Yight-sssssss

Hi, kids. How's tricks? It's been quite busy in these here parts, from just before Thanksgiving until just now. Here's a rundown: prepped for TG dinner for 26 (OK, HELPED prep); had TG dinner; hauled all the Christmas decor down out of the attic (OK, HELPED haul, and by helped I mean Zach and my brother and dad got it all downstairs and I sorted it by room once it was down), went Black Friday shopping on Friday night, cleaned my new handbag because Aiden threw up all over it, decorated for Christmas, went to a beef and beer fundraiser where I drank too much which I never ever do, paid for it the next day, slooowly finished decorating (due to the previous evening's indiscretions), went back to work, went to a wake, played quizzo, replaced almost my whole dang wardrobe because my clothes have gotten kind of shoddy, did some more shopping, threw in some crochet, cleaned up my fabric stash, got spit up on by Aiden, played piano with Zach, cursed my computer for being a jerk, got it working again and apologized, and now here we are. Phew.

I don't have any official orders to work on, just a few last-minute gifts in the works. I've got a pile of felt and embroidery floss waiting to be Christmasized, my hexie project box pouting because it's been neglected for a million billion years, and some yarn to make into a scarf for my sister once we decide on the stitch. Nice, easy, cozy, couch-sitting crafting. My favorite. Especially when the Christmas lights are on, the movies are playing, and all seems right with the world.

We have Christmas on every surface of the house, it seems, and much of it I've blogged about before. So here are just a few snaps I thought were pretty.

When Zach was maybe two he came into the house for his first visit after the decorations were up. He would stop and look at everything, and just say "Yight-ssssss." Over and over. It was so sweet, his little face all lit up. Aiden's face lit up the same way, but he tried to eat the lights which was slightly less endearing.

I don't know anyone who'd be selling fresh flowers in the snow but I'd love it if they would--I must move to this Christmas village we have in the dining room.

Though I'm not fond of the antiques in this particular shop I am fond of the tiny details of these pieces.

 

The church has always been my favorite piece.

 

The mantle was the first thing done. The whole house could be made of candy canes and gingerbread, but if the mantle isn't decorated it's not really Christmas.

Pretty garland in a jar. I didn't know what else to do with it. Out of all the work we put into the decorations this is the thing Zach decided he liked best.

So that's what's been going on around here. Unbelievable that I must now trot to bed to get back to work tomorrow. At least I have some snazzy new duds to sport :)

Made By You

I was giving a little look-see into the Flickr group I set up for you to plop your creations into and discovered some delightful bits of fun. I figured I'd share them here so we can all see what you've been up to.

First up, let's do some wavy totes!

 

 Pretty, eh? I like the patchworky look it has. It's hard to tell without the other size right next to it, but Lisa made the smaller version (and I think the first one submitted). 

 Maria made this one is from some elegant looking home dec fabrics. I love the red! I think I want a fancy dress made out of it, if anyone wants to hook me up.

  

That marble copybook blue is a nice complement to those bright flowers. Nice work, Barbara!

   

I don't have a name for the submitter of this one, but she claims it's her first bag ever. I feel inclined to call her a liar--it looks too good for a first try! I say that jokingly, of course. Bravo! My first bag looked nowhere near as good :)

Judith posted this lovely butterfly bag. My mom has a soft spot for butterflies and her name is Judy, too. Just sayin'.

Text prints are huge right now, so I love this one from Marisa. The script gives it a lovely scroll look, and an understated elegance.

 

Isn't this cool? Gaile made this for an FSU fan--I hope she liked it because that came out nice!

 

I don't know who made this one either,  but they were clearly feeling the football vibe, too. I like the bright blue with it. Diggin' that contrast.

That's it for the wavies right now. We've got a few totes in there as well--

 

 CraftyTokyoMama shared a simple and pretty Insanely Easy Tote. There is something just so fresh about blue and white.

But of course I dig the floral color explosion of this One Yard Tote by Sandy.  

 
She also made one in the reverse. How's that for fabric efficiency?! Or maybe it's the lining of the first? I can't tell but either way I like it. Such happy colors!

 

Paula made a super-cute backpack. I might be afraid to carry it myself as I have an irrational fear of creepy-crawlies, but I think it's adorable anyway :)

 

And she also made this one. How stinkin' cute is this fabric? So cute I could eat it! See what I did there? Hahaha--because I would totally eat everything on it.

And finally, we have some crochet! I am a bit chilly at the moment, so I very want to wrap myself up in this blocky stripe scarf.

I don't have a name for the creator of this one either, but it sure is a wonderful crochet job.

That's all I've got for now (and I think that's plenty for this pic-heavy post, eh?). Keep 'em comin' and I'll keep sharin'! As long as it's ok with you--if your work is up there and you don't want it to be please let me know and I'll take it down. I do so love when you share things in that pool--inspiration is something that's always welcome here!

