i have to say...

spring cleaning sale! 20% off! and a giveaway!

I need to do some spring cleaning in my shop!  The shelves are full of gorgeous goods and they are all on sale for 20% off.

20% off!

All of the fabric, including the already sale-priced prints, along with all of the patterns and pre-cuts are included.  The sale will continue through Monday, April 5th at 12:00 noon.

That's not all!

(I feel like a car salesman!)

There is a giveaway included too.

A $50 gift certificate in my shop.

Here's how the giveaway is going to work.  Just click on over to my shop and tell me what your favorite item is.  Pattern?  Fabric?  Whatever you like, tell me.  That's one entry in the giveaway.

Want another entry?  Just post about my sale on your blog.  That's two entries.

Another entry?  Just put the word out about my sale on Twitter or Facebook or whatever networking site you use.  That's three entries in the giveaway.

Leave one comment for each of those things and next Monday Aubry will pick the lucky winner (be sure that your email is somehow included in your comment).  And, by the way, shipping is on me for the giveaway.

If you would like to make a purchase in my shop, you can do it a couple of ways:

***Make the purchase as usual, make payment, and I will refund you through Paypal.

***Make the purchase as usual, but don't pay.  Then I will send you a revised invoice through Paypal.

***Send me an Etsy conversation with the items you want and I will set up a custom-listing just for you with the correct pricing and shipping.

Any of those methods will work just fine.

I hope this helps some of you to stock up for spring sewing.  All of this sunshine is inspiring me to sew some dresses for Aubry and some skirts for me.

Happy sewing!

***The sale will continue through Monday, April 5th at 12:00 noon.  Also, all orders will be shipped out on Thursday, April 8th.

guess what i'm making!

OK, I will give you a few guesses on this one.

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Sorry, but you're wrong.

It is actually a cute bag to carry my sparring gear to karate class. 

I realize that is akin to wearing light make-up on a camping trip, but I do that too, so it's fine.

The backpack I am using is a bit too small and it's ugly, so something new was needed.  All I have to do is to buy a length of cording for the drawstring, then it's done.  Once it is done I can arrive to sparring night in style, ready to kick some butt.

Well, in reality it is to have my butt kicked at this point, but I intend to change that over time.  Practice makes perfect, even in sparring. 

At least that is what I am counting on!

***I referred to my laundry sack tutorial (on the sidebar) to make this bag.

on the nightstand

Admittedly, I don't have a ton of reading time, but I do manage to squeeze some in each night before bedtime.  Next to fabric, books are my favorite addiction.  If I could I would start a fabric/book shop with an ice cream counter, just for fun.  I expect that a lot of you would frequent my store?  :)

I recently read Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler.  It is about a man who wakes up one morning to find he has no memory of recent events--very important events.  And he also finds that he has no one close enough to tell him those events or even to take care of him.  He has a choice to stay in a life that is less than fulfilling, or to to step forward into a life of purpose.

All of Anne's book are wonderful, exploring the inner selves of ordinary people.  You will always find a character to identify with in one of her books. 

For me, I find in the world of books a refuge.  A place where people like me wrestle through their lives and find out who they are, what their place in life is, and what life has to offer them.  Isn't this much like what we all do every day?

I also read Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger, the author of The Time Traveler's Wife.  The first half of the book was interesting and compelling, largely because the story was so unique, but the second half of the book was just plain weird.  This one I was glad to finish.

Now I am reading The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold.  I am only a chapter into it, but I can't decide if I am going to continue with it.  A couple more chapters will tell.

What about you?  What are you reading?

sometimes you have to...

...take a break and have some ice cream!

We did that today and I am wondering what took me so long.  For some reason, starting the week with sickness has left the rest of the week feeling a bit burdensome.  It was time to get out of the "zone" and do something fun.

Now it's time to refocus and head in the weekend and next week without being in "gotta get it done" mode.  That is certainly no fun for anyone, including me.

Signing off until next week.

Have a good one!  :)

a glimpse of my day

I was sick over the weekend with strep, up until yesterday.  It is so nice to  be able to swallow without feeling like knives were in my throat.  Let me tell you, today the basic things of life felt wonderful.

Here is a little glimpse.

Aubry and I packaged up all of the skirts in ziploc bags.  Sixty of them altogether!  Now I just need to find some boxes to pack all those bags in...

