Recycle :: Old T-Shirts

Today's project :: Making dish rags out of old t-shirts. I sew about 20 wallets a day at least, so when the opportunity came today for a little change in scenery. I took it. I pulled a few of dads old t-shirts from the dryer this morning with a few small holes in them. Instead of throwing them away, I decided to re-use them somehow.

The fabric on a t-shirt is awesome for dusting, as well as windows. Guys, it's great for out in the garage to. So next time your guys oil changing fingers reach for that clean kitchen towel. Hand him one of these instead.

Just grab the old t-shirt and throw it on your rotary mat. Make sure it's all smoothed out so that both sides are even and there are no wrinkles...

Line up your ruler right underneath the armpits of the shirt, and slide your rotary blade down

the ruler in one straight cut.

Square up the edges with a few more ruler ended straight cuts, and viola. You have new
super soft dusting rags.

OMG, this hot weather

Oh This is fun mom
Originally uploaded by sewfantastic2009

The sun is out again today, It has been about 100 degree's all week. To hot to get out of the house for to long, and almost to hot for indoors. Even with air conditioning. I hope that all of you are staying cool today.

All sophie want's to do is go outside of course. She is a summer baby after all.

Do you like all this hot weather??
Has it changed your mood or motivation?

Boy it's kicked me in the tail, but I got more wallets to sew so I will be back when the work is caught up. Have a great summer day everyone.

Sunday Stash:: Imagination

Imagination
Originally uploaded by sewfantastic2009

Colorful and Whimsy huh!
This is going to be added to the wonderful array of colorful fabrics I have in my etsy shop.

Tons of prints are going away, only a few will remain. The good news is that a bunch of new stuff is coming next month.

Go visit the shop now and help me clear out all that goodness with FREE SHIPPING in the shop now for a limited time only,.

My First Treasury :: Aqua-tic Heat

I actually caught a treasury on the main screen today. They are not kidding when they say you have to be quick to get one. Check it out and leave me a comment on it to let me know what you think. You can view it here LIVE.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S. SWAP :: Sent

Well I can finally share with you the package that I sent to Naomi for the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. swap hosted by Khris. The idea was to get to know your partner and come up with something for them that started with each letter of the word friends. This was the package I sent her.

(Click here to read her post about the package)


F:: Fabric Fat Quarters Kind of repro looking with a new age feel I thought they were a little kichen-y, but I couldn't resist the charm they had.

R:: Refrigerator Magnets and recipe cards Yeah my clever shot at trying those pendant necklaces (only with magnets instead)

I:: Ice cream Pin Cushion. This one came out of nowhere. Me and Sophia were at the craft store and saw the ice cream dish. We used the tutorial from over at Christina's blog.
E:: Exclusive Edition Soft lips balm. Ha ha ha I had to laugh. in the line with Sophia at Target I said "that's my E"

N:: Notebook, Well Actually it's one of my new carryall's but it has a notebook inside. :) And since my partners name started with an N, I found a notebook with her initial on it to, along with some cute birdie note cards. (whew, that was a long one)

D:: Dishcloth, yeah not very creative I know. I actually had the have the ladies at my fabric store help me brainstorm for this one. I even appliqued a cute little scrappy owl on there since Naomi loves owls.

S:: Stationary, and sweets. A little chocolate and some fun paper. Purple is her favorite color, and she loves stationary.

All in all, I would have to say this was the most fun I have ever had in a swap. I had a lot of time to complete the package and make some wonderful things. Thanks Khris for hosting such a fun swap. I can't wait to share what I get from Naomi.... stay tuned.

Private Sale:: Blog Readers

Hey all, I am slowly getting back to my daily routine and have some new tutorials on the way, as well as some other great stuff. I am in the process of clearing out the shop to make way for some new stuff next month.

I have sent a few things to the clearance tab of my shop that will no longer be made in the shop. So get them while you can. I wanted to say thanks to everyone who has hung around for all my not so exciting posts, and continued to read.

I am offering free shipping on Everything in my shop through Thursday 7/23/2009 Ends on this day about 12am Pacific time. This offer is for all U.S. And Canada Buyers.

For International Buyers I will give you half off shipping cost. I understand the shipping gets high going over sea's so this is your chance to find something great at a good deal.

Coloring Wallets are still on sale for 12.00 each until the end of July, then they will go back to 15.00 each. I will allow this sale on Custom orders if they are purchased by Thursday.

So that I know you saw this on my blog please leave coupon code FAITHFULREADER in the notes to seller box when closing out your sale. For these people who take advantage of the sale there will also be a drawing from all sales for a free Gift certificate for 20.00. Good luck and happy shopping.

Sunday Stash:: Great Find

Late night searching last week for something totally unrelated to what you see here. The shop I called looking for some aunt grace polka dots. After the sad "No I am sorry" that I got from the shop, I decided to ask her about a few other collections that she might have.

