Tutorials, Tutorials, Tutorials

I have been trolling the Internet the past few days looking for quick-sew gift ideas (quick-sew because I have waited to the last minute...again!). Here are a few neat ones that caught my eye:

Fabric Flowers (featured on SewMamaSew too)

Flexi-coin Purse (I heart that Uhandbag!)

Baby Burp Cloths (Got a baby shower next weekend)

Cute Appliqued Coasters (I am a sucker for owls)

Patchwork Placemats (I think these would be fun for Grandma)

Hopefully I will have some actual photos to share after the Holidays...if I ever get myself back into the sewing room:)

absintee blogger...

I know my blog has been the most boring on the planet, but I have been BUSY! I have some photos on my camera that are eagerly awaiting being downloaded...I have some completed projects to share, a swapper to thank properly, and some trip photos too. I am really hoping to get to it this weekend...we shall see if I can squeeze it in between 2 baseball games, a football game, and a purse that I really need to get sewed together;)

Have a good weekend everyone:)

Heaven on Earth!

Just got back from Michigan. We were up there visiting my BFF Carolyn and her family. We absolutely LOVE Michigan check out some of the fun we had over our long (but not quite long enough) weekend.

The lighthouse at the channel...


Check out the waves!



Ready to boogie (boogie board that is)!


Caught one!


Lyddie has her floatie and she is ready to ride the waves...


Andy & Graham out on the Hobie Kat


View from the top...


View from the top...see the rainstorm heading in on the right side of the picture?


Isn't it just beautiful!?! Usually when we go up the water is a little too frigid, but this was the PERFECT weekend. We swam and visited, beached and sailed...truly the most amazing weekend:) I have more pics to share, but they are on my friend's camera. Once she gets them uploaded I will share more of the fun and scenery with you:) If anyone is in need of family vacation ideas I say look into a trip to Michigan! I would take it over a trip to the ocean any day!

Been on hiatus...

Sorry for the lack of posting...we have been hustling and bustling thru summer.

My son's 9-U Baseball team won a tournament...



Here is another shot with Coach Dad...




Graham fell off his bike and busted his knee open so he got his first set of stitches...to be honest I am quite surprised he lasted this long...he is pretty accident prone...lol



Not too horrible, but still pretty gross:)

On the sewing front...I made another Nappy Bag for a co-worker whose daughter is expecting her first baby any day.

She picked out this cute monkey print to go along with the monkey themem nursery...they are having a boy.



I lined it with some basic brown cotton and made the inside pockets out of some cute stripe I stumbled upon at Joann's



She will be picking it up tomorrow...I hope she and her daughter like it!

Up Next...

This weekend it ANOTHER baseball tournament. It is the last of the summer season so I am looking forward to a little break before Fall Ball starts up (yeah, we are crazy...we play practically year round).

I am also just about done with my Mama Mia apron for YarniGras! swap. I am so excited about it and can't wait for my partners reaction! As soon as she receives it I will post pics! Probably by sometime next week...the mail deadline is this Saturday.

Next weekend we are off to Michigan to visit friends and beach it up...then we are home a weekend before heading out for our yearly float trip. We are definitely closing summer out with a bang! I can't believe school registration is in 2 weeks! Where does the time go?

Bored

I am bored and having a doodle. I want to make an apron like this...



I want to cut the tiers of the skirt on the bias so they will be full and I think I will layer some tulle between them as well. Add a little fabric flower brooch at the top and voila! I haven't made an apron for a LONG time. I kind of burnt myself out last year...I lovingly refer to it as Apron 08. I must be feeling nostalgic though because recently I am feeling the urge to whip up something domestic:)

OK, well I am off to deal with rush hour traffic. I love getting of work at 5(not)! I am going to upload pics when I get home whilst I enjoy my kick-off-the-weekend-cocktail...lol. So I should have some Weekender pics available for your viewing pleasure by late this evening or sometime tomorrow.

