work: if it's not something...

It's something else. there's always something going on. That's good! I would rather be busy than bored. I am rarely bored. More often I'm in a heap on the floor because I am so overwhelmed with everything I have to do (exaggeration) but never bored. I have accomplished A LOT in the last few months. I couldn't have done it without help from my family and church friends.

Above are some beautiful cases I made for the Triplets. I capitalize that because in our house everyone knows them as the Triplets. People who don't know them have heard of them. they are sweet little girls and they turned 8! I love these cases and want to offer them on Etsy but ...(see the part about being so busy I'm in a heap on the floor)

See this? I have always wanted a red door! Now I have one! And I painted my porch ceiling "Haint Blue". I first saw this while living in TX. We visited Lyndon B. Johnson State Park with some young women from church. (I remember this day very well. The blue ceilings left an impression but so did LBJ's steer whose smell triggered nausea. I found out a week later I was pregnant with my first baby)

I fell in love with the blue porch ceilings in his childhood homes. Now I have it and I really love it. And my trim has begun to be painted. This is thanks to my sweet friends. I love my home, but these touches (and my trim not molding and peeling) has really brightened my mood. Just in time too, since it is getting cold and dark.
Theses cases are for my little friends. The difference is below their names in glow in the dark thread it says "Daughter of a King". You may already believe you're a princess but you need to always believe in Christ and walk in the light so that when you go through dark times you will remember that you are a daughter of God. The thread must go in light before it can glow. Just like us. I love this!

Here are some of my newest oneses! As popular as I thought they would be. How fun to receive or give as a baby gift!

We live on one acre which is HUGE for a family used to living on an Army post. I rented a tractor and my dad came and helped me put in a yard. I couldn't have done this without the friends who helped mow, weed eat, take down trees, cut wood etc. I am so grateful! Especially when we had a high windstorm and those trees could have landed on my house!

Don't I look awesome on a tractor? This was the 3rd time we rented it and I was determined it would be the last. The yard is looking great! The kids love it!
I saw Carter be born and he just turned 8! He loves all sports so this pillowcase with glow in the dark name was perfect!

I don't blog because I sew

I like to read blogs but don't very often because I'm too busy. I like to write on my blog but don't very often because I'm too busy. I have wondered how creative people find time to blog and make stuff. With kids, a home, church, and sewing, I'm exhausted! I am not caught up on sewing and probably never will be. My house has been a disaster, so I finally hired someone to clean it. Wow! What a relief! Worth every penny!

So here are a few things I've made since we visited last. Above you have a school backpack made from her dad's uniform. Yep! An ACU backpack. You know, ACU bags are not my most favorite thing to make, but I often make exceptions. People love them and have an emotional attachment to them. This one was requested by one of my sweeties and she chose the fun lining and we designed it together. I'm pretty proud of it. Still haven't finished a school bag for girl #3. One day...
I have over 180 sales on Etsy now and I'm pleased as punch. But I don't sew much. I embroider. Lots of onesies and pillowcases. I have several new Harry Potter themed onesies and I offer a personalized custom onesie. Here we have one in French. I had to google the translation. "My name is Pierre" Cute. And like all the custom onesies, this has a cute story to go with it.
Towels! My mother commissioned the above towels for a fellow teacher getting married and Dang! they're pretty. It's hard to tell in these pics, but it is a really pretty taupe with the slate blue. Very nice. When mom comes to visit I have these cute guest towels ready for her use. Pink and blue-his and hers. I love the polka dot font and need to remember to use it soon. It would be darling on pillowcases.

More onesies with another cute story. This time, triplets! I love the color combo. A very sweet gift.

And did I hear someone say "pillowcases"? Why yes and I have some right here. I offer this beautiful monogram in my Etsy store and this customer asked for the extra sentiment. Of course! I love moms and I hear that this mom loved her cases.
Have I blogged about these yet? Ruffly covers for 31 brand purses. I have made about a dozen, I think, and every one has been stinking adorable! I have many more to show and tell.
There's a little sampling. What's next? This week, I'm finishing up altering a couple evening gowns, more embroidered onesie orders for Etsy, pillowcases for past due wedding gifts, another baby boy blessing outfit, and I have to figure out some special projects we'll be sewing up for the nursing home. Busy Busy.

