Sharin' my Stitches, Etc.....

Love Letters of the future

2012-06-17T22:16:00.000-04:00

If you have read any of my blogs lately, you know that my son is getting married in August. All of this preparation is bringing back memories of when my husband and I were getting ready for our August wedding back in 1984. We lived in separate cities during the summer before we got married. There were two ways to communicate. One was phone calls and calling long distance was very expensive (at least according to my mom). But we could send letters. There was so much more to write too than I could say over the phone where others might hear or I could be interrupted.

Well, times have changed and methods of communication have changed also. Couples have their own cell phones, text, IM, chat, and many more ways to communicate. Letter writing is almost extinct but expressing your love never goes out of style. My son expresses himself on Face Book so sweetly and honestly. This is a sample of his Face Book page.

I decided to print out all of his precious typed thoughts- his professions of love and create a collage. Face Book is a wonderful way to collect pictures, thoughts, and events. I was able to keep clicking the "more" button to keep accessing his posts. I copied them to Paint where I could crop them up, and print them out on card stock. I cut them out and pieced them together. I took the collage to Office Max where they printed a copy on to glossy photo paper.

Didn't I tell you he writes the sweetest things?

Lots of work but it was definitely well worth it!

Twirling, twisting fabric

2012-05-23T22:47:00.000-04:00

First day of summer break and I spent the morning searching for the perfect craft. I've got a number of weddings and baby births coming up this summer and fall. As a teacher I don't have much free time until summer. Yeah! for me! Any way I saw on Carolyn's homework blog how to braid t-shirt fabric strips and create coasters. I took a break to look for old t-shirts. My family has plenty but I couldn't find the colors I wanted so I went to my fabric stash. I saw one on Pinterest that used strips of fabric. Would regular cotton material work? Looks like it did. Has a shabby chic ravily (stringy) look to it, but they are nice thick coasters that will go with any decor.

Here's how I did it.
1. Rip the fabric into 1 inch strips (or so). 3 strips per coaster. I didn't measure mine but they are the width of typical fabric. I ripped selvedge to selvedge.

2. Knot the 3 strips together and begin braiding.

3. When you get to the end or the length that you want it. Knot the strips again.
4. Begin coiling the braid and using a threaded needle, secure it as you coil. If you use a coordinating thread no one will ever know. The Pinterest connection used glue but I'm a needle and thread kind of girl. I'm afraid if it gets too wet the glue might not work.

The coasters are ready to use or give away. They will make the perfect gift.

One summer day down and 60 more to go! Lets see- what to do tomorrow?.........

Go to Carolyn's Homework blog to see her beautiful set of braided t-shirt yarn coasters.

It's also on Pinterest at this spot.

Saying his goodbyes

2012-04-22T21:38:00.001-04:00

My grandson along with his mom and step-dad are moving. They've been so busy packing that Joey wanted to come stay with us. We talked about making new friends and how exciting it will be to have a new house and new school. He seemed a little apprehensive about leaving his friends and school. So we decided to make his friends and teachers a little something.
I looked back on Pinterest and found the cute little gift that I made and gave out on Valentines day to a few of my friends. He loved the idea so we bought enough Starburst to make those for his classmates.
He did all the work too (well just about all of it). I printed out the tags and he filled in the names. All of the names, from memory, too. He put 12 Starburst into each jewelry bag but couldn't quite get it to lie flat so I helped him with that. Then I folded the tags and he stapled them on the bag.... So cute... Such great work for a 1st grader! He was so proud of himself too.

I have a cricut machine so I added each teacher's initial to a double sided glass to make a cute gift. He wanted to add candy to make the cup extra sweet!

I hope he had a good last day Friday and will have a great first day tomorrow.