Where is the spring!?!

Ok, how is everyone? Sorry I have been MIA around here, but I am just coming off a little bout of Influenza or something of the like. Today is the first day I have been out of my house since Sunday morning, and it is the first day I have driven my car since Friday! Talk about living in the Twilight Zone...

So, now that I am back amongst the living I figured I would take care of a little bloggy business..

1) The Giveaway- The giveaway is now closed and I would like to thank everyone who participated. I will be announcing the winner on Saturday so stay tuned.

2) Weekender Bag progress- Right now I am completely annoyed with my weekender bag...attaching the main panels in all of their Timtex glory to the zipper/bottom panel is turing into my own private nightmare. I am hoping I can just pull it off with out having to start over 2 days before the deadline! I am having an AWFUL time getting close enough to the piping...especially in the bottom corners. There is SO much bulk in the seams! I trimmed the timtex back but I am still having an issue. I have broken about 5 needles so far. At this point I am half considering hand-sewing the darn thing! I hear the lining part is a breeze compared to the step I am at now...I am ready for a little something 'breezy' let me tell ya! Right now I am in the process of taking deep breaths and counting to 10 just to get me thru this...lol!

3) Where is the spring- I don't know about all of you, but I am totally ready for spring! Winter has definitely worn out it's welcome with me! I am ready to go outside for longer than a few minutes. I want to sit on the deck, get into the garden, put flowers in the pots, and crack out the grill! Ok, I am done:) But seriously, we have to be getting close, right?

Weekender Bag Progress Report

Ok, so I have all my pieces cut out for my Weekender Bag project. (Well. almost all of the cutting is complete. I ordered a bolt of heavy sew-in interfacing from Joann's with my 50% off coupon-good deal!- anyway the shipping takes FOREVER from that place! It finally made it here so I really have a couple more cut outs to do of the interfacing). Let me tell you that is a LOT of cutting! I would show pics of all my lovely cut outs, but that would give away my fabric choices...and that wouldn't make sense since I am having a "guess what fabric I picked giveaway".

I am going to start on the sewing tonight. Lyddiebug is staying at the GP's and Andy and Graham have baseball practice...so that means I get the house all to myself for 3.5 whole hours! Cha-ching! Talk about 3.5 consecutive hours of uninterrupted sewing while singing along the to XM satellite radio (the Lithium station-yeah, I am totally stuck in the 90's...lol)! I am a little nervous because I have had some bad luck with covering the cording in the past so to be safe I plan to have a seam ripper on hand...and I think I am going to whip out the antique machine with the old standard zipper foot to see if that helps out at all. My zipper foot for my Brother machine is not very user friendly for me for some reason. Does anyone have any Brother zipper foot tips that might be useful? I hate it because it is so wide at the back which doesn't' really facilitate close sewing to the zipper. Unless maybe I am trying to sew too close? I think I need some guidance!:)

Ok, I am done rambling/venting about my zipper foot...any comments with helpful tips will be much appreciated:) I will take photos as I complete the bag so I can share the construction process later.

Have a good weekend everyone!

A little bloggy business...

Sorry to my blog followers...I know things have been a little quiet around here. My camera batteries are still dead and I hate blogging without pictures. Plus I still think I am still coming off the holidays...seems like the "recovery" takes longer as you get older...lol! I have been up to some sewing and I am hoping to share all of that with you in the near future...

In other news, I have received a bloggy award from Aunt Pitty Pat. My first bloggy award ever! Thanks, A P-squared:)



Here is the 4-1-1:

This blog invests and believes in Proximity- nearness in space, time and relationships.These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends . They are not interested in prize for self- aggrandizement!
Our hope is that when the ribbon of these prizes are cut ,even more friendships are propagated.

Please give more attention to these writers! You are suppose to pass this award on to 8 fellow bloggers, to include the above text in their blog. So with new and wonderful friendships formed I have given it to these 8 bling bloggers.

