Sewstylish’s Weblog

Well Santa came a little early. I saw this gadget in magazines and read some reviews and figured I would buy myself a little gift.

Yup, it’s a bobbin winder which works great. I hate having to un-thread to wind a bobbin especially when I’m quilting a quilt on the frame so now with this little baby I won’t have to. I haven’t tried yet but hope it works on my featherweight machine too, because to wind a bobbin on that’s such a pain because it’s so old. I think it’s a 1924 give or take a year. I worked on my December door banner today and hopefully will have a pic tomorrow, since Saturday is Dec 1st I”m hoping to have it done in time.

Well with it being chilly out and having no kids, what better way to make the most of your sewing time than to throw something in the crock-pot and let it cook all day. Not to mention the house smells soo good. Today I have a vegetable soup cooking with some Venison chopped meat in it. I will add the noodles later so they don’t get soggy. Sourdough bread from the local bakery will be a nice addition as well. With that all done, now I have time to sew,sew,sew. Hopefully I will have a lot to show for it by the time I go get the kids at 2:45. Today’s my day for my son to go to his friends house which is a nice full day that allows me to get so much done. Also Abbigayle got contacts yesterday and is doing great. She can’t wear them to school until tomorrow or friday since you have to work up to that amount of time. She is so excited as I am for her. However when I saw the cost I almost choked. She has a stigmatism in both eyes and needs bifocals so with both of those things it makes the contacts more expensive and they need to be special ordered. But what are you going to do she’s my baby and I want her to be happy. I just wish it wasn’t in the same week both the girls needed skates. Since they both are doing jumps now of course they needed more of a “professional” boot and blade. I do love watching them so it’s worth it. Thankfully I have a client coming next week to get her hair done and she special ordered some aprons so that will be a nice “bonus”. Better get sewing if I want to get anything accomplished.

Wow do I have some great friends. Last night at our lovely dinner, after choosing numbers we all received a great handmade item. I got a beautiful angel and tea towel embroidered with a snowman on it from my friend Laura.

Some party favor’s were also given out and Lisa (www.upstatelisa.wordpress.com)made this adorable coffee cup coaster (which is already by my sewing table)

and this cute little santa ornament was made by Laura and is now hanging on the cute tree my parents dropped off for the kids to enjoy downstairs in our family room. This way we can enjoy the lights a little longer since hubby insists on getting a real tree about a week before Christmas.That tree goes in our living room and I’ve always wanted to have one downstairs.

Also my friend Sue went home with the gift I made and is planning on hanging the calendars in her sewing room. It was a great evening,with great friends and food. I found another type of Martini I love and that’s the Espresso Martini are we seeing a chocolate theme yet?hehe I’m so glad the holidays are starting off nicely. Now I just have to get some more sewing done so I can keep on schedule. Next on the list is the bag for my “green swap”

Ok so I’m going to take a chance that none of the girls from my sewing group will see this today so here’s what my gift for tonight will be. I guess we’re going to draw numbers over a nice dinner out and each of us will walk away with a great homemade item. I can’t wait to see all the other “gifts”, everyone is so talented and creative. I had so many ideas of what I wanted to do and finally settled on this.

I really hope whoever gets these enjoys them as much as I did making them. The calendar was so fun to make and of course now they can take notes in style. I just love the “coffee” fabric, and then who doesn’t like fat q’s. Well with everything homemade except the fat quarters I figured I would try to make a card and was happy with the results. I hope know one peeked. Stay tuned tomorrow for my what I get. I can’t wait. Oh and I almost forgot I added some new items to my etsy shop so please have a look.

Wow the amount you can done when you don’t need to get kids to and from school is crazy. I managed to finish my gift for my Sunday night group and wrapped it, pictures will be posted sometime on Sunday. I also made four “styling note takers” and four matching tissue holders. These are going to be gifts for the two office ladies, principal, and nurse at the girls elementary school. Phew four gifts down.  Hopefully tomorrow I can get some more gifts made. However I have to make a trip to buy the girls new Ice Skates since their coach tonight said they need some more support. On that note I also see a “skating” quilt being made in the near future because as I sat there and watched I froze my you know what off. I’m thinking of something fun that the girls will like to warm up under too and I had bought this great skating fabric last year, so stay tuned for that. Here are the pics of the gifts I made today and of the card I made for my Sunday nights gift, I guess it won’t hurt if they see that.

As you can see this morning was pretty cold and yucky out. It started with snow and then freezing rain. Getting the kids to school was a little slick since for some reasons the plows weren’t out until mid-morning. However in April when you don’t really need them there out can’t quite figure that logic but at least now the roads are a little better. To add to a dreary day Alyssa once again stayed home from school because the rash is now on her face. Another trip to the dr is scheduled for this afternoon, plus the lovely steroid meds they put her on is making her mood nasty. Handling her with “kid” gloves is needed but my patience is quickly slipping. On a brighter note the mail arrived bringing me these little goodies The new Elm Creek book which came at a perfect time since I just finished When The Heart Cry’s last night. That was a great book taking place in the Pennsylvania Amish Country so worth reading especially if you like anything to do with the Amish. The bundle of fat q’s I receive once a month from a local quilt shop always are a nice surprise. These fabrics have Ice Skaters, and mittens on them now I just have to think of what to use them on. Any suggestions?  Im finally at the layering and quilting stage of my gift for my friendship group so it should be done in plenty of time. I can’t wait to post some photos once it’s done.

