Sunday Sewing

A snowy Sunday in spring...  Lesson plans were done for the coming week and then I took some time to do a little stitching. 

I stitched out this awesome embroidery a while back.  I love the message!  It is an Urban Threads design.  I LOVE their embroidery designs!!  There are so many cool designs to choose from! 

This particular design reminds me a little of my students.  Back when I taught German I had mostly male students.  Now I have a lot more female students with my new job in FCS.  After listening to some of the things my girls deal with, I hope they can take that message to heart and realize that they need to be happy from within before someone else can contribute to their happiness. 

Originally I had planned to make a zipper pouch out of it.  I looked at it today and thought I would make a drawstring bag with the pink fabric around the top and for the lining, but sadly I realized I didn't have enough denim to do that. So, I came up with a bucket tote instead.  

I had my heart set on using a bright yellow zipper to make a pocket on the outside of the drawstring bag, but since that just wasn't to be I still used the yellow zipper as the handles of the tote.  I really love how it turned out.  Not too bad for not having a pattern. I put a layer of fusible fleece behind the denim to help it keep it's shape. 

 I love how my yarn fits in it nicely.  It'll be a great little project basket.  Maybe I should set it on my desk at school for a little while. 

Embroider-bee

Hello!  It's been a while, hasn't it?  School and mommyhood have been keeping me pretty busy.  Baby M has been motoring around for a few months now, so I haven't had much time to sit.  Last week he took the famous "first steps" and started to wave.  So many fun things all at once!

Somewhere in between all of the fun things and some not so fun things (lesson plans and paperwork) I found some time to complete my blocks for the embroider-bee.

First up we have some hedgies surrounded by rainbow colors.  Honestly, I had a hard time parting with this one... it's right up my alley! 

Next up we have the tattoo motif swear word embroidery. I had a hard time actually making this one.  I just can't come to terms with combining embroidery and cursing, so I decided to go foreign with this one.  I figured the only way I could do it was to put it in German.  No offense to my German friends, but it just doesn't seem as bad if I say it in a different language.  I think it turned out pretty anyway.  I made tons of french knots for the daisy centers.  

Next up, cranky looking birds on a branch.  I love the cute little birdies!  

And last but not least, some beautiful flowers and stars.  All of the blocks are on their way to their new homes.  I hope they will be loved!

And here is a semi-recent pic of Baby M!  Adorable!!

Java Time Potholders

These pretty potholders went to their new home today.  I made them for my SIL, Karen, who came for a visit today with my favorite brother.  Okay, so he's my only brother, but I'm sure he'd be my favorite if I had a choice!!  We live about three hours away from my family, so we don't get together enough.  It's always great to see them! Even the dog gets excited when they come!

I designed these on quilted muslin, so I did't do a lot of quilting.  I simply quilted with brown under the cup and saucer to represent a table.  I hand embroidered "coffee" and "decaf" on the coffee bags.  I also embroidered the steam.

Besides the corduroy I used for the cups, the other fabrics are all from Debbie Mumm.  I am also working on a simple table runner to match, but it isn't quite complete yet.

Teacher Appreciation Idea for small hands and brave mommies!

Okay, so teacher appreciation day is just around the corner and what better way to thank your child's teacher than a handmade gift from your child.

J and I made up this quick and easy tutorial for a machine embroidered framed sampler.

What you will need:

*2 pieces of plain medium weight fabric- we used weaver's cloth

*various colors of thread

* 5x7 inch picture frame

*perhaps some heat n' bond

We used a beige colored fabric, but for our next one we may try using black fabric with metallic threads and a gold frame.  Denim would also be very cool!

First cut your fabric to the desired size- we chose a 5x7 frame.  You can see in the picture that the fabric was longer than 7 inches, but it should be fine to cut it exactly 5 x 7.  Then you don't have to worry about trimming it later.

Next you will need to make sure your fabric is well pressed.  We used two pieces of fabric to provided a bit of stability.  Otherwise the stitches will pucker.  I think that next time we will try ironing some heat n' bond between the layers so it is a bit sturdier.  It will also keep the layers from moving.  

(I'm kind of new to this sewing thing, so it's kind of trial and error.  If you have suggestions, feel free to offer them!)

Now you are ready to personalize the project with your child's teacher's name.  If you are brave enough to let your child use your machine this will be lots of fun for him or her.  J loved doing this!  If you don't have a machine that embroiders, this would also be a fun hand project.

After we put her name on the project I let J pick each of the stitches he wanted to showcase and he put them on the way he wanted them around his teacher's name.  We changed the thread color for each of the different stitches.  By the time we were finished, he was a pro at threading the machine!

This is how it looked when he was all done sewing.

And here is the final, 1st grader, framed project!  Perfect for any teacher's desk!

(Sorry about the poor lighting in this picture!)

And the Winner is.....

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

8

Timestamp: 2010-03-22 20:23:42 UTC

Hooray for commentor number 8  Bridget B.!!!!  You have won the awesome embroidery package!  Send me a quick email with your shipping info and I will mail this out to you this week!

Thank you all for entering!  It was nice getting to know you better.  Bridget, enjoy your snowman design and your new stitching goodies!

Wild Thyme Owl Pillow

So I finally got around to finishing my owl pillow.  I haven't been very good at finishing anything lately, so that will be my focus for a while.  I do have to start my Potholder Pass swap though, for sure.  That will be done this weekend!

The photo isn't so great, but here is the finished pillow!

Doesn't he look wise!?!

Hope you all have a great weekend full of fun!

Squirrels

After a busy week of life (a.k.a. not enough crafting and sewing or blogging) these cute little squirrels are what I have to show to you.  This was another Badbird pattern just like the wise old owl that you can find below.  Now I have two that I need to finish.  I think I'm going to make them into pillows.

I've also been thinking about doing a small giveaway.  What do you all think?  I was thinking along the lines of an embroidery kit.  Does that sound like fun?

Friday Night Sew In small Results

Well, Friday came and went and I didn't accomplish nearly as much as I had hoped to.  But it was good, quality time with my boys.  We all sat and stitched for a while and it was fun.

I found a very wise looking owl pattern from Badbird's blog and with a little inspiration from the fat quarters that Bobbi sent me I decided to start making either a pillow or a wall hanging.  I can't wait to see how it looks when it's finished!  I saved the french knots for last.  I love doing those!

This is what my 6 year old did...

This is what my 8 year old worked on...

I designed both of those myself.