Neat Containers Winner

Congratulations to Goosegirl of comment #12. You are the winner of the Neat Containers giveaway!

Goosegirl said: "I would love any of them. But I think I would really love the shoe kit combo pack. I keep all of my sewing notions in clear plastic shoe boxes, so I can see what is in there. But they are all cracked and broken and I need to replace them. These look so cool! Thank you for the chance."

Send me your mailing address and these will get shipped out to you. :)

Thank you to everyone who posted an entry for the giveaway. I enjoyed reading all your comments.

Ruth

Flower Girl Dress: New Look 6065

Wedding plans are coming along. Katie is getting married in 40-something days. I finally finished Emily's flower girl dress, and I'm ready now to start Tavi's dress.



For this dress, I used New Look 6065. Funny thing, Emily is 6, but I made the size 3 pattern with the size 5 length. The dress fits her perfectly, skinny thing. I practically did a happy dance when my invisible zipper went in almost perfectly the first time. Okay, it's a smidgeon off (see waist band) but not enough for me to get uptight about. I decided to leave it. :)


Pattern changes: I added gathers to the front bodice by adding 3-4 inches to the width of the front bodice piece. I also added length and a lace-edged lining to the skirt; the dress is almost floor length. Pictures will come, but probably not until after the wedding when Emily is dressed up and has her hair combed. :)

Thanks for reading!
Ruth

Neat Containers Giveaway

Whew! De-cluttering and organizing my sewing room has been a bigger job than I anticipated (why do I let it get this cluttered?!), and I've made little progress. Some, but not much. :/ I'll spare you the details of how bad it is right now (I think the process of cleaning sometimes makes the room look worse than it really is), but I do want to tell you about Neat Containers.

Here is a picture of some of my piles of this-and-that (oh, I confess, I do have more piles!)



And this picture shows the start of my transfer of the piles to the Neat Containers.


So yes, I'm slowly making progress. (Applause is appropriate here.) :)

I am using my set of containers in my sewing room, and I'm still working on filling them up. (And believe me, I have plenty of craft and sewing stuff to fill them all---really, I should de-stash!) The biggest size (shown in the middle) would be great for 12"x12" scrapbooking paper. I could see these containers nicely used totally for scrapbooking and rubber stamping supplies. (Does anybody still rubber stamp?!) I also think they would work wonderfully in a closet filled with belts, purses, scarves, socks, shoes, and so on.



Let me tell you what I love about the Neat Containers. They are clear--easy to see what's inside. They are stackable, and what's really cool is that you can pull them out kind of like a drawer and the rest of the stack does not fall over or collapse. The containers are easy to assemble, and the configuration can be changed easily at any time. Mostly, I love that my assorted supplies will all be in one place, easy to see at a glance, and readily available for use.

Now onto what you've been waiting for:
The Giveaway!!!

Neat Containers has graciously offered one of Sew Chic's readers (that's you!!!) a combo set of their wonderful storage containers.

To enter, you must:
1. Have a U.S. shipping address and not a PO box. (Sorry, but no international addresses).

2. Go to http://www.neatcontainers.com and browse around.

3. Comment on this post and tell me which Neat Container product you would like and how you would use it.

I will randomly draw a winner on November 27th. The winner will receive the small combo set pictured below.

Weekend Plans

Plans for this coming weekend--sew Emily's flower girl dress!

But first, I must straighten up the clutter in my sewing room. I'd show you a picture of what it currently looks like, but I'd be too embarrassed for you to see the piles. :/

Look what came in the mail this past weekend...Neat Containers...just in time for my organizing of the sewing room messes!


I was so excited when the representative at Neat Containers.com contacted me about reviewing these containers since I'm always on the lookout for something to organize and contain the little bits of this and that that, tools and gadgets, spools and ribbons, needles and whatnot.

You should get excited, too, because Neat Containers is going to give away one combo kit of these containers for one Sew Chic reader. Be watching...I'll announce the giveaway in a week or two. :) In the meantime, check out neatcontainers.com to see all the ways you can get organized.

Okay, wish me luck as I tackle the sewing room. I really must get these flower girl dresses sewn!

Wedding Sewing

My 3rd daughter, Katie, is getting married in December! Plans are coming along. My next sewing project will be to make 2 flower girl dresses--one for Emily and one for my granddaughter in Switzerland who is 1 year old. Jessica will make Marie's dress. Yes, there will be three flower girls, and they will look adorable, I'm sure!

We choose ivory lace and ivory crepe fabric for the dresses, and will use the matte side as the right side. I'm excited to get started...now if school and music could be put on hold, I just might find time to sew!

Ruth

Good times:

making the silk flower bouquets,
corsages, and boutonnieres
with sweet friends!

