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Sew Mama Sew December Giveaway Day

Get up offa that thing? Yes. You. Why?  Because it's time for a little happy dance.  Today is Sew Mama Sew December Giveaway Day. (Pausing for a little happy dance of my own here.  Go on. Try it. It's fun.) 

 

Up for grabs today from You Go Girl! is some Daisy Chain love.  I have a little stack of fabric and a Shopper tote made from this See and Sew Pattern. The shopper is just like a plastic shopping bag only it's fabric...love it!  Of course I can't make anything without some Full Moon Polkie so they are represented on the bag along with the Daisy Chain fabric. I am too stingy to share the polkies with you so I did not put any in the stack of fabric.  When these polkies are gone, I swear I will have to pack up my studio and focus my energies elsewhere.  Maybe I'll take up box hockey. What exactly is box hockey anyway?

To win this Shopper and the Daisy Chain fabric please write a Christmas acrostic worthy of publication in my 2009 Christmas letter.  I have not been visited by the Christmas letter muse this year. I need some good material. What? That's too much to ask. Ok. Ok. How about this?  To win this Shopper and the Daisy Chain fabric leave a comment telling me whether you would rather take a midnight ride in Santa's sleigh or be a mouse under the manger in Bethlehem.  Or if that doesn't suit your fancy, you can tell me if you are most like a jolly elf or the abominable snowman during the Christmas season. If you're still stumped, you can leave any kind of comment you want.

Since I always play by the rules, I will pick a winner on December 6th (using the random number thingy) and ship the item by December 12th just like Sew Mama Sew says. Also, it would be my pleasure to ship internationally so you can comment from any corner of the world.

Thanks for stopping by You Go Girl!.

Happy Day,

Cassie

PS--This post script is for all my blog friends who commented on my last post.  I haven't been a very good blog friend lately.  I didn't get back to ANY of you. I so appreciated your comments and helpful suggestions on my last post.  As of right now, the fabric from the insulated cup debacle is still laying on the floor of my studio.  But I am beginning to see that it is a bundle of potential beyond an apron for the cat.  LOL! Thanks so much for all your kind words.

Excuse Me While I Have A Snit....

My mom had a birthday yesterday.  So I went to Target and bought one of these.

 

I had big plans for it. Instead of sliding a photo into the mug, I was going to make a mini-quilt, if you will, and slide it in. Brilliant!  In my mind this was going to be so cool. So I perused my fabric. I selected a killer combination. I did a little measuring, a little cutting, a little sewing.  I ended up with this.

I was quite pleased with myself. With eager anticipation, I snipped off the last thread and went to slide my masterpiece into the mug. Not going to happen!! 

Fabric + Interfacing=Too thick. 

Oh. Yes. A snit was in order... I roared my terrible roar and rolled my terrible eyes. I gnashed my terrible teeth and showed my terrible claws.  There was even some snatching of hair. Until finally I said, "Be still." (Any WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE fans out there?  I haven't seen the movie, but I love the book. It was a staple on the bookshelf in my classroom and in my girls' room.) 

"Be a problem solver, not a problem maker," I told myself.  I thought, and I thought, and I thought.  I had to settle for the next best thing. I made a trip to Kinko's to make a colored copy of my masterpiece.

Not exactly what I had in mind, but it would have to do. I carefully cut out the counterfeit and slid it in the mug.  As I said before, not quite my vision but what's a girl to do?  I'm pretty sure my mom will still love it.  Happy Birthday to the best mom on the planet...

Now what am I going to do with my mini-quilt masterpiece? It's the perfect shape for a small apron. Perhaps the the cat would like one? I'll be sure to post a picture if that's what I decide to do. LOL!

Project #1--A Gigantar Pegboard---Done!

Yep. Project #1 is finally done.  I built a spanky new pegboard. ALL. BY. MY. SELF. Power tools ROCK!

Remember my studio space before?  

 

The table is so deep that the back half was unusable.  Plus that big white wall...boring.

 

So...I flipped the table so the short-end was against the wall. Then added some spice including this new gigantar pegboard.  Let's take a closer look.

