Happy Halloween! I mean Easter wait who forgot about the Irish?

So I've had this pattern around for awhile and just in time for Easter I want to tell you about my Halloween Treat Bag Pattern! 

Ha, I know I must enjoy confusing the life out of my poor family and house. Nobody ever knows what holiday it really is here :)

 These are a tiny little pattern for an adorable Halloween trick-or-treat bag. I made some about 3 years ago for my own kids thinking there had to be something cuter (and with a larger capacity) than the classic pumpkins :) I made them with fabric lying around in green, and purple, or yellow, orange black, etc. You pick any of those Halloween colors and put it on a little kid in a cute costume and you can't go wrong! So they turned out adorable but I did learn a few things in the process :) So I thought I'd write it up and share! Now your kids can have even more fun trick-or-treating and the pictures will be fabulous!

Pretty little thing...

So this is my new pattern :) It was created around the fall last year and has been selling well locally but I wanted all of you to know it's now available online through my etsy shop which is slowly filling up :) and through the MSQC! I love them!

Filtering out the "White Noise"

These blocks are finally finished and sewn into lovely long strips
with my fun little applique shapes
(still don't know the name :D )
making there way all across those white strips!
I'm calling it White Noise and I'm thrilled to finally be filtering this out of my to-do box!

Working on a video tutorial for it too! Fun!

Still Designing! Still happy!

I've been thoroughly busy and thoroughly enjoying this holiday season! I am also thoroughly glad it's over! My husband kissed me at midnight on New Year's Eve and I swear at that moment a weight was lifted off my shoulders!
I could look around and think clearly. I have no deadlines pushing in on the year yet. I'm learning to be a mom to my boy (this is a total adjustment, and I'm still figuring it out... it'll probably be that way forever :) ) and I felt the need to do things I enjoy again! It was so wonderful the New Year seemed to have washed away all the stress that had been hanging around for the last 6 months or so!
Seriously starting mid September through, well, January (and even March if you include my birthday, but we don't really want to do that!) is birthday/ Holiday season at our house. Don't ask me why I planned it that way. I didn't. But every 2-3 weeks starting in September someone is havin' a party whether it's a birthday or a Holiday! It's fun but totally crazy!

Anyway here's some sewing sneak peeks of what's been happening during the last little while!
Sunshine thoughts in this project :)
Lots of embroidery love here!
And this is a snippet of a pillow that inspired a new pattern idea!
(Now we have to see if I can get it written down. The problem is definitely not a lack of ideas!)
Anyway there will be more to come! There have been presents made and crafts that are super fun to play with!
But for now, here's one of my little sweeties,
wishing us all a Happy New Year!
I hope it's filled with friends and fun and sewing and peace (and quiet :) ) and all your grand plans fall into place for a magnificent 2011!

Back in the swing of things, from Far Far Away

So glad school is started and... not.
It's been crazy busy the last 2+ weeks since the start of school and just before it :) But I'm forcing myself back into my sewing (should that require forcing? I think not!) with a baby shower gift! I've been dying to use this Heather Ross Far Far Away fabric that I got at quilt market last fall! And since my wonderful friend had a beautiful baby girl I was reveling in the perfect moment and put this together yesterday!

I love the fairy tale images Heather created! I really want to get some Far Far Away 2 I have a friend with some in home dec weight... aah! It's so pretty :D
It's a changing pad so of course I had to give it something soft and fluffy for the backing!

I've got a boy one I'm finishing up for my etsy shop and then I'll have to see about finding some more minky and chenille backing fabric!
*thinking in your best fairytale accent*
Alas, a girl's work is never done!
Fair thee well my good friends. I wish thee much joy and sewing! Or joy in sewing :) which ever comes first!

What do you call this shape?

I don't even know.

But I like it and I cut almost a hundred of them which puts me with a little over one hundred done. I need 240 I think. I cut until I ran out of steam a seam, so, I'll be heading to the quilt shop soon I think!
I can't wait to start putting blocks together!

Here's the link to my last post about my lovely Arcadia blocks and the fun pattern they will soon be :D

Happy quilting!

Little Red and Nicey Jane are on there way to Market

Ha if only.

