{*~Pfaff Performance 2058~*}

in

Today I thought it might be fun to talk about one of my sewing machines! The amazing sewmamasew blog has been posting some fantastic sewing machine reviews this month and I thought I'd share my machines with you.

I'm going to start with my personal sewing machine, my Pfaff Performance 2058. I also own a Brother Innovis, a BabyLock Imagine Serger, a Pfaff Select and a 1951 Centennial Singer Featherweight. I'll devote separate posts to each machine, except the featherweight because it's currently at the hospital and I've yet to use it :)

What brand and model do you have?

It's a Pfaff Performance 2058

How long have you had it?

I purchased it in October 2008 but only recently started using it in April 2009

How much does that machine cost?

When all has been said and done, I've paid around $2,000 for it, but I believe you can get them for around $1,400.

What types of things do you sew?

This machine is for machine piecing and personal projects. I make bags, pillows, skirts, everything! I don't use it for shop work (cloth menstrual pads) although I originally purchased it for that purpose. Now that I'm working on some patchwork and quilted items, I'll be using this machine for those :) So pads no, quilted stuff yes :)

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?

I'm a marathon sewer. When I sit down to sew, I'll sometimes sew for ten hours straight. I don't use this as much as my work sewing machine, but for the past two months it's gotten daily use for 5+ hours a day easily. I am pretty rough on it, it goes with me out of town, to friends houses, to quilting. I'll admit that more than once its fallen off the backseat in my jeep ;)

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?

I love it! From December til April I hated it with the fiercest passion EVER. There was a simple problem with it and because I bought it online, no dealer would honor the warranty. Once the problem was found it took from January til the first week in APRIL for the part to arrive as it was backordered, so it sat in Chico, California that entire time. I'd only sewn on the machine for two months. That's where the extra $600 came into play. It now has an entirely brand new bobbin housing unit. After the machine came back to me I'd debated selling it but realized reallllyyy quickly that I'd lose money on it so I started sewing with it more and more. Now I ADORE it.

Her name is Etheline Tenebaum, from the movie The Royal Tenenbaums. Since she has blue bits on her, when she's doing something fantastic I say "Your true blue Ethel, true blue". Dorky, yes!

What features does your machine have that work well for you?

As a newb quilter, it has some great quilting programs. It has a free motion quilting program, a program that allows you to set it up for chain piecing, it will stitch a quilt to look hand quilted. It has some gorgeous decorative stitches as well that I so love! You can also wind a bobbin while the machine is threaded, which is nice! It has a automatic needle up/down function, as well as it'll raise the presser foot automatically for you at three different heights. That comes in SO handy. The free motion is really really easy to use, I tried it on both of my other machines with baddd results.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?

YES! My Brother has a fantastic back stitch button that will back stitch automatically and THEN CUT YOUR THREAD. It makes the machine extremely economical on thread, this one...not so much. It also has a bobbin low feature that I have a love/hate relationship with. It requires special blue bobbins that are expensive and sometimes hard to find, in the middle of sewing, the machine will stop, beep and flashes a bobbin low message. It can get annoying FAST, mainly because it stops you from sewing until you touch the screen again. As much as I hate it, it is helpful when quilting a large quilt because it helps you get to a stopping point and not have to worry about running out of thread in a bad area. I do sometimes wish it had a wider throat/arm to squish a quilt into but I'm quilting a full size bed quilt on it with no problem.

Do you have a great story about your machine?

Well, aside from dropping it multiple times, not really. Except when I bought it, it arrived and the screen wouldn't work. I shipped it back to the seller (+$65) only to have him call and say "it's set to european voltage". DOH! *face palm*. I felt like a boob. A simple button on the bottom of the machine needed to be flipped. Mr. McPorkchop leaves me post it notes on it to find on Monday mornings! The current one says "Ohhh you know they call me Dr. Feelgood". We are big into hair bands in this house ;)

Would you recommend your machine to others and why?

I would for sure. This is my second Pfaff and I adore them. They are dependable and can sew through layers like no ones business. The IDT is one of the best features out there. I bought the 1/4 inch foot with the little guide on it and its the best thing ever, the machine sews a perfect 1/4 inch seam and doesn't cause fabrics like linen to slip and pull. It has a great light which makes me really happy. It came with a ton of different feet. I really like the classic, simple, clean aesthetic of Pfaffs.

What factors do you think are important to consider when you are looking for a new machine?

Making the most of your budget and buying from a dealer!!! I had just been accepted to the Bazaar Bizarre and wanted a new machine ASAP, couldn't make it to a dealer (4+ hours away) and just bought it online. Bad move! I ended up not doing the craft show but thought "ok, this machine is good, it'll work for business stuff" and it turned out that I just can't sew with it as fast, comfortably and as neatly as my Brother, it just has a different "feel" to it, if that makes sense. I think its really really important to "test drive" your machine before you buy it, my Brother I sat at the dealer for more than three hours, I grabbed lunch with my mom and mulled over it before buying it later that night and when I bought my serger it was a two day long process of coming home, grabbing fabrics, writing questions and going back 3-5 times a day! My older Pfaff gave me some experience and I knew that was the brand I wanted, no doubt about it, but I still wish I'd sewn with it before buying it.

Keep your future in mind. Sure, you might only be a straight stitch sewer now, but you might go from sewing garments to sewing quilts or making fabric art or something else and wanting more stitches or embroidery or computer USB friendly, I think its good to have a sewing machine that you can grow into. I think its a good idea to get a machine that isn't so basic that you get bored but isn't so fancy you can't figure it out. A good middle of the road machine! Does that make sense? I feel dumb saying that considering I bought a featherweight just so I could sew beautiful straight stitches but thats ok ;)

Before I bought my very first Pfaff I bought 5 sewing machines at Sears in the course of a year, each one were cheap (like $30-50) and clearly meant for occasional sewing...barely. In the time I bought those 5 machines, I could have bought one really nice basic machine the first time and I wish someone had helped me with that! After spending $50 on a machine going to $400 seemed like a lot but it was worth it, that machine has been with me since 2002 and I've beaten the crap out of it, won awards with stuff I've sewn on it and I still use it and it started a huge passion for me! It's a good idea to buy the best within your budget. Not everyone can spend $5,000 on a top of the line beauty right away, but if you have $500, for example, buy the machine that makes you the most happiest, will be with you the longest, feels the best to sew on, makes you feel like you could sew ANYTHING your little heart desires, has a great warranty and you'll be set! Sewing machines are investments in my opinion and its important to stay within your budget and getting the most from your dollar! All of my machines except this most recent Pfaff had classes available for free when you purchased your machine, that is so so so awesome and something I'd look for when I buy my next machine!

