Tired

Well Christmas is over!! That is a 'let down' and a relief!! I had a WONDERFUL Christmas!! My husband is the best gift giver in the world!! My kids are running around the house playing Nerf wars and luckily my husband got one too!! All my boys (well not the baby) are playing war all over my house!!

My Christmas Crafts are done!! YEAH (that is a good thing because as you seen before Christmas is over)!! But I have one more 'Christmas' tomorrow. My parents are coming in! So, one more crazy fest!

I have a couple of projects in teh upcoming month or so!! I am going to make a new quilt for our bed to replace that yucky store bought one (can you hear the snobbery in my voice...hahaha)! And then I would like to make a few things for me....wierd I know, but I have a really nice jacket pattern that I want to try!

I have a baby sale coming up (after 4 kids lots of things to sell) but I was thinking of making a few homemade items too!! We will see!!

Well now it is just waiting on the new yeat....2010 that is totally crazy!!

What I have been up to!

Well the season is busy...super busy!! I have been sewing up a storm...or a sewing machine (haha)

I made the kids matching Christmas outfits....(There are two of the vest for the older boys, but I couldn't fit them all in the picture)!!
Then this is the quilt that I am making my mom....so pretty almost tempted to not give it to her...haha

I have put the handprints into it through a stipple....and all I have to do is hand stitch the binding on....YEAH!!!

I am making PJ's for the kids that match.....I am having trouble finding a pattern that will fit over the kid's head...it is a little fustrating....So Ihave changed the pattern that I have to have velco in the back or snaps I haven't decided which!!!! I will show those when I get a little bit more done......

Have a Merry Merry Christmas and for two in my house....a happy birthday!

My husband celebrates 31 years on this earth on Saturday and My baby boy Tate celebrates is first year on this earth on Sunday!!! So happy Birthday to two of the 'men' in my life!!!

Introductions

I thought that I would introduce myself so some of the new friends I have out there!! I am Bethany! I live in Salem Oregon, but I am not from here. I was a Military Brat (and yes I am okay with the term)! So, I have seen a lot and I like that fact! I have been married 9.5 years to the best man ever...my little computer geek (and yes he is okay with that term)!!! After graduating college we were surprised with our first child, brother (not his real name, changed to protect). Then quickly after him came, JoJo. Ladybug came after a while. Tate was a surprise, but we love him anyway :) :)

I love to craft stuff for my kids and likely they are at a stage that they like it too. My boys mostly like PJ's, and it is good that they are easy!!! My daughter is always asking, 'what are you making me now?' because yes I make her more stuff then the boys :):)

My life is pretty busy with four kids a hubby and my work at the church, but I wouldn't trade it for the world (or all the money in it). I get to do the funniest, hardest, bestest job in the world.....being a housewife, homemaker, stay at home mom, or as my mom likes to say 'retro mom' which is my favorite because I love anything retro!!!

I would love to hear something about you if you get a chance!!!

Winner

Sorry I have been having some computer problems. But my super smart hubby got them fixed!!

So Congrats to

Jenna - Mushroom Fabric
Carla- Apron

Your packages should be in the mail in a couple of days. Thanks to all the others who entered. And thanks to all those other blogs for thier giveaways.....I won something too!!!

Hello Blogland -- Closed

Well it an exciting day in blogland it is Sew Mama Sew's December Blogland giveaway day (or days as it seems).

This is my first time giving anything away I am really excited to be part of this fun day is crafting blogland!!!

So for my first giveaway I am giving away two different things (because if I remember from last time there are many many commenters)!!!

So here is the deal:
1- comment on my post about your favorite holiday tradition (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter or even Arbor day...it doesn't matter)
2- Tell me if you want the first prize or the second...or both if you can't decided!!!

I will be giving these prizes away using a random number generator.

I do not ship internationally.....sorry :( :( but all those here is the US of A come and get it!!!

That is it...all she wrote...ohh yeah the prizes.....

The first prize is a fabric panel for a Christmas apron...it is simple to do, but fun to have for holiday baking!!!

The second option is 1.5 yards of flannel. It is super cute with mushrooms. It would make great winter time PJ's or pillow case...well the options are endless!!

Have fun out there (and stay safe)!!

and please please please have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

So sorry

It has been a crazy couple of weeks....I guess that is what happens when you have four children (HAHA).

I have been busy sewing even though we had a sickness run through that six of us (and no...no piggies here).

