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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas!

I am sorry I have been a bit absent from my blog this month.

Sometimes life just happens
and we don't have time for all the things we 'want' to do,
but have to make time for what we 'need' to do.

My wish for all of you is much love, health, peace and happiness.

And just a small thought I would like to share.

God is love.
It's that simple.
He's not something to fight about.
Gay, straight, black, white,
fat, skinny...every single person
on this earth deserves love.
And that's what we are here to do.

Not belittle each other.
Not shoot our children.
Not hate.

Learn to accept.
Learn to let go.
Learn not to walk in another persons mind.
It all starts with love.
Love yourself,
then the rest will follow.



And if you're still reading this post,
I love you too.

Plain and simple.

(((BIG HOLIDAY HUGS TO ALL!)))
Cindy

Friday, December 14, 2012

Scrappy Swap and a Prize!

Hello World!

I can't believe how time is flying right now.
I haven't had much time for anything except work,
so I feel like I'm falling behind everywhere else.

I'm trying to find a balance,
which sometimes means shutting myself off from
the rest of the world.
Do you know that feeling?
You just can't add one more thing,
one more problem,
one more 'to do'
to your life.
Yeah...that's where I've been these past couple weeks.
But soon it will pass and my life will be my life again,
so that's what I'm focusing on!
YAY!

In the meantime,
my brain has been on overload
from being consumed with all the information
being sent my way.
But enough with the boring stuff!!

Let's get on to some happy news!!
As I mentioned in THIS post
I was in the Scrappy Swap on Flickr

I received,
all the way from Australia,
this GORGEOUS item

It came from Hilary
and you can feel free to take a peak at her blog

I love all of the scraps,
and the fabric basket she made for me.
I'm keeping all my 2-1/2" squares in this little beauty!
Actually,
it's a BIG beauty! 
I'll probably be able to hold an entire quilt
full of 2-1/2" squares!
Plus my fancy book mark
(which is being held ever so nicely in my Fifty Shades of Grey book)
Oh yeah
Hey....a gal has to have some excitement, right?

I also won a FABULOUS give away!
I could NOT believe it!
Right from the designer herself,
It was a fat quarter bundle of her new line
that is coming out this month called
Don't Be Crabby


I have a friend who had a beautiful baby boy
and this fabric is PERFECT to use to
make a quilt for him!


Along with the fabric,
I also won the paper piecing pattern 
designed by Amy Friend
of During Quiet Time.
You can read about this pattern
I highly suggest you take a look at it. 
It's so darn cute!!!

So even in the 'muck' of life,
good things continue to happen.
I can never complain!

Enjoy!
xoxo
Cindy

Thursday, December 6, 2012

V and Co

I don't know about all of you,
but when I go shopping
I like to dress comfy.

I actually prefer to shop on the web,
in the comforts of my sewing room,
dressed in my jammies.
But when I actually have to leave the house,
I love a hoodie and a pair of jeans.
That's me right there.
Miss Comfy.
No High Maintenance Molly here.

My sister and I went 
Christmas shopping,
which actually ended up to be quilt shop hopping.
But we bought fabric to make our Christmas gifts with,
so technically,
that's Christmas shopping.

Well...she knew I was dying to touch fabric,
and I couldn't wait the 2 hours it was going to take us
to get to one of our favorite shops,
so about half way there,
we stopped at another one of our favorites.

And you wouldn't believe who was there.
Little Ms Vanessa Christenson
from V and Co

Oh yeah....
I should have dressed for the event.

Of course, 
we didn't want to overwhelm her with our friendliness,
so we stalked her from the background,
until she was alone.
Then we pounced.
:o)

I swore I thought I was going to be a dork,
but I think I held my cool.
My dress attire spoke all the dorkiness for me,
so my personality had to remain cool.

Vanessa is as sweet as ever.
She even let us take our picture with her.
(these are from my sister's phone)

As usual, Sarah tried to be the 
"main feature" of the photo

(look at Vanessa being all cute)

These items were all made from her Simply Color line.
(which we were standing in front of)
I would like to tell you that we made them,
but that would be a lie.
However, I did purchase her Barn Dance quilt pattern.
More to come on that one!

