More quick applique projects.

Hello friends! Just checking in real quick, we have been so busy this week! Monday we had friends over all day, we were in Tennessee at Amish Country Tuesday, and yesterday we started tearing out our hearth and fireplace and we were laying brick until midnight last night! Ben has made a run to Lowes to get more mortar so I am having a short break. He will be off work until Sunday so I may not be here much until then. We are hoping to finish this brick hearth and wall by Friday night!

This is a zip up hoodie I got for about $17 and I stacked a fabric flower, big button, tiny yo-yo, and a little button, to make a cute little flower embellishment. I wore it Tuesday and I really liked it so I am thinking of doing more embellishment projects for myself.

This shirt was for Molly I think it was $5 -cheap!- all I did was add a circle of fabric with some double sided fusible web, put on tiny yo-yo's to make a flower, embroidered french knots on the end of each "petal", and then added a button to the center.

This one was for Miss Maddie and I used my free pattern HERE but changed up the stem a bit. This time I used 1/8" grosgrain ribbon and just tacked it down with a small hand stitch about every 3/4". I really like how this one turned out. I love red, pale blue and turquoise together!

Well I better run! I am going to try and find a You Tube video on laying brick! LOL! I think we have "the curse of the do-it-yourselfers"!

Pieced Flower Applique

Now in the shop! Just go HERE to get your free pattern and instructions. Help yourself to any or all of the free downloads while you are there.

I will be making Maddie a shirt next. I'm tinking a pale blue shirt with gold colored leafs a brown center and a pretty off-white pearl button. At least that's what I'm thinking, you never know what I might end up with!

Next, I'm thinking of painting some shirts for Timothy. I still need to come up with a few designs first though. I'll be thinking on that.... Hope you all enjoy this little freebie! xoxo ~ Samantha

Simple, sweet, and quiet..

Today has been such a quiet simple day. You would have never known it from the way things started out this morning, but everyone settled in within an hour or so and it has been really nice since. The kids are playing well outside. It is a beautiful day-one of the first cool days we have had really. The windows are up and there is a nice crisp breeze. My house is mostly clean except for the little everyday messes, that always makes for a nice day. Today I have determined to slow down the pace and enjoy this. I feel like the cloud that has been stuck over this house is starting to lift, I can breathe easier- like somehow the air is not as thick. Thank God for sweet days like this, I am really learning to appreciate such simple gifts.

This morning Molly and I went out for a little photo shoot so I could get some pictures of the shirt we worked on last night, but like everything else today, we went in another direction. She had a messy bed-head ponytail (I love messy little heads), and was in a silly mood (excited about the cool air) so I got some good pictures of her. She is such a beautiful girl. She reminds me of when I was a girl, like the way she enjoys sitting quietly to draw after everyone is in bed. She is so gentle and loving. I love my little lady.

The pictures below show the little pieced applique flower we worked on last night. I have needed a few quick and easy little projects to get my creative juices flowing again and this fit the bill. We plan to make Madeline one using fall colors. The little T-shirt was less than $5 at Wal-Mart and I just used scraps for the applique so overall it was a pretty quick, easy, and inexpensive project.

I have the pattern drawn out for this but I need to write out some instructions. Then it will be in the shop as a freebie. I will write those up soon...but not today, no today I will just enjoy the sound of my children's laughter coming through the windows from outside while I drink coffee and do my chores. What a sweet day God has made!

I have been sick...

....not like I had a cold or virus sick, but "haven't slept in a week" sick. I have been on another one of my "can't sleep" kicks and by Sunday night I was just ill. Everything hurt and my mind was so foggy I just felt like I was on pain medication or in a dream. I am a little behind on emails and orders that need to be shipped, so if I owe you either of those things I hope to get that done today. Thankfully I have gotten some rest now and I am feeling much better! It is amazing how your body depends on sleep, and how hard it is to function when you have not had enough. I hope to be back tomorrow with something lots more interesting than my recent sleeping habits, but for now I better start catching up from my daze!

Oh! To sleep like that again! How nice would that be?

Please pray for baby Olivia.

My sweet friend Autum has just been told that her unborn grandchild has a condition that only gives her a 5% chance of living once she is born. Her daughter Allyssa is 18 weeks pregnant and in so much pain right now. Just a few days ago we were praying for Stef's sweet baby boy and they found out Friday that everything was just fine. I know that God is still in the "miracle making business"! Friends let's pray for a miracle! Let's also pray that God will comfort their sweet family during this very stressful time. Thank you all so much for always responding to my requests for prayer...it means so much to me that we can share one another's burdens in times of need. I love you all ~ Samantha.

Do you see what I see?

I am always seeing these little pictures in our wood floors and tile and sometimes I wonder if other people can see them too. I have asked Ben before if he can see them but he usually looks at me like I've grown another head. I KNOW I'm not the only one! Tell me I'm not crazy! Who else does this?

