Help With Labels....

I'm in need of some fabric labels for my sewing projects.  I don't have an embroidery machine, nor can I do hand embroidery.  I've tried the printable fabric, but the ink tends to wash out of the labels, so this route just doesn't work well for me.

Is there anyone out there who can offer me some suggestions?  Anyone out there know how to make labels that I could hire you to make some for me???  Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Valentine Pillow

One of my favorite newsletter email subscriptions is that to the Sew4Home site.  They offer wonderful patterns and tutorials on their site, many of which I would like to try making someday.  I did decide to make the Valentine's Day: Hoopla Pre-Cuts: Box o' Chocolates Heart Pillows today, and am so excited at how my try at it turned out pretty darn good.  I love how easy these are to make, and I love how cute they are too!
I did have a bit of trouble with the chiffon, due to never having worked with chiffon before, but it all came together very nicely in the end!
Here's some pictures of my first pillow...

 Thank you Sew4Home for sharing the concept and pattern for these wonderful heart shaped pillows on your site!  I had so much fun making this, and it's going to make a very nice Valentine's gift for someone!

Themed Blankets & a Pillow for a School Fundraiser...

My son goes to parochial school, and they host a Winter Festival every year around early to mid February.  The classrooms put together a themed gift basket to auction off at the Festival in order to help raise money for their school.  My son's classroom is putting together a Family Game Night theme, and another classroom is putting together a Camping theme.  I've made blankets for each of these themed gift baskets...

"MONOPOLY"

Family Game Night Blanket 

 ~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

 "ANTS ON A PICNIC"
Camping/Picnic Themed Blanket

 I used a red canvas for the back of this picnic blanket to make it more durable.
I purchased the red canvas from JoAnn's Fabrics in Janesville, WI.
The cute Ants on a Picnic fabric was an eBay purchase sometime during the summer of 2010.  I saw it online and fell in love with it, always intending it to be for a picnic blanket.  To add some size to the Ants on a Picnic panel, I added squares of some scrap fabrics I had leftover from previous blanket projects.

Basic black quilt binding finishes off the edges w/a red zig zag stitch.

I also made a Monopoly themed pillow...here it is....



Crocheted Mesh Bag w/Sewn Polka-Dot Liner

It's been awhile!  I have to admit I just don't crochet as much as I used to.  Since learning how to sew I find myself spending more time sewing than crocheting.  Well, I finally buckled down and worked on another crochet project.
Here I made a crocheted mesh bag...however, I couldn't just leave it plain & simple...I sewed a polka-dot liner for it and added button embellishments.  I found some really cute pink & purple polka-dot ribbon at Hobby Lobby, so I used the ribbon for ties at the top of the bag.
I used Lily Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn in "swimming pool" color.  The pattern I used for making this bag was found on the back of the Lily yarn label.

Butterflies & Birds, Toads & Bugs... A Little Girl's Garden Quilt

This was such a fun quilt to make.  A grandfather asked me to make a quilt with all kinds of birds, butterflies, dragonflies and flowers on it.  He plans on giving this to his granddaughter for Christmas.  I purchased all of the fabric for this quilt a few months ago while shopping at The Cinderella Shoppe in Winona, MN. (With the exception of the blue fabric in each of the four corners of the quilt...that was fabric I had on hand...it was sent to me awhile back in a swap).

The little girl that will receive this quilt loves the outdoors.  She loves things like bugs, toads, flowers, birds, etc.  I'm hoping she will be thrilled to receive this quilt from her grandpa!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Wishing you a
Safe and Happy Halloween!

"GO BADGERS!"

The perfect companion for any Wisconsin Badgers game...or any sports game for that matter!  Fleece on both sides, the Wisconsin Badger "W" logo makes a great tail-gating and sports-themed blanket.

"New Moon"

Fleece panels turned into a blanket...Jacob and Edward from the Twilight "New Moon" movies...

Hamburger Bed???

I was Googling images for a "round queen sized bed" and happened upon this unique Hamburger bed!  I love it and am going to figure out a way to make one myself one of these days!  So I just had to share...

John Deere Quilt

Just finished this one up a few hours ago.  I used a John Deere fleece panel for one side.  The opposite side is two different multi-patterned fabrics that I made into squares and sewed together, then quilted with a thin quilt batting.  I sewed the two sides together and did a zig-zag stitch around the navy blue quilt edging.

Brown Bag Quilt Contest - Fabric Received

Just wanted to add a quick post that I received the fabric from my swap partner a few weeks ago in the:

I spaced out posting pictures of the fabric she sent to me when I first got it, so here's a picture now:

I can't wait to get started on the quilt!
More to come in the future...

