And the Sewing Machine Hums.....

We had an unexpected free weekend this past weekend thanks to some nasty thunderstorms canceling Baylee's softball tournament.  I love softball (yall all know that) but I am not gonna lie......I was THRILLED.  Our schedule has been so crazy over the last few months that we ALL welcomed the break.  The competitor in me was a little bummed at first.  But it only lasted like 5 minutes.  :)

I took advantage and caught up on some personal sewing.  Troy was fantastic and pretty much let me hole up in my sewing room while he took care of everything else.  And by everything I mean laundry, kids, food and everything in between.  He isn't perfect (and I guess I should grudgingly admit that I am not either) but he was pretty dang close this weekend!  Thanks babe.

What did I sew?  Well between the three kids we have 6 teachers.  I made these for the kids' homeroom teachers.

I finished up matching key fobs yesterday to go with the bags.  I really do hope they like them.

Now what to do for Baylee's other 3 teachers......

I sent out a tweet on Twitter asking for some inspiration.  I *try* to do handmade gifts every chance I get.  My good friend, Tracy, said she did hot pads for her kids' teachers and they were a huge hit.  She even supplied me with a link to a fabulous tutorial (thanks Tracy!!!).  So I picked up all the supplies I needed and these are on my list for this week.  I am not sure which fabrics yet.  What are you favorites right now?? 

{picture credit: Sew4Home}

I also managed to finally get my sister-in-law's birthday present made (uhhhhh, her birthday was in February.....).

It includes a new option....the cinch strap.

I know, I know! What a SLACKER I am. I am sorry Jenn! I really hope it was worth the wait?

I have updated my Flickr Photostream with recent products.  Whew.  That took me a long time.  I really need to be better about updating that on a regular basis.  For those not familiar with Flickr...it is kind of a journal or gallery of pictures.  So any time you want to see different products of mine (or personal pictures), you can check there.  Most of my Flickr photostream consists of work stuff though and personal projects. 

After that was all done, I re-stocked my website with new products, added new options to existing inventory for more personal customization and re-listed some faves.

A very busy, but oh so productive and relaxing weekend for me.  I need more of those.

To come....lots of pictures from the kids' end of the year parties and activities.  I always take a ton of pictures so it will take me a little while to get those all edited and up on the blog.  I also have some CAYUTE pics of the kittens.  Are yall tired of seeing them yet?  They are now 6 weeks old.

Til next time....enjoy your week!

A Family Picture Share & A Little Giddiness

If you are looking for the Toile Tales giveaway, go here.

If you are looking for my tutorial post and have a link to share, go here.

My family has added a new member to the crew.  Sweet Baby Grace made her debut last week at almost 41 weeks weighing in at 5 lbs 14 oz.  She is nothing but teeny tiny perfection.  I can't remember the last time I held a sweet baby that tiny!!  Mama and Daddy are super proud parents and my parents (pictured below) are a proud great aunt and great uncle.  I should have made dad adjust her so you could see her better (picture fail big time) but she was so content that I didn't want to mess with her.  LOL!

Congratulations to David and Erin on their new bundle of joy!!  I can't wait to sew some stuff for her!

My sweet boy is a very focused student when doing his homework at home.  His handwriting is neater than both girls and Troy's.  His teachers have even made comments about how neat he is.  You should see the concentation when he is working

All done.  Now it is time for Mama to make The Boy a haircut appointment.  He is starting to look a little Q-Tippish at the top.  :)

And on to the giddiness.....Quilts & More is probably my all-time favorite magazine.  It features a lot of quilt stuff (which I don't really do) but it also has TONS of other free patterns, tutorials and how-tos related to sewing.  Not to mention the pictures are perfect.  They don't publish every month (huge bummer) but it is worth the wait each time they do.  Another huge bummer.....you can't subscribe to this magazine.  If Quilts & More peeps are reading my blog (hahahahhaha) I would really love it if I could subscribe to this magazine and have it delivered to my house when it is published (hint, hint).  It really is fabulous.  Just look at all the great sneaks on the cover.

I bought this on my little shopping spree with my sister the other day.

Decided to snap a few pics of some that I am excited to try.  I have 2 notebooks FULL of Quilts & More projects on my "to-do" list.

Like how about this super cute little bib?  Perfect for the sweet baby pictured above.

And check out this great potholder using selvages.  We all have them and never know what to do with them (you can click on the pictures to make them bigger).  Super pumped about this one!

And this gorgeous bag.  This is about the extent of my "quilting."  I stress out way too much on the big projects.

And you all know I collect pincushions.  Wouldn't this look great in my sewing room?

Those are just a FEW of what is in this issue.  Go get one.  You won't be disappointed.

Next week, I will share what other good stuff I found while shopping with my sis.  I think hubs might ban me from shopping with her again.  :)

What projects are you working on right now?