Woman Vs. Machine

I fought with 3....count em' 3....sewing machines this weekend, and they won!

One was my Singer Touch and Sew 600.....top thread breakage.

Next up, my Moms Singer....bottom thread bunching and jamming.

Finally, my Dads Pfaff....got most of the way through my project...then jamming and top thread breakage!

Boy did I try everything to fix these problems, but sometimes you just have to tap out!

and no, I did not take any photos....but here is a sneak peak of the project that had these machines stumped...



I will not throw in the towel! Next opponent.......Heavy Duty Upholstery Machine!

Pea Pod Purse

Remember this pretty fabric? Well I finally turned it into something!

I am proud to announce my first blog contest winner, AnnMarie, received this pretty spring/summer purse.



The pattern is the Pea Pod Purse from Ottobre Design! Thanks!



Made from reclaimed fabric, this purse is very "green"....it includes a zipper pocket on one side and two sizes of open pockets on the other.





I gained two valuable sewing skills during the process, how to sew binding and invisible zippers (on a curved seam mind you!)




No worries Jessica....yours is coming soon!!

Chalk Painting

We enjoyed the plentiful rain last night!



Afterwards we did one of our favorite things......painting with chalk on the wet cement!






Chalk does amazing things when wet :)






A wonderful mess indeed!

Fathers Day Fun (and tutorial)

Love and apreciation to all the Fathers, Daddy's, Papa's, Daddio's, Pai's, Babba's, Pop's, Papi's, Padre's, and Tatah's out there!



For our own special Daddio, a Mini-Quilt to represent their special bond.



The idea came from Roots and Wings Co., follow the link for the tutorial as well!

I made a few changes to her version,

First I added my husbands hand above kiddo's, so it would look as if he is reaching up for him :)



Then instead of using batting I added a scrap of fleece I had to the back,



and finally added a border of contrasting fabric to the top and bottom to tie it all together!




I have to say....he was quite pleased!



Love you!!

I heart vacation!

Oh to be off work for a week and a half! (and then take another week and a half to recover and begin posting again!!)

Some of the highlights....

Camping with a toddler experiment, which ended in getting rained out (note the stormy clouds in the background)




Dancing with some of the best African Dance instructors in the world (separate post about this later!)



A baseball game under a classic NM sunset

Finally getting a chance to start one of the the highly anticipated gifts.....



....the pattern is cut and the interfacing fused!

ahhh.....it's good to be back....