Fabric Bins

      On pinterest I saw these adorable fabric bins awhile back.  Then around Christmas when I went to JoAnn's I stumbled across two home decor fabric remnants. Score! Half price makes it even more enticing.

         Both measure 10 inches square on the bottom and 12 inches tall.  I modified the original directions by sewing fabric handles instead of using grommets with cord handles.  Sadly the pink one is too girlie to store Evan's toys in.  On the bright side I know the perfect soon-to-be one year old that will love it!

     For the time being I'm using the light blue one as a laundry bag for Evan's clothes.  It looks better than just tossing them in a pile on the ground.

 

 

Christmas gifts

         On Black Friday there were some great deals on charm packs of different fabric lines.  A charm pack usually has about 40 - five inch squares of a certain fabric line. I decided to purchase some to play around with the color combos to make some unique table runners. 

         The first table runner was made out of Red, White, and Free fabric by Moda.  I used the five inch squares to create 3 pinwheel blocks tied together with some coordinating red fabric.

       Then I tried out a new sewing foot used for free motion quilting.  It was my first try at free motion quilting...not bad for a first attempt, but room for improvement.

     The next one I tackled used fabric from a line called April Showers by Moda.  The duo that designed this fabric line is a mother and daughter team.  Earlier I used a different line of theirs to create a baby quilt. (Sorry for the poor quality of pictures.  It was a cloudy day, but also Christmas Eve when I finished.  No time to wait for better lighting.)

        Upon closer inspection you notice the turquoise fabric is a raindrop print and the red semi -circle print is actually umbrellas.

      The last one is from the fabric line Elementary.  As you can see, some pieces have the alphabet while others have mathematical equations. 

         I love the color combo of this line!

 

      The fun part about charm packs and table runners is when you are done with one, you still have plenty leftover to make another one with a different twist.

       Meanwhile my husband was outside playing with our dusting of snow the other day.  Merry Christmas!!

OPA love

My god-daughter turned one a week ago.  Her mother and I along with 6 other college friends had a thing for pink boas and flamingos.  Our close-knit group of friends enjoyed dancing at each other's weddings to Rescue Me by Wynonna Judd.  No matter how long we have been apart, it's like no time at all when we are together.  We can't wait to break out in song and dance one more time, but take your time to find Prince Charming. 

Until then, I will make cute flamingo totes for the next generation of OPA gals. 

 

I made a simple canvas bag, but spiced it up with a pink flamingo on the front.  Then I used extra black polka dot material to line the inside. 

 



 

I have one more to make for July.  Then I have to wait for another OPA girl to be born...who's it going to be??

Ruffle Scarf

It all started with a couple of knitting needles and a spool of yarn. 

An couple of mornings later this is what I came out with.

 

It was a relatively easy scarf to make.  Just 11 stitches per row and keep going until you reach the end of the yarn.  This was a different kind of "yarn" if you can really call it that.  It very easily would slide off the knitting needle, though.  I had to restart a couple of times until I got the hang of it. 

Homemade Christmas

 This year I had lots of time to make lots of handmade gifts.

#1 Our tree skirt

#2 Dog bowl for my father-in-law

(Derick designed it, used scrap lumber from our closet shelves, and put it together. I stained and varnished it. Then we finished it off with a couple metal bowls.)

#3 Pot holders for my sister and family friends

#4 An apron for my mom and mother-in-law