1. Itching2bstitching
2. What Katy Did
3. Eat Cake(she hasn't posted in awhile-and by awhile I mean like a year-but there are lots of useful links and informational posts to check out)
4. Lola...Again(Her blog is always a laugh!)
5. Pink Penguin
6. 1/4 of an inch
7. Yarni Gras...who was already nominated by APP...
8. Ginger Monkey

There you have it...8 little bloggy gems.

Time for action!!

Please click the above button and get informed! We must band together fight for our crafting friends and our right to craft for our children!

Pajama Challenged

Can anyone recommend a good pajama pattern? I am looking for something that is the traditional elastic pant and button top. I could even use some tips if such a pattern does not exist...or maybe pick up a used pair at the Goodwill and decontruct them to use a pattern. Any suggestions are more than welcome!! Thanks:)

Happy Holidays all!

Quiz

Just a little something to do if you are bored...or needing a break from pre-holiday craziness:)

I am a Canna What Flower Are You?

Click on the pic and go take the quiz...are you the flower you thought you were? I think I would rather be a daisy, but I guess Canna will do;)

Not It!!!

Holy moly...I have been tagged (well I was tagged like a week ago)! I have never been "tagged" before...well at least not in blogland...lol. Thanks a lot, Aunt Pitty Pat! Now I have to think of six random things about myself...

Ok here it goes...make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom because there will be six lucky bloggers tagged by me:)

The rules are simple to play......

Here goes, first let me see if I can follow the rules:
Rule #1 ~ Link to the person that tagged you.
Rule #2 ~ Post the rules on your Blog.
Rule #3 ~ Write 6 random things about yourself.
Rule #4 ~ Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
Rule #5 ~ Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their Blog.
Rule #6 ~ Let the tagger know your entry is up.

Random thing #1: I am a CRAZY driver...Probably because I am always late (which irritates my punctual husband) so I am in a constant state of hurry. One time we were on our way home from vacation (and I was driving, because I am the driver-no one else drives fast enough for me) and I was zipping along weaving in and out of traffic...my husband looks over at the speedometer then looks at me and says "Do we really need to be driving 100mph?" Guess not...I will slow it down to 85...lol!

Random thing #2: I am the BIGGEST procrastinator on the planet...anyone who has been my swap partner can attest. I may be late, but I NEVER flake...so that should at least be a little comforting:)

Random thing #3: I have had more freckles than anyone I know for my entire life (at least since I was 4) and at least once every couple of years some cute little child asks me why I have so many pimples on my face. The question sends me running for the mirror...then I remember it is the freckles. I guess I am so used to them that I forget they are there.

Random thing #4: I am left-handed...and proud of it:) It is really kind of annoying being a lefty in a righty world. I am a complete lefty...I just learned how to use my mouse with my right hand...lol. You know how some people are left handed, but the only thing they use their left hand for is writing? That isn't me...I do everything with my left.

Random thing #5: I am not very good at coming up with random things about myself...stopping at 5...

Now 6 people...hmmm...I guess I will tag:

Everyone! If you are reading and want to play along go ahead!

Pug Shots

The cuddle pugs were looking cute the other day so we had a little photo shoot.



It is so hard to photograph Dudley...he just looks like a black blob next to Percy.

EXTREME CLOSEUPS



Awww...look at that face!



Percy looks like he is getting a little irritated by all the flashing going on...lol

Uninspired Thursday

I wanted to post on my blog today, but find myself totally uninspired and without a finished project to even share. How boring is that?

Do you ever have those days when you sit at work and daydream all day long about the sewing/crafting/baking you are going to do when you get home only to get home and make dinner/bathe kids/do homework then just end plopping on the couch and never quite getting around to that creative therapy you had planned for yourself? TOTALLY FRUSTRATING!!

On the fastrack to F.A.

