Holiday Towels and Turkey??

Holiday dish towels or bar towels or hand towels . . .

Does anybody use these anymore?  The metallic thread on the tree doesn't show up in the picture very well but it looks really nice.

One of my daugher in laws uses them as decorations hanging from the handle of her oven in the kitchen.  She changes them with the different holidays and seasons.

 They make me smile, but I am pretty easy to please when it comes to embroidery :)
  I'm thinking Aunt Joy will like this one . . .

 ps - cooked a tofurkey for dinner tonight.  Don't even think about buying one to eat.  I am pretty good about eating healthy and not being overly concerned about taste if I feel it is good for me, but the tofurkey (tofu supposed to taste like turkey) was disgusting.  The stuffing in the middle wasn't all bad but the tofurkey itself was so disgusting it is hard to put the taste sensation into words.  I covered it in cranberry sauce for Stan and he gobbled it up saying anything tastes good smothered in cranberry sauce.  Oh well, I tried.

We have been really good about trying to eat vegan and raw most of the time.  Stan is still at the minus 15 pounds weight and that is terrific.  I still cannot figure out why he is sticking with this eating plan but it is working so I'll keep cooking the healthy stuff as long as we are eating it. 

Oh, I bought a dehydrator and used it this week and it is fabulous.  I dried kale and that sounds awful but it is crunchy and delicious like a chip.  I mixed it with some seasonings before drying it then let it dry in the dehydrator overnight and I was very pleased with the end result.

I am going to try drying some bananas and apples tomorrow. I'd also like to try and make some fruit leather. 

Christmas for the Girls

Sewing, sewing, sewing.  I monogrammed the onesie and then made the skirt.  You can't see it in the picture but there is a layer of red sparkle tulle in between each of the ruffle layers.  SOOOOO cute!

Also made a matching set for B's cousin in Texas . . .

Added the pants to the skirt, onesie set.    And I couldn't forget Mr. Jack who LOVES Bob the Builder right now . . .

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!

Another week of sewing and also cooking raw

In the midst of all the sewing I am finding time to get more involved in eating raw.  I purchased a Vita Mix and a dehydrator this week.  The dehydrator just arrived (now I can make my own kale snacks :))

Still waiting for the arrival of the VitaMix.  Smoothies and dressings should be so much easier to make with a high powered blender.  This week my husband and I both really enjoyed eating brocolli fritters and wild rice with mushrooms.  YUM

Now, on to the latest sewing projects . . .

I made this adorable onesie with a turkey on it and the matching skirt.  I used scraps of courdoroy for the skirt and had to put the nap going crosswise but it came out really cute and my 7 month old grandaughter won't mind :)

This outfit is for one of my other grandaughters.  I purchased the skirt at Walmart for $5 (can't make it for that) and made the holiday onesie to wear with the skirt.  I'm working on a matching set for her big sister.

Mom needed a few more items for the grandchildren of one of her friends so I tried used metallic thread on the snowflakes of the Be Jolly shirt, came out pretty cute although hard to see the sparkle in the picture

I honestly cannot begin to explain the amount of fun I am having and have been having since my sweet husband gave me my sewing machine last Christmas.  I absolutely love making gifts like this to give to my friends and my family.  I get such a sense of accomplishment looking at the finished products and my heart just glows inside when I see any of my creations being worn by the recipient.  I get that same sense of satisfaction with my knitting.  p.s. I am working on a beautiful knit stocking for one of my grandaughters.  I'll post the picture when I am done.

Guess that's enough for today. . .

Busy Week

So, I was somehow able to get a lot of sewing done this week and I have some new things to share . . .

Appliqued three with name embroidered on top of the three.  I think it came out pretty cute.

Next, some baby gifts for friends of one of my daughter in laws.





and for my mother's friends . . .

and for some friends at work . . .



and one for "yellow day" at preschool :)

not to mention my continuing work on the Christmas goodies . . .

Too much for one post?  Sorry, just had to share :)

First Christmas Shirts

Haven't done much emboridery over the last week.  Waiting to really get started with the Christmas things.  I did make these two shirts for my great nephew.  His mom selected the designs she liked and I just stitched them up.

Tonight my daugher in law and I are off to JoAnne's to buy some tulle for those oh so cute little skirts/tutus that the littlest girls wear.  I'll post a picture of one of the skirts as soon as I get it finished.  Trucks and tutu's.  Such fun being able to sew for both girls and boys. :)  I am a very happy grandma =)

Peppermint Candies and Turkeys

I met this terrific new woman who invited us to golf with her and her husband.  It turns out that she has a daughter named Jayme and some new twin grandchildren.  First off, I cannot believe that she invited my husband and I to golf with her and her husband after having played with me once and it was really the first time I had played with another person.  I was soooooo nervous but played pretty well the first time (it was only nine holes).  So the second time I played terribly.  It took me about 9 holes to stop being so crazy nervous and I finally started calming down.  I played about 6 decent holes and then I started getting tired.  Anyway, she was so much fun to play golf with and she was very encouraging to me that I really wanted to stitch up something cute for her grandbabies who are coming to visit next week.   Look what I stitched.  I think they came out pretty cute.