The First Step...

The first step in addiction recovery is admitting you have a problem. Well, I do. I decided it was time to go through fabric when I had an order that needed a specific one. and I couldn't find it. So my sweet husband started pulling all the containers from the garage. I took this picture because I was so amazed at how much I had. Then Lee said, "Oh, I'm not done. You still have more."

More?! I had no idea how many I had. Lee ended up pulling about 15 containers from the garage and in my actual sewing room I had 8-10 drawers and an entire 5 drawer filing cabinet. All filled with fabric. Some of these boxes were HUGE. One that holds chenille is about the size of a small coffin.


I was too embarrassed to take another picture. What is one of the 7 deadly sins? Gluttony. I am a fabric glutton. So, I went through and purged a bunch of fabric, including 2 garbage bags full of scraps. My scraps aren't regular scraps. They are really nice scraps. I even considered bundling scraps and selling them on Etsy to crafters and quilters.

It was more than a little painful to part with fabric, even fabric that hadn't seen daylight in a couple years. But I have a semi belief in feng sui, and having boxes full of unused fabric is stale energy.

I am now down to about 8 boxes on my garage shelves. They include the fabrics I don't use regularly: fleece, chenille, canvas, flannel, felt and even batting. They are separated much better now and I am actually using them more often becuae I know what I have and can find it. I hate buying a notion or fabric and come home and see that "Dang! I already have navy blue fleece!" Or "Crud! This is my 3rd identical purple spool of thread!"

Oh thread. Yeah, that's another one. I could do a post just on thread. I'll save that for another day, because, again, I am very embarrassed.

But I admit it is a problem that I am working on. And working on it means sewing it all up and selling stuff to make lots of money! (to buy more sewing items. JK!)

And yeah, yeah, I know that storing fabric in plastic is a no-no but come on! How many of us do it? And it doesn't matter because I am sewing it all up!

Right?

Sewing for my Family

I love to sew and have stayed incredibly busy sewing for people who offer me money. This is a fun way to sew. But the most rewarding? Sewing for my children and other members of my family. Two of my children share a birthday. My daughter says they're "twins". A few years ago I made them I'm 2 and I'm 4 shirts. I surprised them with these on their birthday morning. Iused Thomas the Train fabric and princess crown fabric for the number appliques. They loved them!
The hair clip she's wearing is a yo-yo I made from the princess crown fabric, topped with a cute flower button. Adorable!

Lydia received a hooded towel when she was born and has since grown out of it. A good friend sewed it for her, but we needed to replace it and she is still young enough that a hooded towel works for her. And when your mom sews, she can make it as big as you need. I finally completed this towel which includes a gorgeous Amy Butler print. She's a happy girl. I have new hooks in the bathroom now, too, so she ought to be able to keep it off the floor.

Glow in the Dark Pillowcases! It's been a while since I made these! I made this one for my niece and the letters are appliqued in glow in the dark thread. I keep thinking about offering these on Etsy because they are so fun, but it may have to be after vacation. I have too many projects in the works right now.

The tooth fairy pillowcase also glows in the dark. I have sold these on Etsy and craft fairs in the past. Lydia is losing teeth like crazy, so it was about time she had her own.


The pocket is satin and the satin stitching glows as well as the fairy's wings and the tooth she's carrying. Ribbon and ric-rac are the perfect finishing touch for both cases.

More sewing for family items soon. And a special treat? The Easter Dress! Stay tuned.

Harry Potter and the Popular Onesies

Counting down to the premiere of the last Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, part 2! So here is my contribution to Potter Mania.
I showed these onesies in a previous post, but I have sold even more of them so I wanted to show them in different colors. I started with the "Muggle Born" and "Dumbledore's Army" onesies. They're pretty even but Muggle Born may be just a bit more popular.

