Shopping List Saturday

A couple of posts back I posted about the new Zakka sewing book that I had just purchased. Since then I've really haven't done much with it but drool over the photos. But I seem to be more drawn to the whole Zakka thing while I'm searching on Etsy.
1. Happy House by chetanddot I love softies and this is so cute. The embroidery on this is just adorable. What a cute little house to put on a shelf or give to a child.
2. Deer journal/sketchbook by VlasStore I've been doing a lot of journaling lately and this little journal is perfect for writing/drawing cozied up with a nice cup of tea.
3. Mushroom Thread holder by mamazakka This is such a creative and useful way to bring the thread along on a trip for that special project. Useful and cute...who could ask for more?
4. Forest pincushion by TrackandFieldDesigns This fabric on this pincushion makes me think of spring and I am longing for spring. It's just lovely.
5. Bird and House ring by Fluffington I just love how simple and cute this ring is. Perfect for a girl or that special grown girl.
6. Red Riding Hood rubber stamps by craftpudding I have been eyeing these for awhile. They are so darn cute. I've been imagining cute birthday cards of some sort to make with them.

There is some more amazing lists found through FancyPicnic. Go check them out! I hope you all have a great weekend! Happy Saturday!

Random

I've been feeling a bit random this week. My husband had a snow day on Tuesday and a late start on Wednesday and there was lot of playing and building of forts around here. It was nice to feel like a free day for all of us and just slow down, forget about the to-do lists and enjoy the small things. But I have been missing the sun and it's predicted to make an appearance today and I think mentally I'm ready for a little sunshine. So in honor of all things random here's a photo of my new purchase. I picked up this old bread box at an antique store. It's a gorgeous fifties blue with a refective copper door. I bought it thinking I could find some use for it and now it's storing all my packaging supplies. May your Friday be joyful with a sprinkle of sunshine.

Etsy Mail

I got two lovely things in the mail last week from fellow Etsyian morningk.
A vintage Christmas book. I was originally going to use it to make a journal for the inside, having the three birds on the front but once I read the story I may have to keep it as a story. It was such a sweet story about an old man that bought a tiny, ratty Christmas tree from the flower shop and after Christmas he planted it in front of his building and how it grew with love and care. It really was uplifting so I think for now it's going to stay a beautiful vintage book.I also had to get this cute girl with a knitting basket print to hang in my sewing room. I know it's not a necessity but it makes me smile when I look at it and that's what counts!
On a side note: I just found this blog today and she's having a very cute giveaway. She's celebrating the opening of her shop and she has some very cute things! Please go check her out!

Winter Wonderland

After seeing three cars get stuck on the road outside my house I decided it wasn't that imperative that the girls made it to preschool this morning. So what to do when it's snowy outside but too cold to play in it?
Put together a puzzleRead a book Carry around your favorite cars like a dollEnjoy the peace and quite of a day made to stand still, drink tea and listen to a child's giggles.

Shopping List Saturday

I have been taking a knitting class the last few Saturdays so yarn and patterns have been on the mind. These are some great things for any knitter or maybe for someone who would like to become one.1. Monster Yarn Holder by PopsieDaisy This holder is so cute. You just put the yarn in the back pull the thread through the eyelet and zip it up, ta da yarn is contained. Genius!
2. Illusion Wool Felted Pendant by USF379 I had to include this beautiful pendant. I'd love to learn have to felt wool and this is darling.
3. Rusty Red Knitting Needles by Chelle Because sometimes it's nice to have a little color while knitting. She also has a large selection of other designs on knitting needles in her shop.
4. Button and Scarf Knit Pattern by ILiveonaFarm I love this pattern and especially the colors of yarn! This may be my next knitting project.
5. Aqua Glass Stitch Markers by HeyButtons These stitch markers are an amazing color and for some reason when I'm knitting it's nice to slide over a pretty marker instead of a plain plastic one.
6. Knitting Tote Bag by thefunkybaglady A bag for all those knitting supplies, and the red accents and lettering are great!

Go check out all the other people's Saturday lists on FancyPicnic! Have a great weekend I'm feeling truly knitting inspired.

New Contributor

I'm happy to announce a new contributor to the blog, my lovely sister-in-law Michelle. She has lots of fun and crafty ideas to share and sews beautifully. I'm excited to have her be a part of this new adventure with me.
Above is a picture of one of the recent things she's made. A beautiful wool felt purse for her mother-in-law with hand embroidery. And I had to include the tin she found. Because even though we are in different states we seem to collect the same type of things. Welcome Michelle!

