Been Busy Lately?

OK. So you know we have all been sick. I am still sick, but Mary Ruth from Cotter's Country Cottage where I keep all the 'Crap I've Made' called me and said she was out of Steeler's Headbands and I needed to whip up a few, so for all you Steeler's fans....






Here are the headbands I whipped up. One of my daughter's so kindly modeled two of them for me. She picked out her favorites; they had to have bows, of course!


Valentine's day is just around the corner, so I had to do a few of those, too!





Here are the sewing projects I've been working on. Everyone asks me how I get so much done when I homeschool 4 kids. Well, truth be told. It is in stolen moments. 15 minutes here, 5 minutes there. I think about it all the time, though. That is the key. I know exactly what I want to do and then I go do it. I rarely spend any time in the sewing room thinking about what I want to do. I just go in there and do what I have been thinking about all day and night long.

That's where this quilt is coming from:






I also try to follow designers and patterns that they make that I like. I love Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs. I LOVE her Lily and Will fabric and now have a nice stash of it. I made this from it. She has such CLASSIC CUTE SWEET designs for babies:




So........I tried to make the lap top cover from a tute from www.crapivemade.blogspot.com and it turned out....well, it became this after I cut it all apart and put in a different zipper



I did eventually get it right with a few tweeks and putting the zipper on the long end like a sleeve. I wanted to make it eye catching so when my husband steals my computer from me to take the girls to the middle school pool for their swim team practice, everyone notices! :0)





Last weekend while my husband was down and out for 3 days with this bug (BTW - I have it, but am not allowed to be down and out for 3 days) I went to Office Depot with all 4 kiddos (during the Steeler's game because I knew lots of shops would be having great deals then -- which also tells you where I am going to be during the Superbowl because I really don't care about or like football - which means because I said that that I am probably going to move from Pittsburgh immediately) and bought 3 chairs. Here is the new one for my sewing room:




Yes! Finally. I should have done that 3 years ago. Leather, adjustable height and only $44.95! Yep! Only $44.95. I bought 2. One for the girls desk in their bedroom which has had a folding chair for 8 years. I also about a highbacked leather chair for the office for over 50% off, too! I did have to put them together which was easy, but time consuming. Where are you going to be during the Superbowl??? I am going to be shopping!

Ha!

The Sickies

OK, We've been way too sick and after a call to the Ped's office this morning, I've learned that there are so many things going around and we've caught a couple different things. Poor Lyn. After having the ....uhm...not to be too gross...dry heaves on Monday and fever and sleeping for two days, she started feeling better. Then she was up in the middle of the night last night with a 102.8 deg F fever. Eric, I fear is not too far behing...Oh, did I mention I feel like crap, too??? But, mom still has to care for the kids with the sickies even though she feels like crawling into bed and sleeping for the next week. I think that was one giant run-on sentence, but I am so tired it is just stream of consciousness now I think...see what I mean?

So, what is there left to do? Being stuck in this house with no shopping outlet...oh, yes, my husband is regretting introducing me to the on-line shopping world. Yes, I have been buying more and more fabric. The reason I can write this is because my husband can't be bothered reading my blog. I guess he just figures he lives my life with me so why does he have to read about it! Good thing I pay the bills ! :0) Hee, hee! Um, I think my sister-in-law may read my blog every once in a while...ooops. Hope she doesn't tell! Remember the Sisterhood, Julie!! Remember! I do know my mom reads my blog regularly...thanks, Mom. At least I know some one is reading about my crazy life...I know you're laughing about it, not sympathizing, though!

Anyway, tho't I'd put a plug in for some of the fabric shoppes I've been buying from lately.

You all know www.sewlovefabrics.etsy.com, right? Ruth is awesome and she sells my patterns on her site! Double plus!

Well I have been purchase some of Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms from her...still waiting for her lovely mailbox delivery (what a great friend and fabric supplier to my fabric habit!) Visit her site she's got great prices and a great selection!




I have also purchase some fab fabric from www.skyerevefabrics.etsy.com. OK, so a Whole bunch. Mostly Amy Butler stuff which everyone has seem a 1000 times, but I also got and am most excited about these white butterflies:



Any one who knows me, knows how I feel about Butterfly Fabric, right K8???? Natasha at Skye Reve Fabrics is also considering carrying my patterns. How exciting is that! First Ruth, then Alicia at Pattern Palooza, and Natasha!

And lastly, I am waiting to hear back from www.fabricshoppe.etsy.com to to confirm my order for some cute cute FQs:





I LOVE those bicycles...what am I doing to do with all this fabric, though? Sew, Sew, Sew...if only I could get the time...once the kids are done being sick, I am going to take a vacation in my sewing room....hmmmm....I'm going to have to buy a lock for that door, I think! :0)

I tho't those new bicycles would compliment the amy butler fabric I bought from www.skyrevefabrics.etsy.com



Well, I think that's enough writing for now. Hopefully I will post a tute later in February. We'll see how long these kiddos are sick!