It's actually a lot of fun, kind of like finding pictures in the clouds - I was so good at that when I was a kid. So when I saw this little funny today I thought to take a picture of it and draw in the lines that I could see so everyone else could see. So... Can you see it? I love how it looks like they are on the beach and you can see the horizon. LOL! I may have to delete this post later so people don't think I've gone completely mad. LOL! O.K.....Little Miss Crazy Pants is going to take a nap now... .

Edited to add: I'm so glad I don't sound like a total loon! I have so many more of these around my house, maybe I will share those too!

I made my little man some PJ pants....

....and I think he loves them! And I love him!

So here is my man showing off his manliness in his manly new britches.

***Edited to add: I have been slowly adding to my blog link list, you should check them out! These are some of my favorite blogs, friends, and faithful commenter's :) Today I added a new friend Marie Grace Designs, she has some beautiful knitting patterns available on her blog!

Fond memories...

Hey Mam-a Jam-a! LOL! That's what one of my cousins, Jeremy, would say every time I saw him after I had Molly. For some reason when I aimlessly started this post it flashed through my mind. I have been remembering so many things from the past the last few days. I guess all this remembering business was prompted by small, out of the ordinary things that have been happening around here the last few days.

I have had some unexpected emails and comments from childhood friends, both of them with very happy memories attached. Most of these memories are silly little things that I didn't expect to come back to me, like the fact that I remembered how I loved my friend Heathers hands ( I always wanted to have pretty hands like hers when I was a kid). How silly is that? Another friend Crystal, made me remember waiting at the bus stop on cold mornings before school. I loved the bus stop because it was our last bit of freedom before being still and quiet for the rest of the day.

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We have been cleaning out our children's rooms this weekend and that brought back so many memories of moving in here when Molly was only two and I was still carrying Tim. I miss having babies. I remembered making her room the perfect little girls room. I remembered how we would eat grilled cheese almost everyday for lunch (because that was my favorite when I was pregnant with Tim). She has a vanity in her room that was mine when I was a girl and I remembered getting it for my birthday one year, and doing homework there.

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While talking to a friend just this morning about her daughters Math work I remembered the very minute that long division *clicked*. I was in the bath tub cleaning up before bed when it all of a sudden made perfect sense! I had struggled for weeks to get it but I just didn't understand it, then in a moment it all came together. I remember wearing a side ponytail, thinking I was hot snot! It was almost as cool as my first perm!

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I don't really have a good memory (that's why I have a blog LOL!) so these little things that I can remember are so special to me. It makes me wonder what my children will remember about being at home when they are all grown. Will they remember the house being clean or messy? Will it even matter then? Will they remember our silly days where we pretend it's raining and stay in? Maybe they will remember the days like today, when we are so desperate for Fall weather that we pretend it's cold outside, light a candle in the wood stove for our pretend fire, and drink apple cider......I hope so. After a week full of savoring these beautiful childhood memories I want to focus more on making special memories with my own sweet children.

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago after I told them one of my "when I was a kid" stories about playing in this same bed. My brother, sister, and I would pretend we were on a ship and we were lost at sea. We had to fish for food, try to get help, and stay away from the water because of sharks. Shortly after hearing this story they bolted into Timothy's room to climb up on my old bed to play their own little ship game. They even put a kitchen on the ship so they would be able to cook! The belts and things hanging over the side of the bed are fishing poles. They had such a fun day playing on the ship. In the picture they are eating the PB&J's I had to bring in. That night they all slept in the ship. Silly kids! I hope they remember this .....

The freebie I promised is finally here!

Thanks for being patient with me on this one, I'm still trying to get my groove back. HERE is your "Gracie Purse Applique" free download- by the way all the patterns on that page are free help yourself! You can read more about this little outfit HERE on a previous post, I hope you all enjoy this one. Please add your finished products from The Handmade Dress patterns to our new flickr group, and if you haven't already been over for a visit, go! (There is a link in the side bar) These people will blow you away!! You are sure to find lots of sewing goodness there! I love going over to peek at the new pictures, there is also a way to comment on each photo. Fun stuff!

Now a little update on me to answer some of the emails and comments I have had lately. I still have bad days. It has been 5 weeks ago today since I found out my sweet baby passed away and it still hurts almost as bad as the day I found out. I think I am surprised at the pain....how long it has lasted without letting up much. There are days that I am busy and I feel like the day passes more easily than others, and I was proud last week when I went two days without crying....but it didn't last. It hurts to tell strangers when they ask that I have three children when my heart knows that there are five, but I can't say it because I can't talk about it....it's too much. I can say that I have learned a lot through this two year battle....I've learned to not take fertility for granted...it is truly a gift from God, I have learned that I am stronger and weaker than I thought I was, I'm leaning on God more than I ever have and learning that he loves to be needed just like I do as a Mother, I have also learned that having bad times is what makes you fully appreciate the good times. Keep the prayers coming and know that this hurting mama needs them badly. Thank you. I Love you all, Samantha

Could we all pray for my friend?

My friend Stef is having a hard time right now. I don't know what is going on except that she has received some distressing news about her baby (She is almost 23 weeks pregnant) and it could turn out bad. Friends, please lift her up in prayers today. My feelings on this subject are still so frazzled and raw because of what we have been through in the last month, this has just upset me so much. I am praying that everything about that sweet baby will be perfect. Stef we love you...

