"Can you make me a Snuggie?" and Other Happenings

YES I CAN!!! It took me last week and this week to figure it out and then to actually cut and sew it...but I think it came out ok. Look!! I even tried my hand at Snuggie Couture...


Steph...what do you think of my Scrappy Brooch?? :D Ok, so my brother and his wife are going to a "Snuggie Party" tonight. Good, campy, fun right?? And they ask if I can make them a "redneck" Snuggie...NO OFFENSE to any rednecks out there...it is just a slang term used around here!! So anyway, my SIL buys a twin sheet set from the dollar store and says "Here you go, you can use these!" My brother's camo-sleeved snuggie is made with the top sheet, and my SIL's couture snuggie is made with the fitted sheet, it "clung" better! :D Now this wasn't that difficult, but I knew that these were just for fun and would only be used once...so that made it less stressful!! Having a Serger helped ALOT!!! Now if I were to make one for real....I will DEFINITELY have to work on cutting circles!!!! And maybe take more time to actually try and MEASURE BEFORE I start cutting!! Here's hoping that they fit ok!

Other than that, I have been taking it easy. I made some flower clippies to try to hurry in Spring....


And did you hear? The New Orleans SAINTS are going to the SUPER BEAUXL!!!!

Yes, that is how we spell it around here!! :D Wouldn't want to step on anyone's COPYRIGHTS!!! Sheesh!! Steph...see another Scrappy flower, this one is on a clippie. Ms. Priss' school has been letting the kids wear Saints shirts on Fridays, so I whipped this one up for her to wear in her hair and match her shirt!! And for those of you not "in the know"..."WHO DAT saying gonna beat them SAINTS???"

And lastly, I did this shirt last week for my sweet niece. This embroidery and the one above were all courtesy of my favorite site...Sew Forum!!

I grabbed a couple of free downloads and went to work on my embroidery software to combine and add designs together to make these shirts!! Awesome. I have also downloaded a free Digitizing program to just, "try my hand" and let me tell you...TIME CONSUMING!! I mean, you have to MANUALLY place every stitch!! MAJOR PROPS to the ppl who do this and then GIVE designs away!! I am FOREVER grateful!!

So, I am going to my folks for the weekend, hope you all have a good one!! Amy, I am still working on my potholder....I just TOTALLY messed up on my binding...even though Catherine has an AWESOME tutorial...I just didn't follow instructions very well!! Oh well, I will get it done...soon!! Until later...

I'm BEAUTIFUL....or so she says!!

My SWEET friend Allie is doing her BEST to pull me out of my FUNK!! She gave me this award! Since she was one of my first regular commenters...it is only fitting that she give me my first blog award. THANK YOU, girl!! You are by far one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL people I've met! And I learn something new from you with every post!!


To accept this award I have to thank the person who gave it to me, which I did...paste the award on my blog and link back to the person who nominated you...check out Allie's blog here and learn all about her Sweet Happy Life!! And lastly, tell 7 interesting things about myself, nominate 7 blogs for this award then link to them!! Easy enough, I guess. Although, I may repeat somethings you already know...

1. I was active duty Air Force for 4 years, then in the Louisiana Air National Guard for 9, which gives me a grand total of 13 years in...got out after having my first baby because my husband and I were both in, but he was not travel qualified because of his type 2 diabetes.

2. Of all of the places I was stationed (Texas, Colorado, California, Virginia, Georgia) Shemya, Alaska was by far the MOST interesting. It is the 2nd to last island on the Aleutian chain and the sun would SET at 2 AM!!! Crazy, huh?

3. I was in a production of Neil Simon's Rumors on the island...thankfully the base only allowed Active Duty AF with some civilian contractors...not a big audience!! :D

4. I started my family backwards, sorta, got married (at 29), became full-time mom to teenagers, had first baby (at 30), 73 yo MIL moved in!!

5. I am a Junior in College and have been for about 10 YEARS!! I plan on going back someday to finish my degree in Psychology...not sure what I want to be when I grow up, though! :D

6. While pregnant with my second child, I decided it would be cute to have the girls in matching outfits once the Middle Child was born, so I bought a sewing machine and started teaching myself how to sew.

7. And lastly, maybe not as interesting as the fact that Allie can drive a SEMI(!!??), I can drive a Deuce and a half (a BIG military truck), a fork-lift, a motorcycle, and calibrate all kinds of things (including the guns the police use to check your speed)...and THAT got me out of MANY a speeding ticket!! :D


WOW!! That was pretty hard...I am not very interesting...at least not as much as I USED to be!! :D So here is who I nominate as my fellow Beautiful Bloggers, I would say ALL of you, because you all are...but I can't link to you all....so here is my list:

Amy....because she is working on the MOST BEAUTIFUL Cathedral Quilt.
Beatrix...because she sends me the MOST BEAUTIFUL things.
Marguerite....because she is the MOST BEAUTIFUL withOUT an appendix!! :D
Eva...because she sews with the MOST BEAUTIFUL fabrics.
Elizabeth...because she is the MOST BEAUTIFUL teacher..and is AWESOME at blogging about new techniques she has learned!
Stephanie...because she has the MOST BEAUTIFUL crafty FAMILY!! And she just moved to a beautiful new home WITH and AWESOME STUDIO!!! I'm sooooo jealous!!
Ellie...because she finds the MOST BEAUTIFUL things on the internet and shares them with us...not to mention her own beautiful fabrics, creations, and photos!!

