I'm excited because we ordered a new laptop yesterday. The one we have is a dinosaur. It's a Gateway with Vista but it's old and the battery dies after 20 minutes. So inconvienent! So with the help of my son-in-law, we ordered a new Acer Aspire with built-in webcam and Windows 7! I am excited to make a notebook sleeve and bag for the new laptop. Oh that means choosing new fabrics! Yeah!!!!

This also means I can do webcam with my family a whole lot easier. At least three to four times a week, I get to see these faces via the webcam.

This was taken Jan. 30, 2010. They helped me make the birthday cake for Asher, on the left.  They loved licking the beaters! I just love to watch them grow. Today as I was chatting with their momma, who is 27 weeks pregnant with twin boys, I saw the blanket covering her belly move! Those boys were moving and kicking in there. How cool is that?

We are 2 1/2 hours apart and yet because of technology, I get to see this miracle. Another benefit to having webcam is that when Izzy (Elizabeth) comes to visit me in a week or two, she can visit her momma and daddy via the cam when she gets sad. Although I am the queen of her world when she is around me so there won't be any missing of momma and daddy. Wishful thinking, she is three.

I hope to make her some cute clothes while she is here. Maybe another skirt and a simple summer dress. Maybe I can teach her how to sew with a plastic needle and some plastic canvas. Hmmm...sounds like a plan. I made the skirt in this picture.

Maybe I can pass on my current stand alone webcam to my other daughter and she can then connect with her sister and the kids like I do. And I can see her and Za, even though they live 35 minutes away and we see them at church. It would be fun to chat with Za a few times a week too. I love his cheeks!

Today I made a few of these easy peasy wallets. I found the tutorial at Craftster awhile back but finally bought the snaps. I also found a snap setter and an eyelet tool in the summer at a rummage sale. Score! Here is the one I made for a special friend.

 

It's for a dear friend that I went to visit in CA back in November, for a birthday trip. I made her a big tote bag as a thank you for hosting me in her home and showing me all around the town and taking me to Disneyland on her birthday. She tells me all the time she loves the bag. So accessories are always a great idea.

Sew Mama Sew has this tutorial and contest for this homemade Valentine using a fabric envelope and card. After two tries of getting my squares even, I finally  have a finished product I am willing to post pictures of.

My stitching is not great and I tried to learn how to use my sewing machine's fancy stitching and letter embroidery. Not too bad for a beginner at those things. And I did my first snap set! Now I am all ready for those easy peasy wallets I have wanted to make.

How about joining the party or stopping by for more crafty ideas for Valentines Day. You still have time to make something filled with love.

A few weeks ago my daughter and her family came to spend the weekend with us. Since Izzy (Elizabeth) is three now, she remembers things and is getting so smart. I know, shameless grandma brag there. We have a webcam and for a few weeks I have been telling her that she is coming to Damma's house and we will have a Tinkerbell tea party. The plan was for my daughter, Izzy and myself to wear our Tinkerbell pajamas and have a girly tea party.

Well things didn't go quite as planned but we did have our tea party. Our tea party was attended by Izzy, me, her mommy, my two grandsons, who are 2 and 18 months and my other daughter. So we had boys at our tea party and we didn't wear our Tinkerbell jammies. We still had loads of fun. I served tea and miniature cupcakes and the kids enjoyed their miniature tea cup/mug I had just for them. Every time we did webcam, Izzy and Asher would ask to see their special tea cup/mug. I think I was more excited over the whole thing. I took pictures and a few videos. Here are some pictures. Izzy and Asher are siblings and their momma is expecting twin boys in April. Isaiah, or Za, is my other daughter's son and he is a sweetie pie too!

Za could not wait for the goodies!

Asher brought his binky to the tea party.

Here I am helping Izzy pour "cream" into her tea.

It was really cold water to make the tea drinkable for them.

Of course we need sugar!

Brittany and Asher having tea.

Za after his cupcake, he didn't have tea.

Lauren and Za, her messy boy.

And last but not least, my favorite picture of the day.

Damma and her girl!

Inside:

With the second refill journal:

In order to adjust from the original set of directions, I started with a piece of fabric that was 20 x 24 inches. I used heat and bond interfacing for a stiffer cover. Then I sewed together the 20 inch ends. I hemmed each end of the "tube". Then I turned it right side out and followed the rest of the original directions found at Jenny of Elefantz

Coasters are so easy to make. That is if you can follow the directions! I tried to make a set of coasters for a friend and I am really not sure what went wrong because I measured and cut according to the directions but ended up with very small coasters. I was doing a patchwork design and I was to make a strip using 4 different fabric scraps. For some reason beyond my comprehension, it did not work right. It came up short by 1/2 an inch. So I resorted to my own design and made these.

My friend loved them. I need to make another set for my own home and to have on hand for those last minute hostess gifts. Which reminds me, I need to make that journal cover tonight!

Back in the fall, I had someone ask me to make an apron as a Christmas gift. Now, I love aprons and the purpose they serve but I was asked to make a reproduction vintage apron from the 1950's. Guess what? I had never sewn an apron before the request was made. I thought how much different from a purse could this be! lol...

Ok so I bought a pattern and all the supplies for a test apron. That one bombed on me but I found the mistakes and learned how to correct them on the real apron for the customer. I made this for her giftee:

This baby took more than 2 yards of fabric, tons of ironing and about 9 yards of 1/4 inch bias tape. I will never work with bias tape that small again on this scale.

But this pattern included several apron patterns and I decided I needed my own apron. I already own a few but they are blue and basic. I just wanted something that was tailored to me. I do own 2 of my grandmother's vintage aprons but they are too small for me.

Sigh.

I dug through my stash of fabrics and found the fabric shower curtain I bought at Goodwill back in the summer for $1.00. This was a thicker fabric, sturdier than cottons for quilting but totally washable. I bought it to make a few make-up bags with zippers. Those never materialized but I knew the fabric was going to come in handy. So I used one of the other apron designs in the package and made this fun and simple apron. I did use 1/4 inch bias tape but it was only for the edging, not for joining seams like in the first apron.

I love the little piggies and all the fun scenes in this fabric. Let me say that I wear this thing a whole lot around the house. It keeps me dry when I wash dishes. I am one of the last remaining folks who does not own an electric dishwasher.
Sigh.
Today I wore it to make yet another loaf of my homemade Rosemary-Parmesan focaccia bread to go with our dinner of pasta with sausage and vodka sauce. Yum! I simply love this apron. I hope to find another pretty shower curtain to make more aprons because I wash this one every couple of days. It would be nice to have a few more in different prints.