A little joke for you

Saw this and I thought it was awesome.  This is true of fabric if you are a sewer, and of yarn if you are a knitter or crocheter.

A recent study has indicated that fabric gives off certain Pheromones, that
actually hypnotize women and cause them to purchase ungodly amounts.
When stored in large quantities in enclosed spaces, the Pheromones (in the fabric) cause memory loss and induce the nesting syndrome ( similar to the ones
squirrels have before the onset of winter, i.e. storing food) therefore perpetuating their
species, and not having a population loss due to their kind being cut up into pieces and
mixed with others. Sound tests have also revealed that these fabrics emit a very
high-pitched sound, heard only by a select few of breed of women known as
customers.
When played backwards on an LP, the sounds are heard as chants "Buy me" "Cut
me" "Sew me"!  In order to overcome the so-called feeding frenzy effect that these
fabrics cause, one must wear a face mask when entering a storage facility and use ear
plugs to avoid being pulled into their grip. (One must laugh however, at the sight of
customers in a fabric store, with WW2 army gas masks and headphones !)

Studies have also indicated that aliens have inhabited the earth, helping to spread
the effect that these fabrics have on the human population. They are called fabric
store clerks. It's also been my experience that these same Pheromones cause a
pathological need to secret these fabric purchases away when taken home (or at least
blend them into the existing stash) and when asked by a significant other if the fabric is
new, the reply is "I've had it for a while"

(Originally published in August 1997 in the Western North Carolina Quilters Guild
Newsletter) Written by Kathy (Smith) Harris, Tuscon AZ

Love this bib!

Here is a new bib I made up from this tutorial - http://theadventuresofroryandjess.blogspot.com/2011/05/bapron-tutorial.html.  Jess is so talented! Hop over to her blog and check it out.

Drum roll here.......

Isn't she gorgeous!!! This is Miss PicklePants.  She is my model for this great bib.  Her mom is pretty happy with it.  She asked for a couple more, so....

I love the black binding.  It makes it a little different and really cute!

And who doesn't like owls!?! My daughter loves peace signs, so I almost lost this fabric.  With this bib I used flannel on the front and cotton fabric on the back.   The other ones that I made have the flannel on the back and cotton fabric on the front.  Thought I would try something different.  There are soooo many cute flannel fabrics out there.

This is the first one I made for Pickle.  

And this one I made for a sweet baby boy whose daddy is a firefighter.  His moma is pretty awesome too.  Maybe she will send me a picture of him wearing it so I can post it. Hint hint....

I see myself making more of these.  The tutorial is very well written and easy to follow.  This one is a winner! 

Update to previous post

I was scolded by my three year old for calling her "the baby".  So I am changing her nickname to "Little Miss Sassypants".  It really suits her better anyway.

Let me introduce my babies

I thought I would share a little about my family this morning.  They are all so special and unique.  And maybe a little sassy....

This is my oldest, we will call him "the teenager". I discovered I hardly have any pictures of him anymore.  Could it be because he avoids us at all cost?!?  The couple recent pictures I have of him are a little embarrassing.  If I posted them, you would never hear from me again.  I would be buried somewhere with my seam ripper clutched in my hand.  Not a pretty sight! But I love him dearly.  He is a pretty awesome kid.  However there are times I have to remind myself that the...um...snarky stage will end. The clay isn't dry yet! There is still molding that can be done!

This is my second child, we will call her "the creative genius".  She is incredibly smart! Straight A's in school and teachers pet.  Can you tell by the picture of her?  She wants to do everything I do when it comes to sewing and knitting.  "The creative genius" is a whiz at drawing and writing.  So smart!!!  I just pray she uses her "powers" for good and not evil.  Some days I wonder....

Here is baby #3.  And yes she is in a clothes basket. We shall call this one "Sweetie Pie".  This child has a smile that just lights up a room.  And the evil giggle to go with it.  "Sweetie Pie" has a very tender heart.  She is fiercely loyal and has loves completely.  This is the one who will get her feelings hurt the quickest.  A harsh word to this one will break her heart.  I could squeeze this one all day!  Mainly because the older two are really beyond the "moma lovin" stage. Sigh....

And this is "the baby".  She is about to turn 4, so technically she isn't a baby anymore.  However I still call her that out of habit.  This one will always be my baby.  Even when she is 34 instead of 4.  "The baby" is still very attached to me.  She is happy to be by my side 24/7.  She can leave me to go play with someone, but I had better not ever leave her to go do something.  She will call me crying saying she misses me.  Breaks my heart!  This child is so funny.  Everyday I crack up over something she has said.  She is also a tad rotten.  How a 3 yr old can have a 13 yr old attitude I am not sure. But she does!  I am really frightened of the teenage years with this one.  I will probably be completely gray or completely bald by the time she turns 16.  I will probably have a nervous tick by the time she is 10.  In the middle of all this "attitude", she does give some amazing hugs.  She is my best snuggler.

And last is "Fozzie Bear".   We adopted him from the shelter right before Christmas.  He is truly the most spoilt out of all our children.  If your behind touches something solid (chair, floor, bed, toliet) he thinks he has to sit on your lap.  Sometimes it's sweet and sometimes it's annoying.  But I wouldn't trade him for anything.  Is it weird that Fozzie Bear's favorite toy is a stuffed frog?  We named the frog Kermit.  Thought it was fitting.

So this is my babies.  Somedays I want to pull my hair out.  Other days I want to pull their hair out!  But overall they are pretty wonderful. 

Teacher bags

Well I finally finished the bags for the girls teachers. 