Girly Style Wardrobe

I got this book in the mail a few days ago and even though I haven't actually made any patterns from it yet I'm in love with it. I have high ambitions of decking out my girls in cute clothes for this spring and summer. (Of course if I do that then I need to find some patterns for my boy. If you have any suggestions for cute patterns for boys let me know.) I've been looking at this book for awhile and I'm glad I finally used my Christmas money and bought it. It has beautiful photos and the illustrations look very easy to follow if you have basic sewing skills, which is good since I have sewing skills but no Japanese reading skills. I bought this book from YesAsia and was able to get free shipping when I bought a book for my sister-in-law on how to make felt sweets. I am hoping I get lots of felt sweets in the mail...hint hint. I looked for this book also on Etsy but I wasn't able to find it. My two favorite Etsy shops for Japanese fabric and books are good-ness and cottonblue. Check them both out because they have amazing things and they're always adding new stuff.
My camera's battery has died so as soon as it's recharged I'll post pictures of the inside. All I can say is Gorgeous!

Cool Finds and Great Gifts

Why is it the day I really need to be working my motivation is absolutely zilch? I have a ton of things to do today so I decided to write a small post in an effort to get moving. I've been meaning to post a picture of this cute tin I picked up at a local antique store for my oldest daughters fifth birthday. We gave her a sewing machine and I thought this would be perfect to hold her threads and things. I think I love it more than her but she likes that it stores stuff and she loves the sewing machine! A girl after my own heart. The folk images on this tin caught my eye and I knew it was mine, or rather my daughter's.My sister just returned from visiting her boyfriend in Ecuador and she brought us all back some amazing gifts. Of course I think my gift was the best. She brought me these vintage buttons and fabric back and I can't wait to find a use for them. I love the black one with the woman on it.Well here's hoping my day is now more productive!

Inauguration and Scones

It's a new day. Today we have a new president and I'm constantly amazed at the peaceful transition that occurs. It was a great day to teach the kids a little history sitting in the living room, eating scones and listening to NPR. Enjoy your own scones and take a moment.
Modified recipe from Cook's Country: June/July 2005
Scones
makes 8

1 large egg
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar plus raw sugar for dusting
1/4 tsp. salt
6 tbs. butter cut into pieces
2/3 c. of fruit (I've used peaches, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk egg, cream, buttermilk and vanilla together in medium bowl.
2. Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in food processor until blended. Add butter and pulse into flour mixture. Transfer to large bowl and add buttermilk mixture. Add fruit gently.
3. Transfer dough to floured surface and knead till it comes together. Pat dough into circle and cute into 8 wedges. Brush scones with cream and sprinkle with raw sugar.
4. Bake till lightly browned about 15 minutes.

Shopping List Saturday

I decided to go with a bird theme for this Saturday's shopping list. It seemed that all this week on Etsy things with birds have been catching my eye, and with my name being 3Birdies and all I thought it very apropo.
1. Winter Birds on Branch by Singlestonestudios I've been eying several different vinyl wall decors and I can picture this one in a dining room or even kitchen setting. Very cool!
2. Linen Passport Cover by mystudio I love the look of the screenprinted geese. Her other bags and such in her shop are just as nice!
3. Scented Bird by edwardandlilly This cute bird has already been sold but I linked to her other scented bird that is still scented with lavender but is a beautiful blue. These birds are so cute and smell nice too!
4. Linen Bird Bag by brezomayo Can you tell I like bags? I love the embroidery and colors on this purse. She also has other lovely bags in her shop.
5. Birdie Pocket Mirror by MadisonCraft Every girl needs a cute mirror when they are on the go and MadisonCraft's are a steal at only $4.50. Need I say more?
6. Mini Tree Quilt by Allthenumbers I have had this one in my favorites for awhile. The red bird really makes the whole thing amazing. She also has a bigger version of this quilt in her shop.

Shopping List Saturday has been great for me even though this is only my second week. It's just nice to see what other Etsyians are doing and creating and I've loved the other people's lists as well. There's just so much good and inspirational stuff out there! If you want to see what other people are putting on their shopping list be sure to head over to FancyPicnic, the lovely lady who started it all, and scroll through everyone's list. A great way to spend a Saturday morning if I do say so myself.

Organizing

Over the Christmas holiday my husband and I decided it was time to organize all those nooks and crannies in our house that we just kind of threw junk into when we moved in last summer. Our house was built in the 1920's and although it doesn't have a ton of square footage it does have an amazing amount of storage. They even built drawers that pull out of the stairs for goodness sake! So there were shelves built to organize the numerous boxes of craft supplies, hooks hung, and things tossed. One of things that was made was a fabric covered bulletin board to hang in our kitchen to hang important notes and all the art work that daily fills our house. This was actually the husbands idea so I can't claim credit but I did help with the fabric selection and push pins. It's very easy to do yourself if you need one. We just bought a large bulletin board at our Office Depot, which is going out of business so we got a deal. We took the cheesy frame off the edges and then covered it with a cotton/linen blend I had down in my sewing room. The fabric was stapled with a staple gun to the back and then screwed into the wall. We did put a screw in the middle since it seemed a little wobbly in the middle and it was complete. I covered some buttons with some scrap fabric and glued on push pins and we were ready for business. It's been great to have a large space to display artwork without having just a plain brown board.I had to include my oldest daughters kitty because it's so darn cute...can you tell I'm a proud mama?

