Finding Pins and Needles

1. I'm willing to bet most of you have this first item and don't even know its true potential! Did you know ever notice that silly little strawberry hanging off your tomato pin cushion ? It isn't there just for looks (LOL), Mr. Strawberry is filled with something called "emery sand". I'm sure you have a few emery boards around the house or at the bottom of your purse to file your fingernails. Emery is also used to sharpen pins and needles and keep them free of burrs that will snag your fabric. 2. I'm going to be honest, my tomato pin cushion is hidden in the back of a drawer. Call me judgmental, but tomatoes are for my sandwich, not my sewing room. With a quick search of Pinterest  you can find some amazingly cute ideas for diy pin cushions. Check out my  pin cushion Pinterest board  for a start. Most cushions call for Fiber Fill , which is great, but for a sharper solution...fill your custom cushions with emery to sharpen your pins and nee...

I was so excited to do this Dick & Jane Baby Quilt ( Michael Miller's Dick & Jane fabric). Believe it or not, this was a stash quilt! The only thing I had to purchase was the batting. I have made a number of projects with this fabric over the years. Now that my kids are getting older, I'm finding fewer uses. It's pretty much used up now, and I had a ton of fun doing it! A few of my previous Dick & Jane projects are a book caddy for my son's bed and a stuffed monkey doll that was kind of a fail. She's in the first picture, she's coming unstuffed! A book caddy for the top bunk. This was my third quilt, I thought I'd share a few tips I've learned a long the way. All the instructional videos I've been watching on Craftsy & YouTube have made a HUGE difference in the quality of this quilt compared to the last  therefore making it that much more fun to sew. A few tips & tutorials Spray "starch"  has change...

It's taken me a long time to take this step.... my first quilt! Ok, confession ... This was NOT my first quilt. Below is photo evidence circa 1996, a school project. *wince*. Yes I made the matching dress too. Everyone needs apparel to match their quilt. MOVING ON. I. Learned. A. Lot. You'll get much more valuable tips from other blogs and sites, I won't pretend to be an expert after 1... ok, 2 quilts. I will tell you though, I learned I didn't understand triangles, bias cutting, and fabric stretch . If you're a newbie, my suggestion is to look this up before endeavoring on your first triangle quilt. Also, learn the triangle trick (at least I think it's a trick). I thought I was choosing a pattern that would be easy, but it turned out that the fabrics I chose led to... a lot of math.  Don't try to create your own pattern if you're a newbie , too much unnecessary stress! **I used to have a link to the original pattern by Riley...

In the spirit of April being Autism Awareness month and the CDC's release of the new autism rates today (3/27/14), I've created another Facebook cover to help spread awareness. Feel free to save, use and share on Facebook. Click the image below, then right click to save. Please don't edit the image without my permission.

Tea anyone? When my daughter asked for a tea party theme for her 4th birthday, I immediately thought of a lovely table with tablecloth for a cake, set with sweets and tea. Luckily with this kind of detail, I can do them ahead of time out of fondant because it lasts, but I switched it up this time. Since I've been dabbling in clay lately, I decided to do the tea set and food in clay so she could play with them after the cake is gobbled up. The tablecloth on down is fondant and edible goodness, here's how it turned out. This cake was labor intensive, at least the clay bits, but it was worth it, it will last and boy is this food tiny! Here's how it went... "SOPHIA" was cut out using the Ateco Alphabet Letter Set . To give you an idea of scale... (and I have tiny hands)