Merry Christmas, Honey...WHAT???

I know, I know, I know!  It's the end of January, February starts this week.  I know!

Perhaps a little recap is in order...

I challenged myself to make everyone I love something handmade for Christmas.  See challenge here.

Then, I made a resolution promise.  Next year, I will not procrastinate on those holiday sewing projects.  See the story of my confession here.

In order to save my mental well-being and blood pressure readings, I gave my mom and my hubby IOU's for Christmas.    I made good on the IOU to Mom -- see her quilt here.

So, at last...MERRY CHRISTMAS, HONEY!

The pattern is from 4 Girls Design on Etsy.  It includes directions for making all sorts of gadget holders.   This is the Nook cover I made for hubby.  Super cozy, ultra-protective, and he got to pick out his favorite stash fabric!  See, there is a bright side to procrastination, right?  Right??

I know, I know.  "I will not procrastinate.  I will not procrastinate.  I will not..."

Friday's Feature - Dandelion Baby

It's Friday!!!!  Not only does that mean we can look forward to some well-deserved R&R, but we can also kick back and enjoy the works of another talented Etsian.

I'm proud to introduce Nicole Brown of Dandelion Baby!

Nicole is a mama of three, living in Ontario, Canada.  She loves to sew, and particularly enjoys working with fun, funky fabrics!  She started her business making baby blankets from top-quality, designer cotton with super-soft minky on the back.  Oh, look!  Owls from The Little Shop of Stitches!

Wow, that fabric sold out lightning fast!  Very popular!

Nicole also does custom work, including entire bedding sets.  Oh, look!  More owls!  ;)

I'm loving this dino patchwork blanket!  Probably because of the adorable picture of chubby little toes!

Dandelion Baby also offers bibs, burp cloths, and paci clips.  If you have a new mama in your circle of friends, these make great gifts!

I hope you enjoyed meeting Nicole from Dandelion Baby.  Find her Facebook and tell her Jenn at The Little Shop of Stitches sent you!

Happy Stitching everyone!

Tuesday Tips

Do you remember Monica from the show Friends?  I LOVED that show!  Don't tell me if you are too young to remember -- I don't wanna hear it.

Monica looooooved organizing stuff!  Labels, bins, folders...she had a specific place for everything!  Some-who-shall-remain-nameless think I am Monica.  Obsessed, perhaps a little neurotic.  Do I hear nodding out there???

I don't think I'm THAT bad!  If you could see my desk right now, you would agree.  Let's just say I have "Monica-Like-Tendencies" and leave it at that.

Today I have been in my sewing room -- not sewing, but organizing.  I'm not quite done yet, but it's getting better.  I can at least walk through the room now.  (See??  Just tendencies!)

Anyway, I would like to tell you about an AWESOME tip that was shared with me.  Arrah, my friend from my sewing group, uses an over the door shoe hanger, like this one:

Nothing super fancy, right?  About ten bucks at Target.  Here's the way cool part!

She organizes her fabric scraps in it!!!  Monica would be so proud!

She labels each little pocket with a color or style.  Then, if she needs a little pink or a little green, she can find it right away!  Love it!  This is why I am organizing today.  OK, also, so I can walk through my sewing room again.

The photo above came from an awesome blog called IHeartOrganizing.  I am not sure how this one slipped passed my radar, but Jen has great tips on organizing just about anything.  In looking for the shoe hanger, I also found this picture she had on the same post:

I don't really have a shoe-thing, but the colors caught my eye.  And, if you are a true stitcher, you are thinking the same thing I am...

"Hmmmm...I wonder what that would look like with fabric in it...."

What kind of tips do you have for organizing your fabric, your thread, your yarn?  Leave a comment and let's share!

Just Because I Love Ya!

I am sending out this notice to YOU (my favorite subscribers!) via the blog a day early.  Sometimes our email server takes a full 24 hours to get messages to your in-box.

There is going to be a MAJOR announcement made ONLY to our Facebook fans on Monday!

If you sew, if you quilt, if you are a self-proclaimed fabriholic, you will want to be a part of this!  There are 3 ways to find us:

1.  Click the Like button in the right sidebar of the blog.  

2.  Simply click right here to go directly to our Facebook page.  

3.  Click under our logo in our Etsy shop.

If you have quilt-y friends--or a fabriholic support group--tell them, too!

Be sure to check your Facebook on Monday for the BIG NEWS!  Can't wait!!!

Happy Stitching from The Little Shop of Stitches!

Friday's Feature - Silly Mama Quilts

It's Friday!  That brings a new Featured quilter.  Say hello to Brooke Sellmann of Silly Mama Quilts in Minnesota!

Brooke describes her work as fresh, fun, and handmade.  A perfect description, if I do say so myself!  Brooke's etsy shop is filled with wall hangings, lap quilts, baby quilts, and table runners.  Her color choices for her fabrics are just plain happy!  Hello Ruby!

Brooke has an entire category in her shop entitled "Fun Projects."  My faves are these cute little mug rugs.  How awesome is this to dress up your desk or cubicle at work?!  There are more than 40 to choose from!  Which one is your favorite?

Silly Mama Quilts even offers Gift Certificates!  Hmmm...anyone have a mother-in-law that is hard to buy for?

