Hot off the Press(er foot)!

Ok, I guess, technically these things are hot out from under the presser foot (that's a little sewing machine humor for those who don't recognize a fine pun when they see one)...but I've been sewing like a mad woman this week! I made a couple of these nifty grocery list cozies for my mom and sister's birthdays. (The one pictured is AA's--I need to borrow mom's back since I forgot to photograph it)
My newlywed little sis had mentioned that she only had a "boring legal pad" on which to scrawl her bi-weekly grocery list, so I thought it might be fun to spice it up a little bit. She loved it! (And I'm a little jealous...avid list-maker that I am, so I might have to stitch up one of these bad boys for myself!) Gramps, if you're reading this--the button is one of the ones you gave me from the garage sale. It is a button covered in vintage lace that was obviously cut off an old outfit...and I LOVE it! (I have a few more that I'm hording for future projects!)
Mom and I also made a set of mother/ daughter/ grandmother/ granddaughter Thanksgiving aprons for the Sonshine School fund raising auction. I have some truly great memories of helping in the kitchen for Thanksgivings past, so it was fun to think that these little aprons will probably see a few wonderful family memories, as well.



I also made a couple of onesies for a good friend. The first is made to look like a nametag. (The full tag reads, "Hi I'm Creed. Fearfully and wonderfully made"--which is a nod at Psalm 139:14)
She also requested a onesie with a guitar on it. I had a great time putting this one together, and even managed to get the right number of strings stitched on it...I think. (just don't count the frets--there was only so much I could do authentically in such a small area!)
Finally, I whipped out a couple more colored pencil rolls. (One of which will be joining the aprons in the Sonshine School auction) It feels good to be "sew" productive...and I've even managed to put "Pigtails and Puddles" labels on a few things! I hope to build up a small inventory over the next month or so and launch a (small) shop on etsy. Please let me know if you can think of anything that I should try to include. Outside opinions are always appreciated!

For those who might be wondering, even with all this production taking place in Robinson County, Norah and Eli are not being totally neglected. God has blessed me with two really sweet kids, who take great naps, (and enjoy the occasional visit from Mimi) and it's amazing what can be accomplished in a couple disjointed hours a day!

Happy Fourth!

Some of our good friends, The Perkins, are getting ready to welcome their fourth, so in going with our "Quatro Fiesta" themed baby celebration, I made a #4 onesie. Since the Perkins love the suspense of waiting for the actual birth to learn if they're having a girl or boy, I tried to make it fairly gender-neutral. Personally, I'm most excited about finding out what "#4's" real name is! (I have my predictions, and I'm dying to know how incredibly wrong I am!)

What's Cookin'

Here's a little taste of what's been on the back (and front) burners in Robinson County...

Norah is loving her "play kitchen", as she's dubbed it. I'm a little concerned about the health of her "play family", because she seems to think they can survive on a diet consisting solely of macaroni and cheese and cookies.





Chopping onions making you weepy? Here's Norah's solution.













The play kitchen is plenty of fun, but Norah likes cooking in "Mommy's kitchen" even better. (Which means my diabolical scheme to trick her into taking over all my household duties is working!) She is especially interested in knowing what we're cooking (which was pretty funny on this particular night, since it was jambalaya, and she was determined to pronounce it correctly). She also likes our dinner guests (ie--Daddy) to know that SHE cooked dinner. (Because everyone knows that the key to a well-seasoned meal is stirring the pot!) Her favorite thing to help with in the "real" kitchen, ironically is the same as one of her play favorites, cookies! (And I know you're probably thinking it's because I let her lick the beater, but actually Jason usually beats her to the punch...he does at least share with her! And she still eats her fair share of chocolate chips!)


This is one of my cakes from last week. It was for a baby shower for a new couple at church. (Their baby's nursery is decked out in purple with a Baby Snoopy theme) It was so much fun to make a cake so different from my "usual" requests!




And finally, this is a crib quilt that Mom and I designed and made for my cousin Helen, who, along with her sweet hubby, Clint, welcomed their firstborn, Kylie Virginia, into the family on Tuesday.

We chose the colors based on how she and Clint decorated their nursery, and tried to make it fairly similar to Kylie's bedding, so hopefully it will be a good match, and something she'll like.


Here's a close-up of my favorite square. The lines inside the flower's petals are hand-embroidered to give it a little personality. Mom hand-quilted around everything to give it that special, hand-made look.