Wedding Invitations: Their Style

2012-04-07T23:41:00.000-04:00

I just love that Pinterest site. It has so many wonderful ideas! As the overexcited mom of an engaged son, I was on a search for the perfect invitation. I found several and showed them to my son and my daughter-to-be. They are both outdoorsy and very, very, simple informal people. I knew I didn't want to copy someone's invitation nor did I want to buy one either. But I read one tip on a blog that did it: " Find a free picture on a website that sells or shares stock photos..." or something like that. Perfect idea! I downloaded (for free) 5 pictures and created the card around those designs. I used watercolor paper and white card stock to print the cards on. Snapped a picture and messaged it to her. Eureka! She loved the first one I sent. Which means that she also chose my favorite! :)

When they came over to visit again, I pulled out all my card stock so she (they) could decide on the background color. Through my former investigating I found very neat pocket folder invitations with templates and directions.
She chose a brown/tan color- kind of like a Kraft paper and I, following the pattern, cut out the pocket folder. It really worked out!

Next was a trip to Joann's, Michael's, Staples, and then Wal-mart. But I couldn't find 12 x 12 Kraft card stock or any solid color card stock besides white and black for that matter. I also couldn't find any watercolor paper at a reasonable price. So it was time to re-evaluate. Back to the internet... I found a website where I could order a pack of 250 12x12 Kraft sheets for under $50 bucks- Woo Hoo! Next day I went to Office Max and found this super Stardust card stock- perfect. It even had envelopes to match. Super!!

Here they are; my son is cutting out the invitations while she is working on her college assignment. Such a cute couple......
Can't wait to see how this is going to turn out.

And the count down begins....

2012-03-06T22:55:00.001-05:00

My son proposed tonight to his love and happily she said yes! He planned a family and friend cookout for the occasion that she knew nothing about. Surprise, Surprise.... I was so proud of him to taking care of all the notifications of her friends and family. Soo sweet...

Anyway, I decided to do some crafting and baking for it. I finally got to show off my save-the-date magnets. Everyone thought they were soooo cute.

I saw this super looking count down chalkboard sign on "GroupDealz" and decided that I could make that. So I did. I bought a cheap- I mean- less expensive frame from Big Lots. The frame was plastic and black so my husband scruffed it up some so I could paint it white. I tried giving it some texture by applying glue along the frame. Then we sprayed the frame white with Krylon paint for plastic. It looked just perfect. Then we applied 2 coats of spray on chalkboard paint to the particle board backing. After the board dried, I measured and cut out the words "days until" with my cricut. Too cute! and super simple.......

I tried to grow some wheat grass for a table decoration. I saw on pinterest the other day how beautiful the grass was on a decorated table. But it didn't grow. So instead I went to Wal-mart and bought some daisy-like flowers, some potting soil, and a plastic flower bowl. After the flowers were planted, I placed the flowers in a round cheese box/container. I thought it would be cute to add some pictures of them to the container. They kind of look like flower seed packets. I gave her mom one of them and I kept one to put on my fridge.

Doesn't the table look nice?

Repurposing Sweaters

2012-02-20T12:08:00.000-05:00

Take a look at Ashley's Make it and Love it hats from old sweaters. I can't wait to try it myself. They are so cute, so easy, and so cheap if you've got some old sweaters. Those with a bottom rim make a great hat brim. I think I'll go and look right now.

Save-the-Date Magnets

2012-02-18T22:50:00.001-05:00

My son is getting married in August to a wonderfully, sweet girl. I'm so happy for the two of them. I'm chomping at the bit to get started planning, but it's not my wedding and they haven't hired me to be their wedding planner (yet). Anyway I wanted to do something. I spend most of my free time on Pinterest finding all kinds of neat wedding ideas. I post them as my way of sharing my ideas with them. Hope it works; at least I'm not putting my ideas out there verbally and being overly annoying.

I decided to create some Save-the-Date magnets to give out to guests at their engagement party. It will be a surprise to both of them. If they like them, then I can just make some more.

