going out today!

I finally got this order finished and it will be going out today! This was the largest order I have gotten to date. It was for all 5 of these pieces shown which are available in my shop. I am really excited as the pieces can be mixed and matched and can be worn a lot of different ways. I hope she likes them and they fit perfectly! Hopefully things will start getting back to normal for my blog soon. As you can see I have been busy sewing up a storm to get orders filled. This order pictured is actually just 1 of 7 that I have had in the last 3-4 weeks. Seems the new photography is helping sales in my shop! Thanks Donna! Now to attach my 'Love Hazel' tags and off it goes. Whew!

Sandi's new fabric!

Wow! I haven't been this excited for a long time!! Look what Sandi just posted over at her blog:
http://portabellopixie.typepad.com/portabellopixie/

bathroom re-do

Last weekend we re-did our hall 1/2 bath. I had this decorating itch that I just had to scratch so I ordered some home decor fabric (that I have been looking for a good excuse to order for a long time anyway). I used Anna Maria Horner's Drawing Room collection. The fabric itself is absolutely stunning, as is everything else Anna Maria creates! So, I sewed a valance, embellished my hand towels with fabric, and created some "art" pieces for the walls. I picked out the paint myself and did so in less than 15 seconds, so for me this is the hardest thing. I am not sure I like it and am still getting used to it. My 8 year old son described it to our neighbor as "poo poo brown", and my 4 year old daughter walks in there shaking her head and saying "not pretty, not pretty". So it may be that they are giving me a complex, but it also may be that it really doesn't look that hot, because decorating is definitely not my forte! So, if you have an opinion, please leave it, good or bad. I am trying to learn. I must clarify that these pics were taken with my iphone so they are not the best quality pics, but you get the idea. You can only see the corner of the valance, but that is because I could not get the lighting right and it happened to come out ok in that one, so that is all you get of the valance. The "bird picture" is fabric stapled on to an art canvas and then covered in mod podge. I don't think I would do the mod podge step again unless it was for a bathroom or kitchen. It does make it look nice, but almost gave me a heart attack as it really wrinkled up when applied. I had to re-stretch and re-staple it. It all turned out ok in the end. **Ok, I am having a lot of trouble with the layout of this post, and I am running a fever. I don't know if the 2 are related, but I am just going to let it turn out as it may, so forgive me if it is all wonky.

this just in....

Sorry again for the long pause. It has been very busy around here with school and fall activities starting and I have just been feeling a little down. I have been sewing and will try to start posting more about my sewing projects. That much has not changed. I am still in love with sewing, but still not in love with my Baby Lock 'Grace' sewing machine. I need to go have a class. Maybe I can now that the kids are back in school. Well purpose of this post.....I have gotten a couple of pictures back from the photographer of my clothes. These will be going up in my etsy shop very soon! I love how they came out! What do you think?!!

long break

So I have been neglecting this blog. Sorry. I have been really busy as we all are, specifically with sewing. I have been sewing up a storm getting samples ready for a photographer who is going to take some nice professional looking photos for my etsy shop! I can't wait to see what she does. I got them sent off yesterday. I would have liked to have had more samples, but I really did as much as I could. This picture is one of my favorite new outfits I have created. It is a total hodge podge of fabrics and that's what I like about it the most I think! It can also be mixed and matched with other things very well, like the shirt can be paired with denim ruffle pants (also coming in my shop very soon), and the pants can be paired with numerous different tops. I plan on creating a peasant top or petal knot top in matching fabrics for those who like the fabrics to coordinate a little more! The shirt is also an original design by me (my first!)! I actually drew it out on paper and modified it, cut it out, etc. The whole thing from scratch! I am in the process of figuring out how to make it into a pattern and I am so excited about it! By the way, my 'model' wasn't being cooperative, so this was just a quick shot of the outfit laying on the floor with my phone!

my first quilt

I loved Camille and Carrie's idea for the parade of quilts so here goes my contribution!

This was my very first quilt that I ever completed. It was made for my long anticipated niece, Rachel (who is now 12!). The picture is not great so I will explain. The center was a Precious Moments cross-stitch quilt kit that I bought when I found out my sister was pregnant. I was SO excited to become an Aunt for the first time! It took me a lot longer to complete than I thought it would. It was quite a project. I ended up not having it done when she was born, or turning 1, 2, or 3! When Rachel was 3 I found out that I was expecting my first child so I thought I better get to work on that quilt for Rachel. By this time she was too big for the little center quilt that was originally intended so I enlisted the help of a friend who knew how to quilt to help me figure out a way to make it larger. She really came up with the plan and I got to work. I had been collecting fabrics from our local Laura Ashley store and I used those to finish off the quilt. I tied it and I don't think I would do that again unless I was in a terrible rush. I also did a horrible job on the binding. I can say though that it was given with much love to Rachel on her 4th birthday and she still has it in her room!

This is my most recent COMPLETED quilt project! I made this little quilt as part of a get well kit for a friend of mine's daughter who was in a terrible accident. You can read about it here.

This is one of my very first quilts also. I think my second, but it was started during the time I was working on my first, so it is also kind of my first if that makes any sense!! Basically meaning that they were both done when I didn't have any idea what I was doing but knew I wanted to make a quilt!! This is the quilt where I learned that there is such a thing as a rotary cutter and you don't have to cut each square out by hand!! HA ha ha! (I guess I am a slow learner who does things the hard way at first!) This quilt still needs it's binding. I had just picked it up from finally having it machine quilted when we moved (again) from PA to NC. We have been here 2 years now and it still sits binding-less, but it is still close to my heart and won't be without it's binding forever! None of the corners match up on this quilt and I was a little embarrassed when I took it in to be quilted, but when I picked it up, the lady at the quilt shop told me how everyone had commented on the pretty bright colors while it was in the machine being quilted in the shop. I do love yellow!

This is my most recent quilt project that is not yet completed! It is a portion of the quilt from the quilt along at Old Red Barn. I used Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party and a couple of fabrics from her Good Folks line. I think I am going to love it! It will actually be 6 blocks by 7 blocks when I am finished. Can't wait!

I think that over the years I have learned that it's nice to be exact when making a quilt, but it's not the end of the world if you're not. I love to make quilts for the sheer enjoyment of it. Another quilt that I did not post but will have to post some time is the one that my Grandmother (Hazel) used to teach me how to quilt. I would drive an hour with my little boy who was just a toddler at the time to go spend the day with her and we would talk about how to quilt and eventually she showed me and taught me, specifically about how to do a 9 patch and hand quilt. Those are very special memories to me that I treasure as she is now gone. I think quilting is a way to give back joy and love to others and I try to do that when I make a quilt as a gift. My Grandmother used to make quilts for fundraiser auctions for their church and they would always bring in a lot of $$, which she loved. Sure, over the years I have learned to be more technical with my quilt making, but mostly I hope that through the quilts that I create that love and joy will flow through them to future generations.

I'm back!

We have finally returned from our trip. Well, ok, we actually got back last weekend, but you know how it takes a week to recover from your vacation! We had a great time visiting family and a fantastic time in Alaska. I was not disappointed, there were many opportunities to ooh and aah over the pure beauty of the place. Snow capped mountains in every direction, moose families, bald eagles carrying sticks to their nests, sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, rainbows, earthquakes, and calving glaciers to gawk at! We missed the kids, but it was great to actually be able to have conversations with each other, and when Josh went back to work last week, I missed him terribly. So here is a picture from my phone of us hiking on the Matanuska Glacier. It was awesome! I look forward to getting back to my sewing projects soon!