Sew Many Things to Say

Valentine Dish Towel

2012-02-03T13:04:00.000-08:00

This is one of the projects I was working on during the last Friday night Sew In. I got these plain pink dish towels on clearance at Target. I used an embroidery design from EmbLibrary and made a little border with the scraps. I love projects that are short and sweet. We've had to cancel the girl's Valentine party because my husband lost his job again. The girls aren't that upset about it. I think I was looking forward to it more than they were. They still like to see the house 'dressed up' a little for holidays and so do I.

I hope you are getting to do something that makes you happy today.

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

A New Wreath and Pattern Testing

2012-01-29T10:48:00.000-08:00

I am slowly but surely decorating for my girl's preteen Valentine's Day party. So far I've made pennants and table runners (see earlier posts) and now I've made a new wreath for the front door. I found a cheap straw wreath at a thrift store, for a grand total of $1.29 and I had scrap fabric that I used to cover it. I decided to tear the fabric strips instead of cutting because I like the look. I simply used straight pins in the back of the wreath to hold the strips in place. I finished if off by making 3 yo yo's and pinning them on. A very, cheap, fast and fun project.

After

Before

I tested a cosmetic bag pattern designed by blogger "A Heart of Mary". She will be selling these patterns in her etsy store. You can find more information HERE.

Gotta get back to my crazy life. Have a great day.
Happy Sewing!!
Susan

Happy Friday and My Sewing Plans

2012-01-27T06:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday, everyone. I don't have any big plans for the weekend but I do love Fridays. I think I just love that my normal Monday through Friday schedule gets interupted.

I had a new sewing student start taking classes from me this week. She is a young lady and is very interested in sewing. My youngest daughter took the class with her and I over heard my student tell my daughter, "I would love to live here!" My daughter asked her "Why?" and the she replied "Because you get to sew whenever you want!". It was really cute.

I am testing a pattern for a fellow blogger/designer. I'm a little behind but I hope to have it finished and posted before the weekend is over. I'm excited about it. Her directions are really clear and well written and she has lots of great photos which is always good. Check back soon, for all the details and pic of my finished project.

After I finish that project it's back to Valentine sewing for my Jr. High Girls Valentine party we are hosting. We have picked at date and made plans and I am going to keep things simple and inexpensive, as always. I do love decorating for Valentine's Day becasue I love the pretty pinks, reds and whites.

I'd better get back to work. I still have homeschool lessons to finish and chores to do, after it's not Saturday yet. I hope you can do something you love this weekend.

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

Friday Night Sew In

2012-01-21T06:24:00.000-08:00

Last night was so nice. My younger girls and my hubby all had to be out so it was nice and quiet. It's almost never quiet at my house. I started sewing in the afternoon because I had a Lady's Night Out planned with some ladies in my church. My oldest daughter and I went out to eat with the girls. Then some of the ladies came to my house for coffee. After they left, I decided to make more pennants because I didn't want to leave that job unfinished before I moved on to another project. I had an embroidery project planned but I didn't have time to get to it before I was too tired to stay awake. I love the way the pennants came out. I will probably make a few more sets but I need to get more double fold bias tape first. My daughter didn't sew with me because she was getting a cold and she is very busy with her classes right now. We can't afford for her to be sick, so I sent her to bed which made her happy. I'm going to continue FNSI today since the house is still quiet. I'm going to embroider my pink dish towels but I'm debating as to whether I am going to keep them dish towels or make them into child size aprons. I hope you stop by later to see what I decided.

I'm off to enjoy this beautiful Saturday. Do something fun today.

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

There's a Lot Going On In My Studio

2012-01-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Yesterday I got to do some machine embroidery. Some good friends of ours became grandparents last week. The baby was a month early but all is well with mommy and baby. I embroidered some bibs. Parents and Grandparents love to see their new baby's name in print...or thread. You can never go wrong with personalized baby gifts.

