Just Sewin and Crafting

After several weeks of looking for a non-slip fabric for the sole of these, I took the plunge and made my first pair of slippers for The Pink Slipper Project. I have several more pieces of flannel that I bought specifically for this project and truly hope to get more made this weekend!

I encourage you to go on over to Joyce's site and read all about The Pink Slipper Project and to make any type of donation that you can to this worthy cause! Even one pair of slippers will keep one pair of feet warm this winter!

So, I am supposed to blog daily and keep you all up to date with what is going on in my corner of the world. It's hard to do, when some days there is just not anything going on here. However, I must say, the past 3 weeks have been absolutely jam packed! No time to think, much less blog!

On June 20, at 3:35 p.m. my first grand child was born! Aubree Eileen made her arrival after a lot of hard work by her mom! I was able to be in the birthing room for the whole labor and delivery and I must say, it is hard to watch your daughter go through this process! However, as it was when I had my girls, the arrival of the baby always makes the pain seem so trivial!

The little family came home from the hospital only to find that their air conditioning was not working properly and their home was way to hot to stay in, especially with a newborn! So, everyone got packed up and came on over to my house! I had mom, dad, and Aubree for 2 weeks. They are home now, but because dad works out of town, I've spent this week at their home, mostly just for the nights! Needless to say, I've accomplished little in the sewing room! I have made some baby booties, both for Aubree and for my Etsy shop! I just need to make some more and really get back to work here!

Speaking of my Etsy shop... I just opened it this past week and am looking forward to adding more homemade products! Check it out at:
Just click on the banner and it'll take you there! I hope you enjoy my small offering and come back often to see what's been added! Please remember that I will be adding quilts, quilted wall hangings, purses...oh who knows what may show up in Meme's Boutique! Make sure you visit often!

"In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us." Flora Edwards

Larry Hamm over at Chelsea Lynn Designs on Artfire is a friend of many in the world of handmade, he is also the voice of The Crazy Train on Blockhead Radio. Larry has a fantastic wife Janet, and an 8 year old son Jacob who live with him in Lansing, NC deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Larry is a friend to everyone and just an all around swell guy. He is most definitely the "shirt off your back" kind of friend. Right now, all of Larry´s friends and Blockhead Radio are teaming up to help him out in a tough time.

Larry is a disabled diabetic who currently has lost his health insurance. His medication alone monthly is over $2,000. Larry is not receiving disability, he has not been approved yet. His wife is the only source of income and she doesn´t make enough to cover his medications. Larry´s doctors have given him an outlook of only 18 months to live if he doesn´t receive a $17,000 gastric bypass surgery as soon as possible. Larry and his family need all the help from their family and friends they can get! Jacob and Janet need Larry to hang around here with them as long as he possibly can! All of his friends surely want Larry to stick around too!

All of us at Blockhead Radio are gearing up for the biggest Radiothon you´ll ever be a part of! July 24th at 6pm until July 26th at 6pm, Blockhead Rod will be live on the radio for 48 hours straight raising money for our friend Larry. A silent auction of donated handmade goods will also be going up on the home page of Blockhead Radio with 100% of the proceeds going to Larry.

If you would like to be a part of this wonderful event, please email DeDe Sorensen at: 48forlarry@blockheadradio.com Please donate any handmade items you can for the silent auction have your emails in with your donations by July 22nd. If you would like to donate cash for Larry's prescriptions and surgery please visit Blockhead Radio July 24th through July 26th. There will be plenty of ways to get your donations in.

Keep listening to Blockhead Radio for fantastic indie music, and how you can help Larry Hamm of Chelsea Lynn Designs.

Each year Hancock Fabrics sponsors the St. Jude Quilt of Dreams Contest.
This is my entry for this year. It was designed by Gwen, my friend from Cafemom!

The name of the quilt is
Butterfly Dreaming!

These are fun and easy to make! Once finished I slip them into a clear envelope sleeve and send them off! Can you imagine the smile these things bring to the mail carriers who deliver them?

This one is for World Jugglers Day!






For Sewing Machine Day













For Ice Cream Soda Day













For Smile Power Day






I am a member of a group on Cafemom, called Quilting Moms, we do fabric postcard swaps of unusual "holidays". Fabric postcards are great for a quick little piece of mail to a friend, to a shut in, or better yet as a great thing to send the troops! You really don't even have to sew them! You can simply glue fabric on them! Just so simple and fun to do!

CookieZenMilk provided the following directions for making fabric postcards:
Directions:

I use fabric on the back. i use a substance called fast2fuse or peltex in the middle. it is like timtex but it has a fusible on both sides of it.

Materials:

Fast2Fuse interfacing or peltex 72 interfacing (www.sewthankful.com sells it for 12 bucks a yard) i get 42 from a yard. some joann's carry it. ask for it.

Fusible web (I use steam a seam)
Scraps of fabric
Design to trace

Cut fast2fuse/peltex 4 x 6
Cut front fabric 4 x 6
Cut backing (address side) 4 x 6

Lightly iron front fabric to fast2fuse
Fuse design on front fabric (snowmen, trees)
Quilt it (optional) use a clear or colored contrasting
top thread and a white bottom thread
Turn over and iron backing fabric on (something light
colored so address will show up)

Give both sides a good press now.

Finish with satin, zigzag or fancy stitch all around
or
Cut ¾ inch wide strips (backed in fusible), iron to
front and fold around to back, iron

Use a pigma pen .08 to draw in details/address on back

All done. Needs a regular first class stamp, press it in
firmly and drop in mailbox.

So, give it a go! Let me see some of your creations!

Quilting? I started quilting over 10 years ago when I took a Block of the Month (BOM) Class at a local quilt shop in Ohio. Once a month for a whole year we went to class and made a block at the end of the year we made our quilt all by hand! Since then I've decided that quilting by hand takes much more time than I want to commit to any project, so I've learned to machine quilt! Pictured is "Aubree's Hearts". The quilt for my soon-to-be first grandchild! She is due any day now.

Since January I've been busy sewing baby bibs and burp cloths for the impending arrival of my first grand child.

Miss Aubree is due any day now and these burp cloths will come in handy for her mama and daddy!

I made several of the coordinating bibs and burp cloths and several burp cloths that were just embroidered. I use cloth diapers for my burp cloths. They are so easy and very absorbable! For the bibs I use terry cloth on the back, after one wash they are as soft as can be. Perfect for precious baby skin!