Lots of sewing!

Hello all of my blog friends. I think an update is in order as I feel like I have been cranking out projects as of late.  First up, during Christmas  I was commisioned to make a quilt for my daughters ballet teacher, by her husband.  Commissioned is a loose word. I did all the piecing pro bono, because I have appreciated everything she has done for us.

 I had this quilt kit in my stash and added a few borders to make it Queen size. I hated to give it away because this quilt looked great in MY bedroom.  Isn't that the way it goes?

I made this little sewing set for my mom for Christmas. This is from Milady's Needle called Ann Blockley's Pin Cushion and Scissor Keep. I stitched it on 40 count linen with my own conversion of Gentle Art threads. 

When we were at the Attic needlework store in November, I noticed that my mom picked up the pattern several times to admire it. I decided to sneak it into my purchases and make it for her. The buttons on the scissor holder were a bit tricky so I opted for a pre made trim on the pincushion.  

The dolls got dressed up for Christmas!  Caroline is wearing a dress made out of blue silk that I finished this year.  

We took a Disney cruise a few weeks ago for one of our Christmas presents. My daughter and I ran the 5k on Castaway Cay, Disney's private island. 

I started running during the summer and I absolutely love it!  I'm not running any marathons or anything, but as far as exercise goes, it's one of my favorite things to do. I don't like running in the cold and snow. I cannot wait for warmer weather again!!!!

My poor daughter struggled with the run. She was less than enthusiastic after mile one. A picture with Captian Jack helped her smile again. 

We took an unexpected trip to Washington D.C. on our way home from our cruise. It was great seeing all of the sites. My kiddos are growing so fast!

Of course we had to visit the American Girl store in D.C. and my daughter used her Christmas money to buy the new girl of the year, Isabelle. They are both ballerinas. 

Do you remember the Shores sampler I finished a few months ago?  Well this is the house that my husbands great grandfather built in 1796 , near the nations capital. We had to drive by and take a snap. It is obviously under a huge renovation at the moment. I want to go back when they have restored it in all it's glory.

Over Christmas break, and a few times into January, I got together with my favorite Sister-in-law, and we sewed up a bunch of projects.  She is in a monthly sew group and she wanted a place to store a duplicate of all of her favorite sewing notions.  I wanted something for retreats and classes.  

We were first inspired by the Portable Creation Station pattern by Pine Mountain designs. We changed the front pocket to a hanging design so it could be removed. The pattern comes with an iron tote as well and I have one cut out but not constructed yet.

As we started sewing we found other patterns to add to our obsession. We needed an Abbey Bag by Abbey Lane Quilts, to hold thread snippets and pins.  The Sewing Caddy (not sure of the designer) we put inside a brochure holder from Staples to hold all of our pens, seam rippers and odds and ends. 

The clear plastic thread holder is a modified pattern by Kerry Stitch called Needle Nook. We didn't do the appliqué on the front, just used the same focus fabric from the tray. 

The bag to hold everything in is from Fig Tree and it's called The Bella Bag. 

It feels great to be organized and prepared for a sewing day out of my own sewing room. No more forgetting my seam ripper or needles!  I can just grab my bag and go. 

I got together with another friend this month and we made these wool Halloween friends. They are both patterns from Threads That Bind called Crow Catcher and Perfect Potion.  Talk about a fun sewing day. We were suppose to be working our wool quilts, Pennies From Heaven, but had a rebellious hair and decided to do something totally different. These wool friends were hilarious with their funny fingers and facial expressions. I can't wait to decorate with these guys. 

I made 6 of these Crazy Quilt Hearts for friends at Christmas time. I changed the fabrics from blacks to creams. The pattern is called Christmas Heart by A Piece of Work. 

On the stitching front, I've been working on Peter and Peep by With Thy Needle and Thread. I'm anxious to finish him up and move on to something new. He is taking a loooonnng time to stitch!  He is easy on the eyes, but I have messed up plenty on this guy!  Sometimes I think the lower count fabrics are harder to stitch on!  

Last of all I picked this up from the framers. It is my ABCD 1817 sampler from The Scarlett Letter. I love how tiny it is. It looks great tucked on a little shelf in my hallway. 

That's all for me today. I hope you are enjoying your sewing time!  Until next time dear friends!