I found a tutorial months ago for jewelry pendants with glass tiles and thought they were gorgeous. So I went back to etsy and found a good deal on large glass tile circles. When they got here, I got on my computer and created some cute designs. It took several tries to get the right size to fit the tiles. I used mod-podge to affix the tag-board paper to the back of the tile. When that was dry, I turned it over and put several more layers of the glue on it. When it is all dry, I'll add a strong magnet with E6000.
I even found some flattened marbles large enough to use. I may not put magnets on those. They'll fit just nicely in a man's pants pocket.

I hope they like them as much as I enjoyed making them.

My special Christmas

2011-12-25T22:11:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been a very long time since I took the time to write on this blog. I got so busy preparing for a craft fair and then for Christmas. I did a lot of crocheting- mostly scarves and caps. Well when my husband, went to the hospital to have his rotator cuff fixed, I brought my crocheting so I could have something to do while waiting. The simple surgery quickly turned to danger. Buddy's heart showed an abnormality. After an EKG, the Dr. said he was sending him to the Medical Center for a heart catherization. Worse went to worst when we discovered all 3 of his main arteries had blockages and open heart surgery would begin in the morning. I was given his wedding band before he was wheeled down. Pondering the importance and immensity of this situation, I knew I had to do something to keep me busy. I did try crocheting on a scarf but I could not concentrate. Feeling his huge ring in my pocket an idea came to mind. I began crocheting a line of chain stitches until I felt like it was long enough. Then I got his ring and single crocheted around the ring leaving the top 1/2" open. I finished up the other side of the necklace and connected the two strands together adding more chains in the form of a bow (extra decoration and security). I was proud of what I had done. I could wear his wedding band close to my heart until he could put it back on again.

Some more hats and stuff......

2011-10-15T21:59:00.000-04:00

I've been a little busy over the past few weeks. Too bad I haven't had a model for some of the hats.

Crochet my week away....

2011-10-02T21:17:00.000-04:00

My obsession continues with another week of crocheting. I hope my obsession continues since I bought a bag full of yarn from Hancock Fabrics. They had a 30% off sale and I had a $2 off coupon. And I've got to use those coupons!

I crocheted a lot of cute hats this week. And thanks to Lyndsey I had a pretty pink to make the green and pink flower top hat. It is very hard to guess what people will like so if you have any ideas or suggestions for me, please let me know.

I used a tan chunky weight yarn to make this little beanie. It is really think and will keep your baby's head warm on a chilly morning.

I think I made the tail too long, but I really do love making these long-tailed elf hats. This time I used a blue bird blue. I'm thinking I might add some eyes and a beak to make it even cuter.

I'm trying to throw in a few headbands or ear warmers. This one is black (duh!) with popcorn stitches that were too hard for the camera to pick up. Sorry.

A week's worth of crocheting....

2011-09-25T21:11:00.000-04:00

Whew!! I've been busy finding solace with my crocheting.

This is such a cute hat with its tassels that look like pig tails. It is made with pink camo. This is a head band that measures approximately 2 1/2 inches wide and has alternating popcorn stitches. This one to the left is wider and measures

4 inches wide.

This is such a cute red, white, and blue beanie.
Just right for a baby boy.

Such a sweet little hat with a frilly edging. Sooo Sooo cute! See the variegated middle section. This is made from 100% cotton yarn for extra softness.

Another Grinch long-tailed elf hat. This one will be just perfect for a Christmas baby.

Cute Crochet!

2011-09-18T21:43:00.001-04:00

I just love to crochet. I have really been into it lately too. Kind of obsessed.... So far I've made a Ponytail hat and 2 Long-tailed baby Elf hats. I've got lots of yarn ready to do more.

I think I'm going to put some in the Rutledge Christmas Craft fair in November.

Sew Coupon Crazy!!

