Zipper bags for Nino :)

I got the last of the zipper bags done this morning for a project my friend Nino is working on - these will get mailed in the next few days :D Actually I have several packages to get ready for mailing so I'll try to get them all packed and out in the next few days!

I did part 5 of the dog SAL last night (the red version) - will get the blue version done in the next few days - I'm all caught up on that project - there's only one more installment and the SAL is complete! As long as my fingers hold up to the "stress", I'm on a roll :D

Stash & Dash & Poochie :)

A couple of new to me patterns - the 3 bags on the left are Stash & Dash bags (pattern by Amy Butler), and the bag on the right is a Poochie bag by Monica Solorio-Snow, aka The Happy Zombie :) Everything turned out quite well - isn't this a lovely looking set? I see more of both pattern in the not-too-distant future ;)

She looks JUST like me ...

... except she's skinny, LOL. Isn't she adorable? I won this delightful little girl in a blog giveaway hosted by the talented Khris of Sew Prim Khris - is she adorable or what! Khris made her just for me, and SHE HAS MY HAIR!!! Thank you Khris - Ruby is beautiful :) So is the kitty cat notebook you also made - sweeeeeeeeeeeet!!! Sending you big Canadian hugs!

I got some more sewing done tonight and finished up this chocolates tote/shopping bag (15 x 13 x 3) - great for shopping at Laura Secord or Godiva, LOLLLL!!!

I also got parts 3 and 4 done of the dog SAL - part 5 comes out tomorrow, so I made it in the nick of time! All in all - a very productive day today!

On the To Do list - check, check and check ;)

A couple of projects I've completed lately - some zipper bags for Nino (Nino, 2 are done, 3 more are cut out, and I'll also include a girly one - these ones are about 8" x 9" - hope they're OK!) - some chocolates zipper bags just because I like the fabric (which came from Nino! So thanks, Nino!), and a pillowcase Christmas gift for a little 3 year old I "know" via the internet via his grandma :D

Now I'm off to do some housework (ewwwwwww!), then I'm going to work on part 4 of the doggy SAL that I'm doing -- part 5 comes out tomorrow so I'd like to get part 4 finished before then :D On that link to part 4, the second picture is my projects (parts 1 & 2) !!!

Ironing board covers and a Kitty :)

I recently came across a blog that had a tutorial for making ironing board covers. I've wanted to make one for a long time, but assumed that they would be fiddly and difficult to make. NOT SO!! In under an hour my ironing board went from EWWWWWWWW to Awwwwwwwwwwww!!!! The old cover looked even worse than this photo shows - I threw it in the washer so I could photograph it, LOL. It was disgusting!! I left it on for extra padding, and added the new one right on top! Now I wish I had more ironing boards so I could make new covers for them :D Well, maybe not ... I don't like pressing THAT much :D

During our trip to North Carolina last week I finally got to meet and visit with a long-time internet buddy - Karen (HI, BUBE!!!!!) - she made me this adorable wallhanging featuring my beloved kitty Zoomer - he's the "M" kitty on this wallhanging :) THANK YOU SO MUCH Karen - it's beautiful, and will always remind me of our (first!) meeting at Mary Jo's :)

It's beginning to smell a bit like Christmas ...

I bought some gingerbread fabric from Joanns during our vacation, so I got stitching yesterday and made a couple of small projects :)

The cross-stitch is from a SAL (stitch along) currently being offered here - isn't it adorable? I did the stitching (parts 1 & 2) in the car during our vacation, so these will be international projects when they're completed ;)

A couple more pictures :D

It feels like I spent all day yesterday taking pictures of my new fabric, lol. The photo taking was the easy part - after I took the pics I had to WASH everything! Huge job, but it's mostly done - it just has to be put away. I thought about ironing it all first ... then decided ... HELL NO :D Best to iron it as I pull it out to use, lol.

That's most of the fabrics I bought --- I also got a couple of upholstery sample books @ Zincks in Ohio - they were a whole buck each but the owner gave me one free for buying 2, LOL. I've started cutting the fabric out of the books and will use it eventually for ... ??? Not sure!!! Something will come to mind, I'm sure - upholstery fabric is really nice to work with - I throw it in the washer and dryer to make sure it will hold up to regular use, and it always comes out lovely!

