my tree needs her skirt!

I have discovered how easy wonky stars are to make! as i said last week, i dug out my figgy pudding stash and layed out a plan for a tree skirt. i better get crackin too because my tree is going up soon. my 4 stars are done--woot woot.

im using bits and pieces of a tutorial that is on Sew Mama Sew's blog. who doesnt LOVE tutorials?

ive never been a "put the tree up after thanksgiving" kind of gal. no clue why....but i can be a bit of a bah-humbug too. (do people admit that openly on blogland?)

while taking these photos, i realized i need to put my husband and his saws to work this weekend. i need a design wall! hanging a chunk of batting up with stickpins just isnt working for me.

well, back to my machine i go!

Aprons are a MUST

Here is a picture of my sister and i cooking on thanksgiving. i am SOOO glad she gave me an apron and brought hers. along with it being very practical, it was kind of fun. those ladies in the 50s had the right idea!

my sisters is adorable! it has lucille ball in a chefs hat. next week im going to hunt around my LQS for some of this fab and make myself one of these. we hope to get some sewing time in tonight. she is going to make her grandson a little mans apron because he loves to cook with his mommy. :)

these 2 have been inseparable all weekend. aint it sweet?!!

Time to go do some shopping. These girls are getting pedicures .......because after cooking for 8 hours on thanksgiving i think we deserve it!!!

gum is banned!!! (call me oprah)

i have a helpful hint for all of us moms and dads out there who have found gum stuck in our dryers. i had bought a brand new shiny washer and dryer.....and day 4 of using these beautiful pieces of machinery, i opened the dryer and found the gum pictured below ALL OVER the inside of my dryer. not just a few specs.....oh heck no.....an entire pack of rasberry flavored AND colored gum on everything. it seemed to cover almost my entire drum. (the clothes only had a few spots--strange i know)

so after a little cussing and crying.......i ran downstairs and googled "gum in dryer". i was desperate. well let me tell you the very first helpful hint i found was this. (see picture below).

i said to myself NO WAY could it be this easy! after a quick late night trip to the store, i tried it and it WORKED.

all you have to do is take a dryer sheet of any brand, get it wet, lay it on the gum for a few minutes and then rub. it came RIGHT OFF! ! there of course were a few spots where a hefty chunk o' gum had glued itself to the inside.....so it took a little elbow grease and a few more sheets (i think i used half the box) but it worked like a charm.

make life owly

i had a few people ask me about the kit i bought at my LQS friday night. here is what it will look like.....this is the one THEY had made up! caught my eye and my wallet :)
the pattern is BITTY OWL by BunnyHill Designs. just think of all the fun ways to make it!

last night i was doing a little blog surfin and came upon a few ideas for tree skirts. SewMamaSew has a link to an idea that i like, but didnt love. i liked 2 diff things on 2 diff skirts. so out came the drawing pad and i think ive come up with something i will love to make.

10pm last night i was rummaging through my fabric (cuz we all have a huge stash of it) and i came across my figgy pudding stash. WOOHOO.....ive got PLENTY for this tree skirt project and heck, maybe even a quilt...... maybe 2 quilts.....maybe a few potholders......

lets just say i have loads of it ;)

and the winners are....

We had sponsors this month for our FNSI giveaway.......thank you again and again and again from Mary and Barb at Me and My Sister Designs for these great gifts!! Due to their generosity, we were even able to pick 4 winners total.....2 here and 2 on HEIDIS blog.
the first winner who gets the above goodies is:
#137---Andrea at Iowastatefairchallenge.blogspot.com
she is making a very cute make life quilt!

the second winner for the above goodies is:
#152 Jen at Thequiltyhome.blospot.com
she is making a very cute quilt also using Bliss.

Please send me your addresses via my email.

HEIDI has the other 2 winners on her blog, so be sure and pop on over to see if you might be a winner! (all winners are chosen using random.org)
you all had some great projects like always!



have a wonderful Thanksgiving week everyone!

