post number 50! Granny squares & other stuff...

Wow! 50 posts already! Time flies. So here's what's been happening around here. First off I wanted to share a fun project from this book....I loved the embellished tank top project... so I made one for each of my girls. I didn't get a picture of Leigh Anne's before I mailed it off, silly me! But here is Ally wearing hers...It has little scraps of applique around the front, and hand stitches & tiny buttons around the neckline... easy & fun to make, used up some of my scraps & the girls love them! YAY!

Next, I told you I was intrigued by the whole "granny square a day" thing blogged here.
I made my first one yesterday. The best instructions I found online were these at CraftStylish. Here's my first square...I decided to do them all in orange, pinks & white. These are Ally's new colors. I was originally going to keep it a secret from her, but then I realized that's just not possible! Here's the beginning of day 2...

I decided to try these instructions for attaching the squares... and it worked! I figure maybe I'll have a whole afghan by Christmas! Honestly, the biggest problem for me is sticking to just ONE granny square a day. I could easily get caught up in this & neglect all of my other projects (not to mention the laundry, cooking, cleaning...).

back to my real life!

I'm so happy to be finished with jury duty! I'm not going to put all the details out here for the whole world to see, but I will tell you that it was not a fun experience for me! Nuff said....

I returned home to this sweet face wanting some attention, poor neglected Lexi...
& this in my front garden... after the rainHere's a little peak at a special project I have been working on for MONTHS that is almost finished....

I can't tell you what it is or who it's for just yet! It's a surprise...

And this hat is waiting to be decorated for a luncheon at church this weekend... it is crying out for some flowers & more ribbon I think! I also need to come up with a salad to bring... something gluten free of course. Any ideas?

Is it just me, or are all the bloggers yacking about making granny squares lately? Like this post on Craftsanity. I have never made a granny square but now I am thinking I need to give it a try. It looks pretty simple, but I don't really need one more project. Or do I?

civic duty...

Well I had big sewing plans this week. I had jury duty yesterday... my big plan was to be released by noon, head across the street to Quilt Assylum & do a little shopping then home to sew the rest of the week.... well.....

I was put on a jury! Never done this before & it's quite interesting, but it blew my weeks plans out of the water. I don't have to be there until 1 today, so I will fit in my trip to the quilt store before that. Meanwhile, I'm jamming on laundry etc, so my family won't have to go naked! I don't know how you working gals keep up with everything....

Oh! I got a text from Leigh Anne yesterday, she received her dress in the mail & said it fits perfectly..... I can't wait to see it on her & plan to make more! YAY! Ok, off I go...

sometimes it's the little things...

a bouquet of daffodils always makes me smile! & they are available for such a short time in the spring, when I see them I always grab a bunch (or three!). I found these at the grocery store this weekend & the orange centers made me smile. I brought them home & put them in a vase on the mantel.

& then today I walked past & noticed this funny little caterpillar hanging out nearby!

Allyson is always surprising me with little things like this! Happy Spring!

rainy day...

it was so rainy & stormy in Texas this morning. The perfect day to hide in my sewing room. I caught up on all of my favorite podcasts & made up the new Anna Maria Horner Socialite dress for Leigh Anne. It came out so cute! I used some inexpensive fabric from Joanns for the first run (I even used a 50% off coupon!) in case I messed it up, but the pattern was really easy to follow & turned out great. Took me about 3 hours to sew I'd say (probably longer for an inexperienced seamstress, but it would be a good first project. No buttons, no zipper... just pop it over your head!). I can't wait to send it to her & see if it fits... it should! If she likes it, I am going to go get some Anna Maria Horner fabric & make her up another one for summertime.

The print is really busy so it's hard to see the detail.... Tonight the kids are having a lock in at the church. Hubby & I signed up to chaperone the first shift.... 9-11 PM then we are coming home to bed... I was so NOT getting up at 2 AM to watch a bunch of teenagers play ping pong!