Of course, laundry was on the agenda.  How come a few days off = mountains of dirty clothes?

Algebra.  Well, that was only nice since I wasn't the one doing it.

Loads of 5" charms cut for packing in my orders.  So much pretty possibilities in these piles!

Sweet potato fries with honey-lime dip.  Yum is all I can say about that!  Seriously, try this recipe!

Karate class.  I tried to take the picture so you could see my new, cool blue lagoon colored nail polish, but no such luck.  Another time...

We have a winter storm warning for today.  Crazy!  Just a few days ago I was wearing a tank top.

That's spring in Colorado!

Have a great day!

291

That's the number of skirts that have arrived in my mailbox over these last few weeks!

I asked my boys along with one of their friends if they would help me to "show off" the pile.  Amusingly,  my oldest boy chimed in to make sure that I wasn't going to make them actually wear the skirts.  

Gosh, I hadn't even thought of that.  Might have been a good idea...

We stacked and stacked, and the whole time the skirts just toppled and collapsed.   The three piles were the best we could come up with, but even those are falling over against the boy's legs.  We wanted to lay them out on the front lawn, but the melting snow made that impossible.

My job is now to box up these skirts and get them to a gal who is leaving for Pennsylvania in one week.  She will drop them off there and they will be taken to a place where the next missionary group going to Haiti can pick them up.  The transport of these skirts is going to cost nothing.  NOTHING.  Can you believe that?

I want to thank each and every person who contributed to this Sewing Seeds project.  The skirts are beautiful and creative and I am sure they will put smiles on many little faces.  What a wonderful thing to use your gifts to bless another person in need.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

As soon as I have some, I will post pictures of the girl's wearing their skirts.  My friend whose cousin is a missionary in Port Au Prince has given instructions for pictures to be taken and sent to us.

I can't wait to see!

Have a wonderful Monday!

"Sow the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you."---Hosea 10:12

what's a poppy dip?

There is a wonderful lady named Sallee who frequents my shop, and one day I asked her what she makes with all of the fabric she buys (I am nosey like that!).

I am so glad I asked!

She has a little company called Poppy Dips and she makes absolutely adorable dresses to raise money so she and her husband can adopt children from Ethiopia.

I love it!

Poppy Dip is an expression used by Sallee's three year old to say that "everything is good".

Sallee's adorable model (she's a natural, isn't she?)  was adopted and at this point her family is waiting on one more.  There is also a little guy named Solomon who is part of the family.  Sallee and her husband have 3 natural-born children.

Since it is that time of the year to start thinking of spring dresses, I wanted to feature Sallee's shop her on my blog, just in case anyone feels the need to support a worthy cause and get a cute dress for your own little one.

I ordered a short-sleeved poppy dip for Aubry made with these two fabrics:

Aubry and I made a skirt for Haiti with this combination and we just loved it!

If you would like to see what Sallee has to offer, click here.  She customizes dresses in the fabrics you choose.  

Have a lovely day!

gifts

Three more pillowcases.

I am on a mission to cover the world's pillows with loveliness, one at a time.

These ones are for a very sweet friend.  Seriously, she is one of those super-sweeties that you are really glad that you know.

On Saturday morning she had a baby boy.  Wonderful, eh? 

That same afternoon her mother-in-law was walking my friend's daughter to get a hair cut and as they crossed the street they were both struck by a car. 

Really scary stuff, let me tell you.

All is well, and the two in the accident are recovering, but still in pain.  My friend is, of course, trying to juggle a new baby and now two patients.

Pillows just seemed the perfect gift.  They all need lots of rest.

If you feel like saying a prayer for my friend, it is appreciated.

Have a wonderful day and give lots of hugs to those you love.  It's too easy to forget that life is a gift.

***Tutorial for the cases is found here.

rekindling

OK, so I am rekindling my crush on Darla. 

Really, I just love this fabric collection.

The red is what gets me.  So bright and happy.

I made these pillowcases using Cassie's great tutorial.  They came together so easy and quick that I just might have to make some more.  I'm thinking that my whole family and most of my friends need new pillowcases now.  Visions of fabric combinations that people will love are swirling around in my head. 

I guess I trying to warn you that these are quite addictive. 

You can't make just one.

before and after

before she knew i had the camera in hand:

after she knew:

i guess it's embarrassing to have your mom chase you around all day with a camera.

who knew?

have a lovely weekend, everyone!