dresden dish towels

I needed simple gifts to give a few of my friends for Christmas ... something inexpensive ... something homemade ... something quick. And actually in the end I got a bonus - but more on that in a later post.

For about a year now, I have wanted to do something with the vintage towels that are sold in the quilt shop where I work. First step: buy 10 towels in five colors: berry red, bright green, pale yellow, deep sky blue, and black (sorry, not all pictured). Nest step: think of something interesting to stitch on the front using what you have on hand at home.
 So I took this ...

Made by this company ...

And these simple tools ...

To make this finished product.
I like to think of it as "half a Dresden plate is better than none!"

I packaged them all in clear treat bags and slipped a Merry Christmas cupcake pick behind a twine bow.

And because I had them, I sealed the back with a bakery sticker.

I'm thinking I need to make just one more for my son's piano teacher whom I'll see tomorrow at lessons.
You know what I'll be doing tonight ...

advent box

Last night I found a lovely store in the mall, Lemonchello's Boutique. I hadn't ventured into the shop before but what lured me in during this shopping trip was an item in their window display (you know it would have gotten you, too!). And then when I stopped to admire it inside the store and saw that the sign said 20% off, there was no turning back!  It had to come home with me. Had to.

There is a side door opens and stores a tree which fits inside a hole on the top of the box. Each day you open the appropriately numbered drawer and add to the tree the ornament inside.

I decorated (slightly) the hurricanes next to the box with a couple of things that I found in the gift wrap bucket since we don't have our Christmas decorations down from the attic yet....

This is the gorgeous glitter writing on the top. Sooo pretty!  It's probably my favorite feature.

Hopefully, this lovely advent box will inspire me to get our Christmas decorations placed in their proper positions. If I don't, the children have every right to call me Scrooge!

H - A - double L - O - double U - double E - N

Halloween is just around that old creepy corner.  Although I'm not a big fan of the holiday ... except for the chocolate ... I do "get a little pumpkin on" in spite of myself.

The trick of treat banner is an idea I copied from a Pottery Barn catalog a couple of years ago (mine is a larger version), and the bewitched refused to focus wall hanging is one you might remember from last year.  Besides an orange candle here and there, this is the sad extent of my holiday spirit.  Fortunately, no one has complained.  Otherwise I'd have to get my witch on!

Oh, yes!  I do have this quilt as a shop sample where I work.  I'll probably get it back after the holiday.

cookie redemption

As some of you know, I started a Saturday job a couple of weeks ago.
Not that I was looking for work.  Actually, I haven't had a paying job for 28 years.
But when I was approached by one of the teachers that I know who works at Fat Quarters Quilt Shop and was asked if I'd be interested in helping out on Saturdays, I realized that bringing in a little money to support my fabric habit wouldn't be a bad idea.
And the fact that I liked the friendly shop owner and cheerful employees sealed the deal!
So I worked my first Saturday and felt right at home.  I was in a fabric store, after all.
Working the register had a bit of a learning curve to it, but the day flew by and I didn't regret my decision one bit!

Then I got sick. Fever and chills sick.  And wouldn't you know it, I couldn't work the following Saturday.
That's right.  Worked one Saturday.  Called in sick the next.
The shop owner had to have her husband work the first two hours of my shift until the person who could work the rest of the day was available.  In the seven years she's owned the store, she'd never had to have her husband work.
Ouch.

So I asked what his favorite cookie was.  The least I could do was bake a thank you!
He said anything with peanut butter in it.
So I made these (recipe found here).

I was told they were delicious!  My sampling affirmed their chewy peanut-chocolate heavenliness.
I'm still on the payroll.

P.S.  The Easter eggs in the crystal basket are ones that my children and I made many years ago.  We blew the centers out and painted the shells with nail polish.  I'm so grateful that somehow they've survived four moves and continue to decorate our table each spring.

Here's my finished Halloween wall hanging........displayed on the entry dresser.
I still haven't figured out the best way to get these things onto the wall!!
(P.S. Love that binding!)

vintage Halloween

What I hope to accomplish today is quilting this Halloween wall hanging.  We all know that October will be over in about 10 minutes! And yes, I've procrastinated.
The darling kitty and pumpkin images are vintage card designs printed onto fabric. The website that sells them also offers the wall hanging pattern for free (and we love free)!  You can find this pattern, and others, here.

If someone didn't want to pay the $ for the images, I think just appliqueing some Halloween designs would work well... but then I've never appliqued, so proceed with caution!
Here is where I found some free designs - this collage page being my favorite.

The fabric I'll use for my binding has a bright green background with black spider webs.  Creepy cute!

table runner

This table runner took about 15 minutes to sew - no kidding!  All it needs is a 1/2 yard (background) and a 1/3 yard (center) of two coordinating fabrics.  Sew the long ends (width of fabric) into a tube, wrong sides together. Press such that the background fabric wraps around to the front evenly on both sides (for mine it was about 1 1/2 inches on each side).  Fold the short unfinished ends, back sides facing, and stitch seam.  Turn right side out and press the triangle shaped ends to the front.  Sew on a decorative button at the seam ends, and you're done!

valentine's day cards

Today I stitched up Valentine's Day cards for my sons.  I chose cardstock colors that matched personalities and scrounged through my scrap bag for happy fabrics.  No lace, no rick rack, no pink (so missing my girls today!)

This easy project idea came from a post I saw a couple of years ago at The Purl Bee.  Using a cutting blade, I removed a heart shape from the folded card front.  Then I glued a piece of fabric inside which covered the cut out.  Finally, on the front I sewed a decorative stitch around the heart. Nobody complained that his was too girly, so mission accomplished!

Happy Easter!

I made this simple basket last year as an Easter decoration using a Martha Stewart picture as inspiration. Martha's basket, of course, is much classier than mine. And my colored foil wrapped eggs cannot compare to her blown-out quail and turkey ones; but no animal product was harmed during the production of my craft!