2011-09-05T14:18:00.002-04:00

My daughter is coupon crazy! She is super into savings right now and I claim a little bit of that nice trait. I never bought clothing and other things unless they were on sale while she was growing up. I never was that in to coupons though. But she is working on teaching me all the ins and outs of using coupons. We've gone shopping several times and have had lots of fun saving money as well as enjoying each others company.

When my daughter and I last went shopping, we both had our reusable bags, our lists, two binders (1 small and 1 bigger) to hold all of our coupons. I also had my new All You magazine since I hadn't had time to clip those. It seemed like a lot and it did take up a lot of space in the buggy.

One of my favorite crafty blogs is Sew Dang Cute, and they are sponsoring a contest called Crafting with the Stars. I was so excited! I knew I could combine my love of sewing and crafting with my new "almost love" of couponing.

Now that my Wal-mart finally got smart and restocked the fabric to the store, I went shopping for just the right material. I already had the natural colored pre-quilted fabric and just bought 3 different but coordinating green, brown, lt. turquoise prints. I used my embroidery machine to label the tote and sewed it together. Not terribly complicated.

But I just had to try it out. The Dollar General is the store closest to my house. I found an empty aisle to dress my buggy (tie the tote to the buggy) and pose it. It works great! There is room for my binder and my reusable bags. There are two pockets that I put my scissors, my list, ink pen, and my small cut coupon binder. There is also a ribbon with a key ring so my keys or scissors can be attached if needed. Even my wallet was easily protected and I didn't have to worry about carrying my purse. When shopping is done, I can zip it up and not have to worry about my things falling out. Success!!

Wish me luck with the contest!

Pinwheels

2011-08-27T22:58:00.002-04:00

One of my friends has a baby girl turning 1 next month. Mom is planning a pinwheel birthday party. So I decided to make a few pinwheel hair bows in her planned colors. I've never done this before so I experimented with the sizes. The biggest is a 4" square and the smallest is a 2" square. Well, we'll let her choose the size she likes and then make a few more. I found the tutorials for these creations online. Check them out if you want to give them a try.
The pinwheel ribbon hair bow can be found here. And you can find the fabric pinwheel hair bows here.
Let me know what you think.

Linking up with Today's Creative Blog" . Go visit and see all the creative people out there.

Giving Quilting a stitch....

2011-06-30T15:41:00.000-04:00

I'm taking advantage of my "free" time during summer (between classes and taking Tori places) and giving quilting ago. My dad and sister traveled to Texas to the Neeley family reunion. I have always admired my cousin Lonette's quilting and finally got the courage to try one myself. Since I wasn't going to be at the reunion, I felt a little safe concerning possible scrutiny. Anyway, I already had 4 quilt squares put away for a later project. I got those out and decided to embroider some Texas graphics on 5 more squares. Rag quilts are easier to put together and likeable. I also cheated by using the stippling pattern on my embroidery machine. I've got to practice a little more with that.

While they were gone to Texas, I used a few more of the Texas fabric scraps and made a 16" Sprocket pillow. I think it is pretty cute but I will definitely line
the next one I make. The tutorial is on the Cluck Cluck Sew website.

My next project is called the Colorful Coins Quilt. I saw this tutorial also on Cluck Cluck Sew! It's a great website! Now I just need to figure out the backing. I'm thinking of a nice baby flannel. Then it will top quilting time. I hope I can do it! Wish me luck.

A few firsts in my sewing room

2011-06-09T23:15:00.000-04:00

I made my first ticker-tape wristlet following the wonderful tutorial of Mandy at Sugar Bee Crafts. It wasn't so difficult, but I can tell that I need quite a bit more practice. Anyway, it will suit its purpose. I needed a little bag for ink pens and my GC ID card for my college courses.

I also made a hooded baby towel for a special little friend. Easton was born a few weeks ago and I meant to give this to him at the hospital but mom went home too fast. Oh, well. He will get it soon.