That started as a childrens rhyme joke and then I capitalized Market and my brain went straight to Minnesota. I'm not even going to explain what the joke would have been it's just depressing now. At this point I may or may not be going to market, though it seems to be leaning towards not.
Sad huh.

On a happier note, let me show you my cute swap things.I made these for my wonderful swap friend. She's amazing and she was looking for some fun things for her home I chose a sewing machine cover and then threw together this Nicey Jane pillow. It wasn't one of her color combo choices but she had the color's in her inspiration pics and everyone loves Nicey Jane right?

Here's a close up of Little Red herself. I love it it's a drawing done by my very good friend Catania I think she could sell some of her artwork as embroidery patterns. She's great, so is Red.
I also love her gnome friends :) Tiny gnomes make life happier I think.

This is part of the swap gift I received. It's awesome!!! I don't know how I managed to get some one with just the right stash or maybe just the right fabric taste for me! But I now have several projects I want to do that involves finding some of the fabrics she used :) It's way to super cute! And the pillow she gave me was amazing (go check out all my pics on flickr then check out her's :) ) The front is adorable & the backs blue is perfect for my living room! She used a daisy chain fabric and a solid gray to pair it with on the back and I don't know how I got so lucky but it's really one of my favorites!

Last, I was asked about the mailbox I said I was building...
Well it killed my wrist, almost. I can still sew :) but here it is in all it's not perfectness what can I say but I'm sure glad I can still sew. I'm a lot better at that.If I could not sew we would be having some big issues. As it is, it only makes it hard to do push-ups which I'm not really sure I'm upset about :)

Smoke and mirrors

May I just say. Things are far busier than they appear :D
Yes it's all tricks I play. Smoke and mirrors to make you think I'm slacking off but no. :D

Hehe, in any case I have lots going on, sewing and not!

I have a tutorial I'm getting ready to put up, my very first pattern (not the giraffe) is ready to go and for sale in a couple places (makes me smile:) )
I also have another pattern getting ready to be finished this month (possibly the giraffe... cross your fingers) if I can get my scanner to work right, ugh.
And I finished my swap projects! Yay!
Here's a backwards peak at my Urban Home Goods swap stuff that I'm sending... a few days late. But I'm pretty sure she'll still want them :D I'll post more pics tomorrow after I have some sunshine and I mail them!
And I can start attacking even more projects... do you ever dream of getting your sewing table completely clear of projects? Not just so it feels clean but so you can start fresh again! I love a clear table and right now mine is anything but that.

Happy dreams.

Simplified... in reverse!

I had to laugh the other day when I saw Camille's post Gray because at that very moment I had several cans of green and gray paint sitting in my kitchen to help me take a break from my sewing! And help me it did!
I painted the main portion of the walls this fantastic green and have a planned gray wall at the end of the kitchen, of course, I changed my mind on the color of gray after the first stripe! Oops! You can see some of my gray thoughts in the pic at the top *blush*
My favorite thing about the kitchen redo are these fantastic red pendant shades. That and the simplification that comes when you clear out a room and then have to decide what's going back in :)
Look I even found a place for my new hostess apron to hang and smile at me!So, even though I'm reverse of Camille I still love the combo of the gray and green colors! We can definitely say Camille Roskelley is inspiring on so many levels! And hey, check out the little birdie that will hopefully be living on my lovely green wall very soon. It's part of the fun color strips I showed you from my mini quilt retreat! It's been growing in design since we got home and I took a break from painting :)

Munki on your hips

I finally pulled this Munki apron from my brain to the fabric thanks to my one man sewing retreat! Heather Ross is pretty amazing and I love this pink icecream truck fabric! When I got the fabric it looked like this... as so much Munki Munki fabric does :)
I was trying to come up with a way to use it that would really highlight the fabric and so I could use and love it!

To make it I folded the shirt panel to where the neck line started to curve and squared the panel side. I saved the hemmed edge and unstitched it to get as much length and use of the fabric as possible.Then used my ruler to square off the arm curve on the top as high as I could.at that point I created a ruffle that goes the length of the apron base and added a row of contrasting fabric at the top and a sash twice the width of the fabric.
I added the buttons along the button holes that were already there due to the fact that it was a shirt panel, I love the way it came out, they looked so cute!
Good luck with your Munki Munki!
Do something that makes you love it even more than you already do!