simply sweet giveaway ~ pamkittygarden!

Ok.  Who could think of a million things to make with this FQ bundle of PamKittyGarden from Simply Sweet Fabric?

Uh, ME!  LOL!

If you've got at least one idea and would like a chance to win this five-pack, please leave me a comment (not an email) sharing what you'd do with this fabric. 

This giveaway ends on Friday, January 30th and is open to all. :)

(Man do I ever love blogging!)

three for three ...

It's pink, it's little, and it's made from Liberty (and Liberty-esque) prints.

It's actually a small-scale version of my round pencil case pattern.  I got it into my head that I wanted to try making the case as small as I could.  I don't think I'd try smaller.  You know ... just because.  It finishes at a diminutive 5" x 1.5". 

Yep.  I really do like little. :)

from fabric to stitches

I see quilt and embroidery patterns everywhere.  I know lots of you see them too.  I had a lot of fun stitching up a little design I found in the Alice in Wonderland fabric a few weeks ago for my daughter's water bottle sleeve. 

So I did it again.

I made this hexagon flower by mistake (it turned out too large for something else) but I simply couldn't let it go to waste.  So I decided to make a pincushion.  They're fast and easy to whip up once (once all the hand work is done, that is).  This one finishes at a dainty 3.5" x 1".

Atusko Matsuyama has these cute little leafy/flowery/petaly things in the aqua fabric I used .  I knew they'd be easy to replicate with a few lazy daisy stitches and simple knots.  It only took me an hour or so to freestyle stitch the band to form the sides of the cushion.

I admit I didn't really like this cushion when I finished it last nite.  I dunno.  It didn't look like I imagined.  I think I was just tired because this morning when I popped it on top of that aqua cupcake stand (bought on impulse at Homesense in Canada - hoping I'd find a use for it on my blog some day!) I liked it a lot. :) 

drink me!

I've wanted to make a bottle sleeve for a long time.  Funny.  I had no idea it would look like this!

My daughers are at an age now (11 and 13) where if I want them to like what I make for them, I need their input.  This is for my 11-year-old who offers certain challenges when it comes to collaborating.  The girl has a somewhat small reserve of patience so I can only hold her attention for a limited time.  Throughout this project, I didn't always know if she was agreeing with my suggestions because she actually agreed with me or because she just wanted to be done with this already.  No matter, we both love how it turned out.

I have to tell you, before we'd even picked fabric I had it in my head that it'd be fun to have a "Drink Me" tag on the sleeve.  This is for her water bottle that sits on her desk at school.  I may have gotten a little overly excited when she spied this Alice in Wonderland print in amongst my horrible mess of fabric.  Seriously.  The girl got hugged and kissed and high-fived a LOT. 

I did the embroidery on the sofa while us girls watched Mulan.  I had to stop stitching a few times to fulfil cuddle requests.  There are definitely worse things in life than having to choose between stitching and warm hugs.  I got the idea for the embroidery from a little detail in the fabric.  I've never been a fan of the backstitch, but this filigree detail is so small (1/2" tall) I had to use that stitch with a single ply. 

The bow?  Guess who wanted to add that ... ;)   I have a sneaking suspicion she agreed for my sake.

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Hope your New Year is off to a good start.  Mine sure is!  I've been sewing up a storm here ... I even wore the plating off of a hand sewing needle today.  I can't remember the last time that happened.  Sure felt ... right. ;)