This is the first one I finished.  I really like the colors.  They are so bright!

Here is the back view.  It's not overly big, just big enough to carry folders, papers, or a notebook.

This is the one I made for daughter #2's teacher.  She picked out the fabrics for this one.  I have always like pink and brown together.   I finally learned how to make a lining for a bag, and how to make box corners. They aren't nearly as difficult as I thought they would be.  I'm still not the best at it, but I am getting better with practice.

Hope they like them! Let me know what you think.

Pillowcase dress finished!

Finished the pillowcase dress Tuesday.  It really didn't take too long. Easily done in an afternoon.  Here is "Little Miss Sassypants" modeling it for me.

She was really happy with her new dress.

Isn't she something?!? I always tell people that it's a good thing she is cute. 

Just gotta love her! Thank you to http://www.themotherhuddle.com/ for a wonderful pattern!  It is truly lovely and very simple to make.  Your directions were fantastic!  The only thing I did different is I added muslin as a lining. With the white fabric, I was a little afraid of it being too thin. I am very happy with how it turned out.

Pillowcase Dress

I am going to feature some of my favorite blogs over the next couple of weeks.  The first one is http://www.themotherhuddle.com/.  She has some really neat tutorials.  I choose her first because I am currently working on her tutorial for a pillowcase dress. See tutorial at http://www.themotherhuddle.com/tutorial-fat-quarter-pillow-case-dress/.

Here are the fabric pieces I am using.

They look like vintage sheets!  I love it.  It is actually just a fabric fat-quarter bundle from Joann's.  The colors are so soft and blend so well.

This picture shows the patterns on the fabric a little better.  I will put a picture on here of the finished dress as soon as I can.  I really hope to get some more sewing done tomorrow!

Boy baby quilt

Here is another quilt I recently finished.  It is my first baby boy quilt.

The colors are so different.  I think that is one reason I like it so much.  It's just a really simple patchwork quilt, but the fabric is awesome.

The backing is a super soft yellow from Joann's.  It can be found with the chenille and minky fabrics.  Kinda expensive, but you don't have to use much with a baby blanket.  Plus if you are a cheapo like me, you use a 40% off coupon!  I love my coupons!

Fabric Giveaway!!!

There is a fabric giveaway over at Honeybear Lane! Beautiful fabrics! Go check it out at http://www.honeybearlane.com/.  There is a link at the top of the page to go to the giveaway. Let me know what you think. Crossing my fingers that I win!

Work in progress

I know all the other blogs post their wip on Wed, but I am a little behind. So even though it is Friday, I decided to go ahead and share a few things I am working on.

This is my first pinwheel quilt.  I used a Central Park charm pack and some extra fabric from Hobby Lobby.  They have some great fabrics!  Really not perfect, plus the picture isn't the greatest, but I am happy with it.

I love the colors.  They are a bit different than what you would normally see in a baby quilt, but then I am a bit different!  I still have to put on the backing and batting and then quilt it.  Not sure how I am going to quilt it.  I am thinking about diagonal lines.  Any ideas?

This is going to be a tote bag for one of my daughter's teacher.  I like how this one is coming together.  Got the lining ready, just have to sew it all together.  I'm a little afraid to.  I really don't want to mess this up!

Here's the back of the bag.

And here is a close up of the monogram.  Just don't look too close, you may find mistakes!

A quilt for baby Eva

I made this quilt for my friend Ella.  Her sweet baby Eva was born back in April.  That baby has the most wonderful parents! Such a lucky baby!

Ella runs the Mead Montessori School, so I thought the fabric would be appropriate.  I love the owls and children!

I did the backing in a super soft green fabric.  It's with all the minky and softy fabric, but I'm not sure of the offical name of it.  Let me tell you, it is fantastic!  I had a hard time parting with this quilt.  I wanted to snuggle under it!  It's not perfect, but I am getting better. 

This quilt is just a simple patchwork.  All the squares are 6 inches.  Trying to stick to easy until I get better.  Can't mess up too much when you have great fabric to work with!

My first quilt

This is my very first quilt.  I am really pleased with how it turned out.  I saw all the beautiful puff quilts over at http://www.honeybearlane.com/ and had to try one for myself.  Heidi is so talented! You should really check her out.  I used her tutorial for the puff quilt.  I did change a few things, but that is me.  I can't seem to follow directions exactly.  Always have to put my own spin on things!

Gave this quilt to my good friend Janna to use with her two beautiful girls.  Maybe she will send me a picture of them on it sometime so I can post it. Hint hint!

Here we go!

I guess the best place to start is to share some about myself.  I'm Anne, a sahm of 4 awesome kids.  My center and strength is God and my church family.  Don't know what I would do without them! My life is my husband and kids. Married to Will for 12 years and mom to 4 kids (ages 16, 10, 6, and 3). My passion is assisting women through their pregnancy and childbirth as a birth doula.  You can check out my website at http://www.pushdoula.com/.  And my "therpy" is sewing.  I do a little of everything - knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting, and embrodiery.  This keeps my sane.  And trust me, I need all the help I can get! After having 4 kids, we decided that was enough.  But I love the little ones so much, that is one reason I became a doula.  Most of my sewing is for babies also.  Seems like my life kinda revolves around babies in some way or another, so I figured it should be in the title of my blog. 

This blog will have little pieces of all my life.  I can't share too much of the doula part, due to privacy issues.  But I love it so much, I will find things to share with you.  There will be lots of posts about things I am making.  I love to share with my friends what I have made.  So this will be my "show and tell" area! Can't wait to get to know you guys better!