Wednesday, July 29, 2009

bags and other odds & ends

A couple more Nantucket bags done to share with you..... This one will be sold! And this is the one I made for the Alford Inn display. Cindy is doing all Christmas displays for August.... I took her the bag and 12 copies of my pattern yesterday! So go check it out...
So today I decided to take some time out to do something I've been wanting to do for myself. You might remember that I was thinking of covering my new ironing board. Well today I did it! & I am really pleased with the results. What do you think?

much better than the boring tan cover they provided!



And I've been working on some surprises for some friends. Here's a sneak peak!





Ok, back to my sewing room I go! Have a happy Wednesday my friends!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

pattern debut!

Remember this bag? It's like the one I made on my weekend retreat at the Alford InnWell, I have written the pattern so you can make one too! It's been fun learning the process. I want to thank my pattern testers (& good friends!) Annie, Sue & Joellen! Without their input, I could not have done this. Also my proofreaders (that would be my awesome daughters, Leigh Anne & Allyson), my photographer (son Steve) & my business manager & all around encourager (my sweet husband, Rick).

Here's the finished product! I've named it the Nantucket Market Bag, because the first one I made was for someone who was taking it to Nantucket for summer vacation. Apparently you are not allowed to use paper or plastic grocery bags there! Good rule I say.

I will be delivering a batch of patterns to Cindy at the Alford Inn later this week, so if you live anywhere near Van Alstyne, TX you can pick one up there. Or, you can email me directly at ellynsplace@sbcglobal.net & I will be happy to send you one for $8 plus shipping. Oh, & if you should happen to be a retailer, email me & we'll work out a deal!
I look forward to designing some more patterns in the future, this has been really fun!

Monday, July 20, 2009

giveaway....

Jodi, over at This, That & The Other, is having another terrific giveaway! She designed this....



for the Moda Bake Shop, isn't it great? & she's giving it all away! Check it out....

Friday, July 17, 2009

renewed & refreshed!

Wow, has it really been 2 weeks since I've written here? Sorry! I do have an excuse for the past week though. I've been in Louisville with my buddy Faith (& 2500 other women!) at the Presbyterian Women's Churchwide Gathering. What a wonderful time we had! There were incredible speakers, workshops, music (I even sang in the gathering choir!). It was 4 1/2 days of nonstop fun, learning, worshiping..... & I'm sooooo tired! We squeezed in a visit with Faith's mom & her family & they were so welcoming & kind to me. Oh, & my mom was at the Gathering too! Here she is with her buddies......
Don't you just love their shirts? The gathering shirts were so boring, white with the logo at the top..... so they tie dyed theirs! They came out so cute. Faith & I dyed ours an aqua blue, but not tie dyed, just one color. They looked pretty good too.
I also had the chance to catch up with 2 dear old friends from Ohio.... Mary & Sara. It was so great to spend time with them & hear about their wonderful families & other friends from back "Home".

So it's back to reality now! I need to get Allyson's afghan done, here it is with 80 granny squares before I left. 2 more rows & some borders & it'll be done!

I can't believe how the summer is flying by!

Saturday, July 4, 2009

guess what Ally got??


Yup, she got a phone. Funny how you don't ever hear kids TALK on the phone anymore. It's just carpal tunnel we have to worry about! Text text text.... she even texted me from upstairs today to ask if dinner was ready! Geez. What's this world coming to?

Oh, & doesn't Steve take nice photos? He was taking pictures of some of my bags outside today. I have been working on writing my first sewing pattern & I need a cover shot. The pattern is almost ready to mail out to my volunteer testers! Yay! I hope it makes some sense to them!

Happy Fourth of July!

Friday, July 3, 2009

IKEA finds & an owl

Today the girls & I went to IKEA. Ally has been bugging me to go for a while. She is ready to remodel the gameroom.....

So she found this rug, which will be her jumping off point for the decorating! Lots of possibilities here (& apparently it's really soft!)
I bought myself a new ironing board! It's really sturdy, & much wider than my old one, almost 18 inches wide! I had seen it last time I was there & didn't get it. Today it was on sale! YAY! I love the little rack for my iron too (don't mind the mess around it....)


But the cover is really boring. Ally thinks I should make a new cover out of this fabric (also from IKEA). What do you think? I think it just might work!


Next week I am heading to Louisville with a friend from church. We'll be attending the Churchwide gathering of Presbyterian Women. I'm really excited about it! I have a huge list of things to get done before I go. Today I got my hair cut (CHECK!). Here's something else that was on my list..... the other day at Target I bought a solid yellow nightshirt that looked comfy for the trip. Ally said "Mom that's really plain. It needs an owl on the front."

Owl. (CHECK!)
On to the next project!