husqvarna viking parts

A few months ago, I got a new sewing machine - a BROTHER... and I LOVE IT! (almost as much as my real brother. haha.) However, I still have a few random parts from my Viking Designer SE that I'm willing to sell to the highest bidder. I will list them on ebay soon, but figured I'd ask here first. Anybody interested in any of the following?
Mini Embroidery Hoop (40x40)
Quilter's Do-It-All Hoop (150x150) - with heavy and light frame parts
Mega Hoop (360x150)
bias binder foot
a few embroidery collections - #18, flowers & frames #119, classic fashion #114
3rd edition foot book
accessory user's guide


Just email me if you're interested and want details.

sew, mama, sew WINNER!!!

surreal.
What a whirlwind the last few days have been. The number (and quality!) of comments I've received on my little creation has been overwhelming. Thanks for all the love, everyone!
It is fun to create, and even more fun when other people love what you create!
There were a couple of you who wanted a tutorial or were interested in sewing your own. I'll see what I can put together in the next week or two.

So... the real news you're here for - - -

THE WINNER IS.... ROSEY LITTLE THINGS!


roseylittlethings said...
Strawberries and raspberries are our faves! Darling dress!
May 27, 2009 10:24 AM

I know a lot of people use random.org - I like to do things a little differently. I printed off everyone's names on one single sheet of paper (small print!) and told my son to pick one and circle it. I have no idea what his thought process was, but figured that was pretty random.
So - please email me with the size you would like your dress to be, and your address & I'll get this sent off as soon as possible!!!

For all of you other sad folks out there, I am always selling at ArtFire - please check out some of my other items! Free shipping until June 10th if you mention SEW MAMA SEW in the checkout notes. If you email me with a custom order or request by June 10th, shipping is still free!

fruity books & last chance

The strawberry plant we have is finally bearing it's fruit, and local produce is going to be sold starting next Wednesday at our Farmer's Market. Time to talk about fruit!!

Strawberry Girl - Lois Lenski - honestly, I've never even read it. I think I started once, and got bored. (I was young.) I'll have to pick it up and try it again. Has anyone else ever read it?

Eating the Alphabet - Lois Ehlert - a great look at more fruits and veggies than I knew existed. Lois Ehlert always has such bold, bright illustrations!

Apple Pie Tree - Zoe Hall - When I taught 1st and 2nd grade, I couldn't keep this book on the shelf. A little girl named Nicole chose this book as often as I would let her. It's basically the life cycle of an apple - growing and getting eaten in a pie. She always said she liked apple pie, and that's why she liked reading that book. (Personally, I don't even need the pie - just give me the crisp cinnamon sugar-coated apples!!!)

Each Peach, Pear, Plum - Allan Ahlberg, Janet Ahlberg
Jamberry - Bruce Degen
Just a couple fun, rhymey books with fruity adventures.

Blueberries for Sal - Robert McCloskey - my ultimately most favorite best berry fruit pickin' book. I love picking blueberries, but luckily my experiences have never involved bears!!!

Just a little reminder - your last chance for the strawberry onesie dress... the giveaway winner will be drawn tonight (May 31st) at 5 p.m. Chicago time. Go back here to comment & enter. Then come back this evening and see if you're the lucky winner!

random sewing

I took part in an event called "Spring Market" - a show at someone's house for a bunch of stay at home moms. It was a great way to expand my references a little, and I had fun sewing up a little something new...
This tiered ruffled dress! Nobody bought it though, so I think it will be going into my daughter's wardrobe for next summer!!!Here's what my little corner looked like... (Thanks again for the coat rack, Melissa!)

A few other vendors were there -
Blackberry Briar - amazing soy candles and room sprays. PLUS - she makes these amazing folk art dolls. Check her out on Etsy!
Shindigs for Kids - kids party planner extraordinaire - Nata-Leigh was my first follower.
Bornhoff Photography
Mags & Me - but for some reason I can't find her on etsy, and don't think I picked up her card. aack. Sorry.
Gretchen (the hostess) & her daughter made a bunch of bottlecap necklaces - cute, but more of the 5th grade girl crowd around that table.
Anyway - a bunch of talented ladies! What a great evening!

what a boy

I'm telling you - my son is livin' the life of a boy set free for the summer...