Friday night, my oldest daughter and I are participating in Friday Night Sew In (see sidebar for link). It is my first time and I'm very excited. It really works out great for us because my hubby and younger girls all have somewhere else to be on Friday night. My daughter is wanting to make some sleep shorts. I am not positive what I am going to be working on but I think it will have to do with these...

Check back on Saturday and see what I did with these pink towels. I'm excited!

Now, for some eye candy.

Can you say, YUMMY? Fat Quarter Shop had a 1/2 price sale on this fat quarter bundle last week and I just couldn't resist. I'm not sure what I'm going to make with it, in fact, I'm not sure when I will be able to bring myself to unwrapping it.
It's just SEW pretty all bundled up. Ok...yes, I have issues. :)

I hope you all have a great week and if you are available on Friday night, consider joining the Friday Night Sew In. Please let me know if you are sewing this week and what you are making. I love to hear from my readers. Oh, that reminds me, I have a give away coming up for my followers. It is gonna be a good one, so become a follower so you don't miss out.

Take care and Happy Sewing!
Susan

Valentine Scrap Quilt

2012-01-16T12:25:00.000-08:00

This is my finished quilt. I've used up almost all of my Valentine fabric scraps. I used a soft pink flannel for the backing, also from my existing stash. I washed and dried to give it that qreat 'krinkly' look. I think it turned out great. The blocks inside the quilt were cut to 5" square. I added the border and strips just to mix it up a little. This was the first time I used a single layer binding and that was because I only had a small ammount of that fabric and the store was sold out too. I actually liked the single layer binding. It was cut on the straight of grain and was 1.5" wide. It went on really easily. I'm sorry for the quality of the photo. I hope to get a better one soon, but I was in a hurry to share. I hope you are all working on using your scraps, too.

Last year, I made some cute table runners from my Valentine scraps. Here is the link:
http://sewmanythingstosay.blogspot.com/2010/02/quilted-valentine-table-runner.html

Happy Sewing~
Susan

Scraps to Quilt

2012-01-11T10:23:00.000-08:00

In my last post I mentioned that one of my sewing goals for 2012 was to use a lot of my stash and that I've joined Pleasant Home's Sew Scraps Along. Well, I'm being true to my word. I had a bunch of Valentine's Day fabric scraps and I've been busy making a small quilt to lay on the back of our sofa. I would like to have a different quilt for every holiday or atleast every season. I'm sure my family will be glad to see the Christmas quilt go away for a while. I've been making my own pattern for this quilt and I'm loving it so far. I am thinking of adding prairie points. I've always wanted to add prairie points to a quilt and I've never done it. I will post pics of my progress.

Being a large family, we do not have Birthday parties for each child because, well, it's just a lot of work. We have small family parties for most birthdays. Two years ago I decided to have a Valentine's Day Party and let each child invite a few friends. It worked really well, because most people don't do much to celebrate Valentine's Day and most are available. It was so much fun that I've decided to do it again this year. So, of course, I have the party in mind when I'm making this quilt. I've also been making Valentine Pennants. I love pennants. I've made Birthday pennants, so we can re-use our party decorations and I made them for Thanksgiving as well. I just love these pretty pink fabrics. They just make me so happy.

I've got to get back to playing taxi driver for my daugthers and hopefully I can work on my quilt a little today, too. I hope you have a wonderful day and can do something for yourself today.

Happy Sewing!
Susan

Two Sewing Goals for 2012!

2012-01-05T08:41:00.000-08:00

Hey there. As I mentioned in my last post, I am SEW excited about the new year. There is something so neat about new beginnings. And, as always happens, as soon as Christmas is over, I want to organize everything.That brings me to my first sewing goal.

1. Organize all of my fabric and sewing supplies.

Even though I just set up my studio a year ago, when we moved into this house, sadly there are still boxes that are not unpacked. Also, everytime I do a project my studio gets more and more dishoveled.

To show you how this un-organization takes it's toll, I'm going to share a true blonde moment with you. Feel free to laugh, it's pretty funny.

