another year

Here we are, at the end of another year. Today I am another year older and I'm wishing I was taking it better. But I have some awesome people wishing me happy birthday and taking kids for the afternoon so I could have some uninterrupted time with a forlorn UFO (that I hope to have finished for next FRIDAY). AND I'm typing this email from my new iTouch, courtesy mrlouwho!! This may just make quick posts easier! Are you so excited?

In other news, I'm over being scattered, messy and unproductive. That's all about to change.

Oh! And here's the sweet gift my mom sent me! She finagled a copy of the one she already has! I love it! Thanks mom!

another reason to love the grinch

Is he using a featherweight?  What model vintage Singer is that!?

image found here.

If you you are interested in knowing more about my history with the Grinch and the reason for my nickname you can read this post from last year.

Hope you are enjoying the holidays and that your heart has grown 3 sizes this year. xoxo

giveaway day winner!

Hey everyone!  Thank you so much for coming to my blog last week and leaving such wonderful comments about sharing the gift of sewing!   The few times I've been able to help someone gain their confidence with fabric and sewing machine has made me so happy! I read that most of you feel the same way!  It's such a great thing to be able to share and create one more happy sewer in the universe.  More on this to come...

And now.

The winner of the lovely dishmat is:

Mary Beth said...

120

super cute! I like making friends feel like they CAN do it! That they can make whatever they want, and I will help them figure out how! :) I just like to keep it fun and simple!

MARY BETH!! CONGRATULATIONS!  But I don't have an email for you!  Please get in touch with me!

sew mama sew GIVEAWAY day!

go here to read more

I love this day!  I participated in one of the first ones they did and it was so fun - I whipped up just a little something to offer up to you today.

If you have been here before you might have figured out that I have a bit of a thing for Amy Butler anything.  I got an email from my local quilt shop that they had Soul Blossoms in and it was 20% off.  I just went in to look.  I SWEAR.

To be honest I wasn't sure I was going to even like it.  I had seen it online and was intrigued but nothing really jumped out at me.  So I just wanted to go see for myself.  It's an interesting line.  Very complex.  And it doesn't have your typical mix of prints - blenders, small, large, etc.  They are ALL bold, large, vibrant and pretty amazing!  I definitely was drawn to some more than others.

 I couldn't leave empty-handed!

I decided it would be fun to use such a new print for my giveaway prize today!  I whipped up one of my favorite kitchen accessories!  A dishmat! (teapot not included - sorry!)

And after taking these pictures - I think maybe I'll start calling it a teapot rug!

I use mine all the time for my pots to drip dry on.  And when it's not covered with dishes, it just looks so pretty!

More lovely dots that I used on the reverse. I really think she makes the best dot prints. EVER.

The dishmat, teapot rug, placemat, centerpiece table topper, tray liner (use it for whatever you want!) measures about 15 x 24 inches, is lined with an terry cloth kitchen towel, has serged edges with an all over stipple quilting design.

I'm kind of sad to give it away - but I think I'm going to go buy more.  In lieu of buying this,  I have a bottle of liquid starch and some bookshelves that need some color.

I had fun making it - I hope you love it!


To enter just leave a comment telling me your favorite experience or favorite thing about teaching someone else to sew. (U.S. entries only - sorry other friends!)  

Make sure you have an email attached to your profile or leave it in your comment.  **Read this post if you are a no-reply blogger - you may not even know you are!**

Giveaway ends the night of December 17th - winner picked by random.org and announced shortly after!

sew & tell wishes you a happy holidays!

Happy Holidays from Sew & Tell!

Our next linky party will be Friday January 7!  Gear up to post about your December gift sewing and other fun things you've been working on!

Until then, enjoy the lights, hot cocoa, creating memories with family and friends!

xoxo
amylouwho

P.S. I am participating in Sew, Mama, Sew's Giveaway Day on Monday!

fresh squeezed fabrics WINNER!

