loving embroidery!

i'm really enjoying sewing projects incorporating embroidery lately... i've made up a couple of really nice projects with one major one in the works.

i recently posted about one of my newest favourite blogs, nanaCompany. Amy made a very cute 'sweet dreams little one' pillow. i posted a picture of it before, but i finally got to shoot some photos outside, so here are some better ones.

i love this pillow, coupled with the afghan i knitted last year. and did i mention i love this fabric line. seriously can't get enough of it. i think i have about the equivalent of a half jelly roll left for one more project...

i love these sweet animal sleeping pals. the embroidery is so sweet. Amy comes up with the cutest things! i love that ruffle too. this is my most favouritest pillow i've ever owned. :)

then i came across a pillow i loved on flickr, so i mimicked the design and came up with this, made from my flock by thomas knauer fabric.

again, i can't get enough of that embroidery! and here's a sneak peek at my bigger project. i have no idea how long this will take, but hopefully i'll get to show more soon.

little stack of lovelies.

10 down, 40 to go. ;)

it's been a while!

so i have a quick update in my craftiness. since school got out for me, i've been busy working on unfinished projects. i have a few well under way now. i had way more pictures to post, but they didn't turn out so well in the evening light, so more photos later! but here's a snippit:

i really needed a cover of some sort for my kitchenaid which my kind and generous brother bought me last year. i couldn't stand it collecting dust when i'm not using it (i had been just covering it with a kitchen tea towel...) so i went online and got some inspiration. i found a few designs that i liked and whipped up this beaut. i LOVE IT!! i'm using my Joel Dewberry Heirloom fabrics to brighten up my kitchen. i have several other creations planned, maybe with a tutorial or two... what would you like to see made for a kitchen?

i've lately fallen in love with nanaCompany. i LOVE Amy's cute little projects and designs. they're sooooo sweet! have you seen her Sweet Dreams Little One pillow? i saw it and knew i had to make one. like, immediately. since i had the perfect amount of Pure charm squares left, i made one and put a boy twist on it. i promise to take some better pictures soon and post about that one.

and finally, (for now)

the cutting is well under way. i should finish it all tonight (the cutting and prepping for sewing). these bags are for my blog winners from ages ago. sorry it's taking so long ladies! you'll have your bags very soon. i promise. but the question is, which one will you get?

sewing casualties happen

well, i was finishing a project i've been working on for a few days now, by sewing on this delightful ruffle:

but when i turned it over, look what i saw:

and was i going to unpick that ruffle for one charm square? no. but it was sad. it was my last charm square from this gorgeous Pure fabric line. what a waste. i think i'll be able to salvage enough of it to make a little label for the back of this pillow case, but it's not what i intended.

yep. casualties happen. :(

Birthday Pillow

since moving house several months ago, we've made quite a few friends in our neighbourhood. one of which is Janie. she's awesome. we have some things in common which bring us together to talk often. anyway, it's her birthday today, so i whipped up this cute pillow for her:

i came across this free pattern whilst perusing blogland. i'm a follower of Julie at Jaybird Quilts and was led to Basic Grey where they have this Star Fall Pillow pattern to download for free! :) so i did. and made it in one evening.

the back is a simple envelope closing. easy enough. i love that pink stripe!

i made the label this morning. gotta love personalised labels. :)

i like the look of sewn handwriting. it adds character.

i hope she likes it!

Happy Birthday lovely lady!

because geeks need cute things too...

this weekend, i got to sit down and do some fun embroidery. it was the last weekend of spring break, so i was determined to get a few more crafty things done before back to the school grindstone. check this out:

how cool is that? this is the molecule responsible for the taste of chocolate. awesome. it was interesting to note during my research, that if you exchange another CH3 in place of one of those double bonded oxygens (i can't remember which one exactly right now) you get caffeine. makes sense really...

so i changed majors a few times before i finally settled on business, but i used to be a chemistry major. and i was pretty good at it too. i got to be a classroom assistant for my chemistry professor (who would ever want to do an extra, voluntary chemistry class? ME!) and i even did a semester-long internship at the local middle school with their science department and got to teach a lab... anyway, i am a science geek and i LOVE learning about it. one of the things i really loved was drawing the structural formulas of compounds - especially ones that are common substances, like chocolate!

they have such interesting shapes. so i really wanted to get some stitched and displayed in my craft room. i decided to do my favourite flavours. :)

root beer is my absolute favourite drink ever. yum! side note rambling story: when i was younger, and lived in the UK, McDonald's used to serve root beer. i'd get one every time. then for some reason or another, they didn't anymore. no where else sold it. it's just a soda no one seems to like over there (except for special peeps like me!) so one of the things i LOVE about living in the US now is that root beer is EVERYWHERE! it took a long time before i stopped asking my husband "do they serve root beer here?" at every restaurant. haha!

yes. rose is a flavour. ever had turkish delight? YUM! another thing that's rare in the US. :( i guess sometimes you can't have the best of both worlds... not only is it a yummy smell, it's a pretty nice taste too, when coupled with sugar and theobromine! ;)

gotta love science sewing!

