You Go Girl!

Doodled Pin Cushion

These polka dots have been begging me to stitch some little flowers in them.  So I did.  After that, I finally got around to making the pin cushion from the pattern in the Summer 2007 issue of Quilts and Things.  I bought the magazine because it had a little article on Heather Bailey.  The pin cushion pattern is also Heather's.  I don't know Heather, but she has had an influence on me because of her blog.  I'll explain more later in the answers to my tag.  Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you...I've been tagged.  My first tag ever. Jenny at Frazzy Dazzles tagged me.  She has some of the cutest hair clips and lot of other fun stuff too.  Check it out.

Here's one more picture of the pin cushion  before I answer the tag questions (Do you like how I put the back of the pin cushion in the front of the picture?  I also forgot to put some pins in it before I took the photo. Blonde moment, I think.)

 

And now for the tag...

Why did you start blogging?

The very first blog I ever clicked to was Hello My Name is Heather.  I had just received my Hancock's of Paducah fabric catalog. I was in love with the Fresh Cut line.  I googled Heather Bailey and ended up at her blog.  Can you think of a better blog to land on for your first time?  I was captivated, but wasn't sure anyone would be interested in what I had to say so I didn't jump right in to my own blog. 

Fast forward a year--I was reading Sandi Henderson's blog. I was certain I was seeing a friend of mine in one of her posts. I was just nosy enough to contact her and see if I was really seeing who I thought I was seeing.  Turns out, her dad is married to a friend of mine from highschool (No, I'm not old enough to be Sandi's mom! Ha,ha!).  Also, my dad and Sandi's dad are summer time golf friends.  I tell you, it's a small world!  Anyway, short story long, I told Sandi I was thinking about a blog and possibly an Etsy store.  She wrote me a very kind email and encouraged me to go for it.  So I did.  The blog is up and going, the Etsy Store is still in the hopper.

How did you come up with you blog name?

You Go, Girl! is a phrase I say a lot to my five daughters to encourage them to be strong, step out, and walk in confidence.  When my small boutique sewing business evolved, You Go Girl! seemed like the prefect name.  Not only was I doing what I encourage my girls to do, but I mostly make items that a girl on the go would use like totes, purses, and wallets.  You Go Girl! seemed like a good fit for the business and the blog.

Do family and friends know about your blog? What do they think?

My blog is still pretty new.  Of course Mr. Handsome and my girls know about.  They like it.  My mom and my sisters know about my blog too. Not a lot of my friends do.  I want to try my wings a bit before I announced to my whole world that I have a blog.

How do you write your posts?

Well, I sit at the computer and type words on the keypad.  The words show up on the monitor and then...Just kidding!  I usually write a post based on something I've been stirring up in my craft room. 

Have you ever had a troll or had to delete an unkind comment?

I've never had a troll. If I did, I would let him live under my deck and teach him how to do my laundry and cook my meals.  Just kidding, again.  No, I've never had a troll or an unkind comment.  However, if I don't control my smartie pants mouth soon, I might have one on this post! :-)

Do you check stats or care how many people read your blog?  If you care, how do you increase traffic?

Wow!  Talk about true confessions...I do check my stats at the end of each day.  I check them mostly because I am curious.  I try not to care how many people read my blog since I write because I like to.  I do love a comment from friendly readers, though.  I treasure them. They make me smile and validate the crazy things I love to do.

I'm not sure what Tag etiquette is.  Is it ok to simply tell someone they're IT?  Maybe Erin at The Vintage Pearl would like to be tagged.  Or perhaps, Marie and her fun blog The Villa Family would like to be IT.  Or maybe you would like to be IT??

Thanks for stopping by,

Cassie

Bird Brain

I don't think I'm a bird brain??? I continue to have birds on my brain, though.  Maybe it's because spring is so S L O W getting here.  Our temperatures are still well below normal.  I haven't even put my cozy polar fleece sweaters away yet! 

My little flowers are trying to bloom in spite of the cold weather.  They had to peek out from under three inches of snow last Sunday! That's Flat Stanley in the picture.  He belongs to my niece, Lyann.  He came to stay with us for a few days.  He usually lives in Florida.  Stanley thinks it's WAY cold here!  In fact, I had to make him a coat and a hat. Spring, spring, I need you to sprung!  Please!!!

I made this very spring-like bag today.  Heather Bailey and Amy Butler...YUM!

I put a little birdie on it. I couldn't help myself.  I'm kinda new at applique (other than simple circles and squares).  I'm learning as I go.  On this project, I discovered that if you applique a light fabric on a print, the print will show through a little.  I know...It probably should've been intuitive. Perhaps I am a bird brain? Nah!

This was also my first attempt at drawing my own applique shape.  This simple little bird took me forever to draw.  Not my forte, for sure.  But it was fun.

I hope the sun is shining down on you in your corner or the world.

XOXO,

Cassie

It Seemed Simple...

It was supposed to be simple.  Fabric. Spray adhesive. Scissors.  That was the supply list...