February - I LOVE Pillows month

Sew Mama Sew announced that February is I LOVE Pillows month! I am going to be participating in her contest! Just tho't I'd let you know in case you want to participate, too!

I'll blog more later, the kids have been sick for days, I am exhausted from 2 nights up all night in a row....and no sewing....How can I continue? My relationship with my sewing maching is stressed due to the lack of attention I am giving it. I hope it can forgive me?!?

Vinyl covered baby bib for Antonio

Well, I am basically posting this blog for my sister-in-law, Julie. She's been pretty busy lately getting me jobs from her place of employment! She deserves a piece of chocolate! Looking forward to seeing Johnathan on Saturday and wishing him a happy 1st B-day! Oh, you can tell your girlfriend that her bib is on my blog if she wants to take a look at it in advance! I covered it with a vinyl coating so it can be wiped clean. It also has a heavy duty snap....I always hated it when the kids would reach up and yank that darn bib with a velcro closing right off!

Thanks, Julie! :0)

The Diaper Bag

Hi, there!

Since I am getting the hang of this whole blogging thing, I tho't I'd try it again and more regularly. Who knows, maybe it will be a great outlet for me and the kids won't have to listen to me talk about fabric fabric fabric so much!

Ok, two 'blogs' ago I talked about Holly Holderman, or Lakehouse fabric, being my fave...Still true. I just wanted to share a pic of a diaper bag that I made recently with her older Boy Oh Boy line. The diaper bag was commissioned by my friend, K8, for a girlfriend of her who just had a baby boy, Nathaniel. I love to create and sometimes don't know where a project is going to head until I'm 1/2 way thru it. I think I need to design a pattern from this creation, what do you think?

Pillow Party and Sew On!

Let's Sew On! I flew through this project, making it in only a day.





Stitched in Color is having this amazing pillow contest this month, check it out to see all the amazing pillows that are being crafted this month....See, we are not alone!

OK, so here it is...the LOVE pillow. I can't believe I actually got the icon to appear. Haven't had a lot of success with stuff like that. The tough part to this project was not the sewing....it was the blogging! It's hard to sit down at the computer with 4 kids constantly coming at you from all directions...that's right...that's what homeschooling is like. I won't say it's all roses because it is NOT. But, the the "+"es definitely outweight the "-"es. OK so before I divulge all the horrors of my morning, let me get to the inspiration for this pillow....

There are two inspirations for my pillow....



1l My love of fabric

2) Love for my friend Kate

She doesn't know it yet, but I made this in honor of her. Maybe this will finally get her to read my blog. Not that she needs to because I talk to her almost every day. K8, as her friends affectionately know her by, LOVES...let me say it again because I can't get the font to get any bigger LOVES Oh, I guess I can get it to get bigger...holidays. I'm talking ALL holidays. She already has her kitchen decked out in hearts and there are more to come. The scary part is, she tells me that she has way more that she just doesn't have the motivation to get out...WOW! She has shamed me into getting more into the holidays for my kids and I figured, what a better way than to make a pillow celebrating my LOVE for my family! K8 is an awesome friend. She always picks me up when I am down and knows to say just the right thing to keep my butt in line. She doesn't know this either, but I am truly grateful to God that He let our lives cross and become friends. Oh, I guess you're waiting for a pic of the pillow...let's see if I can do this! :0) OK, so they inserted at the top of the blog and I have no idea how to move them to where I want them...Finally, figured it out. Had to go into the Edit Html...uhm, what is Html???? Anybody???

Remember, I am a sewer, not a blogger, or photographer. I have a few move photos I'd like to share, but they are probaby going to insert at the top, too! If any one can help me with my failing blogger abilities, that would be awesome!

This is a close up of the Love applique, font from Fat Quarter Fonts that I bought last year. So quirky, I love them. Also you can see that I first gathered the background fabric and ironed it so it would have wrinkles and see shabby chic and romantic. I free motion quilted hearts around the word LOVE, too! At first free motion was intimidating, but, like everything else, it just takes practice, practice, and more practice! Here is a close up....

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Here is a close up pic of the 1/4 dresden plate corners.

I also added some thick piping and, of course, the ROMANTIC ruffle! The fabric was by Alexander Henry. The pillow also has a hidden zip in the back, but forgot to photograph that. Now I just have to figure out how to join the flickr pool so stitched in color can add my pillow to her pool??? Well, I was going to tell you about my horrible morning, but now it seems that the day is turning around...I figured out how to move my photos! That deserves a piece of chocolate to celebrate! I think I'll get right on that reward, too!

Hey! Go make a pillow, too!