This is something I am very proud of...sorry to any of those black and orange fans!!! I made a quilt top for my mom for my dad....to make it clear. My mom wanted to make a quilt for my dad and to make it a surprise I made the top for her and she is going to sandwich and quilt it (something she can do at night while my dad is at work!!!)

So GO DUCKS!!!

I am very proud that I 'designed' the block myself (I know that is was most likely done before, I couldn't find it anywhere...so HA)!!!

The other squares are old t-shirts of my mom's!! She had MANY...as my dad is a VERY big fan!!

I have almost finished my mom's quilt, and started the kids Christmas outfits for church!!! Along with some stuff I have done for friends my sewing machine as been zipping (she is such a trusted friend)!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all......

Christmas Present number one

Long time no blog.....It has been a while!! I have had a house full of sickie's including myself :(

Well, anyway I wanted to share my mother-in-laws christmas present. It is a quilt with the hand prints of the kids stippled into it!! It was a lot of fun and I hope that she likes it!!!

My fault

Well I have been working on Heather Bailey's happy stacker (http://www.heatherbaileystore.com/product-p/sp003-hs.htm) for my son for Christmas...not so easy!! I got the first ring done and then the post...YEAH!! Then I did the big ring...TOTALLY messed up!! I had to run to the nearest quilt store and YEAH they had the cogsmo crickets line and I was able to redeam myself with a new piece of fabric. Why are new patterns so hard??? I think I have it now...just three more rings to go!!! But I had to share my fuff-up!!

Scrappy Letter

Hello world of Crafters-

This is my first tutorial and I am very excited!! I will give you a bit of warning...photography is not one of my talents...so bare with me please!!

Today I am going to show you how to make this wall hanging!! Great for a child's room!!

List of Supplies:
A pile of scraps
a piece of batting (16 inches or so)
fabric for backing and strap (these could be solid pieces or you can piece them with scraps also...your choice)
A piece of paper for graphing (don't worry it is not that difficult)
And of course thread, sewing machine and an iron!!


And away we go.....

First we need to start by graphing the letter. I know you never thought you would have to use math, but don't be alarmed it is super easy!!

I did a 12 x 12 inch square and broke that down into 2 inch squares! Then I drew out the letter in a blocky format!

Then I filled out the letter into the surrounding blocks!

Then a little bit more thinking comes into play. I need to figure out how many squares of background and how many squares of color! For this letter 'c' I need 26 2x2 background squares (and for this letter it is the patterned fabrics) and 4 traingles. So I need to cut 30 squares. I happen to have 5 different fabrics making that 6 of each fabric.

For the letter that gets a little different. You can make longer rectangles. But I will tell you that you need to look at the square in the terms of long strips (that could be horizonal or vertical)! I choose horizonal because that gave me two long piece of solid versus one! So in the solid color I need 2 2x4 inch strips 2 2x2 inch squares and 4 triangles! So that means that I need 4 2x2 squares to start with!

Get your scraps together and lets have some fun!!

Cut each scrappy piece into 2 1/2 inch squares (remembering the seam allowance)!

Okay I will wait a minute while you get that done.........

Now get the solid color and cut those into the recangles and squares that you need!

Okay great. Here are my scrappy peices!!

Now take those peices that you have and make the squares into triangles!

Now you get to lay out the pieces into you letter. Moving pieces around until you get the look you want.....yeah...fun.!!

Now time to sew.....ohhh yeah the fun part!! Make sure that you have good even seam allowances!!
Start with one of the strips and go across row by row. Making sure that you iron your strips when you are done really well. (Make sure that you iron your seams in the same direction for each strip)

These are my strips!! (They are not ironed yet)

Now we iron your (ironed) strips together. Did I mention the need to iron?!?!? I pin this part to make sure that the small squares line up!

Now your letter is finished!! yeah....pretty easy so far right?? So now we make the quilt 'sandwich.' This is also a great way to use the left over portions of the batting from your last quilt!!! I use a spray glue to keep the 'sandwich' together!!
Cut the batting and backing a little larger it just makes it a little bit easier!

I used my walking foot and outlined the letter for my quilting. You can go crazy different ways in this step! You can stipple the whole thing, everything but the letter. You can do as your heart would like!!

Now you trim your batting and backing to the same size as the letter!

Making the binding!! I cut a 2 1/2 inch strip(s) and sewed them together (in order to make the sew part of the strip you need to put the piece in an 'L' shaped and sew from the lower left to the upper front right corner. I am so sorry that I didn't get a picture of this....bad Bethany)! You can do the strip in two ways....fold as I have shown and sew onto the letter and I will show later or you can do it any way that you have done it in the past!!