I'm sorry it's taken so long to post the winner!  I ended up taking #2 into the doctor to have his ears checked and his pink eye diagnosed.  Putting eye drops in that kid's eye is torture for me, mostly because he thinks I'm putting hot pokers in there or something!  It's been a long day.  While we were there I had the doctor check out everyone else's eyes and ears to make sure we weren't going to need to go back in a few days.  We've been sick around here since a week or so before Thanksgiving. It's getting tiresome.  Just keeping it real, people.

But did you really want to know all of that?

You just want to know if you won the 35$ gift card from Fresh Squeezed Fabrics!  I get it...

We had 133 comments and 50 link-ups with a total of 183 total entries!!  I decided to add the 50 link-ups at the end to make it easier to count them all.  So if # 183 won, I know it would be the last of the link-ups. Make sense?

Thanks to Mr. Random.org:

and that turned out to be linky #2 which is Carla at Sew It Up!  Congratulations Carla!

Carla is a regular around here so I went and found the comment she left for the giveaway too:

 Carla said..

Love the skirts! Perfect for the cold weather. I totally agree with you on the serger, it's a life saver.

If I were to be so lucky to win, I would pick the Amy Butler Soul Blossoms. It' perfect!

Thanks Amy!

I think she's going to be a happy camper and I can't wait to see what she makes!

Were you wondering about that little bird up there?  It's from a tutorial on Spool that I have been wanting to try forever.  I needed a quick pick-me-up tonight and this was just the thing!  I have a plan to have a flock on my tree.

These were so quick - I think it took longer to stuff it than it did to sew it up!

sew & tell - winter skirts + a christmas present for one of you!

***Giveaway Closed - Winner to be announced later today!!***

My daughter doesn't like to wear pants. Well, it's not that exactly. She just like skirts and dresses better! But what to do for the cold weather? My friend and I had the same idea - CORDUROY with leggings! Said friend gave me some awesome hand-me-down leggings and I got some super soft corduroy 1/2 off!

I had plans to make these back in October but then a certain dress took over my life.  But I got them cut out and finished in the last couple of weeks.  Even in the midst of the attempted pink-eye coup of my home.  I won't go into it. . . You really don't want to know that all three of my kids have had it,  not at the same time, and it's going on a month of this. . . well, okay, maybe you did want to know!

So back to the skirts.  Everyone needs a black skirt for winter!  This one is just like her red and pink modified twirly skirt.   I just made it a tad bit longer.

Then I wanted to make a 3 tiered one like my friend had. So she gave me the measurements from this pattern for the strips. It's so easy I can't even tell you - side seams, gather, sew together, hem, casing, elastic, done!

I actually made two brown skirts.  One the right way, and then this one.  

Which for a mistake turned out pretty cute!  I transposed some numbers when writing down the measurements and ended up cutting one panel too small.  And then I was running out of fabric - so I added that 4th ruffle on the bottom for length.  I really like it!  I took about a 3" X width of fabric (WOF) piece and folded it in half and just used that as the hem.  Here, let me show you:

and let me tell you I love the wrong side of a serger finished garment!  I almost want her to wear this inside out!  Okay, maybe I wouldn't go that far.  How I adore that machine!!

I also top-stitched the seam allowances down and that gives it a nice finished look.  Plus it keeps those seams where they belong!

I'm not quite done with this one. It's what the pattern calls for and what the other brown one looks like. So you can see how it looks without being top-stitched. Things just aren't laying down as well.

And do you want to see what this would look like if I DIDN'T have my serger?

Oh the HORROR.

I need to get the right color thread so I can finish this one! It's such a pretty color, I'm wishing I had bought enough to make a matching skirt for me.  After all, it's the winter version of my favorite blue.

Since I finished these late at night, I haven't gotten any model shots, yet.  I'll post those soon.  I know it's more fun to see the clothes on the girl.  I'm toying with the idea of scaling the pattern down and making babylouwho some matching ones too!