I was looking for my 1930's reproduction fabrics last night. I looked everywhere and I just couldn't find them. I have a ton of them, cause I've been collecting them for years. Well, I had given up and went to bed feeling defeated. I was lying there a while when all of the sudden I thought of a place to look. I got up and looked in my rolling sewing machine case that was under one of my cutting tables. There was definatley something in there.....but it wasnt fabric. No, it was wrapped Christmas presents for my kids. But...they were not from last month, Christmas 2011. NO! They were from Christmas 2010! I knew I was missing two gifts from that year but there was a whole case full. Wow! I'm a good hider, for sure.

Hidden Gifts from 2010

Now to my second sewing goal.

2. To use my stash of fabric.

Yes this has been a goal in the past but I am hopeful that I can do a lot better this year. I have found two ways to help me in this. The first is that I signed up to do a block of the month club at Craftsy. This looks really fun. For beginners it is great because each block is made with a video instructor. She makes the entire block with you. For those of us who are a litte more advanced, you can also get printed instructions. I hope you'll check it out. I plan on using my 1930's fabrics....um...that is if I ever find them. Anyway, this would be a good way to use up your stash.

A second way to use my stash is to use my scraps. I love, love, love the look of scrappy quilts. I can't throw those pretty little scraps away, just like our ancestors couldn't and they used every little piece. I was very exciting when I found Pleasant Home's Sew Scraps Along. They have some beautiful ideas and tutorials of how to use your scraps. I love a challenge and the thought of sewing scraps with others. I plan on participating and I hope you do too.

So, these are my first two sewing goals for 2012.

1. Organize my fabric and sewing supplies.
2. To use my fabric stash.

Participating in the Block of the Month and the Sew Scraps Along will surely help my with goal #2.

A personal goal I have is to lose 20 to 30 more pounds. I've lost almost 40 since August. I plan to be at my college weight by my Birthday in the spring. I hope and pray that you can meet your personal goals and that you make time for your self by sewing or crafting or whatever brings you joy. God bless you in 2012.

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

Happy New Year and What I've Been Up To

2012-01-04T12:18:00.000-08:00

Hello my Blogging Friends. I have certainly missed you all. I'm so excited to see 2012. Last year was full of stress and sadness and I so thankful for new beginnings and a new year. I am sure most of you, you are happy to be done with the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

I was actually very productive during the month of December. Along with the Christmas preparations I finished two projects. The first project was to finish a quilt for a 91 year old woman. Her daughter commissioned me to finish a quilt that her mother began years ago. She gave me a box with a handful drawings of she planned the quilt and some finished sqauares. The lady put so much time in this quilt. The log cabin blocks and strips were hand cut(no rotary cutters) and she even drew each 1/4 seam allowance. All together I had in over 30 hours in this but the lady must have had hundreds of hours in it. I really felt privileged to complete this for her and her family. The quilt creator is now in a nursing home and the quilt graces her bed. At some point her daughter is going to take it home and put it on her guest room bed.

The family seemed very happy with the finished project and I felt like a surrogate mother who had given birth to this quilt. It was a very special experience.

The other project was to get my girls some warm clothes. I took them on a little winter adventure and I knew we would all need hats and scarves. I found some fleece for $2.78 a yard. I used only 2/3's of a yard to make each girl and myself and hat and scarf. They were super easy and very economical. We got good use of them too as our adventure turned out to pretty cold.

I'll be back tomorrow to share some of my sewing goals for 2012. I hope you stop by and shares some of yours, as well.

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving.

2011-11-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

Hello friends. I know I've been gone a long time. Infact, this is the longest I've ever been gone. To catch you up a little bit, I am feeling much better. This past summer was terrible. I had to deal with the death of my mom, my ex-husband almost died, my husband was unemployeed and I was unable to walk for over four months due to an acute case of Plantar Fasciitis is both feet. I am dealing with my mom's death, I don't think the pain ever goes away completely. My exhusband is doing much better. My husband finally found a job but it will take us a long time to catch up from months and months of being unemployed. I have lost 35 pounds since August in hopes that it would help take some pressure off of my feet. The good news is that my left foot is totally healed. My right foot still gives me trouble when I stand or walk for long periods of time. I think there is something else going on there, but I haven't been able to see a Dr. about it yet.

