My, oh my. Where does the time go?! I have such good intentions but it seems I just can't keep up. I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd posted on the blog. Yikes! The wedding is eight weeks away (and counting down) and I'm pedalling as fast as I can. Tomorrow is the bridal shower so I thought I should catch up here. Since there will be more after the shower . . .

Here are a couple of display samples I hadn't gotten around to showing yet. If you are familiar with Sew Beautiful magazine, this dress is from one of their feature articles. (Wait a minute, that sounded funny, not this dress, ours is a re-creation.)

If you know me, you know I am not a fan of purple. But the lime green ribbon and red button in the trim really set this off.

The fabric is from a collection called Calypso. You might recognize it's the same fabric collection (different colorway) as the turquoise Bellanca bag.

Speaking of bags, this one is called the Abigail bag. I like the gathering and the tiny ruffle, such nice touches.

The back has an exposed zipper pocket. Nice. Functional. Everybody likes that. :)

And how about a Cricut-enhanced project to close? This was made for the company of a friend of mine.

I was amused at how tattered their old mail bag was. Certainly not befitting his sophistication or that of the two lovely girls who work for him.
His land development company is called Compass West. (I was trying to be clever with words/images.) He and his dad have several entities working out of the same office, thus the "York Enterprises" kind of incorporates everything.

So that's all for today. Much more to come. Shower, wedding, and a benefit for my cousin Lisa tucked in between. And then, as if there weren't enough going on there's the possibility we may have a pretty signifcant change coming along in our lives. Nothing for certain and I can't even talk about it as we haven't shared it with all our family yet. But it weighs on the mind . . . and no, we're not moving to Kentucky - chuckle,chuckle.

Wishing you a special and blessed day!

It Feels Like Spring in My Sewing Room

Over the last several weeks, I've been head-over-heels sewing spring samples for the fabric stores -- and hoarding photos! ~LOL~

But before I get to that, a couple of things I've meant to get to and hadn't yet . . .

I got the kindest anonymous comment a couple of weeks ago about how my entries have improved as the blog has developed. Wow, you don't know how I appreciated that as I thought I'd become boring as of late! I do appreciate every comment much more than you know.

There was a comment/question with the last post asking about the bags and whether I cut the fabric with the Cricut. The answer is no. Not yet anyway and there's a reason for it. The projects I make that I will also teach must be techniques that can be duplicated in class and can't be restricted to specialty equipment like the Cricut. I can however use it to trace the designs as that could be duplicated in another way. So what I did was to apply paper-backed fusible web to my fabric, adhere it to the mat fabric side down, create a mirror image utilizing the 'FLIP' button (so text will read correctly), then trace onto the paper side of the webbing using the Cricut markers. I then cut the images manually and used traditional applique finishes. I haven't experimented yet with cutting fabric in the Cricut but it's on my list of things to do. And if I can master it, yeah I might consider a tutorial. ;)

I also haven't mentioned on the blog yet that I was offered and accepted a part-time job. It's expected to be just a couple days a week and it's my intent to keep up with the blog and everything else that I'm doing at the present time. Time will tell, so wish me well!

So, now -- on to the projects.

This tote is a class sample. Zip closure and six exterior pockets plus more inside (3 patch pockets and 1 hidden zip pocket). The fabrics are from Lila Tueller's Soiree collection.

I love, love, LOVE this piece! The 'create' image was traced by Cricut from the Home Decor cartridge. The bird was drawn free-hand (inspired by the bird on HD but I needed mine to be shaped more short & wide), and the flower layers were created by cutting a large circle pattern (Plantin Schoolbook), folding the pattern in half, in half again and half again (eighths), then cutting to a petal shape. Stem and leaves drawn free-hand. The pieced border was done with foundation piecing technique. As you may be able to tell, this piece is unfinished, it will probably become a wall-hanging when I get it back -- but I'm not sure yet.

This is a display sample -- for Valentines Day. I must say when I opened the box and saw these fabrics I was hesitant. Certainly nothing I would have chosen (the look is a bit too traditional for me) but this is a lesson in keeping an open mind -- it came out darling.

Here's a close-up of the heart-shaped yo-yos. Both the ivory and the pink dot fabrics have a metallic sheen in the design that adds shimmer and interest.

By the way -- if you sew, you like yo-yos, and haven't tried the yo-yo makers -- you should do it! They are so much fun.

And lastly, don't these 'Sassy Bags' make you think cheery thoughts of spring and summer? They are also display samples.

OK! I still have more photos but I don't want to overload you for one day. I still have another purse (the Abigail bag), a child's halter dress (from Sew Beautiful) and remember the ruffled NieNie skirt? I have the other one in bright colors with a cupcake top -- OMGoodness, it's my favorite! Stay tuned . . .

Miles and miles of ruffles . . .

Well, maybe not miles but a lot! It's a display sample so I can't take credit for the adorable choice of fabrics. Isn't it funny how we have our comfort zones? I usually gravitate towards bright and bold colors. If I'd been doing the picking, I would have had to think harder to come up with this pastel-ish group, but isn't it perfect?!

This skirt went to the Illinois store but I'll be repeating it for St. Louis - in an assortment of really bright fun colors. And even a cupcake top to go with it! So cute, I can't wait to dig in on that. Alas, it's not next on the list - but that could be a good thing -- an incentive to keep me going!

