A Little Bluebird

I finished a little project and just had to share a picture.  My daughter has made several of these, and they looked like so much fun, I decided I needed to make one as well.  We found the picture via Pinterest, but the original pattern is found here.   It was so much fun to make.  The legs are a bit tricky the first time; however, my daughter assures me that it gets easier with each new bird.  Now I just need to find the perfect name for him ....

New Bags

Do you think a girl can really ever have enough bags?  One  might think so, but then when you least expect it, new inspiration comes along, and of course you can dream up all kinds of ways to put a new bag to use.  This has been the case at our house after my daughter received a copy of one of Amy Butler's newest books, Amy Butler's Style Stitches: 12 Easy Ways to 26 Wonderful Bags.  It is the type of book that I not only like to look through over and over, but I would also just like to sit down and make one of each bag.   Here is a picture of the cover:

 After enjoying each and every page of the book, decisions were made, and fabric purchased.

One bag is now completed with two more on the burner.  My daughter made this one, and I think it turned out really cute:

Little Pilgrims

This week I set out my few Thanksgiving decorations. I don't have many, but the one that always brings a smile to my face are my little Pilgrims. I don't even remember exactly what year I made them. I do remember though that my mother-in-law and I both made them at the same time. So each year when I take them out to grace my livingroom for a couple of short weeks, I can remember making them with her, and am very thankful for such a wonderful mother-in-law.

The Licorice Ladies

Recently, an internet friend, brought my attention to a new and very interesting breed of chickens. Once I heard of them, I knew immediately that they belonged in my little Warm and Sunny hen house. The hens have a certain elegance about them, yet they are extremely friendly with the other more basic hens and chicks that I have. I contribute their friendliness to the fact that they actually like to nibble on bits of black licorice throughout the day.

Making Dresses, 1947 Style

I was recently wandering through a thrift shop when I came across this gem:

What a fun book this is! The last copyright date is 1947. It is only 49 pages long, and is surprisingly filled with a wealth of information. It covers everything from a step-by-step procedure in making a dress, to doing simple tailoring, and sewing for infants and children. It only cost me $1.00; and even if the information wasn't worthwhile (which it is), it would have been entirely worth it simply for the illustrations:

Scrap Bag

On a recent shopping trip to my local quilt shop, I spotted small brown bags for sale here and there labeled as "scrap bags". I was feeling adventurous, and considering they were only $4.00, I decided to pick one up.

And to my delight, look at the treasures that were inside:

Scotty Dogs

My two oldest daughters are very talented when it comes to a needle and thread. They are also very familiar with my mother's fondness for little black scotty dogs. So when her birthday rolled around this past month, they put their fingers to work, and came up with these:

They are actually available as a free pattern over at Allsorts. Needless to say, my mom was very pleased when she received them.

Toweling

I have a large piece of linen toweling that my mother-in-law gave me at one time. It used to be purchased by the yard, and was used to make kitchen towels out of. The edges are all finished, and when a new towel was in order, all that needed doing was to cut off the appropriate length from the toweling, hem the two ends, and a new towel would be all ready to grace the kitchen. Recently, I discovered that Moda now sells toweling yardage. It is made out of cotton instead of the linen, and comes in several colors. I purchased several yards of the red/blue and the yellow/green combinations.

Because it is made of cotton, I decided to pre-wash the yardage first, and cut it after it had shrunk. I cut my pieces 27 inches long, and hemmed the top and bottom edges. The towels would have been ready for use after this simple finishing; but I decided to go ahead and add some embroidery just for fun.

