Secret Tote Swap

 

It's been a busy week of sewing, cleaning, working,

yadda, yadda, yadda...

Like a crazy woman,

I participated in another swap.

The Secret Tote Swap

to be exact.

This lovely swap was hosted by

Lia of Lia's Handmades.

Lucky for me, my partner loves

Denyse Schmidt fabrics.

Here are a few photos of the tote I made,

which is the Jane Market Bag.

(LOVE this bag!!)

The beading I had added a little bit of a vintage flair to it.

I was very pleased with how it all turned out.

Simple yet elegant.

It was our choice to send extras.

My partner in this swap was rather quiet,

so I really scoped out her Flickr photostream to 

get and idea of the fabrics and colors she liked.

I'm pretty sure I know why she was so quiet.

The tote she made was gorgeous,

so I'm sure she was busy creating.

And I can't share anything about my partner

as I just shipped my package today,

so she doesn't know this is hers yet.

I sure hope she likes all the extras,

like this little hand made 'inspire'

And the scraps of twill

and ribbon

Also included are some fat quaters and fat eighths. 

So, little package, travel safe!

I really hope it makes my partner happy!!

xoxo

Cindy

Farm Life & Clouds

In anticipation of a big storm heading our way,

I took some pictures around our little place in the country.

I absolutely love it out here.

The wide open spaces make it easy

to see all around our neighborhood.

So peaceful.

So  humbling.

Enjoy the show!

Zakka, a Tip, and a BooBoo

Zakka has begun!

Our first project?  The pepper coasters.

Here is my big Ta-Da!

This is a super easy pattern

and a lot of fun to make.

If you need a quick bit of sewing therapy,

I highly recommend making these.

And using fabric by Patrick Lose

makes me even happier!

I love using his fabrics as blenders in my projects,

but in this case, they are showcased as the main fabric.

So, see, you can create a winning project either way!

If you would like to join in the Zakka sewalong,

you can purchase a copy of the book

HERE.

Our lovely hostesses are

Debbie of A Quilter's Table and

Lindsey of LR Stitched.

To see the weekly project, you can click HERE.

I don't know that I'll be able to participate every week.

Some of the projects look to take more time that I can devote in a week,

but I can say I will give it my best shot!

I came across a tidbit I would like to share with you.

(and for the life of me, I wish I could remember where I saw it so I could give proper credit!)

I've often been a bit frustrated because I can't remember what type of thread

is in my bobbin.

So purchase a box of these

and use them to mark your bobbins.

Any time I can save myself from making a mistake,

I'll try it!

:)

Speaking of mistakes,

(not that I know this is one yet),

my poor Josie is going to the sewing machine doctor today.

I'm hoping this is something the warranty will cover.

If so, she'll be shipped off on Monday.

Yeah...

I am heart sick.

(I was even more heart-sick telling the prior owner, who is an absolute sweetheart, poor Josie broke!)

The accufeed prongs just snapped off.

I didn't even have 12 inches of sewing done and they fell off.

This happened shortly after I received the machine.

I will write about some lessons learned about purchasing an expensive machine

in a later post, but right now

I just has to share my sadness.

:(

So wish Josie well

and hopefully it's not going to cost and arm and a leg to fix her!

Until the next adventure....xoxoxo

Cindy

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Are y'all on Pinterest?

Are you one of "those" people

who pin

and pin

and pin

and tell yourself

"Some day I am going to do this"?

I am one of those people.

But "some day" happened

and I made this 

OUT OF THIS WORLD 

cupcake recipe.

Since I haven't shared a recipe for a while,

I thought I would share

this yummy one.

You can find the recipe 

HERE

on Annie's Eats blog.

(she has a lot of great recipes, so I highly recommend you go check her out!)

I can be a little odd sometimes,

but I loved the part of the recipe where you had to

mix the flour with the blueberries

(FYI - the blueberries I used where one's I bought fresh on sale last year and froze)

This recipe is the PERFECT balance.

Not too sweet.

Not too tart.

Just perfect.

And don't EVEN get me started on the frosting.

OMG

my mouth is watering right now!

I've made them several times

and have never had a bad comment.

Mine don't look quite as pretty as hers.

I don't have a cake decorating kit,

 (HINT FOR MY FAMILY...A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY IS COMING UP!)

so I put the frosting in a baggie and slightly cut the corner.

The taste was still as flavorful,

no matter how they were decorated.

Out of the hundreds of pins I've done,

this is only the second item I've tried.

I do think I have caught the bug, however,

and am ready to try more.

If you'd like to view my boards

and get some inspiration,

you can click

HERE.

And if you don't do the whole Pinterest thing

and would like to,

just let me know.

I can send you an invite!

I'd love to share my addiction with you!

If you already are an active pinner,

have you tried anything?

Let me know!

xoxo

Cindy

Coasters by eamylove

I figured you all deserved

an inspiring post after my rant on Samsung the other day.

:)

(thanks for letting me vent though!)

Amy DeCesare of eamylove

is one of my Top 5 favorite bloggers.

The way she writes about her projects

and her sewing skills inspire me to

make each project as careful and beautiful as I can.

She designed these lovely coasters

which you can find here

at the Moda Bake Shop.

The purple fabric squares are

leftover pieces from one of the Anita Vacation Totes I made.

(pictures to come of that shortly!)

As a matter of fact,

Amy's coaster idea came from the perfect 3" squares 

that are left from the AVT after cutting the corners to box the tote.

(Way to recycle, Amy!!)

I actually made these coasters for my sister,

but wanted to showcase how cute 

these are with a nice cool glass of pink lemonade on the front porch.

(I'm really sorry to tease my friends from the Southern Hemisphere with this

warm, sunny photo shoot)

I can't wait to make another set of these.

It was also fun trying one of the decorative stitches on my beloved Josie.

and how about another view?

Here they are all tied

and ready to be gifted.

Thank you, Amy, for coming up with such 

a neat idea!!

I love them!!

And just for posterity,

another sweet shot of the lemonade.

So what are you waiting for?

Head on over HERE.

And when you're done,

stop for a visit at Amy's

and tell her I said hello!

xoxo

Cindy