Skip to main content

Posts

Stitches in Thailand & Vietnam

I spent the last two weeks vacationing in Thailand and Vietnam.  They are both incredibly beautiful places and I loved seeing a different part of the world.  The landscapes were full of lush greenery, rice patties, and an occasional wild elephant was spotted.  My favorite part was "trekking" with the elephants along a jungle path to a water hole where we were able to bath and scrub two giant elephants.  I also got to feed them and their little baby.  Truly a highlight of my life.   Another highlight for me is getting to see the talents and skills done in needlework and sewing from other cultures. I'm usually the only one taking pictures of these kinds of things.  I love seeing the fabric they use and the cultural influence in their creations.  I learned about a village of women who created these items after learning to sew.  With the skills they now have, they are able to stay at home with their children and with their income they are able to provide the means for the
Recent posts

modern bright baby boy quilt

Two of these were created for two sweet new baby boys.  A nephew and a neighbor. Bright modern fabrics were perfect and the soft light grey minky on the back was the perfect touch!

flat iron cases

Sold 50 of these on jane.com last week. Created and designed by me after always struggling to have a way to pack my hot flat iron when I'm traveling. Interior heat-resistant fabric is used to ensure safety for traveling.  Can't decide which one is my favorite and I love the black and white ribbon.   Deal will be selling on jane.com starting this Friday, October 11 for three days or until product runs out. 

halloween quilt

   Found this Halloween fabric a few years ago and after finalizing a pattern, I started this quilt last fall.  After getting it quilted, it sat in storage for 9 months before I finally bound it with that cute black and white stripe fabric.  Love that we get to snuggle with it with that soft minky.  Happy Halloween!

half square triangles quilt

Every year around Thanksgiving I start making lists of what to give everyone I love for Christmas.    And every year a handful of quilts somehow make the list.    I don’t know why I do this to myself, because it ends up being the busiest couple of months for me.    This one was made for my oldest son who is 14 years old.    He’s almost as tall as this quilt so I might have to make him another one next year.   108 half square triangles  Pieced with solids in: white, black, grey, dark grey, navy, aqua blue, turquoise, orange, red & yellow. Quilted with 1" horizontal lines and extra soft minky on back. Quilted by @leishafarnsworth Backing fabric  here  @fabric.com.  HOW TO: I bought ½ yard of the fabrics I used the least and 1 yard of fabric for the ones I used a lot of and cut 10” squares.      After placing two coordinating colors on top of each other with right sides together, I drew a line with a fine pencil from one corner to the other

modern pearl snap wallets for gift cards/coupons/receipts/iphones

A little wallet that has been stewing in my head for a long time and I finally made it.  Just in time for Christmas to be featured on Jane.com starting Friday, November 20th for three days. Coral polka dot, black plus signs, Navy arrows, Triangles on white, Aztec multi colors, & Aqua mustangs.

Christ Centered Christmas Advent

Counting down the days until Christmas by reviewing the life of Jesus Christ and learning His stories.  Found this amazing idea here  from Housewife Electric and wanted to adapt it to my family (not having a mess each day to clean up).  I can't wait to get them on their miniature tree. Each day includes: an ornament a scripture a gospel picture 1. New Star Luke 2:1-7, GAK #30 2. Shepherds Crook Luke 2:8-18 #31 3. Three Wise Men Matt 2:1-12 online 4. Jesus teaching at temple Luke 2:40-52 #34 5. Baptism Mat 3:13-17 #35 6. Fishers of Men Luke 5:1-11 or Luke 6:12-16 #37, 38 7. Sermon on the Mount Matt 5:1-16 #39 8. Calming the Storm Mat 8:23-27 #40 9. Feeding the 5000 Matt 14:14-21 online 10. Walking on water Matt 14:22-23 #43 11. Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37 #44 12. Ten Lepers Luke 17:11-19 #46 13. The Lost Sheep Luke 15:3-10 #64 14. Ten Virgins Matt 25:1-13 #53 online 15. Women at the Well John 4:5-30 #36 16. Widow's Mi

all the stockings were hung

I FINISHED!!! I'm so excited how they turned out. Yes, they are copycat from Garnet Hil [see below], but when they charge $50 per stocking you can't blame me right? I love sewing with felt. Every time I do it I have so much fun. It's like painting a picture with my bernina.

