather handles. At the time I was waiting for my FL, so couldn't photograph it with handles.  Now it is in the motorhome which is covered for the winter, so no pix. Sorry. It is really a great size tote for all your sewing or crafting needs.  The pockets on the ends snap closed and there is a divider inside. Be sure to check out all the tester samples at Sara's blog!

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

Thinking Christmas?

First, thank you for stopping by and helping me with my quilt layout.  I still haven't quite decided what to do, but I will let you know! ;-)

Second~ did you realize there are only 7 more Fridays until Christmas is upon us? Yikes!!!!

So if you are frantically sewing away, I'd like to share a free pattern that I had the pleasure of testing with you~

...the Yuletide Stocking! This is a brand new, FREE pattern from Toriska! This is an easy pattern, and a pretty quick sew. There are multiple variations so you can personalize your stockings for your whole family.  Not only is this pattern free, but Tori is running a sale on her other sewing patterns through Monday. You can find the coupon code in this blog post: Yuletide Stocking
You can also download the pattern on Craftsy: https://www.craftsy.com/…/yuletide-christmas-stockin…/463983

Since I tested this one last month, I kinda didn't have Christmas on my mind yet~  ;-)

:-o  All I can say is, the pattern really is versatile! LOL  I added rivets to the front for my ribbon, and gently pointed one of the cuff variations. The testers all did a nice job with their stockings, so be sure to stop by Tori's website to see them.

Until next time~

Happy Stitchin'!

Ideas Wecome!

Good afternoon! It is another rainy day here. The perfect day for sewing!

I got myself caught up on a BOM I am doing with a group of friends from the former HGTV message board.  The leader chooses a block each month and everyone makes it in 'their' fabrics.

I decided to use up some of my CW scraps and to prove that I am, look at this~

 

I needed 2 rectangles 2 7/8 x 5 3/4 inches, I only had one~ so I sewed together every last scrap for the second one. LOL 

I don't think it shows at all in my block~

The block on the left is Farmer's Daughter  and the right block is State of Georgia

Both are 10 inch blocks from Quilters Cache.

This is a shot of all my blocks together.  The BOM does not include finishing directions, we are each to do what we want.  And that is where y'all come in!  Do you have any finishing ideas for me?

Sashing? Colors, type etc?  I am open to lots of suggestions!  This is most likely not the final arrangement~ I just threw the blocks out there~

That's it til next time~

Happy Stitchin'!!