Know how your machine works! Read sewing machine forums! Compare brands! Read consumer reports! Be BFF with the manual! Does it sew what you want? Will it fall apart fast? Is it easy to maintain? Is it all plastic? Is it metal? Those are all things I think about constantly when looking at machines.

Do you have a dream machine?

Ohhh yes! Pfaff Creative Vision I'd love one and used it at a dealer in Oregon, hollly gorgeous. However, the $9,000 price tag makes me cringe. I'm pretty sure I could buy a little car for that much...hmm...car...or sewing machine...tough call ;) Either way, its totally not within my budget ;)

Phew! That's a LOT! Hopefully it all makes sense. I'm totally not claiming to know everything about sewing machines, this is just one girls opinion about what works and doesn't work for me :)

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Thursday! Mine started rough but its getting better thanks to my fantastic friends, espresso and some loud music :)

Have a great night!

xoxo

{*~Begin~*}

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Wow guys! WOW!!!! Thank you so so so much for all your kind and supportive comments! I was so surprised when I woke up this morning to an inbox full of love!!! I can't believe how many people say "I" inspire "them". I'm a dweeb for sure!!! It is all YOU who inspire ME! Gosh!

I've been sewing, planning, sewing, seam ripping, planning. I'm a big planner. In fact, 97% of my ideas never make it because I overthink it to death. It's just my nature. I'm not a risk taker anymore. I psych myself out constantly! I'm really really REALLY a pro at talking myself out of new things. True Story!!!! But I'm trying super hard to not talk myself out of this because I've wanted to do this for so so so long. I myself own a zillion cute pouches, in fact my very first etsy purchase was a pouch! I love little things! Just adore them! And I want to make them for you!

I stayed up far too late last night running on coffee and bananas. I didn't even know I liked bananas until recently. Now I can't get enough of them. I bought 5 on Monday and I only half one left! I also have half a watermelon calling my name! I'm allergic to more than half of raw fruits and veggies so being able to find stuff I can eat = gorge central! I also have a terrible habit of only eating one meal a day and I tend to put it off until 5-6 pm. Not smart. I've been trying to "snack smartly" and "eat normal, filling dinners" but today I was craving a hamburger. Like, I wanted one so fiercely! I got one. It was totally worth it. I even got fries. Also so so so worth it. Now I'm sitting down making lists, planning and making more lists. I can't handle being disorganized! I need to reorganize my sewing space tonight as well. I can't work when its messy.

I came home from errands today and sat outside to do some bookkeeping work and wait for my mail man. Imagine my surprise when he came but with NO MAIL. Ok, sometimes mail doesn't come, but I knew of things that had to be arriving, I literally have THREE, yup THREE priority packages that show they are in Eureka, but not here. Not to mention things like my INTERNET BILL which I haven't gotten yet. What the HECK! So I showed him with my laptop how they are here but not here. Thankfully he is a SAINT and was going to talk to the post master and get back to me tomorrow. In the mean time, I'm not sending ANYTHING until Mr. McPorkchop sets up our new printer on Friday, then I'll drive to a different post office and drop them off. Am I being crazy? Totally! But for each order thats been sent back to me, I've resent it priority back and its starting to get expensive! SHEESH. Mail where ARE you!!!!

I'm dying to do some knitting. It comes in spurts. Right now I'm obsessed with this little number! And this one too! I clearly have a thing for triangle shawls. I have ishbel sitting in my knitting bag marinating. With Joelenes help I'm making it with out the lace because the lace was killlingg me! I sent a message to a gal on ravelry about some yarn she has for sale/trade, I sure hope I can get it from her! I never log into ravelry and for some reason it doesn't email me when I have a new message so I need to change that! I really would like to get some lint-y yarn. I have no idea why I think of it as lint-y but I do!

Ok gang, I'm off to get started on cleaning and organizing. I'm excited and hopefully I'll have some really great stuff to show you soon!!!!

xo Happy Wednesday!!!!

{*~Labels~*}

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I got my labels! Aren't they cuuuuteee! I'm so so so glad I got them! They are woven and have little sewing machines on them! aweee!!! Also, is it bad that I want to take 90000 photos of zippers?

So I'd really really REALLY like to start making and selling patchwork/quilted pouches.

I've been wanting to do it for a while now. I make bags for myself, for friends, I've donated them, I just can't seem to gather the courage to sell them. I have no idea why, I'm just a giant wimp I guess. I'm afraid no one will like them! Haha, dorky huh? I've sold one hex bag almost identical to the one I've made myself but it took so so so long and it was reflected in the price which is totallly not for everyone. I'd like to just make one of a kind, rad, patchwork-y quilted pouches. Something that you could keep your id, cash, phone, etc in and when you take it out of your purse, people are like "hey! thats rad!" or "wow! I've never seen that before!" Know what I mean? I don't know! It's just a pipe dream! There are already sooo many fantastic pouch makers out there though. Like some seriously RAD ladies!!!!

Here are 5 things that I'm really into right now:

  1. EASports Active for wii! I had a $25 amazon.com gift certificate to use and a $25 visa gift card! So I paid $6 out of pocket (actually I had $7 in my paypal, lol)! SCORE! Don't get me wrong, I adore wii fit, but I need a little something more. I'm still losing weight, which is so rad, but I'm verrrrry flabby. I'm thinking exercize + fake sunshine will help a ton!
  2. Summer-y beverages! Even though the weather here isn't summer-y, I'm drinking iced nonfat caramel macchiatos and audacious apricot ale! Both totally make me smile, but I limit myself to two a week of each so they are special!
  3. Animal Crossing!!!! Shanna & Kimberly are making me fall back in love with this game! I realized this morning that I've barely scratched the surface with all the awesome stuff you can do in it!
  4. Patchwork Patchwork Patchwork! I've been making scrappy blocks nonstop! Not even blocks, just sewing together little bits and pieces of things. I can't bear to throw away a single scrap! I gave a giant bag of scraps to Ash and hopefully she creates something fantastic from them!
  5. Trying new things! Making new friends! Reading new books! Listening to new jams! Trying to swap more even though I've been burned TWICE now. Wishing more rad people lived in my neighborhood! I'm hoping to go camping for the first time this summer!

I've been to the post office five times since yesterday trying to figure out whats going on! Packages are taking FOREVER to get to their places and I'm getting packages returned to me. That's so so so lame. I'm not even printing the postage at home but going to the post office and having them do it. Not impressed. AND. ARGH! I ordered a jelly roll, Halloween jelly roll, Moda Chic or Treat, in case your curious, for quilt camp, it shipped almost TWO weeks ago PRIORITY and it shows it as being in Eureka, but not at my house. Just floating around. Did you steal it Angie? I know your local and love Halloween fabric! lol. But seriously, this is getting annoying. I had a package of Japanese fabric take almost 2 months to arrive, from a seller whos packages usually only take 2 weeks!!! >:( NOT IMPRESSED USPS! I'm shaking my fist at you!!!

