Store – Page 7 – Thimbleanna

A New Kitty

41 Comments / September 7, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Family, Store

Well Hello! Did all you kids in the US have a nice long weekend? We had a wonderful time with TheSecondChild and his very sweet friend. We had friends and family over for a cookout and had lots of fun. And there was some oohing and aahing over his new little kitty too. Meet Mufasa. Moofie for short.

Moofie is 4 months old and cute as can be. A little ferocious too — he gave Scruff and Paul a run for their money. Needless to say, there was a lot of hissing.

Other than that, there’s not much new to report. I made a quick birthday banner for a co-worker’s computer. I tested it out on our computer tonight. Would it cheer you up to see that little banner on your computer at work? I made it from fabric scraps, diluted glue and some divine twine. Speaking of which, I’ve added black and orange to my little store — just in time for Halloween (a-a-and it’s still on sale).

Did you see the cool new google page today? Those dancing balls were fun to play with. There was lots of speculation about what they meant — I read somewhere this morning that google said it was not to celebrate their birthday. I also read that some people think they’ll have a big announcement at some convention tomorrow. I love google!

Ok — must run and watch the end of Neal Caffrey Eye Candy White Collar. Have a good week!

XOXO,
Anna

Bunnies and Kitties and Bears, Oh My!

47 Comments / August 16, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Bunnies, Sewing, Store

Those of you who have been hanging around here in ThimbleannaLand for any amount of time know how much we Looooove our Bunny Pincushions. Love, Love, Love them! From time to time I make a batch and have a giveaway or sell a bunch in the Thimbleanna.com store.

And almost every time that happens, someone asks me for a pattern for the bunny pincushions. Sadly, I always have to say that the pattern is a 1989 pattern by Lori Karper and it’s copyrighted, so I can’t give it out. Then, I’ll usually do an internet search, just to see if any information on Ms. Karper has popped up since the last time I did an empty internet search. All I ever find is maybe an ebay link or two to one or another older pattern by Ms. Karper.

So. Imagine my GREAT excitement and surprise one day last spring, when I got an e-mail from THE Ms. Karper herself. Only there’s been a name change which is why I couldn’t find her. Lori Karper is now Lori Valley and it’s been my great delight to be able to get to know the mother of all my bunnies! Lori has had an unbelievable 20+ years since the original bunny pattern was published — full of ups and downs and she’s come out on this end as one of THE sweetest people you’ll ever meet. AND, BIG BIG exciting news — she’s re-issuing the bunny pincushion pattern AND she’s added a Kitty, a Bear, and a Puppy. WOOHOO!!!

It’s so funny, because, over the years, I’d always thought how fun it would be to make other little pincushion animals. I had a chance over the weekend to make up a Kitty.

And a Bear. The original bunny pattern had the stitching on the paws, but I always made my paws plain. For the kitty and the bear, I did the extra stitching and I love how it turned out. (Both the Kitty and the Bear are made from City Weekend by Oliver + S.)

One of my favorite things about the bunny pincushions over the years has been the fact that the ears can be used to hold needles. The Kitty and Bear ears are big enough to do that too. (And you thought your teen had ear-piercing problems.)

Look how sweet — the kitty (and the puppy, who I didn’t have time to make) both have little tails. Those might make good needle holders too.

Another thing I love about Lori’s patterns is that you can make them your own. My faces are a little different than Lori’s. And I thought this time I’d have some fun experimenting with a contrast fabric on the inside of the ears. I really like how they turned out.

And one last very special thing. Lori calls her patterns “You Are Loved” Patterns and she’s included a “You Are Loved” tape that can be sewn into the side seam of each pincushion. The whole time I was making the kitty and bear, I kept telling myself “Don’t forget the You Are Loved Tape”. So, of course, you know, I forgot it. I pinned it on the side of the bear though, so you can see how cute it’s supposed to look, sticking out of the side of the pincushion.

I’ll stop talking now. I’m sorry this sounds like a big sales pitch — I really don’t want it to be. You know how much I Love my pincushions, and I know many of you have been wanting these patterns. Lori is working on her own website (which I’ll link to when she’s done) but until then, you can buy them in the Thimbleanna.com store. You can also get extra “You Are Loved” tapes in case you want to make more than one pincushion with a message in it’s side.

‘Cause Christmas is coming soon and I think these make great gifts for all of your crafty friends! ;-)

XOXO,
Anna

Having a Divine Time

31 Comments / August 1, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Family, Store

Whew! Our boring July has become very busy. We have several visitors here in ThimbleannaLand. MeMum has a longtime friend visiting from Florida, MyDadLovesMeBestSister has her in-laws from Germany, and we have TheFirstChild and SweetiePie for a week. We’ve had lots of fun getting together and I’ve had a great time practicing my long-forgotten German and watching the kids laugh until they cry.

