Friday, June 7, 2013

time for a little break

Happy Friday!!
Hope that you have been having a wonderful week and have some lovely plans for the weekend! Thank you all so much for your sweet comments on my little makings! You always brighten up my day! 
 I am going to be taking a little break from blogging to focus on some projects for the shoppe and just recharge. I have kinda been in a lull lately, and it usual happens a couple times a year, so it is always good to just take a break. 
My shoppe will remain open and I will still be taking customs orders. And, since I always need to keep my hands busy, there will be lots of cuties to show you when I get back! Including that sweet kitty below! I am also working on some vintagey flag pillow covers using my patriotic flag tutorial from last year, that I will be putting in the shoppe just in time for 4th of July! 
So, I will see you at the end of the month with my new vintage kitchen embroidery line and other sweet goodies!! 
Wishing you all a beautiful weekend and month of June! I will be back soon, and will still be visiting you as much as I can to see what sweetness you are up to!! Blessings! 

Monday, June 3, 2013

some little makings

Happy Monday and June!
Hope that you had a wonderful weekend! It sure went by fast. And, can you believe summer is almost here! I am definitely going to enjoy these cool evenings while they last.  
Over the weekend I worked on some sweet little makings, including another barn block! 
 I decided to do the pretty maple leaf, which was fun to put together. 
 I have only two more to do, and then I will be making them all into a mini quilt! I just bought some red gingham for the sashing strips! I can't wait to see it finished and maybe I will be on my way to the country when it's done! 
Another hexie flower is finished, and I have one that is almost done. I've decided to only make 12 flowers, and then add white and light aqua hexies all around the flowers. Maybe one day I will be brave and patient enough to make bigger quilts. So, three more flowers to go! 
 And, a little sneak peak at what I have been playing around with for the vintage embroidery kitchen line for my shoppe. Simple and cute is what I am going for! I have some hand stitching to do around the inside border, and then the final touches will be made for the pot holder.
I am still working out some more small details and kinks, such as the red floss making the area around the bow reddish and I am not really sure what to do. Any suggestions? So, luckily this one is prototype. And, I ran out of the same white fabric, so I ordered some more and will have to wait before I can stitch up any more of these and other animal cuties. I am also waiting for some white flour sack kitchen towels to arrive that will be getting sweet embroideries on them, too! 

Wishing you a most lovely and creative week!!



Thursday, May 30, 2013

a vintage lambie

 Happy Sweet Day!!
Hope that you have been having a lovely week so far! I have been working on a little embroidery project for my dear friends who just had a precious baby girl last week!! This was on my mind to make, but I just had to wait until she was born! And, I will actually be seeing her today! Yay! 
 I thought this little vintage lamb pattern was so sweet and I loved all the pretty flowers. This had quite a lot of french knots and they have always been my least favorite stitch, until I came across this awesome tutorial from Sublime Stitching, and it finally clicked on how to make a real knot. I was thrilled to be able to make a true french knot, and now I kinda enjoy doing them! Crazy, I know! ;) 
The little lambie came from this vintage Vogart embroidery pattern booklet that I bought recently. That kitty and the honey bears are so darn cute! I can't wait to have a reason to stitch them up. It was a little hard doing the face, and I ended up having to use one strand of embroidery floss. So, maybe I can just stitch some of these up for practice! ;) 
 I added some pretty vintage lace to the top to give it a vintage touch, and it is sweetly wrapped and ready to give to baby Naomi! Next on my list is to make my second barn block and work on some hexie flowers, along with some other cute vintage embroideries. My ripple blanket is going to have to wait a little longer for a cooler day. Are you working on any crafty goodness?

Wishing you a wonderful rest of the week and weekend!! 

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

new items and a winner

Happy Tuesday!
Hope that your weekend was wonderful and you were able to enjoy some beautiful weather! It was quite a busy one for me, so I am looking forward to a calmer week. 
Well, I have just listed some new vintage tea towels and clothespin bags in the shoppe. This will be my last batch of the pretty dresden vintage tea towels. I am going to take a little break from making them to focus on my new line of vintage embroidered kitchen items and other goodies. So, get one while you can!! ;)

I also listed a couple more vintage inspired clothespin bags!! A sweet bear washing and those three little kittens washing their mittens!! I do love those kittens, but there is something about that bear that makes my heart warm! ;) 
 
And, now to our lovely winner...
Congratulations to sweet Patti of Paintin-Patti!! Yay! I will get your sweet fabrics in the mail to you!
And, thank you all so much for entering the giveaway!! I will be having another giveaway next month and it will be open to everyone, including my sweet overseas friends! ;)
 If you are interested in purchasing the pretty bundle you can visit Donna's shoppe and buy your own Vintage Grey Bundle! So fun!

And, yesterday on Memorial Day as we honored and remembered the brave men and women who served our country and fought for our freedom, I just wanted say "Thank You!!"

Wishing you all a most lovely and crafty week!!

::Thank you to Meri for the sweet vintage duck image!!



Wednesday, May 22, 2013

i just had to...