Here is a quick way to make a bag for that last minute gift or just a quick project. Buy a canvas tote usually sold in groups of 4’s at Jo-Anns or other craft type stores. Then measure the bag and add about 1/2″ measurement to all sides and that’s what you will cut your fabric too. Then sew seams rst with 1/4″ seam allowance leaving an opening at the the top and place over canvas tote fold top of fabric under about 1/4″  and sew closed. The right side of the canvas bag should be your “lining” and the handles are perfect too. My nephew loved his. The backpack for the party my daughter went to was also a big hit. On another note my middle daughter the one who had the tick bite woke up this morning with a rash that seemed to spread as I watched, So a trip to the dr was needed. After getting the oldest to school (late) and then the youngest to preschool we went to see what she had. Thankfully they don’t think it’s related to lyme disease, they do think she’s having a reaction to a spot of posion Ivy she kept scratching at on her ankle. That never spread but looks infected and the dr felt it was now coming out on the rest of her in a rash.  She’s now on steroids and benadryl which I’m sure will make for some pleasant mood swings hers and of course then mine.hehe. Not the way to start the week. After the dr’s I had to quick take her to my mom’s so I could be back at preschool for a thanksgiving feast.  I am so ready for things to settle down. Morning’s like this can just make you crazy. I am planning on sewing more on my gift for this sundays quilt dinner so look for pics on sunday night or monday. this is what her back and side’s look like. Unfortunately it’s now spreading to her face. Hopefully she can go back to school tomorrow.

Well today is the 17th but still haven’t figured out how to fix that.1478.jpg_1478.jpg Ok here are the pics of the backpack I made for a birthday party my daughter was attending. The great fleece my hubby brought me back form his hunting trip(I usually get squat), The beautiful flowers Aunt S gave me they just make my dining room table so cheery thanks again, and the sunset hubby watched while hunting one night. I figured the deer pics might scare a few of you. So glad he’s finally home I feel normal again. Hoping to get some sewing done today I think my gift for my friendship group may be more time consuming than I thought. I was once called an overachiever by D and thanks I think this gift may just prove that.lol. I also still need to finish the bag for my nephews birthday tomorrow so better get sewing.

Since I’ve been in such withdrawl of posting pics I went in search of our OLD camera and took some using that. However I couldn’t download it onto the computer because we no longer have that type of disc drive so I had to pack two four year old boys into the car and go have a disc made. Of course Targets machine wasn’t working so I bribed the boys with a lolly pop and we went to the local camera shop where they did for me in a manner of minutes. Phew. I even was able to take the pictures outside which was a good thing because now it’s overcast and looking like rain. The pictures are of my latest purchases, the wall-hanging I just made (binding is still being sewn on) and the notebook cover I made. There’s also a few goody bags for my quilting “sisters”hmmmm girls I wonder what could be inside. Today I must work on my gift for my friendship group and hopefully make the back-pack for the upcoming b-day party. I also need to make one in camo for my nephew’s birthday. Counting the days until hubby returns I’m really starting to miss him and MY camera.lol. Aunt S see you tomorrow morning for your morning of “beauty” and much loved chit chat I can’t wait.sorry if they’re a little blurry but it’s the camera. I also had to include my first two “babies”!!If you click on the pictures you can see them clearer.

Well today was pretty tame since all the kids went back to school. I was able to get all of my party favors made and wrapped for my quilting group. Sorry I can’t say what they are since they read this, however I will give a little hint they are something that will come in handy during the winter. I finally figured out what my homemade gift is going to be and will post pictures after it’s received but it’s something that they could use daily. I’m hoping to get most of the binding done on the wall quilt I made the other day, either tonight or tomorrow. With hubby being gone I’m feeling quite tired. Especially since I got up at 6am and did the elliptical and balance ball. It felt good to do it again since I had taken a month off which I’m sure my body will make me pay for. Tomorrow’s work-out will be 45min on the balance ball, it’s such a great full body workout. The kids are really starting to miss daddy and we only have a few days left so I’m hoping everyone can hang in there  a little longer. My parents were nice enough to take us to Olive Garden for dinner where we saw some friends, and the kids were pretty good. I had a great drink, if you love chocolate you must try it, it was a chocolate martini made with vodka since gin is just gross. However once a Mom always a Mom, mine told me as I was ordering YOU DON”T WANT THAT YOU WON”T LIKE IT. Well talk about feeling like I was 5yrs old and not amused I said yes mom I do like martini’s if made with vodka.  I also managed to drink all of it and loved every minute of it. Of course since I didn’t eat lunch I felt every bit of it to but I wasn’t driving so it was all good. Luckily my mother and I have a VERY close relationship so I didn’t take it to personal. I promise once the camera returns I will have a bunch of pictures to post.  My middle daughter just got invited to a birthday party this Saturday so it looks like I will be making a backpack for her and I will embroider her name on it too. One more item to add to my to do list this week. I also sold a hat and scarve today to a mom at school who bought them for a friend of hers who will be going thru chemo so I am very happy that something I have made will hopefully make someone feel good during a not so great time in her life. It’s just another way our craft reaches out to people. I bought a new blouse pattern today so hopefully that one will work out better when I get a chance to make it.