I spied with my little eye some boxes that would work perfectly for book storage.  I was at Target.  The boxes were sitting empty in a notebook display.  I put them in my cart and asked the cashier if I could have them.  She gave me that whatever-would-you-want-those-for look, but shrugged her shoulders and said, "Sure." 

I'd anticipated covering them with fabric using a little spray adhesive.  A few tucks. A few snips. A few folds.  Simple. HAH!

The supply list looked more like this: spray adhesive, fabric, scissors, fabric glue, glue gun, glue sticks, needle, thread, fabric marker, freezer paper, and TIME.  The tricky part was deciding how to cover all the unfinished edges in a neat and tidy fashion.  I ended up covering a freezer paper template of the box side with fabric.  I then handstitched the fabric-covered template to the side of the box.  It sounds a lot more confusing than it really is.  Long story short, the unfinished edges are covered up.I am pretty satisfied with the result.

 

It took much more time and thought than I'd anticipated. I have a second book box to cover.  It's going to have to wait a while for its stylish makeover.  Other projects are calling my name.   

By the way, do you see my new book sitting right in front?  I found  Joelle Hoverson's book, Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, at JoAnn.  I used a fifty percent off coupon. Hmmm?  A book I've been admiring...  A coupon that needed to be used....  It was meant to be. Life is good.

XOXO,

Cassie

Finished!

The fourth pencil roll is done.  Yeah!  Now Libbie can stash her pencils in style. 

I think I am turning into a binding nut.  I guess that's better than turning into a nut in a bind. For this project, I used Heather Bailey's tutorial on continuous binding.  It worked like a dream!  A continuous binding is truly easier than what I was doing before.  The results are much more polished, too. I love it when that happens.  I encourage you to give it a try if you haven't already done so.

I just received a little slice of heaven from Fabritopia.  Six yards of fabric that I ordered when Jona had her fantastic sale.  Who can pass up fabric at $7 a yard?  I'm not sure what I will do with this fabric.  I have so many ideas floating in my head.  Hopefully, I will not be psychotic about cutting into the fabric paralyzed by indecision.  Sometimes I have trouble cutting into a piece of fabric because I don't want to spoil the fabric's potential.  It's so fun to dream about what it could be.  Silly, I know.  But I can't help it!

Well, I'm off to dream up something fabbity-fab-fab to stitch.  What a great day.

XOXO,

Cassie

PS-- I want to write a personal email response to the lovely comments some of you left on a previous post.  Until the computer gets back from the Computer ER, I can't.  I don't have access to email messages that I opened up prior to the big crash.  I will be getting back to you soon, though.  I treasure your comments ;-)!  cj

To the Pointe

I am still a gal without a computer.  Today I am working on the girls' computer.  My cursor is a flashing seashell. My background is bright pink.  It is a bit distracting, but totally do-able.  I am just happy to have something that works.  I am a complete techno-goofus. In fact, when the computer technician tries to explain the problem to me, I nod as if I understand. In truth, his words are floating like little butterflies, passed my ears, and into space.  Blue screen error...reboot with DOS command code...press D for duh??  I try, but it is not my cup of tea.  Let's move on to something better.

For two or three days, Libbie's new  pencil roll has been sitting on the ironing board waiting for the binding to be put on.  So close, and yet so far away.  It isn't that I don't want to sew on the binding.  Really.  The truth of the matter is that pointe shoes have been demanding my attention.

Pointe Shoes--They're so pretty when they are new and so hideous when they are used.  The used ones are dirty, sweaty, and very stinky.  It's hard to believe that something so girly that is worn by beautiful young ladies could smell so hideous.  Don't kid yourself.  They really do stink!  They look like this:

These ones are about half used up.  It is my understanding that when a pointe shoe is half used up, you start breaking in a new pair.  It's not good to completely rely on a brand new pair of pointe shoes. It's bad for your toes. Or, something like that??

New pointe shoes are smooth, silky, and a lovely shade of pink. Did you know that new pointe shoes do not come with elastic and ribbons attached?  In fact, you have to purchase the elastic and ribbon separately.    Something about this seems wrong to me.  A sixty dollar pair of shoes should come with all its parts in all the right places. I'm not complaining, mind you, just stating the facts.  Since I am not a dancer, I was surprised to learn that ribbons and elastic are necessary extras that have to be stitched on by the dancer.  Or in this case, the dancer's mom.  It is not easy to sew something on a pair of shoes, especially back by the heel.  The toe of the shoe gets caught on the front of your machine. Not a sewing project I enjoy, for sure. The good news is, the ribbons and elastic are securely stitched on. Ahh...

Now back to that pencil roll...

Somethings Up, Again!

I have a post almost ready to go.  It just needs a few pictures added to it.  Here's the problem.  Our main computer that houses all our pictures (and my email) is sleeping and it won't wake up!  I'm calling the Geek Squad on Monday.  Hopefully they will be able to rouse it from its slumber.  For now, I am on Mr. Handsome's lap top.  I have no idea how to download pictures to this computer.  I don't think it even has the right software installed for pictures.  This is a manly work computer, after all! So for now, no pictures, but a few words to say hi, and I hope you are having a fabulous weekend.