Hello Sweet Friends!!
Well, I have held out long enough in making these sweet barns from Lori Holt's The Quilty Barn Along. There have been so many cute barns around blogland, and when Lori posted this barn today on her blog, I just had to make one!! I adore making pinwheels and my longing for being in the country just overtook me, and I had to put aside all my other projects to make one! I really wonder how I ever get things done!
 Awhile back I found this awesome pinwheel tutorial and loved how easy it was to make them. So, I followed that way in making my pinwheels and ended up cutting my squares to measure 3.5" instead of 4" as Lori has in her tutorial. The rest of the tutorial went so smoothly and I was definitely smiling when I was done! 
And, after seeing the darling mini barn quilt made by the lovely Jessie of Messy Jesse, I knew that is what I wanted to make, too. Such a copycat I am! ;) 
Now I just need to decide on which barn block to do next! They really are fun to make and it was good to take a little break from "work creating" to do a little quilting. So, back to working on a custom order which I want to show you when I am finished and those vintage tea towels for the shoppe! What crafty goodness are you working on this week?

There is still time to enter my little giveaway in celebrating sweet Donna of Donna's Lavender Nest new fabric shoppe!! Giveaway closes on Sunday, May 26th at midnight and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, May 28th! ::GIVEAWAY CLOSED::

Wishing you a most lovely and creative rest of the week!! 



Monday, May 20, 2013

a sweet treat for you

Happy Monday!
This weekend sure went by fast, but I hope that it was a lovely one for you! I spent my weekend working on a custom order, my embroidery and sewing projects, along with cleaning around the house and washing my car, which is always such fun! ;) Did you do anything special or crafty?
I wanted to start sharing the books and music sheets I got from the estate sale last weekend. The first one up is a music book from 1935 called Children's Songs and Games by Treasure Chest. It is a sweet book filled with old classic songs and some cute graphics!
This is one of my favorites and exactly what I want to be doing everyday!;) 
This song and game is new to me, but so darn cute! 
And, another darling song with a sweet graphic. Wouldn't these be cute in a craft project! I will show you some more later in the week. ;) 
Now, for the sweet treat!! 
The most lovely and talented Donna of Donna's Lavender Nest recently opened up a new online fabric shoppe filled with gorgeous fabrics, vintage feed sacks, quilt patterns, and more! These are some of my favorites fabrics in her shoppe right now!
Bake Shop by Lori Holt
Yuwa Live Life Collection
Atsuko Matsuyama 
and this gorgeous vintage feed sack! Oh my!!
Donna generously sent me some darling fat quarters of the new Atsuka Matsuyma reproduction prints to play with!! I just love them all and can't wait to create with them! Maybe some patchwork coasters, pot holders or a pillow, a summer garland or I have really been wanted to try these sweet fabric jars!! 
 So, in celebration of the opening of Donna's Lavender Nest fabric shoppe...
Donna was as sweet as can be to send me an extra fat quarter bundle of the same prints to giveaway to one of you lovely readers!! Yay!
::Now for the nitty gritty. To take part of this giveaway, I ask kindly that you be a U.S resident. I am truly sorry to my sweet overseas friends in having to exclude you, but shipping prices have doubled (it so ridiculous) and this bundle is a little heavy. I will be working on another sweet and lighter giveaway that will be open to all of you very soon!♥

If you would like a chance to win these, here are three ways you can enter! 

♥leave a comment telling me one of your favorite fabrics from Donna's shoppe.
♥leave a comment about what crafty goodness you would create with this pretty bundle!
♥leave a comment letting me know you are a follower of my blog

That's it!! Make sure to leave a separate comment for each one! You have until Sunday, May 26th until midnight to enter. I will be announcing the winner on Tuesday, May 28th! 
Best wishes to you all!! 
And, Donna is also having a shipping special in her shoppe. When you order $75 or more, you get free U.S. shipping! 
::GIVEAWAY CLOSED::
Wishing you a beautiful and creative week! 


Friday, May 17, 2013

a happy friday

Thank you all so much for you sweet comments on my estate finds! It was a good weekend for treasures! 
It has been a busy week of creating, planning a new line of products for my shoppe, and hanging out with sweet friends. The weather finally cooled down and it has been so lovely outside. I need to enjoy these days, as summer is just around the corner. Hope you have had some wonderful weather, too!
I was able to get one flower done, and the bowl is full of little squares ready to be made into a sweet purple one. I think my goal is 12 flowers, so I have 7 more to go and then it will be adding all the white hexies to connect the flowers. 
 Some progress is being made on my ripple blanket. I am going to be doing a grey and mint green stripe next, and then repeat the other colors until it is the right length. I look forward to it being done, but it was hard to crochet on those hots days, so hopefully the cool weather will last!
I have been working on some vintage tea towels for the shoppe that will be listed next week. These are the last ones of these pretty tablecloths!
And, I have been busily working on some plans for a new line of vintage inspired embroidered kitchen items that I have had in my mind for awhile. So, I have been collecting cute vintage patterns and I am excited to get started on this new line. I hope to be showing you these kitchen goodies soon! So, if my blog gets a little quite you'll know why. ;) 
  I am also in the process of making a couple more clothespin bags one with the sweet kittens washing their mittens, and another darling cross-stitch kitty pattern. There is just something about those cute kittens that just makes me smile! How about you?
A pretty packaged arrived yesterday from the lovely Holly of Cutie Pie Cottage. We did a fun garland swap, and this beautiful button ball garland is what she sent me!! I just love the pretty colors and fabrics, and those cute buttons!! Thank you so much Holly for sending me such a sweet garland! 
Wishing you a most lovely and crafty weekend!