I'm back - sort of

There hasn't been much sewing going on for a while. I did however get a phone call yesterday asking for a personalized tag blanket. I think it turned out very cute.

I'm really hoping to finish all the around the house stuff and get back into a good routine of sewing a little each day. I definitely have some projects I'd like to get completed before Fall is over and Christmas arrives.

One more quickie

Before leaving for vacation, I just had to whip up this pillowcase dress for my only little niece...

Custom Order

Before heading out on vacation next week I had these burp cloth/wash cloth sets to complete and deliver...

And these pillows to help a newly appointed 3rd grade teacher make for her classroom...

Appliqued Towels

I thought I would try appliqueing on towels since these pool towels were so plain. After putting a name on a towel that already had flip flops, I really wanted to try appliqueing them myself. I love the zebra and hot pink!

There is some concern that these will hold together. When the machine sewed the final satin stitch around the flip flop, I noticed some fraying of the zebra fabric. I used fray check to hopefully deal with the problem.

We'll find out as soon as they are washed. I hope it works because they are super cute and someone is already interested in one!

Babies, Babies, Everywhere!

I know it's been a while, but it's summer! There's not a lot of sewing going on around here. We are having fun in the sun!!

There seems to be quite a few babies being born lately, and handmade personalized baby gifts are very popular. So here's a little of what I've been up to lately...

Burp cloths for baby Jonah who has not made his arrival yet.

Burp cloth and washcloth set

Tag lovey - I'm really loving this purple!

I've Been Busy!!!

The tumblers turned out to be a huge hit! I ordered 25, and only 4 are not spoken for. I'm thinking it would be good to place another order and have them ready when folks call.

I'm loving this idea to wrap them up with tulle to give as gifts!

I also made bookmarks for eight teachers at a middle school. Now several of the students want one!

And last, I did this beach towel. Super Cute!! I see many more towels in my future. Maybe Christmas presents??

Teacher gifts

I picked up these travel cups at JoAnn's a few weeks ago thinking they would make great gifts. There are 4 very special teachers at my neighborhood school that will be getting these. I'm not sure I like the font for the "T", but this was a quick and easy project. And it really is an awesome teacher gift!

Baby Washcloths

I recently saw a blog post about making your own baby washcloths using terry cloth and flannel. I wasn't sure about using flannel, but I figured it was worth trying out. There are lots of cute prints, and flannel is very soft. I'll be giving these to some new babies at my church, and am anxious to hear back from the mamas about how they like them.

They are really soft, cute, and I love the way a friend recently told me to package them up!

A Helping Hand

My neighbor wanted to get a pottery barn kids Easter basket for her 1 year old son, but there were no boy colors left. So...she grabbed a basket with a liner at JoAnn's. She also got this fabric to make her own liner since she really wanted blue. We took the liner apart to make a pattern, and then she went to work.

L did a great job on her first sewing project! All I did was supervise and embroider Evan's name. This is only the beginning of all the great projects L will work on in her lifetime. I just may have another sewing buddy in the works.

And I'll have an awesome project for next Easter season! Anyone want to grab a clearance basket after Easter and put in your orders for a monogrammed liner?!?!?!? I think I will!

Another Lil Sis Onesie

And those orders just keep coming!!!

Totes/Big Brother Shirt

This has been a busy sewing week for me. A couple of the teachers at our neighborhood school asked me to make totes to give as gifts to their student teachers who are finishing up student teaching. It seems I've gotten a little more exposure since donating several items to the school's silent auction. I love making things for others to enjoy!

One of those same teachers is about to become a Great Aunt again, so she also asked me to make a big bro shirt for her nephew. I'm loving these little shirts and all the possible combinations of fabrics to use on them.

lil bro onesie

And for the little brother...

Big Sis Shirts

Today's project was to make big sis shirts for two sweet little gals who are waiting for their baby brother to arrive any day now. One of them says Ellie, and the other says Josie. My camera was having issues after making the second shirt.

This was a very fun project, and I love the way they turned out. Tomorrow I will be making a lil bro onesie for their brother. I can't wait to snuggle him!

And I'm loving this embroidery machine and all the fun things I can do to embellish my sewing creations!

For a cute little cowboy!

The Kindergarten classes at a local school are performing their music program this week. This shirt is for a sweet little 6 yr. old boy who is part of the program. I can't wait to give it to him! It turned out really cute.

Spring Has Sprung!

I've been itching to make something Springy! This skirt combines two similar patterns I've used in the past. I love the look, but there was way too much fabric to gather. I'll probably adjust that a little to save fabric and time for the next skirt.

And now that I have an embroidery machine, I was able to applique a matching shirt. This outfit will either go on my etsy shop or be donated to a local school's Spring Fair silent auction.

A Quick Sew

For a sweet little toddler...

Four Wheeler Onesie

I wasn't sure how this would turn out, but I do actually like it. This little guy's parents like four wheelers and having fun on the farm, so this is perfect for this new little guy.

