Some baby items and my BIG news . . .

Okay it's not early in the week, but I've truly been so busy! Here are some items from two separate baby showers that were both held this past weekend. Two boys and a girl.

I LOVE this diaper bag! The solid pink is a vinyl.

These are for twin boys -- can you imagine?!

Now, some BIG NEWS I've been saving. I've been offered the opportunity to teach classes for Jackman's Fabrics. If you sew and you're from the St. Louis region, you know that Jackman's is the place to be. It's a family owned business (spanning several generations) and they have three stores, two in St. Louis and one in Fairview Heights IL. I've only been to the Fairview store and it's one of my favorite places in the whole world! I was reading an article in a national sewing magazine and they mentioned Jackman's. Mind you, this was not a paid advertisement and this magazine is not local (it's based in the South where they're big into serious sewing). Anyway, Jackman's is so cool and I'm honored, excited and a little intimidated. I think I'm going to give it a shot. She reeled me in when she mentioned a discount card . . . ha,ha.

So that annnouncement brings me to this. I think that, at least for the present time, I'm not going to be taking custom orders. Don't panic - there may be several of you reading this to whom I've made commitments and I'm not talking about that. I'm simply not looking for any new orders right now. It's possible this could be a great opportunity for me and I feel I owe it to myself to clear enough time in my schedule that I can give it the attention it deserves. I hope you'll all understand and bear with me.

I still have things with the The Time Boutique (see sidebar) and I'm also developing my own shop on etsy so I hope to soon be offering things there too -- although you'll probably see them here first!

Thanks for reading . . . please wish me luck!

Green beans, painting and a trip to the boutique

My friend Tammy has the most incredible garden and she is such a generous friend! We picked and canned green beans this week. She also sent me home with onions and new potatoes to cook up a pot of fresh beans (it was SO good) as well as lettuce and zucchini. Yeah, she's the best! Today I was able to share a couple of cucumbers with her. That's all I'm harvesting so far but from the looks of it, I think we are going to have a bumper crop of cucumbers -- they're everywhere!





This week Amy moved into a St. Louis apartment. They needed some help painting (it was quite a job, it's a loft apt and the ceilings were about 14 ft plus!) but the trip served two purposes as I was also able to visit the boutique and drop off some more bags. Here's Amy in front of her building and also a shot of the boutique on Washington Ave.


I left the three bags I posted earlier under "Latest Bags" as well as these two new ones.

And lastly, a couple of other projects from this week:

I didn't make the blankie or bear, only added the monogramming. The second photo is a burp cloth. The new grandma wanted something personal but parents can't decide on a name so she had this clever idea.

That's all for now -- I'll have more photos and an announcement coming early next week. Catch you later!

Yes, I will beg . . .

Here is something I am absolutely over-the-top passionate about. I watched a story on NBC Nightly News a couple days ago about this remarkable little girl who took her love for animals to another level and is truly making a difference. With her parents' blessing, she has been doing volunteer work for quite some time in local animal shelters and knows firsthand the heartbreak and needs of these animals. Talk about putting dreams into action -- this little girl actually went out and secured a corporate sponsor then set up a website for her cause. Visitors to the site find a trivia question. When you answer the question (multiple choice, can't be easier), the sponsor will donate 20 pieces of kibble to a homeless shelter. You can play two questions per day, one for dogs and one for cats -- that's 40 pieces per visitor per day! It takes only a few seconds and it's truly one of the most worthwhile things I am doing each day. Please consider making this a part of your day too and help all those trusting, loving souls who so need our help. And what can I say about this little girl? I know I personally have a lot to learn from her. What an inspiration. So here's the site: http://freekibble.com/default.asp?a=441

I know we are all bombarded everyday with requests and if you're like me, sometimes you may feel overwhelmed. Everyone has just a certain amount of time and resources and simply wading through and evaluating where to focus your attention and charity can be a bit daunting. This is quick, painless and truly a way to make a heartwarming difference. My darling shih tzu Rusty is curled up in a soft ball, warm and happy next to me. He has no idea how fortunate he is . . .

Chocolate and Hearts

After a few busy days, I've got a couple of bags finished but one is an order for a gift so I won't be able to post it for a while. Shucks - because I'm excited about it. I enjoyed doing it because the colors were fun (pink with some lime green). I think the gift is for next weekend so I'll be able to post it in a week or so . . .

So this is what I can post for today. The Chocolate Truffle bag. Staci likes chocolates.

And some little cards. My husband is going on a trip without me so I made a card for him to open every day while he is gone. Each card will also have an instant lottery ticket because he thinks those are just so much fun. My luck, he'll probably win a million and extend his trip. Naw -- he'd miss the dog too much!
Just kidding. :)

Another monogrammed bag

Here is the other bag I was working on that I mentioned in the last post. It was a gift for my sister-in-law's birthday and we gave it to her last night so it's not a secret any longer. Happy birthday Pam!

If you have a few free moments for nonsense, check out this personality test . My results told me I'm original, sensitive, individualistic (neither leading nor following) and intuitive to others' feelings. I was really wondering about the recommendations for career choices when they started off with counselor, clergy, doctor and teacher but then later in the list I found artist, writer and librarian - so okay, maybe I see some of that. This simple little quiz brings to mind the more serious and complex aptitude tests we used to take at school and how time after time, mine would recommend a career in engineering. I was consistently irritated at that as I have no passion whatsoever for math and couldn't imagine how I could connect to engineering. It took me a long time to figure out that it was my aptitude for sewing construction that was leading me down that path. Once again, they knew more than I did . . . :)

It's a beautiful morning and time's a wastin'. Better go get busy. I have some more fun things in the wings -- later!

Altar linens and a bag for a little girl . . .

Looking at the pics for last week, it doesn't look like I did much but really I did! . . . although I did take a day off to celebrate my husband's birthday. We went to Fairview Heights and did a little shopping (I even got to fabric shop -- he was kind enough to drop me off while he went to the Harley dealer), then we had a nice dinner at our favorite restaurant. It was a beautiful day and I'm jealous of anyone with a summer birthday! Anyway, here's what I did last week:

12 lined chalice veils - 2 of each color. All the solid satins are embroidered with a chi rho, so these took a lot of time. As always, they are more impressive in person that you can tell in the photo. The one in the upper right is a lovely violet with a tone-on-tone embroidery. Oh, my pathetic photography skills (or lack of them!).

My sister-in-law needed a gift for her 4-yr old niece and asked for a bag to carry girl stuff and maybe a change of clothes. You know it doesn't matter what age, every girl needs a bag! The bottom of the bag is covered with vinyl so she won't have to be quite as careful.

I have one more project but I can't post it yet because it is a gift and that person will probably be peeking here. :) I'll show you later.

In our prayers -- my Uncle Bob who had open heart surgery yesterday, my dear cousin's father-in-law who is recovering at home from open heart surgery and my best friend's grandmother who is recovering from cancer surgery. It has been quite a month.