Sewing Nook

This weekend I finally buckled down and reorganized my sewing area.  It has been driving me nuts.  Confession my whole house has been driving me nuts--nesting has kicked in (I'm 4 1/2 months along) and I want everything reorganized.  My cutie pie daughter thinks the house is more fun messy.  Baby steps...  Anyway, here is a glimpse at my sewing corner.

I bought the sewing table used before we moved to Arizona and refinished the top half in a cheery green.  I love it!  As we were shortly moving I decided to give the old machine that came with it to a friend.  If I still had the original machine I probably wouldn't have to prop something under the flap (it was very heavy), but my plastic storage thing was nearly the perfect height for the job so it works.

I oddly find it refreshing to reorganize something like a bulletin board.  I should get a few frames and/or a little shelf up next to it so it's not so lonesome.  Another confession, I came across a bag of vintage notions this weekend.  Full of ric-rac, buttons, and other lovelies.  The wooden spools displayed on the board were from that bag--love!

I'm happy with my newly cleaned sewing corner. Enough so that I started sewing a purse, which I have been itching to do recently.  I did have to put a few other projects on hold, but I'm nearly done and excited to have a new bag.  Unfortunately I still haven't finished my quilt...I may ditch the extra quilting rows I wanted to do (purely for looks, it's not really needed) and bind it.

Tree Trimmings

I get nerdy excited for Christmas.  Being such a person I had Corey help me pull out the tree on Friday and got going.  Living in Arizona it just doesn't feel anything like Christmas until the tree is up.  

I'm loving the thrifted ornaments I found (confession, I found another little bag of them on Friday--full of handmade ornaments like the ones pictured below), plus they were cheap enough that if Ellie breaks any it's no big deal.  Can I say I'm glad I didn't invest in any glass ornaments?  Ellie thinks the round ornaments are balls and likes to bounce them on the floor <sigh>.

I made the red garland a few years ago (strips of fabric twisted around beads and then knotted), and added the pom-pom trim this year for fun.  I bought the pom-pom trim to update my tree skirt but haven't had time to work on it.  My star is white, so the trim fits perfectly.  The wooden candy canes were bought on sale at Joanns a few weeks ago.

I love turning on the lights in the evening and enjoying a good movie or treats with my little family.

It's Starting

I actually should have started much earlier, but I've started a few small Christmas projects.  The first married Christmas I made some pretty melted peppermint ornaments, but sadly they don't store so well (heat=melted sticky mess).  Someday I may try to make them again and shellac them or something to keep them pretty.  I decided to jazz up some of my cheap-o plastic ornaments for fun.   


I got the idea from the chain fabric store, they had yarn ball ornaments.  So I took some hot glue and yarn to my ornaments and I think they turned out fun.  I might make a few more in other colors.

I am also slowly making some yarn pom-poms for a garland.  The fuzzy red yarn works best, but I wanted some variety and dove into white and cream as well.

Sparse Thrifting

Now that my daughter is more mobile and hyper-alert to everything she sees (i.e. grabs everything she can) thrifting has lost some of it's fun.  Which is totally fine, it has been fun being able to take Ellie to a park (especially now that it has finally cooled down in Southern AZ).  So more parks, less thrift shops for me recently.

On one of my recent trips I found this and just couldn't pass it up.  It was the perfect 70's looking yarn embroidery, something cheerful for our bedroom perhaps. 

Whilst looking for the price tag I found this cute note.  No wonder I liked it, it was made with love by someone's grandma.  How cute.

I do have to admit my husband didn't like it as much as me (ok, I don't think he liked it at all), but he's nice and lets me do what I want with the house.

Punch Embroidery

My mom's recent visit reminded me to pull out my punch embroidery needle again.  I drew a simple picture and tested it out after sitting in my sewing box for much too long.  

I think it turned out cute considering I only had 4 embroidery thread colors on hand to choose from.  I love how it looks like a miniature carpet.  It's honestly really easy, and once you get the punch motion down it goes quickly.  You work from the back, which is a bit odd at first.

Here's a picture of the actual needle (the other end of the thread usually comes out the back of the tube, my thread was too short to show).  The tiny threader is next to it--don't loose it or you are toast.

I don't know if this is standard for needle punch kits, but I highly suggest buying one that comes in handy packaging so you don't loose your threader or any other vital parts.

I already have ideas for my next little embroidery once I get a chance to pick up some new colors.  It would be so fun to do some Christmas themed ones too.  These would be a fun little gift for someone.

Halloween

Happy Halloween! 


I grew up in a house where store bought costumes were rare.  Many years costumes were put together last minute with things around the house and face paint.  


While my daughter is still too young to pick her own costumes I'm having fun dressing her up in whatever I come up with.  Last year she was Rocky Balboa (we already had the grey track suit), and I made a beanie and painted her shirt.  Total cost: $0:

This year I went another direction.  "He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who!  Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two."

Cindy Lou Who Cartoon image from here.

I found some pink knit fabric at the thrift store (originally I was hoping to just find a nightgown) and went to town.  I used one of her dresses as a guide, and then decided to make a pair of scalloped shorts to go with it.  The dress from the cartoon goes to the floor.  As it's 90 degrees here and Ellie is not a steady walker I decided a cropped gown would work best.  Altogether I spent probably $2.

Kind of random for Halloween, but I thought it turned out cute.  These may turn into a new set of pajamas if they hold up after tonight.

Sweater Mittens

I took break from quilting to get some backlog projects done.  

One of those being some sweater mittens that my mom and I started the last time she visited (ahem, in February).  We bought two grandma sweaters at the thrift store and got four mittens out of them (they are two layers thick--extra warm!).  One of the sweaters had some embroidery on it, which turned out super cute on the mittens.

They are a cute grandma chic gift for anyone who is prone to cold hands.  

Here's the pattern I used if anyone should desire to make their own.