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!