This year's teacher gifts

My boys always want to sew something for their teachers for Christmas.  This year we decided to make some personalized book marks.  Here are the little elves at work.  They love sewing on the machine!

We used 3 inch strips of fabric and placed a piece of Warm and Natural in between.  I like to work with 2 1/2 in pieces when making bookmarks, but the boys like to use all of the decorative stitches, so it gives them more area to play around if the pieces are a little bit larger.

And here are their finished products!

My 9 year old did most of his own sewing with the exception of the outside top stitching.  My seven year old needed a little assistance putting it together.  He had a problem with sewing through pin heads.  Thank goodness they were flat!  I think that they both did a fantastic job!

Yesterday was the last day of school before vacation.  The boys delivered their gifts and said that they were a hit!  If I had to do it over again, I would have been more prepared with a Border's gift card to put with it.  Maybe next year.

And as an added bonus, here is elf number 2 helping with the spritz cookies.  We had a great day of baking last weekend.  It was lots of fun!



Scraps from projects past...last minute Christmas gifts

I needed a little something to stick in with some other gifty things that I had made for some friends, so in an attempt to use up some scraps I made bookmarks.  All of the recipients are avid readers, so I'm sure they will come in handy for them.  I love using scraps because it brings back memories of other things that I have made.  Most of these fabrics were made into pillows and bags and potholders at some point.

I also made this rice bag which was inspired by my achy, pregnant body.

I think that this will be my gift to myself this year.  Again, these were scraps from a past project, Potholder Pass 4.  I loved the fabrics, so I am glad that I can now enjoy them myself. 

I filled a tube of muslin with rice and put it in the outer case.  The end closure is velcro.  I would have liked to use an invisible zipper, but I didn't have one on hand.  Now, just a few minutes in the microwave and I'll be feeling good!  Only four more weeks to go!  I can make it!

SMS Giveaway Winners!

Thanks to Mr. Random Number Generator we have our lucky winners!

#29 and #9 (I was glad that he chose low numbers!  That made my job easier!)

Prize #1, the owl coasters, go to Sarah, who just happened to be a birthday girl yesterday!  Happy birthday!

Prize #2, the knit hat, goes to Deserae!

I will send you both an email and wait for you to send me your addresses.

Thank you to all who entered and gave me a volume of ideas for my Christmas baking.  I will be baking today.  Hopefully I won't be testing out too much of what I bake. 

Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day!

SMS Giveaway closed!  Thank you for participating and sharing your great comments with me!

Welcome to Modified Mix!  Thanks for stopping by!  I'm sure that many of you are visiting for the giveaway from the Sew, Mama Sew blog.  I'm so excited to take part in the this!  Please take some time to check out some of my other posts and projects.  Things have been a bit quiet here for a while due to pregnancy, but I am getting back into the swing of things.

I am giving away two of my crafty creations.  My two favorite hobbies are sewing and knitting, so I chose things that I have made with my machine and my needles. 

I will choose two winners randomly.  International entries are welcome!  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment stating which item you would like the most and if you feel like it tell me your favorite Christmas cookie.  (I am having a brain freeze in the holiday baking area!)  The giveaway will be open until December 17th at midnight.  I will notify winners on the 18th.

First I have a set of whimsical, quilted coasters.  I'm sorry to say that I really don't know what fabric line is, but it sure is cute.

The second giveaway prize is this knitted lime green hat.  It is made from a wool blend yarn and should fit an adult with a smaller head or a child.  I made the pompom removable in case it just isn't your thing.  You'll just need to untie it and take it off.  Then you could hang it from your Christmas tree or something.  The hat looks a bit wonky in the photo, but that is only because I had to have a Webkinz model it.  I couldn't find anything else.

Good luck to all!  I hope you come back and visit again.  I will email the winners, so please make sure that you post your email in the comment.  

Cute Christmas Ornament

I thought I'd share this cute little skier ornament with you.  I can't take the credit for crafting it.  One of my former students made it for me a few years ago in her home ec class.  It has been one of my favorites ever since.  My son has a severe walnut allergy, so we were very cautious after we found out.  He can't even touch the shells of some nuts because of the oils, but this one must be old enough that it hasn't affected him.

To make one of your very own you need an acorn, a walnut, some fleece scraps, one craft stick cut in half, two tooth picks for the ski poles and a hot glue gun.  Although I haven't made one yet, it looks pretty easy to put together.  It would be a great craft to make with kids, unless of course they are allergic to the walnut. 