Ok! I'm off to work on a certain someones birthday gift/trade and finish up another order! yay!!!

OH! If you wouldn't mind leaving me your thoughts and ideas on this, I'd be jazzed! You all helped so much on my mod sampler idea, I'm going to go with studio e :)

xoox have a great Tuesday gang!

{*~Monday~*}

in

It's Monday!

This is my mini quilt for today!!! I realized this weekend that my scrap pile was overflowing so I thought I'd try to make some bright and fun scrap blocks. Then I decided I'd use them for a mini quilt! Yay!

I've been wanting to be more adventurous with quilting but I'm such a newb that it takes a lot of gumption. Actually, posting things I've created online *always* fills me with anxiety, I'm kinda terrified that people will be snarks, so I have to like, build up to posting photos. Let's not even get into the idea of going to a craft show alone. Weird huh? You should see me in real life, I'm a overly self conscious dweeb ;) You know the song Online? I swear that's me. My real life is pretty fun but I'm so much cooler online ;):):) Give it a listen, I bet you'll laugh.

Anyways!

I tried free motion quilting for the second time this weekend. I wanted to do something fun and silly so I quilted a gnome and mushroom. Yay! As I was doing it I kept thinking, this will either be amazing or awful. It was a toss up! I literally just looked at the gnome and drew it on the fabric with my sewing machine, I didn't draw it before hand because it was a spur of the moment idea and it was getting really dark in our little house. I'm still unsure this morning but my amazing twitter bffs have said its good, so there we go!

This weekend was really really really hard. I've realized what keeps making me bummed out...the freaking WEATHER! Seriously, two plus weeks of fog? No sunlight? Hi! THIS IS JUNE!!! I had *no* idea it would bother me this much. So on Saturday Mr. McPorkchop & I went for a drive up the coast to Crescent City. It was so nice to be in the sun. We went to the beach! We watched sea lions! I got to see pelicans!!! Did you know that I totally adore pelicans? They are my favorite! Last summer we visited Modoc County just so I could see the giant white pelicans while they were migrating. Yup. Dweeb status!

See! Happy! Waving at you! Hello! It's sunny!!! We are happy!!! SUNGLASSES EVEN!!!!

Yay!!!! So when we came home from our adventure I got an email from Spool letting me know that I'd won their birdie sling contest! CRAZYYYY!!! How awesome is that? Thank you so much again Laura!!! Right now you can enter the Barcelona contest! I'm dying to make some clothes this summer but that would involve garment sewing and taking my own measurements, neither of which I'm currently feeling like I can do ;)

Also, I got some incredible packages this weekend, so so so exciting! My labels arrived! Now I just need the courage to start sewing pouches and crib quilts to sell. And  then there was not so exciting, I got two packages returned. AGAIN. I have no idea why this keeps happening. AND! Two packages that I mailed PRIORITY on tuesday morning just arrived TODAY to their destinations! What's happening USPS? We bought a new printer this weekend too, hopefully it comes this week! It'll be nice to be able to print postage from home again! And its wireless! fancy pants!

Ok, I'm off to work for the rest of the day and reply to emails. And work some more. I'm going to starbucks, tanning (no comments please!), the post office and more errands today! Then it's home to sew more and then to Monday night quilting! I'm not sure what project I'll work on. I'm currently in between projects, I'm waiting for thread and batting to go on sale at JoAnns, my five & dime quilt has already taken 6 spools of thread. And I'm not even remotely close to being done! I might work on my dream quilt, I've gotten a lot of amazing Heather Ross fabrics from friends online and I think I'm about ready to make a few more blocks and then start assembling it. Actually yeah, I think I'm going to start on that tonight :)

AND! Check out the shop! I didn't do a big annoucement on Friday so there are stil some pads in stock! Nows a great chance to snag a one of a kind Heather Ross fabric pad :):)

xox have a great monday!

ps, want to see some things that inspire me? Click here!

{*~Sparkle~*}

in

AHHH!!!!!

So yesterday didn't go as planned! Isn't that how it usually is?! You set things up, ready to go and suddenly..BAM! A wrench gets thrown in your plans! It was one of those days where everything went wrong and you just have to laugh about it!!! Several packages I'd mailed got returned to me. I tried to reprint postage and that failed, lol. I made wayyyy too many trips to Staples! I gave up and went to the post office. I thought the people behind me in line were going to strangle me! I spent over $60 on postage! Eeep!!! One of my packages was able to go into a different box, so I repackaged it and now it won't arrive as cutely wrapped, which I feel bad about!

I stayed up all night working and reading. I finished another order and only have two more left! Woot!

I've becoming reobsessed with Twilight, thanks to Eva and tumblr! And the New Moon trailer hasn't hurt either! I made myself a super cute bookmark last night, I've gotten a few emails from people wanting bookmarks, I'll gladly sell them or trade :)! woot! I don't have a ton of far far away but I do have other fabrics and lots and lots of linen, just shoot me an email!!! I was up until 4 am reading! So so so much fun! I think to myself, wow, Edward and Bella, such cute love. Edward is so moody and overprotective, thats so sweet. And then I think about Mr. McPorkchop. Strangely enough, he gets the same moodiness when he hasn't eaten and he's extremely overprotective, how is it endearing in Edward, but drives me batty in Mr. McPorkchop?! LOL! :):)

I slept so so so good last night, I think its because Mr. McPorkchop made a surprise visit last night!!! He snuck by for a quick dinner! It was so so so nice to see him even if it was just for an hour. I'm really worried about him today, we are having crazy weather with hail, thunderstorm and lightning warnings and with his job he has no cell service and camps outdoors :( He sent me a text saying he was aware of the storm (obviously! lol, thunder isn't easy to miss!) and they were going to spend the night in Weaverville. Phew!

It's been rumbling today, the lights have flickered a few times, my tv keeps going in and out. I won't be venturing out today to the post office or mail. Quarter size hail warnings? No thanks!!!! Every 15 minutes the tv updates the weather warnings. I don't drive in the rain...actually, I lied, I try not to drive at all, lol, but I reallly don't drive in the rain! It's nice and cozy inside, I'm planning on doing some baking, I have my favorite pumpkin spice candles lit, my house still smells like my hazelnut coffee from this morning....I'm warm!

