Give Peace a Chance!

Peace Pincushions, originally uploaded by rkkilmer.

Today was quite productive. I not only completed these 2 pincushions, but I was able to work on 2 additional pillows. One of the pillows is a sew along with www.stitchedincolor.com This is a great blog I found recently. She is making a 20x20 quilted Valentines day Pillow with some embroided detail. So far, it's looking pretty cute. I am hoping she posts the second part soon. If you are so inclined, pop over and take a look. She posted the first part just a few days ago. If you wanted to join in, you would definitely be able to catch up.
What did you all sew today?

A new pincushion

Pin cushion #2, originally uploaded by rkkilmer.

Completed! A new pincushion filled with crushed walnut shells. I have a few pincushions filled with shells, but I bought them from various shows. I have never actually made one before. I know you can buy a little bag of crushed shells for about 5 bucks at a show. However, this is usually only enough to fill one pincushion. My friend Robin told me you could buy a alb bag of shells at the pet store for about $7, and she was absolutely right. I think they keep it in the reptile supply section. At any rate, I find these types of pincushions much nicer to use than the fiber filled ones. For one thing, I like the way they stay weighted to the table. Makes it easier to pull the pins in and out in my opinion. I used a selection of prints from Anna Marie Horner, along with some natural cotton/linen blend.
I found the tutorial for this pincushion here:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8347b268b53ef00e54fd5f0fa8834
Check it out. It's a very cute blog.
This will serve as my completed project for Monday. I will be spending the day baking a pink birthday cake and shopping for Hello Kitty decorations. My baby girl turns 3 tomorrow and a Hello Kitty birthday was requested.
See you later in the week,
Rob

Yes...another bag!

I can't seem to help it. I am filled with inspiration for new bags. I have always wanted to make them but always thought they were too hard. Well, not so much hard, as just beyond my current sewing abilities. However, I have become one with fusible interfacing. This has helped immensely.

As you can see, I even attached a magnetic snap. This really does give the bag a more complete look. Not so much "home made" as " hand made". I cant wait to use it tomorrow.

I recently ordered some echino fabric from Etsy. It arrived in the mail yesterday, so tonight I am going to start on an insulated camera bag for my new DSLR. I will be using velcro and high density foam for the first time. Wish me luck!

Rob

Up and at 'em today!

Cute Diaper Pouch, originally uploaded by rkkilmer.

That's right folks, it's only 9:30 AM and I have a completed project to post! In my head, I am imagine your wild applause. I am also imagining me taking a bow. I know, I have too much time on my hands sometimes. At any rate, I was up so early this morning that I decided I might as well be productive. The carpet cleaners arrived at 7:30 AM and the cleaning lady directly there after. The cleaning lady comes every other Thursday ( yes, these are my favorite days and my beloved Teresa is my favorite person!) However, the need for a carpet cleaner is another matter entirely. It's actually his second visit this week. My darling children had an unfortunate incident with 2 Costco sized containers of chocolate powder, an entire gallon of milk and my new BEIGE carpet. *I'm just gonna stop for a moment and let that last sentence sink in for all you moms out there.....*
Yes, it seems to have come out. According to the guy, once he comes back to re-tack and stretch the carpet, it'll be like it never happened. Also yes, my darlings were unharmed in this incident. Barely, but they survived. :)
So, since I had to be up, I took a few minutes to bang out this cute little diaper pouch. I found a tutorial for it at www.noodle-house.com
She has many more tutorials posted. They are all very cute. I will definitely be making a few more of her items.
I am off to shop for some more linen and fusible fleece.
Hope you have a great day,
Rob

My new bag

My new bag, originally uploaded by rkkilmer.

This is my new bag. I am very proud of it. It's an original design that I came up with in a brainstorm last night. I was surfing Etsy and saw an add for a cute purse pattern. I was just about to buy it when it occurred to me that I would probably not make it according to the original instructions. Just looking at the pattern picture, I could tell I was going to make a number of changes. Different strap, shorter, wider...etc. I decided to sketch something out and this is what I ended up with. It's completely different from my original inspiration, but I really enjoyed the whole improvisation of it all. I used my Tula Pink stash. I had been saving it for an apron, but this way I will get far more use out of it. I can't tell you how satisfying it is to have completed 2 projects so far this year. Yes, one was a pin cushion. But, just that small step lead to today's accomplishment. Just imagine what tomorrow could bring!

Pin Cushion

Pin Cushion, originally uploaded by rkkilmer.

This is what I accomplished today. It's not much, but since it was a rainy day and I was home alone with my 2 turbo babies, I am very proud of being able to sew at all! I came across a tutorial here http://paperstringcloth.blogspot.com/2007/07/pincushion-tutorial.html
It was a simple little project, but the author of this tutorial showed me a new way to sew on the buttons. I always have a hard time with that. The way she explained it made perfect sense. So, voilà! Today a pincushion, tomorrow a quilt ...... Maybe :)

A day at the beach....

This year for Christmas, my wonderfully sweet husband bought me a fancy DSLR camera. For those of you who don't speak photoease ( and I didn't till a few weeks ago!), thats what they call those seriously high tech digital cameras that you can change the lenses and add flashes to and what not. I had been researching them for a while and had thought to wait till after the holiday to purchase one. I just figured I could wait and maybe get a better deal. But, I ended up having family arrive for the holiday and so I wanted to take advantage of being able to take pictures of our time together.

Today we took my family to the Seal Beach pier. My two nephews had never seen the ocean. It was a great day. My younger nephew, Bradley and my son Jackson have become fast friends. I was grateful for that because Bradley is 8 and Jackson only 4. The age gap can sometimes be an issue. But, luckily, they have taken to referring to each other as "best friends". Its absolutely adorable. Bradley and Charlotte however....ha! thats another story. For those who know my fiesty 2 year old beauty, this will not come as any great shock. She makes sure to remind Bradley that this is her world, and he is merely here to visit.

We had a good day. The kids played in the playground just off the pier. Pictured below is my nephew Bradley.

Here is a shot of my two beautiful babies playing nicely together. Ok, yes....it's a rare photo!

Here is a picture of my niece Danielle. For those of you who remember her as a little girl, can you believe it??!!??! She prefers to be called "Dani" now. She'll be 15 in just a few days. She is still the same sweet, quirky little red head though. She's just taller :)

My family returned to Missouri this morning. I am hopeful that Dani will be back soon. Tonight is going to be spent with my family in Whitter. I wanted to wish all of my fellow bloggers Happy New Year!

I hope you all have a great night.

See you next year!

Rob