   

Here's a little shelf to hold my treasures.

 

Next, a file basket to hold, well, files and stuff.

 

 Add some paper-covered cans to store pen-like tools.

 

And some fabric buttons to hide the screws.  Really. There is no excuse for ugly. LOL!

 

Let's not forget the new fabric bar (a.k.a. a towel bar spray painted with oil-rubbed bronze paint) I mounted on the wall,

 

or the magnetic message board I hung above it.

Joy of all joys!  My space feels complete. 

Project #2, also a rockin' redo, is so close to done.  Now that my craft space is put back together I can finish Project #2.  Can't wait to show you.

Happy day,

Cassie

I Wish...

I wish I could show you some amazingly clever fabbity-fab-fab costumes that I lovingly stitched for the girls for Halloween.  But I can't.  This year the extent of my involvement in costumes was to get the dress-up box out of storage. Oh. Wait. I did craft Paige's crown out of some construction paper right before she left to haunt the neighborhood.  But for the most part, the girls creatively crafted their own costumes out of bits and pieces salvaged from dance performances and  Halloweens gone by. I think they look smashing.

 

I wish I could show you the glowing and grinning jack-o-lanterns we carved and set on our step to welcome trick-or-treaters big and small.  But I can't.  I waited until the last minute to buy pumpkins and there wasn't a pumpkin to be found in the town.  How was I to know that the sub zero temperatures we got at the beginning of the month turned bunches and bunches of pumpkins to mush?  A pumpkin shortage? Who'd of thought it?  We had to settle for Halloween luminaries this year.  They looked o.k. There's something a little bit disturbing about little candle tea lights in the bottom of paper bags, though. It seems like a no-no.

 

I wish I could show you the rockin'-redo projects I've been giving my creative attentions to the last few weeks. But I can't.  Neither one is done.  Here is a little sneak peek, though...

Project #1:

 

Project #2:

I wish I could think of a clever way to end this post. But I can't. So...

Goodbye for now~

Cassie

I Feel Like a Heel

 

No, it's not a huffalump or a woozle. It's a zebra. I was goofing off with the picture tools at Big Huge Labs and this is what I got.  It tickles my fancy for some reason.

 

And speaking of zebras...Remember that knock-knock association I have with orange.  Well, the same darn thing happens to me when I see a zebra.  I have a knock-knock moment.  I'll spare you the joke.  It's a throw-back from about fourth grade and it is  REALLY lame-o. If you must hear it, leave me a comment and I'll share.  But don't say I didn't warn you.

This little zebra friend was a special order.  I had a blonde moment and almost forgot to make it.  I didn't write the order in my book, nor did I file it in my brain. I was cleaning out my inbox the other day and came across the original request that was many weeks old.  I gasped and quickly sent apologies which were graciously excepted.  But I still felt like a total heel.  Get it?  Heel...This zebra is made out of a sock. Heel...That cracks me up.  

And that's all I have to say today.

XOXO~

Cassie

Doodle Stitching + Cosmo = True Love Forever

No. Cosmo is not a handsome manservant who sits by my feet to do my bidding while I doodle stitch. Cosmo is 100% cotton Japanese embroidery floss. Ms. B as in THE BOMB, my blog friend who wishes to remain anonymous, sent me this amazing pile of Cosmo embroidery floss. I've never stitched with anything but DMC. I was giddy to try it out.  Here's the doodle that whipped off my needle.

On this little slice of fall, I used a combination of DMC and my new amazing Cosmo floss. Here's my assessment of the two. The Cosmo floss is as slick as snot smooth as silk gliding through the fabric. The DMC feels like you're pulling a shoe lace through compared to the Cosmo. Ms. B as in THE BOMB, you have spoiled me forever. You really are the bomb.

Now what am I going to do with all this DMC? 

Oh. Yes. Of course. I will use it until it is gone. But when I have to replace a color, it will be Cosmo all the way.  I wonder if the girls would like to make some embroidery floss friendship bracelets? I have guarded this stash from their floss-happy hands for so long that they'll think I've gone positively mad. They'll probably ask if they can use my fabric scissors to cut paper just to see if I still have my wits about me. They will find out that I do, and then I will seem like the best mom in the world. But really I have an ulterior motive. Use. Up. The. Floss. Is that wrong?

