Saturday, January 31, 2015

Crafty Tuesday and some hats....

Crafty Tuesday happened a week early this month. There were four of us celebrating January or February birthdays which made it extra fun! There was pizza, salad and cupcakes. and quite a few yarn crafts at the table this month.

I've been making hats to donate to kids in our community who need them. This one came out pretty cute...
 But not all of the patterns I've tried have been successes.....
I think I might just keep this headband one for myself....
because I'm heading somewhere cold this week.... stay tuned!

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Lola Pouch

Recently I had the opportunity to test a new pattern for Svetlana over at S.O.T.A.K. handmade.  The pattern is called the Lola Pouch and it's an awesome zipper pouch in two sizes. You'll want to check this pattern out (released today!) as the technique for installing the zipper is different and easy... and the finished pouch is adorable! Here are the pouches I made for her.

First, the large pouch which would be an awesome project bag!

 The bag has boxed corners to give it great shape and binding around the top to finish it off perfectly. I even stitched the binding on completely by machine (a first for me!) and it was easy and looks nice and neat! Who knew I could do that (:::::pats self on the back:::::)

Here's the small pouch, which would be a great pencil pouch, or to keep your crochet hooks in.

 I dipped into some of the pretty Japanese fabrics I had been hoarding in my stash. They were just perfect for these!

Of course I loved this pattern so much, I couldn't leave well enough alone. I decided to create a patchwork pouch (instructions for the patchwork are not included in Svetlana's pattern, but easy enough to figure out)

I just love that little mouse who snuck into my patchwork!

So three pouches and I'll be making lots more of these! Great pattern Svetlana! I love it!


Friday, January 23, 2015

placemats

A couple of weeks ago, my son and his girlfriend sent me this picture of their new dishes and asked if I would make them some placemats. Well when your kiddo asks you to make something, you jump right on it! Right?
I had been hanging onto the Quilt Talk book for a while, wanting to try some of the foundation paper pieced letters, and the placemats in the book were just what I wanted to do! I made this sample with scraps of grunge I had in my stash (Pool and Peacock are the colors)....
And I was pretty proud of myself! Lucky for me, Stitched With Love (the shop I work at) carries the full line of grunge (LOVE!) so I headed over there for supplies. Soon I had this done....
The center piece is from Art Gallery's Utopia line. 

Before long I had four done.....

Off I go to the post office today to mail them off to Phoenix. Hope they enjoy them!


Thursday, January 15, 2015

it's me!

A little over a year ago, I shared with you that Carol, over at Mamacjt had created my mom as part of her ladies series (Mom is lady #59).

I love Carol's Ladies so much! Especially Mom! Right after I did this for Mom, I gave my hubby all of Carol's email info & told him how much I would love to be one of Carol's ladies too.

Christmas 2013 came and went. No Lady for me. And then my birthday passed. Still no Lady. Boo.

In December, when we were in Arizona I loved seeing "Mom" hanging on the wall of her kitchen nook (don't worry, it was the fabric Mom hanging there, not my real mom! Ha!) Again I passed all of Carol's info on to hubby. And again, Christmas passed and I did not become a fabric lady. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands!

Early this month, I emailed Carol and signed up to be Lady #73! Within a week, Carol emailed me back that "I" was ready to mail! I whipped up this little pencil pouch as a thank you, tucked my check inside and sent it off to Carol....

pencil pouch from Amy Morinaka's book Zakka Handmades
and just a few days later, a box arrived, carefully packed by Carol, with ME inside!
I just adore this! She really nailed it, from the colors she used, to my red glasses, all of it! I can't wait to rearrange my mini wall (yes, again) and hang her (umm ME!) in my studio. Thank you Carol! Such a gift you have for capturing people in fabric!

