Glimpses to Share

It has been awhile since I have posted regularly on projects around here, so I thought I would just share some glimpses of them, lots of lovely little impulses for summertime, chances to give my feet a break, bringing a calm to those tough, busy days. Some of these may even become tutorials, maybe when the kids are back to school, I will have a chance to do a bit more writing. But, here it is , a summertime of inspiration in progress.

Put up a little tent in the back yard for the little ones! I think maybe I will escape out there to do some reading!

Ahhhh....summer.....

I took a bunch of squares left over from different projects and put them all into one quilt called random joy. It is a quilt of eye candy for any scrap lover.

A few minutes here and a few minutes there, on this one. No rush, just relaxation.

Some "works in progress"...Making Strawberry Shortcake quilted throw pillows out of vintage bed linens.

Also working on Vintage Annie Pillows too

I have been working to get the store restocked with wee ones caps for the fall and winter season. These caps were made from some super soft and playful colored turtle necks.
I have actually found a pattern I liked working with-I am not much of a "pattern" girl. But this taxi tote was a lot of fun. I have enjoyed being able to use some of my favorite fabrics in my stash for this.

Madi worked on a taxi tote for a friend of hers that just moved away. We are really missing her already. It is a perfect design for beginner sewers!

I found a beautiful rose bowl on one of my hunts and have filled it with old scrabble letters. It has been used as a centerpiece on our dining table, the little ones love to crawl up on the table to play with them. I pretend I do not see them up there;)

I have been working with the large amount of sheet hems that I end up with when cutting them for the fat quarter bundles in the shop.

I am making a ruffled blanket with them. One layer at a time......

Here it is so far....IT IS HEAVY!!!

We had to pull out the carpeting down in my workroom due to our air conditioner leaking:( But the carpet was overdue for being removed anyways. We had to pull out my fat quarter wall though, so it was alot of work.

The wall is all put back together. We got a carpeting with some good padding-which my feet are desperate for. I have been going through getting diagnosed with what has turned out to be multiple heel spurs. I am actually waiting on MRI results to see just how bad they are. Staying off my feet is just not very easy with 5 kids!!and a fabric store;) But this carpet will help when I am cutting fabric. So, the work of replacing it has been well worth it!

Josie and I went thrifting together one afternoon and found her a "treasure" box. We are working on painting it. She has so many ideas!!! Fun to work on a project together!

Tonight, I was able to get the side curtain panels finished in our living room. I had worked on the main window weeks ago but wasn't sure what to do for the smaller windows. I did not have enough of the original fabric I intended on using - but I am so glad because I believe these turned out even better. They are just simple fabric shades that get tied up during the day. All made from vintage bed linens.

They matched so nicely with the curtains already up.
This lovely little needle work piece is going to be a pillow. It took a bit of thinking to figure out how I could design the pillow to showcase even the delicate edge. So I attached the entire panel to a scrap piece of white cotton. The cotton will be what I attach the back to allowing the little ruffle to be seen when finished.

Sweet little scrap pillow. I did some deep cleaning of my supplies and decided to put some things to use instead of storing them. I had a few pillow forms that needed some fun slip covers. Perfect little scrap project!!

All finished....

Took some time a few weeks ago to get a hutch painted and added to a dresser in our kitchen. There has not really been any room in our kitchen for decoration until now. Loving having my cookbooks easily accessible!

All finished!!! Well, it is getting late, I should get to bed. There are a few more to share, so I will have to do a 2nd post on the glimpses of inspiration around here. Hope you are all having a great summer!

WEEKEND SALE-FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY....

WEEKEND SALE IN SHOP AUG 6TH-9TH. TAKE 25% OFF OF ALL PURCHASES. SEE STORE FOR DETAILS. HAPPY SHOPPING!

SALE TODAY ON BED LINENS...

SORRY FOR BEING AWAY SO LONG-I AM HOPING TO BEGIN GETTING SOME NEW POSTS UP-THERE IS SO MUCH TO SHARE!!! BUT FOR NOW I WILL JUST SHARE ABOUT THE SALE TODAY IN THE SHOP. 20% OFF OF ALL RECLAIMED BED LINENS. THAT MEANS SHEETS, FAT QUARTER BUNDLES, SCRAP PACKS, 1/2 YARD BUNDLES, QUILT SQUARES, FLAT RATE BOXES AND 1-2 POUND BAGS. HAPPY SHOPPING!

FULL SIZE FLAT SHEET-LOVELY GARDEN
PRETTY IN PINK FAT QUARTER BUNDLES
BERRIES FAT QUARTER BUNDLE
12 INCH QUILT SQUARES-70-STRIPES
SHABBY GIRLIE ROSE FABRIC

Oodles of New Vintage Bed Linen Fat Quarters Bundles...

Our schedule summer has taken me by surprise this year. I have found it difficult to to find time to be in my studio working while the sun is shining and the kids are aching to get outside. Add trips to visit family, youth trips at church, camp, etc, and I feel a bit like a spinning top with suitcases in hand wondering if I should even unpack them! But, I have been slowly collecting new prints of bed linens, even while away. I finally stood at my cutting table for a few hours last evening and cut them all into fat quarters to bundle up for the shop. My wall of fat quarters have been dwindling recently so it was fun to see it all fresh with new prints. Sorting them into sets was pretty fun. I have listed many of them already and will be continuing this evening to stock the shelves before we leave to visit family in MN this week. Hope these will add some fun color and whimsy to your new projects! Here is a sneak peek of some of them.