Catching frogs at the Arboretum...
and checking out the tadpoles in another area of the Arboretum... (sorry for the fuzzy pic)
"napping" on the front lawn (after intently watching the workers tear up the sidewalk for at least an hour)Digging up worms at his aunt and uncle's farm...
and finding baby birds...
And it's not even June yet!!!

sew, mama, sew GIVEAWAY!!!!

If you're here for the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway, you've come to the right place!!!

My item for the day is a strawberry onesie dress. It is sewn with a few fat quarters of Elanor's Picnic by P&B Textiles. I made the original for a friend, but loved it so much I made one for my daughter, and have enough fabric to send one to some other lucky little girl!!!
Here's a close-up of the strawberry. It was appliqued on the front of the onesie and made to match the stripes of the skirt.
If you want to enter, just leave me a comment about your favorite fruit. My family kind of lives by the seasons... strawberry, blueberry, pear, apple. What's your favorite season? If you would like to be a follower- that would be great too!!! (but not necessary for the contest)

I'm happy to ship internationally. However, I have never done it before and might need a little guidance! I would also appreciate a little help with the cost of shipping, since (I assume) it will be so much more.

I will announce the winner May 31st, and as long as you get back to me quickly with the size you would like, I'll be shipping out June 3rd. Sorry, it is only available up to 24 months.

pink & green WINNER!

Thanks everybody for your kind comments about my pink & green items. I'm glad you spent a minute (or two) of your Memorial Day weekend with me!

The news you've all been waiting for....

Sarah you're the winner!
YAY!
Email me with the name for the bag & your mailing address.

Now for all the rest of you heartbroken folks, if you head on over to my ArtFire shop and buy something by the end of the month, shipping is FREE! (well, I don't really know how to make it show up as free, but I'll refund it to your PayPal right away.) Just be sure to type PINK&GREEN in the comments at checkout.
Of course, I love custom orders too - so if you have something special in mind, please let me know!!!!

(Still sad? I have another GIVEAWAY tomorrow through the Sew Mama Sew giveaway day. Come on back!)

finishing up the dresses! (x4)

Well - unfortunately, most of my pictures were fuzzy. Ah well. You'll get the idea.

So - the dress is done, time to do the finishing touches. You marked the buttonholes, right? Time to get to it then. My sewing machine is (thankfully) pretty automated about the whole thing. Good luck if yours isn't. I've never really done them manually, so don't have any tips. Sorry. One tip - I usually do it on a scrap fabric first, and try buttoning the button (still on the card) through the hole. I just want to make sure it's the right size before I do it on the real fabric.

Then it's time to open up those buttonholes. One thing a seam ripper is good for that isn't frustrating! (unless you go too far....)Then of course, time for the buttons (you marked them right?) - if not, line up the buttonholes and mark through the holes.

And I've finally got four beautiful daisy dresses... all lined up and ready for four cute little girls!!!(amazing photo shoot coming soon, I hope!)

sunday sundae SUNDAE BAR!!!

My favorite Sunday tradition. I mean, I love church, I love family time, and I love naps, but I LOVE me some Sunday sundae bar!!!
After Abby goes to bed, the rest of us get ready for our Sunday sundae bar. (half the fun is saying it that way really fast lots of times.) And before you go all feeling bad for Abby, remember she is only 13 mo. old - she'll be included when she gets older, don't worry!

Basically, we pull out whatever goodies we've got & heap up our bowl full of yummies. You will notice bananas, crushed pineapple, cherries, caramel Magic Shell, chocolate Magic Shell, regular Caramel, Whipped Cream, sprinkles, pecans, sprinkles, Hershey's toppings sprinkles, and Cupcake Magic Shell.
Yes - you heard me right - Cupcake Magic Shell. Oh my goodness. This was a new find for this week -and it is SO good! Have you tried it??!!!
This is my bowl. Rather traditional, I know - Oreos, Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream, Cookie Dough ice cream, sprinkles of both varieties, and Cupcake Magic Shell.
My dear husband informed me (after I took the picture) that I forgot to include the Hershey's strawberry syrup. Sorry honey, it's just not on my yummy list, so I forgot. This is what his bowl looks like. yowza. Can you tell he likes whipped cream???!!!!
I made him take a bite to show you - crushed pineapple, strawberry syrup, strawberry ice cream, vanilla ice cream, Cupcake Magic Shell, and I don't even know what else. His favorite part - the cherry on top, I think!
And of course, the most satisfied person of all. He doesn't need much (although I'm sure that will change as he gets older!). He had one scoop of Cookie Dough ice cream, a few sprinkles, some Magic Shell chocolate, and he was good to go.
Since it's Sunday night and we're usually coming off a fun-filled weekend and gearing up for Daddy going back to work - we have added another special part to our evening. As we're sitting around eating our ice cream, we share our favorite parts of the weekend. Sometimes we all have one moment that was our absolute favorite, sometimes we're all different. It's especially fun to see what Conner remembers and what was special to him. Then we try and think of something we're looking forward to in the coming week. I know for some people ice cream before bedtime wouldn't work well for their kids. Conner has never been one to get too hyped up on sugar. It works out so well for us and is a nice way to end our weekend/ start our week. If someone else happens to be with us on Sunday night - they're included too! (So who's going to show up on our doorstep next Sunday night?!)

