Volume 21: A new pattern and a good catch up

Hi! It’s been a few weeks! I took a trip with my husband and then we came back to full-on wedding preparations. But, I’m excited to check in with you today and share what I’ve been working on.

Elephant Doll Pattern

First up, there’s a new pattern in my shop and it’s a super cute one! I made this elephant doll for my great nephew who turned one this month. I wanted to start a new line of dolls with a different body shape and it turned out so cute. It’s very cuddly for little ones! You can buy this pattern in my shop or on Etsy.

My other ideas for this doll shape so far are a bumblebee and a penguin, but I’m of course open to suggestions.

I was in the spirit of toddler gifts after that, so I posted a video yesterday with ideas for things to sew for toddlers. There are a lot more great ideas in the comments, so be sure and scroll to those when you watch it.

Crochet Edge Pillowcases

Before my trip, I had posted a video about things I was sewing Natalie for her bridal shower. I wanted to make them two cotton pillowcases and add a crochet trim as my road trip project. After some trial and error, I did finish them and Natalie really loves them.

I said after some trial and error because I had a hard time finding good instructions and eventually just went my own way. The vintage crochet edging books I have in my stash were actually very complicated designs and I didn’t feel like I had time for that. So I ended up sewing a blanket stitch around the top edge so I had something to crochet onto, and then I just used a simple shell stitch. Sometimes keeping it basic is just fine!

Ribbon Wands

One of the wedding crafts we’ve been working on is these ribbon wands and they turned out so pretty, I had to share. These are what the guests will wave as the bride and groom leave the venue. We ordered 12” dowels on Amazon and then cleared out Hobby Lobby’s ribbon aisle. We also used a ton of vintage lace in my stash that I was gifted by a friend, so I was happy for all that lace to have found it’s purpose. Each wand also has a tiny bell on the end. We simply wrapped the pile of ribbon around the dowel with hot glue. We had to make 120 and it really didn’t take that long. I’m sure I’ll have good pictures of them later in use, but this is the best I have for now.

My mother-in-law, my mom, my husband, my girls and I were all involved in the wedding crafts and got them all knocked out last weekend! We made big bows for the ends of the rows of chairs, we decorated the mason jars for the centerpiece flowers. We’ll go to Trader Joe’s the day before the wedding for those flowers and all the bridesmaids are going to help make the centerpieces. We tied the programs with ribbon and Natalie made the place cards and other little signs on her Cricut. It’s less than 3 weeks away now and we are all so excited.

Camp Snap 2

I recently bought a little camera called a Camp Snap. Have you heard of them? It’s a very lightweight, simple little digital camera that lives in my purse now and it’s helping me take soooo many more pictures. I love photography, but don’t want tote my big camera around like I used to. The Camp Snap doesn’t have a screen, so it takes you back to the days of film, when you had to wait to see what you got. But it does have a little chip and holds up to 500 photos and is just so FUN. I took it on our trip, and I took it to the bridal shower. I enjoy this so much more than iPhone photos. I love it so much, I signed up to get an affiliate link, so you can get $5 off it you want to try it. It’s my new favorite thing.

Moving my sewing room

In last week’s video about hot weather fabrics, I asked for opinions on moving my sewing room upstairs where there’s a window and due to all the encouraging comments, I’m going to do it! After the wedding, when Natalie moves out, her room will become the guest room, and I’ll move my sewing room into the current guest room.

My basement room is huge and nicely finished and has so much space, but I reeeaaalllly miss the window. I knew it might be a problem for me, but when we moved here, it made more sense to have a guest room. So I chose the basement, knowing I could change my mind later if I wanted.

The problem is my huge cutting table — it’s extremely heavy and it’s so big — but we’ve come up with a solution for it, so I can’t wait to get up there and out of the basement and show you my new space! I’m very excited about it.

Quilting for stress relief

I wandered down to my sewing room last week, ignored everything I “should” have been working on and made some courthouse steps blocks instead. I didn’t even make them wonky, ha! I wanted to make a little runner for a dresser we fixed up for storage in our main living area. It’s turning out so cute, I’ll definitely film a tutorial on this block soon!

Extra Tidbits

We’ve been watching Best Medicine and loving it. It must be based on Doc Martin, so if you loved that, you’ll love this.
As a wedding gift, we’ve been collecting DVD’s for the new couple. They don’t plan to subscribe to many or any streaming services and they registered for a DVD player instead. It’s been super fun for my husband and I to go to Goodwill and look for movies we know they’d want to own. They’re all just a couple bucks, but they’re going to have such a good collection right out of the gate. I think they’ll have a blast looking through them when they open the gift.
Do you have a reuseable shopping bag? I have a Baggu one my daughter bought me 3 years ago and it’s literally one of our most useful possessions. It lives in my purse with my Camp Snap and it’s amazing how often we need it. Mine is the standard size.
I mentioned my son in a video recently and a few people commented, “you have a SON?” Lol, yes I do! And he just turned 18 last weekend :) His name is Kelby, he absolutely shreds on the electric guitar, he’s a senior in high school, but takes dual credit classes at a college here. He just hasn’t always been as camera eager as my girls, which is why you may not have known, haha.