Happy Tuesday friends! If you follow my social media, then you may have heard my extremely happy news - I finally got my fancy sewing machine back from repair in mid-March and I have been sewing up a storm daily. I was worried when it took months for repair, but the backordered parts finally arrived and my machine is sewing perfectly again. I have been making and listing a lot of items in my Etsy Shop and working on a few client orders...plus I have been working on projects for Poppie Cotton and ThermOWeb...and making a few gifts and personal projects. I have even been making time for new cross stitch designs and ideas. With the crazy new night schedule, I find spending time in my studio is keeping me sane and happy. I was also able to take four days off and help my local quilt shop (The Quilted Sunflower) for the Ad Astra shop hop, which is always inspiring and fun. It has been refreshing to take a step away from needlework finishing and some of the more cumbersome client projects and work on things that truly bring me joy. Here are just a few of the photos I can share...
Another project I worked on was this special framed piece for my mother-in-law - a gift for her birthday. Half of the heart is a map of where we live and half of the heart is a map of where she lives. I was quite happy with how it turned out...
Finally, you may remember this pillow I designed in December, playing around in my studio for the Poppie Cotton Christmas Countdown Challenge. I decided to enter it in the Nancy Zieman Productions 2023 Pillow Sewing Challenge. You could enter one photo of one pillow that was made in the last year and write one or two sentences about it.
This was my entry: My Pink House Pillow is an original design, has an envelope back and uses a 12” x 12” pillow form. My pillow features fusible appliqué with blanket stitching, rick rack around the perimeter and a ¼” button for the doorknob.
The winners were announced in a blog post on March 26th, and I was on the list! I am receiving a June Tailor prize package, including: Quilt As You Go Morning Blend Table Runner package; Quilt As You Go Venice Placemat (set of 6) package; Quilt As You Go Venice Table Runner package and Magic Seam Wand. I haven't received my prize package yet, but I am looking forward to it!
Thank you for visiting with me today! I will be back on Thursday to share my latest ThermOWeb project tutorial with you. A little hint...my project is for Houses Make a Home Week...and you can see it on the ThermOWeb Blog on Wednesday. Until then, I wish you a happy and creative week...
Today's post is all about projects bags...yes, piles of them...large project bags, small project bags, and tool bags. I have been done some serious sewing...that is, until my fancy sewing machine decided it needed to see the doctor...yep, she is acting up, so will be headed in for service (this afternoon)...she needs a little TLC (hopefully just a good cleaning). Until then, I am using my basic Singer without all the bells and whistles...which works, but is not ideal. As you can see, I have been managing to fulfill orders - they are just taking me a bit longer {sigh!}. I am still steadily working through requests, so if you are waiting, thank you for your patience! Here is just a snippet of what has been on the sewing table and keeping me busy...
Time to get cleaned up and head to the quilt shop (Joyce, I'm headed your way!) - say a little prayer or send some positive vibes to me and my baby (my sewing machine)...
I'll be back very soon with some cross stitch finishes and a couple other sewing projects...plus details on my latest magazine published designs...
It is another late night post for me...I had the most productive day! Those finishing orders I was telling you about yesterday are well underway...and oh my goodness, there are some GORGEOUS photos coming in the next few days! I have some very talented clientele and I am honored that they trust me to finish their work. I started with a couple of the most challenging pieces this morning and it took me some time to decide my plan of attack, but once I got started, I was on a roll and the day flew by...and now, it is almost midnight here... As I mentioned in my previous post, I managed to accomplish quite a bit in my sewing studio over the last few weeks...lots of custom sewing, model stitching, gifts, and new Etsy items...and quite a bit of design work. Here are just a few of my recent sewing/quilting finishes...and I have more creative things in store to show you soon (there are six large projects I can't show you just yet)...
So, there is just a touch of what has been happening in the studio...I'll have a bunch of additional creative inspiration for you soon!
Have you watched my Video Story Contest Entry yet? It tells you why the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic is #sewworthit using elements from my daily life - I hope you will take a moment (it is only a minute long) and watch it and maybe it will make you smile! I'm not the best saleswoman or good at asking for help/votes, but I am good at being creative and persistent. I am currently in second place and could use your help to win the sewing/embroidery machine of my dreams - if you could view my video, then place a vote for me, I would be greatly appreciative! Visit: http://woobox.com/eyk7zi/gallery/DvLFOHRtQis to view and vote...it only takes a second and you don't need to sign-in or sign-up, just click the word VOTE above my video. Thanks!
Wild turkeys having a feast at the bird feeders in the backyard on Thanksgiving...followed by a drink from the bird bath...
Happy day after Thanksgiving - I hope you had a wonderful celebration with family and friends! My husband and I actually made a trip to Lake Summerset, IL, so I could spend Thanksgiving with my mommy for the first time in over 20 years. It was a quick, but special trip...and it was so nice to see my mom and Dan and extended family. We left yesterday morning - made the five hour drive and arrived an hour before dinner - then, spent the night and returned home bright and early this morning, as my husband had to work this afternoon (many of you know, my husband is in management for UPS and we all know how much shipping is happening this time of year!). In any case, we had a lovely trip, family time, and a delicious meal...and Schatzi even tagged along and spent time with some new friends (Daisy and Wilson).
Thank you to everyone for your love and kind words regarding Simba...I found comfort in many of your messages. I also have to thank those who have checked in with me since my oral surgery - it went as expected and I am healing - all is well. I feel very blessed to have so many caring people in my life - my heart is full.
On to the creative part of my post...
We all know how passionate I am about anything created with a needle and thread - by hand or machine....and many of you know there are two things I can't live without in my sewing studio - my Accuquilt products and my Husqvarna Viking Designer Diamond sewing and embroidery machine/Huskylock s25. I'm pretty sure everyone knows how much I love my sewing machine and how hard I worked to get it years ago - it brings me joy every single day. Over the years, they have released new and improved versions of my machine...but the most recent, the Designer Epic, is truly extraordinary - oh how I have been drooling over this machine for months. Obviously a machine of this caliber is not in my budget, so when I saw Husqvarna Viking Sewing Machines was have a video contest with an Epic as a grand prize, I had to put on my thinking cap to think of a video idea that would be worthy of submission. My idea grew slowly and turned into the contest entry you can view below - I am an amatuer videographer, but I had so much fun making it...and I knew I had to give it a shot! I'm not a big fan of contests that require you to solicit votes - many times it is a popularity contest and the entry itself (no matter how good it is) isn't a factor...but I had to make an exception in this special case and at least TRY. I hope you enjoy my short video testimonial about why I love the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic sewing and embroidery machine and why it is #sewworthit...and if you feel so inclined, please place a vote for my entry.
To vote, simply visit the following link- and click on VOTE - NO sign-up, e-mail, or personal information is required - yep, just visit the link and click VOTE:
It only takes a second and I would appreciate it "sew" very much! Contest rules state: you can vote once per IP address.
You can see the video in it's entirety by visiting the link above, or my YouTube page, or for those who have a browser that support it, I am posting it below (note: you still have to visit the link above to vote):
I hope it makes you smile and you can tell how much I enjoyed putting it together...and, of course, a squirrel made the final cut (after all, it is "my video story"). My fingers (and toes) are crossed, as I am sure there will be some GOOD competition (at the time of this post, my video was the only submission - along with two Epic videos from Husqvarna Viking)....maybe that is good luck!
