600th POST!!

I can hardly believe that this is my 600th post! I never imagined that when I started this little blog back in 2011. Boy, has blogging changed since then. Not for me, really. I still do what I do. I even go back and read some of my early posts to see what I was doing back then. It's like opening a time capsule. So, here's what's up here lately:

Last Friday was our anniversary, and so I made us a pan of brownies to celebrate. My husband isn't much into desserts, but he does love a good brownie and these are really good and fudgey.

 I had finished a blanket for the middle daughter, so now I am starting one for the oldest daughter. These are the first two rows, after frogging 15 rows that I hated the color order of.

 Now I think I am on the right track with this one. At least I hope so. It's coming along.

And these are all the yarn colors that will be in this very colorful ripple blanket. Pattern is by Lucy at Attic 24.

I whipped up these cutie shorts for Miss N, from leftover fabric. I made her a Geranium dress a couple of years ago, and she has outgrown it, but misses the "puppy" dress. This is the last of this fabric, which is a knit.

 And since I was able to use up a big chunk of my stash making bags and pouches for the craft fair, I decided to reinvest some of the profits in more fabric.

 These came from Fat Quarter Shop. I only bought things that were on sale. I wanted to get the best bang for my buck.

 I also chose things that I thought would be good for future bags and pouches, since I am planning to do another craft fair, or hopefully two, in the fall.

 These came from Hawthorne Threads. I love this Anna Maria Horner print. I think it will make a stunning bag.

 I have already cut out a ton of bags and pouches and began sewing them together this week.

My goal is to get them all finished up by the first of September so I have time to play as well. And I have a couple of quilts to make for some family members that are due by Christmas time as well. No idle hands here!

So if you are a frequent visitor here, I thank you. I hope you come back often. Now, on towards post number 700, the next big milestone. Have a great weekend.

A Bouquet of Geraniums

I have to admit, I have fallen in love with sewing for children again. I used to do it when my girls were little. I loved it in part because it took so little fabric to make them things. Also, almost instant gratification for most things. A great combination for a mom who needs to sew. Now that I have a granddaughter, dresses are my thing...again! (I did sew for the boys but they are getting really big now.)

Rae's Geranium pattern is the best. Several options and so easy to make. I have made several, since the time N was a wee thing, but now that she is older and walking, she loves pretty dresses. Yay!! I have today, three more to show you.

 First, let me tell you this dress is white. Pictures were taken under the green umbrella in the heat of the day. This is a knit dress. I found that sewing with knit is not hard, but it does slow me down to keep things going correctly, which is fine. Careful is good. The little bit of stretch this knit has should help keep her in this dress for a while.

 And when you stitch in the ditch at the high waist it practically disappears altogether, which is great! The knit has a great drape to it as well.

 After I made the first knit dress, I wanted to do another and I found this one, actually Made by Rae, so it was perfect! N is going to love these doggies!

 The third one is a cute Dear Stella bird print I found on sale at Hawthorne Threads. When I got it, I suddenly decided to go through my stash and try to find something to pair with it for the top. I found this Dear Stella Confetti Dots in the exact color as the pink birds. How perfect is that? Many times a manufacturer will use the same colors making matching easier.

 Buttons are all done on all three. My button hole struggles are getting better. I have done so many lately that I am starting to understand the machine and the button hole foot.

Last minute I decided to add a pocket, just one. It fortuitously sits right below this sweet little bird. How cute is that?
If you like sewing for little girls, I would highly recommend this pattern. Now there is an expansion pack available that has sleeves and collars and I think I would like to get that so I can make some for fall too. Have a great Tuesday and I will talk to you soon.

What I've Been Doing Lately

I know I don't post much. I am doing lots of sewing, but it takes so much time to photograph stuff and then edit it and write a post. I mean to show everything here on my blog, but then, somehow, I just don't. So here is an update of some goings on lately.

 So there is the scrap bin cleaning project. I have now done all but one of my scrap bins. I cut all scraps to usable sizes and threw away the rest. I only kept a very few small scraps of special stuff in each color bin.