We have new issues and problems going on that I won't go into detail. I have come to realize that everyone will always have some kind of problems. I think it is so we will appreciate heaven so much more when we get there.

So, today I wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to my followers and show you some free or inexpensive decorating ideas. I am all about saving money and I wanted to decorate for Thanksgiving without spending any money. I only wanted to use things that I had on hand. It was really fun. My girls enjoy these challenges as much as I do.

First of all, I took a glass jar that we already had and we filled it with what we call "Pokey Balls". These grow on a Sweet Gum tree in our back yard. We normally hate Pokey Balls because they hurt when we walk on them barefooted. I put them in a paper bag in our microwave and nuked them for 2 minutes, to kill any critters that might be in them. I told the girls to look through my stash of ribbon for something that looked fallish and low and behold we had this remnant of orange ribbon. I didn't even have to trim it. It was the exact length we needed. This jar will be placed on our buffet table with all the food.

Next we made place cards with scraps of paper from my scrapbooking supplies. I wanted to add a little something to them and I thought I had some little fall leaf stickers but I couldn't find them. So, I sent the girls on a nature walk to find acorn 'hats' or tops. I glued them in the corner of each place card with a glue gun. I think they came out really cute.

Finally, I wanted to make a Thanksgiving Pennant to hang in the dinning room. Since we rent our home, I can't change the wall color or the drapes, but I wanted to add some of my own flair. I was looking in my stash for burlap or something like it. I was so excited to find remnants for of a fabric that I had used to make a client's drapes a few years ago. It has a texture like a soft burlap and it has flowers with a cranberry color in it, which is the color of my table cloth. I painted the words Give Thanks by cutting out templates from freezer paper and pressing it to the fabric. I then painted in the template and then removed the freezer paper. I sewed the pieces on the a jute type, thin rope and pinned them to our drapes. I wish I could have gotten a better photo, but I had to use my phone and it has no flash on it. I am really happy with how it turned out.

We are having a simple family dinner with my parents who are coming to dinner. It was really nice to decorate a little without going crazy or spending any money. I hope you all have a joyous Thanksgiving and are thankful for the blessings that you have.

Happy Sewing and Living,
Susan

Happy Sunday!!

2011-07-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all having a great day. Mine has been overwhelming. My 12 year old daughter sang an awesome solo in church today. My oldest daughter was asked to sing in a video of a Christian rapper who attends our Church. The video was released today and it is very cool. So, I just wanted to share it with you.

Blessings,
Susan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSlKxtDwcjU

Meet Silas

2011-07-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter house/pet sat for a couple in our church. She was gone two weeks. When she came home she had money in her pocket and an idea in her head. She said, "Mom, I have to go to Joann Fabric tonight. I am doing a project and you can't ask me anything about it." My hubby took her since my feet were still hurting too bad. (You know I didn't feel well if I skipped fabric shopping) Anyway, she was in her room with a sewing machine for 2 days. Today was the grand reveal. When she appeared with "Silas", I was shocked. I don't understand it. But who am I to question another artist? Please forgive the photo quality, my hubby took it with my phone. I just had to share it with you. I didn't get permission from dear daughter, but since it's her new profile pic, I doubt she'd mind.

Yesterday, marked three weeks that I have tried to stay in bed and give my feet and my horrible case of Plantar Fasciitis and a stress fracture heal. Unfortunately, they are not much better. I have been very depressed being stuck in bed and dealing with my unemployeed hubby and the death of my mother. My daughter (Silas' creator) has been having some issues and has to see a cardiologist. There is more negative stuff in our lives as well, but I won't go into it right now. I am just gonna keep praying and hanging in there.

