pillowcases & pancakes

I am really trying to get the sewing room cleaned out for 2014. It’s become so cluttered I can hardly think in there! I’m trying to just get rid of most of what’s in there that I don’t use directly for Impie, Hattie & Bea, the webshop, and maybe one or two other projects – the rest HAS TO GO! I need to attack it when I’m feeling ruthless, that doesn’t happen very often!

I did run up a batch of pillow cases with some larger fabric pieces I had stashed and from some miscellaneous bolts I have on hand. I used about a yard for a standard pillow, a half yard more for a king sized. I love the mis-matched look of these and they feel nicer (and are finished nicer) than the mid-priced sheet set pillowcases I usually use. I have a few more fabric pieces to do up, I might blog a tutorial if anyone has an interest. I need to stop looking at these pictures, it might bring on a nap and then I’ll lose momentum!

And, just perfect after a night’s sleep on pretty pillows, blueberry pancakes – yum!

Yzma says hello.

:0)

A new look – Love Letters Pocket

Love Letters Pocket from Impie, Hattie & Bea, stitched design – Love Letters from Midnight Stitching

Thank you again for making this a popular item! I’ve sewn through the bolts of fabric for the original version and I hope you will like the new version. It isn’t always possible to find replacement fabrics that are really close matches to what was used previously and I always feel a bit nervous when making the decision but once I had this one made up I felt good about the change.
These are at the webshop and are shipping to Hoffmans. I also have a few pair of Julia scissors from Gingher available there.

Autumn is full of the most beautiful colors. I’m enjoying them mostly from my windows at home as I’ve got my usual Autumn bronchitis going on. There’s lots to do and I’m getting there but some days are a little harder than others.

:0)

Don’t forget about the Colorado Flood Relief Fundraiser going on at the webshop!

something useful

Since I’m spending the day in front of my computer following flood updates and not accomplishing anything else, I thought I would blog.

Sorry for the boring photos and so many of them, humor me. I was pinspired to make some reusable produce bags. Can you see Miss Nosy Knickers having a sniff and again after I scolded her? I used tulle, sewed a double seam, and added a bit of stretchy cord along the top to help keep things inside. A half yard of tulle will make 4 medium sized bags. I think my total cost was about 85 cents. If only I had remembered to use my Hobby Lobby coupon!!

As I mentioned, we are in the midst of a flood event here. My first ever. Our neighborhood is on a little hill for which I am very thankful. Roads in every direction around us are closed and flooded at this point. I did venture out for cat food when it looked like we were well on our way to this very situation. The evacuation traffic was horrible but it’s one thing to be stranded for a few days, but to be stranded with three hungry cats…..

Our particular bit of the flooding has it’s own hashtag on social media if you are interested it’s #stvrainflood and another #longmontflood .

There is a rumor they are about to turn off the water. I’ve filled all my large cooking pots and pitchers and the bathtubs. I think I should go bake something while I can.

:0)

PS – I think I should begin a list entitled : Extraordinary Things that Happen When My Husband is out of Town

PPS – It’s still raining.

a few random things

I’m up to my eyeballs in orders to be sewn and shipped so here are just a few random things. I did take a short break from all the the sewing I have to do to….sew something. Actually I was trying to get the tension sorted on my machine and decided to zip these charm pack squares together for another little back yard quilt. Hanging it in the window gives it a pretty stained glass look I think. It’s not going to stay there but I enjoyed seeing it like that. Eventually I’ll get it truly made into a quilt but probably not this week.

Other things, my girls bird watching. Goodies Tyler has rounded up for his new apartment. Some mini quiches I made with leftover pie crust dough from the last quiche I made (crust recipe on my food page if you’re looking for a good one), and some grocery store treats. I can’t remember the last time I found perfectly ripe pears. Ethan hopes to keep this beautiful back yard bloom (where it had no right to be to begin with) around as long as he can. It’s still looking pretty good after 5 days on my windowsill.

Happy Monday!

:0)

for that girl

I recently made a few things for my daughter.

I knitted her a scarf, this became hers by default. I bought some yarn online and was unhappy with the color, green is a tricky color I think. I dyed that yarn and really liked the color but it just wasn’t ‘me’ so I knitted it up for Amber. I used this yarn (dyed in RIT Royal Blue) and this pattern. I will probably use this same yarn, in a different color, to knit this again for myself, I really liked the pattern.

I also made both of us a padded camera strap. I used this pattern as a guideline but sort of did my own thing, that’s my new camera! Amber’s strap is the tourquise batik, although I gave it to her while we were out shopping the other day, it’s still riding around in my car….maybe she doesn’t like it?

I gifted her a jar of raspberry peach jam I made also, I did NOT give her some of the quiche I made the other night. Kellen wants to know when I can make more.