I'll be updating the shop tomorrow, I'm not sure what time, but if your a fan of Heather Ross, you'll want to check out this update. Think gnomes, bikes and ice cream trucks! Cuuuute! It'll most likely be around 5 pm PST! It'll be smaller because I'm trying to get those last two orders done and in the mail. :):)

Emails have requested that I hold off until Friday to update! So I'll update Friday instead :)

I hope everyone has a fantastic day! I'm going to eat some dinner and read, then keep sewing!! yay!!!!

xoxo

P.S. If anyone would like to give me their quilting opinions I'd be thankful! I'd like to make mod quilt sampler but Halloween-ish. If you know me, you know that I adore Halloween. Me + Autumn = love!!!! I'm just torn on fabrics, do I chose modern fabric just in autumn colors or chose fun and funky Halloween Prints?! I'd sash it in Kona, either a warm white or black. It'll be a little while before I can afford the fabric and the time, but I like making plans! I'd just adore a funky Halloween/Autumn themed quilt for our home! Did you know that my hugest dreams are to get married on Halloween and own a pumpkin farm?! True story! :):)

{*~Winners~*}

in

Thanks everyone for your kind words and emails yesterday!

I ended up taking it easy around the house yesterday, did some grocery shopping, went to the bank. All was ok. I got home and it's like around 1-4 I just feel reallllly sleepy. I'm not to sure why! I think from now on I'm going to get up really early, work. Then take a rest/slumber from 1-4, then from 5- midnight work! I was so alert and busy last night..until I forgot something in the car and slammed my hand in the door, lol. ouch. But I got to use my cute Hello Kitty icepack, so thats...cool...right? lol.

I went to Monday night quilting last night and started a little something. I got it all cut out and I've started chaining and piecing. It's inspired by autumn, birch trees and Denyse Schmidt! I'm hoping that on Thursday I'll have something to show you! The above photo is my growing bigger and bigger collection of 9 patches! I'm up to 68! YESSS!

If you haven't had a chance yet, check out issue #3 of parasol magazine, its so inspiring and fantastic! I also have a cute little ad in there as well! It's fully clickable, which is so so so rad! Thanks for all your hard work Yasmine!

I'm going to get up here in a bit and organize my packages to be shipped, I'm having the mail man come and pick them up! YAY!!!!!

Ok! Now is the moment you might have been waiting for! Results from the giveaway!!! I've used the random number interger to give me three numbers and they are:

#10- Larissa!

#73- Ari!

#137 - Corrine!

Please email me your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices ladies and hopefully you'll get the pad of your desire!!!!

Have a fantastic afternoon everyone! Oh and my newest obsession thanks to Eva is tumblr! This is me!

OH! And if you have any favorit baked goods that contain raspberries, let me know! I bought two package of them yesterday, buy one get one free! yay!!! Now I'm dying to bake :)

{*~Turn That Frown~*}

in

Is it weird to say thank god it's Monday?

This weekend was so terrible and so awesome all at once. Mr. McPorkchop was only home for a short 2 days instead of 3 and a half. Him being home and just being him was the amazing part of the weekend. We've tentatively come up with a plan for after he graduates and where we'd like to live. It was partly just a nice time to have a goal to work towards instead of being so glum about our current situation!

The not so amazing parts? Wes's dog Molly passed away and I felt terrible that I couldn't be there for my mom, it was her last sort of living link to him. She was ancient, 17 years old for a doberman, she's had an amazingggg life, but it was still sad and even sadder to talk to my mom. It's times like these that I hate living so far away from her! Then a *huge* order that I finished (65 pads) ended up with a miscommunication and we mutually agreed to cancel the sale, thats putting it very very very nicely. I started working on my small batch of custom orders for the shop, only to cut some fabric wrong and have to reorder it and hopefully it'll arrive today and I'm crossing my fingers that overnight shipping really means overnight. We went to go see Up!, our local theatre just got a new 3D thingy and the projector broke, so after sitting there for an extra half hour, they refunded everyone, totally not a big deal, but I wanted to poke the eyes out of the other patrons, there was only like 5 people working, clearly, it wasn't their fault, and people, wow, they just thought they were entitled to free EVERYTHING. I was shocked and I genuinely felt so so so bad for the staff! I then went to a local fabric store for fabrics for a swap, only to realize the fabrics had been sold out. ARGH! I totally promised something and then couldn't deliver, that is *not* me and I'm very upset about it.

So what did I do?

Sewed. Started watching comedies. Had some beer. Cuddled. Bought some new fat quarters. Learned how to free motion quilt.

I've never free motion quilted before and my machine came with the foot, a special feature, blah blah blah. I was just too wimpy to try it, but you know what? When things are bad, thats a perfect time to try something new right! *grins* It was pretty fun! I don't know if I'll do a lot of stippling, I think its called? I found it more fun to "draw", if that makes sense!

We watched Reno 911 and season one of Seinfeld this weekend. I've never really watched either and I really really loved the dumb humor and dry humor of them both. Sometimes it's nice to take a break from over thinking and "thoughtful" movies to just laugh and be silly. We also saw Night at the Museum 2. Ohhh dear, what an unfortunate movie! lol! But we had fun holding hands, being snarky and drinking fountain sodas bigger than our heads.

Today I'm going to package up orders, work on orders, request my mail man comes tomorrow to pick up the orders, finish wrapping up some swap packages, go to the bank, you know, typical Monday stuff. I'm hoping a bit of work and running around will kick me out of my funk! Maybe I'll even get a coffee!

OH! And guess what? I won a gift certificate from pink chalk fabrics! Sweet! I'm not sure what I'll get yet, as having 2 months off from work pretty much slaughtered my clams (we call money clams, I'm not sure when or why, but we do) and I need to get to work!

On that note, have a fantastic Monday and tomorrow I'll post the winners of the giveaway!!!!

{~*Lucky*~}

in

I've just finished updating the shop! It took wayyyy longer than I expected because half way through importing my photos I bumped something and lost them ALL!!! Plus, this is my largest update that I think I've EVER done!!! Sweet!!!! There are some limited edition pads, liners, cotton backed pads, fleece backed pads...I tried to do a little of everything! YAY!

I've had amazing mail days the past few weeks, like amazing. Like swaps so fantastic that I haven't photographed them because I ripped into them so fast. Yup. That good. Yesterday I got these gorgeous Liberty of London from Kristen who just got back from London. I about died. They smelled AMAZZZZZING! I kept thinking "Liberty smells perfect, warm, cozy"...it turned out she'd packed them with some stuff from Lush! LOL! How great is that?! Hahaha! Even Liz yesterday commented on how nice they smelled! hahaha! These are going to be a quilt! I haven't decided on a pattern, I have found a few prints online that I'd love to have once my budget allows for it! Any pattern ideas would be great! Joelene sent me one that looks really great!