During my time in bed I did start a smocking project and I've looked at hundreds of sewing blogs. I also taught myself how to make a watermark and a new blog banner. Yay!! I am not very techy and I get very excited when I figure these things out. I hope you are all well and enjoying you creativity, as well.

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

Happy Meal Birdhouse Tutorial

2011-07-09T19:30:00.000-07:00

I made this birdhouse at Easter to use as a centerpiece for our table. I plan on making a Christmas themed one and a black and white one for my daughter's room. The fabric choices and themes are endless.

I hope you enjoy this tutorial.

Turn your empty happy meal box and a little fabric in to a decorative bird- house.

Draw a circle on the front of your future birdhouse.

Cut out hole with small scissors.

Cut off handles.

Cut a triangle out of cardstock to cover top portion of box (I used an index card).

Tape closed with masking tape.

Dilute tacky glue with a little water. Brush on all four sides with a small paint brush.

Cover sides and trim.

Make small cuts in fabric and glue inside opening.

I used a notebook cover for the cardboard roof.

Cut a 6" x 8" rectangle from the cardboard and fold in half to make a crease.

Cover rectangle with glue and cover with fabric that is a few inches larger than cardboard on all sides.Glue the edges of fabric underneath the roof.

Glue roof to body of birdhouse.

Trace another piece of cardboard the same size as the bottom of the house. Cover with fabric and glue to bottom of house.

I used a yo yo and two buttons to decorate.

Enjoy~

I'm linked to.....

http://delightfulorder.blogspot.com/2011/07/delightfully-inspiring-thursday-party.html

http://www.ladybirdln.com/

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

My Beautiful Little Wedding!

2011-07-09T07:38:00.000-07:00

Hi My friends. I am back to blogging. So much has been going on and I can finally tell you. I am a now a newly wed! I have spent the last few months planning my wedding to my best friend, George. I have a learned so much. Our money is extremely tight and we have had to cut so many corners on our wedding, but it was just beautiful! I love when I create something and it ends up like it looked in my head. I used my money-saving skills, from finding my wedding dress on clearance for $20.00 to making my own wedding cake, bouquets, table arrangements and runners to printing my own menu cards and making the ring bearer pillow and flower girl basket. This was totally a DIY wedding and I enjoyed every second of it. A dear friend was our photographer and she captured the beauty of our day perfectly. We are so thankful to her. God blessed us with a perfectly cool evening in August in Florida (a wedding miracle). Actually, it was so amazing because the weather man was callling for 90% change of rain and thunderstorms that day, and we didnt get one drop! I actually bought every guest an umbrella at the Dollar Tree and told them ahead of time that the back up plan incase of rain was that we were gonna get wet. God is so good and the wedding was perfect. We had a dinner reception and a local resturant. We transformed their little room into an enchanted fairly tale room. I borrowed a lighted arbor and vases from a friend. I turned the vases into floating candles. The resturant didnt have cloth table linens, so I added them. The resturant managers said they have never seen the room look so good. I am so happy to share some of our photos with you. I hope you enjoy!

Now, I have to pack and get ready to move. I am losing my house, due to my exhusbands unemployment and such. However, we are looking at this as a positive situation and we are moving to a new town and starting completely over with my girls. They girls are very happy about the wedding and they are excited about our new life. They were just beautiful in the wedding. They were my maid of honor, bridesmaid, flower girl and ring bearer. They were just beautiful! Thanks for checking in. I will be back regularly now.

Be Happy!
Susan

NOTE: For some strange reason, the date of this post was changed from 9/2010 to today. I have tried to change it back and I can't without losing the entire post. I was trying to link it to a linking party. This has never happened before. So, if it's a re-run, I apologise. If you know how I can fix it, please let me know. Thanks a bunch!

Christmas Through the Year

2011-06-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

My friend Allie, has a wonderul thing going on at her blog called Christmas Through the Year. The idea is to make atleast one Christmas gift per month. I made a Christmas apron using a Debbie Mumm panel I bought a few years ago. I will give it to one of my girl friends but I want one too. Check out Allie's blog to see what everyone made.

