I bought these shoes last summer and I never wore them.  I don’t know why because they are pretty comfy for wedge espadrilles.  I started thinking they would look so much cuter with a rosette of some sorts on the toe instead of the two knots.  So, I cut up some old black fabric with my pinking shears and then sewed it together with a button.   Whaa-laaa!  I love them now! 

This little guy also comes from the book, Softies only a mother could love.  This one is designed by Ellen Box and her website is bonspielcreation.com.  I made him for Mr. Jackson (2 years old).  Ruth and I named him Carl.  I don’t know why it just seemed to fit.  He is made of felt and as with all the others he was super easy to make.  

This little girl is called, Peaches.  I named her after my old sweater that I used to make her body.  It is, was a great sweater, I just never wore it much.  So, it was in the goodwill bag about to make its departure when I got this great book from my friend Jess. I have a made a few of these softies as gifts and they are always a big hit with the kids and the parents.  I made this one for our dear friend Yuval for her 3rd birthday.

Ruthie loves this one almost a little too much.  Wasn’t sure if we were actually going to get it in the mail without a melt down.  I need to make her a Softie stat. 

I absolutely love making these little animals and dolls from this book.  It gets my creative juices flowing. Also, it is fun to make them from any and all scraps that you have. I let Ruth help me pick out all the fabrics, buttons, etc.   And we always personally name them.   If you are not a by the book, no measuring required kind of sewer this is a project for you.  Seriously you can make what ever little creature you want.  Just cut and sew.  You will be amazed at how much creativity comes from this project. 

This one is designed by Carly Schwerdt and you can check out her blog at neststudio.typepad.com. I absolutely love love love this blog.  

Yuval cuddling with Peaches. 

This cozy elephant I designed and made for my dear Mr. Elliott.  A long over due birthday present for him but finally finished it.  Again, I just did a free hand pattern.  I think when you get an idea you just go with it and have fun using your creativity.  I especially loved the super soft green ears on this guy. 

Of course, Ruth had to make sure he was snuggle ready.  Mr. E passed her test. 

My dear friend Amy mentioned to me the other day that I should show Ruth how to sew.  I have been doing so much sewing on my own with my wonderful daughter always interested in my sewing boxes and materials.  So I thought, what a great idea.  I made her this simple project by taking two pieces of card stock and punching holes with numbers.  Then I took a piece of yarn (with tape on the ends to avoid fraying) and showed her how to stick it through the paper according to the numbers.  She loved it!! Such good practice.  I am going to make her a sewing box and a few more little projects.  More pictures to come. 

What a cutie! 

I have this glass door in my galley kitchen, which I am thankful for because it lets in good light and a fresh breeze.  But I can’t stand the look of those blinds.  So, I thought it would look cute to cover with a little valence.  

So, I took an old dish towel and sewed some ric-rac on it.  Super easy! 

Whaaa-laaa!!! 

This was really very easy and basically cost me under a dollar for the ric-rac.  Fun and very easy project. 

This is only my 2nd quilt and I am learning a lot with each one.  I kept this one simple so I can learn the basics.  I did the edging all by hand.  This is the part that takes the longest.  I need to figure out how to do it on the machine.  I think I will wait until my mom comes once I have baby boy and have her teach me some of her tricks.  It is hard to learn on g-chat.  She has taught me miter corners pretty well over the world wide web.  I think the best way to learn is to just do it and learn the hard way.  Like life, this really is the only way.   We can try and cut corners (no pun intended) but ultimately you have to learn through trial and error.  

Miss Violet is absolutely one of the happiest babies I have ever met.  Hopefully she will enjoy this quilt for many years to come. 

Made this cute dinosaur pillow for Ruth’s friend Eli.  It is made of a soft fuzzy fleece material. I just did a free hand template and drew a dinosaur that looked somewhat easy to sew. I didn’t want it to be to complex because those small corners are hard to sew and turn inside out.  Eli loved it and sleeps with it every night.  Super easy and fun to make. 

Kelly, as requested here are some pics of a few things I have been doing around the house.  I promise I am not moving all this furniture.  My dear husband has been moving whatever I ask because he knows it kills me not to be able to do it myself.  He is a good, very good, husband. :) 

Here is the accent wall I painted (yes, with no voc paint).  I obviously am simplifying and downsizing everything in preparation for all the baby gear that seems to take over your life when you have a little one. 

Yes, I know the Lazy boy is uggg-lay-ohhhh!!! But all I want is to be comfortable when I nurse baby boy. I never felt comfy when I was nursing Ruth and this chair is awesome for sleeping in and it rocks.  When I am done nursing I promise to get rid of it, or secretly hide it somewhere because seriously it is so comfortable. 

Every parent needs an art wall for their kids art.  It is amazing how much art my daughter Ruth can produce.   I found these metal tape strips with strong magnets at where else, The Container Store.  I took down all my old black and whites.  I was tired of so many things to dust.  Again, simplifying my life. 

This was my biggest project. I went through all of our books and only kept what we really, really love or what we plan to read in the next year.  I bought an extra bookshelf laid them on their sides and then went through the big job of organizing all my fabric. That is right all those white bins are full of fabric.  I am officially (with exceptions) on fabric restriction.  :)  YEAH RIGHT!!! 

My desk and work station.  This is where I do all my sewing.  It has the best light and I like how I can close the curtains when it gets really messy and I don’t have to look at it. 

And last, my new favorite thing, framing fabric that I love.  I had all those left over black frames from the hall way and I kept some for back up.  Again, I have all this fabric that I love and thought it would look so cute framed.  I love it!  And the best part when I get bored with it I won’t care because it cost me nothing.  

I signed up for a sewing class many moons ago and have not done one of the projects until now.  I finally finished the first project and made some very basic napkins.  They are not perfect but definitely learned some good stuff while making them and that is the point right? Yes, it is :) Note to self: when making napkins take the extra time and do miter corners.  I fancied up my not so nice corners with a few buttons.  Oh well, it is the thought and practice that counts.