Three Things You Might Want

Am I allowed to say the c-word now? Because I'm going to say it. Christmas. It's in less than a month. I have no idea what I want. No. Idea. I need a new cutting mat and big quilting ruler but beyond that I've got nothing. However, I do have a list of things YOU might want if you haven't already got them. They're all perfectly sized to be stocking stuffers. Coincidentally I've got some stockings for sale in my shop. And speaking of my shop--I was able to write a nice check for the fundraiser held over the weekend--thank you to everyone who bought something, whether for that purpose or not. I appreciate it greatly! Circling back to my original point...

First up - Clover Wonder Clips. They come in packages of 10 or 50, and are one of my favorite things ever.

While I have more pins in my cushions than...someone with a lot of something has of that something, sometimes they just don't cut it. For piecing most fabrics I use either glass-head pins or flat-head pins (with a longer shaft). But sometimes, especially if it's a layer-licious handbag, pins distort the layers and then I must wield the mighty seam ripper, and I hate wielding that thing. But these clips hold everything nice and snug, keep everything from shifting, and are easy to clip/unclip. Some people use binder clips for the same purpose, but sometimes those are tough little buggers to open.

They're also marvelous for holding bias tape in place when binding a quilt. I am very meticulous when pinning the binding on a quilt, but when I remove the pins, things wiggle juuuuuuuuust enough to goof things up. These keep things in place. OH! And if you sew with oilcloth, vinyl, leather, or other fabrics you don't want pinholes in, these are the doohickeys for the job. You definitely want these.

Next up is something I've extolled the virtues of before--the hera marker. It's a thin piece of plastic that ever so subtly marks a temporary line on your quilt, thereby eliminating the need to use disappearing inks, chalk pencils, or quilter's masking tape (and then trying to make the ink disappear, clean off the chalk, or pick the tape residue out of your stitches--all things that have made me utter unladylike phrases).

When I do simple whole-cloth quilting, I can mark several lines at a time and just zip them under my needle. It takes me maybe a tenth of the time as it used to now that I have one of these. Some quilters may be aghast at my lickety-split approach to quilting, but I don't quilt often, I don't make heirloom quilts, and I'm too jumpy to get to the next project--I want tools that make certain things easier. This is definitely one of those things.

See those subtle creases? That's the line it makes. It's even easier to see under the light from your sewing machine. Simple grid quilting is my favorite--if there are no seams to guide me then this is my best friend.

I've also mentioned this next item before--a tailor's awl.

I use mine awl the time. Hahahahaha--get it? Awl? All? I changed the words for the....they sound alike...but when you spell it...whatever. It's awesome. I try to not sew over  my pins, but sometimes you need a little pin action right up until the last second. This helps with that. It also helps when trying to press open seams--your fingers are kept out of the way of your vicious iron. I think you're probably supposed to use it for making holes or whatever, and I'm sure it works for that, too.

I've found these items on Amazon, as well as on the Clover website. Clover has bunches of other goodies you might be interested--poke around when you've got a few.

Anything you'd add to the list? Any gadgets you're madly in love with? Let us know! I'd greatly appreciate you telling me what I might want for Christmas :)

Things You'll Want to Print (Maybe)

Good Friday morning to you! Are you among the throngs hitting the shops today for the best deals? Or are you all cozy at home, waiting for cyber Monday to roll around? I'm doing the latter. I don't do massive crowds, especially those that tend to trample, so I avoid the whole ordeal.

I've got just a few things to share today, a little bit repeatish, but if there's one thing I do well it's repeat myself. First, if you haven't started your shopping yet, or your kids haven't written their lists, I've got a printable I posted last year to share again. Simply click on the link below under the photo, set your print options to 'no scaling,' and print/cut apart. They work best on card stock (for sturdiness) but plain paper is fine too.

Click here to print

And secondly (also lastly)--do you remember these trees? I don't mean as remember existing at your grandma's house or something, but here on this wee blog?

Well I posted a template for you (after several pleas) in case you feel like sewing and stuffing a few this year (or any year). It's on the original post (towards the end) where you'll also find some brief directions on how to make them. Make sure your scaling is set to 'none' when you print, or your trees may come out a bit smaller. Which is no big deal--I want to make another of these in this pretty white fabric that I don't have a ton of so I'll need a smaller size.

And that's that! Must go eat leftovers. Have a good 'un!

Gratitude

It sounds so trite to say to someone "Be thankful for what you have." And oftentimes I hear people deride the holiday of Thanksgiving with "One should be thankful every day, not just one day a year." True. But it's lovely to have that one day of the year where we actually stop and consciously think of all that we have to be thankful for, instead of a cursory "Yeah, yeah, I know I'm lucky." And this is coming from someone who ranks TG as one of their least favorite holidays.

