Posted in Family, Friendship, Gift, Sewing, tagged Aprons, Christmas, Fabric, Gifts, Sewing on February 1, 2018| 1 Comment »
All but two (my personal work aprons for JoAnn’s) of these reversible aprons were gifts. I loved combining the fabrics and more in the works.
My great grandniece….
Aprons for Bill’s great granddaughters….
My work aprons…..
Gifts….
Gift for my niece Chloe…..
Gift for my niece Honara…
Posted in Family, Gift, knitting, Sewing, tagged Afghans, Christmas, Cowboys, Envelope Style Pillow Cover, family, knitting, Pillow Cases, Sewing, Wedding, Western Theme on January 31, 2018| 2 Comments »
Pillows (envelope style), pillow cases and one blanket…..the theme for this year’s (well past year) for belated wedding present and Christmas presents. My sewing machine was really stitching but as so often happens with me my creativity dreams do not match my available time.
My youngest sister LaBerta and Dustin celebrated their life together – they married on July 4, 2017 in Flager, Colorado. It was a joyous outdoor wedding that was a couple days after the annual Pugh Family Reunion in Stratton, Colorado. I love cowboy theme things….so the I found the perfect fabric to carry that theme from their wedding to a pillow and pillowcases.
LaBerta gave me some clues as to the themes/colors in each of the four kids rooms.
First up….here is Jade’s. Teal is her color so I think this compliments.
Next up is Abby’s….each child got a “coloring” Christmas card and Abby shared hers. Wish my coloring was a good as hers.
I heard that Carson was resting on his pillow first thing….
Bella asked for a knitted blanket…..she got a gift certificate for this design. My needles are clicking….clicking!
These were and are fun projects.
Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Events, Friendship, knitting, Sewing, tagged celebrations, Cheesecake, Friday Morning Knit Group, Mexican Cuisine, Sewing on December 11, 2017| 1 Comment »
Yes…..it’s that time of year again where we celebrate our friendships within this holiday Christmas season. This is the second year that Karen K has hosted…..the setting is so lovely and so conducive to all mingling easily. Fourteen of us gathered and we are all so grateful to Karen for opening her home for this event. We laughed, we shared, we expressed our gratitude for years of friendship, we played the gift exchange game, we ate (catered from Picante), and we drank our favorite – margaritas…..Cameron and Sheri are the best bartenders. We, of course, were treated by Merle to her infamous cheesecake. No gathering would be complete without Merle telling her traditional story of the Christmas tree in her childhood….we beg her to tell it again each year and each year it’s like we are hearing for the first time. We missed Bonnie, Mayra, Patricia and Sandy. I love FMKG (Friday Morning Knitting Group)!
By the way, my sewing machine has been “smoking”…..reversible aprons and Christmas tree napkins.
Posted in Crafting, Creativity, Friendship, knitting, Sewing, tagged Chemo, hats, knitting, Sewing on August 25, 2016| 3 Comments »
Knitting needles have been clicking and sewing machine needles have been seaming. The creativity that I’ve been seeing and enjoying is beautiful.
The other day I stopped by Avenue Yarns to visit Janie who leads a Knit Lab on Sundays (noon to 2pm) so that I could thank her in person for the beautiful quilt that she and her sister Lyda gifted me. It had been “special delivered” to my home by Karen K. It is stunningly beautiful and I will enjoy it for many moons. In fact, it is the perfect size to hang on a chair in the studio….not only will I get to use it but I will enjoy the beauty of it every day.
Janie surprised (again) with another treasure….a hat knit in Koigu. The yarn is like silk to the hand, in this case literally the head. The pattern comes from “Vogue Ultimate Hat Book”. I tried it on with the ties and brooch in back, but in fact it can be worn with ties on the side.
Here are some other knit hats which have so generously and loving been knit by Barbara and, Alison and Juel. Let’s throw in the last couple off my needles…..the gray slouch and the red tower cap.
Friend Juel’s sewing machine has been steaming! She whipped out a few fleece hats!
And there are those hats that been been commercially crafted……a beauty unto their own. Thanks to all who gifted these.
My latest silliness includes this “Batman” cap. I had to let my nephew Daniel, who is a Batman geek and who also just began his first teaching job, see it right away.Thank heavens for today’s technology…..I was able to send him photo via text. He loved but did suggest “dork” to me. Haha!
My thoughts about hats…..I love them and as long as I really have a need to wear now I love the different looks. Here are some from my closet.
Posted in Celebrations, Crafting, Friendship, Sewing, tagged Creativity, Horses, Sewing, Tinkerbell on January 2, 2016| Leave a Comment »
I am just getting ready to create some more personalized pillow cases and realized that I had not posted these from earlier in the year. Each was so fun for me to create.
The horse themed pillow cases were a wedding gift for cousin Colleen and her husband. The Tinkerbell theme was for cousin Amy’s high school graduation gift…yes, she is still in love with Tinkerbell. The last pair was a college graduation gift for cousin Jade. Her mom (my 1st cousin) helped select the fabric by sending a photo of Jade’s bedpread/comforter. In this case, I purposely made the trim on each pillow case a different color.
You too can make customized pillow cases with the help of this tutorial.
My friend Mary called the other day saying “you know I have this really good friend who made me a special pillow and can you believe I left it at the motel. Do you think she could make me another one?” Thus, I found myself at the fabric store a couple days ago and guess what I will be sewing? Here are some of my new fabric choices……stay tuned for how these pillow cases turn out! Hope to have them complete next weekend….although the next few days are really busy! Happy New Year all!
