Braelynn's minky blanket - DONE!



Yippee!

 

Talk about a love/hate relationship.

 

I finally finished this little headache - and now - I am in love with it.



Sewing this blanket was kind of like having a baby.

While experiencing  labor pains, you swear you will NEVER do this again.

As soon as you set eyes on that sweet new baby, you forget the pain he or she put you through and all you see is cute and cuddly.

One of my first concerns was trying to applique onto this stretchy, soft, bumpy fabric.
THAT was the easy part!

The applique came out perfect.

I will take blame for some of the issues I had with this fabric.
My first mistake was thinking I would do this quick self binding technique I saw on U-tube.
HUGE mistake!
No matter how I tried, this technique just wasn't made to work with minky fabric.
Needless to say...my new best friend (sorry Deb) became my seam ripper.
I ended up cutting a separate border for the bottom, sewed right sides together, turned it right side out and top stitched.
Sounds easy doesn't it?
Nope.
I had a heck of a time trying to square up the minky fabric to stitch onto the flannel back.
A gazillion pins later, I was ready to sew the minky to the flannel back.
I changed my regular machine foot to a walking foot and carefully sewed over every pin.
You heard that right...I sewed OVER every pin!
I wasn't about to remove even one single pin and take the chance that minky would go wonky and I would have to start all over again.

To my surprise, when it was finished, it folded perfectly square!

How 'bout that.

After all that labor...

I see only cute and cuddly.

 

Thanks to everyone for your sweet and encouraging comments that kept me going.  

 

Have a happy Monday!

 

Linking today to:

http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com/

http://www.sew-much-ado.com/

Two tips you need to know BEFORE sewing with minky

Tip number one....

Invest in a gazillion pins!
 

No, really...

 

 

 ...a gazillion.

If your not quite sure how many a gazillion is - try making a minky blanket - you will find out.

***************************

Tip number two
 (This should probably be tip number one)

Fine tune your patience!
(Believe me, you will need this one)

I have never had a fabric try my patience quite as much as minky.
A few days ago I couldn't wait to get started.
Now, I wonder....is this EVER gonna end???

Minky Blanket

 

I am holding my breath as I applique on this (oh, so stretchy) minky fabric.

  

So far so good...

keeping my fingers crossed.



Friday's favorites

 

 

My new favorite kitchen gadget.

~ Cuisinart's Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker ~



 

 

Actually, it's not mine.

I bought it for my daughter for Christmas.

 

It's much better than those old things we had to crank for hours.

 

(source)

 

All you do is pour your ingredients in, hit the on switch, and wait 20 minutes.

Yep. Homemade ice cream in 20 minutes.

 

 Creamy vanilla....

 

 

 Makes you want to lick the paddle, doesn't it?

 

 

 Or better yet...

why not pour a little chocolate on it.

 

 

Clean up is simple too - just 3 little parts to wash.

 

Mmmmmmm....

Ice cream sandwhich cookies.

It just keeps getting better, doesn't it?

 

No sewing today...

I have errands to run and meetings to attend.

I did, however, decide on the font for Miss Braelynn's minky blanket.
 

I chose a chunky curls font.

  

 
I can't wait to get started.
See ya soon.
 

Baby Overload

What's Baby Overload, you might ask???

It's when you have three nieces pregnant at the same time, all due in the same month - April.
Two of my nieces are having boys and the third, a girl.
My niece, Sara, is already sending me ideas of what she wants me to make for little
 Braelynn Danielle.
  One of the first things she requested was a minky blanket with Braelynn's name appliqued on it.
Sara has chosen to decorate Braelynn's room in zebra and pink.
Staying with that black, white and pink theme, I chose fabrics for her minky blanket.




I am using white minky for the front and pink and white polka dot flannel for the back.
This is my first time sewing with minky.
So far, I am realizing minky is a bit of a challenge to work with.
 Because minky is so soft and so stretchy, it took me FOREVER to "square it up".
Wish me luck!





Almond Joy Smoothie

Yep.

You read that right.
 Almond Joy Smoothie.

 

As if I hadn't gained enough weight during the holidays...

my friend Debbie put this idea in my head!

 

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup Almond Joy International Delight coffee creamer
1 package Rich Milk Chocolate Carnation Breakfast Essentials
1/2 frozen banana

I combined all the ingredients in my Magic Bullet and blended until smooth.
No need for any additional sweetener.

Soooooo good - sooooooo many calories!
{Gee Thanks, Debbie}

Do you ever wonder why no one responds to your comments?

 

It's possible you are a (noreply-comment@blogger.com) and don't even know it.

I get so many nice comments or questions from people with no way to answer them back other than in another comment on that post.

If you're like me, when I comment on a blog I don't usually go back to their comment page to see if they have - Ummm...commented on my comment???

I prefer to reply via e-mail.

I think some of you are not even aware you are "noreply" bloggers.

Really, I have not been ignoring you.

It's an easy fix if your interested...

1. Go to your Blogger dashboard
2. Click on the down arrow by your name in the top right hand corner
3. Select the orange box that says "Blogger Profile"
4. Click "Edit Profile" in the top right hand corner
5. Under Privacy, make sure the "Show my email address" box is checked
6. Under Identity, make sure your email address is listed by where it says "Email Address"
7. Scroll to the bottom and click "Save Changes"

You're done!

 

  (Waist Watcher Coconut Cream Pie found here)

 

You can also email me directly if you have any questions.

I have provided my email address in the side bar of this blog.
Hope this helps.

Have a great weekend!
 

                              

Friday's favorites

 

 ~ Clinique - Aromatics Elixir ~

Mr. Fisherman has bought Clinique Aromatics Elixir for me every Christmas for 28 years.
It's become a Christmas tradition.

Even after 28 years, it's still my favorite.

~ Cleaning day ~

 

I spent most of the day yesterday in my daughter's bedroom - cleaning and reorganizing her closet.

Unfortunately,  all that fun continues today...

 

All the cleaning and dusting reminded me of a dust mitt I made for Mr. Fisherman's aunt.

 

Aunt Lana's personal helper.

The Dust Bunny.

 

 

I even played around and made a few labels.

 

 

Hope your having a great Thursday!


Linking today to:
http://betteroffthread.com/
http://www.sugarbeecrafts.com/
http://www.sew-much-ado.com/



Word of the year - 2013

 

I am not sure where this idea started.

 I first picked up on the idea here, at The Lettered Cottage.

 

The idea is to pick a word for the New Year that has the potential to inspire you and create intention in your life, all year long.

 

How many of us need to remind ourselves of what we truly want our lives to be while on this earth?

 

 It was difficult for me to pick just one word.

 My thoughts were...be a better mother, Mimi, wife, friend, be kind, thoughtful, understanding, think before speaking, think and speak only the positive, simplify life, inner peace, dream, have compassion, live life, see the good in everyone, stay healthy, be a better blogger, photographer, sewer, cook, never forget how blessed my life is, always be grateful and the list goes on and on....

 

Gosh, this is hard. I want to be and do all these things. How can I come up with just one word?

Then - out of nowhere - a light bulb comes on in my head!

 

I have my word!

 

It's only a nine point word, but it's HUGE.

It's a lot to live up t0 - it covers it all - and then some.

 

My word is:

 

 

  1. To devote serious effort and energy.

2. To make strenuous efforts toward any goal.

3. To exert oneself vigorously; try hard.

 

Yes, I will strive for what I truly want out of this life...

Devoting serious effort and energy into making my family, my friends, and myself, happy, healthy and at peace, now and always.

What word will you choose?


Linking today to:
http://romantichome.blogspot.com/
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/
http://theletteredcottage.net/