I entered a Swap-bot challenge to make a potholder for a partner. I tried to follow some of the neat ideas I had seen through the internet. This potholder is a little bigger than the norm. Partly because I embroidered a cute little pig driving a corn-on-the-cob race car on the off-white quilted fabric. Above the piggy is veggie material formed in a 2" pleat. Red binding completes the potholder.

My 2nd pillowcase dress

2011-05-30T13:29:00.000-04:00

I am a participant on the online swapping site- www.swap-bot.com. My latest swap was to find my partner something she might enjoy from a thrift shop. So I went to our salvation army not having a clue as to what I would get. While at the Salvation Army, I always look for fabric usually in the form of leather or suede skirts, baby flannel, bedspreads (chenille or quilted), and sheets. Buddy, this time I hit the jack-pot! I found a gorgeous vintage looking piece of material. It was a thin and stiff cotton with chenille flowers and vines all over. I knew exactly what I would do with it. And no, I selfishly decided to keep it for myself.

I have a number of friends with baby girls who I love to sew for. Little Alita was going to be the lucky recipient of this new pillowcase dress. It is lined with a nice white cotton quilting material so I can be reversible if necessary but I would be afraid that the chenille fabric might be itchy. I added a cotton trim, around the bottom. Gorgeous and such fun to watch it all come together.

Now I'll just have to convince dad to send me a picture of his baby wearing it.

And no, I didn't forget my swapping partner. She got a beautiful vintage red glass candy dish that I filled with some old buttons. She (said) she loved it!

My First Pillowcase Dress

2011-05-21T11:25:00.001-04:00

Well, I made my first pillowcase dress for my cute little test subject, Elin. I can't wait to see her in it. I cant believe how easy it was. Now I'm working a pair of bloomers to go with it. Coming soon.

Baby Stuff

2011-05-09T20:44:00.000-04:00

One of my friends is having her very first baby next month (she really hopes this month). She asked me to make her a diaper bag but she wasn't really sure what she wanted it to look like. I searched and finally found something I liked and something that I hoped she would like. Puppies..... who doesn't love puppies? Puppies and stripes... even better. Take a look.

I'm also going to show you a couple of embroidered burp cloths and a personalized pillow made especially for Easton. Cute, Cute, Cute.....

Stop that Playin'

2011-04-03T15:49:00.001-04:00

You can see that I've been playing quite a bit this week. But I had to get serious. I had already read my chapter for the EDIT class that I'm taking and had been mulling it over for the past few weeks. I sat down with "it" (Chapter 8 of the text) Friday afternoon- worked 'til late (very late) and then started again on Saturday. Here I am again on Sunday afternoon. At least I posted it and am now reflecting. I have decided that it requires much more work to "put together" a unit (al beit a one week unit) for an online course than a face-to-face course. Everything must be complete, proofread, potential problems recognized and dealt with, and the list goes on and on. With a face-to-face, problems do occur swiftly and painfully. You must be a quick problem solver as those "innocent" faces are staring at you. But that is the difference- you are there at the moment. Online- you aren't there. You check the online class when you can or when you have set that time. What if someone has a question 5 minutes after you have logged out for the day? The student will have to take a risk or be behind for the day. Ther is much more responsibility for the clarity of the assignment.

Well, lets see how I did. I'll check in each day some time between 6:30 and 9:00. Hope all goes well with my students.

Actually, April 1st- Day 7 of Spring Break

2011-04-02T01:14:00.001-04:00

I can't seem to write on this blog at a decent hour. I just get so busy that I can't quit. Since I'm on break I tend to stay up later and sleep later too. I completed numerous tasks today such as picking up the cat from the Vet. (fleas), visiting Wal-mart, and finishing a baby pillow for a new baby girl named Olivia. Her mom really loves her sorority and those colors are red and black.

It appears my break is coming to a swift and painful end. So I also worked on organizing my sewing room which it was badly in need of. I have lots more to do in there to make it completely useful. And I bought (on my trip to Macon- the nearest place to buy fabric since our Wal-mart no longer stocks bolted material) a huge stack of flannel. I can't resist flannel especially when it is onsale. Thanks, Joann's.