Happy Sewing,
Susan

A Sewing Legacy

2011-06-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

I was contacted yesterday and told that my mother was found dead in her home. She was my biological mother and raised me and my brother until I was 7 years old and he was 6. She sent us to live with my Dad and his new wife and she stayed gone for about 30 years. I found her once or twice in my late teens and early 20's but she couldn't manage to stay in my life very long. When I was 37 years old and had just had my 5th baby, she moved to Florida and found me. We had contact from time to time but nothing permanent. In the end our relationship was reduced to occasional messages on Facebook. As you probably know, Mothers have a way of screwing you up or helping to make you great. Well, I think I am a mixed bag of "screwed up" greatness. There were some good times (she was very funny) and there were bad times. I'm not going to discuss those things, however. You see my mother is probably the reason I love to sew, craft and create. When I was a young child she sewed from home to make a living. She made drapes for a company that allowed her to work at home. I watched, in awe, as she sat at the sewing machine but I never got sewing lessons from her before I went to live with my Dad. She made her clothes, my clothes and a lot of our home decor stuff. She made doll clothes and I would often find my doll with a new outfit when I woke up in the morning. She made me wedding veils and bouquets out of white tulle and freshly picked daisies. She was a very talented and creative woman. (My father is creative too, so I have a double dose.)

When she moved to Florida I had been sewing for several years. I taught myself to sew when I started having my own children mostly out of neccesity. There was a lot that I had not taught myself and finally she was able to teach me some of those things. She helped me make my first pieced quilt, put in my first zipper and together we made an awesome poodle skirt for my oldest daughter. We purused fabric stores together and she gave me her large cutting table which is one of my favorite possesions.

I love that we had sewing in common. I am flooded with mixed emotions but I pray that soon the pain will lessen and I can smile when I think of these things. I am happy to say that I have been passing my love of sewing to my five daughters as well. They have all sewn projects of their own. As little ones they sat behind me as I sewed and begged me for scraps. My oldest alters her own clothes, my youngest designs barbie clothes endlessly. My middle girls are all creative and are artists in their own rights. I know I have passed on an affection for crafting and sewing but my prayer is that they will have so much more to remember me by. I pray they know first of all how deeply I love them, I hope they remember that I never abandoned them and that I would fight til the death for them. I pray they remember that God loves them and sent his son to save them. I hope they remember me laughing, singing, smiling, being silly and yes instructing them. I know I am far from perfect and they will have memories of me 'losing it' from time to time. I hope they know I wanted to inspire them to their own personal greatness and to be givers. Yes, if they remember these things then my job here on earth will be complete. I miss my mother very much but I am also grateful for the reminder that I am making memories for my children every minute of everyday. Dear Lord, please help me to use my remaining time wisely. Help me to choose love over all else.

Goodbye Mommy (Melody). Rest in peace.

Stir Crazy on a Saturday!

2011-06-25T08:29:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow will be one week since I've been on bed rest for my Plantar Fasciitis and stress fracture. I have to say I am going nuts! I am not used to not being able to get around. I want to sew, quilt, something crafty. I have a studio full of supplies and half finished projects, however, I can't get to them and get things prepared so that I can work in bed. I try to explain to my daughters and husband what I am looking for but they just can't find what I need or want. The good news is I have been looking at all the beautiful blogs out there and I am finding tons of inspiration. It is bittersweet because now I really want to sew.

We are taking one of my daughters to church camp tomorrow and I have no clue how I will work that out logistically. My oldest daughter is taking my place and will help her choose a bunk and get her bed made and such. I guess we will work it out. I have to confess that I hate crutches. I feel very awkward and feel like I might fall and break a hip or something. lol. Anyway, I have it so much better than a lot of people so I hate to complain. I was on bed rest during all of my 5 pregnancies, back before lap top computers. Wow! What a great invention the computer is. Where would we be without them?

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend. Try to do something creative.

