Spools of Thread Make Wonderful Toys

Just a short update.  I'm still busy trying to finish the family t-shirts needed for Amanda's body building competition on Saturday.

I'm happy to say I just finished the 8th out of 9 t-shirts needed.  All I have to make now is my own.

We tried something new.  I brought Ava Jean into my current sewing space and she played happily for over an hour with my spools of embroidery thread.  She is at that stage where she will move things one by one and place them in rows, etc.  

Hopefully I'll complete my t-shirt tomorrow then I can rest easy.

Take care everyone!  Enjoy the little things with your family...like spools of colorful thread. :) :)

My Daughter the Body Builder and Weight Lifter

One of my daughters, Amanda, has been lifting weights off and on for the past couple of years but decided a year ago that she wanted to get serious about it to the point of getting her body ready for competition.

She will be competing in Woman's Physique on March 24th in Syracuse, NY.  I'm in awe of her dedication and hard work.  I could never do what she has done over the past year.  Needless to say we are all proud of her and plan to go to the competition to support her and this dream.

She will be totally shocked when the ENTIRE immediate family walks in wearing matching t-shirts.  The t-shirts were her twin sisters idea and I used my embroidery software and designed them.  Her sisters, nieces and nephews all call her Manda.  I just finished the second of nine t-shirts.

It's hard to tell in the pictures, but the words are embroidered using a gold metallic thread (very much a pain to use by the way).  She originally planned to wear a black bathing suit during the competition so I ordered us all black t-shirts.  Then at the last minute she decided to wear a gold suit.  Although I've not seen it yet, I understand the competition swim suits have a lot of bling using rhinestones and crystals, etc. 

During her training, she was allowed "cheat meals" occasionally.  She would always go to IHOP for their red velvet pancakes and other specialty pancakes.  She and her gym friends came up with a phrase "Pressing Plates for Pancakes".  I couldn't resist but surprise her with a fleece zip-up hoodie designed especially for her.

She LOVED IT!

Hope you all are staying happy and warm (snowed here again today).  Until next time!

Snow, Busy Days and Squeezing In Time At The Machine

Woke up this morning to find 5 inches of snow on the ground!  My first tendency on mornings like this is to pull the quilts up higher and sleep a little while longer.  Couldn't do that today.  7 year old Liam came home from school early yesterday with a stomach bug...a really yukky one at that!  Fearing that the crude germs would infect little Ava, a last minute decision was made for me to go babysit at her house instead of her coming here.

We had a ton of fun together.  I was brought home this afternoon just in time to start cooking dinner, a quick pot of chili for me and Ray and hamburgers for the rest of the gang that refuse to eat chili.  Food put away and kitchen cleaned by 7:30pm...then it was time to grab some "me" time.

Tonight I was able to make two in-the-hoop Easter bunnies with pockets to hold miniature candy bars.

With candy....

Just like the flower coasters shared in yesterday's blog, would you believe that this bunny is another FREE design from Kreativekiwi.  In order to see them and download the design, you must create an account.  Once you are logged in you can find TONS of  "members freebies".

A few weeks ago I made this sweet little baby doll for my Ava Jean.  It's another in-the-hoop project offered by Sweetpea called Modern Doll.

It warmed my heart to see how much this little girl loved her new doll baby.

Now I'm tired and must go to bed. :) :)  Tomorrow is a brand new day!!!!

I'm Back!

All I can say is life has me coming and going like a chicken with it's head chopped off!  Having our oldest daughter and three grandchildren living with us has COMPLETELY CHANGED EVERYTHING!  :) :)

Watching my youngest grandchild during the days means no longer am I able to spend my time sewing or quilting non-stop.  My days are no longer my own.  I'm not complaining, simply stating a fact.  Early in the new year I was suffering severe withdrawal from sewing and knew I had to come up with SOMETHING to keep me from going completely insane.  After our youngest daughter headed back to college in January, I begged my dear hubby to bring my embroidery machine upstairs and help me set up a little space in her bedroom.  It's just too cold to be sewing or quilting in my "new" downstairs quilting space at this time of year.

My brilliant idea is to embroidery in the evenings once dinner dishes are cleared away.  If springtime ever arrives with warmer temperatures I can switch it up and catch up on quilting downstairs.

Machine embroidery projects are quick and fun and it satisfies the need to "get away and use a sewing machine".  So let me start sharing the projects I've completed.

The Celtic mats/coasters below were made from felt.  I found this embroidery design at Embroidery Library.

The St. Patrick's round potholder is an Anitagoodesign

I used felt again to make these cute little Easter bottle aprons.  This "in-the-hoop" project can be found at Embroidery Library.

 I used a piece of fabric to back each apron so that once Easter has passed, if the recipients of my little projects choose to do so, they can flip it over and use it throughout the year.

Believe it or not, the embroidery design for these adorable flower coasters can be downloaded FREE at kreativekiwi.  In order to see them and download the design, you must create an account. Once you are logged in you can find MANY adorable free designs under "members freebies".

The daisy runner below is another "in-the-hoop" project.  I made a mug rug out of one unit.  The daisy design can be found at Sweetpea.

The two coordinating scalloped rectangle mats are another "in-the-hoop" project.  They can be found at kreativekiwi.

I used the scalloped rectangle design to make my mom three of these purple mats (using the 8"x10" size) for her end tables.

I made these adorable dog coasters for one of my veterinarians using kreativekiwi's "blank coasters" and used her dog designs in the middle of each coaster.

My last share for this post is the adorable kitty chapstick holder (it's also the perfect size for a usb stick").  This quick project can be found at Embroidery Garden.

I guess that's enough for this post.  It feels good to blog again and say HELLO to all of you!