Can't wait to see a photo of you wearing this little Rush!

Big "B's" frog shirt

I finished this sweet frog shirt for my cousin's 2 year old. It just so happens her mother LOVES frogs. Big "B" will look adorable in it - just wish I could have gotten it to her before Valentines Day.

Saturday projects

I finished this last onesie for little "B", and now the package is on its way tonight. I have been determined to use fabric from my stash rather than always running out to find the perfect match. This one was a little more difficult to deal with. The "plum" color of the onesie is not a color I've worked with, so I had to get really creative in coming up with a matching fabric from my stash. This is actually jersey knit, but it lays nicely and is very cute.



















I've also been asked to put names on a couple of my taggies for some new baby boys in Virginia. I very much dislike the fonts built in to my machine, but I don't have the cash to purchase the software to have better fonts. So for now this will have to do. I did however experiment with a cute font I purchased for $2.95. I'm hoping to get brave and use it on the second taggie I'll be working on this week.

The problem is each letter is its own file. So I can't tell my machine to print an entire name. I have to do each letter individually and hope they line up well enough.

And yes folks, someone did name their son "Farmer".

A Frog for sweet "B"

This applique took a little longer than expected. There were lots of thread changes, and the onesie was caught under the applique. I had to take it out of the machine and rip out the stitches before continuing. Thankfully this happened early in the process. If anyone has any tips for keeping the fabric out of the way, I'll gladly accept them. This seems to be my biggest struggle right now.

Little "B" is going to look adorable in this!

Little "Blue" Riding Hood Cape

A couple of weeks ago one of my piano students asked if I could make her a cape like some of the girls at church have. Of course I said yes, but quickly became nervous because her mother sews. She just didn't have time to make it, and since I've made a couple of them already she thought it would be much easier for me to take on the project.

It was much easier this time around, but I'm always worried Mrs. W will find the few imperfections that I found.

This is a horrible photo. I kept trying to get one inside, but finally gave up and opted for an outside shot. It wasn't much better. The cape has a hood, and it is fully lined. A.R. didn't want anything fancy, so I didn't have to tackle the difficult hand holes.



I also managed to applique one more shirt this past week. The gal I did it for wanted a hot pink and zebra Valentine shirt with the letter "A" in the center. I'm still working on getting the letters the right size, so this one is a bit too small. It's still cute! And I think I'll purchase another alphabet font with sizes 1, 2, and 3 inch options.

Appliqued Onesie

This first appliqued onesie turned out great! And it took maybe 45 minutes to complete. I kept having trouble with keeping the fabric out of the way. I'm sure I will learn better ways to deal with this as time goes on. I was also scared to push the button! I didn't want to mess up my first applique. Only two more to make so I can get that package in the mail.

January Happenings

It was time to get organized around here. Since getting a new to me embroidery machine, I needed to clean up my work space and organize threads so that I could be more efficient with my time. Spool organizers were on sale this week. I came home with one and quickly discovered I need to head back to get one more. Who knew I had so much thread?

My workspace!

Last week I ordered all the supplies to start using my embroidery machine, but since I had to wait for delivery I decided to work on a crochet project for newborn twin girls. In fact, the night before I was to meet them for the first time I started them. Two hours later they were finished! Turns out they are so tiny the hats will not fit for a little while longer. This was the first time I had put a ribbon through, and I think they are really cute.

When my embroidery supplies finally arrived I couldn't wait to get started. I ordered a 16oz. tumbler and a special embroidery paper to insert because I always see women carrying them around. I have wanted one for a long time. After two hours of fussing with it and re-threading the needle, I finally discovered the bobbin was the problem. The paper was really easy to use, and these tumblers make great gifts. Oh, and I had to order and download a font big enough to use on the tumbler. Hopefully next time it will be a quick 15 minute project. I've got lots to learn...

Crayon Purses

Just posted the last four remaining crayon purses currently in my inventory on my etsy shop. So now we wait and see what happens.

I've been very discouraged by the lack of sales on my etsy shop, but I plan to keep posting items and maybe take a different approach. I'm not really sure what that approach will be, so if anyone has an awesome idea I'm all ears.

Vacation Is Over

With all the busyness of getting ready for the Holidays and traveling there hasn't been a whole lot of sewing going on. I have taken up crochet, and that has forced me to sit on the couch and take it easy. Now that I'm getting back to a routine, it's time to get started on some more projects.

I have organized my fabric and placed it all neatly on shelves. My goal is to create using what I already have in my stash before buying any new fabric. I didn't realize I had so much until I actually organized it all. So I'll be sewing and listing items on Etsy as fast as I can get them completed - especially since I've spent more on fabric than I earned from projects. I'm in the red...

And....I'll be able to monogram some of my creations now. Yes, Santa brought me an embroidery machine! I'm very excited to learn how to use it.

Off I go to create!