Sewing

Ok, you guys are pretty darn funny! Your comments on our new stove knob color are keeping us very entertained here in ThimbleannaLand. Thanks so much for taking the time to place your guess. And to Kristyne and MyDadLovesMeBestSister, PINK and half-and-half are NOT options for the contest! In case you’ve missed something, scroll down to the previous post and you can guess what color we selected for our new stove knobs, and if you guess correctly, I’ll enter you for a chance to win a Ruby charm pack and a few more goodies.

In the meantime, a few weekends ago, I had to take a break from tile chipping and sneak in a little sewing in the dungeon. When our Beloved Aunt Annie was here for a visit, she had a cute little polka dotted vinyl bag. After much discussion, we decided that we could probably make a similar version, so when MeMum and Aunt Annie went to Shipshewana I had them pick me up a piece of vinyl.

I think this is a Kate Spain vinyl — there wasn’t anything on the selvedge, but it matches Kate’s blog header and wallpaper!

I’m not much of a bag person, but sometimes I get tired of carrying my big backpack around.  I think this is really the first time I’ve had a purse that I couldn’t sling over my shoulder — for years that was the default, as my hands were always full with other things.   This little bag is the perfect size — it’s small and just right for my wallet, a notepad and my cell phone.

I took some pictures when I made this little bag so that I’d be able to make another one.  (I love that orange with my blue jeans!)  In case you’d like an easy little vinyl bag for yourself (three hours start to finish!), I made a pdf file with instructions — available HERE. 

Have a good week!
XOXO,
Anna

Wow!  Thanks for all the wonderful advice on kitchen countertops!  If only I could take all of you along with me when it comes time to make a decision.  Although, there were a lot of different opinions, so it could be a heated discussion LOL.  We were supposed to meet with the countertop lady tonight, but she got sick so we’ll have to wait until next week.  I hope this isn’t a sign of how long this project is going to take.  ;-)  I always joke with the kids that “I’m the Decider!”.  But really, when it comes to stuff like this, I’m NOT the decider.  I hate these hard decisions!

So…moving right along … I managed to sneak a bit of sewing in last weekend, and since there weren’t very many votes for the toaster countertop, I decided to use the fabric for some pillowcases.

I’ve always loved that Cosmo Cricket toaster saying, so when I saw these Metro Cafe toasters, I knew I had to make some pillowcases out of them.  I got a little carried away when I bought the fabric too — I think most everyone I know is going to get some toaster pillowcases … poor dears.

I also snuck in a few quilt blocks for Jenny’s charity quilt that she’s making for an AIDS fundraiser.  I think it took all of 20 minutes to make these blocks — if you have a bit of time and fabric, I’m sure Jenny would appreciate your contribution.  You can read all about it HERE.

That’s about it for excitement around here this week.  I did have a fun evening last night with BigDaddy, MyDadLovesMeBestSister, and CrazyBIL.  We went to see Garrison Keillor.  I was amazed that, at 68, he spoke without a break, or even a drink of water,  for two hours.  It amazed me even more today when I read that he suffered a mild stroke a little over a year ago.  He was funny and entertaining and I loved that he made us all stand up at the beginning and sing The Star Spangled Banner.  And for those of you who are sick of winter, he had this little quip…”Here we are in March…the month that God provided so that people who don’t drink will know what it’s like to have a hangover”.

Ok, one last thing … do you all know what this is?

It’s the famous Brandenburg Gate in Berlin Germany. And look, here’s another version:

The new logo for the Berlin Modern Quilt Guild. Isn’t it Awesome? I think that’s the coolest logo I’ve seen in a long time — I love how the spools and needle have become part of the gate. I saw it on Julia’s blog and I asked her who designed the logo. Turns out it was her! Congratulations Julia — it’s gorgeous!

Ok, now … WAIT!  Did you see this super cute Pinocchio?  I need another little boy so I can make it — I LOVE it!