I had a wonderful birthday!

We didn't go anywhere except the candy store and nobody came over (Ben was at the fire station- we celebrated Monday night by going to the book store and dinner) and it really was perfect. At the candy store we got the ingredients for hot dogs, chocolate, and Diet Sunkist. Then we came home and spent the rest of the day watching movies and I practiced drawing some more. The kids were so sweet singing "Happy Birthday" at least six times. We watched one of my favorite movies from when I was about 11-12 "Wild Hearts Can't be Broken". They loved it! And now I remember why it was one of my favorites, it is such a good clean movie. (By the way it was an "Watch Instantly"movie on Netflix- I love the instant ones.)

These are the drawings I did today. It was a lot of fun and I feel like I did learn a lot. I did the one of Molly first, then Tim needed one, and you know what happened next. My little Madeline came up and sat right next to me and said "You daw me now Mama?" Who can resist that? Not me, especially when it involves something I'm lovin right now! The more I learn the more I realize that I still have a lot to learn. I need to work on color (yeah, I think Maddie's hair turned out a little pink when it was supposed to be reddish, oh well), and textures. I still haven't found and information on this digital drawing thing, so I'm still lookin if anyone has any recommendations.

They say it's my birthday....

...So I'm taking full advantage of it! NO SCHOOL TODAY, we will be going to the candy store (AKA the gas station) for some chocolate and a Diet Sunkist (and maybe some of that white cheddar popcorn too), then there will be lots of laying around, watching movies, reading books and drawing.

I'm kind-of on a drawing kick again, except this time it's not coming so easy. I am way better at more life-like charcoal drawings and this time I'm in a whole other world! I have been trying my hand at digital drawing with my computer in photoshop, it's fun....but I'm not very good at it. I feel so dumb! I went to two different book stores last night trying to find a book on digital drawing and I only found one, and that one was so far over my head I didn't even get it. I have never been great at tech stuff -or drawing for that matter- and I feel like there is so much that I don't know. If any of you have any recommendations for books, websites, blogs, anything, please drop me a line. I need one of those Dummies books but I don't think they have one, I will look into that. Besides my trouble with understanding the computer end of this new adventure I am having a hard time simplifying my drawings into more cartoonish characters. Maybe I shouldn't say cartoonish, but you know, like the drawings from the "Dick and Jane" books. I think that is the look I'm going for but I'm so ignorant on this subject that I don't even know what to call it! LOL!The drawings above are of my girls in their Miss Madeline dresses. I scratched these out last night when I got home from the book store. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now with the amount of things I need to learn but excited at the same time! I know I will never be great at this but I love learning new things!

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I hope everyone has a "Very Merry Unbirthday" on my Birthday!

xoxox,

Samantha

Houston Quilt Market - Here is the rest!

Sorry I disappeared on ya but I'm in-between computers. LOL! I have finally moved all of my things from my old computer to my new one, so I'm ready for posting again! But I won't drag this market stuff out any longer, I'm adding the last two dresses for market to this post.

I have had several emails from fellow bloggers wondering if I will be at the Houston market. No, I'm sorry. Just my dresses. The dresses will be there with my distributor Creative Smocking- very sweet people by the way, you should stop by and say hi if you happen to be there. Maybe one day when I can get over my fear of actually seeing people face to face! LOL! There you go. I said it. I'm soooo shy in person......I may write big and out-spoken but I am such a shy girl in real life unless I know you, then I'm not all that shy. To prove my point, one of my best friends tried to start up conversations with me once a week at a class for well over 8 weeks before I talked to her. She told me later that she thought I was an "artsy snob". LOL! Me? A snob? I am so not a snob! I'm just so super shy when I am around people I don't know. I just can't help it!

OK, on to the dresses. These are both made of Moda fabrics (LOVE this line!) and were made using the Miss Madeline pattern. Here are ALL the pictures. Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

PS. Stay tuned I have a little freebie coming up sometime this week :)

Houston Quilt Market Part Two

This sample for the Houston Quilt Market was a Miss Molly, size 6, View A (no ruffle).

I fell in love with this set of Moda fabrics when I was at Lacy's Quilt Studio on vacation. I picked most of my fabrics for market from the same set. This is something I rarely do because they usually look to 'matchy' to me, but these had the coordinate but not really the 'matchy' feel to me -maybe someone out there will understand what I just said! LOL!

Molly loves it and I feel like it may even work for Christmas- Remember Christmas here is just barely long sleeve weather.

I will be back tomorrow with the third (and maybe my favorite) dress for market.

Houston Quilt Market

Yep, I have been sewing away on dresses that will be samples at the Houston Quilt Market. I made four dresses all from Moda fabrics that are on their way to my distributor (Creative Smocking) now. Woo hoo! It feels good to have those done!I will be posting pictures for the next three days of the dresses. Here is the first, a Miss Molly, size 3, (View B) with the ruffle bottom. I made it a size bigger for Madeline because her size 2's are quickly getting too short for her. I know... it's pretty sad. Where did my baby go?