*****
Now to what you have all been waiting for!
There are so many reasons I want to have a giveaway right now!

1. I love doing giveaways.
B. There are now over 600 people who think I'm interesting enough to click on that follow me thing over there (when did that happen?  you guys are nice.)
and
3. It's December!  Holidays galore! Christmas, my fave! and maybe a birthday for me!
iv. You guys are so great and supportive and deserve it.

Thanks to Randi, awesome, amazing, generous Randi of Fresh Squeezed Fabrics and fellow sew & teller has donated a prize for a giveaway today.

We were having a hard time deciding on what new line to give away.

Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms? - brand new and on it's way to her shop!!

Tula Pinks Parisville?

?

or maybe she has something else that strikes your fancy?

Well, we are going to let YOU decide! (I know what I would pick!)

The winner will receive a $35 gift certificate to 

Fresh Squeezed Fabrics!!

There are two ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me what you would get from her shop if you win.

2. Link up your finish for the week, following the rules (see below).

It's that easy!

What did you finish this week?

PLEASE READ THIS POST IF YOU ARE NEW TO LINKING UP!  :)

NEW RULES FOR LINKING UP!  Please read carefully.  The delete monster will be eating non-compliant links.

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written earlier in the week.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button.

5. Comment on everyone's posts!

winners all around!

Hey you guys! Thanks so much to those of you who linked up your donation quilts/blankets for the 100 Quilts for Christmas! You are all winners! I mean that!

Now onto the pattern winners from Fresh Poppy Designs:

#1 Kristie @ OCD and #7 Tiffany

Congrats! I will be passing along your emails to Heather and Megan!

Speaking of those two wonderful gals, I'm being featured today on Quiltstory!






It's a quilt that I blogged about for the 1st Blogger's Quilt Festival. Maybe you saw it then, and if you didn't? Well, it's a fun one!

Go on over and check it out!

Remember, Sew & Tell this Friday will be the last one until the new year. There will also be an awesome fabric giveaway from Randi at Fresh Squeezed Fabrics! It's going to be Gooooood.

And look at the fun stuff I ordered from her a couple of weeks ago!

holiday happy by monica of happy zombie

I've got some Christmas sewing to do!

Laters!

100 quilts for Christmas Linky!!

Hey everyone!  I hope everyone has had a fun and productive weekend!  Today is the first of three link-up days for 100 Quilts for Christmas!

Now's your chance to link up and show us the blankets/quilts you are donating for the 100 Quilts for Christmas.  By linking up today you are eligible to win this week's giveaway donated by the lovely Megan and Heather of Fresh Poppy Designs and Quiltstory!  Two linkers will win a pattern of their choice from Heather and Megan's Etsy shop.

Like this one - probably my favorite!

Not only do they have some darling patterns and oodles of inspiration,  they are doing such an amazing job bringing quilters closer together with Quilt Story! (I may or may not have a quilt being featured there soon - stay tuned...)

AND a link up today will also enter you into the grand prize drawing with all of this awesome loot!  Of course every quilt you link-up (regardless of which link-up day) will be entered for the grand prizes, which will be on December 15th at Katie's blog!

For details on 100 Quilts for Christmas visit Aunt Spicy or Katie at Bike, Swim, Quilt.
Thanks for helping spread a little cheer with quilts for those in need!

I didn't have the productive weekend I was hoping for.  Loss of sleep due to a miserable little girl with pink eye kind of thwarted my sewing mojo.

Please put your name or blog name in the name spot, not your project name.  The picture let's us see what it is!  This way we can get to know each other better!

sew & tell is playing fat dog

Have you heard of the game fat dog?  It's where you lie around and do nothing after eating a big meal.  Well, that's what sew & tell is up to today.

But don't forget on MONDAY there will be a linky here for the 100 Quilts for Christmas!  See abbreviated details and giveaway info here.   But just a sneak of some of the loot...

from Kate at Swim,Bike,Quilt.

from Mary @ Pin.Sew.Press.

You totally have time to whip up a blanket this weekend. I'm going to!  Come back on Monday for the linky - aka, your chance to enter.