I was up wayyyy too late last night working on orders...I ended up doing an ENTIRE order wrong. Charming right? Sheesh. The order was going to be backed in cotton, I backed them in fleece. FAIL! That teaches me for staying up too late working! Next time sleep and get up early!

Tomorrow I'm going to the post office and farmers market. I have orders, swaps, etc to mail out. And yay for farmers markets!!! I'm dying to see what kind of local yumyums I can get! Mr. McPorkchop is on his way home from work right now and has stopped by Trader Joe's! YAY!!!!!

Don't forget that there is still time to enter my giveaway! Thank you so so so much to everyone whos emailed me, mentioned my blog, etc! I'm in awe of the positive response I've received! I love love love knowing that there are lots of people out there who are open to the idea of cloth! It keeps me going! Your kind comments have seriously made my week! I'm giving you all the hugest hugs EVER. EVVVVERRRR!!!!

Have a fantastic weekend! xoxoxo

{*Snooozzze Button!*}

in

I'm beat guys. Totally beat.

Since Monday night I've been sewing pads non stop. Make some pads. Serge some cores. Rinse! Repeat! lol! And I feel like I haven't even made a dent in my orders + stock for the shop! I've gotten a metric ton of emails asking about pads and I seriously feel like the luckiest girl on EARTH. If you haven't yet, please enter my giveaway!

I'll be updating the shop tomorrow around 3 pm PST. I'm not sure how much stuff I'll have but hopefully it'll make some of you verrryyy happy!

Today I got up early, worked on some pads then drove to Starbucks. I had the worst iced coffee of my life, lol. Then I went to quilting. At first I'd packed my quilting bag with pads and orders and shop stuff, then I realized it was silly to work on work during a class that I pay money for! Haha!!! So instead I made a coin quilt!

I looooveee Neptune by Tula Pink. It's a gorgeous colored fabric collection. All my favorite colors! I had a jelly roll that I got for a steal on eBay and I just sewed it into strips. Then Liz helped me decide how big and we went from there. I do have some fabrics that next to each other in the same colors, ooops, but I'm not sure I care! It's sashed in a super pretty linen!

It took my mind off work for a little while. Now I'm going to shower, then go to a WW meeting, then come back home to work!

If you've sent me an email since Monday, I'm trying so so so hard to answer them in the order I'm receiving them. I also have SEVEN trade packages that are ready to go but I haven't gone to the Post Office yet, Mr. McPorkchop texted me that he'd give me a ride and help me with the packages on Saturday. And we will drive to a quilt shop together so I can buy some yardage and binding for this coin quilt! yayyyy!!!!

I don't whats up with me, if I'm overwhelmed or nervous or what but for some reason I'm feeling extremely disorganized and confused lately. Scatter brained if you like that term! Sheesh! The odd thing is, I'm *extremely* organized, I have perfectly organized lists and things are getting accomplished but it just feels slow and sluggish! I'm not in a bad mood or anything, I just feel weird. It might be because it's my first week of many home alone? Or I'm just now finally getting over being sick? Either way I don't like it! I want to be making pads and quilts nonstop and having fun!!!!!

Ok, enough oddness, lol!

Want to see something gorgeous? My friend Christin, who is so supportive of me, such an inspiration, she just got into pharmacy school, she just got a blog! Wait til you see the quilt she made! Visit and bookmark her here! I adore her and I think you will too!

I hope everyone is having a great week so far! I can't believe its Thursday already! Mr. McPorkchop will be home late tomorrow and I'm so excited to see him!

xxox

{*Now With Pretty Photos!!*}

in

As part of sewmamasews giveaway day I'm giving away THREE cloth panty liners to THREE different commenters! I'll gladly ship international so feel free to enter if you live out of the US!!!

Cloth panty liners are a *great* way of trying cloth pads if your hesitant. They don't have to be worn during your cycle and they are discrete. You can read all about cloth pads here! By clicking that link you can read about how to wash them, how they work, etc! Since a lot of people haven't heard of cloth pads, here's a few things :)

  • The snaps on the wings work the same as the sticky adhesive on disposable pads! You simply wrap the wings around your panties as you do with conventional store bought pads!
  • They stay in place with their snug fit and their wings! I recommend wearing panties with snug leg bands that  you feel comfortable in :)
  • Inbetween the two cute fabrics is a hidden layer of bamboo fleece! Bamboo is an amazing fiber and is both absorbant and anti-bacterial!
  • Panty liners are a *great* way to try cloth especially if you might be slightly "icked" out with the idea of reusable product! I completely understand! Panty liners are great for ladies who wear liners on a daily basis, imagine the amount of money you'll save plus how your landfill footprint will be decreased! These are also great for the last day of your cycle! Rad!
  • These are reversible! Meaning say one day you feel like sea horses! Great! But maybe next week you want mermaids! Even better! Two cute prints on one pad! Sweet!

Here's how you enter:

Comment between today and May 31st with HOW YOU'VE MADE A GREEN CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE!

You can only enter once! Make sure your email address is logged in with your comment! You have to answer the question too :) Feel free to pass this entry along to others!!!

I'm curious to hear all about the ways you've been going green! I personally bring cloth bags to the grocery store, visit the local farmers markets, don't use/buy paper towels, shop local as much as possible, use cloth pads and give cloth presents to friends!!!

Good Luck and I'll see you May 31st when I announce the winners! I'll be using random.org to generate numbers of the comments :) xo

P.S. Thanks so much everyone! If your interested in pads and liners, I only have a few left from yesterdays update so check them out here!!!

{*Bzzzzz!*}

in

(sneak peek at a new doll quilt!)

What a week! love love loved it!

I got to Redding early Monday morning. Have you ever driven for 4 hours with a sinus infection? And by driving I mean changing elevations? And by that I mean driving HWY 299? OMG. WORST!!!

Turned out my doctor was sick. Haha. Just my luck right? Well I went to Urgent Care on Tuesday and walked away with antibiotics! Turns out I had a sinus infection, double ear infection and bronchitis! Niiiiceeee!

I laid on my moms couch all week. I love the antibiotics but they make me feel like barfing. TMI? Probably, but I think you can handle it. Also, imagine being in the BEST weather, 87 and breezy and not being able to go outside! WORST! Antibiotics = Sunburn!

So I slowly worked on some 9 patches, ate some ammmmazing meals my mom made, and just relaxed. It was nice!