And guess what she found me..... Isn't it just beautiful.

What a find:: Weekend Sewing

Sorry about the low quality picture, Honestly I am tired and I didn't have the time to get a great shot. I am sure you have all been there, BUT LOOK...... See that book? It's the well sought after Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. It has wonderful projects for all kinds of sewing, even stuff for beginners.

You will never guess where I found it.

Yep, Joann's of all places, I was actually looking to see if they had it so I could use a coupon ( I am such a cheapskate you know) I almost missed it cause it seems that the cover is a little different. I read an entry in her blog about her being on the Martha Stewart show again. So of course I followed the link (despite all the work I need to get done) and I saw how easily she does the child's smocked top dresses. So easy they are made. You know Sophia has to have one or two or three.

Anyway I better get back to sewing while she is asleep. Everyone grab your 50% off Joann's coupons and go get this book. You wont be sorry.

Grandpa's one of a kind Gift

Look what showed up from the UPS man the other day. Grandpa Harlan had a tricycle custom built for Sophia.

Not only was it built just for her, but the paint job is hand painted as well, complete with her name in hot pink along the back of the seat. It has a button on top of the handlebars with a flashlight type headlight. (in case she wasn't to be like night rider or something)

The wheel spokes are covered to prevent injuries, the tires are covered as well. This is a very cool bike. It was made by some guys that work at an auto detailing shop, and this is their side job. At least that's what I was told.

Although she is to little for it right now, she is already eager to play with it. Talk about being the cool kid on the block. Thanks grandpa we love it.

Sunday Stash :: Gathering

For a few months now I have had this overwhelming craving for the color orange. I have been gathering orange ans aqua prints to put together in a quilt for myself. It will be the first quilt in my whole fifteen years of quilting, that I have made for myself. I am usually a quilter of gifts. I have always given away my quilts as gifts, and have not one to show for the fact that I even quilt.

So I am gathering still and not sure what prints will actually end up in the quilt when I sit down to do it. I think the aqua will spice it up a bit to. So Orange and Aqua quilt.. And tons of white in it to, what do you think?

Feeling Complete

I know that I don't really share a whole lot about my family here, but this is just to good. See the picture above? That is my younger sister. She is a year younger then me and that cute little girl is her 4 year old daughter. When we all were growing up we lost contact with all six of my brothers and sisters.

Well about 2 years ago I found her in California, since then we have visited each other and kept in contact quite often. I have missed her so much, and if that wasn't enough read this.....

(My brother and sister)

This is the only 2 family members that I could not find. My oldest brother, and my youngest sister. I have not seen them in 6 years.

As I was sitting at my sewing machine Monday night, this overwhelming urge came over me to search her name on google. It was like something was spiritually guiding me to find her. It took 3 hours of uninterrupted searching on google only to find..... Her myspace, and she was still with my brother. How funny is that.

I emailed her right away with my phone number and called the rest of the family at 10.00 pm. Everyone was frantic thinking something was wrong. (Sorry guys) So the end of my story is that after 6 years of not even speaking and the fact that they lived with dad and I with mom. I have found them at last. My family is now complete. What a wonderful week this has been.

My youngest sister.

Sunday Stash :: Progress

Well I finally have all or most of the prints I need for 3 quilts. They are all for Sophia of course, and made with my favorite fabrics of all time. The first one will be from the American Jane collection (shown above)

The second is from the Flea Market fancy line (shown below)

And the third is a Heather Ross quilt.

I am hoping these will be family heirlooms when finished. It's a shame that these are no longer in print, but at least I will always have them around in something beautiful.

I am still needing 1 piece to finish up the heather Ross quilt (day at the beach) , hopefully I can locate it soon. Hope everyone had a wonderful fourth of July. If you would like to see others participating in Sunday Stash go here to see all the lovely fabrics.

Quilthome.com Winner

Thanks everyone for all the wonderful comments. My little random generator picked out a lucky winner. We did it a little different this time and just put every one's comments in a jar. Then I let miss Sophia pick the winner. (she liked that part)

The winner of half our winnings at Quilthome.com is Ashley. Congratulations Ashley you win a yard of your choice from Quilthome.com. Or 2 half yards... YAY!! I will email you tonight for your contact info.

BUT WAIT....... There is more!

Today someone from quilthome.com saw the giveaway on my blog, and read all of your wonderful comments as well. They have offered a little bonus for you all. So we picked 2 more winners who get to choose a half yard of what they want as well.

the other winners are.....

yay! Kelly and Nancy:: I will email you as well to get your half yard choice and address.

How cool is that for them to add to the fun. I hope that everyone got the chance to check out the shop over at quilthome.com. There shipping is the fastest and if you Place an order over 50.00 the shipping is FREE!!.

Thanks again everyone, and congrats to our 3 lucky winners.