Sewing for little girls is really fun, you can add extra touches to make your pieces special….things like bum ruffles!

I used some Japanese fabric that I had been saving and paired it with some of my Bubble Gum Basics.  I modified the rise on these (because the last time I made them the rise was WAY to high), but I went too far i guess, as the rise is now too short!  I will be unpicking it tomorrow and adding a casing out of the polka dotted fabric to bring the rise up a bit.

I still think they turned out super cute!  Next up, the little one needs a jacket…i’m thinking linen with embroidery.

an easter dress for the baby, (yes, I know easter isn’t until april).  Still needs a hem and some buttons.

girl scout cookies…i’m hiding a box just for me; shhh, don’t tell.

an afternoon spent at the bowling alley & having Auntie join us for dinner!

“The pediatrician checked her this saturday morning and said she looked better than 99% of the other RSV patients he was treating and that she was ready to go home.  Her lungs are clear (as they have been the whole time we were there) and her mucus levels were better.  He is confident that if we suction her at home before feedings she will do well.  She will have a residual cough for about another 10 days he thinks and wants to see her in the office on Monday.

I am grateful to be home, a bit nervous, hope that I can keep her healthy and keep the big brother and sister germs away from her!

Thank you so much for all your prayers and well wishes, thank you for the meals and the phone calls.  It is so humbling to have such wonderful friends and family, thank you again.”

That is the email I sent to family & friends yesterday after babers got home from the hospital.  To say this weekend has been an emotional roller coaster would be an understatement.  I fluctuate between giant tears running down my face to feeling competent and able to care for my family.  Really, I am completely overwhelmed at the thought of caring for a sick newborn and two other kids.

She is doing well today, keeping her feedings down and eating a bit more than yesterday, I currently have an arsenal of milk in my freezer!  This afternoon while the little one slept:

husband: “oh you are sewing”

me: “no, this is needle therapy”

It felt good to sit alone with my thoughts and to stitch.  These are meant to be conversation heart cookies, I stitched them up as a special gift for a special friend. Here is my tutorial for basic felt sugar cookies, you can easily adapt it to hearts.

thank you again for all your prayers and concern…

I finished the quilt for my 5yo today!!  Hand bound while watching Pollyanna- good ‘ol comfort film.  I’ve always liked the look of a coin quilt and wanted to do one that had a scrappy/casual feel to it. I chose fabrics in red, aqua and pink.

My daughter calls this her princess bed ever since we bought her the canopy (ikea).

I backed it in a candy pink and white striped fabric that I found at a thrift store.  It wasn’t quite big enough, so I used to extra fabrics to fill the space…which I think just adds to the scrappy feel.

I also thrifted a small piece of this fabric, which I LOVE.  I am pretty sure it is an Alexander Henry print, but I don’t know the name of the line…does anyone else remember or know where I can look it up?

had to let the little one test it out too…. Next up, Effie by HB, my pattern arrived yesterday.

• today I finished the last of my christmas prep.  last min gifts made and purchased, everything is now wrapped and ready!

• feeling so grateful for all the gifts under our tree.  i truly feel so blessed by the kindness of our extended family.  it really gets me every year, our families spoil our kids (and us).  i feel so fortunate and grateful.

• found The Christmas Chronicles (8 part story of how Santa came to be, fantastic tale for young and old!) through NPR and am loving them!  Perfect to listen to while you wrap gifts or bake.

(felt hair clips made using this pattern and this technique)

In the last 24 hours I have painted all of the window mouldings in the whole house (my husband is hanging new blinds as I type!!!), and primed and painted the first coat of paint on the nursery bookshelf.

The bookshelf was built by my grandfather back in the 60’s.  It is pretty beat up and some of the “gingerbread” is broken.  I’m thinking maybe some fun contact paper, or wrapping paper to put against the back of the shelves?  My mother used it as a child and then my sister and I used it as children.  I found the phrase “Johnny Depp is Fine” written in chalk on the back, I’m embarrassed to admit that it was probably me who wrote that!  I took the Irmi lamp from frances to Lowe’s yesterday and had them color match the pink.  I’m really pleased with it, I just need to paint another coat this afternoon.

I sorted through some of the baby clothes (there is still more in the garage) and started putting them away, ready for baby’s everyday use.  I’m also freaking out about getting all of the last minute Christmas things squared away.  As much as I want this baby to come NOW, I would feel so bad for the kids if Christmas is thrown together because mom was still recovering….

So, I also worked on teacher gifts last night.  I made 2 lanyards for my son’s teacher.  All the teachers have to wear them with their name badges on them, so I thought why not something a little more fun than a black shoe string?!