Really.  NOW I’m leaving.  Hope you’re having a great week!

XOXO,
Anna

Hi Kids!  Remember that little Sunkissed sneaky peak from a few weeks ago?  Well, it’s finally finished. But first, I thought I should tell you that I’ve found a new favorite thing. I LOVE the vintage-looking wire laundry basket from United Notions.  I love that it’s on wheels.  I have a fairly small laundry room, but there’s just enough room for this laundry basket.  I like to put my newly-dried clothes into it and wheel it out to my kitchen table where I fold all of our clothes.

I thought it might be fun to add a liner to the basket so I played around with my Sunkissed fabrics. I really had fun with the grommets too — there are 18 of them in this liner and it’s kind of fun to beat them into submission with a hammer!  I added a rope to the liner, but you could easily use a big ribbon.  I also left the knot on the outside, but it could be put in between the layers of the liner too — that way it would be hidden from view.  There are so many different ways you could make this liner — ruffles, scallops, ric rac — I really had to control myself. 

So, two really important things about this laundry basket:

• You can get the instructions on how to make it at the Moda Bakeshop, and
• I’ve listed the laundry basket in the Thimbleanna.com store on my Fun Stuff page. That’s the page where I list my very favorite things.

Have a great weekend!
XOXO,
Anna

Oops!  Sorry for that little break there.  Like Jane says, I’m still here…just busy.  The biggest busy this week has been Pinterest.*  Like many of you, I’ve been sucked in and I LOVE it.  Since I started blogging, I’ve kept notes of things I wanted to remember, but I’m a visual person and notes just don’t always capture the beauty.  Pinterest does that for me and I’m captivated.  I even see applications beyond just keeping pretty photos.  Like maybe, a pinboard of pictures of recipes that you want to try.  And then once tried, if you like them you could move them to keepers or something.  (Speaking of which, do any of you pin-ers know how to delete a picture from one of your boards?)  And I think pinterest would be super fun for those of you who don’t have blogs {cough}LindaNoBlog{cough} — it doesn’t have the maintenance of a blog (the number one reason I hear for people who don’t want to start them) but it has all of the visual fun!

Anyhoo….back to our post title…Baby Elephants!  I went to a baby brunch/shower this morning for a friend’s daughter who married another friend’s son.  Their “theme” is baby elephants and hippos.  So I put Hester to work embroidering the little critters from an old Deb Strain disk that I’ve been hoarding.  I made a baby towel first.  I love making baby towels, but it’s hard to find good terrycloth in these days of big box fabric stores.

The terrycloth in these bibs and towel is from JoAnn’s and it’s awful stuff.  It’s stretchy and snags easily.  I won’t use it again.  I’ve been hunting online and I’ve requested some samples.  Hopefully I’ll find something good out there.  Someone also suggested just buying bath towels and cutting them up.  That’s definitely a consideration.

The shower was beautiful.  It was a “display’ shower.  Have you ever heard of that?  You take your gift unwrapped and it’s displayed on a table with all of the other gifts.  The mother-to-be’s bridal shower was so huge, that present opening took awhile.  So, maybe they decided to just cut to the chase and dispense with the unwrapping.

There are pros and cons to this type of shower — What do you think?  If you’re outside the US, you probably don’t even have baby showers, do you?  For those of you who have been to baby showers, do you think you’d like a display shower?

Back to my little display…to the bath towel, bibs and onesies, I added a baby elephant and a little elephant tag and boxed it up.  I will admit, it was nice not to have to worry about gift wrapping!

Ok.  I’m outta here.  Going to go brave the cold and find a few photos for the scavenger hunt.  I hope some of you who love to take pictures will join in!

XOXO,
Anna

*I created a Thimbleanna facebook account which was required to join Pinterest.  Since then, several of you have requested friend status.  Facebook and I don’t like each other, so don’t be offended if I don’t friend you back — it’s a dummy account and I don’t use it!