What do you craft for a crafty friend?

Hello stitchers and stitchin' fans! I've been quite for a little while- but believe me- I've been stitchin'! After Christmas there should be a big reveal of the many projects I've been working on.

Good news! I finished embroidering the blocks of the Noah's Ark quilt! It's gonna be SO cute. I am sending the blocks on to my Grandma Lou- my craft inspiration and mentor- she'll help me piece them together when I am home for Christmas.

Today I wanted to show you a piece that might just be my favorite of anything I have stitched so far. This was made for my OTHER craft guru- Jessa! She inspires me all the time. I love that she can pick up just about any craft and do it well. She's super hip and fun- and she is my lady lobster. What is a lady lobster? It's a soul mate, a bff, someone you connect with on a level you don't even understand fully. You see, Jessa and I love the most wonderful TV show ever: FRIENDS. In one episode, Phoebe was describing Ross and Rachel. She says to Ross that he will be with Rachel- they are lobsters. "Lobsters fall in love and mate for life. You can actually see old lobster couple walking around their tanks holding claws."

So that's what we are, friend lobsters for life. When we are old we will walk around holding claws...and crafting.

So for my crafty, besty, lobster- I made this (it is stitched on a canvas bag):

Two by Two

There is absolutely nothing like procrastinating at your day job to produce some really productive craft time! When my mom and grandma came into town a few weeks ago, we went to the Amish community nearby for food and craft shopping. I got a couple of different patterns for quilt blocks to embroider. I have started the Noah's Ark quilt. It is too cute. Check out these critters:

A big deal!

Last week these lovely ladies came to visit me:

They helped me set up and thread the sewing machine that was purchased for me a few months ago by this lovely lady (Grandma Mary Lou- my craft guru).




So I was all ready for my first sewing project! All it took was a day off and a nap so that I had the energy. When I first got my machine

I bought a couple of easy-to-sew kit at Hobby Lobby. This was the pillowcase. I followed the directions to the

best of my ability and believe it or not, without too much frustration or any fits- I MADE A PILLOWCASE!

I couldn't be more excited. Here are some pics of the event:

Lucky Cat Peek!

When a girl is in the midst of Vacation Bible School- there isn't a whole lot of stitchin' that can be done. This year's theme was SO cute. It was called, "Shake It Up Cafe." There was a food/ cooking theme and downstairs where we ate dinner together each evening, we had a food court! We set up a Mexican, Italian, Chinese/ Japanese, Pizzeria, Donut and Coffee shop. Although I could have been doing a hundred other things the night before the event started, I decided to take a brain break and do my heart and soul a little good by stitching something. So I wouldn't feel guilty about my break, I decided it was the perfect time to break out my "I heart Sushi" patterns from Sublime Stitching and give them a go! The results looked good in our Japanese "restaurant" at VBS!

Hot Stuff

As long as I'm loving embroidery as much as I do right now EVERYONE is getting my work for gift-giving occasions! I have even subjected my poor husband to this. Speaking of my poor husband- he is so awesome. Our love started on match.com- can you believe it? We got married almost four years ago. It's a great life. What do I love about him? He's hilarious, and he cooks. That's certainly not all- but it's big.



Another thing you need to know about him is he is hot stuff...I mean, he likes hot stuff. He has an actual hot sauce collection...over 100 bottles. It has been rumored that he only has a mouth and a butt- no intestines inside. How else could he eat the hottest stuff on the planet and never be phased? So what better to make him than an apron that says "hot stuff" with peppers! It turned out cute- just like him!

For Charly

I have a sister. She is 12 and fabulous. She recently had a poem published in Highlights magazine. She kicks butt at Volleyball and Soccer and she wants to go to Princeton for college. She rocks my world. When I was home in Kansas City for my brother's high school graduation (more about his awesomeness to come) I gave her an honor I have given no one else, I allowed her to pick an embroidery design. I normally pick for my recipients, but I thought I would let her choose. She chose something that I almost chose for her (because we sisters have good taste). She chose a sweet little design that I thought would be perfect on a pillow case. It says, "always kiss me goodnight," and turned out pretty fabulous if I do say so myself. Enjoy!

All ironed up and ready to be gifted!

The finished product was received by "Mama Cates" with great joy!

A pig for Mama Cates

Today I spent 11 hours in the car. Not always the most fun way to spend a day, but I can't complain because I was on the way home from a lovely beach week. While I was riding (my sweet husband did most of the driving) I stitched a lovely tea towel for my friend, Mama Cates.

I can only hope that this kitchen towel will be present for some of the many delicious things Mama Cates makes. She can make anything, I'm pretty sure. She once whipped up the most amazing cake from just junk I had in my kitchen- I don't know how she did it. We are thinking of giving her her own reality show.

And it is a pig- because she is a pigtail (maybe some day I will explain that to you dear readers).

Welcome to this new blog adventure thanks for coming along with me.