Pete

I was born as #5 in a family of 7 kids. So by the time I came along, the toy boxes were well supplied with toys. I don't remember ever receiving my very first baby doll because we already had quite a few baby dolls that had belonged to my older siblings. All of the dolls had specific names, and didn't go by any other. They also all had a very unique quality in that each one had a very small blue ink cross drawn on their forehead. My older sister, Molly, had decided that they all needed to be baptized. :) I did receive one doll at a young age that I remember. She was a "Chatty Cathy". She had a string coming out of her back that when pulled, she would say various little phrases. She didn't last for long though because being a good little mother, I decided one day that she needed a bath. Thus ended her chattiness. But I do remember one doll in particular that I liked playing with probably the most of all. His name was Pete. I never questioned his name, or the fact that it was a boy's name. He wasn't really a boy, just a doll with the name Pete. He was one of my favorites. As the years passed, and I no longer played with dolls, my oldest sister, Miki, came home for a visit. At that time she had girls of her own, and before she left she took Pete to take home for her girls to play with. It was at that point in time that I found out that Pete was really Miki's doll. She was the one that had received him as a gift, named him, and undoubtedly spent many years playing with him. I had honestly never given it any thought. I had just assumed Pete was mine. Of course I was more than happy for my nieces to have Pete to play with; but it was always fun to tease my sister that she had taken Pete away from me. On my birthday many years later, when I had girls of my own, Miki sent me a gift. Yes, it was Pete. So here is a picture of Pete, modeling a reversible bib that I recently made for Miki's granddaughter. On one side of the bib is a cute cherry print:

And the other side was embroidered with a "Baby's First Valentine's Day" motif:

And if you would like to take a look at my great niece modeling it herself, you can find that here.

A New Pillowcase

In January, my daughter and I were browsing around a local quilt store, when I found some cute fabric in the clearance section. To me it just seemed to say "please make a pillowcase out of me". It is technically a Valentine's Day fabric, but what little girl doesn't need hearts on her bed all year around? I paired it with a couple of other fabrics, and followed the directions that I posted back in November. This project really does go up quickly, and makes for a fun gift.




My daughter swapped it right away for one of her flannel pillow cases. Even though we still have snow on the ground and flannel sheets on the beds, this colorful pillowcase brings a little hope that spring will get to us eventually.

Pennie Pockets

Valentine's Day is such a fun day, especially if you have kids. Through the years I have always made sure that my kids have had valentines to send to family and friends. They have found so much enjoyment in either making the entire valentine, or just choosing which pre-made valentine would go to each special person. I also have fun giving each of my kids a little something on Valentine's Day. Even if it has only been a box of conversation hearts, the giving of a little simple gift is so enjoyable.

Recently, I came across a free pattern for Valentine Pennie Pockets that seem to have many possibilities:

I thought they were so cute that I would share the website with any of you that might want to try and make some for Valentine's Day. The directions don't sound very difficult, and you could make several alterations to cut down on some of the time making them. Replacing the yo-yo with a big cute button would be easier, and on another website I have seen the handles made out of rick-rack. There is a complete tutorial for this project located here.

To see the alternate website with some different variations, you can look here.

I can just picture these filled with all different kinds of treats for little kids and grown-up kids as well. They just seem so cheerful and fun.

24 Hours in a Day

I realize that there are 24 hours in each day. But I tend to think that some people actually have more hours in their day than I have. I know that my days go by very quickly being filled with home school, laundry, cleaning, preparing meals, and the usual day-to-day activities that we all have. I try to squeeze extra moments in here and there for reading and sewing. Usually those moments are in the evening; but I am an early to bed type of person, and so the evening moments aren't many. Sometimes I begin thinking that I just never get anything accomplished. For the past two years though I have begun a finished project list. Whenever I finish something, I jot it down in my little notebook, being sure to add the month it was completed. This way when I am feeling like I don't accomplish much, I reach for my notebook, and realize that I actually did get a number of things made throughout the year.

I still think that some people actually do get more than 24 hours in their days. I know of two women that surely must. I enjoy looking at their blogs because it is so inspirational to see how many projects they finish up in a very short amount of time. I don't think I could ever finish projects at their pace; but by reading about their successes, it makes me feel hopeful that if I just continue grabbing a moment here and there to work on my projects, they will get done. If you would like to see some beautiful crocheting, embroidering, and applique, then I highly recommend you take a look at Knot Garden and A Passion for Applique.