I folded the binding on the letter as shown (due to lack of time for this present I didn't have time to hand sew...again Bad Bethany)! I used my walking foot again to sew it on as seen!

Yeah the letter is done...so close...you can do it!!

Now it is time for the strap!! Yeah. There is a number of ways that you can do this too!! You can make it with a number of scraps or one long one like I have done!! I took a 4 inch strip. I folded the ends up (about a 1/4 perfection not need here) on both sides!! Iron into place!!

The I folded both sides into the middle as seen!!

I sewn the strap down the side with the two folded sections!! Now your strap is (almost) done!!

I picked out two small buttons and hand stitched them to the back of the letter about 2-3 inches from the top (again perfectionism is not needed here)!!

I took the strap and did two button holes on each side of the strap (that way you have some chooses as to how long you want it to be!!)


Now take a step back and look at your master pieces!! Great job!! Not to hard, right?!?

Here is the master piece hanging on the wall!! YEAH!!

I hope that was fun and easy! But mostly I hope that I was easy to understand! If you have questions please comment and I will get back to you!! Thanks for looking!! I would LOVE to see your handiwork for let me see um'!!

Sew mama Sew PJ Party

Well, 25% done with the fleece now to the boys'. Yes, this is my daughters. I told her whatever she wanted to pick out and this is it. But I picked out the flannel for her. She is the only girl and I wanted to make something girly for her!!!

Getting there!!

PJ Party

By the button on the side of the page it will tell you that I am part of the PJ party at Sew mama Sew!!

Come and join in....

scrap buster

Sew mama Sew is having a great theme for October...scrap busters! I know that I have trouble throwing away anything larger then a quarter, but what to do with them????

So they are having an entire month to dedicate to it....sweet.!!! Also they are having a contest for good idea with scraps. So, if you have an idea and would like to share please come on by and take a look at the rules!! I have an idea and will be trying it next week and posting it to sew mama sew sometime at the beginning of the month!!! Exciting stuff!!

Looking Forward

Well this weekend I am looking forward to a office/sewing room overhaul!! My fabric is getting out of control!!! So we got some more shelves for the wall and my husband...my wonderful husband is going to put some of his stuff and books on those so that I can have more room...seriously wonderful right?? I hope to have a before (don't judge, LOL) and after pictures after this weekend. It will be a bit of work but then I will know where all my fabric is and it can be organized...YEAH!!!

9-11

Although I have only dedicated this site to my crazy crafting!!! Today I wanted to remind people to remember!! Remember our freedoms....remember those who fight for us!! Remember those people (civilians) who lost thier lives!! Remember those who are home missing those who are fighting for us!!

We live in a great country! Although sometimes we don't like this or that, but we have the freedom to state it!! The freedom to talk!! The freedom's that other people can only dream about!! It has taken people's lives to get that and it still does!! Please pray for those who lost loved ones 8 years ago!! Please pray for those who lost loved one in this war!! Today we should remember...it makes us stronger if we united in a thought!!

Another SUPER giveaway!!

Sew fantastic is giving away some WONDERFUL things....check it out!!


http://sew-fantastic.blogspot.com/2009/09/1000-etsy-sales-giveaway.html

So (Sew) Many Projects

Well, have you ever been so overwhelmed and excited at the same time!?!?

Well I am there now!! I have so many project to do in the next couple of months it seems very overwhelming, but man I am so excited about each and every one of them!!

I am going to make my son Tate a stacker toy (the heather bailey pattern).
My daughter I am going to use a tutorial I saw online (UK Lass in US).
I am making my mother in law and mother a quilt with the handprints of the kids quilted into it (this I am really excited about)
Then I am going to make each of the kids PJ's in the fabric that they choose!!! (Brother and Jojo choose pokemon and enough left over for Tate and Ladybug choose a blue fabric with dogs and bones on it...my only girls!!!)
Then I choose fabric to make PJ bottoms out of!!
I am making a dress and shirt to make for a friend that is having a boy and already has a girl (It should be cute)!!
Then I am making a shirt for a friend who just (today) adopted a little boy!!! (YEAH)
Another coat (the second is always better then the first) for my daughter

and maybe I will attempt a dress for me...this scares me so we will see!!! Yeah for the sewing!!!

My perfect cookies!!

The other day I made cookies and they turned out so perfect that I had to share with the world!!!

My kids didn't like the fact that they were so small, but it was nice to have just one and not really be defeating the hour in the gym in the morning!!!

Giveaways...lubird!!