:0)

PS – I don’t really have a quiche recipe, this one has bacon, mushroom, chives, and 2 cheeses (with 7 eggs and about 1.5 cups of half n half). The crust recipe is on my ‘food’ page.

morning coffee

This post really isn’t about morning coffee other than it is so nice and warm here that I had mine on the back porch today while I admired my pumpkin and the neighbor’s Aspen tree. It was a strange weekend, Jerry got home very late Saturday night from Wyoming and was headed out again early Monday morning for another week. We squeezed a lot into Sunday and then Monday felt all wrong. Ethan made the most of that and wore me to a frazzle!

Today things seem back on track. I have a whole lot of sewing on my to do list and I’ve taken over the dining room table. You can see some of my new kitchen towels. After nearly 28 years married you need some new towels sometimes. I bought a roll of this pretty Buffalo Check, I think I can make 21 towels from the roll, so far I’ve only made 5. It arrived on a lovely Autumn day but as you can see in this last photo, I finished them up on a day that looked much more like Winter – last Friday.

Praying for everyone in the path of the horrible storm out East, be safe!

:0)

PS – thank you so much for all the lovely comments about my Family Sampler!!

this, that, and a giveaway

(from the back door, I didn’t see the bunny til now)

(from my sewing room)

(my living room)

It’s been pretty busy here. Lots to do in the sewing room and not much time for other things. As you can see it’s starting to look like Fall in my neighborhood, I am enjoying the views so are Jane and Yzma!

I’ve been itching to start a big something. I should probably pull out an old big something and get it finished but I decided to make a start on this Quaker from With My Needle. I actually stitched the ‘A’ of this sampler on 4 pieces of fabric in 4 different threads before I settled on this combination. I really liked the way the printed pattern looked, just the dark ink on the paper, I wanted that look (I can’t show you a picture of the pattern obviously) but this gives that feel to me. I’m stitching this on 40 lambswool linen over 2 with 1 strand of DMC 844. I almost went more blue but it’s time to settle in and stitch this – no more fiddling.

On the knitting needles I’ve got started on a hat for myself. I’ve wanted to give color work a try, I do feel sort of like I’m cheating on this. It’s super easy using two skeins of the same yarn just starting in different spots color-wise. Super easy if I count right. I’m using this yarn (Rainbow Trout) and this pattern – fun!

I’ve been entering drawings all over blog town, to no avail, so I thought I’d just have one of my own. This is my 1,200th post so it’s time for a giveaway! I wanted to say thank you for visiting me here. I haven’t had time to make anything new but if you would like to enter your name for one of these two items (I’m going to pick two names one will win the Needle Roll and the other the Acorn) please leave a comment here and I will draw the winners on Friday night. I really am thankful for everyone who takes time to stop by for a visit!

Hope your week has been full of happy things! Back to the sewing room!

:0)

more scenes from the sewing room

I’ve been pretty busy with fabric and buttons, lots and lots of buttons. I used 90 buttons today. Tracking down buttons has become a family past-time, we are all on a button quest. I love using this little divided dish I picked up at the dollar bin in Target to sort my buttons, it’s cute, it’s festive, it’s handy.

I’ve been getting another shipment of Impie, Hattie & Bea things off to Hoffmans. You can see the fabric for the second edition of the Pumpkin 4 Sale workbooks here. I’ve had another bale of batting delivered, here it sits in my living room, I’ll haul it up to the sewing room when I finish posting here, I’ve used one like this up since August 21st!

I do love this little dish!

:0)

PS – a few orders have been delayed due to a wait for ‘Bean Sprout’ threads. I do believe they are back in stock!

the Great Granny along

Even though this will create a huge mess (it’s already started) in my sewing room which I’m still in the process of organizing…I couldn’t resist getting involved in the Great Granny along. I’ve had this roll of yummy colors for a long while now, it was exciting to pull off that ribbon and start something.

After sewing up my first square I had to change my plan. I was using the darkest fabric for the center square as well and it just didn’t work. I carefully pulled out the center of my finished block and stuck in a print. I think this is my new plan. You can see the fabric I’ve rounded up for the others (9 in all) I’m not in love with the orange dot and still looking for something in my stash I like better.

Now on to the snack…cream cheese, imitation crab meat, salsa, warm in microwave, stir….trust me! (you made need to break up the meat a bit depending on the style you buy)

:0)

PS – A VERY BIG thank you for all the lovely comments about the Reading with Jane pillow!

a pillow…

…and something yummy to go with it.

This is a free design called Reading with Jane by Tanya over at The Sampler Girl. I stitched this on 26ct white linen from Wichelt which is not white at all as you can see. I used 2 strands of the following threads, Crescent Colours House Wine, Bean Sprout, GAST Peacock, Apple Cider, and DMC 927. This is a pretty big pillow, much larger than I usually make. I did change the order of the titles to reflect my favorites.

I’m also working on a knitted scarf. This pattern is called Foreign Correspondent’s Scarf, I found it over at Ravelry. I’m using Knit Picks Palette Yarn in the color Turmeric on US 5 needles.

:0)

Hello from Ophelia!