Little Twinkle Toes

A little of this...

2010-06-23T09:47:00.001-07:00

So I was able to add a few items to my store, but not as much as I'd hoped. Some 4th of July items, and the quilt I FINALLY finished made it in last weekend's stocking! Along with sewing my girls some matching dresses for the 4th, I just haven't had as much time to break out the sewing machine. They sure do look cute though!

For my next stocking I'd like to get a couple Baby-shower sets made... maybe booties, bib, burp cloth, and a onesie. PLUS I've been wanting to attempt some boutique-style girls clothing... I'm getting more & more competent (and confident!) with my serger, and I need to branch out a little I think. I'm wanting to do some major ruffles for some reason... one of my friends suggested some ruffly diaper covers, but I'm also imagining ruffle dresses, shirts with ruffles, maybe even some ruffle capris! Too bad boys can't wear ruffles... I feel bad always leaning towards girl stuff, but I guess that just what I'm drawn too... I'm definitely not going to spend what little time I have sewing something that doesn't make me happy, ya know?

On a different note, I have an idea for baby socks... a design that won't fall off... I'm going to be slowly making & testing them, and hopefully will be ready to sell them by this fall/winter!

Time flies & sewing went out the window...

2010-06-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

So after a year-long hiatus, I'm attempting to get back into the swing of things! Hopefully balancing a full-time desk job, 3 kids, and the normal house stuff won't be too daunting. Currently restocking my etsy shop with more booties that I love so much, and will be adding sets, and maybe even an awesome quilt soon... as long as the baby lets me have a few minutes a day at the sewing machine of course!

11 Weeks....

2009-07-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

This is why I've been MIA:

Your baby is now between 1.5 inches and 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) long and weighs 8 grams (0.3 ounces)! He or she is almost the size of large lime--but much sweeter! This is a rapid growth stage, and your baby's length and weight will likely double in the next three weeks. At this point, the head is almost half the size of the body, but that will change in the weeks to come. Your baby's head also begins to "uncurl" as the chin lifts and the head rolls backwards towards the spine, allowing the neck to better develop and grow. Now there are fingernails! The genitalia are also developing during this time frame, though the sex of your baby is still a secret.

More sewing to come soon as the nausea lets up and (hopefully) some energy returns as we approach the end of the first trimester!

Baby Gift

2009-06-15T08:31:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Little Twinkle Toes

Made for a friend of a friend's baby

Up-cycled Newborn Gown

2009-06-15T08:30:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Little Twinkle Toes

Made from a torn blouse

Quilt Top

2009-06-15T08:29:00.001-07:00

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Originally uploaded by Little Twinkle Toes

One of my three crib-size quilt tops... ready for Quilting instructions today!

A great weekend...

2009-06-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

Along with some exciting family news, my weekend was pretty fabulous in my opinion. I had a three days weekend thanks to my every other Friday off... Friday was spent sewing some baby gifts for a friend, sewing blocks together for my 3 crib-quilts to catch up with O.R.B. Co's Quilt Along, and up-cycling an old work blouse into an adorable newborn gown (see photos in next post). Unfortunately I missed my book-club meeting :( My best friend was sent to the E.R. around 6 p.m with severe chest pains and I didn't feel right leaving here there until her hubby could get off work to be with her. Luckily she was able to go home later that night, but she got no explanation for the pain... we're all praying that it was just a fluke, and not an indication of a real problem. Saturday was spent cleaning, and getting started on cutting the fabric for my mom's lounge chair. I'm hoping to finish the cushions up this week. Yesterday my hubby and I took some friends up to the lake for a few hours, and got to spend a lot of time just floating around and relaxing! I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

This coming Friday is my birthday, and since it falls on Father's Day weekend, we are trying to plan a little get-away with the kids. I have next Monday off, so we are thinking about taking the kids to a nearby campground for their first tent-camping experience on Sunday afternoon/night, and then take them up to the lake on Monday. It should be fun!

A productive night...