Later friends,

Cassie

Happy Birthday to You, and You, and You, and You

Originally this sign said Happy Birthday Triplets.  Paige made it.  When Paige's birthday came a few days later, the triplets switched out a few letters and voila.  The sign says Happy Birthday Paige.

Becca, Emily, and Libbie turned ten last Wednesday. Double digits.  The big One-Oh. T-E-N.  My babies ten???  I can't believe it!  Paige celebrated her twelfth birthday on Saturday.  One more year and she'll be joining Hailey as a teenager.  Where does the time go?  Stop it already!!! I love the celebration of a birthday, but it is such an in-your-face reminder that time passes so quickly.  Hugs all around little girlfriends.  You will ALWAYS be my sweet baby girls. 

I try to give at least one handmade-with-love-by-mom gift for birthdays.  This year I decided to make a pencil roll for stylish storage of colored pencils.

Let's just say that the learning curve on this project was a little more than I'd  budgeted for in the time department. It took four tries before I was completely satisfied with the end result.  Pencil roll number one ended up in the repurpose-it-later pile.  Stitching flat pencil pockets made the pencil roll lumpy-rumply when I put the pencils in. I'd made one like this before for a friend, but this time it wasn't workin' out!  Pencil roll number two crafted with binding and a button closure...Hmm, ok I can live with it.  Pencil roll number three made with no binding and a ribbon closure...Well, it's ok, but let's go back to pencil roll number two and modify it a bit.  Pencil roll number four (pictured)...Ahh, now that's what I'm talking about.

For those of you doing the math, you will realize that I am one pencil roll short. There were four birthdays and only three pencil rolls since the first one was an irreparable dud.  Well, here's how things played out. At 11:45 p.m. on April 1, it became apparent that I was only going to have two pencil rolls done for the triplets.  On birthday day, Emily, Becca, and Libbie opened their gifts.  Emily and Becca found lovely pencil rolls. Libbie received a small pile of fabric.  "Mine has elephants on it!" shouted Emily.  "Mine matches my notebook cover!" shouted Becca.  "Mine is....a bunch of fabric???" questioned Libbie. Yes, little Libs.  You got bunch of fabric bundled with a promise to complete a pencil roll ASAP. 

Life gets busy. No time to sew.  April 4th rolls around.  I have time to make just one pencil roll.  Do I make one for Libbie? Or do I make one for Paige?  Paige has a birthday the next day, but I promised Libbie she was in line for the next sewing project.  Oh, what a conundrum. What to do? What to do?  In the end, I decided to make one for Paige so that her birthday gifts were complete.  I think I caught sight of Libbie giving me the hey-I-was-supposed-to-be-next look but I quickly turned my head.  (Is that wrong?) Sweet thing that she is, she didn't pursue it.  I best be getting on with it, though.   A gal can only be expected to wait for so long. Down to sew I go.

XOXO,

Cassie 

A Good Time Was Had By All

I have finally conquered the mountain of vacation laundry.  Woohoo!!  Did you hear that?  It is my washing machine sighing with relief and the dryer giggling with glee. Seven people create a lot of dirty clothes.  I did five loads at my mom's house, but I still had piles and piles of it when we returned home.  I think I'm up to eleven or twelve loads.  I've lost count.  Oh, well. It was totally worth it!  Here is the condensed version of our week.

We checked out the desert near Yuma, AZ.

Drove a few hours west to San Diego. Walked the beach on Coronado island.

Visited the marine life at Sea World.

Walked on the wild side at the Wild Animal Park.

Soaked in the sun.

Chased the waves in La Jolla.

   

Spent another day in Yuma before it was time to go home. 

A good time was had by all.

Order in picture: Libbie (I haven't figured out how to fix closed eyes yet), Hailey, Emily, Paige, Becca, me, Ayron (my mom), Howard (my dad). Mr. Handsome-Hunk-O'-Man is taking the picture.

Today I hope to visit my sewing machine.  I think she is missing me.

XOXO,

Cassie

No More Snits

I was often finding myself in a bit of a snit because I had trouble finishing a binding with my machine couldn't finish a binding with my machine. The bobbin-thread side of the project always looked terrible.  I don't really like to travel the road to Snitsville. Snorting, stomping, and snatching at my hair is not attractive.  My solution to the problem was to run far, far away from a project if it had a binding that I didn't want to finish by hand.  Not a very good solution.  It seemed like everything I wanted to do had binding somewhere.  I decided the best way to fix the problem, and eliminate the need to travel to Snitsville, was to practice.  Potholders seemed like the perfect thing to practice on.  Five sets of potholders later, I have discovered that finishing a binding with your machine is all about getting your needle positioned in the right place.  It's not nearly as hard as I made it out to be.  I am excited to try some projects that I have shied away from.  Stay tuned...

I also appliqued a dish towel to go with this set of potholders.  This is a super-easy, speedy project with a lot of eye appeal.  I love this kind of project.  It's an item everyone can use, it makes a great gift, and when time is short, it feeds my appetite to complete something.  Best of all...this is a no snit creative endeavor :-)!

XOXO,

Cassie