 Before I began, all the bins looked like this one with whites and creams in it. I am so happy to see the progress in this. So far I think it has been 3 weeks in the making. Almost done.

 An upshot of this project is all the strings that are 2 inches or less being cut to one inch size and made into balls of "yarn" for my crocheted rug project. I have made a couple of these from the   Crazy Mom Quilts tutorial. They are fast and fun and use lots of strips that would otherwise be trash. I did throw away a lot of s(crap) also, just straight into the trash.

In between all this cutting and winding I have done some sewing as well. Here is a look at some of that:

 These sweet popsicles are going to be a table runner. I got this pattern from the Fresh Figs site. I don't often buy patterns, but something about this just grabbed me.

 I used only fabric from my stash for these. There are 11 popsicles in all. Just need a backing and to quilt it now. Maybe on my next day off.

Then there is this. I got the pattern for this block from the Fat Quarter Shop blog for free. I found it to be a perfect show case for my Sarah Jane fabrics . Many, but not all are included here and the bigger chunks will be pieced into a back. Still need to make sashing and get it all together.

Then there are these. These are in house printed fabrics from Hawthorne threads. Their designs and digitally printed. I have never purchased this type of fabric before, but the designs were so sweet.

 I got them and they were all printed on two large pieces of fabric. I cut them apart and washed them according to directions. They are a high thread count fabric, and they are quite stiff, even after being washed.

I love the colors and the designs, but I am used to a much softer fabric. I am not sure how much I like these or what they will be used for. Have you ever had anything like these? What did you think of them? Do they soften with time?
Well, that's it for today. Talk to you soon.

Sunday Stash #24

So I finally broke down this last week and bought some fabric I have been wanting ever since it was released. I saw it all over the internet for so long, and now a piece of it is mine. LiMa Sews had some stuff on sale in her Etsy shop and I went to browse. She had a 28 inch piece of Sweet as Honey by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics for $6!!

 And so as not to let that lovely travel to me alone, I picked up a couple of half yards of two other prints in the line. I hope to work out something they can all be in together. That would be cool.

 Then, I was looking for some textured or tone on tone pieces to go with my Science Fair fabrics for J's new quilt. I found these lovelies at Hawthorne Threads. This is Sketch, which comes in such a wide array of colors and Hawthorne Threads has them.

 And for point of reference, here is one of the prints from Science Fair that they were bought to go along with. I think I did a pretty good job. This gives me about 6 yards of fabric to work with. I am still trying to settle on a design.

Here's to a great Sunday and a great week of sewing adventures. Linking up with Molli Sparkles Sunday Stash.

Sunday Stash #22

Another Sunday and another stash addition to share with you. Hope you are enjoying your weekend so far.  Here we go:

 First up, I have long wanted some of this, and I finally found some on Etsy. This is a long out of print Henna Garden by Sandi Henderson. This is from her Meadowsweet collection of about 4 years ago. I love this stuff!!

 Not a great picture, but this is Science Fair by Robert Kaufman. I have a grandson who LOVES science so much and this, paired with a couple of tone on tones I am planning to get, will make his newest bed size quilt. Not sure what quilt pattern I will use yet, but I want big enough pieces to show off these great prints. This one is available in another colorway also.

 And last, but not least, I bought two panels of this alphabet print from the Petit Fleurs collection by Carolyn Gaven.  I am thinking of ways to incorporate them into pillows and quilts.

 Each one is different and cut apart they would be very versatile. Not too expensive either, about $7 per panel at Hawthorne Threads where I bought mine.

                                      Here is a C for Charlotte.

And a G for Grammie. Linking up with the ever shiny Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash.

Sunday Stash #19

I haven't had anything to really show lately, and now...BAM! I have lots to show. Memorial Day sales are mostly to blame for this. Here we go...

 I got these from Hawthorne Threads. This is Trefoil by Riley Blake Designs. I think these are a great stash fabric in so many colors. That's why I bought these.