Simplicity 2377

I spent some time in my sewing room this weekend and made Emily this dress. I've missed sewing, and it sure did feel nice! Emily has grown so much this past summer, and she definitely needs some new clothes. I would like to find an aqua-colored, long-sleeve t-shirt for layering when the weather gets cold.

The pattern: Simplicity 2377, size 8

The fabric: baby corduroy

The color: mostly purple--Emily's favorite color, so it's a winner!

Ruth

Congratulations, Sandy!

The winner of the Sharp Crochet Hook is Sandy, who wrote:  

"I have lots of baby blankets to make (I know 5 or 6 pregnant ladies!) so I would definitely make some flannel blankets with crocheted edgings like you did! Thank you for the giveaway :)"

Congratulations, Sandy!  Email your mailing address to me, and Jessica of Sharp Crochet Hook will send you a hook.  Thank you to all who commented, and thank you, Jessica, for your generosity.

If you did not win the hook, you can buy one from sharpcrochethook.com.  By the way, the hook includes directions for three edging patterns like these pictured below.  Beautiful!

Crochet-Edged Blanket and Hook Giveaway

Sharp Crochet Hook Review

Over 4 years ago I posted this tutorial on how I make crochet-edged baby blankets.  Sarah left a comment on that post, writing, "Thanks for this! How do you poke your crochet hook through the fabric? Mine is just too dull to get the job done. Is there a special sharp hook you can use?"  Up until today, my reply would have been that I just use an ordinary size 8 steel crochet hook and keep wiggling the tip until it goes through the fabric.

Today my reply would be this:  Go to sharpcrochethook.com and order one of the sharp, pointy crochet hooks!

 

This week I tried out the sharp crochet hook on the pictured baby blanket, and yes, the hook really is pointed and easily poked through my flannel fabric.  I was able to crochet round 1 of the blanket more quickly with this hook than with my normal, blunt tip hook.  Now I did find that I still had to wiggle the hook a bit, but only because I wanted to ensure that the hook went between the fibers of fabric without tearing the fibers.  All in all, I'm pleased with this pointed hook and will definitely use it on all my baby blankets. 

For your chance to win a free sharp crochet hook, leave a comment on this post telling me  what you would make if you owned your very own Sharp Crochet Hook. If I draw your name, Jessica, at sharp crochet hook, will generously send you one!  My sewing and posting has been so sporadic of late, but I'll close this giveaway in a week or so.  In the meantime, go to Jessica's site and watch the video on how simple it is to crochet an edging on your own baby blankets.  

Ruth

Irresistible

Who can resist when a little girl tells her mommy in a sweet voice that she really, really, really wants a purple scarf? Yes, I just had to knit Emily a scarf of her very own, and I let her choose the yarn. Purple. Of course. With sparkles. Of course. She's six, and purple is her favorite color. Add some sparkle, and her heart overflows with happiness. Yes, dear, darling daughter....your wish is my command. :)

UFO's and I'm Back!

There's nothing like having the county fair roll around to spur me on to finish a few projects. I don't have as much to exhibit this year as in past years, but I did manage to complete a few items this month.

First is this quilt...made for my daughter's 21st birthday in December 2010. Well, I gave her the quilt top for her birthday, had it quilted 7 months later in July, and then finally sewed on the binding yesterday.

The quilt is sewn from vintage sheets, made in much the same way as this quilt that Jessica and I made in 2009. Katie loved the first quilt so much that she requested one for her 21st birthday. Well, late is better than never....she'll receive the finished quilt only 9 months late. :)

the back of the quilt

This month I also finished a few knitting projects. The red sweater is the Featherweight Cardigan knit with lace-weight yarn. I started this in April 2011 and finished knitting it only 2 and 1/2 months later. It took another 2 months before I blocked it. (That's okay--it's been too hot in Oklahoma to wear a sweater anyway). :/



Lastly, I completed this scarf, started in March of 2010 and finished in September 2011. It's knit with sock yarn and tiny needles with a lace pattern...a challenge for me. No wonder it took me 17 months to finish it.


It feels good to be blogging again. It's been way too long since I've posted anything. It's been way too long since I've sewed anything. I hope to be back more faithfully! Did you miss me?

Ruth :)

Pottery Barn Quilt pt. 2 and OttLite winner

Congratulations to our OttLite giveaway winner, Dana, from Country Heart and Home. Random.org picked comment number 68 and it was her!!

I'm continuing to work on the "pottery barn" quilt I'm designing for my friend. Our inspiration started with this bumper pad that was purchased off of ebay:

 She wanted these flower/trees to be used in the quilt design along with lots of hand embroidery, minky, and a piece of pottery barn sheet fabric she loved. 

Here are my paper tree patterns, numbered so I could remember the placement once I got them cut out of the fabrics!

