Family

Other things may change us, but we start and end with FAMILY. -- Anthony Brandt

AUNT CAROL---we LOVE and MISS YOU!

2 weeks ago, i got the dreaded call from my dad---the one you never want to answer.  Aunt Carol had suddenly passed away.  She was my dads only sister.  1 girl and 5 boys.  So without hesitation, i jumped on a plane bound for North Dakota, my home state.  I was lucky enough to get a flight fast and cheap. 

my family is big and after all of these years we have all remained close.  I cherish that.  My cousins and i talk about how lucky we have been to have such a large family and not have deaths, tragedies, illness, and sadness.  This was such a hard time for us, but we all came together.  We laughed and cried at the same time. 

My grandparents passed away a long time ago, but they lived long happy fulfilled lives. 

Although my Aunt Carol was in her early 70s, she was still full of lots of life and didnt act a day over 50.  It was a shock, and still is today. 

my cousin,  HEIDI,  who most of you know from our blogs and FNSI, drove in early saturday morning, so we got to spend some much needed time together that weekend.  Heidi's dad and my dad are the 2 youngest, and really close in age.  Carol was smack dab in the middle of those boys.  But she could handle every single one of them.  i LOVED that about her. 

This was the last time i saw her.  That day I was able to spend a few hours sitting with her and getting family stories from her.  She always had the GOOD ones too! 

Carol....we will miss you each and every day of our lives.  We love you!

  



FNSI winner

sorry i made you all wait.....but my great nephew turned 4 today so ive been cruzing the country side (arizona) to celebrate his big day!!!  isnt he the CUTEST !!!

alright...lets do this.  via random.org my winner is-----
#182  CHERYL---http://www.windsomwinds.blogspot.com/
she sewed together 168 triangle blocks !!  NICE JOB!

you are the lucky winner of this

an apron made by me (see below) and a charm pack of whimsey. 

check out HEIDIS blog for her winner.   CONGRATS to everyone on another fabulous FNSI!

see you next month!

FNSI results

not much sewing got done at my house last night.  i fondled lots of fabric though.  i bought some new Reunion yardage by Sweetwater.  I spent lots of time dreaming of things to make with it.  LOVING that navy color!!!

i made a zipper pouch with the fabrics Heidi and I bought in our hometown.

the outside is oil cloth by Riley Blake.  Ironically, when im at a quilt shop, i tend to always grab for Riley Blakes fabrics.  Have you all seen these colorful zippers at your LQS?  they are reasonably priced and have a TON of color choices.  I went to my LQS yesterday and bought some more.  :)

Be sure and check our blogs tomorrow for the FNSI winners. 

FNSI signups

HOLY MOLY...... im about 6 days late for this message.  sorry about that to all of our crafters!
My cohost Heidi posted the sign ups last friday.  Friday Night Sew In is tomorrow. 

Last weekend i was actually in my hometown in North Dakota.  My family had to say goodbye to my dads only sister---My Aunt.  it was a tough weekend and unexpected, but my family knows how to LAUGH even at the roughest of times.  BUT....i did get to spend it with HEIDI.  See we are cousins for those of you that dont know this history of how FNSI started.  we even snuck off to a quilt store!!! 

i am gearing up for tomorrow night.  Trust me, i need to relax in my sewing room with my new machine and extension table.  these tables are the coolest!!!  I have a project in store too that i bought in ND.   Heidi gave me some pointers on the zipper issues ive been having.  THANKS HEIDI!!!

last month i burnt out my old sewing machine.  the one ive been using for like 4 years.  my mom had bought me a small singer..... a little one just in case i enjoyed sewing.  If you read my blog, you know how that turned out!    I.HEART.SEWING

well, my little "work horse" as i called her has been through a lot!  ive taken her out of town, ive moved her location, ive made lots and lots of projects with her, i even gave her a nice sewing room to play in.  i guess she just got old and worn out.....poor girl.  the night i knew our run was over was when she almost started smoking......she had this horrible chemical odor that made me scared for my life.  i put her outside for the night and knew it was time to replace her.  YAY for me!!!  Now i have a larger machine so i can learn to stipple.  I even bought a darning/quilting needle. 

see you all tomorrow night!!!

Sewing Machine Cover

I'm really bad at putting my sewing machine away, so she needed a cover to keep the dust off of her.

all i did was measure the machine and make a simple cover.  just strips of this fun vintage looking sewing fabric i found.  i think my strips were 4x18.  I added some ties and a backing fabric. 

now shes all nice and snug like a bug in a rug.  

Margo Hometown Bag

i LOVE this bag pattern!!!  Margo by Lazy Girl Designs.  i made THIS bag for last months FNSI and gave it away as my gift. 

I also made THIS bag a few months ago, and loved the fabrics but its big.  its not really a daily use bag.  you know, that going-to-work-and-need-all-my-junk-with-me Bag.

the Margo pattern was perfect for these fabrics.  its the Sweetwater line HOMETOWN and the outside is canvas and corduroy.  it makes it really heavy duty.  im considering using it as a purse for awhile. 

the inside is lined with just a simple linen from joanns.  a fav of mine to use as a lining.

corduroy back and handles.  ( I <3 CORD!!)