AND don't forget to link up to Amy's Challenge Week on Monday! My plan is to have some skirts finished. I'd better get busy!

Dear You,

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

image via Bakerella

I am thankful that you all keep on coming back to see if I have anything interesting to say.  I am thankful for the motivation and accountability blogging gives me for my creative pursuits.

Now go eat some turkey.

xo
amylouwho

notes, sew & tell holiday schedule, and other stuff

Thank you so much everyone on your sweet comments Friday for my dress!  I learned a painful lesson, which is, late nights don't agree with me anymore.  Luckily, I won't have to do this again for a while. Next year mr.louwho (not so luckily) will be deployed - so I won't have to go to the ball.  And in 2 years, no one will remember that I wore that dress so I can wear it again.  Hopefully by then I'll need to take it in.  I'll feel much better about altering something that I made myself.  So that means I won't have to make a new dress for 3 years!  Whew.  Glad I did it.  And now I'm ready to do something a little less taxing without a deadline.

Like some little girl's skirts.  Or finish up a quilt.

Have you heard about Amy's Challenge she has once a month?

One Monday (today) she posts the challenge - to focus on one project for the week and link up your finish the following  Monday.  Make a comment on today's post with your goal and then link up your finish the next Monday!  I'm going to figure out what I'm going to do this week and participate!  I encourage all of you sew & tellers to join in too.  Sew & Tell is going to be on Thanksgiving break this week and will return on December 3.  So this is a good challenge to do in the meantime!

About sew & tell and December -  I've decided that I really want to enjoy the holidays this year and simplify my commitments.  December 3rd will be our last sew & tell until January.   I figure most of you will be busy sewing gifts you can't reveal yet or busy with parties, decorating and the other business of the season.  Let's all take a little breather and enjoy it.  Remembering to step away from our digital tethers and enjoy our families and our friends.

On December 3rd there will be a sponsored giveaway from Randi (a fellow sew & teller) of Fresh Squeezed Fabrics.  She's still deciding what to give away but the things she's mentioned already make me wish I could enter.  Two words: FABRIC BUNDLE.  Two more: NEW LINE.  Be sure to comment that day for one entry and link up for another!

And you should know she has a sale that ends today on all Christmas prints!  I just ordered Happy Zombies Holiday Happy for some cute Christmas stockings and buntings!

On January 7 we'll resume sew & tell with a Christmas/Holiday gift reveal linky party!  You will be able to show off all the sewing you did in December! It will be our normal sew & tell on STEROIDS.  Get ready!  It will be a good way to pass a dreary January day.


Sew & Tell Schedule:
November 26 (THIS Friday) - No sew & tell
November 30 - Amy's One Thing, One Week Challenge
December 3 - Last sew & tell for 2010 + fabric giveaway
January 7 - December gift sewing sew & tell

*****
I forgot to show you the note I found after pinksuedeshoe, Pink - as I like to call her, posted that lovely and hilarious cartoon rendition of my week.  I think it explains my internet 'outage'.

*****
You all are amazing!  Thanks for being such loyal, fun bloggy friends!  I'm thankful for you all.

sew & tell - the link up + the ball gown

If you haven't seen the post e. from pinksuedeshoe wrote, amylouwho goes to the ball, you HAVE to RIGHT NOW!  It's awesome.  There is a reason I love her.  It's like she was a fly on the wall watching everything! And she made me laugh out loud this morning reading it!

As I'm writing this, I feel compelled to match her hilarity.  There's a lot of pressure following such an awesome post!  I'm sure her illustrations are better too.  I didn't get a picture of me sewing, but I'm pretty sure that was the expression on my face!  Especially after I had taken the hook and eye off 2 times before I got it right.

Her rendition of the story was pretty accurate - calendar and everything.  Although, I must dispel the myth of magic brushes. 

My awesome neighbor and friend Sara worked her magic on my hair.

And I just put makeup ON - that's my secret.  Never wear it,

then when you do, everyone will be in such AWE!

