I HEART YOU! I HEARD YOU! HERE'S A TUTORIAL ON HOW TO SEW A HEART-

 Good Morning, Blog Friends!
Let's have a little heart -
for each other--and respect.
I am NOT getting into the 
Inaugural Debate here today-
as I am seeing way too much of it
on Facebook AND blogs.
Blogging is not a political platform
to me.
I have my beliefs- you have yours-
let's share JOY in those things
WE AGREE ON.

Like PRETTY THINGS
for the loves of our life.

I know a lot of you are

GLUE GUN fans.

As for me, I would rather

SEW instead of GLUE.

Here are some sweet little

hearts using bits and pieces

of fabric and lace.

I made that one in about twenty minutes

using the sewing machine.

Ready for a quick lesson?

You GLUE GALS might even

find this easy enough to do.

First cut 2 hearts out of fabric.

I used a rough homespun for the

outer heart.

I iron each piece as I go.

Then cut out 1 heart using a THIN

batting (like a quilt batting)

DON'T IRON the batting.

DO NOT ask me how I know this.

l place the batting on top of the two

pieces of fabric.

MAKE SURE YOUR PRETTY FACES

ARE FACING EACH OTHER AND

ARE UPSIDE DOWN WHEN YOU 

PLACE THE BATTING ON TOP OF THEM.

Then sew all the way around the edges

making sure to catch  all 3 pieces

(2 fabric hearts and batting)

No need to leave an opening for turning-

you'll see why.

Now-if it is all stitched together- turn it over.

The batting will be down and 

you will be looking at the fabric heart.

The upper left edge is turned under

in this picture-

but it, too, is stitched.

Take your scissors and cut a slit

right in the center of the

PRETTY FACE of your heart.

Then, turn it inside out.

The batting will be sandwiched

between the two layers of fabric.

  It's gonna look ugly.

Don't worry you will be covering

the ugly later.  See? Ugly!

Now cut a smaller heart out

of a contrasting fabric.

Iron it and place it over

the ugly hole. 

Using a ZIGZAG STITCH

sew it in place.

Then cut a third smaller heart

and stitch that on top of 

the 2nd fabric using the 

zigzag stitch.

After doing that

thread an needle with 6 strands

(or 3 doubled) of embroidery floss.

Because I don't want to tie a knot in my

floss I start the stitch way

down inside the heart and pull the

thread up and into the heart

but not through it.  It will hold

itself if you don't pull it too hard.

Place a long running stitch around 

the heart following the shape.

When you have gone all the way 

around, put your needle through

the back of the fabric and snip it off.

I added a ribbon bow and

a "gem" on the front of this one.

To finish it off I added

A RIBBON HANGER

and 

KISSED IT CLOSED 

with an

X Stitch.

So....even if you are not a sewer,

these are pretty easy.

AND

Pretty Sweet, Huh?

These two took me less than an hour

from start to finish.

The second heart has things 

that are glued on--like the clock face

and the little pearl heart.

Aren't they sweet?

Sure better for you than 

THESE SPICED HEART KISSES!

(Made in town here by Seroogy's)

-although they sure are good-

Hmmmm. 

Those look like

FIFTY SHADES OF GOOD

to me!

You Buy One Rug And It Turns The Whole House Upside Down- Just Call Me The Stitch Witch!

My house has been a house of 

subtle earth tones for a long time.

One of the reasons I have stuck to basics

is because we usually live in a house for a few years

and then sell it and move on to another

rehab project.

I always put my personal taste in small things

that I can pack away before showings

and take with me.

Well, I don't know what has happened to me.

I have been longing for a change lately.

The last time I had any BLUE in my house was

in the 80's when I had 

COUNTRY BLUE.

Remember those years?

Anyway,

Lately I have been crushing on 

LIGHT ROBIN'S EGG BLUE.

So, when I saw this rug in Home Goods

I was smitten.

This came home with me along with two runners
that matched.
This is now the anchor under the dinette table.

Well, as you know,
one thing leads to another--at least for me.
Now the dining room needed something to pick 
up the blue in there.
I had taken the curtains down for summer
because I like bare windows when there is no need
for privacy.

