Three Day Weekend! !!

Wahoo!

Now that we are steadily converting the sewing room into a dressing room I have discovered just how much fabric that I have accumulated over the years. As I thought about what I could do with all the pretties, it dawned on me that doll clothes might be the ticket.

I'm too cheap to go with an American Girl doll...luckily for me Target sell an 18" doll that should do the trick.

Now, only if I could get to my fabric...

Too

I'm not one to be group/club happy. Not that I don't want to be with other people, I just like to do things on my own. It's not really that great of an attitude, but I find that I can get a lot more done (you would think) while on my own.

Enter Blessed Piecemakers Too - I thought it would just be a one time deal. We would meet once and then figure out that it wouldn't be worth it to get together. Boy, was I wrong! I just went to my second get-together this past Saturday - with pretty much the same cast of shady characters and spent a few hours sewing...chit-chatting and sewing a little more. I think I may have been goofing off more than I was being productive, but I had fun anyway. As far as my productivity, I was able to get two tote bags put together, finish one that I started at home and started one that I figured out was not cut straight - and I am not a stitch magician yet.  So, almost  4 bags this time as opposed to the two last month ;) Our group meets once a month at Felida - so if you are interested stop by to see what we are up to!

Anyway, it has been fun to sew along side our long time quilt maker, Linda (Steenie) Johnson and learn a thing or two along the way. There is a woman who is part of the Wednesday Blessed Piecemakers who just sews like crazy! My understanding is that she pretty much sews all the time. So she has been fun to become acquainted with. Sally & Jenni are the two other sewing pals too. Jenni is there to help with projects rather than sew - I like that she comes to hang out and visit with us. Sally has two big quilts that she is working on for family members who are getting married this summer. I'm hoping to work on personal projects too, but the tote bags are just TOO easy to cut and sew. TOO EASY!

So, as much as I protest just about any other gathering that is just women only, this one is a lot of fun for me! I'm starting to enjoy sewing again and have discovered all sorts of fabric that I can use to make tote bags. Oh, these tote bags are going to Operation Christmas Child. I love the fact that the really cute fabrics that I have collected over the years will go to a child somewhere in the world who will receive a gift and be blessed with the goodies in the box, and learn more about our Sweet Savior Jesus Christ.

Mission: Sewing With Purpose!

PS: So far we are meeting the 2nd Saturday of the month.

Getting Crafty

A couple of weeks ago I took my sewing machine, which is 13 years old and has been serviced just one time, in to the be serviced for the second time. When I dropped it off I didn't realize that I would have to wait 2 weeks for it to be ready to pick-up. To say the least I was a little disappointed. I had JUST spent an afternoon at the church learning how to make tote bags for the Shoebox ministry that we do every year. I REALLY wanted to make more bags, but couldn't because my machine was being held hostage...for TWO weeks!

On Thursday, last week I picked up my machine and brought it home. I had to wait a couple of days since I had pretty much torn apart my sewing room right after I took my machine in, made a major change, but then decided that I didn't want do anymore work in there until I got my machine back.

So, this past Saturday I spent a couple of hours rearranging stuff in my sewing room and got things all set up just to find out that my machine was acting fruity. There was something wrong with the stitches and it was soooo not good. I was so disappointed...didn't want to deal with it or anything. So I let it sit overnight. The next day I asked one of the ladies at church to see if she had any ideas of what might be happening with my machine and showed her what I had produced. After a minute or so she  suggested that I change out the needle and try it again.

OH MY GOODNESS!!!

That was the problem. NOW everything is working just fine. I was able to put together one small tote and finished up a project that I had cut out before I sent my machine in. Last  night I stitched together another tote and now I'm on a roll!

One of the ladies at church had her baby a couple of weeks ago and I finally decided to get her a gift (it's amazing how holding a baby can do that to a person). This morning I was thinking that instead of buying a gift bag or wrapping up everything into a box, why not make a tote bag? I found a couple of really cute fabrics at Hancock during my lunch break...

CUTE, CUTE, CUTE!

These owls look a little weird, but maybe as a tote it won't be too bad.

It has been a while since I have been this excited about sewing...now I can't wait to get through the day and do some crafting in the evenings! This Saturday there will be another sewing day at the church that I will go to...I'm so excited  now!!!