Declan

So I just had to make my sweet little Declan his own shirt too.  I think I got most of my kiddos going to Hawaii now covered!  Whew!

Here's Declan's shirt,  the front:

 The back:

Here's a quick peek at all of them :  Christopher's  (Declan's daddy)

Cash's, (Declan's big brother)

Rebekah, (Declan's mommy.)

John and Michael each got one of these.  (Declan's uncles)

And then the one I made for Rick at the shop.

Okay...I'm done!!!

Christopher

My son-in-law Christopher is a great son-in-law, husband and father.  His patience with his boys is beyond anything I could ask for.  I am quite sure that being raised in a christian home and also being the oldest of eight kids has played a huge part in molding   Christopher into the man that he is today.  My husband and I feel totally blessed that he is a part of our ever growing family.

Since Christopher is also going to Hawaii next month, I wanted to make sure that he had a Hawaiian shirt to wear on the trip.  Below is the shirt made out of the fabric that Christopher picked out for himself and his boys.

Now on to making my sweet little Declan's!  Until next time....

I Am A Disciple

No pictures of sewing today.. just thought  I would share something I heard on a cassette tape well over 25 years ago.  As a young mom of seven kids, it simply broke my heart to hear this letter being read.  And as  I listen to the daily news and hear about so many who are being persecuted and killed for their faith, this letter comes quickly to mind.  Please keep our brothers and sisters who are facing the real possibility of martyrdom on a daily basis in your hearts and in your prayers.  Thank you.

I Am A Disciple Of Jesus Christ

I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast.  I have stepped over the line.  The decision has been made--

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ!

I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still!

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure!

I am finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals!

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity!

I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded!

I live by faith, lean on His Presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer and labor by Holy Spirit Power.

My face is set! My goal is heaven! My road is narrow! My way rough, my companions few,

but.....

My Guide is reliable and my mission is clear!

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed!

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy or meander in the maze of mediocrity!

I won’t give up, shut up, let up or slow down

Until I’ve stayed up, prayed up, paid up, stored up and preached up for the cause of Christ!

I am a disciple of Jesus! I must give until I drop, preach until all know and work until He stops me.
And when He comes to claim His own, He will have no problem recognizing me, my banner will be clear!

(This letter was nailed to the door of a young pastor’s home in Zimbabwe, Africa who had suffered severely for his faith. and who was later martyred)

“With His Finger God wrote on the stone,

None could change it

None erase it.

My sin smashed the stone

broke His heart

impaled the Author on a cross-beam

Now His Finger writes again----------

again on my heart.”

Hermom Pettit

Holden's Onesie

I thought that you needed to see Holden's onesie since I shared Hudson's.  You didn't see what I had embroidered on the front of Hudson's little outfit....under the shirt portion...I embroidered,  "Two words come to mind...Stud & Muffin"  Whenever John or Michael wanted something from their dad or me they would begin "kissing up" to us something horrible! , I would always respond with, "Hmmm, two words come to mind, brown and nose."  One day when I began to say that phrase to Michael,  he quickly interrupted by finishing the phrase with, "I know mom, stud and muffin."  We always laughed over that, so it was completely natural for me to embroider that new phrase on Michael's first born's outfit.

With Holden, I embroidered something entirely different.  The whole time that my daughter-in-law was pregnant, my grandson Logan called the baby Chewbacca or Chewy for short.  He seriously wanted my son and daughter-in-law to call the new baby by that name.  It was so ingrained in their minds when Holden was born, that John and Lindsey had a difficult time coming up with a real name...they still called him Chewy.   FINALLY they settled on the name Holden.....praise God.  I was fearful that I would have a grandson by the name of Chewbacca!!  So on Holden's little outfit, I embroidered :

Two words come to mind.....Chew & Bacca.  I HAD to do that...... for Logan of course!

Lift that little shirt up and you will see the embroidery.  I decided to make Holden's with green batik instead of the brown that I used on Hudson's, plus I made his in a 12 month size instead of a 6 month size like Hudson's.  I'm thinking Holden is going to be a big boy!

Until next time.....

Where I Live

I love living out here in the country...it's the place where my husband built us a home and it's the place where we raised our children.  Being together out here with our children was simply perfect for us.  We felt God's favor and have been blessed to watch life grow all around us.  Our children had the whole 'world' to play in...at least that's what they thought at the time.  We would get the perfect amount of snow in the winter, and the heat didn't overwhelm us in the summer.  Spring and autumn will forever be my personal favorites.

Here's what I wake up to in the mornings.....

 

And here's what I take in before the sun tucks away for the night....breathtaking!