Giveaways!! I love Giveaways!! So, here is a blog that is giving something away!! I will try to repost any giveaways that I find!!


I do love the internet world of crafting, so much out there to look at. So many wonderful ladies that can do so many wonderful thing and then to top it off they give some of it away!! WOW!!!


http://lubirdbaby.blogspot.com/

School

Holy Cow two of my boys are going to school this year!! I am looking forward to it! My older one is going into 2nd grade and looking forward to that also. But JOJO he is not looking forward to Kindergarden, he is a little scared of new things, oh well, he will get use to it!! The adjustment will take a week or so!!

Bring on the School!!!

Holy Cow

Well it has been a while!!! I was on a two week vacation (to my parents house) and then it was week or so of getting back into the swing of things....crazy!!

I have finished a number of projects and almost finished with chistmas present number one!!!

Here a few of the things that I have been working on!!! Enjoy!!

Shrit and skirt for my baby girl!!

A Jacket for ladybug....I just loved the lining..it is vintage (I found it at a estate sale...LOVE IT)!

Thanks for looking!!!

Withdraws

Well I am going through withdraws. Last week was so busy that I didn't have time to sew. Sure I got about an hour in last week, but really that is the same as not sewing at all right. This week is not looking any better.

Brother and Jojo are in swim lessons this week again and I need to pack the family for a week and a half trip to the parents house. I might be able to get some in everyday if I try really hard.

I think I can!
I think I can!
I think I can!

I wanted to get Tate's and Ladybug's cloths done before we go. Some shorts and vest combo for Tate and a skirt shirt combo for Ladybug....ohh well I might just have to wait until I get back from Reno!!!

Cleaning my fabrics

Well the other day I cleand up by fabric. Well to be honest they were starting to take over the office. So, I seperated and organized and man I forgot about some of my fabrics. Well, I had left over 2.5 inch strips from the Old Red Barn Co. quilt along so I made this skirt. I am impressed with myself because I made it without a pattern.

I was fun to look at all the fabric that I had. The only problem is it gave me so many ideas of what to use those fabric's for that now my list of would-like-to-do's is even bigger.

Oh well, I guess that is the nature of the beast.

Making Lemonade!!

Well in the process of making a dress for my daughter I totally messed up...I mean totally. I tried to fix it....but it was a gonner...really sad because it would have been a really cute dress.

So when life hands you lemon you................................make lemonade!!

So I took the skirt part of the dress and make my daughter an apron!! I turned out pretty cute. I feel better not wasting ALL my work and fabric. It was a super cute fabric so I didn't want to throw it all away.

I hope that she likes it.....the kiddos are coming back today!!!

Finished Finished

Well, I finished my very first quilt...I am very exctied that it is done. I took on a huge one as my first one. It is 6 feet by 7 feet.....Why do I never make it easy on myself.

My husband is as excited as he can be (which isn't much), but I am happy that it is done for him and now he has his very own 'blanket.' I will try hard not to let the kids play with it!!!

This is my one week of vacation a year. The three other kids (brother, jojo, and ladybug) are with my mom-in-law for the week. It has been quiet and fun and I miss them!!!

Almost done

Well I am almost done hand stiching my binding on my very first quilt...I am truly giddy inside. I am so so so (x10) excited about it...so here is a sneak peak!!!

It was a lot of work, but well worth it.....I hope that my wonderful hubby likes it!!!

Giveaway - another blog

Well after doing the sew mama sew giveaway I found a number of wonderful blog and this one is giving away the cutest of cutest patterns. I mean wow...I will be super super happy to have this pattern...

http://littlemunchkins.blogspot.com/

so check out her blog and see the cool things that she has going on!!!

Vacation

What a week!!!! I have been at my in-laws house doing a week of canning. I have only ever done jam (which is pretty easy). I wanted to have some salsa and salmon which my mom-in-law does super well and what a better way to learn. So, we did 8 batches of salsa (over two days). Four batches of Jam...fresh strawberries picked in the morning and canned that afternoon...should be good!! Then we did 17 pints of Salmon. That was harder then I thought just because of the time of pressure canning. But now I am set for a year and so is she.

It is nice to have this relasonship with my mom-in-law...so blessed!! So, tomorrow I am heading home....man I miss my love, my husband!! It will be a long day tomorrow so ta-ta for now!!!

Taking the plunge!!

Well, I am making my first quilt and true to form I want to do it ALL!! So, I am doing free motion quilting!! This is the back and the front of the quilt. I am having a blast doing it!! It is a lot of work. For someone who goes to the gym three times a week my arms hurt from quilting...I find that a little bit funny!!

