Potholder Swap - Why Wasn't This Easy-Peasy???

When I signed up for Aunt Pitty Pat's Potholder Swap, it was supposed to be "quick-and-dirty"...well, maybe "quick-and-clean" since potholders ARE to be used around food, LOL! But, I thought

"This will be easy-peasy! Just make a potholder! Not an APRON and a potholder and candy and tuck-ins and...and. Just a potholder! How difficult could it be?"

Well, I have always suspected, but now there is proof-positive, that I can make ANYTHING difficult, without really trying! I pondered and fussed and "auditioned" various fabrics and patterns and made potholder after potholder (well, ok...maybe just 4 plus the one I finally sent...). I guess, when it was just supposed to be a potholder, my little pea-brain decided it had to be 'One Spectacular Potholder.' Like a potholder with rainbows, ruffles, glitter, flashing lights, a 100-piece orchestra, and 50 dancing girls with black net stockings. I fell a little short of all that...but at some point I just had to get it in the mail. So here's the potholder, sans rainbows, ruffles, blah, blah, blah...all that stuff I mentioned:

Here's the back - there's a hand-sized pocket and you can use that to grab hot stuff from either side.

I embellished a tea towel with some of the fabric, (and don't get me started on how I fussed over making that purchased tea towel squared-up because it was sooooo off grain!).

I also made one of my Weads Necklaces in the same colors.

All together now:

Hope my partner liked it! And thanks, APP, for coordinating this little (but stressful!) swap :-)

Cupcakes, Cherries, and M.E., Oh My!

Here's what I made for Shawnee's latest Flirty Apron Swap:

My partner wanted a cupcake apron, so I obliged. Here is a closeup of the fabric. I added a tiny slice of blue at the hemline, just for the heck of it:

The bib sports a 3-D cupcake. The frosting swirls are actually narrow, gathered strips of white cotton knit. The sprinkles are bugle beads, and the cherry is also 3-D with a beaded stem.

Here are some of the goodies I included. I also sent a cupcake purse pattern and a cupcake pincushion, although I didn't make the pincushion, but it was cute.

And I wrapped it all up in a tote bag made from M.E. fabric (to fulfil all the swap elements).

And here's what I got from my partner, Barb (Dogmom Diva)! It's fabulous! I love the full apron - and my husband thought it was wonderful, too!

And the goodies she sent, oh my! There are some cupcake candles and it's all I can do NOT to eat them, they smell sooooo good! Black Cherry, yummm! She even included some scented matches - I didn't know there was such a thing! She also sent some sweet ribbon, a rubber stamp, the cutest cupcakey tags I've ever seen, and this awesome, embellished tin - it's adorable and I will be storing something very special in it, I'm sure! Thanks, Barb - everything is terrific, and I've already worn the apron!!!

Catching Up on Apron Swaps

Boy, life sure seems to get in the way sometimes...or maybe it's WORK that gets in the way! At any rate, I'm retiring on August 31, so maybe then I'll have more time for sewing AND blogging (although if all my retired friends are a gauge, I'll be wondering how I ever managed to work!). So here's my latest apron I sent out - this one was for Yarni Gras' Hot Mama Pin-Up Apron Swap. I had this Michael Miller fabric already in my stash and the colors turned out to be exactly what my partner wanted. I love this Simplicity pattern 4692, even though the faced scallops do take a bit of time to make them nice. 

I also made this potholder, with a unique hanging loop that I dreamed up:

 

I prettied up a dishtowel to go along with the theme:

 

And made a little recipe card folder, and included recipe cards. I added some Seattle Chocolates, and a journal and matching pen to complete the swap. The picture didn't turn out so well...but I have to tell you a little story - I was doing "Show-and-Tell" at work, and I untied the bow on the recipe card folder to show the inside to a coworker, and when I re-tied it, she said "What did you just do?" She had never seen anyone tie a bow by making the loops and then tyeing them together. I think I learned that trick from Martha years ago and have been tyeing bows like that ever since (not sure I can tie a bow the "other" way anymore!). So she learned something new and I'm sure she went right home and went bow-tyeing crazy :-)

This will go in the mail on Monday because I didn't get it sent when I had it all completed (like a week ago), and my partner is moving, so I had to wait to get her new address. I hope she loves it!