another finish

i'm on a roll! actually, this is a start and finish in three days. it could have taken a shorter amount of time, but tonnes of chores which i've been neglecting really needed to be done this week...

i saw this post by Canoe Ridge Creations (with which blog i've fallen in love!), and REALLY wanted one for myself. so i set to work. i'm not entirely in love with the final product though. :( i LOVE my idaho embroidery block, and the borders, but that brown fabric and the quilting is not right. it was the only solid i had which matched what i was going for, but it's of inferior quality. i could kill myself. that'll teach me for compromising fabric standards! but the more i look at it, the more i see ways i can improve, and i'm still glad i made it.

the scrappy borders are made from left over Hometown fabric i bought for my placemats. the bluish colour fits in with my new living room colour scheme, as does the brown - so i intended to hang it there. we'll see though, if i don't end up making an entirely new one that i'm more happy with!

the hubs and i lived in boise for two years, and recently bought a home just outside our capital. so the heart not only is placed at the capital, but also represents where we live. :) and i love that i could find my town in one of the scrappy blocks used in the border. idaho falls also has special meaning to us as that's where we were married. :D

i feel like i'm still in that creative place where i'm imitating others' work. i think i'm still skill building and just finding my true creativeness. i'm getting there! i'm gradually branching out and experimenting with my own ideas, and i'm excited to be able to create something new. some things, though, i just have to have when i see it. this is one of them.

finally finished

i FINALLY got round to finishing my placemats that i started last summer. ugh. i'm not usually that bad. anyway, all i've had to do for a while is get some binding and sew it on. i didn't have enough coordinating fabric to do it til now. truthfully, i haven't even looked at buying it til now. since it's spring break for me this week, i thought: no excuses! get it done!

it only really took me two days to get them completed, once i got into the mode...

and, of course, they look super scrumptious once washed and dried. :)

i wasn't a huge fan of the back until i washed em. i was wishing i used a red fabric, but now with the binding on, and red thread, i'm really liking them.

et voila! finished. i'm so happy they're off my "to do" pile. (excuse the GROSSNESS of my living room carpet! it's raining, so i couldn't go outside, and we have yet to replace the ugly brown carpet in our new house...)

it feels good to complete a project! it means i can start on a new one, right? :)

i also got a lovely surprise package today from my Wild Olive Stitch Swap partner. Woo!

Dana sent some lovely goodies to me. those Godiva chocolate strawberries almost didn't make it into the picture... i was sure to eat them up before my hubby got up from sleeping. who am i kidding?! he doesn't even like strawberries. i've just been chocolate deficient for a few days now.

this was her first hoop stitch - and she did awesome! great job, and thank you for the loveliness! :) i shall hang it with pride in my crafting room.

if your name is Renee, DON'T READ THIS! :P

that was meant for my sister-in-law... she's about to have a baby any day now, and i've made a little something for her little tyke. i'm not sure if she even reads this blog that much, which is why i'm writing about it now. if i don't blog about my finishes when they happen, i'm likely to forget about it later. but first, i couldn't resist buying this yard of fabric when i saw it on etsy:

if you know me, i'm plane crazy (not to be confused with "plain crazy"! which arguably could be true as well...) i even studied at the University of Leeds for two years in their Aviation Technology program, and took flying lessons. long story short, without going into too much detail, i ran out of funding, and had to pursue my flying dreams via a different route. in any case, what would be more attractive to a fabric obsessed aviator? airplane fabric, of course! :) i'm conjuring up all kinds of things for this beauty.

also, i grabbed some of this when i found it on sale for only $3.50 for a half yard.

i thought it looked very cute, and might make a little girl very happy one day...

so onto my major finish for this week:

i found this tutorial on moda bake shop, and thought it would be the perfect baby quilt for my newest nephew. i had a bunch of charm squares left over from my investment purchase of Pure by Sweetwater. i LOVE these fabrics. i hope my sister-in-law and baby will enjoy it as much as i do! :)

i purchased some additional brown fabric from JoAnn to complete the border and word appliques. it fit so well with the charm squares.

i deviated from the tutorial a little and kept the lettering in the same font, and i moved them in toward the center some more. i quilted using a simple meandering design, with loops on the borders.

i love that one word sticks out at you when folded in quarters. you can see a peek at the backing fabric i used. after i had picked this out, i asked my mother-in-law what the colours would be for baby. she said baby blue, lime green and darker green. although i already started the top and had a feeling it wouldn't be 'the colours' i was surprised that i got fabric for the backing that would match. i think it all came together pretty well in the end. i really hope she likes it.

handbag winners

alright friendly followers... since there were only seven comments on my final days of giveaways post, and there are supposed to be six winners, i'm going to make all seven of you winners! each of you will receive a bag not unlike this:

i'm still in the process of making them, so please bear with me. i'll email each of you to get your addresses so i can mail them off as soon as i finish.

thanks for following and commenting! :)

Embroidery Swap

one of my favourite bloggers had a new embroidery swap. i couldn't help myself - i signed up! it was hosted by Mollie of Wild Olive. she makes the cutest designs! i love that she'll stick a happy face on anything, and it looks a million times cuter!

