Getting caught up on sewing gifts

Two down and six to go... so much fun!
For Stephanie B

For Stephanie S

Now that it's summer I have more time to sew instead of work. I am looking forward to finishing my "started projects" list and finally getting to the rest of the promised handmade gifts.

Fabric to share

My good friend Kathy gave me 7 boxes of vintage fabric last week. Then, earlier this week my friend Roberta brought over 4 bins of vintage fabric for me. (Yeah, I know... my friends are THE BEST!) (The three pics below are of the new fabric as I was unloading it.)

So after unpacking all of the fabric and trying to re-organize my sewing room it became clear that I would need to de-stash. This resulted in 5 boxes of fabric to give away. I have a TON of muslin and then a collection of various other prints and needlework supplies/projects as well as one sewing box. (The two pics below are some of fabric I'm parting with.)

I am planning on having a yard sale sometime in the next month or two but I would be happy to give away any of this fabric now to a good home. So if you are interested in looking through it or know you want some muslin then just let me know. (Sorry, locals only since I'm not interested in shipping it.) (The three pics below are of my sewing space re-organized.)I decided to organize my fabric by type this time (cotton, silk, etc.).

Two bins full of upholstry fabric I use to make purses, one bin full of Christmas fabric, one full of muslin. There are other bins not pictured that house all of my patterns, interlining, and large-scale embellishments.

Our 4th of July

July 4th is always a big day for our family. Here are a few pics from that great day, 2009.

We celebrated in Red, White and Blue style.

(Can't show baby J's face but she looked so cute in her festive dress! And her hair is now long enough to put a clip in it. Too cute!)

We sang, we danced.

We ate, we loved.

So thankful to live in this great country!

Happy Anniversary Babe!

Four years and I love you more each day!

Day 1

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Day 231

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Day 731

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Day 996

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Day 1429

LOVE

Crafting like crazy!

I have been having so much fun this last week completing 20 different crafts! Most everything is a surprise so I can't share pics of the finished wonderfulness (boo) but here are some pictures of the aftermath and quick glimpses along the way.
Nine of you will soon be receiving some crafty love from Katelyn. :0)

Thrifting again

I found this wonderful quilt top at one of my favorite antique shops. I just love how many different fabrics are on it and how it totally fits my king-sized bed! Just imagine the story behind it... I can't wait to add backing, binding and stippling to make it a complete quilt.

I also found these two flat sheets. I haven't measured them but my guess is that they are double or queen size. I paid $2 for them so I count that as a steal for the amount of fabric that I got! I am looking forward to using the fabric in some other quilting and clothing projects I have in mind.

And I also found this amazing searsucker fabric while thrifting. It is currently handmade into a pillowcase but I may decide to take that out so I can use it to create a top... what do you think?

Eat your fruits and veggies!

Hubby gave me a hard time for taking a picture of this fruits and veggies bowl but I think it's too pretty not to share!

This is the first time I have purchased sweet potatoes (instead of yams) and plantains in addition to bananas. I have no doubt I will find something wonderful to make with the sweet potatoe but would anyone care to share a suggestion on how I can prepare the huge plantain? (It's about the size of 2 bananas)....

BLONDE!!

...and there ya have it....

NEW

First, my NEW square for our sewing club. This one is called the "monkey wrench" and I love how it turned out.

Next, our NEW women's ministries shirt is super cute but too short for my torso. I added the lace border for length and "pizzazz".

I made a NEW t-shirt skirt... I think I like this one better than the first. I have the shirts cut out for 2 more skirts; one a green-theme and the other a blue-theme.

And here is my NEW hair-do... I will be sporting it for 1 week until I go BLONDE!

Project: New Wardrobe

I made a top that could quite possibly be my favorite project ever! I ended up using those four fat quarters from last week to combine with three previously thrifted pillow cases and, voila!

I did try to follow the ruffle shirt tutorial I mentioned previously. It was probably the best tutorial and/or pattern for a top I have EVER used (even though I made a *few* adjustments).

The front...

The back...

Then I thought this cute red tank top needed some "flair"... so I added a cluster of red buttons to the collar. I love the end result.

I also finished my patriotic skirt in time to wear it out to a Memorial Day party last week. I added two decorative borders on the hemline. It will be washed and ready to go again for the Fourth of July party too!