But with winter coming I needed something to 
warm those windows up.
Holy Schmoley!
Decisions-Decisions-Decisions-
I love florals and have not had them 
for a very long time.
MyHero thinks he doesn't like florals
so the house is pretty much floral free.
But the dining room?
Well-when I saw this Waverly material
(and it's an old one) called Robin Egg
I knew I had to tote it home.
I waited until Sunday when they had a huge sale
and got it for 1/2 price 
plus I had a coupon for $50. off.
I won't embarrass myself by telling you 
how little I paid
for this material.
I got all they had -just over 7 yards.

Now the trick is-this has to blend with the 
rug that is already under the dining room table.
Blue is NOT an easy color to introduce 
(at least for me).
But, hold your bathroom break-
I like the way it picks up that rusty color in the rug
which is otherwise lost in the big picture of things.

 Whew!  I think it is gonna work.
But, before I put the pedal to the medal
scissors to the fabric,
I pin  the bolt in place and look at it.
And I look at it..
and I look at it.
Should I?
Does it?
How will it..........

It is so odd to look at pattern when 
you have not had pattern in a long time.

Why is it so much easier 
to pick patterns and textures
and accessories for everyone else?
Oh-yeah- It's because I have to 
LIVE with these choices!

So, hemming and hawing
 I did what any weirdo would do...
I took some photos and mailed them to my
good friend and confident and voice of reason
PERSONAL CONSULTANT.
 I won't name her here but she knows who she is.
She said-
Love it-Go For It!

Ahhhh--there it is!
Someone besides me thought it was okay.

What else did I find?
Throws and some fabric for pillows-

The bottom right is the upholstery on the dining room chairs.
That has to stay.
The fabric has that same rosy tone and this also
goes nicely with the rug in there.

Oh- and I found a couple of lumbar pillows 
in the exact shade of robin's egg blue
for the leather chairs.

So--today---
Lord willing 
and the sewing machine 
doesn't seize up
I will be stitching my little heart out.
I hope to have results to show you a 
FINAL REVEAL
by the end of the week.

And just so you know...
I did NOT shop here for accessories!

source

You all have a GREAT TUESDAY!

View From The New Craft/Sewing Room AND Booby Trapped

I FINALLY GOT

the cord I needed to load pictures

from my camera to my computer.

Here is the view looking from the patio doors

towards the bay.

See the storm coming in

over the water?

Awesome, isn't it?

Well, THE ROOM is NOT QUITE

ready yet.

I had a sick kiddo here and then I 

got "the bug".

While I had "the bug"

I managed to keep the kitchen clean

and do laundry.

MyHero has the bug, too.

He has managed to 

KEEP THE BED WARM

and that's all I'm gonna say about that.

I will give you a peek at what I 

have been up to out there.

This was an addition in the back

corner of the garage.

We used the windows that we 

took out of the main house when we

rehabbed it.

They are good windows-just not

what we were using in the house.

They are brown here-but the 

sliding glass door was already white.

Here they are with one coat of 

white primer on them.

1 coat of primer and  

2 coats of paint and they look like this.

The room looks bigger and brighter now.

I should finish the room up this Friday

and then I will show you the whole thing.

Meanwhile...

Here are the girls at the beach.

Two of them are waterside.

The 11 year old, 

wanted me to bury her in sand.

and I obliged.

THEN----

her little sister decided to

ADD TO

 the fun.

The moral of the story is...

Your little sister can always

MAKE A BOOB OUT OF YOU!

Hmmm...Little sister is going to need some

SERIOUS TRAINING

if she is going to be a plastic surgeon!

Hello Dolly-How About Some New Clothes?

You know how I took some time off?

Well, here is one of the projects I completed

while I was away.

Our little SweetCheeks got an 

American Girl Doll, Ruthie,

for her birthday in November.

What does a new doll need?

Why-new clothes, of course!

So, Nana decided to whip up some clothes

for her special girl.

I have always loved

Mary Engelbreit fabrics.

This is one of my favorite pieces.

I have enough left to make SweetCheeks

a matching skirt.

If she isn't doing a casual dress she needs

something a little bit fancier to match 

her cute new shoes.

I made a matching bow and I always

do a finished lining inside the bodice.

For Wisconsin winters you need a skating outfit.

Not in the mood for skating?

Then reverse the skirt and add a fur vest.

This outfit makes use of one of Dad's 

discarded jeans (using material from the leg)

Gotta have something to wear with those sneakers.

Perhaps you like PINK

AND you need a backpack with "accessories".

Christmas Eve we always give the grandkids

matching pajamas.

Ruthie needed pjs to match SweetCheeks 

new pjs.  I think these come pretty close.

