Christmas Projects

  No matter when I begin Christmas sewing, it's never soon enough. Maybe next year will be better. I mostly sew for my little granddaughter, but I do try to do a few things for the boys every now and then. It's getting harder to find things to make for them since they are getting past the embroidered shirt phase. :(

 My main project is always a dress for Shelby. Her mom liked this style, and so did I. The problem was finding a pattern - which I didn't. I finally found a very old basic dress pattern for girls dated 1960. I used it, added some sleeves, and made the bib part myself. Fabric is green corduroy from Chez Ami.  I love how it fits her so I may make a summer dress out of the same pattern. 

 I also wanted Shelby to have one casual outfit to wear at Christmas. She has to wear uniforms to school so that cuts down on my Christmas sewing a whole lot. The design is from Planet Applique. Fabric is red polka dot corduroy from Chez Ami.

  Our youngest grandson loves anything I do for him. They are all Duck Dynasty fans so this was only appropriate even though it took me hours to do. There was lots of cutting on the applique, but it turned out so cute. Design is from Applique Junkie. We have quite a combination of characters here! LOL

 Almost forgot, I had one small order from Shelby to embroider her AG doll's kitten stocking. 

 I actually have some more projects, but I will save them for another post. Join me at the linky party over at Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom. It's a good way to get ideas and meet more blogging friends.
 I'm also joining the linky part at Sew Many Ways.  Lots of neat ideas there also!
 Thanks for looking, but comments are always welcome too!

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas to anyone that reads this! I do plan to start posting more. I just have to get in the mindset to do it. I love reading blogs, and I hope a few people will enjoy reading mine.
  This picture is borrowed from the Branson Tourish Center. We went to see the play "The Miracle of Christmas" there in November. It was absolutely awesome! The scenes were just this beautiful!
 If you ever get the chance to see it, please go. We also saw "Joseph" in September. The next one coming to Branson, MO is "Jonah". 

 I pray blessing for all of my blogging friends!

My New Toy!!

  When I attended the Nancy Zieman For the Love of Sewing Event in January, we were able to go to a class using the Babylock Embellisher. I didn't buy one at the time, but I sure wanted one. If you read my post then, this is what I made in the class with Pam Mahshie. She is a fabulous teacher!

 We made the back on the Ellisimo Gold. The front is made with the Embellisher. It's like needle felting, except this machine has 12 needles. The best thing about it is that you can use all 12 or ever how many you want to use. You wouldn't believe what all is punched into this bag. It looks totally different after you punch it.
  You don't have to use any thread in the machine or any bobbins! Yippee!
  Lucky for me a lady at my Babylock Club decided to sell hers. So I got it last week, and I've only had a little time to play with it. Here are some pics of the machine and a little fun I had. When I finish this piece, I think I will make a vest for my granddaughter's AG doll.
 I used some of the tails that I'd saved from doing machine embroidery, and they do great!

 The added bonus is that it's signed by Nancy Zieman herself!  

Wordless Wednesday!

  Eek! I hate snakes and spiders, but I love my grandson and his beautiful smile. So I just had to post this picture!

 His class has been studying animals, and some lady brought this snake to visit. 

 Sorry if it freaks you out! It is evidently harmless!

Firemen in Idaho need Bandanas!

 I posted this on my FB page, and so I'm also posting here.
  I shared a post on FB a few days ago from Luana Rubin (eQuilter.com) asking for bandanas for the firemen in Idaho. I stopped what I was doing and made a few to send quickly off. After sharing that with a blogging friend, she also sent me some information that I wanted to share. Please read this message, and if you can send any kind of bandanas, please send them to the address below.
This is from a local radio station up there. If anyone can send Bandanas for these firemen, please do! They can be any kind!
The address is in the paragraph, but it's: Blane County Sheriff's Dept, 1650 Aviation Dr., Hailey, Idaho 83333.