Boyd Bears Blanket for Aunt Debbie

I have an aunt who collects Boyd Bears, so my mom asked me to make her a blanket if I could find some Boyd Bears fabric.  Well, I had no luck finding any at local stores that carry fabric, but I was able to find some at The Cinderella Shoppe in Winona, MN a few weeks ago while visiting the area.  I only took a closeup of a corner of the blanket so you can see the details in the print on the fabric.  Not a super fancy blanket, but my aunt will love it just the same!  The fabric is adorable...the front is all the same Boyd Bears fabric and the back is a matching brown colored fleece.  I used a pretty yellow printed fabric for the trim to bring out the yellow in the Boyd Bears fabric.

Aqua and Avocado Vintage Swap - Package Received!

I was recently involved in a swap where things sent to our swap partners had to include vintage items, as well as items in aqua and avocado colors.  The amazing thing is this...  Last year I was involved in a Secret Angel Swap where we all sent to a different person than we received from, and our identity remained a secret until our swap partner would receive his or her package in the mail.  Well, last year the person I was assigned to send to was Wendy over at Stitchduchess' Crazy & Sane Quilting World 

The coincidence in all of this is that Wendy and I were paired up, all by chance, in this Aqua and Avocado Vintage Swap!  We had already learned quite a bit about each other because of the swap last year, and we had also stayed in touch here and there, as well as following each others' blogs.  So this was amazingly fun to swap w/Wendy!

Anyways...to get to the really exciting part, here's what Wendy sent to me:

 The above picture is an AMAZING hand knitted shawl Wendy made for me...

It was her first knitting project, and it turned out gorgeous!

I am wearing it over my shoulders to keep myself warm & cozy as I type this post!

The below picture shows a vintage avocado colored glass bowl (exactly like one I used to have that was my Great Grandmother's, but either broke or got lost in a move a few years ago); a Ball Jar pin cushion that Wendy made using some of the fabric I had sent to her in her swap package; some very pretty stationery cards in a green see-through bag; a book called Creating Crochet Fabric by

Dora Ohrenstein (this book has some amazing patterns in it that I am excited to try making); and last but certainly not least...TWO vintage figural tape measures!!!  One is a gnome (pull out the nose for the tape measure) and the other is a dog (pull out the tail for the tape measure).  Wendy knows I collect vintage tape measures...these two are an awesome addition to my collection!
Wendy...thank you so very much for making this swap so fabulous!  You're an amazing woman...someone I'm grateful to have "met" and gotten to know...even if it has only been through cyber space!

~To see Wendy's post on her blog in regards to what she sent me, just go here:

Swap Package Arrived at Destination

To see Wendy's post about what I sent to her in this swap, just go here:

Good Mail Day

Also, here's some pictures I took of what I sent Wendy before I shipped it all off to her...

The Cinderella Shoppe - Fabric Shopping at its Finest!

One of my favorite places to shop for fabric these days is The Cinderella Shoppe, Winona, MN.  I love JoAnn Fabrics, but since moving recently, there's no JoAnn Fabrics near where I live.  I love to visit the Hobby Lobby in Oshkosh, WI, and also Ben Franklin in Ripon, WI.  However, I can seriously get lost in The Cinderella Shoppe!  They have a HUGE selection of fabrics and craft supplies.  (The Cinderella Shoppe is actually for sale, and I sure wish I could buy it!)
Anyways...here's a picture of me w/my bags of fabric from a recent trip to Minnesota to shop at The Cinderella Shoppe...

Just thought I'd share this picture with everyone and bring some attention to one of my favorite fabric stores!

810 East King Street

Winona, MN 55987

Awesome Garage Sale Find!

Last Friday I stopped at a couple of garage sales in Wautoma, WI.  I saw a like-new dress form at one of the sales and thought hard about buying it, but since I've never made clothing before I didn't think it would be $20 well-spent.  Well, I decided to go back to the same garage sale the next day...I told myself, "If the dress form is still there, it's meant for me to buy.  If it's gone, no skin off my back."  I pulled up and the dress form was still there!  I decided to buy it...hoping it's $20 well-spent!  Here's a picture of my new dress form...

I'm hoping to take some sewing classes in the future to learn how to make clothes/apparel, and to also do seamstress work.  My ultimate dream in life is to someday own my own Seamstress/Fabric shop.  It's a big dream, but I know in time I can make it happen.  One step at a time...

A Weekend of Sewing...

Had to get three blankets done ASAP to send to Tennessee with my mom, so I was busy last weekend!  My aunts, grandma and an uncle are going to be spoiled this week!  (I still have one more blanket to make and ship to Tennessee before my mom comes home from her vacation, since we had no luck finding Boyd Bear fabric locally.  I had to get the fabric elsewhere and thus couldn't work on the blanket over the weekend to send down south with mom.  Here's the blankets I made this past weekend...

The gorgeous bird panel was purchased at The Cinderella Shoppe in Winona, MN.

All the rest of the fabric for the blankets (including the coordinating fabrics for the bird blanket) were purchased at Ben Franklin in Ripon, WI.