It is going to take many a more hours, but it is going to be worth it. My husband is going to love it. It own blanket. I guess the trick now is to not let the kids steal it, like they have done with every other blanket!!! LOL

The waiting game

I guess I am more of the instant gradification then I thought. I purchased some thread online because the price was awesome, now I have to wait to get started on the quilting part of my quilt. I don't like to wait I wanted to get started two days ago. I mean it shipped out on thursday. WHY IS IT NOT HERE!!! Well, I guess my pretty quilt will have to wait all sandwiched up for another day. The other thing is, why do my mail not some until 6-6:30. Ohh well, I guess paitence is the name of the game.

On another note, I got the quilt sandwiched together. It is HUGE!! It took quit of bit of work. I used the spray basting method. I think I worked up a sweat getting it all pieced together. It was hard to get all the wrinkles out, but alas it is done and waiting for my thread.....maybe today....maybe today!!!

MommyHood

Well I know it is not about crafting, but I just have to put it out there. Being a mommy is hard!! Number 2, Jojo, is being very stubborn and disobiendent. We have tried everything we can think of and I am very tired. I guess being more stubborn then your child takes a lot of energy. I don't seem to have any extra right now....well I guess I just have to have more caffiene.

On top of that....number three, ladybug, is sick. Number four, tate, is teething. Well at least number one, Brother, is doing just fine. But hey, wait that is only 25%, does that mean I fail. Well, I guess I will just have to study harder!!

(and if you couldn't tell I am using nicknames for my kids....I feel safer that way).

Happy Monday!!

Finished Quilt top

Well I finished my first quilt top. I am doing the oldredbarnco.blogspot quilt along and having a blast. I am learning so much, it is incrediable....

I am very excited to try the quilting process...well nervous really. I do have a tendency to bite off more then I can chew because I am going to do free movement quilting. But I guess you have to start somewhere and why not here!!

More pictures to come as I finish more and more of it!!!

My first quilt...the start

These are the strips for my first quilt. I am doing a contest on a different blog. And I am following her six week step by step directions. For my first quilt I am very excited.



I will update as I am getting along. I am two weeks behind, but I made them up today (likely they were easy...pick you fabric and cut into strips. Now on to week three...sewing them together).

Sew Mama Sew questionare

Well I am new to the blogging and relatively new to the sewing, so I thought I would dive in feet first and all the way.....here we go


What brand and model do you have? Kenmore 385

How long have you had it?About 6 years

How much does that machine cost (approximately)? It was about $200 (I think that is what my mom-in-law said)

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)? I love to sew clothing for my kids. But I have done curtians, pillows, and one basic quilt

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get? In the last year I sew once a week on average (sometime I take a break and other times I sew once a day)

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name? I love my machine. It does everything that it needs to do. I would love to get a 'fancier' machine, buy my tried and true little lady does the trick.

What features does your machine have that work well for you? I love the extra stitches, and the button holer is WONDERFUL. I do cloths and without that it would be very difficult.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? I thread pops off a lot from the top and not the bobbin. Then I have to totally retread it, to make sure that it goes through all the ness. places.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it! When we lived in an apartment I had to haul it in and out of the closet and she took it really well. But no no crazy stories. Well, I guess that when my mom-in-law gave it to me I was very touched. It was not many years after I married her son and the extravagance of the gift really touched me greatly.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why? I would. Expecially if they are new to sewing. It doesn't take long to understand and it does stiches wonderfully. If you are more advanced or would like a ton of extra stiches then this machine would not be for you!!

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine? The cost to your sewing ability. What I mean is, if you are a casual sewer then a fancy machine is kinda a waste of money. If you just need to do little hems here and there. If you love love love to sew and would even consider a business in it, then a more expensive 'fancy' machine would be most likely better. If you don't think that you will use the different stiches then don't worry about them so much.

Do you have a dream machine? I don't as of this point have a dream machine. Like I said I am kinda new to all of this, so I sure it will not take long to get one though. Expecially after this month on sew mama sew!!

To Dress my daughter!

Here is my first post of my craft projects. I love this dress pattern it is really cute!! My 'model' was not really in a good mood, but the dress is shown non-the-less. I had a small amount of trouble with the collar, but figured it out!! I didn't even have to use my seam-rippers in this dress. I think that it is the first time!!

Just Starting

I'm just starting my crafting blog. I love crafts and can't wait to share with the world!!!