This weekend was so busy, lots of work, lots of packing of packages, lots of organization! And spending time with Mr. McPorkchop! This weekend was our anniversary and from now until August I'll only be seeing him on the weekends, aweee!!!! Also, My mom surprised me on Saturday with an iphone in the mail! I should say that my previous cell phone was Wes's and I used it after he passed away, I don't know why but I liked using something of his daily. Comforting I guess? Sadly, it was on its last legs and so was my moms phone, they both were 7+ years old! That's unheard of in cell phones, lol, so we both got a fancy upgrade. My mom texts now. OMG. Hilariously AWESOME! I looooove it!!!

I'm spending the day working on PADS! Yes!!!!! I'm going to try and put some liners in the shop tonight or tomorrow depending on how much I get done. I'm working on orders and extra goodies to add in those packages. Yay!!!!

Late tonight check back here! It's the start of Sew Mama Sews blog give away!!! The giveaway will be open until the 31st of May so there will be tons of time to enter! I'll be giving away THREE DAILY LINERS!!! To THREE different lucky ladies!!! YESSSSS! So check back here late tonight for the official post!

In the mean time, I need to shower and get sewing!

Leave me a comment of your favorite iphone ap, tip, anything! I'm a tech newb! lol! So far my favoritest thing has been kindle! You can download books to your iphone! love love love!!!! Oh! And my ring tone :) It's the theme to the Office! :):)

Have an amazing Tuesday everyone!

xoxox

{*Bye For Now*}

in

Good:

  • Tomorrow I'm going to Redding.
  • Tomorrow I'm going to the Doctor.
  • I bought two honeybuns.
  • I bought a Singer Featherweight.
  • It was sunny out today.
  • I learned foundation piecing.
  • I have unopened packages in my front room that contain surprises!
  • My best friend graduated from college this weekend!

Semi Good:

  • I gave my best friend who graduated a card. That played music. I left it on his front door.
  • I got my sewing machine back from the repair shop and it was a lot cheaper than I expected.
  • I'm having house guests next weekend.
  • I did laundry today. Kinda.

Bad:

  • I have the flu. Think nothing makes me happy. Not even Maru. You know that's a big deal.
  • Someone must have beaten me last night in my sleep because I feel terrible.
  • I've slept more than 15 hours a DAY since Friday.
  • It's sunny outside and I'm missing it.
  • I missed the farmers market.
  • I missed my best friends graduation.
  • I leave for Redding at 4:30 am. Today. Tomorrow morning. Whatever.
  • I have unopened packages from friends in my living room that I haven't been able to open because of reason #2 in the bad list. I'm afraid I'll sneeze, cough, ruin them. Or cut myself open them. I may or may not have almost cut myself trying to open a package of theraflu. Seriously? Who designs those things? Don't they know sharp objects + sick people = accident waiting to happen?!
  • It's been almost 2 months without a paycheck. Ouch. xten.
  • I have 6!!! amazing packages ready to be mailed to friends and I haven't touched them. Also because of reason #2. +#1
  • One of my packages is waiting for fabric. From Japan. That hasn't arrived yet >:(

Thankfully:

  • My mom is amazing and I'm going to the doctors tomorrow. A real doctor. My real doctor. My real doctor who knows that once my sinuses are infected (for 3+ months mind you) that its time to call in antibiotics. She's a normal doctor.
  • I'm coming home on Thursday from Redding so I'll have pads, presents, trades, finished blocks, snacks, treats and trinkets in the mail the following Monday when I get home. Come hell or highwater.
  • I'm making a honeybun quilt while I'm at my moms. I'm not working on swaps, blocks, pads, etc while I'm there because she's a cigarette smoker (moooooommmmm~!!!!! QUITTTT!!! COME ON!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!) and I don't want to expose fabrics that aren't for me to that. >:(
  • It's sunny in Redding and I can sew outside! I can sit in the sunshine! I can bake the sickness out of my body! Or fall over from heat stroke. Either or.
  • I'm making my bestfriend who's graduation I missed a quilt. A robot and panda themed kawaii quilt. With that fabric. From Japan. That's not here yet. But some of it is!!! Hopefully a quilt will put me back on the BFF list.

Until next time when I'm not asleep at the keyboard and drowning in my own mucus *tmi! tmi!!!!!*, I hope you had a great weekend! I'm not sure if I'm going to be bringing my laptop with me! We'll see how alert I am in the morning :) I'm also trying a new comment platform that lets me reply to you via comment and it should be emailing you when I reply *crosses fingers*

xoxo~sickmcsicksteinmsmcporkchopsneezebucketthe4th.

{*Trinkets*}

in

I'm going to visit my mom! I'm going I'm going I'm going!!! I'm soooo excited!!! I'm leaving insanely early in the morning on Monday! YESSSSSSSSS! Best part? Her BEST FRIEND from Boston is coming!!! YESSSSS!!!! I'm sensing I'm going to gain so much weight and die from laughter.

Mr.McPorkchop starts his summer job on Monday and sadly, he's gone all week long. But the plus side is normally I'm extra productive when he's not here! The bad side? He needs to teach me photoshop before he leaves. Something is completely wonky with my adobe lightroom + flickr, its graying and darkening my photos and I HATE IT!!! I searched their forums and did all the suggestions and if anything, they look WORSE! Sheesh. So I'm going to try photoshop and learn how to resize and straighten photos. I'm kinda terrified of photoshop. xten. Even wordpress is slightly flattening my photos :( I wish I could show you how pretty they look on my screen!

I'm really excited about this summer! I'm doing two craft shows in Northern California with my mom! In preparation for this I've made a list of things that I'm going to sell! Coin purses! Clutches! And...baby quilts!!! YESSSS!!! How exciting is this?! They are in June and in July, so I have tons of time to prepare for each event. I'm not going into it thinking that I'm going to sell a ton of stuff, I do a *lot* of business research and realize that now isn't the time that people are spending freely, but it would be a blast to try something new and I get to spend time with my mom + help her!!!! I bought 80 zippers last night! lol. Of course some of those will be used for pad bags but is it bad that I can't wait for them to arrive so I can take cute photos of them?!

I bought a hello betty honeybun today! It's my first honeybun! I used a jelly roll for a Neptune coin quilt and it was super fun so these little strips will be extra fun!

have a great night! xoxo

{*Crumbles of Ideas*}

in

I had such a nice weekend!

Mr.McPorkchop & I drove to Redding on Friday and hung out with my mom for Mothers Day. Boy, its a shock to the system to go from 50 degrees to 90! lol! She had booked a craft show for Saturday but sadly couldn't get the day off from work, so I did the show for her! It was nice to just sit outside under a canopy and talk to people and sell her ceramics! She's such a talented mom! She also the most self-less person EVER. EVER. She'd give you anything but never do anything for herself so imagine my surprise when I saw her brand new hot tub! Hollllly smokes. Waterfall. Jets for even your feet. Beautiful lights. I'm so so so glad she did something for herself that makes her so happy and relaxed. It was so nice, even though it was very warm during the day, at night it cooled down and we both sat in the tub and chatted. Nice!

