I have a problem

I didn't really think I had all that much fabric. Maybe I should start by saying; my sewing room is so cluttered that I can't even sew in it. I have seriously been sewing in the den on a card table. So I set out to clean my room to get ready for a new machine (more on that later). I thought the best place to start would be to fold and sort my fabric. So far, I've done these nice 6 piles.

Guess I didn't really need this beautiful Amy Butler fabric I bought from Glenna, yesterday. Oh wait, yes I did - that will really make a cute dress for Red.

Oh, yes ... and that pile of fabric in my kitchen that came from Sew, Mama, Sew last week. Well it was 15% off and I LOVE the floral on the right. Not sure if you can see it, but there is some orange just like it underneath.

Here is part of the shelf that I'm going to cram in the fabric I just neatly folded.

And even with all of that fabric I've been folding, I still can't see my table. I don't think I'll finish cleaning my room tonight. I think I need help.

I made little bit the Oliver + S Playdate dress yesterday. Isn't it sweet? I used the Amy Butler fabric I bought from a local gal last week. I think Anna did a fine job of picking out material for this dress.

And I think I found my new favorite pastime .... covering buttons with fabric. I don't know why I enjoyed it so, and I don't know why I waited so long to open my button mold package.

I left out the trim around the yoke. Next time I make one, I think I'll try that. I also left the ruffles off the yoke because I thought the material was busy enough without them.

I'm very please with this, and Anna is, too.

I love having a husband that tries new things and doesn't need a recipe to do it. He made these little chocolate cakes last night. They were so good that I didn't even want to stop to take a picture of them - but I just had to so I could share with you how talented he is. The picture isn't that great, so I'll describe how delicious they were. They were a moist cake with a sort of crunchy outside. When you cut into them, it had a gooey, chocolaty center. Yum, these were so good - I wish you could have all been over at my house at 11:00 last night to share in the goodness.

very, very, very, VERY, very late

I joined a swap several months ago called the Scrappy Tidbits swap. We were grouped in fours, and you sent scraps to your other 3 partners. Then you make something with all of the scraps. I chose to make a wallet for each of my three partners, and I'm only 2 months late. I will never, I repeat NEVER sign up for a swap during the Christmas season again.

I found a great tutorial online for this quilted wallet at That Darn Kat. It was a little frustrating trying to figure out the credit card slots on the bottom, but I worked it out by the second one. I also sewed a right to a wrong side one time and almost threw the whole thing in the garbage. But in the end, I think they turned out rather cute. Except one is a little catywhompused, but I just think that adds to the homemade feel - that's what I'm telling myself anyway.

I actually didn't put any of my own fabric on the outside, but used bits and pieces of my three partners. Below is the inside. It has 10 credit card slots and two places to hold bills. It's only lacking a change pocket. My favorite part is the pearl snap.

My Mom's friend told me about a lady who sells fabric and patterns out of her house not 5 minutes away from my very own! And not just any fabric, but Amy Butler fabric. I let the girls pick out their own for a dress. Little bit choose the above, and I'm using the above Oliver + S pattern. I think it will look darling and can't wait to make it.

Red chose this pretty pink. It's not what I would have bought, but she loves it and wants a skirt out of it. I think I'm going to make another Redondo for her.

My Mom is trying to call in a favor and get us a week at the beach. We're going to take the girls and our machines and have a week of sand and sewing fun. I hope it will all work out.

New fabric

Check out this new fabric I got from the Long ladies over at Marie-Madeline Studio. My favorite combo is the two above. I love it all and can't decide what I want to make with which fabrics. Isn't it lovely?

Crocheted headband

Isn't this the cutest? I found a pattern for this crocheted headband here. She has several cute crochet patterns, I especially love the headband with the bow - so check out links on the sidebar for more patterns.

I don't know how to crochet, so my Mom whipped this up for me, along with a green and pink one, in no time. Thanks, Mom!

New Year

Happy New Year! Derek seems to be recovering fairly well from his surgery. He went back to work on Monday and the boys started school back yesterday. Maybe things will return to normal (for me anyway) and I can get back to my blogging and crafting.

Nate and Matt left this morning to go on a Science Club trip to Jekyll Island. They'll be treking through a marsh and studying wildlife around the beach. They were so excited, although we were not excited to hear they had to be at the school at 5:00 am. That's right, I said FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING. Here they are before they left home. They'll be home Friday afternoon and I can't wait to hear what all they got to do!