Next year I'll have to gather some acorns and try to make a few.  I just love the acorn head!  It is so cute with it's little cap.

And on a happy note, it was another snow day today!  I can't remember the last time we have had two in a row.  It is STILL snowing.  My poor lab, Toby had to lift up his chin to walk through the snow this morning before we cleared some paths for him.  (When I say we, I mean the boys.  This prego mama isn't handling any snow until after the baby is born!)  I did do some Christmas sewing today, but I can't show it until after the recipients open it. 

Stay warm everyone! 

Sewin' While It's Snowin'

As a teacher, I do love my surprise snow days.  I love settling in and being all cozy with a hot drink and my sewing.  (My fighting kids, not so much.  Will they ever just get along??)  Even though there was fighting, I was pretty productive today.  I found a pretty table runner called "City Windows"  on the Moda Bakeshop website for my awesome Twelve Days of Christmas Charm Pack that I won from Bobbi and Heidi during a Friday Night Sew In. 

There was only one problem... The back was way to pretty to put on the back! Have you ever had this happen?  So, one table runner turned into two table runners and I used a snowman print on the back of both. My loving 7 year old picked out the fabric from my small Christmas stash.  It doesn't really match the front, but it is cute.  I don't think anyone will turn them over anyway.  

Now I have one for my table and one to send to someone special!  And it is still snowing like crazy!  Could there be another sewing day tomorrow??  I still have a few Christmas gifts to sew.  It sounds like a good idea to me.

And in baby boy news, only 6 more weeks to go!

Thanksgiving school project

This is Tom the Turkey.  Tom was feeling a bit vunerable, so my son's second grade class was given the challenge of disguising him before the big Thanksgiving feast.

 J decided he would like him to be a lion, so we dug through my various bins of "stuff" and found some great fringe and some felt.  Now Tom can rest assured that no one will mess with him now that he is the king of the jungle!

This was a fun activity.  Both of us had a good time.

Gobble gobble grrrr!

What a nice surprise!

My very talented and creative friend, Amy from During Quiet Time, surprised me this weekend with an amazing package!  She created this very special and very sweet framed artwork for my baby boy's nursery.  (My baby boy who will probably not have a name before sometime in January when he is born.  We are having issues agreeing on this very important decision.)

Anyway, she used very nice textured and glittery papers that are just perfect.  The little woodland creatures will blend well in his nursery.  I just love the Rock-a-Bye Baby reference she made with her linocut print.  Like I said, she is super talented!  Check out her blog and her Etsy shop!  You will definitely be inspired!

Thank you so much, Amy!  I love it!

FNSI results- a little late!

A bright new bag for a fantastic far away friend!  This may or may not be a birthday gift for someone who celebrated her birthday in May...can we just say I'm half a year early instead of half a year late??  I even personalized it with her name on the front pocket.  I love this bag!  I have made several of these using Bobbi's amazing bag tutorial.  She is just so crafty!

Thanks, Bobbi and Heidi for hosting the Sew In!  I just wish we could all be in the same great big sewing room!  That would be so much fun!

A Hat for a Friend

Here is the hat that I made for my friend, Phyllis.  I haven't knit very many things before and I'm really enjoying it.  It will be a great activity for the slower winter months.  The top photo was taken in the glorious PA Fall sunshine.  It sure was a nice day today! 

I also had two little hat models so that I could show the two pin on brooches that Phyllis can interchange.  The hat also looks great without either, so she'll have some options.

Aren't they cute?  And they were so willing to help out!  Now if I could just get them to clean their rooms!

Back from a long blogging respite

Apologies to my blog readers and to the bloggers whose blogs I enjoy!  I had to step away for a bit as life got out of my control.  Too much to do and not enough time!  Hopefully things are under control now and I'll have some time to post and to read my favorite blogs.  I have missed posting quite a few things, so there is lots to catch up on.

 Anyway, I have my potholders for Potholder Pass 4 to share.  I really like these.  I think I got this block pattern from Anna Marie Horner's blog.  It is a lovely argyle block.  I can see myself making more of these blocks for some other projects.  I think they turned out well, although I wish I would have finished them with a binding instead of simply turning them. 

And as you can see from the top picture, I 've been knitting, too.  It's been awhile, but I'm glad I picked up my needles again!  Knitting has been theraputic the past few weeks.  It also travels well to soccer and karate practices.  I knitted a hat for my dad, who recently had brain surgery, but I forgot to take a picture before I gave it to him.  I am making a similar hat right now for a friend who is undergoing chemo for breast cancer, so I'll be sure to take a photo of that one instead.