Would Someone Make Me a Pie, Please?

So, a while back, I got to thinking about what a Fresh Cut apple would look like if I used six different fabrics. I started messing with fabrics and before I knew it I'd made not one, but two more apples. I made this one with six different fabrics.

 

From this angle you can see the six fabrics all at the same time. There's a lot of fabric goodness in there. Don't you think?

After all that fabric goodness, I went to the opposite end of the spectrum and made one using a single fabric. Full moon polkies...You know how I love them.  If you look through You Go Girl, you will find them on almost every post. Can't. Get. Enough.

I think this apple...

has replaced this apple as my favorite. Maybe.

All this talk of apples makes me think about pie.  Yep. Need. Pie. Now.

Happy last day of September. Can you believe it?

Toodles,

Cassie

Ottobre Nirunaru Pinafore Dress (and a little Old Navy)

This is my second Ottobre attempt. (You can see my first attempt here.) I think the hardest part about an Ottobre pattern is tracing the pattern pieces from the master sheet. All the intersecting lines are dizzy-ing, no?  This pattern is from the Spring 2008 issue.  Yes, I know it is fall. I am not in denial. Really. I just think this is a dress for all seasons.

It has taken me a while, but I have finally learned that when I am combining store-bought clothing with things I am making, it is important to start with the store-bought piece.  It's much easier to coordinate a piece of fabric to a store-bought item than it is to find an item that coordinates with something you've already made. That has been my experience anyway. The little shirt for this outfit was an Old Navy special($5).  The fabric is Lucien, Amy Butler, and a little Kona cotton.

This little set is a gift for a friend. Her sweet baby girl needs 100% cotton clothes.  Synthetic fibers do not agree with her super soft and sensitive yummy baby skin.  I made the dress and pants/capris (Butterick B5017) in a 12 month size. The dress seems about right.  The pants/capris appear mighty roomy to me. Fingers are crossed that they will fit. 

That is all for now. We are having the most amazing run of Indian summer. I'm off to power wash the deck. Tah-wan-duh! I love using powerful tools.

Toodles,

Cassie

Progress Report--I am pleased to report that I have one lunch box cut out and ready to sew. Let's see...that's one of five.  I'm not sure that counts as progress. LOL!  At least I'm headed in the right direction. 

Lovely Distraction...

No. It's not a lunch box. My girls are still carrying brown-bag ugly to school. But this project had to be done. Thoughts of it were tickling my brain during the day and dancing through my dreams at night. It was calling my name. What's a girl to do? There really was no choice. If all goes according to plan, I will finish this lovely distraction today. After that, I will make lunch boxes...maybe.

Toodles~

Cassie

A Pearl of Junior High Wisdom for You...

Winners never quit!  Quitters never win! 

My junior high p.e. teacher, Mrs. Souhrada, used to enthusiastically cheer us on with these words as we doggedly ran lap after lap after lap around the gym. I like running now. In seventh grade...not so much. Who wants to have flushed cheeks and bad hair from third period on? Tell me this. 

Well, Mrs. S' words were ringing in my ears as I stitched this little doodle. Several times I wanted to scrap this project. I wasn't in love with the color palette. The stitches weren't coming easy. I couldn't decide what to put where. Short story long--I lost my doodle mojo. But, in the end, I persevered. I am not a quitter! I'm a winner. I am you guys. You gotta believe me. LOL! I'm not sure where this doodle will end up; it must be destined for something great. 

Now that the doodle is done, I'm going to start sewing some lunch boxes for the girls. The second week of school ends today. My girls have taken their lunches to school in brown paper lunch bags every day so far. (Gasp!) This is wrong on so many levels. It's wasteful. It's definitely not green. And, most concerning...it's ugly. There is just no excuse for ugly. 

I guess that is all for now.  I'm off to beautify the world of cold lunch (insert trumpet fanfare here). 

Later,

Cassie