I'm so excited that Norah and Eli will have an "almost" cousin so close in age!

Sewing Again (at last!)

Our very good friends, Scott & Sara Nickson welcomed their first-born daughter, Sydney Elizabeth, into their family on February 7th, giving me a great excuse to do a little sewing.

The best part was...drum roll, please...
Jason finished our entertainment cabinet (pictures of that coming soon), so I finally got my sewing desk back! No more sewing on that jumpy card table for me!




These little mary janes are TINY. Already too small for Eli's quickly growing feet! They were one of the most fun, new sewing projects I've tried in a long time. And the Nicksons are both Aggies, so I hope they'll enjoy a little maroon for their new baby girl. (The white on the inside is just some tissue to help keep their shape during shipping)

I have a few other fun show-and-tells to post (more sewing projects and a cake or two)...hopefully I'll get them up soon.

Christmas Goodies

Sorry these aren't photos of the kids...those are coming (as soon as I can remember where I put the camera). Instead, here are a few of my sewing projects from Christmas '07.


This is a quilt I made for my mom and dad. (Yes, Denise, I actually finished it!) It is a king, so, unfortunately, I couldn't really get a good photo of it in it's entirety. There are two more borders outside of the brown-- the first is forest green, and the second is gold/tan. Mom loved it so much, she's gearing up to paint her bedroom a coordinating shade of green! (It's on my bed in the photo)



My little sis requested a shirt with her childhood nickname ("Manda Panda") on it...this was what I came up with. (I fell in love with the green and blue fabrics when I saw them at Lonestar Quiltworks, which recently relocated much closer to our house!)

This was an initial t-shirt ordered by a friend as a Christmas gift. (More fabric from Lonestar...)









These three shirts were special-ordered from Abilene as Christmas gifts. The red shirt was actually for a soon-to-be newborn, so I had to wait until he arrived to put his "surprise" name (which, by the way, I love, Meg) on it.


The family's last name is Knight and each year they send out a Christmas card with a Knight/Night play on words ("Silent Knight", "I'm Dreaming of a Knight Christmas", etc.) so I thought these shirts were a very clever and thoughtful gift. They were not my idea--the concept and sketches for the shirts were dreamed up by Kelly McDonald, a friend of the gift recipient.

Lil Punkins

I have had so much fun playing with fall fabrics and designs lately!














This is a pair of matching shirts/skirts I made for a good friend's daughters (ages 4 years and 2 months)










Norah tried on a skirt to model it for me and immediately concluded it was good for dancing.











Sewing the infant skirt was almost like making doll clothes...so tiny! I can't believe we'll have another one this small in our home in just 3 more months...

Early Signs of Fall

Last night marked the opening of "Fall Ball" for Jason's men's softball team. Since it was a 6:30 game, and the weather has been gorgeous here (cooler and less humidity than we've had in a long time!), Norah and I decided to go along. I wasn't sure how well she'd do since the last time he played was a year ago, when she was just 7 months old and not walking. The whole bi-ped evolution really changes things. Of course, she didn't want to be confined to the stroller the whole time, so her psychology was to ask to sit on the "table" (aka--the bench...I keep books for the team, so we were in the dugout). And then, of course,the "table" got old really fast, so I closed the gate, confining her to the dugout...but she really wanted on the field (which doesn't have a gate barricading it), so I had to watch for that, too. All-in-all, she did pretty well. She especially enjoyed playing with extra softballs, and collecting the players' discarded jewelry (Aggie rings, watches, etc. that they took off and left on the bench while playing). Thankfully, about half of the team is family, and the rest of the guys are really nice, so everyone was patient and friendly. I wish I would have taken my camera, but the batteries were dead. She looked so cute sitting on the bench with her little legs dangling below, shouting, "Goooooooooo Daddies!" everytime she saw him bat. (Everyone's name is plural this week, for some reason...making me "Mommies", etc.)

Other signs of fall? I happily purchased my first candy corn of the season this week. So delicious! Which, in turn, inspired a new t-shirt design for Norah. I think I may embroider something below it, but I think it turned out cute, and I love that she already had a skirt to match it. (She, by the way, loves candy corn as much as I do!)

More Sewing Fun

I made a few t-shirts and a couple of skirts for Jenny's daughter, Patti, a few weeks back. (Unfortunately, I only remembered to take pictures of 2 of the 4 outfits) Jenny specifically asked for a turtle (she LOVES them), a sweetheart (for Valentine's), a "lil punkin" (for the fall), and a special, letter "P" shirt, with "Patti-cakers" (Patti's nickname) stitched under it.

