Pillow Swap...by Jamie

Jamie at Modified Mix is hosting a pillow swap! WOOHOO

how CUTE is her pillow too!!! i love swaps. ive decided that i love doing them because i meet so many fabulous people!!!

hop on over to her blog and sign up! lets make PILLOWS!

potholders....round 2

shew, almost missed my deadline. talk about cutting that one tooo close.

i used a simple pinwheel design because i love pinwheels. and this wild thyme fabric is to die for!!! after surfing all the potholder tutorials out there, i decided to do the no binding trick and it worked out "ok". it was easy, yeah, but im not super thrilled with the look. i also included one of my cute spring stitch towels.

i hope she likes them!!! i also just signed up for round 3 GULP! i better start working on them now.....

April Friday Night Sew-in....with a project!

Heidi and I were brainstorming on something a little fun to spice up Friday Night Sew-in....and she created this adorable and easy to make tote bag!!! this is completely optional...but if you want to make one for FNSI, she has the pdf for sale in her esty store and/or also a kit, all you have to provide is the lining fabric. the FNSI will not change at all...its one night a month you can mark your calendar to make whatever suits your fancy :)
we just thought we might offer those "stuck in a rut" people like ME something new and exciting!!!




how fabulous is this tote?? im going to make a few more in april for some gifts. this is going to be my new library bag :)

so...hop on over to her blog and register here for Aprils FNSI! we will also be having a fun project each month and we promise there will be free ones too! when FNSI was first born, we used to work on the same project. its how we learned to sew new things..... you can read the story here.....

happy sewing!

hiking....and hiding from my blog.

yes, ive been a bit absent from my blog this week. i chalk it up to the following:

my son hurt his knee in PE
the frog died...and now is in a box in a shallow grave in our front yard
i played hookie today from any form of reality/technology and went hiking :)


i didnt bring a camera....but the cell phone pics are "ok". i wish you all could see our RED ROCK in the mountains. its just beautiful! the desert is green this year because we have also had a lot of rain. the weather was about 65 and perfect. we even got brave and took our lab...who hasnt had a lot of leash training. but he listens SOOO good and had such a great time, we will definitely take him again.


this is what they called a "lake" at the end of a trail. being from the minnesota area, it always makes me laugh a little at what they feel is an able body of water---called a lake. LOL


but we had a great day....and thats what life is about. being a happy family and being together.

tomorrow-----sewing time! im under a few deadlines, but work really good under pressure. have a great weekend!!!

Friday Night Winner!!!

here is the lucky winner for the march friday night sew-in. THANKS to ALL who participated!!!
remember to go to HEIDI's blog and see who the other winner is.....remember we pick 2.

#115---ASHLEY at drippingfaucett.blogspot.com
CONGRATS! please send me an email with your mailing info and ill mail this little fun package to ya. (the above pin cushion and 5 FQ are yours!!) ps....I LOVE the zebra bag!!! C U T E

Heidi and I are drumming up something new for aprils FNSI! we decided to kick it up a notch. so be sure and come back for the next one which will be APRIL 16th..........details to follow at a later date.

happy sewing, stitching, & all around crafting!!!

lazy day soup....

my son has been out of town at a tournament for Speech/Debate....so moms making one of his favorites for dinner! LAZY DAY SOUP....and i thought id share the recipe with you fine folks! (its like a chili with veggies)
LAZY DAY SOUP
1 lb hamburger-browned with onion/salt/pepper
3 cans campbells minestrone soup (the regular white/red can...dont try and get creative trust me!)
1 can corn---juice and all
1 can rotel tomatos
1 can ranch style beans
thats it!!! brown hamburger with onion, salt, & pepper. open the 6 cans and dump in pot. stir it up and just let it cook itself. i do add some water and sometimes a small can of tomato sauce because i like it a little saucy...for dipping crackers or yummy rolls. can be made in crockpot all day or on stovetop.
i will be posting the winner for Friday Night Sew-in later....stay tuned!

linked too:

friday night sew-in results

last night didnt work out well as planned.....my sewing machine jammed. ARGH!
this first pic is of an owl im making for a surprise, so i can't show you more....but i will once its done.

this is a stitchery/hand towel i made. i might add some words, but havent decided. im in spring mode....so maybe just a simple S P R I N G ??


the best thing about stitching is i did this from my cozy bed, with a girlie show on the tv under the covers. why do you ask? because my husband wouldnt leave the house and give me a couple hours alone!!! LOL

be sure and watch mine and heidis blogs tomorrow for the giveway winners :)
i have almost 150 blogs to read...so i better get busy! hope you all had some fun last night!