And I also added some new pillowcase bundles as well. The one below has 8 vintage cases in it with coordinating prints.

What to do with Vintage Bed Linens...

Hello My Lovely Creatives! I thought I would share a quick and fun project with bed linens that I worked on this past week. With summer in full swing, we are eating outside more, especially since we now have a new little deck in our backyard to have a table on. Instead of always using a tablecloth, I thought it would be nice to have a set of placemats for all seven of us. I had found some very fun large red and white polka dot fabric at the thrift store that would match with my colors in our kitchen, but I decided to make the reverse side completely different with using all reclaimed linens in a mis matched fashion. They are working out fantastic, I can use them in our kitchen, or outside and they match either place. I also enjoyed quilting them.

Here is the cheerful summertime side for outside.

And here is the red and yellow side to match the kitchen.

I have cut out enough for 8 guests as well. It will be fun to dress the table with these when we have company. I am really enjoying the 2 sets in one with them being reversible!!!

And they match so perfectly with my bed linen napkins!!!

A Surprise For the Love of My Life...

I am just counting down the hours until I can pick my love up from his trip this past week. He has been at a conference with some of our Sr Highers from church. I have a BIG surprise for him!!! So often, I have these grand schemes in mind for while he is away, but most of the time it just simply does not work out, I usually come to my senses and remember that I have my little army of wee ones(and not so wee ones anymore) depending on me to have energy to keep up with them while Matt is gone, but this week, I decided to "NOT" come to my senses, to do the above and beyond, and to include everyone in it instead! Before Matt left, I secretly recruited my Dad to draw up designs for a small deck. We live in a ranch from the 60's that surprising the previous owners never put a deck or patio on. We have longed for a little deck off the back of our garage(the only door to the back yard) for years. But either time or money stood in the way. Matt and I had settled on trying to get a small deck built this year, nothing fancy or grand, just something to set a picnic table on so we could eat outside as a family. But, the time for Matt just wasn't there. That is when I began scheming.

One of the most precious things about my husband is his giving of time to others. I do not believe he has ever actually been home on a father's day. It always seem that one of his youth trips falls on Father's day. So, that one day, when he could be lounging or resting, is the day that he is usually driving a bus load of kids to camp, conference or missions trip. This year was no exception, but all of us this time were with him, taking kids to camp. And when he is not with the youth, he gives his time completely to our kiddos at home. I must admit that he is the better half when it comes to playfulness with our kids. He is always ready to wrestle, play games, or play in the pool with them. In the past few years he has even sold his little fishing boat because he did not want to take time away from his family while they are young. Then when the kiddos are sleeping peacefully, he turns his attention to me, either building my next project, cleaning things I just couldn't get to, cooking for us, and even helping me with all the shipping and cutting for the shop. This is without a doubt one of the most admirable qualitites about him that I truly cherish. And for the most part, he goes without any praise or encouragement.

So, he returns home today from his conference with the kids. After a crazy busy week of going non stop from 7am to 11pm with teenagers who far outweigh us on stamina, he is due some "days" of sleep! And what does he ask me last night when we spoke at midnight! "So, hun, we have the afternoon free, what do you need me to do?" Unbelievable, I was a bit speechless. But I know exactly what he is going to do!!! He is going to rest out on the deck that we built for him while he was gone!!!

Here is what we were up to while he was away! My mom and Dad came out on Tuesday morning. Mom held down the fort while Dad and I made a fun trip to the lumberyard!! I wish I had brought my camera with, but I was having too much fun loading wood into my van with my Dad anyways! It was pretty fun to work along side my dad! And I love watching him at work. He is still my hero! By lunchtime, he and Cole had the frame of the deck built and ready for Cole and I to start nailing down the planks! By dinner, we had the deck finished!!! A deck in a Day! Dad and I had to run out at dinner time to grab a few finishing things for it, and matt called me while we were out and asked what we were up to, and I almost forgot he didn't know -and i just about blew it! But I quickly averted it with the normal-"I needed ink for my printer"(I am always out of ink) and we decided to grab dinner out-"whew". It was so much fun to have Mom and Dad out here while matt was gone. Everyone just hung out in the backyard while we worked on the deck, even though it was a brutally hot week, we survived very happily!

Here are some of the pictures form our project.

Back from the lumberyard and ready to dig in.

Cole and Grandpa work on the frame.

Noah worked really hard!!!! On making a mess that is;)

All three of us worked together to get the planks spaced and nailed down.

And here is the finished deck for Matt. I can hardly wait until he is home! Here is one project he need not do but simply enjoy. Thank you dad for making this happen and helping me to honor my husband for all he does for us! And thank you to my strong, intelligent and growing boy-you are so deeply precious to me and your dad. I adore these three men deeply!

Poor Grandpa, tired from a hard days work for his daughter, but the kiddos just can't help but to climb all over him! Such a good sport!

And, yes, I have been enjoying the deck while Matt is away! This is the life! Quilting outdoors-the best of both worlds!

Here is matt enjoying the new deck! The kids made a sign to welcome him home.

And we all worked on getting the table all set nice for a summer picnic in the backyard.