Cute little caddy pattern

Thanks to Helen and the delightful pattern she created for her Stitchers Angel project, I now have a new armchair caddy. It fits perfectly on the right side of the couch where I spend most of my stitching hours. Things just got a lot nicer and cozier for my favorite spot. This caddy was just so fun to put together. It's been a good sewing day!

Trying out Crazy Quilting

I am doing a Crazy Quilt Round Robin with four other ladies. I've never done crazy quilting before so this is something new for me. I am enjoying it so far. Here is the block I sent out. It is somewhere around the U. S. right now...between Georgia and Washington. I'll have it back in October after its been to Denmark. It will be exciting to see what everyone came up with for it.
A few of these talented ladies are doing beautiful ribbon embroideries on the blocks. I love looking at what they've done and I admire their work so much. Someday I will learn to do that but for now my additions to the blocks are simple stitcheries. This is my stitchery on Janet's block.

Noah

This evening I finished stitching Noah and the giraffes for Lynette's BOM. I just love working on them, they are so sweet. Even though it seems like such a long wait for the next month's block, I can see how this year has been zooming by pretty fast. How did it get to be August already? I have had so much fun with this project. Thank you Lynette.

Sewing essentials

I enjoyed Nanette's post about the special sewing caddies and tools she uses at her machine and when hand stitching. My sewing "caddy" is a nifty little drawer that sits right in front of my machine. I can reach inside for whatever I want, almost without looking and would be lost without it. I've even learned how to sew with it opened sometimes. It is just so important.

Did you notice there are 3 tools for unpicking mistakes? They come in handy....all 3. And really get a workout!

For take-along projects I found these terrific little totes and now I can't do without them. They are small yet hold quite a bit, keeping things sorted for me. They snap apart and I can add or subtract sections, taking along only those I need at the time.

They aren't very quaint or charming on their own but when filled with beautiful threads, fabrics and project pieces the charm is there for sure.

Daisies are my favorite flower and so, of course, I couldn't resist these little buttons. Threaded together as a fob for my scissors they also add a little whimsy to my simple plastic stitching caddy.

And speaking of scissors, here is my favorite well worn pair, kept in my nifty little drawer along with a stern warning for the scissor poachers around my house!

The mystery of the missing French knots

Before...
And after...

Ulla found the missing French knots. She has pretty good eyes. I like doing puzzles myself. Maybe she does too. The little tiny knots sure add that extra charm to the wallhanging. Amazing what dots can do :-)

More Christmas in July

I'm still singing Jingle Bells! This pattern was from Wildcraft Farm. I've held on to it for a long time and now it is finally done. Except...when I looked at this picture I noticed that I forgot to stitch four little French knots. Funny. Can you spot where they should go? Where's my needle?...I'll take care of that right away.

My Christmas in July

Seems everyone is caught up in the fun of "Christmas in July". I want to join in the party and so this tiny ornament is my contribution. I was singing "Jingle Bells" while I worked on it. What a great feeling! I think I'll make more and keep the spirit going.

Redwork Exchange

This redwork project is on its way to Lynette in Australia. It is part of an exchange where she sent me the beautiful rose fabric, which I had to use in a redwork wallhanging and send back. Soon a surprise will be coming my way with fabric I mailed over to her. So fun.

Teeny Tiny Two-inch Elephants

The housework was finished quickly just so I could sit and stitch these darling little elephants. It was fun but much too soon finished. Now I have to wait a whole long month for another pair of animals.

After the dust has settled

Last weekend my husband, Craig, and I stopped by a garage sale and I met the work table of my dreams. I bought it, even though I had no idea how it was going to fit into my already full sewing room. This led to a whirlwind of rearranging furniture and STUFF, not only in my room but other rooms too, and painting and cleaning. After many days, its all done, the table fits beautifully and I'm very happy with it.

Even tackling this extra big project, I still managed to get my stitching in and completed another quilt block. I have other things to work on as well so I may have to slow down a little...but I'm not stopping. My sister, Holly, gave me a goal to have it finished by my birthday in September and I'm shooting for that.

Can't Wait to Start # 3

Woohoo!
I finished block two!

Thanks Rhonda

This was such a cute idea. My sister-in-law, Rhonda, taught me how to make it. It is a quick project, it took me less than 15 minutes to put together. I'm using mine as a first-aid kit for my car. They would also be nice as little sewing kits.

Start with a pretty hotpad, one that has the hanging loop in the center.

Sew sandwich bags along the center of the underside of the hotpad. You could use little snack bags or do like I did and just trim off the regular bags, after they are sewn in. I used six, three on each side.


Fold in half and sew a button on the front. Wrap the hanging loop around it and it's all finished.

The front view:

And a back view:

I'm filling it with band-aids, ointment, cotton, and such and putting it in my glove compartment.