Just felt like sharing other parts of my world today..

Holden & Hudson

Each of my twin boys recently delivered a boy of their own....Holden and Hudson or H & H.  How sweet it is to be a grandma!  Even though I shared that I wanted a girl in a previous post....and I still do...I love these precious little guys.  Since I had made the little girl onesie, I knew that I had to now make two little boy onesies.  Below is a picture of my boys, their new little treasures and one of the onesies.

My own little angels when they were young......... 

and now....

Their own little angels.  Holden (John's) on the left and Hudson (Michael's) on the right.

And the onesie that matches their dad's shirts that I shared in a previous blog.

My son shared these photos of him in the morning vs. his new little one.  Hilarious!!

Love it!!

Christmas 2014

Coming up with a new and fresh idea for Christmas projects this year, was exactly what the shop owner where I work wanted each of us to do this past weekend.  The store holds a huge Christmas workshop this time every year for our customers.  We work hard at trying to find something new to perk their interest so that they will want to buy everything we demo.   I had way too much going on this year with the unexpected death of my father, my uncle's passing and two cancer scares from two of my daughters.  I participate every year but this year I had decided to bow out.  Rather than not have me participate at all, the shop owner asked if I would at least make a simple bag out of our Christmas fabric.  I hesitated, but eventually gave in and  made a tea cozy as well.  Below you will find the bag that I made using an Atkinson Design pattern along with the tea cozy.  The bag pattern includes 3  sizes, SML and includes incredibly easy to follow directions.  I made the medium size bag and included pin tucks on each side along with one of my many decorative stitches sewn right down the middle.  I decided to use metallic thread and was hoping it would hold up without constantly breaking.  It actually did pretty well.  I, of course, had to embellish the bag with lots of crystals and due to the simple style of the bag,  was able to finish on time. Below is the bag:

And here is the pattern that I used.  (FYI..we use this pattern to teach our newbies how to sew.)

Next, I tackled making a tea cozy..again, using our beautiful Christmas fabric.  This is such an easy pattern and a great gift idea too! Since this tea cozy is reversible, it's like giving a two for one gift.  I always start looking for unique and/or unusual tea pots at either Marshalls, T.J. Max, or Ross at this time of year.  You can always find something just perfect at one of these stores. When looking at the  embroidery portion of my cozy you can easily see the huge mistake that I made.  In my choice of thread colors, I really missed the mark.  You can barely notice that I even embroidered let alone read what it says.  Next time I will use a much brighter color.

Here is a wonderful pattern to use when making a tea cozy.  The instructions are real colored pictures that are in step by step order.  You hardly have to do any reading due to the wonderful pictures.  Best pattern ever for that reason!  This is a Pink Sand Beach Design.  Fabulous company.

                                       

 Get busy!  Christmas is nearly here!

Until next time..........

Wanting a Girl

Now that I have 15 grandchildren, with another one on the way,  I have been pleading with each of my children that they need to balance out our tally.  The score: 10 boys opposed to 5 girls.  I showed this little outfit that I made to my daughter Rebekah, who I  pictured in my last post.  She is the one who made an announcement last Sunday that she is expecting again.  My response?  I told her that she simply must  have a girl!   She tried to explain to me that since she already has 2 boys, her chances of having a girl are only 20%.  I told her I don't care about statistics.... I want a girl.  I have a box full of items that I have already made and some purchased that are girl specific.  Since she doesn't like to find out what she is having, I do feel that I need to be prepared.....for a girl!  

I used a pattern by a designer that I have used several times in the past..this is one of my faves.   

Here's the pattern:

As you can see, the pattern is well loved!

Until next time!

American Doll

For many of you, that special someone in your life has an American Doll.  These dolls have been around for years with my own daughters loving them too.  In fact, two of my daughters saved their money so that they could have shoes from the American Doll store.  Oh my!  One of the wonderful things about Olive Ann Designs is that each little girl pattern has a matching pattern for the American Doll...which I think is pretty terrific!  Here is the matching outfit for Addie's American doll.  Happy Birthday sweetheart!

Out To Lunch!

So I made this lunch bag a few months back...along with the pillow from my previous post..using a pattern made by My Favorite Things.  I have used their patterns before and for the most part sincerely enjoy using them.  Their directions are laid out very nicely and are easy to follow.  Trust me, it is getting harder and harder to find patterns that even make sense any more let alone come together like they should.  I have gotten pretty picky any more when it comes to patterns, but this little company does a nice job.  There are some things that I would change however.  For one, I would extend the front flap by at least another 2".  Since I made sure to use the right batting for a lunch bag  (an insulated batting by the name of Insul-Bright) and then lined it with a water proof fabric, (PUL) I was hoping to have a great insulated bag when taking my lunch to work.  But as you can see, the flap does not come down far enough to prevent those pesky sides from opening at the top of the bag.  I love the side pockets though that can be used for utensils, napkins, money, or for whatever else you would like to put in them.

