Seasons Change in Denim

This bag has been a long time coming. I worked on the embroidery & applique a month or so ago, and it took a while to really decide what to do with it. I love how it turned out though. The bag is an over sized tote bag made from a sort of patchwork denim.


I had a lot of fun taking pictures outside. It just seemed right for this one!
Here is a closeup of the embroidery...


On a side note, I tried out some iron-on velcro for this project. It works great! A little spendy, but its perfect for those projects where you decide you need a little velcro but its too late to sew it in.

The interior of the bag has a large pocket made with one of my all time favorite fabrics that is rather quickly disappearing from the stash.


Anyway, if you want to see more, check it out in the shop.

Keeping busy...

So, I didn't get the gift for my sister-in-law done until I had been sitting on her couch for an hour finishing up some hand sewing. I made her a diaper bag, which she liked very much, and will hopefully send me a picture of to share with you.

Since then, I have been working on this project.

Collecting every book in the whole house was a bigger project than I anticipated. I had plans for some organized method of shelving them, but color, the dewey decimals and all the other plans went out the window rather quickly and I just tried to make them fit and look sort of pretty. These new shelves also serve another very valuable function of removing all the books from my craft room to make room for the actual crafting. So, once again, I am trying to clean up in there. How did I get to be such a pig?

Invitation Mass Production

Here's what I've been doing for the past 24 hours. 26 of them cut, glued, printed, assembled, sealed and sent! Whew! I think I need a break, but alas there is no break in sight. I am heading off to see my brand new niece tomorrow (yes the babies are rapant around here) and so I must finish up some gifts. Hopefully they will be done and I can show them off tomorrow before I head out.

The invites are for Rachel's shower. Baby Reggie is home and doing great!

More tomorrow!

P.S. No white out spill on the invites, I felt the need to protect the innocent from the online crazies out there - not you of course!

Fall Tablerunner

Look! I finished something! A couple weeks ago my mom, sister and I started on some fall tablerunners. My mom came to town toting all this adorable fabric and we each made one in a different pattern.

(Don't zoom in too close!)

They both finished theirs right away, but somehow mine took a lot longer. This past weekend my mom was back and helped me with the binding (my first time) and I just finished hand sewing the back of it a little while ago. I was so excited to show you I even cleaned off my table! Pretty cute, huh!

I don't have a picture of my sister's, but my mom whipped out 2 of them that I wanted to show you. She is an amazing quilter (she got the one and only Amanda Jean hooked, you know.) She should have her own blog, but for now I will just be happy with a comment! Thanks for your help Mom!!

May the force be with you...

A sneak peak at a project I worked on during our trip. A cute little embroidered Yoda that will be attached (in some way) to a blanket for my brother-in-law for Christmas. I haven't figured out exactly how that is all going to be done yet, but I think I got the hard part out of the way!

I've been cleaning like a fool the past couple days. My house needed it horribly after we returned...does dust accumulate faster when nobody is home? Strange. My parents are coming for the weekend, so I'm scrambling to finish up. I've completely lost my crafting mojo...nothing, no ideas, no inspiration. I think I must have left it in the airport or something. If anybody stumbles across it, please let me know!

Have a great weekend!

Potluck Thursday!

If you haven't been to see the Queen yet today, you best grab a pen and head over. She is having a potluck and there are some amazing things being offered up, along with the recipes! Here's what I'm bringing:

Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

2 pints cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup mayonaise

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 bunch green onions, freshly chopped

16 ounce package of bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled

Cut the top off each cherry tomato and using a melon baller or a shark knife, carefully scoop out the seeds and pulp. Place each tomato upside down on paper towel to drain. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. Stuff each tomato with the bacon mixture. Chill in fridge for at least an hour to blend the flavors.

These are a little time consuming, but sooo good! You don't want to make them too far ahead of time though or the tomatoes won't seem fresh. However, I have hollowed out the tomatoes the night before and refrigerated them, then added the filling the day of my party - worked like a charm! Hope you enjoy!