LOVE those front pockets in this pattern.  its a great place to slip in keys.  if you ever get to meet me.....and go anywhere with me....im that girl who can never find her keys in her purse!  i hate that about myself.  my son will also tell you im the same girl who can never find her sunglasses either!!! 

happy sewing!!!

FNSI winner

after making that fun margo bag friday night, i have a few more cut out and decided that this months winner will get the one i made friday night!!!

the winner for this month via random.org is:


#131   BETH D. at   http://bethstherapy.blogspot.com/
shes working on a cute ninja for her son.  Beth all you need to do is send me an email with your mailing info.  CONGRATS!!

i hope you will enjoy this bag.  it was a lot of fun to make.
i might toss in a few other fun goodies just cuz im nice like that :)

see you all next month for Friday Night Sew In!!  the next date will be 2/17/12. 

FNSI results---the margo bag

you all thought i forgot about our "guidelines" didn't ya?  WINK WINK
its 1055pm my time....heck i still have another 65 minutes to post.  :)

i made a new bag pattern last night.  its the MARGO bag by lazy girl designs.  my sister had made me one last summer and also given me the pattern.  last night with her help (thank you sista) i finally tackled this project. 

im on a hounds tooth and aqua kick these days. 

yep, that front panel IS a pocket!  (actually 2)    the bag is a nice smaller size but fits a lot of stuff.  im eating healthy these days (yay for me) and im taking my breakfast, lunch and snacks to work in this bag along with a book and my ipod.  there is a lot more room than you would think. 

i did just a plain black corduroy on the back.  not sure about that yet.....its still growing on me.
BUT did i tell you?   that hounds tooth on the front is CORDUROY!!!  i found it at hobby lobby.  SWOOOOOON.

because my sister was so kind to help me via "ma bell" im also including a pic of her bag she made last night.  we sewed "together"....virtually.  she doesn't have a blog but she follows along a lot with us on Friday Night Sew In.  i just wish we could sew together!  (a lot of you commented about having family and friends for FNSI---im jealous!)

aren't her fabrics fun!!  and wow....check out that scenery!  she had some snow this week (record dropping) and was able to snap this beautiful picture this am on her deck.  ahhh...she has the perfect morning coffee view.  (inside joke)  I LOVE YA GING!

be sure and check back tomorrow for the winner.  the post will be later in the day.
hope you all had fun.  i LOVED reading all of your comments!  tomorrow ill be surfing your projects and picking a winner via   www.random.org as usual.

Friday Night Sew In signups are here!!!

Friday Night Sew In time again !!!   Its this coming friday, January 20th. 

Here is a breakdown of the "rules".   (i hate that word rules because no one will get in trouble for not participating).  someone give me another word.....or phrase.  LOL

anyhoo.......here it is in the quick and short version.
1.  get your world in order on Friday and sew, craft, stamp, scrapbook, build, embroider, crochet, knit, or paint until your eyes wont stay awake anymore.  make sure you have some comfy jammies on and a beverage of choice and a yummy snack.  this night is for YOU.  if you have kids, maybe include them in the fun.  if your kids are older (like mine) order them pizza or give them movie money.  LOL!

2.  Take photos of what you did and blog about it on Saturday.  This will enter you into the drawing for a FNSI prize :)

3.  Sunday come back and see if you won.  Ill be posting the winner at some point on Sunday. 

thats about it.  OH YEAH....HAVE FUN and tell all of your friends about our virtual party! 

stamped washer necklace and keychain

Pinterest is making me a craft junkie!!!  i keep seeing all of these fabulous crafts to do and i just cant help myself!!!  will someone take my computer, laptop, ipad and iphone away please??? 

yes, in case your wondering, im still into sewing.....but im also branching out into other crafting areas.  wait till you see what i made today!

this is a necklace for a family member. HOW. CUTE . IS . THAT.   !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 and a key chain for me.  CHOOSE JOY!  (that's my motto for this brand spankin' new year)

Harbor Freight has a great set of alpha stamps for like 10bucks!  ive been on the hunt for these for a few weeks.  long story short.....i got 2 wrong sizes today at michaels!  1/8 inch is perfect!  (not the 1/4 or 1/16 at michaels.) 

the washers are just your average-everyday washers from lowes.  i found some simple necklaces on clearance at hobby lobby and some beads at michaels.  Yeah, ive been all over this town today! 

what do you think?  it was definitely a quick project.  the stamping is easy once you get it down.  there are tutorials ALL OVER the blog world for these doodads.  so i cant even link to any because i found like 278.  (wee bit of an overexageration there).

after 6 lovely weeks off....minus the surgical procedure which started my "vacation".....i had to go back to work this past week.  BOO HISS GAG!  (yes im grateful for my job, but i loved being at home).  after spending a lot of time healing physically and mentally (no stress) i decided to do a few things for myself to keep that good positive mojo going!

I started a Gratitude Journal on 1/1.  Everyday I write 5 positive things i was grateful for that day.  believe me, its not as easy as it sounds--LOL.  but its a way to become more of a positive person.  after 14 days of doing this, im already finding myself during the day thinking "yep, thats going in the journal".    I CHOOSE JOY and it feels FANFREAKINTASTIC!

im sure some of you are wondering about the friday night sew in sign ups.  if i can figure out that winky thing again, it will be tomorrow OR monday.    ill be in charge this month because Heidi will be partying it up with her family.  be sure and check back....  FNSI is in 6 days.