Posted in Christmas, Crafting, Friendship, Holiday, Sewing, tagged Christmas, family, French seamed pillowcases, friendship, Gifts, Sewing on December 30, 2014| 1 Comment »
Years ago….19 to be exact…. while visiting family in Geelong, Australia I bought an Australian themed jersey-type fabric to make a quilt for newly-born nephew Daniel. That material stayed stored in a safe place for the right time….this year I decided I must do something with it. It was a little late for the baby quilt but what about a pillow case? I happen to know that he likes themed things and I thought this idea might be a go (it was). That simple thought was the impetus to create themed pillowcases with French seams for this year’s Christmas gifts.
The first round of pillow cases did not include Daniel’s as I had to get five done and in the mail before Christmas….made it with two days to spare. Four were for my Idaho nieces and nephew. The pillow case for each was the same color with the cuff themes being girly for my nieces and a western theme for my nephew.
My life-long friend Mary (who lives in Colorado) is often on the road and I thought she needed a special case for her well-traveled pillow. She is a Western kind of gal. She is the friend who first “borrowed” the horses that we rode in high school. It was years before I figured out where she borrowed…and I did get some help from Mary with that!
Alrighty… five done and seven more to go as well as one requested apron (for my niece Honara to use in her RV kitchen when they are camping). Here’s that line up.
I see more pillow cases on the horizon! It’s a lot of fun to “theme” them. While Betsy’s doesn’t look particularly themed, it compliments one I made for her in the spring. I added a lace floral piece to this pillow case.
Posted in Crafting, Family, Sewing, Treasures, tagged family, Gifts, Pillow Cases, Sewing on May 9, 2014| 3 Comments »
Whoohoo! Another pillow case gifted…a “just because” gift for niece Betsy who is at Fresno State. She is in finals this week. With this one I learned a different technique to add the pillow case cuff and to finish it off with a French seam…..which is so much easier than one could imagine. Karen Larsen pointed me to this video which gave perfect step-by-step directions. As I was sewing the French Seam, I remembered that Grandma Elizabeth in her youth sewed French Seams by hand.
Posted in Birthday Celebrations, Family, Sewing, tagged Baseball, Birthdays, Fabric, family, Pillow Cases, Sewing, Special Events, Sports on March 20, 2014| 1 Comment »
My nephew Sam turned 16 yesterday…..it seems just the other that he was a baby….and just the other day that I was 16!! As well as trying to remember the young people in our family’s birthdays, I am on a sewing mission. The last 6 weeks have seen an apron with the theme of hearts and cherries for niece Jade, an apron with a cowboy theme for nephew Carson, a Batman pillowcase (check out Skein Lane’s FB page) for nephew Daniel (a “just because gift” because he is such a Batman “geek”…hey I use to like Batman in college), and now a baseball theme pillowcase for Sam. With my usual unpossessed self I am now thinking about all kinds of personalized themes for pillow cases and aprons. I am on the outlook for theme-related fabric…..I’ll know it when I see it!
Here is the latest re Sam’s 16th birthday. He is the youngest of “our” second generation. My 4-yr old nephew Carson is the youngest of “our” first generation. Our family certainly crosses a great age span in generations. Two more celebrations are coming up in May….stay tuned!
Posted in Crafting, Sewing, tagged Aprons, Creativity, family, Sewing on March 4, 2014| 1 Comment »
It was just two or three weeks ago that I sewed an apron for 10-yr old neice Jade….my sister quickly let me know that Carson soon turning 4 would also like an apron. We put our heads together about fabric choice…I found the cowboy boots materials. Then I was back at the sewing machine. The apron arrived on his birthday, Mar 3…..my sister sent me a video of Carson opening his gift and then modeling…..very sweet!! The next day my sister let me know that Carson had been wearing his apron all morning. His grandmother tells me he likes to cook scrambled eggs and pancakes!
I am on a “sewing roll” right now…have a couple more projects lined up.
The cowboy apron…..
Posted in Crafting, tagged Birthday, Gifts, Sewing, Valentine's Day on February 15, 2014| 2 Comments »
With some determination and Priority Mail the gifts arrived on time…..well Valentine’s that is! Inside this box was a belated present for Jade.
While my sewing machine (Mom’s 1954 which I love to use) has been set up in the corner of my bedroom for immediate use, I think most of the recent work was mending or curtains. It really was too much fun to be possessed by the urge to sew. When my niece told me recently that she really enjoyed cooking, I thought to myself “how about I sew an apron?” It had been a long time since used my sewing skills. It was like riding a bike again….it all came back pretty quickly…well except my injured thumb caused a slow start with threading the bobbin…..lol! Sewing the little shirring in the center of the bottom of the pocket was fun; I particularly enjoyed creating the bias with a finished 5/8″ edge.
I’ve now moved the sewing machine to a cubby in the studio area….easy instant access just to pull out and set up on big table! Another creation is in the works….just have to wait for material to arrive….learned earlier today one of them is being shipped from Hong Kong and won’t arrive for a couple weeks. Ugh! I didn’t see that in the fine print.
This morning my sister posted a video of the kids opening their presents. You can see this on my FB page. Love technology for making things so connected!
Skein Lane - IN THE LOOP 