Last night my niece and her husband stopped by and had some dinner with us and they brought my most beautiful grand nephew.  The men played chess and we stitched up a few things after dinner.   I forgot to take photos of what we made for her friend but I did snap a picture of what I made my grand nephew to wear while he is eating his first Thanksgiving dinner.

Pretty cute, huh?

Matching Dresses

So, I turned that holiday fabric into two matching dresses.  They turned out pretty cute, I think.  One is a size 5T and the other is 6 months.  I think big sister is going to LOVE having a matching dress with her baby sister.  I hope so anyway. 

I also appliqued a 1 and then embroidered a name on a cute T for a friend's child.  After looking at the T shirt I thought one of those many tiered skirts would look cute with it so I stitched up one with three coordinating fabrics.  I think it turned out pretty cute also.

It was one of the cute ruffled hem T's from Walmart.  I think it was under $4 for the Tshirt.  I am quite pleased with the finished product.  I'll try to get a picture of the recipient wearing the new outfit so I can post it later.

Also finished the candy cane fabric but it turned into ruffle hemmed pants instead of a skirt.

Other than that, I am busy sewing up holiday outfits.  I have one more Thanksgiving jumper to do and a turkey tee for my grand nephew :)  Then I will be in Christmas mode full time except for the occasional baby gift.

Can you see the steam coming off of my machine??  :)  Having sooooo much fun!

Halloween Skirt

How cute is this?  I decided to try and make a skirt to wear with some of the onesies and shirts I have been making.  This particular pattern is SO easy to make and it can have three tiers and oh so many fabric possibilities.  LOVE IT!

New Projects

Stay tuned because in a few days I plan to have this fabric made into matching dresses to go along with the red T with holly trees.  There will hopefully be two matching sister dresses and another red T with holly trees.  I think that big sister will love having a matching dress with her baby sister and the brothers will tie in with their red t's with the same fabric as the skirts as the fabric of the trees on their t's.

The red t with the J ornament will have a matching sister dress with a red t top and a green candy cane bottom.  I'll post the pictures when I finish (haven't even cut the fabric yet) the dresses.

Also made a cute Christmasy T with an appliqued tree and truck.  FUN!

Also a knitter

I haven't spent much time knitting lately and I have a Christmas stocking that needs to be knit.  I thought maybe I would share a few of my favorite knitted sweaters.  The sweater pictured below was very difficult for me and took a lot of time.  It is beautiful inside and out.  You could literally wear it inside out but of course you would not see the intricate pattern that way.  Well worth the time and effort.

 The sweater below was knit using a yarn that was variegated so the pattern just appeared as I was knitting.  It is a lovely soft sweater.  Perfect for a newborn.

 This last photo is knit using a cotton yarn and it was very easy to do.  It has a tulip neck which will hopefully be very easy to get on and off of a 6-month old. 

I have always just knit the baby sweaters, hats and blankets and given them as gifts.  Labors of love.  I have never sold them. 

I just love creating things with my own hands.  There is such a sense of satisfaction when I see the completed project.  And, if I get to see the recipient wearing the item, my heart just glows. 

Virtual Shower?

 What exactly is a virtual shower? We are just showering a friend with gifts since she has moved away and we miss her and we want her to know that we care.  So we are all going to send gifts to her at her new home no later than a specific date.  The friend hopefully waits for all the gifts to arrive and opens them with her husband and some of her new friends and takes lots of pictures which she will post so we can see all the cool things that were sent.

Have you ever been to a virtual shower?  Is it reasonable to respond with a maybe?  In my opinion you either agree to participate and send a gift or you say sorry I can't.  Responding with a maybe or not at all, not cool in my book.

I'll share a few photos of the newest creations (burp cloths).  Getting ready for a baby shower for a friend with a Snoopy theme :)  She will get a sneak preview of some of the goodies I am making for her baby.  Such fun!!  I am not thrilled with the precision of the stitching from this vendor.  When purchasing logos and embroidery work some of the artists are more particular about the finished results than others are.  In my limited experience this seems to be the case more frequently with "franchised" logos or themes more than with the decorative ones.

Here is grandaughter Kelli Shea Corey modeling one of my Halloween onesies.  She is a sweetheart!!

Shirts, burp cloths, bibs and more