Sharin' my Stitches- Facebook Group

Day 6 Spring Break

2011-03-31T20:29:00.000-04:00

Well, I finished the t-shirts for Living with Punks. It was such a great idea to make appliqued t-shirts for the children in Japan. I'm not used to appliqueing this way. I've gotten so spoiled with my embroidery machine. I'm not exactly pleased with how they turned out. But hopefully some little girl and boy will be happy with them.

Go to the website and look at everyone

else's submissions.

I've got a few more projects to work on tonight before going to bed- baby bibs and a baby pillow. Hopefully I'll have time to post more tonight. See ya!

Day 4 Spring Break

2011-03-30T01:19:00.000-04:00

I feel my motivation faltering but I did get somethings finished. 1st- I finished sewing the logos on Melissa's shirts. She may be sending more business my way. Yay! (I think.)

2nd- I worked on the next step or 2nd day of the Living with Punks sew-along to make little Japanese children an appliqued t-shirt. Tomorrow I think we will attach the appliques to the shirt.

Then finally I prepared some packages for mailing. I'm participating in a web-site called whoopdwhoop. You post your handmade crafts and swap for other people's crafts. I had 2 swaps in one day. 1st was a zebra mousepad and the other was my deer hunter's whiskey flask. Pretty good, I think. I'm going to save up my swaps. I saw this neat little crocheted baby bloomers I think I want. Who knows I may see something else later. Lots of good stuff on that site. And all you pay is shipping- pretty neat!

Then I finished the last of 6 granny squares. This website is called swap-bots. When I finish with the 6 rounds, I'll have enough squares to make an afghan. On swap-bots, you can choose among all kinds of swaps- books, postcards, crafts, poetry, and more and more. Check it out!

Boy, that seems like I did a lot. Tomorrow won't be as much. Going to Macon for an Ortho appt and am gonna check out Michaels, Hancocks, and more! Yippee!

Day 3 Wall Hanging for a bride and groom

2011-03-28T21:53:00.000-04:00

On Day 3 of Spring Break 2011, I finished a wall hanging that I'm making for a couple who are getting married this Spring. It's made from an off-white prequilted fabric. I embroidered a sampler pattern and added "Est. 2011" below. It took a while to find fabric from my stash to match, but I did.

Then I had to figure out how I was going to place the border around the sampler. I think I did OK. In fact it looks pretty neat how the squares are cut in half and the opposites are across from each other. I made loops out of some scraps and sewed the backing, turned it inside out and top-stitched. Get the dowel cut the right length and I'm done.

I also started day 1 of the http://3punkmom.blogspot.com/2011/03/japan-sew-along-day-1.html . It's a blog called Living with Punks that created a challenge for sewers and crafters. We are all going to make a shirt for either a little Japanese girl or boy or even both. We'll send the finished product(s) to her and she will ship them all to Japan where they are needed most. I think it is a great project! Today is the 1st day and I chose my fabrics and got all of them cut out. I'm ready for tomorrow. I'll post more pictures then.

Spring Break Day 2

2011-03-27T23:51:00.000-04:00

I'm going to try to finish something up each day of this Spring Break. I through in an extra project when I remembered a little friend's birthday. It didn't take too long once I figured out what to do. She was having a Justin Bieber party. So I got some fabric transfers and put Justin's face on one along with a few hearts in her favorite colors- pink and purple. I added some ribbon and rick rack and embroidered her name along one end. Add a colorful ruffle and stuffing and it was good to go. All that work and unfortunately I misspelled her name. I couldn't stay to see her open presents (party was in its 3rd hour). My daughter was supposed to offer my apologies and an IOU if necessary.

It's soooo cool to me, and I'm envisioning Taylor Swift and some of these other famous people that can be sewed on to a pillow.