2009-06-10T08:55:00.001-07:00

I was able to wrap up & add 3 new pairs of booties to my Etsy shop, and press/cut my fabric for the Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along! YAY!! I'm determined to catch up this week... we'll see how that goes. This weekend I'm planning on starting a project for my mom too. She bought a really cool double-lounge chair (Like this, but without the arms) and wants cushions made for it. She bought the foam, and some really cool red & white outdoor fabric. I have made pillows before, but never with outdoor material, and never on this large of a scale! I'm going to be making some piping to go around the edges in hopes of concealing any uneven seams. I did order a piping foot, so hopefully that will make the piping process easier! Now I just have to figure out how to join two pieces of foam together for the larger bottom piece... I'm hoping that maybe some spray adhesive along with a layer of muslin will help keep the pieces together and disguise the joint. I'll try to take pictures and post updates as I go along.

I was sooooo tempted to call in sick today...

2009-06-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

I got my fabric in the mail last night!! YAY! I was so tempted to call in sick to work and stay home to start cutting my strips for the Quilt-Along... but I was a good girl and came to work. I'm not getting anything done though, well except for trying to decide if I should make 3 crib quilts, or two twin quilts! Along with looking at various quilting techniques, and cool variegated thread... My mind is definitely in Quilt-Land, I can't make it stay in work-mode.

While I was pre-washing the fabric, I (finally) made 4 more pairs of baby booties for the shop. I finished them up around 10:30 pm, so there was not good lighting for pics... so I will have to add them once I get home this evening.

Sewing is hardly leaving any time for me to do my book-club reading! We have our meeting this Friday evening, and I'm only half-way through the book... I should bring it to work with me and read it during my breaks, because I know every evening this week will be spent sewing and trying to catch up! ACK! I really wish there were more hours in the day... So much to do, yet so little time.

I can't wait....

2009-06-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

for my Quilt-along fabric to get here!!! Here's a digital sample :)

Along with another cute Bot-Camp print for the binding... then I'll just need to find a coordinating fabric for the back once I figure out how large my finished top is! I'm very inpatiently waiting for my package of fabric to arrive... then I'll be frantically trying to catch up to the quilt along!

Sunny Day Shirt & Old Red Barn Co. Quilt Along!!

2009-06-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

This is Rylee in the Sunny Day Dress/Top blogged here.

I have also decided to participate in Old Red Barn Co.'s Quilt along!! Yeah, I bit the bullet and took the plunge when I saw Michael Miller's Bot Camp fabric! I had to do SOMETHING with it, and I liked all of the fabrics too much to choose just a few for some booties... so I just placed my order for almost the whole line! ACK! I'm excited, but nervous... I've never done a "real" quilt before. Then I just have to figure out what to do with a finished quilt for a little boy... my boy is going to be 10 this year, so I doubt he'd be thrilled with the toddler-esque prints... Plus, I won't even mention the fact that June is a crazy buzy month for me, and week 3 of the 6 week quilt along already started!! Oh well... at least the blog will be around for later reference as I plug along at my own pace! I should be spending what little free time I have making stock for my ETSY shop, but I can't stop myself! Tonight I'm going to be working on a birthday gift for my friends daughter... a cute scrappy belt with matching headband and bracelets! YAY!!! I swear if I could spend my whole day sewing I would be in heaven... ok, ok, I'll get back to work now :)

And the winner is......

2009-06-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

MC!!!
He writes: “So my wife used to be a nanny of 2 boys. She was with them for almost 3 years. When the oldest was around 3 he was really into Thomas and trains in general. His favorite Thomas character was Percy. He had all of the trains and about a mile worth of track and one day he couldn’t find the Percy train. Mind you, this is a 3 year old with a bit of a lisp He kept asking my wife and his mom “Where is my Percy? Where is my Percy?” Not good.
His mom and my wife got a good giggle out of it.”

Why do they make kids characters so hard to pronounce… let alone, precariously similar to inappropriate terms?! Look for an e-mail from me later today!

There were so many good stories (I wish I had time to make/send everyone who commented something) I had to choose a runner up… Shelly’s story wasn’t really a mispronunciation, but it still made me laugh until I almost cried! (maybe it’s because I teach the 3 & 4 year olds at my church, so I can DEFINITELY relate) She writes: “I can’t think of a good mispronunciation story (and my LO is only 2 mo old), so I’ll share another funny kid story, even if I don’t qualify for the drawing. My husband and I were in charge of singing time with the toddlers at church and we started up a round of “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” with the instruction being to jump up and down. One child piped up and said, “I can’t jump, because if I do, I’ll go poo poo and I don’t want to go poo poo right now.”

I’ll also be contacting Shelly today to send her a little something

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Giveaway, and a big thanks to Sew Mama Sew again for hosting!!