Lots more fabrics :D

Yes, I did manage to find lots of fabrics that I liked! Check out the bagels fabric and the BROCCOLI (!!!) fabrics in the top picture - funny or what, lol!!

Fabrics and notions :D

OK, I'm just going to say up front ... I have a few fetishes. I have a zipper fetish, and a scraps and remnants fetish, and a Joanns FQ fetish. DON'T JUDGE!!! ;)

No, I do NOT have a notions fetish too - I just like buying them because they're fun - what do you TAKE me for??!??!?!? :D

Back ... from the USA ... (yes, I think I'm Springsteen :D)

We got home from our 9 day trip late Saturday night - I was so glad to get home, but of course neither of the kids were home - they were out and about, hehe. The house was in one piece (and not even disgustingly dirty), the cat was uninterested in our arrival (which means he was content and not lonely), no car repairs were needed on the boys car or truck, there were no summonses from cops and no hysterical messages from irate neighbours - yep - I'd say my kids passed the responsibility test - well done, N & C :)

We visited friends in Ohio - hi, Patty and Charlie and Dishy and Pat ... we visited friends in North Carolina - hi, Karin and John, hi Karen ... we visited a friend in Pennsylvania - hi, Young Nana Mickie -- we shopped, we ate, we had fun, but we're definitely glad to be home!

I have some photos to post, but I'm still unpacking and doing laundry and getting housework done, so I'll just post a few at a time.



I've recently started knitting dishcloths. I know only the basics of knitting, and I'm not interested in learning how to make fancy things like sweaters and booties. Dishcloths are very easy and forgiving, so I'm having fun with them (now that I know to use cotton yarn, HAHAHA). I picked up a few dishcloth pattern books and some yarn on our trip, and had fun knitting in the car!! I also picked up a couple of sewing books - hard to resist when I have a Joanns 40% off coupon ;)

Fabric photos coming -- right now I have to go work on a load of laundry, lol.

Quicky on the fly post, lol

I'm in the midst of making T-giving dinner and packing for our trip - I wanted to empty my camera card before we left, so here are the 3 scissors fobs I finished last night - they're not perfect, but they're cute, I think! I discovered that the techniques get a bit easier as you practice - the first 2 fobs took me 2 days each (lol!) - the 3rd one took under 30 minutes. I'd say that's an improvement ;)

OK - back to running around like a chicken with my head cut off!

Getting stuff done before our trip :)

We leave on Friday morning and I still have stuff to do, lol. I finished 2 steno pads from Two Wacky Women ... with the addition of elastic to hold the pages in. In case anyone wants to make the steno pads WITH the elastic, here's how to add it to those instructions - information courtesy of 'bama Julie! Thanks Nino!!! ;)

11B. Pin 7" piece elastic 4" up from the end that will be the front facing (if you have put the pen holder on it will be that end, if you don't have a pen holder or any other element that identifies the front from the back don't worry about which end). Then ...

12. Fold each end in towards the center until it measure 19" from fold to fold. The ends that you fold in will be approximately 8 1/4" but don't worry if they're not. The important measurement is the 19" from fold to fold.

If when you turn the cover right sides out the elastic is on the outside, it doesn't matter, it's a simple thing to pull it round to the inside.


I also finished up 2 more sock sacks, and worked on some beads - I forgot to get jump rings, so I'll pick those up in the next day or two, or else I'll pick them up when we hit Joanns. I definitely have to wear my reading glasses for doing beadwork - holy crap getting old is bad on the eyes!!!

Tomorrow I need to get some cooking done for the freezer - chili, spaghetti, banana bread and pineapple upside down cake :D Our 19 year old insists he's going to buy dinner every night (and he probably will!), but the 20 year old is happy to pull something out of the freezer and reheat, so he can save his money :D I'm sure he'll pick up pizza or subs a few times, of course!

I changed up the zipper bag pattern :)

I've been poking around etsy and decided to modify my zipper bag pattern by adding pleats :D I think they turned out cute! My friend the tavern wench is coming over tomorrow to help me do some beaded zipper pulls - I'd like to add some pink and black beads to these bags :) I don't have a lot of bead colors - I guess some shopping is in order --- poor me!! ;)

Use it up, finish it off :)

I know the cuff design on the pillowcase goes the wrong way, but it just happened that I had a scrap of fabric that was 10" X WOF that I wanted to use up, so that's just how it worked out :) The pillowcase went into the sock sack because it's a surprise little "just because" gift - notice the beads on the sock sack - I'll be doing THAT technique again - it really looks sweet!