Since Sarah was hogging the picture,
we tried to do it again.



Still not quite working.....3rd times a charm.


So there we are folks!!
Meeting Vanessa!
I sure hope to run into her 
a few more times.
and for the love...let me have a good hair day and a stylin outfit on when that happens!!
She truly was as sweet as she looks.

Thanks for making our day, Vanessa!!

Friday, November 30, 2012

Happy Little Pouch Blog Hop!

Hey everybody!!
I'm so glad you stopped by for a visit.

I would like to first thank
for inviting me to participate in my very first blog hop!


And I couldn't have asked for a better one
to participate in,
because I am TOTALLY
crazy about making pouches.

Here's a little eye candy for you
of a few of the pouches I've made.

I have a pattern that I use quite frequently.
The zipper instructions are WONDERFUL,
and I will tell you,
I am not a zipper gal.

When I first started making pouches,
I would look at the zipper
like it was a zombie
trying to eat me alive.
And I turned into Satan himself
when I tried to do zippers.
(I know it's  hard to believe, because I'm such an angel)
Did I just hear lightening strike?

But then I noticed on Flickr,
these 'to die for' pouches
where the zippers looked PERFECT!

I found out the pattern was called
by Elizabeth Hartman.
And perfect they were!

You have a choice of 3 different styles.
I've only made the one
(Style C)
because that one seems to suit the needs
of what I use a pouch for
and for what some of my swap partners
have requested.

What's Style C, you ask?
Why...
it looks like this


What I love about this is that you
can use the pattern for a basic construction,
but design it however you would like.

I just did this one for a private swap with my friend, Stephanie.

Use your creative process
to add little embellishments to your pouch.

I added this little songbird because of the birds on the fabric
and...um....
because I'm a "Singing Quilter"
hee hee

And I've also added printed twill
(that I get from my favorite shop,

I love the alphabet twill tape above the typewriter fabric.

And you can dress up your pockets too!
(make sure to watch your seam allowance, or you'll be giving compliments on someone's derriere like I did)
What was meant to be 'cute as a button'
became 'cute as a butt'

Luckily I had an awesome swap partner with a great sense of humor like me.
Perfect match!
:o)

Just make sure to use your imagination!
is GREAT for things like this.

Freedom for your design,
easy to follow instructions,
LOTS and LOTS of information.
This pattern is 20 pages long,
but it has instructions for 3 different designs 
with 2 different sizes for each.
AND...I just looked....and it's on sale right now.
If you're interested,
check HERE.
How sweet is that??

Make sure to also check out my 
blog hop partners who are also posting about pouches today.
Sara at SewSweetness who's reviewing Noodlehead's Gathered Clutch
and
Jennifer from Ellison Lane Quilts
who's going to share some more eye candy!
And this is the kind of eye candy that won't give any added weight!
Pretty sweet, eh?

Don't forget to check
to check out my post HERE
to see the list of upcoming blog's
and the list of sponsors.

Also, make sure to sign up in the FLICKR
to win prizes!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Make it a good one, folks, and y'all come back now, ya hear!
xoxo
Cindy





Tuesday, November 27, 2012

My Swap with Stephanie (aka Mama Pea)

Some days do you ever feel like you've won the lottery?
That's how I felt last week
when I received the most awesome package in the mail.

Of course,
I had to chuckle.
When my husband saw I received 
this  huge package
he just rolled his eyeballs.
"More fabric?", he says.
(that's the standard question whenever I receive a package)

"Oh no, Dear!
This is from my new friend,
Stephanie!!", I say.

"You know,
you can tell me the  truth.", he says

"But I PROMISE
I am this time!", I say

anyone who is addicted to fabric totally knows exactly where I'm coming from in this conversation

I met Stephanie during a contest
hosted by Amy of During Quiet Time
(the Texting While Sewing contest).

You can read her inspiring blog here

Stephanie did a BEAUTIFUL block
as a tribute to Iowa
(my kind of gal!)

And the rest is history.
But meeting Stephanie has been such a blessing!
She's pretty awesome.

I'll quit babbling.
I'm sure you want to get down to the nitty gritty
of what was in the package.