I thought about putting together a tutorial for them, but people they are so simple.  All I did was make binding out of fabric and sew it together, add a key ring, small jump ring and a lanyard hook.   Next up, cookies for the preschool teachers!

…and scrubbing the bathroom, washing the laundry, taking a shower today, grocery shopping so we can eat….lots to do today!

I have 2 nearly finished projects that have been collecting dust on my sewing desk.  They both need a few minor things to be done (tags and snaps basically), but I have been so busy I just haven’t been able to finish them.  Here is a sneak peak:

Hopefully I will get them in the shop this weekend.  In the meantime I’ll be manning the Art Fundraiser at my sons school, rehearsing music with children, designing something fun for smeeks, finishing up the designing of some holiday cards, and making mashed potatoes for a Christmas party.  How are your weekend plans shaping up?

Oh, if you are looking for a fun weekend craft, tell me this isn’t the coolest thing you’ve seen out of felt?  So pretty and simple looking to make.  I’m sorely tempted to make a small one to hang on a wall somewhere…wouldn’t it be pretty in a green, or pink?

I asked my husband to be my random number generator this morning and he chose:

Congratulations to Melody- you’ve won the poinsettia hair clip!  Thank you to everyone who entered!

Just wanted to share a fun upcycled project I completed late Sunday night.  Saturday we hit Goodwill and I found my daughter a simple LS green t-shirt, perfect for layering this winter.  But…I decided it needed a little more pizazz. So I appliqued a puppy onto the front!  I found the applique pattern here on flickr.  I even cut into my stash of Flea Market Fancy to make the pup, and because the holiday’s are here I find myself using sequins on just about everything!

It didn’t occur to me until AFTER i painfully stitched around each of the pieces that I could have cut the whole dog shape out in one piece, not in 6 separate pieces!  Oh well…live and learn.

Happy Monday!

Look what fluttered into the shop today….

Don’t forget, you still have until Sunday night to enter the Poinsettia Hair Clip giveaway!

OK, before I get to the meat of this post, here are some linky loves that I must pass along.  Tasha, of A Little Sweetness is giving away some of her personally designed fabric.  It is SO CUTE, and if you don’t win, you can always pick some up in her shop!  I think the Little Red Riding Hood on white is my favorite!

Also, if any of you are a Flea Market Fancy fans like myself (I still have a few pieces I’m hoarding!), go sign this petition to get Free Spirit to reprint the line (oh to dream!), and while you are there enter to win this selection of 29 FMF fat quarters and some great books.  If you win, will you share a  FQ with me?

Yesterday my daughter was invited to a birthday party of a girl from her preschool class.  I always have a hard time buying gifts for families/girls I don’t know very well.  Not everyone appreciates the homemade, and I don’t want to waste my efforts if they won’t be appreciated.  Soooo, off to the big box store we went for some plastic Princess crap.

After getting it all wrapped up I felt guilty for A. Shopping at Target & B. Not making something…then I remembered all of the great felt I bought from the HB booth at Blissfest (you can also buy it online) and whipped up a little flower.  Not only does it look great as part of the wrapping, but it’s a barrette for the little girls hair!

First, I strongly recommend that you use wool, or wool blend felt for this project.  The cheap craft felt you can get at most craft stores will pill and stretch and not give you the lasting look you are going to want.  Here is what you’ll need:

2 colors of felt
1 piece of green felt
1 metal snap barrette (or a pony tail holder)
1 coordinating button
thread/needle/scissors
any other trims that appeal to you

Here is the pdf with the pattern pieces I free handed for the above barrette.  Cut all your pieces out, for the front circle, I folded it in half and cut little triangles out of it to give it the fringed look.

Layer the pieces as you’d like them to be, place the button on the top and stitch through all the layers.  For the back, take the circle and cut 2 small slits in the back about an inch apart in the center, thread the pony tail holder through.

Attach the circle to the entire flower, stitching through all but the top layer.  It should look like this when you’re done.

To do a barrette back, you can do it 2 ways.

You can measure your clip and cut out a piece of felt the length of your barrette, be sure to cut a small slit in it for the metal arm to go through.  Then sew this to the back of your flower, sewing through all but the top layer.

Using the circle pattern provided for the back, you can cut a small slit for the barrette arm and then stitch the whole circle to the flower.  The barrette side goes against the flower, the metal arm is what you should see when your barrette is finished.

I made this one to match one of my daughters shirts!  Be creative, try different shapes, add embroidery, seed beads, ribbon anything that appeals to you!

AND, because you made it through this whole LONG post, I made a holiday poinsettia barrette to give away.  Just leave me a comment telling me you’d like to win, I’ll pick a winner on Monday Nov 29th.