I have been going a little crazy lately. Probably because my sewing room looks like this...



(ok, maybe that one doesn't look so bad, but it is the only "finished" part of the room. BTW, that is the desk I will be refinishing. I have it all planned-I am going to paint the desk a charcoal gray color and then adhere some funky fabrics to the drawers and replace the handles)

and this...



(kind of barren)

It is a definite work in progress! I am going to paint the wall behind the bookshelf in alternating light orange and red orange to complement my inspiration fabric.



Bright Buds by Amy Butler. Can you say gorgeous!?! I already have the walls painted a lovely shade of aqua. I am totally digging the space, I just need to get it done so I can get back to my sewing! Once I get the bookshelf walls done I can put my stash in its new home. Right now it is residing on my sewing table...





which makes it hard to get any sewing done. It isn't like I can just throw it on the floor (gasp!) to make room...haha.

To make matters worse I went to an auction a couple of weeks ago and aquired more sewing junk (just kidding-I know sewing stuff is not "junk"). I got 4 boxes of vintage fabrics, vintage needle point, vintage tranfers, and quilt batting/pillow forms. Plus I scored the motherload of vintage patterns...



Yeah, 5 boxes of vintage patterns! I am going to list some in my Etsy shop once I get everything organized. I need to go through all of them and make sure all pieces are present and get photos taken. Wait till you guys see them, they are totally cool! Oh yeah, and the swanky dress on "Sally" (pictured above) was hidden in one of the boxes as well.

Right now I am kind of overwhelmed and thinking I may need to start a local chapter of Fabricaholics Anonymous for myself! I just keep buying fabric...I can't stop! I have already ebayed some today and it is only 8am! Hello, my name is Heather and I am a fabricaholic...lol! Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I would just start sewing actual items out of the fabric, but it looks so pretty all uncut and neatly folded. Does anyone else suffer from this problem?!? Please tell me I am not alone:)

Elementary! My Dear Watson!

In April my mother's neighborhood held their annual garage sale and I found the perfect desk for my sewing room. Then the light bulb went on...I remembered seeing a totally awesome desk on a blog...now if I could only remember where I saw it! So I tapped into my inner Sherlock Holmes and started trying to retrace my steps. I remembered that I was blog surfing when I found it...I started flipping thru different blogs that I frequent to see if anything looked familiar and jogged my memory. Finally after a couple of weeks (and the bright idea to check flickr-duh!) I found it again! YAY! So here it is...



Isn't is super cool?!? I can't wait to turn my old desk into something this beautiful!

Thanks for sharing, Megan (BrassyApple)! I will post pics when I finally get it done...I know it will take me awhile, but winter is coming so I should have plenty of free time for fun projects:)

P.S. I posted the link to the tutorial in the "It's Free I Tell Ya!" section on my blog.

It Is Apple Pickin' Time

I took the kids to Grafton on Sunday for a little apple pickin'...I LOVE the Fall!



We drove down to Eckert Orchard for the Apple Fest.

They load everyone up on trailers pulled by tractors and take the scenic route to the apple trees. This particular weekend they were picking yellow/red delicious and Jonathan apples. I gave each of the kids a bag and they got to the pickin'. It only took them about 5 minutes to fill up their bags...they would have kept going, but I thought we had plenty. We lined back up to catch the tractor back to the main part of the orchard. I am pretty sure we butted in line, but I had to get those kids away from the apple trees...they were still trying to pick more apples! LOL!



So we take the bumpy scenic ride to the place where you weigh and pay. The whole time I was kind of nervous because we had a lot of apples-I know because I was carrying both of the HEAVY bags-and at $1.49 per pound I knew I wasn't getting out of there on the cheap. So I heave my 2 bursting bags of apples up onto the scale...26LBS!!! Yup, I was afraid of that...