Well.....
I received these fun labels
which will be PERFECT for
saving those special little tidbits 
of info you don't want to loose when browsing a magazine or catalog.


and this awesome journal and washi tape along with the labels
(the notebook was custom made for her students, and she had extra, so I got one too!!)

and this inspiring card!

And for the grand prize.....

This GORGEOUS pillow!!
I can't even BEGIN to tell you 
how in love with this I am!!!!
(Thank you AGAIN, Stephanie!!!)


I absolutely LOVE the paper pieced pattern 
she did for this.
L.O.V.E. it!
And the colors...
this Christmas pillow rocks my world!!!

Check out the lace
all the way from Holland!!
(seriously....can you believe this???)

(Stephanie - I thought you would appreciate your pillow next to the Hawkeye ornament
even though they haven't had the best football year)

And of course,
I had to take one with my Victorian doll beside it.


It even has a zipper!!!
(and groovy fabric on the back)

And one more close up,
just because I seriously cannot stop looking at this!
I love the way the pieced circles work together
and just keep your eyes flowing to each specially cut piece of fabric



Thank you again, Stephanie!
I could not be more thrilled!
Everything about this whole experience
has been a blessing!

If you would like to see what I did for Stephanie,
you can check out her post HERE.

I think I will start to follow
the direction of the card she gave me.
I think it's great advice.


xoxo
Cindy


Monday, November 26, 2012

Happy Little Pouch Blog Hop Starts Today!




Here are our Happy Little Pouch Blog Hoppers!

Monday 11/26: Emily from Mommy's Naptime and Elaine from Dashasel Sews
Tuesday, 11/27: Courtney from Mon Petit Lyons and Lucy from Charm About You
Wednesday, 11/28: Hollie from Undercover Crafter and Katie from Katie's Korner
Thursday, 11/29: Lindsay from Lindsay Sews and Michelle from I Like Orange
Friday, 11/30: Sara from Sew Sweetness, Cindy from Adventures of the Singing Quilter, and Jennifer from Ellison Lane Quilts

Monday, 12/3: Holly from Bijou Lovely and Heidi from Fabric Mutt
Tuedsay, 12/4: Elizabeth from Don't Call Me Bets and Emily from Mle BB
Wednesday, 12/5: Shruti from 13 Woodhouse Road and Liz from Dandelion Daydreams
Thursday, 12/6: Beth from Plum and June and Kaelin from The Plaid Scottie
Friday, 12/7: Emily from Mommy's Naptime and Elaine from Dashasel Sews


Please join us in the fun and share your pouchy makes in our Flickr group. The Flickr group is also where you can upload your pouchy makes, and at the end of each week we will have some great prizes to award!

Prizes have generously been donated by:




WhileBabyNaps



Friday, November 23, 2012

Across The Pond Sew Along

I'm so excited!
I finished my first project for the
It's not too late to sign up,
so come join the fun!

Our first project was the Anita Vacation Tote,
a pattern created by Amy of eamylove.
If you are interested in this pattern,
(which I HIGHLY recommend)
you can find it

The pattern is so easy to follow.
I had so much fun making this tote,
I can't wait to may another one!
I hope my friends give me a strong hint to
make them one for Christmas.

Since it's a 'vacation' tote,
I thought it would be fun to use
French Post by Michael Miller
for the main part of the bag.
Since going to Paris is on my bucket list
this French fabric is perfect.



The decorative trim I used
is from the Little Red Cottage
(I may have mentioned a time or two 
this is one of my favorite shops!)


The pattern gives clear, easy to read instructions
for putting in this rockin zipper!


You even get pockets
with this glamour bag!


I am so excited to see what we make next month.
There's plenty of room on the ship,
so hop on 

I'm off to another Thanksgiving dinner.
I better Zumba for 5 hours tomorrow!

xoxo
Cindy






Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

To all of my US friends,
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

To all my friends outside of the US,
THANK YOU
for all you add to my life!

You all hold a special place in my heart!

To continue on from yesterday's post
I'm just going to share some photo's of a few more of my grateful's.
Though this doesn't near complete the list,
but it's always fun to look at.