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

Poodle Skirts and Helping Out

2011-06-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I've been gone for a while. Life is still very crazy here. My hubby has been out of work AGAIN! This economy is just nuts. My exhusband, my childrens father, was in the hospital for two weeks and is probably heading back again as I write this. He had a blood clot in his leg from his groin to his ankle, blood clots in his lungs and pnuemonia. He was released, even though they never determined exactly what is wrong with him or how to 'fix' him. He is like us and has no health insurance, so I am sure that was part of his early release. Today, he had his blood levels checked for blood thinnners and he was told to go straight to the ER because his levels are dangerously high. As for me, I am stuck in bed and unable to walk without crutches. I have had a terrible case of Plantar Fasciitis in both feet and now have a stress fracture in my right foot,as well. So, I am hoping that if I get completely off of my feet for a few weeks that they will heal. I was wallking on them, in pain,for six weeks because I still had so many "mom things" to do.

Before I got 'off of my feet' I had been doing some custom sewing. I made this adorable Poodle Skirt and the top for a client. She sings in a band and they were asked to sing at a 17th birthday party that had a 50's theme. I was so happy with how it turned out.

I have an update on Baby Leighton, the preemie baby that I had asked you all to pray for. Well, she came home with oxygen and IV's and such. I was blessed to be able to go help out her mommy for several days. My job was to hold that precious baby while she and mommy slept. Leighton is very spoiled and rightly so, after all she has been through. I got to hold her about 22 hours total and I loved every minute of it. I miss her now that I am unable to drive or walk. I can't wait for my feet to heal so I can hold her again. She's such a sweetie an it is awesome to hold a "miracle" in hour hands.

I want to share with you an opportunity to help a fellow blogger. She is Kaaren from The Painted Quilt blog. She is battling some very serious health problems and my friend Allie from Allie-Oops is collecting quilt squares to make her a quilt. If you can help, please do. I plan on making some squares while I am stuck in bed. Click on the picture to go to Allie's blog and find more information and a tutorial of how to make the block.

Well, my friends, that is what's going on with me. I pray for you all and I ask that you pray for my husband, that he will find a permanent job very soon and that my ex-husband will get well and be able to find work as well. I hope to be back soon with some positive updates.

Happy Sewing~
Susan

Great Teacher Gift

2011-05-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

I made these pin cushion button jars for my Homeschool Sewing Class and gave them for Christmas gifts. I think they would make great Teacher or Thank you gifts well.

I used polyfil and covered it with fabric and hot glued ribbon around the lid. I put packs of buttons inside and tied labels around them. You could personalize your own message. I hope these inspire you to create special gifts for someone in your life.

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

A Quick and Easy Summer Gift

2011-05-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

One of my girls were invited to a Birthday party and I wanted to find a gift that was inexpensive but still special. I think anytime you personalize something, it makes it special. I found this nice beach towel on sale at Walmart for $3.50 so embroidered the young ladies' name (you could use applique if you don't have an embroidery machine). I found this red wallet on clearance for $3.00 and the white sunglasses for $3.50 and I put it all in a big red bag. For just over $10.00 we were able to give a special gift that I'm sure she'll get a lot of use out of this summer.

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

Our Crazy Life (The Illustrated Edition)

2011-05-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

Wow! Life has been crazy busy these past few months. Today I was downloading a bunch of pics from my iphone to my computer and I've decided to share some of them with you so you can see what we've been up to. I warn you that the photo quality is not that great, but they're what I've got.

Embroidered Beach Towel for a Birthday party gift

One of our many spring Birthdays

My Artist/Daughter fooling around

Flag Football

Football Practice

One of Artist/Daughter's daily paintings

Trying to revive dead front lawn

Pulling weeds and weeds and weeds~

"Adventure Day" with my girls. We took a day trip to explore our new area.

Crossing the Florida/Georgia state line...just because we can. :)

My Birthday Cake (Thank You Hubby!)

