Multitasker Tote - Anna Maria Horner Pattern

Bonjour blogland!  I've been hard at work on some things, out of sorts at times lately, and very guilty about not blogging more.  I love my little blog.  Here is one project that I decided to make for myself:  Anna Maria Horner's Multitasker Tote:

(I appreciate all of you kind readers ignoring the messy floor, ribbon bursting out of the ribbon jar and other ugly things in this picture!)

I actually did a step by step photo journey as I made it, but I will post that soon.  I definitely liked this pattern and would recommend it.  I was just trying out the pattern, so I used some stash fabric (teal corduroy, Anna Maria Horner for the outside pockets and straps, and some Amy Butler for the lining).

 I'm nearing 100 followers and I promised a giveaway when I got to 100, so you might see this bag pop up again in another fabric combination!  Muahahahha!

Flamingos and Ladybugs and Bags - Oh MY!

My husband's coworker wanted some special presents for family members, so she asked me to create some bags for her. 

The first one is for her aunt (I think) who has battled cancer.  She has taken the ladybug as a symbol of hope for herself.  So, a ladybug bag it is!

The second one is for her grandmother who LOVES flamingos!

Great idea for a fun gift! 

I used the satin stitch on my sewing machine to applique my flamingo and ladybugs.

Please disregard the Christmas header.  I thought I had saved my old template, but actually I hadn't, so it isn't an easy restore.  : (  New look coming!  Soon I hope!

Photo Blog

To try to chronicle some of the photographs I plan on taking this year, I'm starting a photoblog!  I know some of you might be saying, "Again?" with a voice dripping with hopelessness.  Fine. You are justified after the disaster that was Quaint and Quirky Photographs last year.

This time I'm going to make it farther than February!  Okay????

So here is the link:  Moments

It's not exactly a once-a-day photo post kind of site.  I'll put bunches of pictures up at times as well. 

Send me a link with your photoblog and I'll add it on the sidebar!

Photography Retreat

No, I haven't been on a photography retreat.  I wish I had!  But I wanted to blog about a photography retreat called "For the Love."  It is a retreat for Christian photographers and looks soooooo inspiring!

They are giving away one free spot and it's not too late to try to win it!

Check it out!  www.fortheloveworkshop.com

In other news, I am restarting Project 365 (taking a picture a day for a year).  So far, I'm 3 for 3!  Last year I only made it until February, but I have higher hopes for this year!  I'm going to be starting a photo blog, so I'll put the link here when it is all prettied up!  


I hope you are all having a great 2010 so far!
(What are you calling it by the way?  "Twenty ten?"  "Two thousand ten?"  A friend asked that question on facebook and I'm curious to know what the blog world has to say about it!) 

Projects!

As with many of the blogs I read, I'm finally able to post about the projects I've been working on for the last...oh... two months! 

Some skirts for a friend of mine to give to her nieces.

The Josephine Apron from the book A is for Apron.

The other side of the Josephine apron.

Levi got a leather and plaid dog bed.  Here he doesn't look too thrilled about it.

But he seemed to like it later!

As always, he is a big help to me when I need to produce a million Christmas presents in three days.  He takes his role as fabric/pattern warmer very seriously!

Many *many* more gifts were made...I'll post more later!

Pine Cone Elves (subtitled: I don't have time for this)

I should be knitting, I should be wrapping, I should be sewing, I should be cleaning, I should be putting away laundry, I should be eating meals that do not involve frozen dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, I should be sleeping. Instead, I'm going to BLOG and show you my pine cone elves! They were in the December issue of Martha Stewart Living and I think they are adorable!  These are the ones I made.  The first one was for my Irish dance teacher, so I made sort of an Irish dancing elf.  They are pretty easy and would make great present toppers or ornaments!  

Crafters Give Back

Sew Mama Sew has a post today on their blog asking for nominations for crafters who give back.  I immediately thought of Anna from Pleasant View Schoolhouse.  She probably doesn't even know I read her blog (she has a HUGE following!), but she is definitely a crafter who gives back! 

She periodically donates proceeds from her Etsy shop to help people pay for adoptions.  Here is a post explaining the adoption:  Kimmie's Adoption.

She has also inspired other readers to do the same thing for Kimmie's adoption! 
Katie
Beth

Brava, Anna!  Your kindness and Christian love is inspiring and contagious!