I thought I had a picture of 

SweetCheeks and Ruthie in their matching pjs...

hmmm....

Anyway, when SweetCheeks and Ruthie

decide to run away from home

they can do it in style.

This was her Christmas present

from Papa and me.

However, IF she is heading for

Hollywood to make the best dressed list

she might want to leave her socks at home.

LOL- She IS going to hate me someday

you know!

SOMETHING SPECIAL Is Going On Around Here!

I don't know about you

but I have been REALLY busy!

I was going to post a list of all the running

I did this week but ....

EVERYONE is busy this time of year!

I will have some dance class pictures 

for you and some 

pre-school program pictures

in the next few days.

However, today I am working on

SOMETHING SPECIAL  

for SOMEONE SPECIAL

Can you guess what it is?

Well, I have to have SOMETHING SPECIAL  to go with these!

And something REALLY SPECIAL to go with THESE!

I have some SPECIAL fabrics 

that I have tucked away.

Yep!  This is a LABOR OF LOVE for 

SOMEONE SPECIAL!

Want to know what ELSE is SPECIAL?

Do you like to drive around and look at 

Christmas decorations around town?

We do, too!

Do you want to see 

SOMETHING REALLY SPECIAL?

It's a feast for the eyes!

source

No This is NOT MY HOUSE!

Thanks for asking.

Here's today's question.

a)Is the red house in front leaning to the left?

b) Is the house behind it leaning to the right?

c) Both A & B are correct.

d) I don't care! I want to see what that

    crazy elf at your house is up to.

OH NO-NOT THAT! My Computer Is Gone

Oh-No!

What to do?  What to do?

My computer has a black screen.

Even my techy son can't fix it.

One minute it was fine,

the next minute I had a totally black screen.

It is off for repairs.

I will try to sneak a few minutes on

my hubby's laptop when I can.
Oh-They called yesterday and it is the
Motherboard!
Motherboard, indeed.
Mama has let me down!!!

What SHALL I do while I am

COMPUTERLESS?

Maybe I will SEW,

using some fabrics like these from

Sugar Pink Boutique

OR

Maybe I will finally get at finishing a couple of

pieces that I have been putting off.

Like this....

I will be back as soon as I can!

Pray that I don't need an intervention

for my computer addiction.

I think MyHero might tie me to a chair..

and shove me into the closet.

That would be HIS idea for a cure.

If I don't surface in a few days-

send help.

The Family Baptismal Gown

In 1975, when I was expecting

our first daughter,

I made a baptismal gown.

Something that would endure

and be an heirloom. 

As I stitched I hoped it 

would be used someday

for my grandchildren.

My wish came true!

It was made from an

old Vogue pattern.

I wish these pictures were clearer.

This is the top of the gown.
It is tucked and embroidered.

Another picture of the top,

embroidered and edged with

Irish lace from my grandmother's

sewing box.

The lace is thick and heavy.

This is the bottom of the gown.

It is all embroidered with satin stitch~

as is the coat that goes over the gown

I am sorry these are such 

poor pictures.

On the bottom of the gown

there are three rows that

are tucked.  

On there I have hand embroidered

the name and birth date of each child

that was baptized in the gown.

CharlesInCharge is number 14!
You can see them here.

There are no dots on this material..
it looks that way because I enlarged
the photo.

I don't know why that appears 

uneven...it is even.

Here is a close up of the edge of 

the sleeve on the coat.

And here is the dear little 

onesie that goes underneath it all.

It is pressed and ready to go.

There is a slip underneath the

gown and everything is 

French seamed.

 Enough pictures for one day?
okay..1 more....

Pop back by tomorrow

and I will have a few family

pictures of the actual baptism. 

SOMEONE

 was 

"in charge"

of someone else...

It was quite a circus~

MyHero was home sick-

in bed sick-

The main service was how the

world has gone from G-rated in the 50's

to X-rated today.

Now, lest you think kids don't listen,

halfway through the service

SweetCheeks turned to me and asked~

"Does Papa knohw all that Jeesuhs

stuff that guy iss talhking about

up there?"

I assured her he did.

He does?

Yeah..but doehs that guy up there

 efven knohw that it goes

all the wahy to Z and nott just X?

Hmmmm...not you got 

ME wondering~

Now tomorrow, if you promise not to
put a bracelet on the pet pig,
I will show you pictures of
CharlesInCharge
IN the gown!