“Just got off the phone with Holly Carter at the sheriff's office...you know those 7,000 bandanas that everybody donated for our fire fighters? They need more. Yep. They used all of them! Holly is asking us to donate more if we can...just bring them by the sheriff's office: 1650 Aviation Drive in Hailey...on the way out to the airport. If you're sending them, It's 'Hailey, Idaho 83333.' Holly said that the "Bandanas for our Buddies" campaign has definitely gone viral...coming in from Texas, Connecticut, and Louisiana. We have a new team coming in on Sunday night, too. You know they're going to want new bandanas. Holly said a message written right on the bandana with a Sharpie is a good way to go. Thanks so much, everybody.”

 I tried to make some of mine larger - 20-28", but you can buy these bandanas pretty cheap anywhere. I know they would appreciate any that you send. Those fires are terrible, and at least I felt like I was doing a "little" something to help.

Outfits From Fabrics I Won in February!

 Yikes! Has it been that long? How time flies the older you get. That I know for sure! 

 I was so lucky to win a big blog giveaway from Violette Field Threads Blog back in February. I posted about all of the stuff I won HERE.
 One place was an online knit fabric store called Girl Charlee. Go and visit her online and on Facebook to see all of the neat choices she has.

  I love making summer outfits for Shelby so these are a couple of the things I made using her fabric.

 The leopard print knit was so cute, and the colors will go with a lot of different shirts. The little shirt came from Chez Ami.com, and I chose a multi-colored embroidered flower that would also go with the colors in the shorts. 
 I lined the knit with swimsuit lining fabric, and I made the ruffles on my serger. I really think the ruffles made such a cute embellishment to the shorts. (I can't remember where I got the embroidery design. It's been in my files a long time.)

The next outfit was made with the ruffled knit fabric that is so popular right now. It was my first time to sew with it, and it took me a while to "tame" those ruffles with scotch tape, but it worked! I used McCalls 6547, which is very easy, and was a great pattern for this knit. 

 My daughter made some pictures of Shelby wearing it so I could post them here. She is such a mess! She is losing her teeth right now, and her smiles just make me laugh! 

 Shelby has two AG dolls so since I had a few scraps leftover, I decided to make the doll a dress like Shelby's. It was pretty easy. I just cut a rectangle, ran some elastic in the top, and stitched a strap around the neck to tie. This is my model, Delilah, who agreed to stand on the stool for pictures. The doll and Shelby also got a ponytail wrap from the scraps. It works great because the fabric doesn't ravel and it stretches!

 

This one is for Mimi to let me know what she thought about having to pose for pictures on this hot summer day!

 Thanks again to Girl Charlee and to Violette Field's Blog.

Five Years - 5 YEARS - FiVe YeArS

 YES, you read that right! I'm a little excited and feeling very blessed. I've been CANCER FREE for FIVE YEARS!!

 I had my checkup last Wednesday, and everything looks fine. I got to visit with both of my surgeons and we all had a hugging session. I also got to see one of my favorite nurses. Their office has grown a lot, but the ones that were there when I first had surgery still remember me as I was in there a whole lot! 
 I am so blessed to have had such a wonderful surgical team and just down right wonderful people! 

 So our family recently took a trip to the beach - to Ft. Walton Beach, FL. The weather was beautiful then, and we had a great time.

 The little grands love the pool more than the beach, but everyone had a great time. 
 My favorite place to eat is The Back Porch. It's expensive, but it's sooooo good! 

 Today was my birthday so I feel doubly blessed to be here to celebrate it with my family. My hubby bought me a pretty cake, and the little grands came to enjoy that with me. 
 I will leave you with a few beach pictures. This is what two old people look like on the beach!

This is us with the grands: Clayton is 18, Cayden is 8, and Shelby is 6. We were missing Bubba this year because he is in Busan, S. Korea working.

This next picture is us with our two children - Emily and Cody! Without them, we wouldn't have our wonderful grandchildren! I wish we could show pictures of our foster grandchild - but hopefully soon - because they are in the process of adopting him! 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope everyone is having a good summer. It finally got hot here!

Sewing for Oklahoma!

  I ran across this link today from a post on Facebook, and I'm sharing it with you all. If you sew at all, this is one way to help the victims of those horrible tornadoes in OK. 
 The also have a printable tag to attach to whatever you make so it will go to a child or someone who wears that size. 
 I'm thinking I'm going to make some kind of simple dress or dresses. I'm sure most of these people/children had to take a lot of used clothing in the beginning because they were left with nothing. There's not a thing wrong with used clothing, but I'm sure it would thrill any of them to receive something handmade.