pink & green ... books

I've been having fun on the Pink & Green Blog Tour. So what better way to celebrate than with a couple of pink and green books?

Everybody knows about Pinkalicious, right? (and Purplicious, and Goldilicious) What a funny girl! (you gotta love the little brother. ha.)

Priscilla and the Pink Planet is for those of you out there who truly believe that although pink isn't inherently evil, there is more to life than pink. Ahhhh... a girl after my own heart.
Have any of you ever read Double Pink? It sounds similar.

Had a little too much pink yourself, want a little something green....?
My favorite "green" book... Anne of Green Gables. Just had to throw that one in.

Another book with quite a few colors... Elmer. We love that elephant here at our house!

What's your favorite color book?

(Did you enter the GIVEAWAY yet?)

swap this

Dear Jen,
You said you like pink - orange and turquoise - and a little bit of green. I did what I could. Enjoy!
Do you think your daughter would like to draw a little something too?
I know she's a little young, but she'll want one just like her sister, right?
You live near Lake Michigan, right? Well, closer than I do for sure. I'm jealous! Enjoy the swimming this summer with your new toteable towel. And I hope your oldest daughter enjoys her new monogrammed pillowcase! (I forgot to take pictures of those things. oops.)

And last but not least... a little something special for your spring/ summer kitchen table - or the girl's room - or your room for that matter!
Hope you loved the package! I had fun thinking up these fun projects and expanding my color palette.
Fondly, your swap partner,
Beth

P.S. Crafty Mama - thanks for hooking us up!

pink & green & a GIVEAWAY!

If you're stopping by courtesy of the ArtFire Pink & Green Blog Tour - thank you!
I've made a ton of pink and green things - it was so hard to pick my favorites, but here we go...

This bag is a customer favorite - perfect for little girly-girls and ballerinas everywhere!

This sweet onesie was for a little baby named Ivy - the center of the swirly heart is minkee. So soft and cuddly!

This table runner was made for Jen - as part of a swap hosted by Crafty Mama. She said she loved bright pinks, with a little bit of green. So I went to work on a couple whirligigs for her - added some Cuttlebug stars & a pink button, squiggled in the white - and I was done. It was so much fun to find all these great fabrics in my stash!

These dresses were made for my friend's two daughters in Arizona. So simple and easy, made from a soft lightweight fabric - perfect for their hot months!

I made a quilt for my 1st niece out of a mixture of pink and green fabrics. I had some leftover star stuff - and made her this cute hat. I love the scalloped edge on it!


I figured I better stop now and tell you the best part - I'm giving away a tutu bag to one of you!
My very first giveaway - YAY!
Here's how you can win... (3 entries possible!)
1. Make a comment about your favorite item (even if it's not the tutu bag) - or tell me who you would give the bag to.
2. Become a follower (if you already are, you'll still get the extra entry)
3. Blog about me & the giveaway. (make sure you let me know!)

I'll be drawing names May 26th at noon.
Make sure you leave your email address in the comments if you don't have a blog. I'd hate for you to win and then not be able to receive your special bag!
If you can't think of any girls who would want this bag, let me know and I'll design a bag for your favorite boy. I don't want the boys to be left out. :)

Thanks for stopping by. Even if you don't win - I'm glad you're here and I hope you'll come back often! I review books every Sunday, and I'm always up to something else during the week. See you around...

making it, sewing it

TIME TO SEW! My favorite part! I'm actually going to make four jumpers, different sizes and different colors. It's taken me a while to get them all cut & marked. But I'm ready to go and excited to see how they turn out!