Assisted by a tavern wench :D

My friend The Tavern Wench (aka Nancy, lol) came over for a visit today - she brought me some pretty vintage buttons, and she also showed me the proper ink to use to stamp on fabric ;) Thanks Nancy - now I can sew my cute little kitty label on stuff, so people will know who to blame! ;) I taught her how to do the Heart of Mary zipper bags - hopefully she'll post a picture of hers - and then I used the leftover cuts to make my own matching bag - mine is just trimmed a bit differently than hers :D Maybe her people will be having a zipper bag Christmas this year like mine are!

Fall is in the air :)

I finished the tablerunner tonight - it worked up to 18.5" square (well, almost square, LOL). Then I made a sock sack in the same fabric, but I made it an extra 2" tall so I could roll up the tablerunner and tuck it inside :D If you get that sock sack in the mail - or if I show up on your front doorstep carrying it - you'll know the tablerunner is for you, LOLLLLLLLLL!

Regular ink that has been heat set = NOT indelible or permanent

I made labels with a stamp I got from a lovely ebay seller - I stamped the fabric, heat set it with my iron, then gave it a test wash ... it sure did look pretty BEFORE it got washed! I need indelible/permanent ink, and will toss these labels :D

I worked on my floral tablerunner this afternoon - it needs borders (same pinecone print as the sashes) and then sandwich/quilt/back/label. It'll finish to about 18" square - just right for a little fall table topper gift :) Maybe I'll make a sock sack to tuck it into ;) I'm also thinking of making small fabric yoyo's to make the centre of each flower - that might make a nice dimensional addition :)

Decisions, decisions

I drafted a tablerunner pattern in EQ6 based on a photograph I saw somewhere online. This is going to be a fall tablerunner - a gift. I'm trying to decide which colors to use - the picture with the pink fabric is a bit outside of the box for me (I usually play it VERY safe), and the all fall tones photo is - to me - safer, but ... perhaps not as much OOMPH. I thought I'd throw the pictures up so I could look at them both together, to hopefully help me make a decision! The top left fabric is the block background, and the bottom left fabric is the sashing/border. I think I'm going with the colorway with the pink, now that I can see everything laid out, lol. If it looks like crap when I get the blocks made, I'll change them!

Terry Atkinson - it's all your FAULT!

Two more Terry Atkinson sock sacks finished and GORGEOUS!! Look at my zippers - they are perfection, if I do say so myself!! *struts for a moment, then goes back to her normal humble self* :) These are gifts - or rather - they're wrapping for gifts, and a gift themselves :D These little guys finish to about 7.5" X 9" (going by memory, because I'm laying on the couch now and I don't feel like getting up and going downstairs to measure them) :D


Also completed - a lined totebag with matching zipper bag - a gift :)

2 more gifts completed :)

Here are a couple of projects I finished yesterday and today - the "real gift" will be tucked inside, and the "wrapping" becomes a gift too :D I've mentioned before that everyone on my gift list is getting zipper bags this year, and I was NOT lying, LOL!!! The peacock bags are lined with the trim fabric :) The Sunbonnet Sue bags were paper pieced (thank you, Stitchers Needle, for the patterns!) - the denim was upcycled from my son's worn out jeans :) I'm pretty sure the recipient will appreciate that aspect of the project :)

Freebie tutorial - sock sacks!

This project has been making the rounds on one of my Yahoo groups - one of the members, Angela, has made them using orphan embroidered blocks - just gorgeous! Look here and here! I decided to give it a try too - it's quick and easy and makes a really cute little bag! Mine is a little boring compared to hers, but it was my first draft :P I'll be making more of these, but I'd like to make them a bit bigger :) The original tutorial can be found here - thank you Terry Atkinson for sharing such a fun project, and thank you Angela for inspiring me :)
P.S. I finally found the flickr "set" where she posted her other sock sacks - I knew there were more photos! As always, your work is spectacular, Angela!