I'm really pleased with how the ruffle turned out! (love my super serious face?)

So much went into making this dress.  I did a muslin first to try out the addition of the ruffle and check the fit.  Then everyone got sick and I got behind several days, which was why I didn't finish it until yesterday!  I was up until 2 AM the night before working on it too.

I'll spare you all the nitty gritty details, but I learned a ton!

• I did put in an invisible zipper for the first time without the special foot (because the one I bought doesn't work on my machine).  
• I also put in a separating zipper for the first time (easier than regular zipper, imo) which took several goose chase runs to find a dress weight 18" separating zipper, only to end up with a 16" one.  Which is why I had to figure out the placement of the hook and eye several times.  
• The dress was fully lined, though I aborted lining the sleeves because I didn't think it would matter + I just didn't have time.  
• I figured out that I really enjoy making clothing.  I would like it better without the rush at the end.  I forget how many dresses that I actually made for myself when I was younger.  It's like riding a bike.  I will say, I think it's easier making clothing for others because 1) it's easier to fit patterns to OTHER people and 2) you aren't as critical of other people when it's all said and done.

All in all, I am happy with how it turned out.  There are a few things I would do differently the next time around.  It was tricky working through the pattern because I put sleeves from one view onto the view which was a sleeveless top AND the lining on the faux wrap was trick-EE.  I also ended up not really tacking the lining down, but I think I'm eventually going to replace the zipper, so that's two less things to take out when I do.

Even though he told me not to, I'm posting this picture of him (Shhhh, don't tell!).  I love his new uniform! It's an upgrade since his promotion last month.

Do you want to read more about what a Marine Corps Birthday Ball is all about?  I wrote a post about it last year.

There is a slight change to the linking rules about your own tutorials - please read!
What did you finish this week?

PLEASE READ THIS POST IF YOU ARE NEW TO LINKING UP!  :)

NEW RULES FOR LINKING UP!  Please read carefully.  The delete monster will be eating non-compliant links.

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written earlier in the week.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button.

5. Comment away!

amylouwho goes to the ball

Hello, it's e. here from pinksuedeshoe. Amy asked me to do a little filling in this morning. Her interwebs are all funked up, and she'll be back later today (hopefully) to post the Sew+Tell linky. In the meantime, let me tell you a story. It's a good one.

Amy has been working on her little black dress for the Military Ball this week. If you follow her on facebook you've been able to see a few sneak peek photos and heard all about Dress Drama 2010. Well last night was the Big Ball. And I'm here to give you the play by play.

Amy's been working on her dress all week. You know, plus be a mother, wife, bake bread for the needy and freeze raspberries and mint leaves in ice cubes to freshen up her afternoon sip of cool ice water. Things were going well. She had everything under control and her life was a picture of calm and order. If by "well" you mean that with only five hours to go before ball time she still had to set in sleeves, tack down lining, finish the hem and then check off all those pesky last minute details of her dress. No pressure.

Thanks to her awesome serger and some wicked cool sparks flying off her machine, she was able to finish a full hour before she had to leave. How did she do it? She's totally a rockstar.

Then of course she sat down and closed her eyes while the magic brushes and lipsticks and mascaras that she keeps on hand pampered her face and perfectly coifed her hair. (I asked her to share the secret of those magic brushes, but she is very wisely keeping it to herself. She's pretty business savvy and I think she's planning on securing the patent before she lets those babies out of her sight. I hear she sleeps with them tucked in her mattress. Or maybe it was under her pillow. I forget.) Instead of sharing her secret, she told me to tell you that the ruffles on her dress look fantastic.

Right at the stroke of six Amy waltzed down the stairs to some beautiful music to meet her Prince Charming (aka Mr. Louwho). He was looking all fantastically fantastic in his new uniform, perfectly polished and pressed. He took her by the hand and swept her off in a magic pumpkin coach to the Ball where they dined on rare delicacies and danced the night away. It was the perfect end to Dress Drama 2010.