Everyone arrived within 2 days of each other so I made some of our favorite poppyseed bread, wrapped it up in parchment paper, tied it with my new favorite twine and took everyone a little present.

A few years ago I couldn’t find baker’s twine anywhere. Now I’ve found this Divine Twine and I love it. There are so many ways to use this twine. I love it for tying packages of any kind. And when I get some time, I want to make this cute little bunting.

Since I love this twine so much, I’ve added it to the Thimbleanna Store. On my Fun Stuff page. The page where I put special things that really make me happy and inspire me to make pretty projects and gifts.

As is traditional for my favorites, when I add them to the store, I offer them at 20% off. And if you run over there and buy some, I’ll give you my extra special Poppyseed Bread recipe that everyone loves.

Just kidding – you already have my poppyseed bread recipe. Now, I’m off to try and figure out how I’m going to finish my current UFO — I’ve run out of that little bee fabric. Hope you’re having a good weekend!

XOXO,
Anna

Mid-Week Check-In

58 Comments / April 28, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Family, Store

Hello out there! How’s your week going? It’s reeeaaalllly slow around here this week. I think it’s the calm before the busy May storm. I’ve mostly just been working, baking (cupcakes for our study buddies at work) and making plans for the next few weeks. There was a bit of excitement in my mail today — Moda finally got their Bella swatch cards back in stock and I ordered one. I’ve been fondling it off and on, since it arrived.

The new card has been updated to contain the newer colors. Like Cheddar and Azalea.

I wish you could see it up close and personal. Those colors are so delicious. Super delicious. Is it any wonder that I want a bolt in every color?

Speaking of wonder, I wondered if you’d like an update on sweet little Teddy Rose? He’s growing like a weed. Here he was at Christmas — just a new puppy.

And here he was last weekend. Yikes!

He’s adorable and the name is just perfect. He’s lovable and cuddly, just like a big teddy bear. MyDadLovesMeBestSister reports that he’s a wonderful puppy. There have been a few incidents of things that get eaten, but it’s mostly all good. Isn’t he cute?

So. That’s it for me. How ’bout you? Anything exciting going on in your neck of the woods?

XOXO,
Anna

A Little Store

62 Comments / April 9, 2010 February 22, 2011 / Chat, Store

Well Hello There! It’s a beautiful spring day here in the heartland, and I hope you’re having a nice day too! I’ve been busy, busy all week (and then some!) birthing bunnies, as, after much thinking and deliberation and many bunny requests, I’ve decided to open a teeny, tiny little store here in ThimbleannaLand. {Eeeep!}

I should probably back up a little. A few months ago I went on a search to find Moda’s gorgeous Bella by the Bolt. What with the nine-patch quilts, the yoyo quilt, embroidery pieces, and my new-found love of quilts with solid fabric I realized that I was burning through solids and I should buy it by the bolt. A search ensued and I turned up … nothing. There are many of you out there who crank out more quilts with white and solid sashings than I do and I thought YOU might also share my Bella by the Bolt problem. So, being a Bella hungry girl with a website, I decided to open a specialized little shop and sell Bella by the Bolt.

I set about making a little store and when that Bolts o’ Bella page was done, it was looking like an empty little store, so I decided I’d pop a bunny pincushion page in there too. I’m not a bunny making machine though, so there won’t be very many bunnies in that room of the store.

And THEN, since that bunny room was so small, I thought I’d add just one more page for the occasional fun thing that might strike my fancy. I had a scare a few months ago when the source of my Patisserie Dome went out of business. I whined about this problem to my good buddy, Linda NoBlog, who also has a beloved dome, and she discovered a source for the domes. If you’ve been here very long, you know I LOVE my Patisserie Dome, so I couldn’t resist putting it in the store. While I was searching, I found a cool Bon Appetit Dome, so I plopped that in the fun stuff room too.

So, to recap, I opened a little store with three rooms:

Bella Solids — available all the time. And currently on a Grand Opening Special of 20% off through April 30th!!!
Bunny Pincushions — available once-in-a-blue-moon. ‘Cause making those little arms and legs is time consuming!
Fun Stuff — available most of the time. A few of my favorite things that I thought you might like too!

And please don’t worry. This won’t turn into a store blog. {Really. Stop rolling your eyes!} It’s too teeny tiny to take-over — my day job will keep that from happening.

If you have time — I’d love it if you’d check it out — Thimbleanna{dot}com!

And have a wonderful weekend!
XOXO,
Anna