I am so thankful for my husband
who blessed me with two of the most wonderful sons a mother could ask for.

Jesse and his girlfriend, Catie

Justin and his girlfriend, Amanda

These two girls could very well be my
daughters-in-law one day!

(HINT to my home boys....LOL)

To my sister, and my "sister from another mister".
I LOVE YOU GIRLS!!!
(nice, huh?)
LOL

To my awesome friends & family who continue to support me.
I love you all so very much.



To my girl, Autum.
This gal holds an extra special place in my heart.


And I have to give a shout out to my sister again
just for always being such a dork.
But I love her!!
(she took this picture of herself when I stepped out of my sewing room)
Naturally, I had to doctor the picture up a bit.

Of course,
I can't leave out my brother.
He is 'da bomb'
Throws the best annual birthday bash ever.

do you see me photo bombing the picture?  hee hee

My list is even longer,
but I don't want to be like the relative at the family reunion
making you sit through all the vacation pictures.

Just know
that life is hard.
It doesn't always go as we plan.
But if we choose to look at all the good 
things and focus on those,
our life will be more fulfilling then we ever realized it could be.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Love & hugs to all!!
Cindy

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Giving Thanks


Feel free to play this as you read this post.

As Thanksgiving draws near in the US,
 I'm always reminded of how blessed I have been in my life.

I won't lie.
My life hasn't been perfect.
Who's has?

It's what you take from it that counts.
I choose to hang on to those memories
that have made my heart sing.

Like the birth of my first son, Jesse,
and my mom bringing my grandma to the hospital to see him for the first time.


 And all the wonderful memories my grandma left for me.
Like making our wedding cake.
(27 years ago!)


And making Justin (son #2) his first quilt
(which he lovingly referred to has his 'nigh nigh')
 that he carried
for years until it became tattered and thin,
due to all that snuggly love.



 And I cherish the memories of my grandpa 
and his beautiful violin playing.


 And the continued tradition today
of gathering around the piano during the holiday's,
and family reunions,
for a sing along.


And for the silliness my boys
loved to share.
"MOM!  Take me a picture!",
they used to say.



 (they are going to kill me if they ever see these pictures!)

Their anticipation of Santa.

I have so many, many grateful's. 

I'll include more tomorrow.

For today
I lovingly remember my grandparents who are no longer with us on earth.
 I am thankful for all the memories they have given me.
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about them.
Sometimes my heart aches,
but I try to be happy that I had them so long in my life.
Because when my time on earth is done,
I don't want anyone to be sad.
I hope they will always think of me with a smile,
and remember all the good times.

For today,
I remember how truly blessed I am
 with my wonderful sons.
My life is, and always has been,
 dedicated to them.
It's hard now that they are grown,
because now I don't have a 'say' in what they do.
But I know I have raised them to make the right choice.
And I have to trust that I've done my job right,
and leave the rest in God's hands.

And one day,
when I am a grandma,
I will shower my grandchildren 
with the same love that my grandma,
and my mom, 
have done.

I've had great role models.
And for that,
I am truly thankful.

xoxo
Cindy

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Aliens & Pouches


The other night I was home alone.
I am a tightwad when it comes to extra lights being on in the house.
(hello??  money spent on that is taking away from my fabric splurges!)

I was up in my sewing room and needed a refill on my water.
I went downstairs, thru the completely dark house,
 into the kitchen.
 
I saw this outside.

Scared the peas out of me.  

I thought I was being invaded by Aliens.


It was a combine in the neighbors field across the one from our house.
:o)

Now on to the fun stuff.

I made this pouch,
the open wide zipper pouch
by Noodlehead.

You can find the tutorial HERE



It's a great pouch for being able to find everything because, 
like it's name,
it opens WIDE.


Here's a close up of the printed twill I used above the typewriter.


I thought it was the perfect embellishment for this pouch.
I purchased the twill at the Little Red Cottage on Etsy.
You can find the shop HERE.

I'm now off to pick out my fabric 
by Amy of eamylove.
(I love her blog!)

Amy and team have created an
Across the Pond Sew Along.

You can find the information HERE.
I hope you join in!!

Love & Hugs to all!
Cindy