So this was the extent of my crafting today...a reward chart of sorts for Sydney to put stickers on after she goes to the bathroom.

Exciting, huh? She picked out some very special stickers at the store - horses and nascar. Well rounded her father called her. She's kind of slow going at potty training. She likes to sit there and hang out in the bathroom a lot, but no action if you know what I mean. Anybody have any tips? I'm all ears!

I'm Back!

Whew! We are home! It was a long week - away from home, away from my baby, and from all of you, but we had a great time, saw some amazing sights, and I am so glad I went. Washington D.C. is a remarkable place to visit, but I don't think it should be called a vacation! I haven't walked that much in ages. We were exhausted by the end of each day, but we had to see it all! We soon realized that wasn't possible, but we saw a lot.

Mount Vernon - Home of George Washington

The amount of history in that city and surrounding area is really amazing. To be where Abe Lincoln died or see George Washington's house and tomb - unreal! The highlights for me?

The monuments and memorials are breathtaking, each in their own way. The Washington Memorial is gigantic and seems to act like the North Star for the city - you can see that thing from everywhere it seems! The Lincoln Memorial is a great reminder of the struggle for freedom that so many have fought for within our own country. The WWII Memorial is a beautiful place of honor. The Vietnam Memorial is heart wrenching. It seems so easy for people (my age especially) to not realize that that wasn't really that long ago. To see spouses and children there crying for their loved ones was a huge dose of reality for me.

Vietnam Memorial

The list goes on...

The museums are incredible. I made a comment on the trip that if you were inclined to home school your children, this would be the city to do it in (not just because of the crime!). There is a museum or exhibit for just about every topic known to man. The top ones for me?


The Holocaust Museum is a must see for everyone. Some parts were really hard as you could imagine, but still so important.


The National Gallery of Art had an Edward Hopper exhibit that was awesome! I love his work and to see it in person was something I will never forget.

Washington Memorial, from the bottom looking up

The Museum of American History was closed for renovations, but we got to see a small sampling of their collection in the Air and Space Museum. So much cool stuff! The original ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz, Abe Lincoln's hat, George Washington's coat, and Jackie O's dress to name just a few.


We learned a lot of new things we didn't expect to as well...the ins and outs of going to the bathroom in space (very tricky as one might guess), how tall Bob Dole is (seriously we met him on the street and got our picture taken) and when to park and when not to park in Georgetown. I also confirmed my love for H&M and had a rather full suitcase on the way home as a result.

The Capitol, our last stop

So, overall the trip was a success but I am very happy to be home. Still doing laundry and trying to readjust to the cold weather here (it was in the 80's and 90's the whole time we were in D.C., compared to 50 in Fargo.) Hopefully things will be back to normal soon. In the meantime you might have to survive a few more pictures of the trip.

I missed you guys!

I'm Off!!!

We are taking off bright and early tomorrow morning for D.C. I'll be taking a blog break while we are gone - so I'll see you in about a week! Sorry I have been such a bad blogger lately. I owe replies to several of you and haven't even gotten a chance to check out the blogs of some first time commenters. I feel really bad and I look forward to catching up with all of you when I return. In the meantime, I did finish my traveling bag! What do you think? I am really happy with how it turned out. But the true test comes when its put to use!








On a separate note, my very good friend Rachel had a baby on Tuesday! His name is Reggie and he is adorable! He is having some kidney/bladder trouble and recovering from some breathing problems and is in intensive care. Rach hasn't even gotten to hold him yet. So please, pray for them. It's so hard to leave and go on vacation knowing your friend is hurting so much, but I know she is in good hands.

Alright, I HAVE to finish packing. My in-laws will be here any minute to take care of Sydney and my house is a disaster! Take care and I'll chat with you in a week!!

Like I needed another hobby...

But needle felting is so much fun! Check out this cute little snow man!

So easy, and it doesn't take as many fancy tools as I expected. I made this little guy with a couple girlfriends. We had so much fun watching their little expressions appear as we stitched them on. And, look - I actually made 2 french knots!! Here's a quick shot of the back.