Hello Summer :)

It's hard to believe it's June already!

Crazy how time flies.

It seems like the older I get

 the faster everything goes speeding past me!

Or maybe it's just me?

Yesterday was a beautiful 85 degrees here

 so I kidnapped picked up 3 of my grandsons

and took them over to my daughter's house to play in the pool.

On the way home I asked them if they had any fun.

Elijah (8) -  "yes"

Caleb (6) - "I did too"

Gabriel (almost 3) - "yep"

Then Elijah says "but I'm the oldest AND the biggest,

so I had the most fun of all.

Caleb had some fun too,

but not as much as me.....(pause).....

and Gabriel had the least amount of fun. :)

Love these guys!!!!

I just finished this piece called

"Summer Soapbox" by Bent Creek.

I stitched it on 28ct Buttermilk linen

over 2 threads

and I changed some of the thread colors

to what I had on hand that I liked.

This is the first of my new obsession

with seasonal pieces that I can change out.

I used some lightweight canvas gingham to edge it

and ironed on some fusible fleece to add body.

I backed it in simple muslin

and added the bow for hanging.

And we're back!

I feel like it's been forever since I blogged.

I've been working on a swap package that is shipping tomorrow

that is a secret swap so I can't show you any of it yet.......

And I've been busy sewing :)

I listed 10 new sets of potholders in my shop today.

And 13 new basic hostess aprons.

Now I need to clean up the mess I've made of my sewing room....

*ugh*

Why is it always more fun to make a mess,

than to clean a mess?

Giveaway Day Winner Announced!

Let me first just say how overwhelmed I am

to have received so many wonderful comments!

I wish I had 200 aprons to give away.

I had originally intended on answering every comment,

but I just couldn't keep up.

So if I didn't manage to respond to you personally,

please know that your sweet comments were SO appreciated!

You guys made me laugh out loud at times

 and touched my heart other times

and sometimes both :)

I used the handy random number picker

and the winner of the butterfly apron is:

Crystal who said:

Gorgeous apron, wow! I'm a doll maker from Alberta, Canada.

I have 2 little girls who are my entire world!

Congratulations Crystal!!!!



Inventory Reduction Sale on Etsy!

These guys desperately need a good home!

Just look into their eyes.......

can you feel the love?

If so,

hop on over to my Etsy shop for my

Inventory Reduction Sale!

(sounds impressive right?)

It's time to make room for some new items

and it's just sad that these cuties are wrapped in plastic

instead of being loved.

I have aprons as low as $10.00!

It there is something you've had your eye on,

most likely it's on sale today!

When these items are gone,

they're gone....

and I probably won't be making them again.

(I get bored easily)

Happy Shopping!!!

It's Giveaway Day!!!

Today is Giveaway Day over at SewMama, Sew!

This is my first time participating

and I'm offering this apron that I made using

Moda's Freebird in chocolate brown

and Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird in salmon dots.

What a perfect way to say "Thank You"

to all my followers and readers!

I absolutely LOVE reading your comments

and it always brightens my day!!!

This giveway is open to everyone,

including my international readers

and you don't have to be a follower to enter

but if you are just let me know in a seperate comment

for a second chance to win!

OK....so how can you win this?

Leave a comment on this post telling me a bit about yourself

and where you are from.

(I'm always so interested to know who my readers are :)

You have until May 25th to enter

and the winner will be chosen at random.

I will post the winner on the 26th.

That's it....easy peasy!

Make sure to jump over to SewMama, Sew and

check out the hundreds of other giveaways!

You can't win if you don't enter!

Busy Saturday and a Tusal update :)

There are days that I feel like I get absolutely nothing done,

and other days where I'm surprised by what I manage to accomplish.

Yesterday was a good day.

My machine was hummin'

and all was right with the world!

I used my new walking foot for the first time

and made these fun pot holders

using the free tutorial on Sew4Home.

I was dancing around in my sewing room singing

"I'm walkin on sunshine...yeah

and don't it feel good!"

It's a very good thing you couldn't hear me :)

I leave the singing in the family to my son and daughter in law!

If you read this blog often, you know that I tend to

get on a roll making one project

and before you know it I've made 49 more.

So of course I had to make 3 more taggie blankies too!

I also whipped up 6 coasters as a little anniversary giftie

for my son and his bride.

They've been married 12 years today!

Awesomesauce, right?

I used this free tutorial from Sew4Home.

They are totally FTS (fun to sew)

and I"ll be making more for myself!

And last but not least,

it's time to post my Tusal (Totally Useless Stitch Along)

and show my ORT jar (Old Ratty Threads)

Hope you had a chance to be crafty this weekend too!

Spring 2012 Bloggers Quilt Festival

Today is opening day of Spring 2012 Bloggers Quilt Festival!

If you've never heard of it,

swing on over to Amy's Creative Side

and check out all the details

and drool over all the amazing quilts!!!

I've only been quilting for about a year now

and I'm loving every minute of it!

I've decided to enter my "Tia Helena's" quilt into the competition.

This quilt really began 41 years ago

when my grandparents

were visiting us from Germany.

My "Oma" was an avid stitcher,

both cross stitch and embroidery.

She taught me to stitch that summer.

Fast forward to 2011 when I was looking

through my craft supplies in the garage

and came across these 3 partially completed

Hummel embroideries.

These were the pieces I was working on

with my "Oma" that summer.

I was planning on stitching them to represent

my 3 cousins, Maika, Norma and Sonny.

A few years ago, my cousin Sonny was killed

in a car accident on the Autobahn at age 39.

He left behind his wife and 2 teenage children.

I felt immediately compelled to finish these

pieces and incorporate them into a quilt for my aunt.

(We affectionately call her Tia Helena)

So this is what I came up with.

I used colorful fabrics by Robert Kaufman

to really make the embroideries pop :)

And I really wanted it to be bright and happy!

I hand quilted it using Perle cotton size 8.

My mother just left to Germany on vacation

3 weeks ago and hand delivered it to her sister.

It makes my heart happy to know

that this handwork that was started

by her own mother and finished by her niece

is finally in it's rightful home with her :)

I think that's what I love most about any kind of handwork

is that the love and care that goes into every stitch

will be cherished long after we are gone :)

I have my 2 little granddaughters that were just

born last year and I'm hoping that one day

they will sit with me in the backyard

on a sunny afternoon

and discover a love for handwork

from their Nana....

just like I did :)

Maika

Norma

Sonny