And just because I have to be a "rebel" and give 8.... Tammie...because she makes the MOST BEAUTIFUL things..babies most of ALL!! :D


So I have been doing a little creating...I have most of my Mardi Gras tree covered. And my BFs mom absolutely LOVED her Heart tree! She started crying...which made me start crying...so sweet!! She is doing much better, and has actually started driving herself around again!!

I mostly have been cleaning my house...which seems to take a LONG TIME!!!! UGH!!! Everytime I clean one room and move to the next....the kiddos have messed up the room I just spent AN HOUR on!!!! And the LAUNDRY....a NEVER-ENDING mountain that seems to grow and grow!! I guess all of that neglecting builds up and now I am paying the price!! BUT I see a light at the end of this FUNK and am hoping to be back to sewing this week!! I have been reading my Quilting book and will attempt "real" quilting on some potholders I am making for Amy's Potholder Pass!! I am ready to try something NEW!!

So I will try to catch up with all of you this week and I am sorry that I've been so negligent as of late. Hope you all have a great week!! Until later...

Stitching....Knitting....and FINALLY, Sewing!!

Thank you all soooo much for the thoughts, prayers, and well wishes for Ms. Priss!! She is doing GREAT. The second X-ray showed that she was healing, and after the visit to the Dr. she stopped complaining of the pain in her side. :) She is pretty much back to her normal SASSY self and she REALLY enjoyed the Walking With Dinosaurs showing!!

So as you can see I've been keeping myself occupied! After the sweet stitched heart I got from Marguerite, I decided to make a few more and decorate a little tree I picked up at JoAnn's for 99 cents (!!), well I actually picked up 3. Because you never know!! I plan on using one to display a few Mardi Gras decorations I've been working on!

My sweet Marguerite is recovering from an emergency appendectomy....get well soon girl!! You've got some beautiful quilts to finish!! :D I also had another "scare" from my best friend's Mom. She woke up with terrible chest pains and went into the hospital to have a stint put in because of an EXTREME amount of blockages in her heart! Thankfully she is also home recovering!! The more I look at my sweet little tree, the more I think she deserves a whole lotta hearts to let her know how much I love her and what having her in my life for ALL OF THESE YEARS has meant to me!! So Mimi, I'll be seeing you soon...and bringing the LOVE!! :D

And because my sewing room was a DISASTER AREA and I couldn't bring myself to get in there and CLEAN it...let alone create something in it...I decided to knit!!

Of course in THIS house, you just can't do one!! I did The Boy's first, since it has been so cold here and he outgrew the one I knitted last year. But then the Middle Child saw it and demanded one of her own. Then, even though she still has one that fits, Ms. Priss wanted a new one. I let the girls pick their own colors. I think this pattern is from Lion Brand and I just used whatever I had in my yarn basket. It is pretty quick, I would say a day for each...and that is with picking it up and putting it down....alot!! The trick with this hat is to use two strands of yarn...it makes it thicker so it is warmer because there is not much space between the stitches. It is done on straight needles, then stitched up the back. I want to do some mittens, but for now the cold weather has gone and I am back on my sewing machine....YAY!!

This cute thang is for my niece! I am going to my folks for my nephew's birthday party, so my SIL sent me an email asking for a pair of pants to match a shirt she had done. Hot pink and zebra print...can't go wrong!! :D

And for my nephew, who turned 5!! Something to keep the messes to a minimum!

I got him some paints...so I figured the apron would keep me in my big Sister's good graces!

I also decided to make him a little "Portfolio" to carry all of his artwork in!

I don't know if you can see it in the pictures, but I did a little strip of velcro on one side of the neck band, while the other side is stitched to the top of the apron. We will see how it works out! I think I did a little better serging on the vinyl...at least the bottom of the apron is straight! :)

Well, that is all for now!! I will be back in FULL production next week...I got another LSU quilt order...YAY!! I am also participating in Amy's Potholder Pass...I've never made potholders so I am sure this will be an ADVENTURE!! I am not sure when her sign up ends...but if you are really sweet...she may squeeze you in!! :D Until later....

Sorry for the Bloggy Break

Besides the fact that my sewing room is STILL a mess from making Christmas gifts....Ms. Priss has been fighting pneumonia. We thought once the antibiotics were done that it was all gone, but she is still complaining of side "chest" pains. Thankfully there is no more fever, but we will be going back today for another chest X-ray and then to the doctor to make sure it hasn't progressed into something worse. Right now she is at the CajunDome enjoying the AWESOME Walking with Dinosaurs exhibit!! I couldn't let her miss that, so we will be going as soon as the show is finished! The link takes a minute to load, but it is pretty cool!! If the show wasn't SOLD OUT, and I didn't think it would be too "scary" for a 3 yo and 18 mo, I would SO BE THERE!!

