handmade gifts

A dear friend of mine celebrated her 15th birthday in May. Her younger sister planned a surprise party for her. It was so sweet, and very fun! She had no idea, and when she walked in the door thought "The house looks pretty." Then we all jumped out and yelled "SURPRISE!" She set her bags down and was like "Hiii." It was funny. :D Anyways, this is what I made her.

The blue zipper pouch is made of 100% cotton; the outside (blue) fabric and the lining (white) both came from the remnant bin at Joann's. I used a 7in. white zipper, and some white pom-pom trim. I used the instructions in Bend the Rules Sewing. I love that book!

The pink ipod case I made from scraps; the outside is 100% cotton, a fat quarter, and the lining is 100% cotton (pink) flannel (from the remnant bin as well). I used Velcro squares to close it, and added a vintage blue button for decoration. I didn't use a pattern, just made my own. It turned out smaller than I wanted it, only big enough for her nano, and not ear buds. Next time I will do it larger.

Then I made some simple pink earrings. I think they turned out quite pretty!

a sweet surprise

Caroline at Standing in the Sunlight hosted a giveaway, and I won! The package was supposed to arrive tomorrow. But what a sweet surprise when I opened the mailbox yesterday... and there was a package for me!

I loved the charming little sticker she closed the wrapping with.

And the lovely note card. How did you know I love birds?!

The bag is so sweet Caroline! I love it!!!

Vintage

Aren't these patterns cute? I love this one!

These women look so tall and thin. :-)

I love this one too!

Three

That's how many pictures I took on Thanksgiving. Something must have been wrong with me, right? How 'bout a headache that made me feel like I was dying? Yep, that might do it.

On Tuesday night my head started hurting. I didn't think too much about it, since I get headaches sometimes.
I woke up around 11:30 pm and was up till 1:00 am. My head hurt SO BAD. I have had a migraine before, but this was much, much worse. I finally fell asleep, after much praying, and cool cloths and lavender oil from my Mom.

On Wednesday I was not any better. The doctor said to take Excedrin. It didn't help at first, but then it started to later. I stayed on the couch all day, watching Vanity Fair. (Thanks for letting us borrow it Andi!)

Yesterday my head was not hurting much, but I still felt, blah. I felt tired. So, Thanksgiving was different. Next year, we will have Thanksgiving at our home hopefully.

Mom and I went to Joann's this morning. Ahh!!! We didn't go at 6 like we were going to. We got there at about 9:45. It was crazy. When we got there, they were calling number 16. Mom got a number. 87. No joke. A lady gave her the number 77. A little better. We stuck it out, and got lots of good deals.

I will sign off now. Happy Black Friday! ;)

Quilts, Beautiful Quilts!

Dana at Old Red Barn Co. is giving away three BEAUTIFUL quilts!!! Oh, you must go enter. Since 50% of you reading know me in person, if I don't win, you might, and I can come visit your new quilt! Hehehe.

I want to start quilting. It's just another thing on my list of things to learn. Not that I have an actual list. It's more in my head. :-)

But quilting doesn't seem that hard. I will probably start with a small lap or baby quilt. I will update you when I start one. Anyways, GO ENTER!

Damsels in... the sewing room

My Arwen Dress

For Halloween (Reformation Day) I was Arwen, from LOTR. Andi came over and helped me make the dress (thanks again!!!), and I did the silver sleeves and trim, and the hem on my own. Emmy made my crown. Isn't it marvelous?! Thank you bunches Emmy dear! We had a great time last night. I will post more pictures soon.

Joe (twin #1) and I. He was a cowboy. He always dresses like that though. :-)

Here's the dress. I used McCall's 4491, view D. Andi and I tried it with the gussets, but they sort of pooched out. So she took them out, and it looked better. My arm movement is limited without them, but I don't care. I will post better pictures when the rain stops and I can take some. Lol.

whir, whir, whir

That's the sound my sewing machine makes when it's in use. At least that is the nearest I can get to describing it. I have been sewing all day, when I wasn't sitting in the living room. We had our very first fire today! It is great. Albeit warm. Very warm.
Our costumes are all ready. We need to leave soon, so I better get ready. :-) I will post pictures of our costumes tomorrow, or Sunday. Happy Reformation Day!

the week's happenings

Monday: sleep deprived from staying up late on Sunday night. But hey, we just love to fellowship with y'all. Sleep deprivation is totally worth it. At least I think so.

Tuesday: the wood stove was supposed to be put in, but the parts hadn't arrived.

Wednesday: I finished my Arwen dress. Pictures to come...

Today: the wood stove was installed. Yay! Now for a fire tomorrow morning. Double yay! I went to choir, and Emmy did another braid. Thanks! Then Mom picked me up, and we went to JoAnn's. That is a dangerous place. Not only do you splurge when you see the Italian wool/cotton yarn, the cotton yarn, the baby yarn, and the Butterick patterns, all on sale, but you get yelled at by the old lady in the phone booth, um, I mean bathroom. And now I am sitting here typing away on the laptop, shivering. Shivering because it RAINED!!! For the first time in a long time. And it is cold again, after a rather warm spell. Perhaps Fall is here to stay? When will the roses on my rose bush wither, and not show their faces again till spring? When will it be Winter? Soon. Christmas is only 56 days away! Oh my! It seems as if yesterday it were January. As I get older, time flies faster, and faster... and I am not that old. :-) I should sign off. Good night!

Thank you Andi!

When I haven't any time to blog, I post a photo or two, or three. Bear with me, if this starts happening sometimes.

Yesterday we had a wonderful, laughter-filled day, chalk full 'o fellowship with others of "the race that knows Joseph" (~L. M. Montgomery). Andi gave up her day to come teach me how to use a pattern, and help me make my "Arwen" dress. (I will blog about it when it's finished.) Andi, you are such a blessings! Thank you so much. I owe ya.

Well, I should go eat my Chocolate Peanut Butter Fresh Banana Milkshake. Mmmm. We haven't had Big Al's in so long. Good Night!

Fabric

We went to JoAnn's to see what sort of deals they had going for Columbus Day. We stood in line for way too long. :-)

From the top down:

Cute Cupcake fabric (no purpose, yet.)

Yellow/Blue/Pink/Green Floral, for a curtain for the bathroom.

Cute Knit fabric for a shirt for Mom.

Cream/Brown Floral, which we bought just because we love it. :-)

Black knit, for a cloak for Jake.

Quilting

I am not a quilter, but would like to be. Here is a helpful article about making quilts for less! http://fruit-of-her-hands.blogspot.com/2008/08/quilting-idea.html