 This is Hanami Falls for Wilmington Prints. I love the pretty design and bought this to be the back of a quilt that is still in the planning stage. This is from Hawthorne Threads too.

 These are some prints from Kate Spain's Daydreams line. So many pretty prints it was hard to choose. Loved these aqua prints.

And I got a few in warm tones too. i am trying to buy with an eye towards stash worthy prints. These were all from Southern Fabrics.

These I found in the sale section at Winter Creek Cloth. The first two are from the Salt Air line. Older, yes, but I have long wanted some of these. The green gingham is from Home to Roost for In the Beginning Fabrics. So summery and cheerful. Also on sale!
Have a great Sunday everyone. Linking up to Molli Sparkles.

Sunday Stash #15

Good morning and Happy Easter to you. I hope you have some lovely plans for your day today. I think mine will be a quiet one, and that's okay by me. So this week's Sunday stash I have been very excited to share. I waffled on buying this fabric since the day it came out. Should I? What would I make with it? But everyone's buying some. Wait, maybe I don't need it. WHAT? Scratch that. Of course I need it. I am a collector. So here it is, a carefully selected few pieces.

 Sara Jane's Wee Wander! I looked at it on line so much and I really loved the pink colorways but I know I am not really able to use a lot of pink. I have grandsons and also, many of the folks I have sewn baby quilts for in recent years are having boys too. This colorway can be for boys or girls with the right additions to it.

 The illustrations on this are just fantastic. I think each of Sara Jane's lines is better than the last one.

 The firefly in a jar is my favorite. What kid never did this? It brings me back to summers growing up.

And this one reminds me of a tree in the park where I grew up. My sisters and I spent many hours playing in that tree. We called it the monkey tree and it was the best climbing tree ever.

 This one was the hardest to find. The horses print in every colorway is sold out or on reorder at many of the shops I frequent on line. I bought all my pieces from Hawthorne Threads which is usually my go to fabric source. I really wanted the blue colorway of this. I felt that it was very necessary to the collection, but I couldn't find it. Then, at Lark Cottons I found this. So I grabbed it. This was my first ever order from Lark  Cottons, but it won't be my last.

The service was so fast, I had this in my hands 3 days before the rest, and Hawthorne Threads is pretty quick when it comes to shipping. But what I want you to see is the edge. This baby is pinked so there is no raveling. I have never seen that before, but with the pinking blade on a rotary cutter, easy peasy. GENIUS!!!
Just a side note, I really wanted to see this fabric before I bought it, but my LQS did not have it. I asked, and they said they had ordered it, but they didn't know what prints had been ordered or when it would come in. I checked back weekly for 3-4 weeks and finally gave up and bought on line. I try to support my LQS whenever I can, but many times they disappoint with what they choose to carry. I did not want to miss out on this one. And just so you know, it is so soft! I am going to love sewing this up. Got an idea already. Well, enough rambling. Have a great Sunday and I am linking up with Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash.http://www.mollisparkles.com

Sunday Stash #13

Oh, lucky 13! Saw these little lovelies in a weekly newsletter from Hawthorne Threads. They are one of my favorite go to on line shops. The fabric gets here so fast, which if you have no patience, like me, is a great thing. They also have a feature to let you order prints quickly from a single line. I love that! Anyway, here is what I bought:

 Bloom, by Masha Dyans for Clothworks. I am in full bring on the spring mode right now. This beauty is so very soft too. I am beginning to plan a quilt I am calling Riot of the Flowers in my head. Spring demands it!

 I also bought a half yard of these two supporting players. I love stripes, almost as much as dots, for binding. They are from the same line and there are more colors available too.

So, yay for spring and flashy flowers! I also caved put up no resistance to preordering the Heather Ross re-release of Far Far Away when it was offered this week. EEEEEEEEEE!!!! Excited for that one!!! Linking up with the lovely Molli Sparkles for Sunday Stash. Have a great day everyone!