I have been doing some knitting, and my nephew's birthday party is this weekend, so I will HAVE to get in there and DO SOME CLEANING....SOON!! :D Hope all is well with you, and wishing you all WARMTH!! :D Until later...

Christmas Gifts...Made and Received

Well, OF COURSE I did an Elise Doll for a Christmas gift!! It really is an AWESOME pattern! Go get one...and check out Beatrix's sale in her Etsy shop....75% OFF!!! I might have to pick up a few things...better get there before me! :D This little cutie is for my niece, as well as a couple of monogrammed shirts for upcoming holidays!


My nephew has been begging for a cape for about 2 months now!! Yep, I'm a Meanie...I made him wait for Christmas! I didn't really have a pattern, I just browsed some capes on some other blogs and then started cutting! Thankfully it came out ok...and fits his neck!! The neck tab is sewn in on one side and velcro'ed on the other. While we were at my folks, the kids were playing "kitchen" with The Middle Child's new Melissa and Doug Cookie Set and they turned the cape around and used it as an apron...now WHY I didn't think about this before, but the next apron I make will have a velcro'ed neck tab!! Gotta love kids' imagination...the ULTIMATE in creative thinking!!


This was a QUICK sew!! I used this tutorial!! No pockets, and the felt is on the inside with fabric on the outside...but it got RAVE reviews!!


My brother wants to get me some leather so I can make him one!! :D I found the tutorial through Sew Mama Sew! OF COURSE!! They are sooooooo awesome! This bag was for my older nephew. He is 8 going on 18! I thought Ms. Priss was sassy!! He and his brother, who got the cape and is about to be 5, came back with me to Lafayette for a couple of days!! We had a great time, and it was nice to be able to "steal" my sister's kids, since she ALWAYS gets mine when they stay with my folks!! As we were loading up I said, "ya'll wanna come with us?" And before she could even THINK...their bags were packed and they were in my car!! HA! I didn't even ask my husband...just took them! Thankfully my friend Jane has an older boy, so we all hung together!

So, moving on...

This was a vinyl table cloth. It is for my cousin's sweet baby! Yes, I did put the snap on before I gave it too her..but unfortunately because of my stomach virus she didn't have it for Christmas day! :(

But luckily, I had the good idea to make it into a removable ornament so she could put it on her tree every year! I just sewed a clear vinyl "pocket" onto the bib, but haven't figured out a way to close it more securely. I just folded the excess over the little gingerbread man to make sure no food slipped in and messed it up! Now that the ornament has been put away for next year, I am going to do a little heart so she can use it for Valentine's Day. I did another bib for her, but didn't get a picture of that one.

But I did get a picture of her taggie.


It's backed with a soft fleece. Aren't the cherries so cute?

I also did some appliques on some PJs I picked up at Target on Black Friday! Can't pass up $5 PJs!!


These are sewed on with my regular machine.


And this was done on my embroidery machine!

I used minky for the Polar Bear, and now he wants a matching minky pillow!! Yep, it is the 8 yo nephew!! ;)

Ok, now for the receiving...

I WON another giveaway!! It was my friend, Marguerite's 100th post and this is what she sent me all the way from England!

Wonderful panel, isn't it? She even sent me some extra fabric to make a cushion or tote bag with it! I don't know if you can tell, but the little shapes are sailboats...too cute!! And the Heart? LOVE IT! It will go up with my Valentine's Day decorations! Thank you so much, M!! I am inspired by your quilting talents! And I am enjoying "learning" with you! You make it seem easy...even when you mess up! :) So glad we met!

And now, meet my Cricut Express!!

This is what my folks got me for Christmas!! It cuts FABRIC!! As well as all of that scrapbooking stuff....which is the only craft I haven't gotten into....yet!! :D I am still working on the cutting through Felt...there is a "deep cut" blade I haven't gotten yet. Since I am a TERRIBLE cutter, I really NEEDED one of these!! Ok...so I didn't NEED it, but I wanted it and my Momma and Daddy bought it for me...so there!! HA! My awesome man bought me a program that helps to eliminate the need for those expensive cartridges, and thankfully there is a wonderful online community that just GIVES away designs...so hopefully, I won't have to purchase too many things to keep this machine from becoming a money pit!! So now you know my secret...I'm a gadget junkie!! If it is cool and I can use it for sewing or really neat crafts..I'm buying it or I am getting someone to buy it for me....which reminds me, my birthday is coming up....hmmmmmm!!! :D Until later...

New Year....New Look?

I decided to change my blog a little....what do you think?? I have been very afraid of doing this, like maybe the last year of my internet life would be WIPED away...so far, so good!! I will be back to post gifts I made and received later...I hope I didn't miss anyone on my whirlwind blog visit...if I failed to comment on anyone's, I am sorry. I am about to start SHOVELLING my house...it has been a MESS since Thanksgiving!! My resolution for 2010, which I am SURE was the same for 2009...and possibly 2008...to be MORE ORGANIZED!! Wish me luck! :D Until later...