Today I offered my latest HP theme onesie, "S.P.E.W." which all good fans of the books know is the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. I am a HUGE lover of Harry and share the love with my kids. They have been a big inspiration for my embroideries, and my 13 yr old is especially helpful at referencing things for me. We love S.P.E.W. and wish it had been added in the movies, but oh well. And we love Dobby, so I dedicate this and all my onesies to Dobby's memory and of course, my man, Fred. Oh wait. Spoiler Alert if you haven't read the books!

Dress your baby in a HP onesie and take him with you to the movie!

This pink Muggle Born was featured in an Etsy treasury today filled with Harry Potter baby items. Super cute!

I will have to check my stats to see which are more popular, my Harry Potter or Star Wars onesies. Wait till you see my new Darth Vader one!

Why yes...I do weddings

This beautiful young lady and her beautiful mother are sharing tears of joy! This sweet girl and her husband and baby daughter were sealed to each other forever in the LDS temple.
They hadn't had a real wedding reception, so her awesome mother in-law and my good friend, Dana, planned a gorgeous day for them.

They chose a really beautiful dress for the big day. The problem was, it did not meet the modesty standard for a temple ceremony or for the girl to wear after she had been to the temple.

Enter, ME.

Angie, can you help us? Uh, I guess so. No it was more like SURE! Why not?!

The dress was strapless with these little removable strap/sleeve things. I lined them and moved them and secured them to cover everything that needed covered. Even a jacket would not have covered enough if she moved.

I knew it would be tricky to find the right fabric for a jacket but a jacket was my only option. I wasn't going to attempt to build shoulders and sleeves for this dress. I didn't want to take away from the beauty of it or cover it, but it had to be modest and functional.

The whole experience conjured up my time as a bridal consultant when I was first married. Selling dresses and measuring for alterations...good times. Luckily no one was standing over me pushing a sales quota.

We were fortunate Dana asked for my help right before I was leaving for a trip to Hawaii, in November! I took photos of the gown and went on my search at Fabric Mart on Oahu.

I found this lovely embroidered, beaded organza. It couldn't have matched any better than it did. I wish my photos were better. The jacket fit her so well and looks like it came with it. I also added bustle hook and loop and applique' to hide it. Hmmm...where did that picture go?


I'm especially proud of how the fabric lines up so well. It fit her with perfection and is just another reason why having something custom made is the way to go. The bridal shop had nothing like this.

The inside of the jacket back was lined with batiste. The front was lined in satin to complement the pseudo-Elvis collar.


The straps alterations were all done by hand and took forever. But in this case forever ended and I completed in time. I delivered the dress to the temple and dressed Saydee after the sealing for ther pictures outside. She looked adorable and gorgeous and wonderful and so happy. And the look on her husband's face was incredible! This took a huge amount of work. Hours and hours of mental and physical labor here, but what a lovely result.

I'm pleased with the challenge it gave me and am more than satisfied but I'm not ready to take this on again soon. But for such a sweet family and to be a part of their sacred day, I would do it all over again.

Congratulations, Gibson Family!

What's in a name?

I take the loveliest linens and add someone's name or monogram in beautiful colors. Yeah, I know I make them but I can't help but brag a little. Every time I embroider a set, I press them with my super hot iron and fold them up and tie them with ribbon and then I "ooh" and "aah" before I photograph them, wrap them in tissue, tie them with another ribbon then package and mail them.

I'm very excited to have found a new source for my pillowcases. They are 400 thread count sateen, the kind you would find in upscale hotels. They come out of the wash better than any others I have used and the seams and stitching are also the neatest I have found. I usually add hemstitching to the cases, but with these, they rarely need it.

I really get a kick out of selling these and giving them to friends and family. They are very popular in my shop and I keep adding new styles of monograms.

And one of my best compliments were those I've received from my mother in-law and my own mother who is ordering pillowcases for an upcoming wedding gift.

And I have monogrammed pillowcases on my own bed. I've never photographed those! Iought to do that.