Happy Birthday to....

ME!!!!

Hey if I can't celebrate my own birthday on my blog then where can I celebrate?

I thought about doing a giveaway to celebrate but then thought better of it (sorry) because I have a TON of things I'm trying to get done and just adding one more thing is not very smart. (Especially adding one more thing that I thought of at 10pm on the previous day)

Maybe next year...

...or maybe I'll celebrate one of my unbirthdays sometime soon!
You'll just have to be paying attention to which one. =)

On the Edge FINISHED!

I deviated from Cassie's pattern just a little. I wanted to copy the look of this pillow she made.

Don't think I quite got it but I like mine too. =)

This was a very fun play along and if you would like to make a super cute and super easy gift for someone special (or just for yourself!) then I highly recommend this project!

On the Edge...

Finished pillow case...✓
Cotton, washable matching yarn...✓
Yarn darning needle...✓



Down to the wire but I finished it! I was able to get my foundation blanket stitch onto my posh pillowcase.

It was a rough start due to the extreme length of the yarn. A lot of twisty looking stitches but it's all done.


Hey! It looks really good in the photo!

Work in Progress

I'm busy working on my Easter dresses right now. I've got 1 cut out and will be cutting out the other 2 hopefully tonight. I need to visit the next town to pick up some matching thread and some more bobbins for each of the dresses and the tie.

Isn't this the cutest little top for Spring/Summer?
Yes, add this to my growing list of things to make before the end of the month. LOL 4 of them AND make the pattern as well. This top I saw on LL Bean the Garden Party Pullover. So I need to pick up some elastic thread to make the waist band. Wish me luck! ;)

Pattern Challenge Update

1. finish the jumper planned for Glory.
2. make matching skirts for the girls.
3. make a Sunday dress for each of the girls.
4. repurpose 2 shirts for Caleb.
5. make a tie for each special Sunday for Caleb. (Easter, birthday, etc.)
6. finish the planned shirt and skirt for myself.
7. And to do this all before Summer.

Getting to work on my Pattern Challenge. Remember my goal is to finish it all before Summer. =) Well, some things are coinciding with this Pattern Challenge so I'll be able to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Right now my major project is Easter!


For Easter I want to make the girls semi-matching outfits and Caleb a matching tie (possibly even one for Daddy to match Caleb's!). I'll be using the Frida pattern from Modkid. I bought the whole lot as a kit from Above All Fabric. That will take care of #3 and part of #5.

And guess what? It's coming again....
I wasn't able to get involved last year (too new to sewing and too scared to try and make a top for myself). But this year, especially with goal #6, I'll be putting in an entry. Made By Rae
makes the cutest things and has a really cute Spring Top pattern I may try out. But then again I have the Funked Out Peasant Blouse that I've been meaning to make as well.

Hmmmm....decisions, decisions.

The skirt I want to make is not from a pattern but from a picture.


Isn't that such a cute skirt?! I saw it online at a shop that I'm kicking myself now for not saving the name of the website. ARGH! Oh well, maybe I'll find it again. It'll be fun figuring out how they made it and trying to duplicate it. Now to find the perfect fabric for it! =)
*Found it! ModCloth

We will be going to Disneyland very soon and I'd like to make the girls (and Caleb) some cute outfits or skirts (the girls) for the trip. Which should take care of goal #1, #2 and #4. A while ago I bought some Mickey Mouse fabric that was on sale and wanted to make Glory something with it (she loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse "It's her FAVORITE!" lol as she tells me everytime she watches it). Since we'll be at Disney on her b-day and she wanted a Mickey Mouse/Princess party I thought I'd try to make her a frilly princessy jumper with the fabric.

Hmmm...that got me thinking...maybe I'll use this new pattern I bought from Olabelhe for the jumper!


The only problem with some of these lofty goals is that I want them all done at the same time. lol (Not the summer deadline but much sooner) We'll see how it goes. =)

Just wanted to give praise where praise is due...

Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD
~Psalm 150:6

This morning during my quiet time I realized that I had been letting the slightest bit (ok maybe it was more than that) of pride creep into my work and posts.

I LOVE sewing. I love making beautiful things for my family (and myself) and my friends. It is fun. I love sharing the work I've done with people. Lately I've caught myself 'showing off' my work rather than just sharing it.

I want to publicly thank my LORD for the wonderful gift He has given to me. He provided me with a beautiful machine to get me started. He also put people in my life that I could learn from in my new found talent.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father
~James 1:17a

Thank you, LORD, for the gift You have given to me. May I use it for Your glory and honor and praise.

Phoebe Bag with Pants-style Front Pockets

TA DA!

The Phoebe Bag (pattern from Rebekah of Artsy-Crafty Babe).

This bag is so cute if I do say so myself!! The pattern was very easy to follow and would not have taken long however....


....I have been seeing some very cute bags people have been making online with pants-style front pockets. I very much wanted to make my very own bag with those pockets! After searching and searching and searching and asking about how to make pants-style pockets on a purse and coming up empty. =( (Oh there were a couple of really cute patterns for sale that showed you how to do it but that takes $$$) I decided to strike out on my own and figure out how to do it myself.

As you can see I figured it out! It wasn't hard just very time consuming. There were so many pieces of fabric to cut out. Plus I wanted the bag to hold it's shape so there was also interfacing and thin batting to cut out.

AND to top it all off I wanted all the fabric pieces to line up. Both fabrics have the same design just different colors and I wanted it all to match up. Even the bag flap matches up.


There are only 2 things I would change on this bag. I would be more careful of my magnetic snap placement (it's a little too low so the bag can't be closed while brimming with stuff). And I would make the pants-style pockets a little bigger. The pockets just fit my hand going in but if you had a bigger hand you wouldn't be able to reach in.

The pattern called for a matching fabric strap that you make yourself. Since almost all purses you make yourself have those kind of straps I wanted something different. I found my cute silver link belt that I really don't wear much or at all and attached it to D rings on the purse. I can take it on or off. So if I wanted I could still make a fabric strap and add snaps to make the fabric strap removable as well so I can change the strap according to how I'm feeling that day. =)


I had a lot of fun making this bag! Let me know what you think of it.
Since I couldn't find a "how-to" for the Pants-style pockets I may post a tutorial in the future depending on interest. Let me know. =) Have a great day!! Go make something!

Join in the fun!

I'm having fun since I joined in on the Pillowcase Crochet Along hosted by Cassie at You Go, Girl!

I finally was able to get my supplies (most of them anyway) today and start on this project. I already had the fabric, appropriately from Pillow and Maxfield for Michael Miller.

This isn't the finished product of course but I am looking forward to giving it a test drive tonight. =)

Looking forward to getting to next week's step. Adding the crochet trim.

A Finished Gift

I wanted to make a journal cover as a gift for a friend of mine and found a very simple tutorial on Bloom. I wanted to make it more personal so I added some embroidery.

I love how the whole thing turned out! I want to make one for myself. Soon.


I thought this font was perfect for her beautiful name!


This journal was going to be used in our discipleship meetings so I wanted a verse just for her on it and my husband thought of Romans 15:4.


I added a pocket for the pen, a ribbon for a page holder, and elastic to hold it closed when carrying it around.


I added fabric to this pen to make a matching set.