The purging has begun! I’m sorting my scraps/excess fabric by color and listing them in the shop. I’ve crammed as much fabric as I can into gallon sized ziploc bags and each bag is available for $8 with $3 shipping in the USA. I didn’t have enough time today to list the oranges, greens, creams, and whites/blacks, hopefully tomorrow afternoon I can add them to the shop.

While searching through my fabric stash I found this handy little book that I thought I had lost!

If you run across it while thrifting you should buy it without hesitation. It is a great resource with color photos of the most common embroidery stitches. Click through to flickr to see all the details about it.

Found while thrifting in Phoenix. I was not lucky enough to find any Ondori books, but I still had a good time! I flipped through the book and found a fun pattern that I thought might look nice on a tote bag, or maybe a pillow.

Happy Stitching- and don’t forget tomorrow is FREE SCOOP DAY at Ben & Jerry’s.

I love to cook and bake…on Sunday. I don’t know why but making dinner any other night feels like a chore, however I love spending Sunday afternoons in the kitchen. Today we had porcupine meatballs with homemade tomato soup (way better than the canned). We finished the meal off with chocolate cupcakes.

I spent Saturday trolling the downtown phoenix thrifting scene with my SIL.  I found a great old embroidery book, will share patterns this week.  Hope you all have had great weekends too!

p.s. MANY thanks to Jackie and  Eloire (whose name I adore!)- your packages arrived on Saturday!

friends to visit all morning long, lunch and then a quick trip to the zoo before picking up the boy. frantically working on some graphic design work and finishing/starting some towels for frances to giveaway. haven’t had much worthy of blogging about, just living life.

scratchy throat, bleary eyed, pack lunch, make hot coco (can’t stand coffee). climb into my computer chair (still in my super soft jammies) fire up photoshop. open winamp and start my favorite 80’s station, work to the sounds of my favorite 80’s one hit wonders (promise, forever young) and other great songs by the cure and pet shop boys. complete my work in record time. think to myself how much i love what i do.

productivity should be the word of the day. finished after lunch and uploaded to the shop. one of a kind, won’t make another one, get it while you can.

We’re having some friends over for a BBQ today.

1. Vintage Red BBQ, 2. Forty Nine Plates, 3. Summer~~~ first evening of Summer, 4. modern outdoor dining, 5. BBQ tin, 6. Have A Coke, 7. You’re Next Timmy!, 8. BBQ Fun, 9. Clean Dishes in Drying Rack

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

I’ve been creating in the kitchen today (and last night). It was requested that I make blue and yellow cupcakes- with sprinkles.

We’re doing some low-key and simple celebrations today.  Who wouldn’t want their mom to show up with balloons after school?!

Have A Great Weekend!

I’ve been busily working on my lunch box for the lunch box swap, and gluttenly reading “Tara Road” by Maeve Binchy . Oh- and my dish washer is begging to be emptied!

A young boy I know is putting together a service project to make isolette covers for babies in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).   This project is one I really want to get behind, my one and only niece was  born premature and received care in the NICU.  I was in the process of making her an isolette cover when she left this life.  Over the years I have donated items to the NICU where she lived as my way of carrying on her memory.  I really want to help this boy sew as many covers as he can, I will be donating my time and as much fabric/batting as I can collect for his project.

I’m asking all you crafters out there to search through your fabric collections for large pieces (at least .75 yards) that you are willing to donate.  Isolette covers are usually dark on one side the other side can be any print.  If you would rather get involved and do some sewing- there is a great pattern here.  If you are local and want to help sew the day of the event-just let me know and I’ll provide the details.

All donations need to be received by May 2.   If you would like to donate leave me a comment or send me an email (heather-at-heatherhalesdesigns-dot-com) and I will send you a shipping address.

thanks bunches!!

(apology for anyone who has tried to email me in the last 12 hours, my inbox has been cleaned out and is ready to receive email again!)

If you read yesterdays interview over at feeling stitchy you now know that I love to read. I realized though, that I have never shared any of my reading material with you, and I think I should. I recently finished an AMAZING book “These Is My Words” by Nancy Turner. It is a historical fiction account of Sarah Prine’s life in the Arizona Territory during the late 1800’s written as if it were her diary. Sarah is 17 when you meet her and you watch as she matures and grows. She is such a believable and real character in her naivety and her feminine insecurities. The book was on display at my library so I grabbed it, I could not put it down! I mentioned it to my SIL who said she had read many blog posts about what a good book it is. So, there you go; if you have some free time this weekend grab this book and a bowl of fresh popped popcorn and enjoy!

If you are interested I am currently reading: “Shadow Song” by Terry Kay, I’m about a 1/3 of the way through it and it has been an easy book to get into. What are you reading? Do you have any recommendations I should add to my summer reading list?

Just for fun, a picture I took last January at Laguna City Beach in OC.  Makes you want to curl up near a window to this and read, doesn’t it?