anyway, here's what i made for my secret swapee:

i think it looks so soft and feminine... i really hope my swapee likes it! i'm excited to see what i get from my secret swapper. i can't remember what i wrote for my favourite things, but i'm sure i'm going to like it. i have a hard time not liking other people's crafts!

my newest acquisition

i was truly psyched to see the mailman today. he brought me this:

what a delightful little bundle this is. :) i got a 1/2 yard of 8 different fabrics from Riley Blake Fly a Kite. it's more scrumptious in real life!

these beautiful colours are just what my stash needed. such a delicious combination. i LOVE the little characters too. so cute!!

the girl on the swing reminds me of my little sisters...

the boy is super cute too. (yeah, i really should have ironed out those creases before i took pictures, but i was too excited!)

i had to get a close up of that lil doggie. aww. he should be called 'patch'. anyway, i digress...

i can't wait to make something completely stupendous with these sweet gems, but i'm not sure what yet. in any case, i see a lot of fussy cutting in my future...

i just started this one:

i got inspiration from Amy at Lots of Pink Here. i really liked the fussy cutting pattern by Kate Conklin, but i'm working mine out so that they will end up being square instead of losing an inch in the width. i'm OCD...

yup, i finally cut into that 1001 peeps bundle that i got. a whopping 1 yard of each fabric in the Dusk palette. i cut enough squares to make a full size quilt and was surprised with how much fabric was left over. that means more beautiful creations! :) and lots of pillows to match... i'm thinking one of these would work very well in this collection. i can't wait!

so, any suggestions with what i should do with these fabrics? i'm hooked on pinterest and flickr looking for ideas...

until next year...

st patrick's day that is. it's been fun preparing, and doing a massive giveaway/freebie blog event. i hope you've enjoyed it. i've learned a lot on the way. thank you to all my generous participants for supplying some items to giveaway. and thank you followers for playing along.

before i announce some more winners, i thought i'd share my party spread with you. check this out!

under the foil is the potato bread, and hamburgers and hotdogs sit under the other. missing from the picture is a batch of lovely caramel shortbread (which was housed in the fridge), and some delicious sausage rolls (being kept warm in the oven). i also made a HUGE batch of my momma's irish stew which was sitting in a massive borrowed pot being warmed by two stove burner rings. yep two. :)

i used my SPD printables to dress up the cupcakes a little. they look so fun!

and i had my little leprechaun guy guard his pot of chocolate gold coins. he's so cute! and that brings me onto one of the giveaway announcements... he gets a new home and goes to:

woohoo! congrats ang. he's going to a great home.

and the winner of the Windy City Novelties $20 gift certificate is:

congrats Lee. we'll be in touch soon.

i hope you all have a wonderful weekend. stay tuned to my blog for more awesome tutorials coming up and a giveaway or two. ;)

final days of giveaways

hi everyone! sorry to have been AWOL the past few days. i got ill and that's never pretty, nor is it very productive. anyway, let's take care of some business...

let's announce some giveaway winners! mr random says the winner of the lucky pillow is:

yay! congratulations tammy! i'm so excited you get this pillow! :)

and the winner of the embroidery patterns sponsored by The Split Stitch is:

congratulations hueisei! you'll soon get an email from Sara with information on how to choose your prize.

more giveaways announced tomorrow! look around and enter them if you haven't already...

i had a lot of fun making my final freebie... i'm part of a fabric postcard swap group and we sign up to swap every so often, and of course i HAD to sign up for march's Lucky Green postcard swap. this is what i came up with for my swap partners:

i was inspired by some of my favourite bloggers/designers Sweetwater. they posted about some valentine crafts/kits here. i loved their postcard kits, and decided to design my own for St Patrick's Day.

so i've decided to let my fine readers share in my postcard joy. i printed these on printable fabric sheets before sewing them onto fabric. i used InnerFuse (double-sided stiff fusible interfacing) as the batting layer between the fabric layers, but pretty much any kind of batting may do.

again, if anyone has trouble saving the above jpg file, i have a pdf prepared to email! let me know.

in light of my recent backlog, i'm going to change my plans a little for the remaining six giveaways. instead of preparing separate posts for each day, i'm going to lump them into one... for this last giveaway, SIX people will win a prize. how about that? that way, i won't go crazy catching up with my schedule.

i recently sat down to make one of Keyka Lou's patterns, and loved how simple and fast it was. i made this little beauty for one of my sisters.

this is the Dewdrop Handbag, which unfortunately is no longer available for pattern download. i'm so glad i bought this one when i did. and that's what makes this giveaway so special! six winners will each receive one of these beautiful handbags! so, who's in?

leave a comment telling me your favourite accessory colour and that you follow my blog, and extra entries will be awarded for blogging/facebooking/twittering about the giveaway. final day for entries will be march 22, with winners announced the next day. good luck!

i think that about catches me up with giveaways. come back tomorrow for more giveaway announcements, and hopefully photos from my St Patrick's Day Party! have a great weekend folks!