Staystitching... just stitching, closer to the edge than the seam allowance. Don't ask me why they don't just say "stitch here".

Press seams open - it lays nice and flat and doesn't bulk up the seams. Quite an adjustment for me as opposed to quilting.
Pin - it really does help. I have spent years trying to avoid it, but it all comes down to this - it is straighter, neater, and I am more pleased with the end result when I pin. (oh, how I hate to admit it.)

Trim seams - why do they make us? Why don't they just make a smaller seam allowance? I DON'T KNOW! (yes this is me sitting at my sewing table with the fabric falling off my lap. Sometimes I trim by the t.v.)
Clip & flip - SO helpful to clip the curves when you flip it and press it. It decreases bulk (as if trimming the seams wasn't enough?) and make the fabric actually curve when/where you want it to. Just don't trim the seam you just stitched. Better not to clip in low light or late at night, I have found. just sayin'. :) Whether you clip actual wedges or just slits - I see it as a matter of personal preference. This is my favorite tool for flipping - it helps smooth the edges and can be shoved into skinny places. Some people use chopsticks. There's a variety of options out there, just find something that works for you!
Time to press - ahhh... you're starting to see results now. YAY! Sometimes the pattern calls for "topstitching" - the really close to the edge stitching. It helps keep facing from flipping inside out, or just kind of adds a finished detail. In these dresses I'm not going to do it, but it can be a nice touch.
We'll add the finishing touches (buttons!) in a couple of days. (Remember, I'm doing 4 of these dresses, folks!)

finishing up from the party, round 2

A few more party goodies to share with you...


Watch out little yellow fishies.... there's a big terrycloth shark with ric-rac teeth coming to get you!
A new baby is the lucky charm of the family...

My new 4th of July design (layered stars) on a gray romper.

A dog print tie on an aqua romper.

This onesie already had a collection of green and blue stars on it - we just added the moon & baby's initial.

The golf applique was also popular - and looks great on the bag with the green handles!

This airplane was a lot of little pieces - but so cute!

What a bunch of creative customers I have!!!

kites and canvas

For my dad's birthday, we wanted to make a little something special for him to hang on the wall -at work or at home. We started with a couple shades of blue paint, added some white, and then added some fingerprint "clouds". (I had to figure out a way to include Abby!)

While he was doing some of the background painting, I got out some of my scrapbooking papers and cut some squares and rectangles. While we waited for the paint to dry, we glued them together to make kites. After the paint dried, we glued them on and then got out the cray-pas. I love them for their bold colors. Conner went to town decorating the kites and the sky around the kites. Kind of graphic and exciting - it shows movement, right? I added the kite cross-pieces and strings, and we have a unique birthday present for Grampa!
Happy Birthday, Dad!

hair clips

My daughter's hair is very fine - so hair clips are kind of a lost cause. However, I try anyway! The alligator clips stay pretty well, as long as there isn't any smooth ribbon on the back to slide them out of her hair.

I followed the tutorial here and made a bunch of my own!

So fast, easy and cute! I was on a roll but unfortunately my helper wanted me to play trains & farm. He had fun for a little while though - he matched up ribbons and buttons, and would hand me more clips. A couple of these are going to my niece for her birthday, the rest are for my daughter.

the finished cupcakes & cake

Without further adieu, here are the cupcakes:
Lots and lots of dots - they matched the invites. And I guess people (kids?) loved them, because a few of the fondant circles were missing from the cupcakes. My mother-in-law said she saw someone pick them off. (NOT MY SON!) SO, I guess they were yummy!

My dad is an avid kite flyer. His name is Bob. He is turning 61 on Tuesday. (Happy Birthday Dad!) We celebrated today at their house. My mom made the cake and I fondant-ed the top. I had pre-rolled the blue, but it didn't last in transit so I had to re-roll it. I didn't have my cutting mat with me to measure, so it didn't quite work out along the edges like I planned. Lesson learned. But I thought the kites were cute, and the fondant writer stuff worked out nicely for the string.My first attempts are just that - first attempts. Hopefully no body sends me off to Cake Wrecks, but I'm not exactly trying to get a job at Charm City Cakes either. Just having fun, and enjoying the process!