Tramping, stitching, and going home again

While we were trailer camping ("tramping") over the Memorial Day weekend, I spent one lazy afternoon in the shade, working on this linen pillow cover. The pattern caught my eye last month as I prepared a stitching project to take to an out-of-state conference for work. It reads "East or West, home is best."














The free vintage pattern is available on Flickr from Doe-C-Doe.

A quilt for Robbie

I'm sending this little quilt off today for a friend's baby boy. Have I mentioned that I'm in love with my walking foot? The tutorial for the Crazy Nine Patch blocks is from Oh, Fransson!


























Have a happy holiday weekend!

Onesie Winner and Silly Berries

Our May Giveaway Day winner is Stella from The Golden Adventures of A Very Dark Horse. I'm delighted to make a custom onesie for her adorable baby Eleanor. Congratulations, Stella! Thanks again to everyone who dropped by and left such sweet comments--and a heartfelt welcome to those who are now following the blog!

The strawberry patch at a nearby farm was loaded with beautiful berries this weekend. While Olivia and I picked two flats' worth, she got such a kick out of finding some "silly" ones and insisted that we take a picture when we got them home.














I froze most of the berries for green smoothies, but it wouldn't be berry season without a pound cake.

Monogramming everything in sight

The Great May Giveaway ends today! If you're here from Sew, Mama, Sew! and you'd like to enter my drawing, please click down to the previous post and leave a comment there. It's been fabulous hearing from so many people and discovering all sorts of delightful new blogs to admire.

I posted quite a while ago about the coffee cozies I was working on. Typically, they ended up being set aside for a just bit (okay, it's been almost a year!)...but I finally finished two as gifts for some friends. I packaged each one with a Starbucks card and sent them off yesterday, along with a custom order for a baby named Eleanor.

Onesie Giveaway

Happy May Giveaway Day! I'm delighted to participate in another of Sew, Mama, Sew's fabulous events. The Butter & Sugar giveaway prize is a free customized onesie like these in my Etsy shop. One randomly selected winner will choose their own monogram initial, onesie size, and style (long or short sleeves).

To enter, just comment here between now and 9 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday, May 20. And you'll receive an extra entry by becoming a Follower. International entries are welcome. Thanks for visiting!

Towels for Mom

My mother requested more towels for Mothers Day. Here's what I gave her yesterday, hot off the sewing machine just before she arrived for our dinner out.














I'm spending my MD evening in a hotel on a business trip but received lots of pampering and love before leaving home this afternoon.

I hope all moms had a wonderful day!

Etsy shop and a bit of Honey

Seems like everyone's having babies lately! Onesies have been on my mind, and I've reopened the shop. Here's one I made yesteday for a baby with the lovely name "Sophia."






























And just for the fun of it, here's a photo of our new puppy, Honey Bee.

Thanks, Mother Nature!

We've been walloped with snow here in Virginia, leading to one cancellation after another. The happy result: more time to sew. I finished our kitchen curtains yesterday and did a commissioned onesie this morning.

Daniela's bulletin boards

After e-mailing me from Chile with a question about my bulletin board tutorial, Daniela sent me these pictures of her finished products. Fabulous!

What happened?

It appears I needed all of January to get my blogging act back together after the holidays and a trip to Disney World. I don't know how an entire month flew by just like that, but so it did.

Last night I finished a quilt for my nephew. I've also spent the past few weeks crocheting a couple hats; starting and then unravelling a pair of crocheted socks (I've yet to find the perfect pattern for that); and making crock after crock of homemade soup--one of my favorite comfort foods for the winter months.

Here's Milo's quilt. It's quite late (he'll be 2 in June) but hopefully he won't hold it against me.

Signs of the season

Bad Bird gift tags.














Cookie, soup, and brownie mixes; and some strawberry preserves.














I ordered a pile of these books to share. I love them so!














Dryer sachets, one of the projects in "Make Your Place."














And a bucket of gifts.

Crocheted kaleidoscope

These little potholders have been making me so happy. I bought this pattern last summer and have been carrying a bag of cotton yarn around with me ever since.















Also I've completed three more caps and will finally be shipping them all off to Bean tomorrow.

Neglectful

Yeesh, three weeks since my last post. No excuses for the blog neglect, but I can say I've been busy in the sewing room. Lots to show soon...

For now, here's a work in progress. This was my first time using a walking foot and I'm already in love with that little contraption.














And these little pouches are going to become dryer sachets.

Cleaning and Crocheting

This may not look like much to you, but believe me when I say it makes me want to dance a happy jig. My sewing room has been such an overwhelming mess that I had to close the door on it for the past few weeks. Finally I got to spend a couple hours of cleaning and organizing last night. Now I can't wait to get back in there and mess it up again!














Since there was no room to sew in the sewing room, I've been crocheting all over the rest of the house. Here's a wool scarf for my little brother, who’s turning 38 this week.

Fun with yarn

Bean is planning her second annual "Warm Heads, Happy Hearts" hat distribution, so I've been crocheting hats to send her way.

This one is the Basic Bucket Hat from Angel's Crochet.














And these are the Woman's Granny Hat from Suzie's Stuff.


























I'm pleased to say I learned a new stitch for the edging on those last two: the reverse single crochet, or crab stitch. Who knew crocheting backwards could be so much fun? Next up: a couple of Boy Beanies.

Diggy Dogs

Gina convinced me to add a "Dogs" label to my blog for what she calls "diggy dog" projects and photos, and she sent me this photo to share. I made the tiny punch-needle piece a few years ago and stuffed it with dried lavendar buds for a sachet. The pattern is "Dog with Red Flowers" from the Margo White Collection.













And while we're on the subject of diggy dogs, I can't resist posting another bandana model (especially since I'm crazy for pugs). This is sweet Julie, a longtime member of our county Democratic committee.

Our pets lean to the left

Every member of our family believes that healthcare should be a fundamental right for all citizens, not just a privilege for the few who can afford it. Our Savannah is modeling one of ten bandanas I sewed last night for a local fundraiser.


















And Violet, our "Democat," offers her endorsement as well.

Another BBW shirt

I used the Built By Wendy pattern to make another shirt, this one a birthday gift for a friend. The Liberty of London fabric is no longer available where I found it, but many other lovely options are. I tried French seams for the first time and found them to be much simpler than I'd expected.


















Given my sizing experience with this pattern, I went up two sizes for this gift, but alas the shoulders/underams were still a bit snug.

Waiting for Chilly Weather

I crocheted this raspberry beret and ruffle scarf last month, but Mavis is the only one willing to wear them in our 90-degree September weather. The beret is from Get Lucky Designs (the pattern is available here), and the scarf is a modified version of one in Funky Chunky Crocheted Accessories.


















Thanks, Gina, for the styling tip!

Sunflower Potholder

I started this on a camping trip and finished it in bed one night. Last week I sent it off to North Carolina, along with a tangerine Fiesta Ware baking dish, for my friend Eliz's birthday. The vintage pattern is from Denise Crochets.