The pattern is from Pink Fig patterns - NieNie skirt #18. Designer Chelsea Anderson donates a portion of the proceeds to benefit Stephanie Nielson. Do you know about Stephanie? She and her husband were in a horrific plane crash a bit more than a year ago. It's an amazing and inspiring story of faith, survival and positive thinking. If you caught Oprah on Thursday, it was a repeat oncore presentation of her interview with Stephanie. What a remarkable woman. Her blog, in case you're interested can be found here. Her entries are touching and inspiring and most importantly a reminder to slow down, to relish and enjoy the gift of life God gives us each day.

Thank you Stephanie. I have so very much for which to be thankful.

Honorable Mention

It's been a while since I said it but THANKS once again to all of you kind folks who leave such sweet and inspiring comments for me. I am always touched that you lend me your attention.

Along those lines, I can't tell you how excited I was when I recently visited Paula Prass's blog Show & Tell to find I was featured there - it totally took my breath away!
Paula is a fabric designer for Michael Miller Fabrics and creator of the beautiful Flights of Fancy collection. Of all the lovely things being made with her fabrics, I am incredibly honored that she chose to include my magazine sized totes ("mag bags") on her blog. This was several days ago and I'm still reeling! To have a fabulous designer such as Paula recognize my humble work makes me feel as if I've been sprinkled with stardust.
Thank you Paula, what an honor!

Here are the featured bags.

And another, later creation from the same line.

Switching channels now, I got another little thrill this morning when I got see my quilt block stitched into place on one of the Project Improv quilt tops over at Jacquie's Tallgrass Prairie Studio. Jacquie and her helpers are working to transform these donated blocks into lovely work-of-art quilts for charity. I am so grateful for their hard work and proud to be a part of such a meaningful project. What a nice start to my day. :)
Can you find it? Center row, far right.

In the Sewing Room

As is my nature, I've started to panic this week. With less than three weeks until our departure and so much left to do, I've kept my head down and barely come up for air. There were a few distractions of course. Like yesterday. I spent a good part of my day with my dad who called on his newly installed phone, first to tell me how thrilled he was to have the phone then later to summon me over with his latest crisis of the moment. Of course, it wasn't really that serious but with my dad everything is top-priority, red alert! He's funny alright, in a high maintenance kind of way but you can't help but grin and love him, you couldn't find someone with a bigger heart. I mentioned my dad once before and his difficulties in dealing with life in general. Shortly after that my husband and I caught the movie "You, Me and Dupree" on tv. Boom, there he was! If you've seen that movie, Dupree is my dad! Totally. Only my dad is not 24, he's 69. Although, he thinks he's 24 . . .

Anyway, it was mid-afternoon before I finally got to my sewing room and I was panicked and frustrated that most of my day had disappeared. Nevertheless, I worked late and dear Randy provided carry-out dinner(!) so it turned out I got a lot done after all. I got a sample sewing parcel this week and here's what I've accomplished so far . . .

I was so excited to see Paula Prass's Flight of Fancy. The pattern provided was Amy Butler's In Town Bags. These were done in keeping with the drawstring bag pattern but I was instructed no drawstring. I did make it a little taller because the cuts given in the pattern would have chopped the fabric designs into oblivion. Actually it worked out well because the end result is the perfect size to carry a magazine. The 'mag bag' look is such a trend now.

And I had enough fabric left over from the totes that I was able to put together this Smart Bag off the same pattern. But that button which is only pinned on, has got to go. I'm seeing something large and filigree, preferably in silvertones and sparkle. I'll be heading down for a class tomorrow so I'll see what I can find at the store. I didn't have anything appropriate in my stash.



And last but not least here are chalice veils. They came out lovely, mostly due to the gorgeous fabrics of course.

Have a great weekend everyone. Don't forget to attend the church of your choice. If you don't have one, you can go with me! :)

I'll catch you soon!

Delivering Display Samples on Amy's Birthday

Amy's birthday celebration and my first delivery to Jackman's was moved from Sunday to Monday. It worked out well on several levels. First it was her actual birthday! It also allowed Randy to be home for his beloved football game, eased my conscience about the shopping-on-Sunday issue and let me attend a child's party that I didn't want to miss. Unfortunately Kyle and Ashley weren't able to join us last night as both had to work, Ashley headed to night shift and Kyle driving home from a distant service call on another marathon work day. (His peak season has begun!) Amy did bring her roommate Andrea, who coincidentally celebrated her birthday the day before. Anyway . . .

Here are displays I dropped off yesterday --

PET PILLOWS: I wasn't all that excited about this project but they came out much cuter than I anticipated. They loved them at Jackman's and were making kits as I left.

THE DUFFEL BAG. This thing is monstrous! I added the sneakers to give some perspective as to how big it really is. Don't you love the fabrics? (Click in to get a better look.) It's from the Park Slope collection by Erin McMorris.

Thacker's birthday party was Sunday. His first. His mom is a party nut -- all parties are totally themed (can you believe she's already started with next year's!); this year was a farm theme, thus the barn and red bandana trim for this hooded towel.

I'm working on two more display samples, one is nearly complete and I just love it! Can't wait to show you.

I've also picked up two great new books from Jackman's. Last week I got Keri Mecca's Sewing with Whimsy, yesterday I brought home Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam & Nicky Lintott. The Whimsy book includes four patterns and there are 16 quilts plus a bonus project in the Jelly Roll book! And YES, I realize that my excitement over these books shows the depth of my addiction. Just don't tell Dr. Phil!

So much to do, better get rolling for the day -- Have a good one!