As a surprise, I made skirts to match 2 of them. Jenny loved them!



Sweetheart shirt

Close-ups of the designs. If I can get my hands on pictures of the other shirts/skirt (hint, hint, Jen...not that you have anything else to do, like keeping the twins busy!), I'll be sure to post them, too.

In Honor of A&M's First W

Irma, a good friend of ours, asked me a few weeks back to appliqué some onesies for her soon to arrive daughter. She wanted to be sure that baby Olivia would have an Aggie wardrobe ready for her first A&M football season.

Irma picked up all of the supplies for me (including some great, maroon fabric) and I set to work coming up with Aggie designs.













In all, I came up with 6, this being my favorite (I love back/front designs). I don't know that I will make a habit of making these for sale...especially with all the "12 Man" trademark legal issues that went down last year...but it sure was fun to do for a friend!


I would, however like to start designing and selling other appliquéd t-shirts and onesies on-demand. If you know of anyone who's looking for a unique shower gift, or likes personalized things, feel free to give them my name!

A is for...

AA...which, if you have not figured out by now, is short for Norah's "Aunt Amanda", my sister, and one of my very best friends.

Angela...my name, which despite the fact that I asked my mom to change to it "Cinderella" when I was six, I've come to really like. Now "Angie", is another story...I don't think I'll ever like that nickname, or the familiarity that someone assumes when they automatically call me "Angie" after I've just introduced myself as Angela. My close friends and family call me "Ange", and I'm ok with that.

Appliqué...one of my favorite sewing techniques. I've enjoyed every appliqué project I've taken on, from our Christmas stockings, to Norah's quilt, to my more recent t-shirt and onesie exploits.

Aprons...my favorite kitchen accessory (can you believe it beat the pot-holder mitt?!) I love cooking in an apron. I also enjoy sewing them and have made quite a few that I've given as gifts. I think Norah might take after me in this respect, as she seems pretty proud of her apron when I let her help me in the kitchen.

Ashley...Norah's middle name, chosen for no other reason than we liked the way it sounds. (And yes, I do, occasionally use her first and middle names when she's in trouble)

Avocado...so delicious! I love them plain or in guacamole, and think they're just about the best possible addition to a green salad.

Congratulations, James & Katy

Our good friends, James & Katy Garner, welcomed their second daughter, Zoe, into their family early this morning. Norah helped me pick out some fabric and I sewed up a shirt for little Zoe and new big sister, Shelby.

Jason, Norah and I went to see them this evening. Zoe is such a pretty baby, and we were thrilled to meet her.

Twirly Skirt Alert

Today, I tried my hand at another House on Hill Road tutorial, resulting in the outfit at left. The skirt fabric is not something I would normally have chosen, but Norah really does love strawberries, so I thought she'd like it...and I was right. Norah loves her "berries" shirt and matching skirt.

The skirt is made from the "Twirly Skirt Tutorial" on House on Hill Road, and it is called a "twirly skirt" for good reason! Talk about full--it's perfect for spinning! The t-shirt was one I picked up on clearance at Walmart, then appliquéd the strawberries on to dress it up a little. It was a lot of fun, super cheap, and didn't take long at all. I definitely plan to make a few more.





I haven't decided yet what my next sewing project will be, but I have learned that Norah is way more fun to sew for than myself! She really seems to love wearing the things she's watched me work on--and that is such a good feeling. She was the same way about the quilt I made for her. Any time I take it out, she loves to dance, spin, lie down, and roll around on it.



One non-sewing related bit of news I want to chronicle is Norah's increasing ability to repeat and recall things she hears. In Bible Class, there is a song the teacher sings , during which she has a child figurine "run" toward a mommy figurine, while singing "I'm happy to obey, I'm happy to obey. I'll come quickly when Mommy calls. I'm happy to obey." Last night I was bathing Norah, and she found two of her tub toys--hippos that stand upright, and she started the smaller hippo out "running" toward the larger one, while singing, "Bay! Bay! Happy!" I had to laugh because I knew exactly what she was talking about. I've also noticed that if I call Norah and she isn't coming as fast as I'd like, I can sing "I'm Happy to Obey" and she comes running. Anyone who says toddlers are "don't really get anything from Bible Class" should visit our house. I beg to differ.