little boy toy tote

I've been dreaming of these for month s [emphasize the "s" in month]. My two boys are constantly trying to pack around a bazillion toys at one time and I find them scattered throughout my house as they fall from their full hands. Little boy toy totes: -one large pocket in back, -two pockets on front (one small, one big), -jean pocket attached on front, -side hook on left side for hanging swords or the like, -interfaced with super duty duckcloth for durability, (I knew that they would be stuffed with cars, power rangers, trains, books, dinosaurs, tools, more cars, so it HAD to be strong) - tie closures around waist, - fits my 5 & 3-yr-old perfectly. The pattern will be up for sale in my etsy shop sometime next week. V&Co. started a 'link post' for anyone to show what they have been up to. See here . Little boy toy totes are #13. LOTS of fun projects from so many people. Thanks V&Co for letting us 'toot our own horns' every once in awhil

wilton course I

My friend Mary & I just completed Wilton Decorating Cake Class Course I. I've learned that cake decorating .... is NOT easy, it takes a LOT of time, is VERY messy, uses LOTS of fats (shortening, butter, cake), and is VERY fun. I'm laughing out loud as I look at these pictures becuase they are so lame. Don't expect anything amazing from me in the 'cake' department, but if you do want to see some amazing cakes...check out my friend's cake blog here .

grandpa superman

Last week, I received a frightening text from my Mom telling me that she had my Dad at the ER with chest pain. Go here to read the full details. After a LONG day of tests and one ride in a helicopter, my Dad was scheduled for triple bypass surgery. THANKFULLY the surgery was a success after millions of prayers! It was hard to be away from family during this stressful time and I wanted to help in anyway, but knew there wasn't anything I could do hundreds of miles away. So...this is what I came up with. Lame...I know. He is having open-heart surgery and I make him a shirt? [sigh] I felt helpless. (superman logo found here , and t-shirt how-to found here ) Dad....I think you're Superman and I'm so grateful you're alive & well. P.S. All this stress led me to do the one thing I do to keep busy....SEW! Oh man, wait til you see what I accomplished last week to keep me from worrying too much.

march challenge

Green challenge : old into new baby girl skirt Fabric: blue (the next shirt is GREEN ) stripe maternity shirt Pattern: baby girl's waist Other finished GREEN projects: Seasonal Souvenier's challenge project Denise Dreaming of Stitches Danica I was cleaning out my closet by filling a bag of unused, old, ugly, outdated clothes to take to goodwill and decided I would try to re-use/recycle some goods. I have a stack of shirts to turn into skirts & dresses for my little girl and can't wait to see how they turn out. Nothing too fancy or too fun for this month's challenge, but I learned something new, created something great, and am finding other ways to go GREEN . More GREEN projects coming for this month. This.... into this. Here are a few other projects finished for my " march challenge: green ." This... into this... This...used to be a long-sleeved button-up shirt of mine that I NEVER wore...turned into this... see amazing shirt dress tutorial here .

my penpal

Remember this.... I got that ' love note ' I was hoping for. When I showed him the ' love note envelopes ' he asked me 'why he needs a purse?' I explained that of course, I had to make one for each person in the family and he didn't have to use it if he didn't want to. Guess he really does love me that much.

Quilt for Dane

I made this quilt months ago for my sweet nephew Dane who lived only a short moment with his little family. I copied the pattern from my amazing sis-in-law Abby (check out her blog...I'm being modest when I say 'amazing') who made me one just like it in Amy Butler fabric.