So after a peruse of the bakery/gift shop we loaded up our 26# of apples ($40 worth) and headed home. The whole time I was thinking, "What the crap am I going to do with 26lbs of apples!" Then my son said, "Mom, that was so much more fun than just staying home and playing with friends all day!" I felt much better...I am finding that as my kids get older it is harder to find family activites that they enjoy more than spending time with friends. So that made the whole trip worth it right there:)

Well I am off to make apple pies and apple cake and apple tart and apple crisp and probably some applesauce...haha

Arrrrr Matey!

I can't believe it has been a year already!

Shiver me timbers...arrr!

For all of you who aren't current on all of the "international holidays" I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that today is INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY!!!

So don your fave eye patch and hook hand and celebrate the day!

(...and don't forget to mark your calendar so you are better prepared for next year!!)

Kickin' it in the Windy (more like RAINY) City

My trip to Chicago, in a nutshell:

Got on the train to Chicago 833am.
After a 50 minute detour arrive in Chicago 115pm (the train ran out of food)-it is raining
Walk to the hotel to check in-in the rain
Hotel room is ready early-Yay!
Back out into the rain to find somewhere to eat.
Eat and drink some wine
Back out into the rain
Try to figure out the Subway so we can get to the Craft Fair
Finally get on the subway-a little scary, but pretty awesome too-by the end of the trip it was totally not scary anymore
Get off the subway-make two wrong turns-finally get to the craft fair
Craft fair was pretty neat, but too many people with umbrellas, and too much rain
Bail on the craft fair (didn't buy anything) get back on the subway.
Figure out how to take the subway to the Magnificent Mile (map out and all...looked like such the tourist!)
Get to the shops-still raining-shoes are wet, socks are wet, pretty much everything is soaked-I LOVE rain!
Spend most of the evening window shopping and people watching
Back to the hotel-still raining-to eat some dinner
After dinner and 3 $6 beers for me (2 $13.50 martinis for Shannon) go to bed
Up on Sunday-still raining
Spend and hour trying to dry my shoes with a hairdryer
Effort wasted, 5 minutes outside shoes are SOAKED again
Eat breakfast
More shopping-still raining
Go to a couple fabric stores-got some really CUTE owl trim-OMGosh...stopped raining
Make our way back to the train station-still not raining
Train CANCELLED!-too much rain, no alternate transportation



Trek to the Greyhound station (with two Chinese lady friends in our same predicament-can't get home)-no buses til the following morning-didn't really want to ride a bus anyway:)
Call some rental car places-all closed
Get a hold of Shannon's husband-he offers to come pick us up-YAY!-it will be 5 hours til he can get there-BOO!
Me, Shannon, and our 2 new Chinese lady friends go to dinner-it was fun
Back to the train station to wait for our ride....still not raining
Waiting at the train station
Ride comes-we get home...FINALLY! @ 230am (a big "thank you" to Matt for coming to get us!!)

I know it sounds like a nightmare, but it really wasn't bad...and we got a LOT of exercise. It was still fun to get away for the weekend and hang out in the BIG city!


Our wet, tired feet:)

If I Only Had 98 Smackaroos (and a little apron love too)

I absolutely LOVE Anthropologie and their website is one of my guilty pleasures. It has been awhile since I visited so I thought today would be a perfect time.

While there I found that I must have this...



I have a THING for handbags, especially those that are roomy and have a neat print in the fabric. As you can see, this meets those criteria. Too bad I can't bring myself to fork over the dough (who could when there is fabric to buy?...lol-gotta keep my priorities in order...jeesh) and treat myself. Hmm, isn't it about Christmas List season? Might have to pencil it in right under dressform;)

Anyway, enough rambling about the handbag...while I was there I was checking out their apron offerings. Let me tell ya they have some DARLING aprons! Check out this little number...



Now, at $32 I would consider it a little pricey...especially since I know I am perfectly capable of making an apron for myself, but if for nothing else than a little inspiration or a little therapeutic window shopping why not check it out?

Laters