And on my other set of needles is a little blue hat for my baby on the way!  It will definitely be useful in January when he is supposed to arrive!

who knew? a few tips...

So, as I was starting my Wednesday morning corduroy cutting party, I was a bit disturbed by all of the lint.  And the red corduroy was impossible to get off of the cutting mat. 

I found a new favorite sewing tool...my lint brush! 

Maybe you all have used the lint brush for sewing for a long time, but for me it is a new and wonderful experience!  Just a few swipes over the fabric and then over the cutting mat and it was like I hadn't cut anything there at all.  The brush is also great for getting dog hair off the carpet. ;-)

That is tip number one.

Tip number two... never put your thumb in front of the rolling rotary cutter!  You already knew that though, right?

Picnic on the farm

Over the weekend we took the boys to my parents to stay for a week.  Rumor has it, they are having a great time and my husband and I are enjoying a bit of peace and quiet.  It sure is strange without them around though.  I miss them a lot! (Mom, don't let them know this!! lol )

We also went to a family picnic at my uncle's farm.  It was such a beautiful day and the fresh country air did us all some good.  The boys were excited to take a buggy ride (or two or three). 

Here is cousin Jim hooking up the horse with the boys anxiously waiting.

And they're off!

Super hubby got in on the action, too.  Here he is next to the horse, General.

We ended the evening with a fabulous walk through one of the fields up to the woods. 

Sometimes going home makes me even more homesick.

Wonderful Week of Sewing Part 2

Here is bag number three from my sewing spree.  I'm not sure what all of the fabrics are.  I am trying hard to clean up some of my fat quarters and scraps. 

Once again, I like the flower!

I also made two of these cute little owl pillows. 

 I have to thank Sarah for some of this fabric.  She sent it along with my amazing owl pillow that she made for me for Project Pillow Swap.  It had just the right colors to match my Debbie Mumm coffee bean fabric.

Hope you are all having a great Sunday!

FNSI and a wonderful week of sewing!

I had an absolutely fabulous week full of sewing!  I made so many things and now I feel a great sense of accomplishment.  I'll share two of the bags I made with you in this post since I finished one and started one during the Friday Night Sew In hosted by Bobbi and Heidi.

The first bag I made was from Debbie Mumm fabrics.  I love the coffee prints! It was a lot of fun to make.  I especially love the flower!

Sorry that the pictures in this post aren't real great.  It's late and I'm too exhausted to be creative.  The last picture is the inside of the bag if you couldn't tell. :)

The second bag is from the tutorial on Bobbi's blog.  I LOVE this pattern!  I will be making many more of these.  Again, the picture won't do this bag justice, but in person it is AWESOME!

Now, off to bed so I can sew in the morning!

Gute Nacht!

Just when you thought I had fallen off the face of the earth...

I'm back!   Many apologies to my Angel volunteer, Sarah for not posting this awesome owl pillow cover as soon as I received it.  Sarah made me the most beautiful pillow ever for Project Pillow Swap after she already made a pillow for her assigned partner.  The colors are perfect for my living room and I love owls! 

I would love to link up to her blog, but she doesn't have one. 

Yesterday I went to the local farmer's market.  Our veggies in northwest PA aren't that big yet, like this cute little cabbage I got.  Anyone have a good mayo free coleslaw recipe??

But our flowers are in full swing!  Look at the brilliant colors in this bouquet that I bought yesterday!  It is so vibrant and fun.

Friday Night Sew In and Project Pillow Swap

Well, it's about time...I broke the deadline on my own swap!  This is what I finished up during the FNSI for June.

I hope my partner will forgive my tardiness. The parcel will be in the mail tomorrow!

This is the pillow that I created.  I had such a fun time picking out the fabrics.  They aren't something that I would have picked for myself, but I am really liking them now that I have them sewn together.

And since I had some left over fabric, I thought I should make up for my lateness and make my partner a second pillow cover.  I didn't have a pillow form that was the right size, so they look a little wimpy in the pictures.

Fabulous Fabs

Hmmm. What could be inside of this cute tin?

Only some of the cutest fabric ever....

 

My friends and expert sewers, Nancy and Deb surprised me with an "un-birthday" party today at school.  Since we will be out of school next week for my real birthday, we celebrated today.  Aren't they sweet?  And they know that I love owls!

This is from the Luv U collection by Deb Strain for Moda.  I can't wait to start a new project!

And this is some fabric that I picked up today for a special project that I may or may not have been procrastinating.  It's getting close to my deadline, so I better get sewing!