Birthday gift for a coffee drinker

My neighbor's birthday was Thanksgiving day, so I whipped her up a little something to celebrate.

 

Bettina is a big coffee drinker, and for good reason; her husband makes the most perfect cup of coffee.

I know that because he makes it for me when I visit.

 

Anyhow, I thought she could use a mug rug for her morning coffee.

 

I included a new coffee cup and some yummy cookies.

 

 

I also included a card giving the details of the little mug rug.

 

 

All wrapped and ready to go...

 

 

Happy Birthday Bettina!



Tea light pins for the girls

 

 

These little turkey pins were fun to make.

I purchased the design from Embroidery Garden.

It stitches out quickly and all you need is a little glue, a battery operated tea light and a pin back.

 

 

Have a great day!



Quick and easy fall napkins, tablecloth and table runner

I am hosting a very small, casual dinner Saturday night.

 

I prefer cloth napkins; they are super simple and quick to sew.

 

 I scoured my stash and found this pretty fall fabric.

 

 

I like my napkins big, and I had just enough fabric to make 6 - 20 inch napkins.

 

I cut my squares.
 I measured and folded the hem double the size I wanted my finished hem to be.

 

Press so you have a crease at that measurement.

 

 Now, open the first fold and meet the raw edge to that crease.

Fold over again...

pin...
 

 

...and stitch.

 

 I find this method easier than trying to fold over a tiny hem first and then folding up a second tiny hem. Pressing the larger hem first and meeting the raw edge to the crease of the first measurement seems to make it easier and more accurate.

  

How easy was that!

 

Did you notice my tablecloth and table runner?

The table runner is a piece of burlap with the edges frayed.

My tablecloth is just a couple of yards of fabric with a serged edge.

I love to sew table linens, and have a linen closet to prove it!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Halloween-ish

I like making my granddaughters things for the holidays.

I try to make things they can use in the season - rather than just one day.

 

I found this cute little set below from Pottery Barn and thought it would get plenty of use through Thanksgiving.

 

 

 I then prettied it up a little using tulle and ribbon.

 

 

Knowing I had gold metallic thread at home, I purchased these adorable little sparkly skirts and embroidered their names on long sleeved tee's to match.

 

 

It matched perfectly.

Just look at that sparkle...

 

 

Sometimes metallic thread is a little tricky.

If you use a metallic needle and slow your machine down a bit, you should have no problem stitching with metallic thread. 

 

 

Add a witches hat and broom and you will have a cute little witch costume.

After Halloween, the shirt can be worn with jeans until the weather warms up and the skirt can be worn with another top and tights - no one would suspect...  

 

See ya soon...

 

Just hanging with.....

 

Have a safe and Happy Halloween everyone!



Halloween treats for the neighborhood kids

These were quick and easy to put together with a trip to The Dollar Tree, a sheet of cardstock and a little help from Mr. Fisherman.

 

Each one includes something a tiny bit different because of their ages.

 

 

 

Veronica is in high school, so rather than the typical Halloween orange and black I filled hers with her school colors. 

 

 

Mr. Fisherman made the little ones Paracord bracelets

and Veronica's a bracelet and key fob.

Are you ready to treat your little neighborhood goblins this year?

Embroidering on burlap

 

 

You may think embroidering on such a loose weave fabric might be close to impossible.

 

Nope.

 

I'm here to tell you... it's easy - you just need to take a few precautions.

 

First, I never hoop my burlap for fear of stretching or pulling the weave.

I use water-soluble stabilizer in my hoop and carefully pin my burlap in place.

After placing my hoop into my machine and before I start stitching I add another piece of water-soluble stabilizer on top to keep the stitches from sinking into the large loose weave.

 

Stitch as usual.

 

Carefully cut away (do not tear) the water-soluble stabilizer as close to your design as possible.

Using a damp cloth, carefully dab the water-soluble stabilizer on and around your design until all the stabilizer has completly dissolved.

Iron your burlap to dry and smooth out any wrinkles.

 

In the above photo I added a ruffle to the ends of my table runner using a small zig zag stitch.

 

If you prefer, (to keep your burlap from raveling) you can just finish off the edges using a small zig zag as in the photo below.

 

 

On the projects below -  I did both...

I added a ruffle on the short end and finished off the sides with a small zig zag stitch.

 

 

 

I stitched these projects before thinking about making a step by step tutorial with pictures.

 I you have any questions just shoot me a quick e-mail or comment and I will be glad to answer any questions.

 

Hope you will try give burlap a try.

It's "sew" easy.

 

 

 

Who doesn't love autumn?

 

Another great embroidery design from Planet Applique and me just having a little fun with the photo!

 

Happy Tuesday!

McCall's M4529 - Halloween do-rag

While I'm working on something for the girls for Halloween, I thought I would share something a bit more "manly"...

 

Mr.Fisherman's Halloween do-rag.

 

 

 

You can see another sports version here.

Both made using McCall's M4529.

 

 

The pattern says "EASY" McCall's and I'm sure for the most part - it is an easy pattern.

Even though I have sewn several "do-rags" using this pattern, I find them a little tricky to piece together.

Don't let that scare you - they are really fun to make.

 

Have a great Friday!

 

See ya soon....



Warming up to fall...

 Sometimes it's a bit hard to start your fall decorating when the temperatures here in Florida are still in the high 80's. I usually ease into it by changing out my favorite cloche...
 

 

I then move on to my Hoosier cabinet.

It's been in my family for years; originally belonging to my Granny.

 

  

 

It's one of my FAVORITE pieces in my house.

 

 

I added a little kitchen décor with a few tea towels I embroidered last year. 

 

 

Also from last year, my sweet little punkin' table runner.

 

 

I know I haven't been the best blogger lately, so thanks for peeking in.

Hope to see you again soon.

 

 

Linking today to:

http://diyshowoff.com/

http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/

  

A little fall stitchin'...

 

just for the kitchen...

 

 

 

Linking today to:

http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/

 http://diyshowoff.com/

 

Packing up summer....

 

 

Getting ready for fall....

 

 

Be back soon...

 

 

Finally !

I'm able to post a picture.

For some time now I have not been able to add a picture to my posts.

I'm not sure exactly why.
 I tried everything and even took my computer to the Geek Squad at Best Buy to see if they could figure it out.

Nothing....

It has been so frustrating. I don't know if Blogger was having issues or my computer itself, but something has magically changed.

 I can now post pictures.

 

A few posts ago I was taking a break from my Three Dudes Quilt Block to sew a little red, white, and blue for the 4th for my grandbabies.

 

I'm finally able to post the pic's.

 

 

 

 

Better late than never....

~ Clover clips and a quick sunglass holder ~

Trying out my new Clover binding clips...

 

 

Since I didn't have time for a large project, I opted for something quick and easy.

 

 

Polly's new sunglass holder.

 

This is such a quick and easy project.

I used pre-quilted fabric and a tiny bit of bias binding.

Nothing to it!