Jamies giveaway!!!

one of the coolest friends ive made is Jamie....at modified mix . she is having a stitching/embroidery giveaway!!!!!!!!!!!!!

let me tell you....she sent me the BEST care package to get me started on stitching. she put a lot of work into the things she sent me. it takes some patience to copy those patterns onto fabric and she sent me quite a few!!!

so hop on over to her blog and try to win her giveaway....its wellll worth it!

Happy St. Pattys day everyone.

see you all friday night :)
(thanks for all the ideas on what your all creating.)

Friday Night Sew-In reminder....

this friday 3/19 is our monthly Friday Night Sew-In. sign up here to be officially entered for our giveaway.

the rules are simple:
get your jammies on and sew on friday. blog about your project on saturday and youll be in the running for one of the 2 giveaways Heidi and I do.

do you all have some projects in mind? id love to hear about them.

Tea Towel

i had a little extra time today and thought of a quick small project for myself. its a tea towel for my kitchen. i had bought a pack of these a few weeks back. while making this i decided to maybe work on some xmas ones during the year and give them as gifts to coworkers. I found a few adorable xmas patterns.....simple too.

my question is.....where do you find white plain tea towels. not the flour sacks (too thin and large). anyone???

i love this towel.....cuz i DO heart ND! my homestate will always be in my heart even though ill never live there again. im sure i will stay south where know one has ever heard the phrase "alberta clipper" or "uffda".

***added coffee cup tea towel. im on a roll stitching :)

cliff notes???

My sister, Kristie, made this really cute notebook for me. I have been putting some things inside of this that are on my "MUST DO" list. I need to find out where she got the pattern cuz its cute....it would be a great gift for a special teacher.


did you all see the OWLIVIA on modas bakeshop this week? WOW the idea was just like my owl mascot i made recently. i like her idea of the large ricrac. (is that how you spell that darn word?)

a few of you had asked for a tutorial.....but im not sure how to make a word template for the body. let me ponder it this weekend and mess around with my scanner. i would really love to show you how i made her!!

HEIDI's GIVEAWAY!!!

my sewing buddy HEIDI is having a giveaway! it is the COOLEST item too! a quilters block tool. (see pic below)

ive been working on a small stitchery....i figured to get myself into it and get my stitching down, id start small and simple. guess what it is???

yep...its an owl. go figure :)

(sorry for the bad pics lately....im having camera issues and im always taking pics at night.)

the great nephew....and goofy

have you ever tried catching a 2 y/o little boy to take a picture? yeah, NOT easy! here is my greatnephew and his goofy doll i made him. his dad named it BOOGER. he said it looked like one of those mucinex guys. the funniest part....its almost as a big as him!

here was the final picture i got of him......sleeping. :)

wow...what a BUSY weekend. my husband and i both had family in town. I spent a lot of time laughing and catching up. One of my cousins was in town and we hadnt seen each other in 11 years! i LOVE him and his wife! i used to follow him around as a kid....cuz he was the cool older boy cousin. i have LOADS of girl cousins on both sides. They live in a small town in the middle of North Dakota. i hope they come back to see us soon....and when it doesnt rain all weekend! (desert people dont mind rain---but tourists hate it)

oh yeah....and i went to bon jovi :)

(one of the best concerts ive ever seen---3hours on stage!)

now im trying to put my world back together.....but still have family here for a few more days. i have to get my routine back......sleep is a MUST. i also havent been able to pick up my stitching from Jamie yet....but maybe tonight ill wind down with some thread.

mail....stitching....and coolest person ever!

I got the BEST package in the mail today!!! how can i even begin to say THANK YOU to Jamie for such a thoughtful gift? She sent me a starter kit to begin stitching/embroidery. look at it all! (tips, designs already on fabric, thread, needles, this book below, a hoop and more!)
this is REALLY cool! its a homemade book for needles and thread. I LOVE this!!! My family will thank you because im bad at losing needles. I have been lucky tho, no trips to the ER yet to get a needle out of anyones foot. (knock on wood)


i want to start stitching right now...

THANK YOU again JAMIE !!! you all need to follow her blog. http://www.modifiedmix.blogspot.com/ or pray she is your next swap partner for the pot holder pass because that is how i got to know her. she has spoiled me....and she definitely has become a friend. :)

shes a HOOT

i thought id make myself a little sewing table bling..... she has some leopard print and a hot pink nose. i might use her as an ironing board pin cushion. i gave her a little bag of pellets inside to give her some weight....kind of like her own girly booty.

she makes me happy. she makes me want to sew.