Sunday was so so so awesome! The quilt shop is now open on Sundays and we did a sit and sew from 11 til after 8. It was AWESOME! I got to hang out with all my favorite ladies, Liz, Brenda Lou, Larissa (who is rumored to be starting a blog!!! yessss!), Angie and Laura. BEST! Angie showed us two new quilts that she and Weezie are working on the patterns for. Hollllllly smokes, they both were PHENOM. I can't wait to get my greedy little hands on them. Since I'm a complete quilting newb and learning to read patterns, I offered to test quilt for her, lol. I'm such dork! ;)

I cut some linen yardage into 2.5 inch strips and then into squares. Then I cut into all those gorgeous fabrics from my last post. Just a 2.5 inch strip. And so began my new love affair with 9 patches. Wow. Those are just wayyy too much fun!!! I'm going to do the 9 patchalong! You should totally join me! AND!!! I got to play around with Liz's featherweight! I promptly fell in love, came home and emailed Mr. McPorkchops Dad about them. He's so good about finding cool stuff for me, lol. I'm going to start squirreling away $10 a week so I can afford one hopefully by my birthday in August. haha.Wishful thinking right? I might be dragging my mom and Caren to some thrift stores.

I just had my mail man bring me my 1/4 inch foot for my machine! woot! I'm going to try and work on finishing up my queen size quilt so I can send it off to the quilter! Yay!!! I also got a huge bundle (huge to me, lol!) of fabrics for my quilt and just now I got the pattern. Woot! It looks slightly complicated to cut, so I might wait til Thursday :):)

Have a great Monday friends!!! xoxo

ps, if you can help me, I'd be forever thankful! I've been looking through flickr help for the past hour and everything they suggest I've sadly done :( meaning srgb :(

{*The Future Looks Bright*}

in

OMG! Best mail day EVER! BESTTTT!!!!

All those fabrics are destined to be pads! The month of May is going to be so fantastic business wise! I'm dying to get started! Can't WAITTTTTT!!!!! Wildwood is my favoritest new fabric collection EVER. And I bought Michael Miller funky Christmas! And and and OWLS! And APPLES!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSS!

I got a present from my friend Yahaira! Love love LOVE! She sent me a copy of Happy Hooker so I can learn how to crochet! AND! A skein of gooooorgeous yarn and I'm charging my camera battery so I can take a proper photo! I also got a present from Amanda! She sent me some munkimunki sushi fabric AND some gorgeous new jewels! Wow! Am I spoiled or WHAT! And wait, last week Melissa send me TWO HR prints! WHHHHATTT!!! Yup!!!

So ready for this? I'm trying something new. Well new-ish for me! I'm using traditional fabrics!!! Well, what I'd consider traditional prints, from Fig & Plum. So maybe modern traditional? Holy gorgeous. The rich burgundies. The luminous peach. The chocolately browns. Yup. It's totally not me, but so me. It reminds me of my grandparents house. So to mix it up I'm using this tutorial to make a zig zag quilt! It uses my favorite way of making triangles, favorite in that I've done it three times now so it doesn't feel too scary. I'm going to make a bunch of smaller lap quilts for the back of my couch. Our house is essentially two rooms and one room is all windows. All 1920s windows. Who leak air. And it gets COLD in here. The curtains move with the wind. So sheesh, I guess in order to help my power bill I'm going to have to start making more and more quilts. Or buy a snuggie. But you know. Quilts are better! Although it appears snuggies are coming with free book lights..oh the CHOICES!!!!!! THE DEBATE!!!

Then once I'm done with that I'm going to finish up my Neptune Coin Quilt top. Then finish piecing together my retreat quilt, I'm not in a huge rush to finish it, as I'm going to take a long arm quilting class so I can quilt it myself. I'm still working on two hex quilts which will be long term and my Heather Ross dream quilt! I have 4 long term projects which is pretty good. Each have decent chunks done of them. My hexes I work on by hand and applique once I have a bunch done. My Heather Ross quilt so many people are mailing me bits and pieces of fabric from their own stashes! It feels so so so weird to work on multiple projects at once, almost scary! I'm very much a project starter and finisher. I want to get things done in a timely manner, but as my quilting pals say "enjoy the process!". Well...ok. twist my arm!

I bought a pattern last night too! I'm making it out of County Fair by Denyse Schmidt. I'm pretty excited! All her patterns look ammmmmazzzzzzing, I'm going to try that one first just to see if its something I can do and then I'm going to get a few others!

Tonight I'm planning on sitting on the couch and alternating between learning to crochet and binding my moms mothers day gift! New Bones! Office! 30 Rock! Southland! BESTTTT!!!!

Also, wow. too much sleep turned into no sleep! I was up until 4 am sewing and reading! Oops!

I'm super behind on flickr messages. For some reason they weren't being emailed to me! So I have 15 swaps that I'm doing with friends and I need to organize myself to please bear with me!!!!

xoxo have a great Thursday!!!!

{*Cleaning Machine*}

in

Wow! Guys! WOW!

I had no idea so many people would come to my defense! You all totally made my day. I got at least ten emails from ladies saying that at some point in their sewing, someone has been way harsh to them as well, which made me feel better, but then I got ANGRY. Seriously? What gives other people the right to be so mean? Sheesh. But I'm pretty thankful to have you all to be so insanely nice!

I've been so so so tired lately. I have no idea why. Yesterday I got home and slept for almost 5 hours on the couch and then had no problems falling asleep last night and then sleeping until noon today. Eek. I feel like I could fall asleep again at any second now! I'm just beat!

Good news!!! My sewing machine is coming back on Tuesday! Woot! It had a computer problem :( Sad! But yay for it coming home! woot!

Today I've been housecleaning. It's extremely humid today so I have all the windows open and I'm thankful for the slightest breeze. I'm going to vacuum in a few minutes. I made myself an ironing board!!! YAY!!! So I have a regular ironing board and hate it. So I usually iron on some towels on my counter. Yeah. SO BAD. I know.

Today I went to the quilt shop and bought some heat resistant fabric! It was really cheap, I think a little over $5 a yard! SCORE! I used up some pieces of 100% cotton batting. And I got some momo while I was there! OMG. Staple guns are a BLAST. I kept looking for other things to staple in place when I was done. lol. It was really fast and really easy. It's just a tv tray! How cool is that? So it folds up flat when its not being used. It's the perfect height, I was able to sit in my chair and work on my blocks for the online quilting bee I'm part of, a bunch of the ladies already have their blocks done!