Happy Weekend!

more fun in my sewing room...

It was a very quiet Easter here at Ellyn's Place. After a pancake breakfast & church we were pretty lazy around here. Which is fine! I do want to share the Easter Baskets I made for my kiddos this year...

This basket went off to Arizona for the bunny to fill...

and these two stayed here & were filled by the Texas bunny.....I'm having so much fun making baskets! Here is a new size I tried out.... you can snuggly store 18 cds in here....

Here is something else I worked on this weekend. It's a variation on Penny Sturges Weekender bag. I added canvas at the bottom. I want to give this away as a diaper bag & I figured it would really take a beating this way! I only need to get a button & it's done...

Now I think I will make some coordinating things to fill it up!

A little while ago I heard the dog going crazy at the front door. I went to see what was going on... & wow! There was a package on the doorstep! For me! It was this... my prize from Jodi at Simply This, That and the Other! Woohoo! I have been thinking about the quilt she is making, with fabric from all 50 states. I need to come up with a creative idea like this... hmmmm. I'll get back to you on that!

Happy Monday!

I won!

First of all, a big thank you to Jodi from Simply This That and the Other who picked my name as the winner of her contest! Jodi is making an awesome Grandma's Flower Garden quilt with fabric folks have sent her from all fifty states and around the world. You simply must go read about it on her blog! I sent her some fabric from Texas and she is sending me this:

It will be so cute in my kitchen which is mostly red & white with some yellow!

Yesterday these were in my mailbox:

ah I have big plans for these patterns by Anna Maria Horner! My girls have had their eye on them for months & finally they became available. The Socialite dress will be so cute on miss Leigh Anne this summer & Allyson is wishing for the Study Hall skirt! Yay!

What else is happening at Ellyn's Place? (thanks for asking!) Yesterday I started this:

for a new baby coming into our lives by way of my brother & sister-in-law in Ohio.... we just learned that the baby is a girl & I couldn't wait to make something pink!

Today I finished up a tablerunner that I pieced a while ago, with scraps left over from my tote bag (blogged here). It's pretty simple piecing, but what I wanted to do was try out machine quilting. Thanks to my sewing buddy & her machine with a walking foot, I was able to do some easy machine quilting this morning & sewed the binding on this afternoon.

I think the finished product is quite plain. Maybe I will make a few yoyos from the polka dotted fabric & add them to the white strips along with some buttons? Still deciding.

So that's what's happening here! What are you sewing?

things I've done...

I stole (borrowed?) this from another blog.....

...Things I've done and been to (Mine are in red)
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child - well, ok... not a child. Do fur babies count?
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

what about you?

happy birthday friend!

This is the other thing I have been working on.... a little wall hanging for my sweet friend Laura whose birthday is today. & now that it has been delivered to her I can show you! I have my own personal delivery service.... my son Steve took this to her in her classroom at the High School before her first class today... thanks Steve! Speaking of Steve, he & I are just back from the doctors.... he does not have strep, that's the good news! He does have a nasty looking throat & fluid in his ears, poor boy. He hardly ever gets sick so I feel doubly bad for him.

As for me I have not even entered my sewing room today. I had been in there so much this week that no errands had gotten run, so I ran around most of the day. I will try to fix this little problem before bedtime!

productive day

Finally, as promised, pictures of some finished fabric baskets. My photography is lacking, I will have better pictures taken before I put them in an etsy shop. Anyways, here they are...
I love this one! Can't you so see it as a sewing bag? & here is a picture of a cute bag I made for a friend's daughter:

it's the Easy Breezy Backsack pattern from the Lizzy B Girls. It was fun to make & came out so cute. I think when I make it again I will make the pocket flap a bit longer... oh, & I put a magnetic snap on the pocket instead of the velcro they suggested.

I made something else today but I can't show it to you yet! So, it was a productive day at Ellyn's Place....