Scrap Cleanse

Let’s call it a Scrap Cleanse. Or Purging of the Scraps. Whatever you call it, it made me really happy. Cousin Ann came over on Sunday to peruse my scrap collection. She is going to make some baby blankets.
I am known to often dig through my scraps for just a little something. A take just a little something and load the whole thing back into its bin. How happy am I that these little scraps will now have a home in a blanket of their very own?
I love the combinations she chose. And Ann can be depended upon to follow through with a project. She won’t just have this great idea and get all the stuff and then never finish, ya know? (oh by the way, this will NOT happen with my little dog. Promise.) So I told her I fully expect to see these blankets before they are gifted. It’s my right as their original owner!

something new

I’ve been wanting to create a new design for the shop. . . . Viola! This is an adaptation of my Market Bag, but it has extra features like…
A zippered pocket.

Two more pockets on the opposite side for your cell phone (SO necessary) and other Things You Don’t Want to Dig For – in my case, lip product and gum. Plus, pleats on bags just make me happy.

a bit of good advice

Warning: this is totally random. So there is this extremely delicious sandwich shop called Jimmy John’s. Perhaps you have one near you and you know the sandwich delight of which I speak. I was waiting for my sandwich one day and saw this sign: "If you do the things you need to do when you need to do them

THEN SOMEDAY

You can do the things you want to do when you want to do them"

I need this sign tattooed to the inside of my arm. Because my usual advice to myself is: “Don’t want to. Not gonna.”

Ah, Jimmy John’s, you’re so very wise.

Softies!

My sister Emily got this book a few weeks before Christmas.

"Softies" by Therese Laskey... genius.

I can be a little bit obsessive when it comes to new crafting books. I simply could not get it off my mind. I was thinking about going out and getting it, plus felt and supplies to make some little softies, and then we had that huge snowstorm. I seriously had to give myself a little talking to, and it went something like this: “Self, you do not need to go out in the raging snowstorm to get this new book and more supplies. No really, self, you have a million yards of fabrics and project after project waiting for you already. Now come off the ledge."

So then I finally got the book when the weather turned decent. Whew! So. cute.

I’ve cut out the pieces for the little dog project…but after all that buildup, it has half a seam finished and has been sitting in my apartment as I indulge in my latest obsession: The New Fabric Avalanche. Well – it will get done someday!

Splurge

So about my fabric splurge. My second graders have given me TWO gift certificates* to this fabulous fabric shop in Seattle – The Quilting Loft. Mmm, its heavenly with so many lovely fabrics to choose from, a very friendly staff, and quilts and other inspiring projects everywhere you look. In fact, I got the two fabrics from my last post from The Quilting Loft. After some online shopping and an unexpectedly fruitful trip to Joann’s (I’m sorry, not all Joann’s are created equally – this one actually had a ton of cute fabric!), I now have all this to fit on my shelves…
I spent the entire weekend sending all this awesomeness through the washing machine & dryer. Yikes. I will be ironing for the next two weeks.

*One said gift certificate was for my birthday in November. Upon opening the second GC – my Christmas present – I exclaimed, “Guys, did you know what your parents gave me for Christmas? Another gift certificate to my favorite fabric store!” To which one youngster replied, “Aren’t you tired of getting the same thing?” I shot him a horrified look. “NO!”

Baby Love

Maybe it’s because there are several babies on the way, but I have felt this huge urge to do more with kid’s fabric! The first round of my friends having babies seemed to all have boys…not that there is ANYthing wrong with boys, but when I found out of several girl babies now on the horizon, I could not resist the urge to go out and spend way more than I should have on cute little girl prints. (I found some cute little boy prints too, don’t worry.)

Remember this blanket? I’ve been thinking about it ever since I made it. So I made another one, this time with a different birdie print.

More to come…

What I Got For Christmas

Ta Da!

I was super excited about this book. Excited as in, I thought I would probably get it, because it was one of the few things on my wish list, but I still almost couldn't resist buying it before Christmas anyway. But my patience prevailed.

I have only recently fallen in love with Alicia Paulson, author of Posy Gets Cosy. This book has so many great ideas... love it! Naturally, I had to make the Nutcracker Doll, as seen on the cover, first.

This doll reminds me so much of my crafty grandma, who used to make doll after doll with looooooong skinny legs. Go, right now! Go see Alicia's dolls here.... they are just so stinkin' cute!

The book is full of great sewing ideas for making unique and personalized keepsakes that are great for gifts. As usual, I marked the pages of the projects I simply must make. I should be busy for a while!

More Stitching...

Remember these tea-towel aprons? Well, I still had some tea-towels on my shelf, calling my name. Can you see me stitching in my parents' cozy living room? So very quaint.

So here are the aprons, now available in my shop:

ps. did you notice the bias tape?? :)

Wee Elephants

It was a busy holiday season, but I did manage to eek out a few handmade gifts. I made these elephants from the "Peanut the Wee Elephant" pattern in "Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts." One for Pearl...

And one for Oliver....

It was pretty hilarious trying to get a picture of Oliver with the Elephant. He seemed to prefer the old (but also handmade) teddy bear that lives at my parents' house.

Oh well, maybe he will love it someday!

Bring It On, 2009

Ahhh, 2009, how I've waited for you. Not really, but it sounds postive, right? So I realized I needed a couple of new calendars for school and home. I went to Barnes and Noble, figuring they would have SOMETHING and it would probably be 50% off. Well, they did have calendars and they were 50% off. However, I simply could not decide between Golden Retriever Puppies, Heroes of Nascar, and Barns of Scotland. So I jumped on Etsy, and sure enough, I found the calendars that will take me through the year! This one will live in the kitchen:

I found it in daisyjanie's shop. I also discovered that she designs the most amazing fabrics.

This calendar, from Magnolia Moonlight, is going in my classroom:

I love how each day is a little speech bubble. It reminds me of the 20-some odd voices that never stop in my classroom! Aw, I miss the little guys. Happy New Year, everyone!