It's kinda nerve wracking sewing with someone elses fabric so I'm going realllllly slowly.

Tonight I'm going to make the backing for my moms mothers day gift, pin it and quilt it. It's a good tv night :) Lie to me, criminal minds and csi ny. I never ever watched this much tv until I started sewing. For some reason it makes time fly by! I used to feel guilty but I watch all sorts of great stuff, especially since we get TWO Pbs channels here! yessssss!

I've been reading quite a bit lately. I read the newest James Patterson Ladies Murder Club! I forget that Costco discounts the heck out of their hardcover books. I'm reading a Robert Ludlum book currently. I've been super annoyed with my sewing lately, I spent more time yesterday unsewing/seam ripping quilt than I did actually sewing! lol! Hopefully tonight goes a little smoother!

OH! And you know my mixed tape quilt? With the yellow sashing? Well I decided to donate the quilt top! One of my friends who I quilt with on Thursdays donates quilts to local dialysis patients. I thought the bright yellow sashing might make someone completely smile, the bright is totally cheery! It's a win win situation!

Have you started your mothers day gifts yet? Do you have anything planned for them? I'm hoping to get mine done tonight and bound tomorrow. It's totally my mom and I super hope she loves it!

xoxo

{*Small*}

in

Small is sort of how I feel lately.

Little a little drop in a very, very, very large bucket.

Big things happen, I mean, they are big to me, but in the grand scheme of things, they are small.

I was asked to make a hex bag similar to the one I made myself. That's a huge deal. I made it. And its awesome. I've been asked to be part of FIVE quilting bees, FIVE. I've had to say no to that simply because just one makes me nervous. I'm been making new friendships left and right. That's a small thing but a big thing. I've been getting involved with some swaps with some really neat people! Super big fun! This makes me so so so happy!

But I've been extremely discouraged lately. I know its mostly because I'm not working so I'm throwing myself into larger more challenging projects. This should bring me pleasure but instead, I'm just feeling grumpy and overwhelmed. Just off I guess.

I started a new quilt this weekend, one that I'm very much proud of. One that I might enter into a quilt show. Instead of being happy about it, I've been stressing about a batch of snarky flickr messages someone sent me about it. How my "quilting was all wrong" and "shot cotton doesn't work well in this quilt" and "I'm not pinning enough". How my quilt is going to end up "stiff". This is from someone who isn't even a contact. Sheesh. Talk about a downer.

Tomorrow is a new day though and I'm not going to dwell on this! Breathe! Breathe! Move forward!

So friends...what is your favorite way to destress???

{*Restless*}

in

I get so annoyed when my little shop just sits and sits like this. I get tons of emails about when I'm updating next and I hate replying with vague answers. ARGH. SO ANNOYING. I'm totally a work-a-holic and just want to be PRODUCTIVE. Each year I swear I'm going to worry less but it never happens ;)

I've been doing a *ton* of quilting lately. Someone asked why I'm not using my quilting machine for pads and the answer is that it only sews zig zags and straight stitches. It's a reallllly basic work horse machine. Yesterday I bought stickers to stick on it. Now I have a weird little frog fellow, some nesting dolls, some bees. All sorts of weird little Japanese Kawaii stickers. love love LOVE them!

Have you put stickers on your sewing machine? Or personalized it? I feel kinda guilty and haven't stuck any on there yet. I haven't even named it but I'm leaning towards Ethel. "Your true blue Ethel" Yup. My favorite movie line ;)

So the gift for M to the OM is almost done. It needs to be quilted and bound.

Want to see?

That's all I can say about it until I give it to her. I'll fully admit that it was not fun to sew. Something about sewing for other people really really really stresses me out. Which is why I take a tiny amount of custom orders. Sewing for someone else, especially someone who's either paying you or someone you love, is so hard! I obsess over every little tiny detail. I will drive myself insane and frequently become BFF with my seamripper!

Tomorrow is cleaning day. Spring cleaning even! Ohhh boy. I need to organize my fabric shelf, screen print some bags for projects, organize my quilting projects. Saturday Mr.McPorkchop & I are spending the wholllllleeee day together, no homework, no computers, no sewing! I'm not sure what we are doing yet but I'm sure it'll be great!

So tell me about your sewing machine and if you've made it even cuter :):)

xoxo

I *knew* I forgot something! If anyone knows of a great cathedral window quilt tutorial, send it my way! I want to learn so bad, but the hand sewn way, not machine :):)

{*Shopity Shop!*}

in

Shop news! Shop news!

I sent out several emails tonight about pads! And a few got sent back to me as undeliverable! :( I know a lot of you read my blog so please contact me if you've purchased a custom order and haven't heard from me!!! :):):)

I haven't heard back about my work machine yet and I've sent customers emails regarding that. :) Unless there is a major problem (cross your fingers that nothing serious will happen to Mr.Brother) I'm thinking I'll hear back from them by Friday. Or I'm calling tomorrow. Depends on how impatient I get ;)

I'm so excited!!!! Four awesome fabric collections just came out and I bought tiny bits of each one!!! Did someone say Christmas in May? Because thats what I heard! Be prepared for a major pad update once I get my machine back. I've been serging serging serging so once machine is back in my arms, its going to be a pad factory here!!! I'm washing more fleece tomorrow or Friday to make more cores. Woot! I'm *so* excited and I can't wait to make more. It's weird how a forced break makes me want to make pads so FIERCELY. I'm JAZZED!

Today I got some english paper pieced hex flower blocks DONE!!! EEEE!!! I'm going to take some photos tomorrow. Liz was so awesome and helped me design it so much better than what I originally came up with! We went with 50 hexes and I have 17 DONE. Woot!!!!

I'm also working on a top secret project for a certain lady who I'll be seeing May 8th-10th. Not to use any names, but she begins with M and ends with OM. I so hope she likes it. Does anyone else get extremely nervous when sewing for other people? I do!!! xten!

I'm super behind on emails, flickr, etc! Once I get home from quilting tomorrow I'm dedicating an hour to that stuff! It's amazing how fast stuff comes in. I love love love it though. I even got my fabric for my quilting bee block!!! eee!!! Awesome stuff!!!

Ok gang! Off to work on a top secret M to the OM project!

On a side note: I want to start silkscreening project bags. I've been using a large organic cotton produce bag for my quilt fabrics/tops/etc and today I drew up several designs to print on them! Lots of people here use clear plastic bags but illustrated cotton ones could be cute right?!