Soft and Simple

My friend Ashley was thrilled to have a baby girl. She already had two little boys and now she was ready for some pink. I asked Ashley what colors she liked for her daughter's room and she said that she was going with pink and green and she really liked owls. The funny thing was, I had just the right fabric to match her wish without heading out to a fabric store. I will be honest with you, I don't like the fabric stores in my area at all. I have a few favorite in Utah that I love to go to. So when I am there I don't feel too guilty buying fabric because I know I will use it, and I know I will never find anything that I like as  much back where I live. 

 I just couldn't cut up this lovely owl fabric. I think it was destined to stay  in one beautiful piece .

                          

The fabric is by Valori Wells, it is called Owl Friends.

I machined quilted it by following the pattern on the printed design of the fabric. I went around the owls and the circles. The binding is a silk soft pink. 

It is simple, no fancy piecing here. Some times the fabric just speaks for itself.

Pillow Talk

My embroidery machine is my friend when it comes to gift giving.  Before  I bought it I would look in boutiques and be drawn to pillows with embroidery on them, or monograms. That got me started with wanting a embroidery machine of my own.  Here are a few pillows that I would like to share that I have made up for gifts.

The Gone Haunting Pillow is something that I put together for a service auction that we had at our church. It was a fun activity where people made things to auction off, or they auctioned off a service that they could give. I really do enjoy making things, but when I give them as gifts I despise being around when the gift is open because I get embarrassed. I worry if my friends will like it or think it is dumb. This was  hard for me to have it auctioned in front of me. It turned out alright and it was well received but it was horribly frightening to me. I bought the spiderweb download at urbanthreads.com . The fonts are things that I design on my ART program.

The next pillow, the Sensiba, was for part of a wedding gift. I knew the couples parents well, but didn't know them, so I thought I would try something personalized. It took about an hour to just stitch out the monogram alone, not including the name underneath. I think it came out nice though and I hope they like it. 

I love pinterest. It helps me when I am trying to figure out what to do for my friends when their birthdays come up. Sierra was having a birthday and so I went to her pinterest board and I found something on there that I thought I could duplicate. Here is my attempt to mimic a RELAX pillow that she had pinned. 

I have a whole board on my pinterest about pillows I love. The board is called pillow talk. If you want to check it out click on the red P on the side bar. For my next pillow project I want to try something more on the feminine side, a little ruffle or retro. I have some vintage handkerchiefs that I would like to find a fun design for. Any ideas?

Grand baby number 12

I have been having so much fun in Utah. My son Marcus and his wife Jacque had a new baby. I was able to spend two weeks with them and I enjoyed every minute of it. This makes four babies for them, with their oldest being four years old. We were busy. I think the hardest job was keeping the new baby safe. Little Mason was so welcomed and loved by his older siblings that they just didn't want to leave him alone, I mean ever. What a sweet little family. I am so grateful to be able to share this with them.

 Jacque is incredible. She gave birth in a birthing center just two hours before this picture was taken. Seriously, no touch ups with a brush or make up. I was surprised when they came home with the baby so quickly. Jacque is a happy mother. Some women just don't seem to enjoy motherhood as much as others, this lady loves motherhood and it shows. Little Micah didn't mind not being the baby anymore. He stepped up to the plate of big brother quite well. 

Hayden is three. He really wanted to have the baby be named Spiderman (take note of his pajamas) He is a die hard fan. His parents thought this was so sweet that Mason's middle name is Parker, after Peter Parker, you know, Spiderman.

Josie is the oldest. She is just so sweet. She really wanted a sister, but she is ok with a boy this time because she told her mom that the next two would be girls.

Welcome to the world littlest Mason Parker. You are loved, wanted , and will be in a happy family. What a wonderful world this is.

Home Sweet Home Pillows

When I was first considering buying an embroidery machine I wasn't sure that there were  enough embroidery designers out there that had updated designs. As I did my research I was pleasantly surprised by the fresh downloads available. meringuedesigns.net was one of the companies out there that dazzled me with its modern touch. I bought this wonderful home sweet home design from them a while back and I have loved making these pillows.

This one I made for my daughter in law Jacque. She shares my love for all things red and aqua. 

This is another pillow that came to life in my sewing room. I have made others for gifts for family and friends. I even made one for a white elephant gift exchange at Christmas time. You can see why I love meringue designs. You should click on their link above and see what fun things they help you make. I would like to see some of your creations, e-mail them to me, that would be great.