And why is Amy not telling you this story herself? Well, sometime during the night a rocketship crashed through the internet lines that connect her to the rest of the world. The astronaut behind the joystick (rockets definitely don't have steering wheels) was very apologetic and told Amy that he'd get it fixed as soon as he could. And when she told him that she has a Sew+Tell blogparty to host today, and she really needs the internet, he felt even worse.

So, what's the point of this whole story? Amy will be back later today with a written apology from the astronaut and the rocket crew. And she'll post the linky for Sew+Tell then. And she better post some real pictures of her little black dress and her handsome Prince Charming. And then we can all live happily ever after. The End.

*Illustrations may or may not be representative of actual events. I mostly just made them up.

100 quilts for Christmas

click here to read more.

Oh how I love a good charity project for Christmas! It's something I think can keep the holidays centered on what is really important.

Aunt Spicy has teamed up with Kate at Swim.Bike.Quilt to host this awesome quilt project for Christmas. I feel honored that they have asked me to help them out this year!

Go read the entire post about the project HERE.  And then come back on Monday November 29, to my blog and you can link up your quilts/blankets for donation on a special edition of Sew & Tell!

By linking up your blankets you will be entered into a drawing for that week (from the Quiltstory/Fresh Poppy Design gals) and also entered into the GRAND PRIZE drawing which will take place after December 15th.  It's going to be a LOT of fun!

I'm planning on doing at least one blanket, if not more.  I'm going to donate them to my local Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society who helps underprivileged military families in my area.

Let me know if you are going to participate and where you will donate!

Yay Aunt Spicy and Kate for thinking up such an awesome idea and then DOING IT!! xo

sew & tell - sew sweetness

I was hoping to share my mock up top from my ball gown but yesterday was a lot of drama with the little people at my house and I  haven't gotten to the sleeves yet.  I've been posting pictures on my facebook page if you are interested.  I really like the way the ruffle looks!

So instead of me...

I'm so excited to feature Sara of Sew Sweetness today! Not just because she's super-talented, but there's a great story behind how we 'met'.  Remember my friend Kim (who doesn't blog) who I met at Costco and gave me all the awesome Heather Ross fabric?  Well - she and Sara are cloth diaper exchange friends and Kim suggested Sara and I become friends on facebook! She has just recently started blogging and does great pattern reviews.  And every Thursday from now until Christmas she announces a new pattern giveaway for the week!  Go check out this week's Amy Butler pattern giveaway!

One of her first sew & tell posts was this awesome dress she made for the Amy Butler challenge.
Then a few weeks later she decided to make her first quilt from the fabrics in her unfinished project drawer.  Here's a sneak peek at the loveliness:

And this week she is sharing this lovely bag:

Which was inspired by another sew & teller! Go read about it and see if it was you!

Thanks Sara, for being such an awesome addition to our sew & tell community!

There is a slight change to the linking rules about your own tutorials - please read!
What did you finish this week?

PLEASE READ THIS POST IF YOU ARE NEW TO LINKING UP!  :)

NEW RULES FOR LINKING UP!  Please read carefully.  The delete monster will be eating non-compliant links.

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written earlier in the week.  If you are linking to a post with your own tutorial, please make sure it was a finish from this week and that the completed project is shown first.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button.

5. Comment away!

fake it til you make it + pretty fabric +wip

I've been feeling a bit of a slump in my blogging.  So I decided I would do some easy fun posts to get me back in the groove.  It *might* be working.

Should I start with some gratuitous fabric shots?

I bought my ball gown fabric from Fabric.com. I needed to spend a couple dollars more to get free shipping. I ended up with 3 yards of the Henna Garden that I love so much. I might need to get more of the green.  I think these would make adorable dresses.

I also finally caved and bought some of Bonnie and Camille's Bliss. I had been eyeing it for a while and wanting to get on the red and aqua bandwagon.  It was Mary's mug rugs that convinced me. This was an add-on to another order to optimize my shipping costs.

Because these had finally come in!!