My Funny Chickens

My most recent, and probably last, project before Christmas has been my little chickens. They are actually pincushions; but I have been enjoying them just sitting around making me smile. My daughter has had them all lined up on the window sill in my sewing room, and they have really added a bright spot. I have grown kind of attached to them, but with Christmas drawing near, some of them will find themselves in a new home come Christmas morning.

I had a great time picking out all of the different kinds of fabric to use. I tried to choose patterns that would look very cheerful. After I had made a few of the larger sizes, I decided that they needed to have a little chick to go with them.

All of the other hens were in awe of the new little baby that was added to their little flock. You see, there has only been one so far, but maybe after Christmas a few more chicks will be hatched.

They even have funny little tails:

When I finished my first little hen, it just made me smile; and I immediately thought of my sister, Kass. She is always such a cheerful person, and always makes us smile. She is a very talented artist, and everything she paints or draws is very colorful, cheerful, and sometimes very whimsical. Whenever I see something that is very colorful and makes me laugh, I think of her. She has brought a lot of joy into our lives ..... thanks, Kass.

Pillowcases

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. That means that many of us will be very busy today with our various preparations. But when Friday rolls around, and you are taking it easy and enjoying the leftovers, your attention just might turn back to thinking of possible gift ideas for family and friends. If you like to sew, you might even find some free time to sit down in front of the sewing machine. Here is a quick and easy project that makes for a great gift. Pillowcases don't take too much fabric, they are quick to make, and with so many fabric choices out there, they turn out pretty cute. Team them up with a new pillow, and someone will be in for a great surprise.

Fabric needed for a pillowcase to fit a standard size pillow:

2/3 yd. of main fabric
1/3 yd. of secondary fabric
1/8 yd. of trim fabric

Cut the main fabric 24" x 42"
Cut the secondary fabric 12" x 42"
Cut the trim fabric 2-1/2" x 42"

Fold the trim fabric in half the length and press.
Fold the secondary fabric in half the length and press.

Stitch the unfinished edge of the trim piece to the unfinished edge of the secondary fabric. And then stitch to the main fabric. Stitch the bottom and side of the pillowcase, and that's all there is to it.

The Burp Cloths

I had a request to share how I made the burp cloths in a previous post. I don't have step-by-step pictures to make it an official tutorial, but I will do my best to give you some simple instructions.

1. I used flannel which I pre-washed and dried. You can of course make the burp cloth any size that you would like.

2. I cut the front of mine into a rectangle that was 9 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches. At this point I added the embroidery. You could also applique or add no embellishment at all. Just make sure that your embellishment will be able to withstand multiple washings.

3. Cut strips of flannel 1 1/2 inches wide and sew them to the sides of the front piece, and then to the top and bottom.

4. Cut another piece of flannel the size of the top that now includes the small border strips.

5. Place the pieces right sides together and stitch all around with a 1/4 inch seam allowance leaving a small area open for turning.

6. Trim the seam allowances, clip the corners, and press.

7. Turn the burp cloth right side out and press once again making sure that you turn the seam allowance inside the cloth where you turned it.

8. Edge stitch close to the edge around the entire cloth.

I certainly hope that this makes some sense. If anyone has a question, I am more than happy to answer it.

Babies and Burp Cloths

Burp Cloths are a necessity. You just really need something to throw over your shoulder when you are holding a little one. When my kids were babies, I just used a cloth diaper or a small flannel receiving blanket. I guess with being busy taking care of a new baby, the thought never entered my mind to make something cute to use. Recently I made these as a baby gift:

I made them out of flannel and then added some embroidery. As long as babies need to burp on something, it might as well be fun for them to look at. We do need to come up with a more dignified name for them than "burp cloths" though, don't you think?