Spring is springing.

Easter Bunny will be soon coming to town. And Spring. I have flowers poking their heads up out of the ground already. I imagine the Easter Bunny will try and make a snack out of those little flowers. I need to find some Bunny-proof little fences. And fast.

Every little bit counts.

Here's a bit of stitching I did the other day. It's a cover for a journal - a gift for a new Mother to record all her books she reads.
I like the idea of keeping track of all books I read & one day passing the journal onto my children. I know I would really enjoy reading a list of all the books my Mother has read in the past 36 (ug.) years.
** The journal cover was made by embroidering the flowers on a scrap piece of material. Then I photo copied it along with two other pretty fabrics. A simple swishing of good ol' semi -gloss mod podge onto the cover of a nice plain journal and then .... a nifty journal is born.

Thrifters - Buyer's Remorse? Nope. Never.

quilt top.


Has anyone out there ever had buyer's remorse after they come home with a good stash from the thrift store? Is it even possible?
Here are some items that I found today.

A darling girls -hand made - dress. So precious.
A 100% wool sweater that I'm going to felt and use for the sheep pattern.

And part of a quilt top.

Here's what I really enjoy....... Often when I bring a thrifted item home, I really examine it. I usually am so thrilled that I happened upon such a perfect thrift item.
For example, the quilt top. I think I paid 10 cents for it. It's approx. 12 x 12". The more I looked at each fabric piece, the more I loved it. The more I looked at each shape of the fabric & the stitching, & the wonderful pale blue white and polka dot backing...... the more I really loved it. Someone put a lot of time and effort into it.... and I have it now. I get to make something with it! I get to make something with most all of the thrifted items I've found. I am so lucky!
Some day..... way in the future...... will someone find something that I made and bring it into their home??? Will they be as excited as I get?? Will they turn it into something unique and special that makes them happy???? Hmmmmmm........... I hope so.

wee ones.

Like I said before. I have the fever. The softie fever.
Wee Wonderfuls has such great tutorials. I totally am a beginner sewer. Her patterns are the first I've tried. I made Sally first. I was inspired by some of the other wees I saw on flickr.

Dixie was so fun. I love her frayed edges on her wings and tail. Kind - of feather-like.
I wish I would have put her tail a bit lower, but I had already re-done her wings three times and was ready for a completed project.

Now, do I keep these wee ones? I think I'm going to send one to a little friend of my daughter's - Tilly. She will be turning 4 very soon.

Pits -n- pieces of things I really like.

These........ Cheeky Beaks: Complete
..... clotheslines with a few items clipped on.
..... rocks.
..... botanicals.
( I must be ready for spring)
.... rain boots on children.
.... stylish - handmade items.
.... stationary.
.... simplicity.
.... items that are creatively put to another use - such as Simple Sparrow using placemats to make a beach bag. Love it. When I really sit and think about it - I have been doing this exact thing - looking at items and automatically- very quickly- thinking "what else could this be used for..........." - for such a long time.
.... using sheets - vintage, or not - fabulous patterns- for fabric. Oh, many,many uses.
.... recycling children's clothing.
.... aprons. of course.
.... tea towels.
.... linen. LOVE natural linen. Seriously, love it.

Cards.

Please disregard the fact
that I sometimes
post photos
that need to
be turned in the
proper direction.



These are some cards that I've done lately. Some are watercolor, others are embroidery on cardstock.

Tablecloth magic.

I really like Katrin Cargill's books. I have the Curtain Bible and I've dog-earred many pages. (I am totally a dog ear person - librarian's hate me - I'm sure.)
Well, I plan on making a simple, roman shade - swedish shade - type curtain out of this fabric. It is meant as a tablecloth. I saw it at Target and knew it would be perfect for a simple shade over my kitchen window.

Thrifted Fabric - 1st posting.

I love thrifting. I always have been a garage sale girl. My Mother was a garage sale girl. Why do I have a "thing" for other people's stuff? It's the soul. It's the history.
Anyway....... here's some pics. of my latest haul.

bunny pattern. tackled. done.

Wee Wonderfuls has a great bunny tuturiol posted. (Thank you!)
My children had spring break this week and this is what they made.
My 9-year son old is really into the Beatles - and you may see the influence on his bunny.
My 7 -year son really got into "turning things inside out".
My 5- year old daughter - just loved picking out her colors, and her button eyes.
Mom did the sewing together. By hand. My sewing machine and I have met three times, but we are not good friends yet.
My boys did all their own embroidery. Yea!



And, my children's bunny softies led to me attempting mine. That would be Momma Bunny mentioned on previous post. Yea!

Under my Belt.

I have to be clear - I didn't make these cuddlies. I did, however, manage the clothing. And yep - all the little dresses are reversable. And yep, I'm proud. And yep, it's time to move onto other projects.



When I began this adventure in sewing, I knew that I needed lots of practice. I figured, what better way to practice sewing than to make little dresses, smocks, and aprons for my daughter's cuddlies. So............ here are they are. Whew! I can cross that off my list. (I did have fun though - taking apart thrifted items - using up outgrown clothing - it's addicting!)

My first Softie - ever.

Alright, I've caught the fever. The Softie fever. I have been happily collecting fabric. Doing what I love to do - dig around at the thrift stores. I finally felt a bit satisfied with my collection and thought I better darn do something with the stuff. Well, since I have been teaching myself how to embroider and sew, I thought that I better try out a softie. (I also completed some dresses & aprons for my daughter's "cuddlies" ( this is what we call softies in our house) - however, more on that later.
Here's my softie. Thrifted, washed wool sweater for the body. Some thrifted fleece for backs of ears and limbs. A freebie, fuzzy side of a sweatshirt for face. Thrifted calico-ish flannel for the ears. Outgrown, baby blue velour pants from my 5-yr. old for front of limbs. And bits-n-pieces of things in my stash for the apron. This is Momma Bunny. At first I saw all the things I didn't like about her. Now she sits proudly on our fireplace mantle, minding all the children. Always with her apron. Always.
I see at the moment my photographs are not up. I shall try again later....................... They're up!

some of my children's embroidery

This is a puppy embroidered by one of my sons - age 7.
Here is a puppy embroidered by my daughter - age 5. All 3 of my children have been interested in embroidery lately. Here are 2 examples of their handy work. My oldest son ( age 9) is still working on his masterpiece.
I'm very proud of their work!