Back in business

Sewing machine is all better and is very happy to be home. Now I can finish up those WIP's (works in progress). I took one of my loyal followers advice and cut fabric and set aside several to be worked on projects while my machine was sick. Now I just have to grab and sew. I discovered an amazing site I just have to share. My sister-in-law turned me on to it. It is called Save On Crafts. I can't get enough of this site. Here are some things I love:

These boxwood topiary are so cute. And the price is amazing. All three for $45.00. I have been looking everywhere for these.

This chandelier is gorgeous. I would love this over my bathtub. Totally impractical but so dreamy and feminine.

And they have an entire section just for butterflies. Can you imagine this on your wedding cake. The site has so many great things. I haven't even been able to look at everything yet. I just found a section on wooden signs. Oh my!!

Last Minute Halloween Costume

Halloween is less then 24 hours away and I realized I didn't have a costume yet. I pulled out the costume bin and dug through it. I found this vintage 50's sweater and pink slip. But no poodle skirt. I figured I could whip something up. I found a free poodle pattern at this site. But when I printed it out it was tiny so I ended up having to free hand it. I used a work skirt much to my son's concern. He kept asking me if people would know it was a work skirt. I also had to explain to a 5 year old why I would pin a dog to my skirt. It was a fun conversation.

Some rinse stones and silver ribbon and it was complete. Not an authentic poodle skirt but it will do. I will wear white sneakers with white socks and put my hair in a pony tail. The kids may not get it but I hope the adults will find it cute. Happy trick or treating.

Sewing Maching is Sick

My barely six months old sewing machine is in the shop. Poor thing. I am lost with out it. Stay tuned for more postings next month. I was in the middle of two projects when it pooped out on me.

Witches Brew

These scarry snacks are so cute and fun to eat. I saw the recipe in a cooking magazine. Just take yogurt cups, draw faces, and add green food coloring. Top with licorice, a cookie, and the ice cream cones. Then eat. I couldn't find black licorice so settle for some green sour strips that I cut to size. Happy eating.

Cricut Fun

I turned around and it was October already. My last post was the middle of September. This time of year is so busy. Soccer, piano, back to school night, Halloween. So much fun. The house is decorated, the costumes are bought, and the pumpkins are at the patch. I love this time of year. I finished a great holiday quilt project but I can't show photos as it is a gift. tay tunred for that one. Tomorrow the kids have school but I am off. I repeat I am off. So I plan to shop and shop, and go to Joann's. I can't wait.

Today we had fun making cricut people. The boys were really patient waiting for there items to cut. And they glued them on by themselves.

Harvest Table Runner

I saw this adorable table runner in my October/November issue of Quilt Magazine. I love this time of year even though living in Southern California we don't get much of a seasonal change. Still, I decorate the house for the harvest and this table runner looked perfect.

It has two pumpkins, mirror images on each side. I used scraps for the whole project except the pumpkins. I just didn't have any good orange pieces in my stash. The boys thought this one was fun because they liked watching how the pumpkin was formed. They didn't understand what a table runner was so we had to spend a lot of time going over that. And when it finally went on the table they were very concerned that they might spill something on it. I assured them it could be washed.

I love to copy pictures. When I make a recipe I want it to turn out just like in the picture. My table runner looks very close to the picture which makes me very happy. And since it was a small project I got the extra satisfaction of completing a project in a very short amount of time.

Hannah's Quilt

This is my niece Hannah and the quilt I made for her. She picked out the fabrics. The fabric is a medley from Keepsake Quilting. The pattern is one I adapted from a Moda pattern and something I saw in a quilting magazine.

I used stitch in the ditch to quilt it because I didn't want to obscure the patterns. This fabric is really cute and has butterflies, and frogs, and other cute items on it. The back is a plain yellow.

I used leftover fabric to make a stripped boarder around the quilt. The solid pink is from Kona. This quilt was fun to make because the pattern was all in my head. It was also fun because I was making it for someone who was very excited about it. I would send her status reports via text with pictures. She was very patient with me, quietly asking for updates once in a while. And I did take a long time to finish it. But I think she would agree it was worth the wait.