As if that isn't enough to fill each of her 24 hours (along with four children of her own, mind you), Brooke recently was named a Creative Consultant for The Quilted Fish!  Woo hoo!  Her 20 years of quilting continues to take her life's journey to incredible places.

Head on over to Facebook and give Silly Mama Quilts a shout-out from The Little Shop of Stitches! 

Happy Friday and Happy Stitching everyone!

Riddle Solved! And...Help Please!

The Quilt Picture Riddle didn't fool you!  In case you missed it, this photo was our Riddle.

The fabric pieces scattered in my sewing room reminded me of those picture puzzles you see in puzzle books that are supposed to make you smarter.  (Hmmm...maybe I should do more of those!)

You guessed correctly...it was the beginnings of a pile of snowball blocks!  Here is the completed wallhanging.

This was my Mom's late Christmas present.  If you recall, she opened a beautifully wrapped package filled with...fat quarters and an IOU!  Well, I am paid up.  For this one, at least.  Still owe the hubby a gift.  More on that later.

Now, here is my request for help.

I "volunteered" to help out with my son's Cub Scout den.  A group of 12 (count them, TWELVE!) first-grade boys, who are...shall we say...ALL BOY!  When we attend our den meetings, it looks like a room full of squirmy worms.

As my contribution, I signed up to teach these boys to sew a button onto a piece of fabric.  WHAT WAS I THINKING???  Twelve little boys with sharp objects?  Good Lord!

Has anyone out there taught little ones to sew?  Any tips you could offer?  Leave a message in the Comment section.  I need all the help I can get!

Friday's Feature - Namely Pillows

Without a doubt, the best part of what I do is meeting all the great people!  I am constantly amazed at the talents out there.  Creative people make me happy.  

Here at The Little Shop of Stitches, we celebrate creative thinking!  Today we are featuring one savvy stitcher who began her Etsy shop just about one year ago.  

Tracie at Namely Pillows has already gained quite a following with her personalized pillows for little ones.  Seriously, how cute is this???

 What a great idea for gift!  My own son, my niece, and many of my friends' kiddos have unusual names or different spellings.  Tracie's pillows take care of that problem! 

This soccer-themed pillow was made with fabric bought right here at The Little Shop!  :-)

 The cuteness is never-ending at Namely Pillows!  Tooth fairy pillows hang on your child's doorknob, so there is no searching in the dark when the Lady comes to leave her loot.  Great idea!

I hope you enjoyed visiting with Tracie at Namely Pillows.  Visit her shop and find her on Facebook.  Tell her Jenn from The Little Shop of Stitches sent ya!  Happy Stitching!

Quilt Picture Riddle

You know those pictures you find in puzzle books and on Wii games?  Those that show you super-duper close-ups of an object or an animal?  These visual mind-benders are designed to test your visual skills to see if you can "see" the big picture in your head.

So, this is what is laying in my sewing room right now.  

Can you see it?  Can you tell what it will become? 

Leave a comment here on the ol' blog with your guess!  Fun!

Money-Saving Monday

Only one more week of The Little Shop of Stitches' January Clearance!  Check out our Etsy shop for all the deals -- up to 70% off regular prices!

Patterns as low as $2.00, fabric sample collections only $1.60!  

 More Christmas fabric bundles added just today!  

A great way to build your stash.  Or, start on next year's gifts now.  My new year's resolution...I will not procrastinate...I will not procrastinate...I will not procrastinate...

Christmas Confession

I did it.  I cheated.  I cheated on Christmas.

The quest was ALMOST complete.  My goal was to make everyone I love something handmade for Christmas.  I admit I waited too long to get started.  (My fault.)  Then, I got sick.  (Not my fault.)  Then, you know, "life stuff" like laundry, making dinner...sleeping.  I made a valiant effort in this quest, if I do say so myself.

For my friends, small Christmas ornaments for their trees.  Completely hand-stitched.  No machine work at all on these.

Yo-yos are so fun!

Love this one with the white snowflake buttons!

My best friend was watching my blog posts oh-so-closely (Hi Chris!) hoping I would slip up before Christmas and reveal her gift.  Ha!  She had to wait just like everyone else.  :-)  For her, personalized ornaments with perle cotton stitching for her whole family.

The name on the purple one is a little hard to make out, but hopefully the sentiment was there.

My mother-in-law asked for an apron.  We'll call it embellished.

So, here it is.  I mentioned already that I cheated.  Well....sorta twice.

I realized I was running out of time.  The two people that I know love me the most (and wanted a stress-free Jennifer for Christmas more than anything else) are my husband and my mom.  I confess -- I wrapped up a pattern for my husband's gift and a box of fat quarters for my mom.  Both with IOU's for the actual items after the holiday let-down.

So, in looking at that calendar again, guess I'd better get stitchin'!

The Little Shop of Stitches' January Clearance Sale!

The only thing better than stitching is shopping.  And, the only thing better than shopping, is getting it ON SALE!  The Little Shop of Stitches is cleaning its shelves to make way for new items coming in the new year.

Our January Clearance is starting today!  You will find fabric, patterns, and Christmas sample collections at 20-60% OFF!  

 

Plus, more items will be added to the clearance list soon.  Check back daily to see the latest and greatest discounts.

Our Clearance Sale runs through January 16, 2012.  Click here to see the sale list today!  

Happy Stitching, Happy Shopping, and Happy Saving from The Little Shop of Stitches!