This is the Blog link for the clothing items, and this is the main Blog. Go check it out to see if there is some way that you can help. 
 They also have a Facebook link from the blog page. 

 I just can't imagine how awful it was during those tornadoes, and especially at the school where it hit so hard. I know it was terrible near here a few days before, and my daughter and her kids had to stay in the bathroom for a while. A tornado touched down in several places, and the area had horrible hail storms. Just look at these pictures. I've never seen anything like this. It happened about 25 minutes from us.

 Yes, that is all hail! Notice the eerie fog too! There was an elderly man rescued from that mobile home. This was all so minor compared to OK. 
  I'm praying they don't get anymore storms, but it's not looking so good for them right now. :(

ShirleyC
 

My Biggest Win - EVER!!

  First let me say, this post has been in the making. I had to wait until I received all of the prizes to share.

  I entered a contest on Violette Field Threads' Blog at the end of January. On February 4th, I received the announcement that I had won one of the Sewists Grand Prizes worth over $400 to various places. 

  Oh be still my heart! Do you know what those words mean to a retired person who loves to sew for her granddaughter??

  The Violette Field Threads Blog gave me her whole collection! Wow! I am still amazed at just that one prize! Go check out her patterns if you never have! They are all so cute and so unique!

  Now I will show you the other stuff I won:
$100 to Fabric.com!!  It took me a while to decide on just what to order. I would put things in my cart, and change my mind over and over! I had $100 to spend, and I used $99.75! Can't get much closer than that!
 

Lots of fabric, and a few other things I needed to sew with! Oh gosh, my tongue was hanging out of my mouth opening this box!

  Another great prize came from Little Lizard King, and I was able to choose 2 patterns of my choice. Please go and visit her page to see all of her neat stuff! 

 Next is what I ordered from Girl Charlee Fabrics with my $25 gift certificate. I was so glad to be introduced to this shop. Knits and more knits at very reasonable prices! 
 I saw the multi-color leopard print, and I knew my Shelby would love it! Plus the ruffled knit, and a solid black knit for fall!

   I also won $25 to Pink Chalk Fabrics. I love to look at all of their pretty selections, and it took me a while to decide what to order here also. This beautiful gray fabric is Moda Big Dots Steel and Moda Bella Solids Steel. I just love how the fabric feels.

 I won another $25 gift certificate to Skye Reve Fabrics. I've admired their store for a long time, and I've also ordered from them before. They have great fabric and great service. I chose this wonderful navy/blue chevron with the dots to match. I think this will be a cute fall outfit for my Shelby!

 Last, but not least, is what I got from Shabby Fabrics with another $25 gift certificate! Oh yes, I was one happy girl, uh, woman! This is part of the Hello Sunshine collection from Riley Blake. I just love it!

  I feel so blessed! I don't enter every giveaway that I see. I only enter those that I know I would be able to use the prizes, and if you know me at all, you know I will use every single prize I have posted here! 

  Thank YOU to all of the sponsors! Without such generous sponsors, we wouldn't be able to enter any of these great giveaways.

  I want to also state that I was able to get these great selections because I paid some of the shipping on a few of these - but, believe me! It was worth it! There will be more post coming as I'm able to sew with these wonderful fabrics! 

Summer Projects....

  I've been really busy trying to get ahead, but you all know that doesn't happen.
 My bad shoulder gave me fits last week, and I had to take some time off from my sewing. I'm just doing a few things as I feel like it, but I wanted to post some of my projects. I won't go into long explanations. The first set is for Shelby's birthday. She will be 6 this Thursday! 

All I did on the pink set is the monogram. The outfit was bought at Chez Ami.

  I made the daisy print shorts to go with this bright orange shirt.  Flower design is from Planet Applique.

 I had to do a couple of shirts for my little guys. 

 I do have some other things I've not posted, but I will do another post for those. I love sewing for Shelby and making things for the little grands. 
 Come back to visit!