Morning Plans

The girls are at preschool and the boy is occupied with a cookie. My first goal for the day is typing up a letter to my good friend in Colorado while listening to Bon Iver that my husband just got on vinyl. This morning is going to be sweet.....may yours be filled with music and a bit of slowing down from the crazy pace that motherhood and life sometimes sets.

Blue and Green Block

I finished my blue/green block for project improv yesterday. One of the "rules" was not to use a pattern and to be a variation of the log cabin pattern. I really enjoyed making me this block. In fact I enjoyed doing it so much I made another block and made it into a pillow cover that I'm listing on Etsy. The majority of the pack is from a sample pack I got in a cute quilt store in Seattle this past fall. I think I'll have to get some more because they really looked nice together. I'm pretty sure it was an Amy Butler sample pack for those that are curious. The rest I just used from my stash. I could make hundreds of blocks out of all the scraps I have lying around, a project for a rainy day I think.

Zakka

I got this great new book called Zakka Sewing in the mail over the weekend and I'm planning on spending my afternoon reading it, drinking tea and breaking out the fabric. I think I'm planning on buying many more Japanese books. The nice one about this is that it's in English so it's a good primer to the other Japanese craft books on my wish list. Happy Monday!

Shopping List Saturday

vonicadesigns

Tiny Happy
Intres

These are the three things I'm loving this week on Etsy. The purse is cute and reminds me a little bit of the Arts and Crafts movement, which is one of my favorite styles.
The journal by Tiny Happy is something that caught my eye, reminding me of my three "birdies". Everything of hers is just so simple and natural looking. I love it all!

I just found this tower by Intres last week and I'm trying to think of a good reason I would need it, since I don't have Christmas as an excuse anymore. It has such great detail. ElsieMarley

And I just love this cute bag to keep doll clothes in. How sweet!
Have a good weekend and please check out FancyPicnic in order to join or to check out the other Shopping Lists!

Shop Update

Now that I'm finally out of Christmas making mode I was able to make a few things for the shop. I'm offering free shipping till the 15th! Watch tomorrow for Shopping List Saturday when I'll be featuring other fellow Etsyians. If you want to check out other Shopping List Saturday posts or take part check out Fancy Picnic.

Christmas Gifts and Quilt Improv

Since Christmas is over and my handmade gifts have been given I thought I'd post some pictures of what I had in the works in December. The first thing I made was a purse for my mom. She had requested one that would fit all her stuff for the cruise her and my dad are going on soon. Initially I made one that had pink for the top border but then decided that pink really wasn't my mother so I gave that one to my sister-in-law because it really reminded me of her and made her a more neutral toned one. They turned out well and are getting a lot of use. I did learn a handy tidbit that I need to interface the lining to keep the magnetic snap from ripping the fabric. Live and learn. But it was quickly fixed and I learned something new.I went out on a limb and joined a little quilt improv going on at Tallgrass Prairie. If you want to take the plunge too just shoot her an email and join along. It will be a great way for me to keep myself motivated and get myself out the my own box that I sometimes create for myself. I'm excited to see what is created.

Embracing My Imperfections

I have a confession. I hate the fact that when I start a new project or learn something new I'm not immediately perfect at it. Now I actually don't know anyone who is perfect the first time but I sure would like to be! But I'm not and I'm trying to embrace that part of me that's not perfect and giving myself a little slack in the process. So here's a little sneak peak into one of my imperfections. I have never quilted by machine, only by hand, which means that it's takes years for me to finish my quilts. In an effort to up my production my gracious and loving husband bought me a new machine last year so that I could machine quilt. I quickly pieced together a "tester" quilt, quilted three lines with my walking foot, gave up and put it away. This past week I've been organizing my space and decided to clear out some of my "to do" projects. I grabbed the "tester" quilt and quilted another line. To say the least I still didn't like it and thought of just giving up and tying it. But instead I decided to stipple stitch freehand instead to see if I liked it any better. Since it was just a quilt to practice on I didn't worry too much about the fact that I'd already done some stitching in the ditch and then moved to free hand quilting. At the beginning of the freehand I hated it just as much. But after awhile I got used to it and finished the whole thing but the binding in three hours. So this is where I'm really putting myself out there. I'm posting a picture of what my stitches looked like at the beginning. Nope, I am not perfect. There's another one where it is getting better, but definitely not perfect. There's probably 1,001 mistakes on this quilt. But I'm going to embrace it and cuddle with it on the couch and know I made it 1,001 mistakes and all. The beginning That's a little better All done..for better or for worse

Happy New Year!

Wow, Christmas came and went with a flurry, or here in my neck of the woods 60mph winds. But it was a really nice Christmas and I'll be posting some of the things I made for the family. I hope your first day of the new year has been a good one. Mine is a resolution of healthy living, organizing both home and family, and some laughter thrown into the mix. Even though it's now 2009 I put together a little review of 2008 in pictures.