little BIG pants

new fabric designer

well at least new to me. Joel Dewberry. check it out- wood grain in tons of colors!!!!

bets and charlie make the cut

charlie and betsy are now in the shop. sew dammit sew!

lulu & bobo in shop

these little cuties are now in the shop! i've stopped the button eyes as i want them to be more baby friendly. the new eyes are sewn with a felt circle and are french knotted.

lulu looks a bit kiddie wampous (sp?) in this pic, doesn't she?

penguin progress

i've been hard at sewing, cutting these little pens. i'm loving the alexander henry bubble fabric and the new moda (handkerchief-like) fabric. i'm been trying to perfect my process, streamlining at all stages, if possible, saves me time and hopefully i can reduce the price. i cut out a bigger pattern (seen hidden in back in purple and pink) and the penguin ended up all weirdly shaped. the reason? well, the current pattern only allows me a 1/4" seam allowance and this makes me and my mother nervous.

the one on the left is for our new little boy (yes, boy!!!!) growing in my tummy. i'm half way there (thank goodness!). the one on the right is an effort to produce more baby friendly eyes, plus hubby is creaped out by the eyes with buttons (he can't be alone, any feedback is always appreciated!) i've also started to sew in the wings along with feet to reduce hand sewing. PLUS...i'm now cutting out feet in a big square, eyeballing the feet while sewing and then cutting after its sewn. so far the results have been okay. i do love the fact that they both layers are lined up and i don't get any weird shifts like when i'm sewing the precut ones.

i will update the shop soon!

project beautification

project beautification (pb) is underway! my leather couch was barren with only two lone blue pillows to "warm" it up and way out of scale. so i used amy butler fabric, moda fabric and the coral fabric (can't remember designer) to cozy up the space.

i loved sewing the swiss flag pillow or is it a red cross? anywho....its my favorite one!

pb will also involve painting the rest of trim on windows downstairs, a huge (and i mean huge!) stairwell, the rest of the upstairs, & new room for h.....must get to work!

on a break...so inspiration calls

terrific photographer, catherine ledner found via design sponge. she has great pics of animals like the squirrel above and the donkey below. one of my favorites is of a raccoon but her site is protected. not to be missed on her site is her pics of children as well. there is a great one of a baby crawling on an old linoleum floor and a dachsund opposite.

i'm at my parents for a week in muggy north dakota. so nice to be back in my childhood home. all the old smells and safe feelings come back. good times.

matchbox display in shop

this cutie is now in the shop.

finished the other red shoe = DISASTER. the string closure is in the wrong spot, the fabric seems to be a different shade and sewing this one was a challenge. translation....i don't think i'll be sewing up any of these doggies in the near future. what a PAIN!

i wonder if this piece i just posted to the shop will bring in new customers? its a bit different in tone then a penguin stuffie and cards, so we'll shall see.

baby quilt, check!

i finished the baby quilt for my neighbor. the squares i showed in an earlier post are going to h's quilt. i may make the surrounding fabric darker. it turned out pretty darn cute though. her son is not yet 3 months so i'm pretty proud of myself for getting this done and not delivering it when he enters college. my plan is to sew the other red shoe today (yes, i went to joann's) and finally start making some stuff for the sh