Friday, January 9, 2015

Cecelia bag

Last week I had fun pattern testing  Clover and Violet's new Cecelia bag (available today!)
 This bag has all the bells & whistles you can imagine! lots of pockets (elastic pockets, pockets with sew in magnetic snaps, zipper pockets, you name it!) and cute little ties on the sides....
 short handles....
 and an adjustable, removable shoulder strap....
I used all fabrics from my stash for my polka dot version. This would make a great project bag, diaper bag for young moms, book bag..... mine has been commandeered by miss Ally! 

More pattern testing going on here this week, will share as soon as I can! What have you been sewing lately?

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Crafty Tuesday Vision Boards

We had a crowd for Crafty Tuesday today! Seven of us got together for crafting, visiting and of course, lunch! At this end of the table was hand stitching.....

And at the other end of the table we were making Vision Boards.....

Have you heard of Vision Boards? I had made them years ago but hadn't thought about them in a while. Then I read this post on Carrie Bloomston's blog and knew I needed to make one again! I also received Carrie's book, The Little Spark, 30 ways to ignite your creativity, for Christmas. What an awesome book! You really should check it out. 

I tossed out an invitation to my crafty friends to join me in making the Vision Boards and three of them decided to do it. All four of us had chosen words for the year and we decided to make boards that represented our words. Grace's word is "trust". Melissa chose "inspiration" for her word, and made a collage to include in her notebook for her word. Joellen's word is "improvement" and I love what she did with her Vision Board....


 I love that three of us chose "I" words this year. Here's the board I made for my word, Imagine....


This will be a great visual to have in front of me this year as I explore my word.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

one word

If you've been following me for a while, you know that I always choose one word to focus on each year. Or rather, a word chooses me! I'm never quite sure where the words come from, each year it is a surprise gift from God. Sometimes the word puzzles me or surprises me. (Honestly, I never did figure out why my word was Strength in 2013.) Always, after a year of pondering my word, I grow. This past year, my word was Grace.
Last Christmas, I received wooden letters from Ally, which I painted and hung in my studio as a constant reminder. I read several wonderful books on Grace. I sought out Bible verses and quotes containing my word, and I thought about it a lot. I learned a lot about myself this past year and I do believe I grew in many ways. Offering Grace to others has become more natural to me and has healed my heart in many ways. I have seen Grace in others, often when I least expected it. I know that the lessons I have learned will stay with me for the rest of my life.

But, alas, it's time to move on to a new word! I have been thinking about what my word should be for a few weeks now. Sometimes it's hard to turn off my own voice and listen for what God wants me to focus on. One word kept coming back to me and I fought it. I had this little chat with God:

God: your new word is imagine.
Me: doesn't that seem a bit shallow? Maybe I should choose something meatier? Something deeper?
God: Imagine. That's the word.
Me: seriously?
Ally: what are you going to do Mom, lay on the couch and dream all day? (this from the girl who chose FUNNEL CAKE as her word last year!)
Me: maybe?

Lest you worry that nothing will be accomplished in my household this year with me focussing on a less-than-productive word, rest assured that hubby has chosen ACTION as his word for the year. It's all good!

I auditioned other words but they didn't feel quite right. They just didn't stick! I'd think of something deep & meaningful (Leigh Anne has chosen the word Obedience! now there's a good, solid, challenging word, right?) and a few hours later I couldn't even remember what I had thought of. Just Imagine. sigh....


And for Christmas this year, Ally gave me this.....
And Imagine it is! Now I'm getting excited about the possibilities...... Imagine the woman I wish to be. Imagine the places I'd like to go.  Imagine the creative possibilities! I can't wait to see where this year takes me.

I look forward to sharing the ways I choose to explore my new word throughout this new year. For starters, I'm scouring the internet for a perfect necklace that says "imagine" so I can have a constant reminder around my neck at all times (hey, a girl can always use more jewelry, right?). And the crafty Tuesday girls have a special project set for next week to help us kick off the new year. But I'm getting ahead of myself. More on that later!

For now, I can only begin to imagine where this is going to take me! Do you choose a word to focus on every year? I'd love it if you'd share it with me in the comments.