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!