I've Been A Very Good Girl.

At least that's what I'm telling myself! Because I never win anything, but I've won two blog giveaways in the last few weeks. I'm a VERY lucky girl. My first big win arrived today in the mail. An absolutely FABULOUS apron from the very lovely Sarah at A Stitch in Time.

Sarah was much too modest about this apron when she blogged about it here. It's perfect. I love it. It's just my style. If only you knew Sarah ... it's just my style! The front is made of denim and the pockets are adorable birds. (Much to Gurney's dismay, I love birds!)
















And Wow! It's reversible. Look at the cute fabrics on the back. SweetiePie (aka FutureDIL) graciously agreed to model the apron. (Isn't she a cutie? She got new little leopard print shoes -- TheFirstChild and I were making fun of her, so I told her I'd include them in the picture!)So, Sarah! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I'm feeling a little guilty because you gave up this apron because you already had one and here I sit with several aprons, but I can't help it. I just love them. I'm in hot debate with myself whether to use it in the sewing room (as you have it pictured) or the kitchen 'cause it would be so nice and durable. Decisions...Decisions. I love, love, love it!

XOXO,
Anna

P.S. Aren't we glad Bloglines burped and recovered from it's bout of indigestion? I logged on the other night and it said I had 1469 unread posts -- I nearly choked on my diet pepsi!

Getting ready for Easter

Thanks for all your nice comments about my thumb tacks. They're really fun to make, I hope you'll all try them. And I'm sure you'll be seeing more of them. ;-)

I grew up moving around a lot, but when I was little we always went "home" for Easter and Christmas. "Home" was the little town in Utah where my parents grew up. One of my favorite places to be was my aunt's house. She is a wonderful woman -- she has 5 daughters and 2 sons and she was always busy doing something fun. She taught me lots of "crafty" things, but the one that means the most to me is cake decorating. (Sewing, etc. are my favorite activities, but my mom taught me that sort of stuff.) When I was 14, my aunt gave me my own little cake decorating kit for my birthday -- tips, couplers, bags, and a Wilton catalog. I still have them all and they hold wonderful memories for me.

One Easter, she taught me how to make these little ducks.

They're made out of the same molds as the sugar eggs. I've never had good molds for the heads though, so I have to improvise. That's why they're a little wonky. The ducks are a little goofy looking, but I like them anyway. I think maybe we'll use them as placecard holders for our Easter dinner this year.

XOXO,
Anna

A New Obsession.

I'm always looking for some way to "soften" my office -- make it more me. I hate my office, mostly because it's not my sewing room, where I'd much rather be. And I can't surround myself with fabric, 'cause, well, all those men would just make fun of me! So, when I saw these thumbtacks last week at HowAboutOrange, I knew they would be just perfect. Then Sally came along and printed numbers on them. Ohmygosh, my breathing got more rapid and I had to make some as soon as I could:
I don't print on fabric much, so I ran those little numbers through my embroidery machine.If numbers work...letters can't be far behind. You could spell out words. Think of the possibilities! And I think these would make really fun little gifts. I'm definitely making more of these -- my only problem is finding the buttons to cover. One store I checked was empty and the other one only had 2 packs -- 14 buttons. Maybe I'll have to shop in bulk! Ack!

XOXO,
Anna