Prom Dress Re-fashioning

Prom Attending Daughter

Wrist Corsage

Prom Couple

Littliest Sister

Little sister

Another little sister aka Football Girl

Couponing! Spent $22 saved $48 ! Yeah Baby!

Hubby took a Saturday off and we took a weekend trip to Savannah.

Hubby on a Pirate ship in Savannah

Savannah

More Savannah

This is only the tip of the crazy busy life we've been leading but it gives you a little glimpes into our happy new life.

Tommorrow, I'll be in my studio making a re-purposed nightgown. Be sure and check back for photos.

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

2011-05-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind of Birthdays, homeschool p.e., flag football, church, music practice and preparing my oldest daughter for prom. I am just exhausted! My husband's new job has required him to be gone 6 days a week and til 9pm every night so I have been doing a lot of running around and feeling like a single mom. Although I am tired, I am so glad that my girls are happy and getting involved in our new community.

As far as my sewing goes, I am haven't done a whole lot. I actually made a tutorial for my blog before Easter and I will get it posted soon. I am altering Abby's prom dress and I have a new quilting class that I will begin teaching next Wednesday. It will be my pattern that I have been teaching for years now. I hope to concentrate a lot more on my patterns this summer. I halted production on all my patterns and my company a few years ago when I was going through my divorce. Now that I am remarried and the dust has cleared it is time to revive that venture. I will keep you posted as I progress. I hope you are all well and can find some time to feed your creativity.

Happy Sewing!
Susan

Bedroom Renovation Under Way

2011-04-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

I have wanted new bedding for our king sized bed for quite a while, but the prices are just crazy. I've had our bedding since before our wedding and it is kind of dark and winterish. I really wanted something clean and summery. Yesterday, I was at Target and lucked out. I found this king sized comforter on clearance for $20.00! They had 3 square throw pillows and a few towels on clearance too and I grabbed them up. I love the color. I wonder why? Oh...it was my wedding color. I knew George likes that color too. The best part is that it is a clean slate. It is plain and crying out for some dressing up from a quilter. I have plans to make a smaller quilt to be folded at the bottom of the bed and I have plans for the pillows too. Since I have so much "alone" time because George is working a lot of hours, I plan to get right on this project and I will keep you updated.

Baby Leighton is continuing to improve. Please keep praying for her.

I am also praying for the people so devasted by the tornados. It's so sad. I have been more and more aware that we really shouldn't take anything or anyone for granted.

Happy Sewing!!
Susan

Update on Baby Leighton

2011-04-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

My dear blogging friends,
I wanted to give you a quick update on Baby Leighton. She is improving daily. It is such a blessing as they had done all they could medically and called Jeremy back home from Afghanistan and called in the hospital chaplin. We were worried that her Daddy wouldn't make it home in time. But things have improved so much. Please don't get me wrong, she is still critical and needs continued prayer. Pray specifically for her oxygen saturation. God is so great! It has been my prayer that God would heal her to glorify himself. So many people are praying for this family and our church family is doing all we can to help them. Please, please continue to pray for Leighton, her Mommy and Daddy and her older siblings.

Thank you so much,
Susan

A Quick But Urgent Prayer Request

2011-04-22T14:33:00.000-07:00

Ladies, remember the bag and blanket I made for Baby Leighton?(a few posts back) She is a preemie born 13 weeks early. She was born 2 months ago. Well, she had been doing pretty good and was up over 5 lbs. as of last week. Her family goes to our church and her mom (also a mom of 6 kids) and I have become good friends. Her Father is in the Navy and last Monday, my girls and I watched the younger children while mommmy and daddy went to the hospital to see baby Leighton, then they went to the airport because the father, Jeremy, was deployed to Afghanistan. They night Jeremy left, Leighton took a turn for the worse. She is now hanging on by a thread. Her father was called back from Afghanistan. It does not look good but God is able to perform miracles so I am asking my sweet blogging friends to stop what you are doing now and pray for sweet baby Leighton and her mom and dad, Carrie and Jeremy. Thank you so much! I will keep you posted.

Praying non-stop,
Susan