FNSI results

heres my pincushion donut. it looks so real ....
i didnt put the beads on because i wasnt sure if i wanted the colors i had bought (in the bag pictured). i might go on the hunt tomorrow for some diff colors of beads.

it isnt very big....LOL.

i also stopped at my LQS while running errands early in the evening and bought this kit. its an owl pincushion from Bunny Hill Designs called Bitty Owl. the quilt store had an adorable one made up and the heart in the center was the make life fabric from sweetwater. (see my kit). i just couldnt resist!

dont forget to check back tomorrow on my and HEIDIS blogs for the winners. Me and My Sister designs sponsored this one as our first sponsors too! a big THANK YOU to both of them!

time for me to run....i have a date with Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte. Am i the only gal who hasnt seen the 2nd Sex and the City movie yet?

rooms all ready....

how sweet it is going to be to get my machine going and do some fabric cutting in this room! i feel a little spoiled!!! i need to do some fun decorating and would LOVE a design wall....but as of right now im jumping for JOY! im sorry i keep talking about this room, but I have never had a craft space before....I was sewing in a tiny corner of my living room. i had stuff stashed in every corner of my house. i even had a fabric stash in my bath tub cleverly hidden behind a shower curtain. pathetic...but i know we all do what we gotta do for our crafts!

heres what im working on tomorrow night for Friday Night Sew-In! how FUN are these pin cushions. anyone who has been paying attention knows i have a thing for pin cushions. they look so real....almost gives me a hankerin for a donut.

see this cute little fella? the dog....not buzz lightyear. LOL---well, this sweet innocent face did some digging around my sewing room today. thankfully he didnt decide to chew my NEEDLE CASE he had drug out....or i guess id be at the vet right now. i know your saying "how could you be mad at the worlds cutest lab". well, im still not talking to him.

inspiration

ive been paging through the new quilts and more mag and found some cute ideas for this friday night sew in. do you have your projects ready?

I also bought this book tonight. her quilts are adorable and look pretty easy to make. Camille Roskelly at SIMPLIFY has always been one of my favorite bloggers and designers. its easy for me too because she is local here and my quilt shop carries a TON of her stuff. they are even mentioned in her book.

have you all signed up for this coming friday night? if not, click HERE. dont forget to blog about your night and projects on saturday....because thats how you get into our drawing. even if you only stitch a few lines, blog about it. we all have that night that doesnt happen, but hey i feel if you picked up a needle, or cut some fabric....its a sew-in baby!

my boys both have birthdays this week...i know i know...its just craziness to have a kid so close to xmas. but i did BOTH the same week/month....not year. LOL

anyway, ive got a busy week planned. one is hitting a milestone birthday and its been a little rough on me. LOL im feeling "my age" i guess. turning the big 4 0 this year was bad enough (it actually didnt bother me) but having a child become a legal age to vote is strange!!! i think its going to be hard to cut that cord for kid #1. im sure by kid #2 ill be like "yeah, whatever...see ya!". giggle giggle.

(im having trouble getting my paragraphs to separate....forgive the sloppy blogging)

out of the loop

i dont know anything that has happened lately.....
are there new fabrics out? does moda still exist? did the fabric world swallow anyone up?

is it REALLY xmas in 50something days?

we started this house process when it was still an OVEN in vegas.......i cant believe ive missed so much. im surfing and getting some very CUTE ideas.

anyone have a good idea for an easy xmas project? any good links?

Big news for Friday Night Sew In

have you all heard? nov 19th is the date and we have our very first sponser for friday night sew in! Me and my sister designs has graciously sent some goodies for the next FNSI! Heidi and I got to meet Barb and Mary last spring during a bag making class in phoenix. They are truly a couple of FUN gals!!! Their fabrics are adorable and i LOVE LOVE LOVE their patterns.

click HERE for the signups .... if you havent done so already :)









here is a glimpse of my sewing room....its a total disaster! im trying to unpack the rest of the house before i tackle this bad boy. Its REALLY scary when you move and see ALLLL the stuff you have "hoarded" for sewing. i have wayyy toooo much fabric. i was trying to hide the totes from my husband during our move, but his buddy kept saying "O M G BOBBI HOW MANY BOXES GO IN THE SEWING ROOM?"
(note to self, dont ever let him help us move again---or label the boxes with a secret code)

i know its hard to see, but i have a view of our front yard from the window. we face a park and some mountains are off in the distance. im hoping it will be a calming place to create.



we are all settling in, but our family dog is having a wee bit of trouble adjusting to stairs. he has almost knocked us down more than once. the first night he sounded like a HORSE. he is a HUGE yellow lab and also scared of the larger space we have. its kind of humerous and sad at the same time.


well, i might not get to post again until 11/19......but i hope to have some nice room pictures to show you by then. i refuse to let that room go much longer than a week. im getting the urge to make something.