 Next are my tree appliques cut out and ready to be ironed onto the fabric and machine appliqued around the edges.  Since these pictures I've gotten all the quilt top pieces sewn together and I've been working on the embroidery on the trees.  I'll definitely be showing more pictures as I finish it up!

August has been a super busy month for me, with sewing several quilts, wedding and baby shower gifts.  I'm trying not to get overwhelmed, but to enjoy the rush of deadlines and savor being in my sewing room again.  

More bound-edged tea towels...these were a wedding present for a sweet bride who is doing her kitchen in pink and green! 

Earlier in the month I finished off 4 new baby quilts for my etsy shop...haven't gotten them up yet, but hopefully soon!  I'm getting ready for the Dustbowl Arts Market  again in 2 weeks, so I'm hoping they will sell before I have a chance to get them on etsy. =)

Marie wanted to be in the photo shoot...she's so silly!

~Blessings, Jessica

OttLite Review and GIVEAWAY!

Raise your hand if you've heard about OttLite. Anyone?  If you are like me, you've heard lots of amazing things about these "natural sun lamps", but just haven't taken the jump to buy yourself one. So...you keep on sewing and crafting with poor lighting, not realizing what a huge difference having good quality light actually makes to your work and comfort.

 

OttLite lighting is expertly engineered with 508 technology to bring the quality of High Definition Natural Lighting™ indoors, providing the ideal balance of brightness and contrast. 

The result is reduced glare, less eyestrain, and low heat. OttLite understands that color, detail and comfort are critical to doing the stuff you love. 

OttLite helps you do what you love longer and offers a 100% delighted guarantee!

(The Tulip comes in different colors and combines elegance and designer style with incredible light!)

OttLite generously sent me the Tulip lamp to review and offer as a giveaway here.  They have an entire line of craft lamps that are available on their website.  

Here's photos of my workspace before and after.  

(Note the little IKEA desk lamp I normally use. It always create such harsh shadows.)

(Here the Tulip OttLite functions as a mini torchiere lamp, providing great ambient light for the whole area.)

(I love how the lamp pulls up and out of the base to angle directly where I need the most light.)

I personally didn't realize how much I was straining my eyes until I turned on my OttLite!  I keep my laptop in my sewing room, and when I turn on the Tulip, I'm more comfortable and am able to work longer with less eye strain. I love how this particular lamp give ambiant light to the whole room, yet has a flexible neck for direct task lighting...this week it came in really handy as I was doing some machine quilting, and then hand sewing the binding on.  

To enter to win your own Tulip OttLite, simply leave a comment telling me why or how you could use it.  

Additional entries:  

Become a fan on OttLite on Facebook and leave a comment to let me know!

Share this giveaway on your blog (or on facebook) and leave a comment with the link!

The winner will be drawn and notified next week on Tuesday the 9th!

Jessica

quilt designing...

I'm working on a custom quilt right now for a friend.  She wants a pottery barn-esq baby quilt with flower appliques, white chenille squares, and colored thread stitching and embroidery.  This is the design we've come up with so far.

The solid white areas are for a floral print that is still to be finalized.  We were excited to find pottery barn fabrics on etsy...hopefully one of them will be perfect! 

Marie has been raiding my closet again!  This time my thrift-store red heels (yes, an impulse purchase that I have nothing to wear them with!) with her blue Easter dress. 

She reminds me of Dorthey from the Wizard of Oz!

Be sure and check back here early next week...we're going to be hosting a review and giveaway with OttLite.  I'm sure you'll want the chance to win your own natural sunlight lamp!

Blessings,

Jessica

Summer Snapshot Update

(Elliot was so excited when he discovered he could cut a piece of construction paper into the shape of our state! Most mornings he eats his toast into the Oklahoma shape.)

(A cuddly quilt for a good friend's new baby.  Fabrics are "It's a Hoot" by MoMo, combined with pink minky and vintage hobnail chenille.)

(My lil' sister, Katie got engaged this month!  Aren't they cutie-pies??  And no, we're not making the wedding dress...she found an absolutely gorgeous one already!  Can't wait to see her in it!)

(Cowboy burp cloths for my sister-in-law's baby boy...this has been a summer of babies!)

(Marie wearing my tennis shoes around the house...she's my baby doll!)

(Sew Chic boutique nursing covers are now available in my etsy shop!)

(It's been a hot, hot, dry summer here...we are praying for rain and surviving by staying indoors, only venturing out to go to the splash pad or library storytime.)

(Last month we went out to visit my Great-Aunt Helen. I love this this lady and am so blessed every time we get to go visit her.  She and her brothers and sisters are a precious picture of what it looks like to grow older in the Lord with grace, faith, and lots of laughter!)

 

 (My kids are such goons!)

(And I don't know what I'd do without them!!)

(That's all for now, folks!)

Jessica