Decorations

I have been having a great time reading each and every response to my giveaway.  I like hearing about the different meaningful decorations that loved ones have given you, made for you, or left for you.  Sentimentality and simplicity seem to be two themes running through the comments.  When I post a winner, I'll tell you about my favorite Christmas decoration. In this post I'll tell you something neat about my husband.  He loves Christmas.  He loves Christmas decorations too.  In fact, he loves Christmas so much that he came with a whole bunch of Dickens Village pieces.  They are set up in his bookcase right now.  They are so beautiful all lit! 

 

I love how God put us together - "Loves Christmas" was not something on my list of things to look for in a future husband, but God took care of that for me!

Giveaway Day!

Today is Giveaway Day in blogland!  The lovely ladies at Sew Mama Sew coordinate a giveaway day each year.  This year, my giveaway is a bit of a twist.  I figure that many people coming here from Sew Mama Sew probably know how to sew already.  So I went in a different direction.  I'm giving away a book I made. The book blank I used is from The Paper Source,. 

I use my version of this book to plan all my sewing projects.  The inside is grided, which is great for sketching. It's a perfect size to slip in a bag - not too small OR too big! 

While I was taking the pictures, I shut the dog out of the room.  Here is what he had to say about it:

(Yes, we need to replace these old doors!)

Details:  I will ship to the United States and Canada.  International must pay shipping.  Please leave a comment telling me your favorite holiday decoration (or just leave a comment if you don't have one).  I will choose a winner on December 6th and ship shortly after that!

Have fun and happy Giveaway Day!

Edited to add:  I would love to increase my followers list.  When I get to 100, I am going to do another giveaway for anyone on the followers list. Add me?  We can be friends!

Christmas Goals

For participation in Holidays in Hand, I needed to write down some goals for this Christmas season.  I was totally in favor.  I find that if I write down goals, it is MUCH more likely to happen!  Here are mine:

 1.        ALWAYS remember why we are celebrating this holiday.  I love Christmas.  I love baking, buying, singing, wrapping, decorating, ribonning, garlanding, lighting, Christmas movie-ing, planning, making, sewing, gluing, eating and partying.  Really though, how much of that has to do with the birth of the Savior?  I don’t think I need to overhaul my Christmas activities, I just need to REMEMBER and REFLECT and INCORPORATE and keep Jesus at the forefront of my thoughts.

2.       Wrap presents.  No, the people on my Christmas list do not  get presents wrapped in Target bags.  However, every year I carefully plan out the wrapping paper, ribbon, tags, and other embellishments, but it’s always a hail mary effort on Christmas eve (or even Christmas Day [see #4 below]) to wrap as fast as possible because we need to leave.  I never enjoy it.  It usually lands in my husband’s lap.

3.       Be realistic.  Being out of touch with the measurement of time is an inherited trait.  I’m never realistic with the projects I take on for Christmas.  If I even think I have a free window, I just add another project.  Then everything takes me much longer and not only don’t I have that free window, I can’t finish the projects I have already started. 

4.       Finish ALL presents by noon on Christmas Eve.  Earlier would be better.  For many years now, I have been making presents up until Christmas Eve festivities, continuing them after Christmas Eve festivities, and still continuing them Christmas morning.  No wonder I feel that I’m lacking with goal #1.  I would loooooooove to sit and relax and not have presents hanging over me.

5.       Be resourceful with my current stash of raw materials.  We are using pine cones for our mass produced presents this year so that is resourceful, but I DO have a stash of fabric and paper that could be used to create many presents without the need to buy a lot more.  [Note to husband:  I didn’t say I wasn’t going to buy anything.  I said I was going to TRY to use the stash].

6.       Enjoy.  The month is so fleeting, it can be over before you say Jingle Bells.  I want to sit back and relax!

What are your holiday goals?

Eggs

Do you see when these eggs expire?  AAAAAAAAaaaaaaack!

I hope you are ready!  I'm not!

Holidays in Hand started today.  I'm looking forward to documenting this holiday season.  Did anyone else sign up?

I've got some blog posts coming this week.  Life and other Obligations have gotten in the way of blogging.

See you soon!

Contest Winner and Free Class

Sorry for the late post, but last Tuesday, as promised, I chose a winner for the bag contest. 
Random.org chose my blogging friend Tilly as the winner! 

I posted previously about a free photo editing class at JessicaSprague.com.  That class was fantastic and led to me taking several more of her classes on everything from graphic design to photography.

She is offering another free class this November all about preserving your holiday memories.  The description says you do not need Photoshop skills for this class, so I think it is a writing/recording/preserving class.

Join me! Go to www.JessicaSprague.com and sign up!

Let me know if you sign up for the class.  I will look for you in the forum!