I of course decided that it needed a little embroidery on  the front...I do after all have an embroidery machine!  And since buttons have always been my thing, I was more than satisfied with the one I found  to match my Amanda Murphy fabric that I used for the bag.

 Time to enjoy lunch!  Next time, not only would I make the front flap longer,  I would also make a pocket for the inside using that pet netting that so many of you use to make your beach purses.  It would be perfect to hold one of those slim  ice packs on the side to keep my food cold!  Don't forget to click on the images for a closer look!  Enjoy!!

Jaybird

I'm back in town and am excited to share with you a pillow that I made a several months ago using Little Jaybird Quilt Designs.   I also had the pleasure of using the Downton Abbey fabric line that had recently come into the shop.  The dark blue fabric is entitled 'Lady Mary' and the border, along with the lower  portion of a hexagon is 'Lady Edith'.  I have seen pillows, purses, etc. made using the Downton Abbey fabric and it is always fun to see what other women will come up with just to use this line of material!   The series certainly has captured the interest and hearts of a lot of gals who venture into Cozy.

On the back of my pillow, I decided to embroider Downton Abbey to bring familiarity to the fabric line.

I hunted high and low for just the right buttons.  I thought these were perfect!

 Enjoy...Until next time!

Cash

I'm leaving for Washington today and will be gone for 10 days.  But I wanted to share with you the little boy's shirt that I made for my grandson Cash.  I made it out of the leftover fabric that I had used for the shirt in the previous post.  (Good thing my grandson is little!)  Again, I'll share with you the pattern that I used for this wee little shirt.  Great little pattern to use for making something special for those little guys...and big guys..in your life.

I'm also going to share with you a cute pattern for that little girl in your life.  This is an OliveAnn Design and what I love about her patterns is that she also includes a pattern for the American Doll..or any 18" doll, that so many little girls have in their life right now.  So this is for you Addie.... Since many of my granddaughters own an American Doll, I felt that I needed to get one of my very own...I needed something to fit the clothes on...;-)

And of course my doll.....  I purchased 'Rebekah', which is my daughter's name. 

Thank you to all of you men and women who fight to keep us safe and free.  Happy July 4th America!

 See you when I get back!

Camp Shirt

The shop asked if I knew how to make a camp shirt....aka.... Hawaiian style shirt. I ordered in three different styles of Hawaiian fabric, then I looked online to find a pattern that I liked.  The first pattern that I ordered actually came from a shop  in Hawaii and I liked it very much.  But I also found a pattern by Islander Sewing Systems based in MI  that I liked even better.  The adult shirt below is made using the Hawaiian pattern...the boy's shirt is made using the Islander Sewing Systems pattern.  So what is your vote?  (click on pictures for a closer look!)

Here's the boys pattern using the Islander pattern. The difference?  The Victoria Jones pattern (Hawaiian) runs big...it's meant to be a loose fitting, aloha shirt...  I think guys will like that part of the pattern.  The Islander pattern, on the other hand, runs small...much more tailored.  I liked the collar and placket on the boy's shirt...the collar has a collar stand, which naturally makes the collar stand up better, and the finished placket looks very nice!  I'll try to get a close up so that you can actually see the pattern piece that I am referring to in regards to the collar stand.  My only complaint with the boy's pattern is the small size of the pocket... and I do feel it runs just a little small.  I enjoyed working with each pattern and I intend to use them again.

Collar stand....

Placket..doesn't it look nice?

Questions?

Christmas Past (2013)

So I missed Christmas with all of you this past year, but I still wanted to share a couple of items that I made.  There's a wonderful designer out there by the name of Kim Christopherson, that makes pattern making truly fun!  She is the founder and designer of KimberBell designs.  I have made several of her patterns so far,  one of which I have already shared with you.   She also has machine embroidery designs that are made to go along with her patterns.  For those of you who own embroidery machines, check out her designs...you will be thoroughly delighted!  (Her July 4th design packet is especially cute!)  Below is one of the wall hangings that I completed for the shop this past Christmas, along with the pillow you have already seen.

The back.

With the addition of new grandchildren, new stockings always need to be made!  Here's Cash's.

Buttons have gotten pretty popular these days too so I decided to add a few to a kitchen towel.  ;-)

Enjoy!