"Washington" Bags

I made these sets of grocery and produce bags for my office fund-raising auction. One grocery or tote bag and three produce bags. The grocery bag outer fabric is "Washington" by In The Beginning exclusively for Pacific Fabrics & Crafts stores. The produce bags are made of Bubble Organza from JoAnn's, and the fruits and vegetables fabric is Farmer's Market. I used pink and black polka dots and green and white polka dots for the lining. I added a pretty bow on each tote bag. The fabric is fabulous! There are soooo many "Washington" things to look at! From Seattle's unique Pike Place Market, to Mt. Saint Helen's (anniversary of the big blow is tomorrow!), along with crabs, fishing boats, Orcas, tulips, ferry boats, wheat, sea planes, Snoqualmie Falls, otters - so many "Washington" products and landmarks...oh and don't forget COFFEE! I bought 5 yards of this fabric and I might just have to go back for more :-)

We Are SEW Lucky We Can Sew!

Aren't we lucky we can sew? If we need something special, we can design it, and whip it right up! And that's what I did here.....let's see if you can guess what this might be? Hmmmm...well it's some kind of lumpy thing...and there's a button and loop closure...

Ahhh, it opens up! Looks like there are three pockets...and a zipper across the top. What could it hold?

Flip side - there's the button - actually two buttons, stacked. And they are vintage - how cute is that! What is the fabric? It looks like...a map of a neighborhood...how odd??? But there's also Ric-Rac - we LOVE Ric-Rac!

OIC! The things that were making it lumpy are GPS parts! The screen thingie, the holder thingie, and the cable thingie that goes in the lighter thingie! Well, now that makes sense - keeps it from getting scratched, and fits nicely in the car center console when not in use.

And look - inside are some polka dots - don't we LOVE polka dots? Of course, I'm not sure "The Dominator" feels so masculine with the polka dots, but he'll get over it. That's what I named my GPS - "The Dominator" - he's kinda bossy, but I really do love him! He gets me where I need to go :-)

When I took my road trip to California last fall and mentioned I was taking a GPS, my wonderful friend, Aunt Pitty Pat, who is with law enforcement, wisely told me that you should NEVER leave your GPS in plain view, unattended. Thieves like to steal them, AND they could use the data in the GPS to find your home and rob you. So I make sure I always remove it from the windshield and take it with me, or stow it in my console or trunk. This little GPS stash makes that a lot easier, and much more fun!

Puppies In the Polka Dots! Or...Spot Sees Spots!

I got in on some of Faerie Wysperer's de-stashing (how can one bear to give up stash???). There are two kinds of stashers: those who wash, and those who don't. No, I don't mean personal hygiene - I mean pre-wash fabrics. I toss everything in the washer the minute it comes in the door, but a lot of people don't. So when I got the HUGE box of POLKA DOTS OF EVERY COLOR AND SIZE in the mail, I could tell it wasn't pre-washed (WAY too neat!).

So after drooling and fondling for MANY hours, I fluffed it all out and got it ready to wash. I threw the pile on the floor near the washer/dryer. Apparently, that looked too good to pass up to Diesel. He plopped himself down in the middle, scooched his cute little furry butt around to make his new "nest" comfy, and settled in.

I just barely caught a pic of him as he dashed away - camera shy, I guess. But Miss Piggy is NOT camera shy and she quickly took his place, posing in her cute Miss Piggy manner :-) (Yes, that's toilet paper on the floor at the bottom lower left...I actually have a toilet paper story I'll try to post at a later date...)

The Polka Dots are all washed and happily enjoying their stay with all the other fabric on Apron Valley Road.

Sometimes, Newer Isn't Always Better...

As I'm preparing Easter dinner for my family, I lovingly rubbed some olive oil on my 5-pound ribeye roast, sprinkled it with some roasted garlic and red pepper seasoning, some freshly-ground pepper and sea salt. Then I stuck the good old standby meat thermometer in it. Hubby asked why I didn't use the fancy-schmancy digital one. I said "Well, because this one always works!"

This was my mom's meat thermometer. She was 86 when she passed, and she's been gone about 12 years now. I still have her thermometer, which she "mail-ordered" from Morrison Wood, Box 814, Springfield, Ohio (no zip code in those days). It came in a box with a 3-cent stamp to "Mrs. Sidney A. Peterson, Rt. 1, Box 472, Olympia, Wash." Now, our address was actually Rt. 11, not Rt. 1, but it made its way to us anyways. And everything in those days came to "Mrs." not "Myrtle" as was her first name. Even the daily newspaper REFUSED to print "Myrtle Peterson" - it just HAD to be "Mrs. Sidney A. Peterson." The box is a bit beat-up, but the thermometer is right-on (I test it every once in awhile in boiling water).

Some things just never wear out - this thermometer, and my love for my family, being two of those things:-) I'll let you know how that roast turns out, but I'm sure it will be perfect! I hope you all have a lovely Easter!