Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a truly Merry Christmas!!!

We had a great morning opening presents and eating a yummy breakfast that Doug made!  We all got dressed and headed to Doug's oldest brother's house.  They are always nice enough to host a fantastic Christmas dinner.  

The girls looked so cute in their new dresses that they finally agreed to put on!  They were awesome in the car on the ride, it is about an hour and a half which is a little long but they were being so good.  We were about 3 miles from our destination when I looked back at Adelaide just in time to see her puke all over her new dress, her car seat and everything else that was anywhere near her!  Poor kid!  I, thankfully, had packed extra clothes so she got a bath as soon as we got there.  I guess it wouldn't be the holidays without at least one eventful story to tell.  :)

last of my Christmas sewing

These adorable owls are the last handmade gifts that I had to finish.  My girls are going to love them, they always steal all of the pillows off of the couch and have even taken a couple of Doug and I's out of our bed!  Maybe we can get ours back now!
The purple one is for Hannah and matches the duvet cover that I made for her in the spring.  The Nicey Jane ones are for Penelope and Adelaide because they match their new quilts.  The super cute, and easy, pattern is the Lola Owl pattern from my friend Virginia.  She has the best ideas and really great patterns!  She also has TONS of fun tutorials free on her blog so be sure to check them out!

I still have a few strings to clip but I had to get them stuffed and photographed before I was caught!  He, he!  Santa is coming!  :)

my second quilt

I love the idea of a quilt!  I was lucky enough to grow up with a mom and grandmother that both sewed.  My mom is not a quilter but my grandmother was and I am lucky to have inherited a few of her fabulous quilts.
I started this quilt for Penelope back in August and it kept getting pushed aside for projects that had a deadline.  The pattern is by Thimble Blossoms and called late bloomer.  I hadn't intended on it being a Christmas present but I finished it last week and so it is getting wrapped and will be under our tree!  I really love it!  I know you are all probably really tired of me and my Nicey Jane obsession but this quilt is what started it!  The colors are so fun and girly and it makes me happy every time I see it.  I love the appliqued flower detail and the scalloped bottom!

I hope everyone has a really Merry Christmas!!!!

thanks and a winner!

I can't begin to tell you all how flattered I am by the kind and generous comments that everyone left for me!  I am so shocked at the response my bag has gotten.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!  Ok, I know you all just want to know who the winner is.

The winner is #33!  Joy, you win!!!!  :)

I will be emailing you and your new bag will be on it's way to you as soon as you send me your info!!

Christmas dresses

For those of you visiting via Sew, Mama, Sew!, welcome!!!  To enter the giveaway just scroll down or click here.

I have been working on Penelope and Adelaide's Christmas dresses on and off for the last couple of weeks and I finally finished them up this morning!  Yea!  I am so glad they are done and I really love them!  I made them out of linen and Moda Bliss dots for the bias trim.  I really love those dots.  I am so sad that this pattern is no longer in print!  It is such a neat little dress and I was really hoping for more patterns from those girls, oh well!  There is a beautiful flickr group devoted to their patterns and it is fun to look through the different dresses.  As for my girls dresses, right now I only have pictures of them on hangers because they are both refusing to try them on!  Don't you just love that!!!  You work for hours and hours on something for them, then say "here is the dress I made you, let's try it on"  and your 3 year old looks at you with her sweet little face and replies, "NO, NEVER!!!".  Oh joy!  Merry Christmas everyone! :)

I will update with the girls wearing them as soon as I can bribe convince them to put them on.  

Sew, Mama, Sew! giveaway day is here!!!

***this giveaway is now closed.  thank you so very much to all of you who entered!***

This is the first time I have joined in on the fun for Sew, Mama, Sew! giveaway day and I am very excited!  When I started my etsy store I was making mostly handbags but now it includes accessories and children's items!  I still LOVE to make bags, so that is what I will be giving away!  The bag is an Ava Rose tote and the pattern was designed by Rebeka Lambert of artsy-crafty babe.  It is a great bag, roomy enough to hold everything you will need for the day but still stylish!  One of the best things about this bag is that is is reversible, so you are really getting two bags in one!  One side has a large pocket, big enough to hold a few magazines or books (please note that I am NOT including my japanese sewing book and my patchwork book in the giveaway, sorry)!

So, If you want to win this bag, just leave me a comment at the end of this post!  That's it!  I will be randomly choosing a winner.  The giveaway will be open until Dec. 17 @ midnight EST and will I post the results on Dec. 18th.  Please make sure that I can contact you if you win, so please, please, please leave your email address with your comment.  I will be happy to ship internationally too so everyone can participate!  Thanks so very much for stopping by and good luck!  :)

the big reveal

So, I have kept you all in suspense long enough!  Sorry, sometimes it is just so hard to get decent pictures!  My sewing room is not huge but I think we really maximized the space.  I LOVE it!  It is so bright and cheery and is so great to work in!  I had 4 main requests when Doug asked me what I wanted in the room.

• a cutting table large enough to hold a yard of fabric
• a desk big enough so that my sewing machine and serger could be out at the same time
• a couple drawers large enough to hold patterns unfolded
• shelves to hold fabric so that it could be seen (I really didn't want it in the closet)

I got all of my requests plus a bunch of extras!  

The cutting table sits in the center of the room, like an island, so that I can get all the way around when cutting out a large pattern.  It also has shelves underneath to hold my iron and ironing board and some works in progress.

As you can see the table is quite large (40"x66") so I had to have a cutting mat cut to size.  The company I used was great and the mat is fantastic!!!  

One side of the island has 3 large, shallow drawers to hold all of my patterns and instructions and one drawer to hold tools.  The other side has 2 deeper drawers that hold a place for trash, a place for scraps and a drawer for my wrapping supplies.

The desk sits along the only plain wall in the room.  It is now home to 2 sewing machines and the computer and has a spot for my serger when I unpack it.  

I have a huge built in bookshelf to hold all of my fabric, notions and books.

The bulletin board is behind the door.  I still can't bring myself to put pins in it, silly I know!

I am also lucky enough to have a decent size walk in closet in the room that Doug put shelves in.  It is nice to be able to put the less attractive necessities out of sight. 

On the wall between the 2 windows, Doug put up a picture rail so that I can do a little decorating.  I have only found one thing that is worthy of the picture rail.  :)

I hope everybody enjoys the little peak into my space!  

christmas came early!!!

I have a fantastic sewing benefactor (aka my mom!) who gave me my Christmas gift a little early this year! I am so excited I can barely stand it.  Here she is!

My room is finished too!  Best Christmas EVER!  As soon as I can get decent pictures I will share them with you guys!  Have a great weekend!!