Thanks to Kathy at Pink Chalk Fabrics for emailing when she got them back in stock! I ordered it the same day. And due to my partially brain dead state, I accidentally had the order sent to my old address in Virginia. Luckily the post office came through and got it forwarded to the right place. TEN DAYS LATER. But at least it didn't get lost. Thank you Kathy for shipping it with delivery confirmation!

So I cut out and put together the main bodice of my dress. AND, the scary part, I tried it on. I think taking a smaller seam allowance is going to be the only size alteration I need to make - which is quite a relief! This nursing body of mine is not quite what I'm used to.

It doesn't look spectacular on the hanger, but today I'm going to add the ruffle and maybe even the sleeves! and then we'll see. I might also make it just a tad bit longer. I like to make my short-waisted self appear longer.

And just to keep it real, I cleaned off my sewing table and it still looks like this.

That black fabric in the bag is the fabric for my dress. I hope I won't look like I'm going to a funeral.  Especially since it's a BIRTHDAY ball!  Happy 235th United States Marine Corps!  Semper Fi!

ten apples up on top!

I love that children's book - do you remember it? I've been on an apple craze lately.

I made 6 pints of apple butter early last week and then got in pie filling mode at the end of the week and finished it off with a little applesauce.

l-r: 1. apples ready for prep 2. I love my apple peeler/corer! 3. awaiting the syrup 4. ready to eat 5. my super helper making a magnifying glass out of a ring and the magnetic lid grabber.

It's so satisfying to look at all those apples all pretty in their jars. Some will be pies made for us.  Some will be gifts for neighbors and friends.

We've already eaten one jar of filling with vanilla yogurt and homemade coconut almond granola.  Then we had some of the applesauce on gingerbread cake.  And just in case you were wondering, baking soda is REALLY important in cake.  Unless you want gingerbread fudge as mr.louwho called it.  Ooops!

Now I should probably stop procrastinating that dress I need to make.

PS - Maggie made an appearance on Penny's blog, sewtakeahike,  the other day.  I'm with Penny, I love all you lovely bloggy friends!

sew & tell - quiltstory

edited to add:  Finishes today can be from the last two weeks because of Blogger's Quilt Festival last week.  Thanks for the reminder Leslie!

It's been another week with no finishes for me. I have started working on a dress to wear to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in a couple of weeks. I'll be able to show that to you soon.
So today I'm excited to share a beautiful finish from a fellow sew & teller!

The brain child of sisters Heather and Megan of Fresh Poppy Designs is a fairly new blog called Quilt Story.  Have you heard of it?  They've been participants in Sew & Tell in the past and have created this new blog aptly titled.  In their own words:

"Every quilt has a story behind them, and we really wanted to take the time to share what was put into each quilt. I have realized now more than ever that most quilts have a lot of love put into them. They are made for friends, they are made for babies. They are made to comfort. They are made to hold someone who is sick.  Each quilt really has something to tell and that is what we are doing at Quiltstory. We take submissions from everyone and would love more quilts to feature."

Like I said, what a great idea!  Behind every quilt is a great story! 

Heather has a finish this week of her first quilt free-motion quilted by herself!  This inspires me since I am free-motion quilting my bird quilt by myself.  For the first time.  It's scary!

I love her rationalization for her new sewing machine, I'm going to have to try that out too.  You'll have to go over to her post to read about this gorgeous quilt!

image via quiltstory

Be sure to head over and leave her some comment love!

Can't wait to see your finishes this week!  I love having a weekly deadline giving me (and you!) a reason to finish up another project!

What did you finish this week?

PLEASE READ THIS POST IF YOU ARE NEW TO LINKING UP!  :)

NEW RULES FOR LINKING UP!  Please read carefully.  The delete monster will be eating non-compliant links.

1. Please write the post for sew & tell - or add a blurb mentioning sew & tell to a post written earlier in the week.  This is not a tutorial party.  Please link to any tutorials you may have used.

2. One linky per person. (please put multiple projects in one post.)

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button.

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