When I consider the year I've had (as well as those around me), I realize I have so much to be thankful for. I have my health, my family, my friends, hobbies that I enjoy, my job, enough food to put some extra pounds on even though the guy at our corporate health fair tells me to lose a few each year (yeah, I guess I showed him :) and people that make me happy when I think of them (i.e. you. Yuns. Youse guys. Y'all)

So I thank you for giving me a small chunk of your time to read my blathering. In a busy, crazy world that sometimes kicks your ass, it means a lot to head to my inbox and see the lovely things you've posted/emailed. So thank you for being you.

Now go tuck in that napkin, undo the button on your pants, and chow down.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Giveaway Winner!!!

'Allo! Whizzing by to let you all know the winner of the Fabric.com gift certificate. Because if I don't do it now I will surely forget. And I'll be sound asleep one night, and then I'll wake with a start and a hearty handclap to the forehead with a mid-night exclamation of "Oh no! The giveaway!" So without further ado--

Drum roll please. Ahem....drum roll?? Hello?  :)

I plugged some numbers into the random number generator and it violently spit a number back out at me. And that would be:

Which is Sandy, who commented:

Congratulations Sandy! I'll be emailing you shortly to firm up the details to get you your prize!

Thank you all so much for playing along--I really enjoyed your comments. They were truly feel-good reading material (and sometimes made me hungry :)  Have an excellent day!

Winterberry Handbag

After seeing how my sister's and my mom's new bags turned out I decided that that was the style I needed to make for myself. However, I'm not a black and tan or black or gray kind of person. I need to have some color or I'll just be all meh about it. I don't know what took me so long to think of gray, but once I latched onto it I started concocting different color schemes for what might work best. My coat is a pretty shade of turquoise, so I was thinking gray and that or gray and lime, but I couldn't find anything that seemed just right. I had to pick a few things up at Joann's so I figured I'd have a casual look-see. When I walked past the purples there was one there that just seemed to say "Please won't you pick me?" I'm not a purple person (I'm actually quite fair-skinned, bahahahahaha). Seriously, purple may be my least favorite color. But this was more of a cross between fuchsia and plum and was quite acceptable, especially with the gray. Throw in the perfectly matching lining and a trip to the Kona solids section for a matching berry solid and bam! My new handbag.

The gray and the white and the medallions all make me think of snow, and the soft purply light that comes just after sunset (especially when there's a white blanket covering the ground). I always found there to be something so...survivalist about berries that grow even in winter. Like in 'Farmer Boy' from the Little House series where Almanzo and Alice go digging through the snow for wintergreen leaves and berries. Something so wintry and cold, but sweet and hopeful. 

I put the diamonds to the side instead of upright, just for a different look. I was going to fussy cut the diamonds and mix them in with the berry solid, but then it would be too purply, which just would not do at all.

The inside is a tiny medallion print that looks like a snowfall inside. LOVE!!!!!! I usually buy my zippers in bulk over the internet, and it's hard to tell the colors accurately sometimes. As such, I end up with weird colors and wonder just what the hell they'll go with. Well, if you wait long enough you'll make a winterberry bag and find the perfect use for the purple zipper you bought. Patience, kids. Patience.

I obviously still have not mastered tying the bow. Stupid thing that's stupid and won't be tied right. If you use eyelets and grommets in your sewing and don't already have one, I highly recommend the grommet/eyelet setting pliers. They make everything snug and secure, and if you have some aggression you need to work out a few squeezes and you'll be back to calm. They're not always an easy squeeze, so if you have carpal tunnel issues the little anvil kit that you whack with a hammer works just as well too (both for the eyelets and the aggression). I used silver rectangle rings for the straps:

The basic construction of this one is the same as the other two I've made, and I love the versatility of the bag. It looks good in different materials and prints, in patchwork or plain. It took me a Saturday afternoon to make my bag, and a full day each for the other two (because of the patchwork and measuring, etc.). Because I have an almost complete idea of what works and what sizes work best for all the parts even the patchwork versions would be quicker now. I'm not saying it's going to happen in a wink (most likely after the holidays), but if you think you might like a sew-along for this one please let me know in the comments.

Ta for now!

Linking up here this week:
Under the Table and Dreaming*** Skip to My Lou *** Pinkapotamus *** Sew Can Do *** Craftomaniac *** Homemaker on a Dime *** C.R.A.F.T. *** Sarahndipities *** Today's Creative Blog*** Creative Itch *** Funky Polkadot Giraffe ***Chef in Training *** My Girlish Whims *** Sew Much Ado *** Free Pretty Things for You *** Tea Rose Home *** Someday Crafts*** Somewhat Simple *** Fireflies and Jellybeans *** Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom  *** The Shabby Nest *** While He Was Napping *** Tatertots and Jello *** Be Different Act Normal *** To Sew With Love *** Craftionary *** Family, Home and Life