These are two last-minute gifts (I made yesterday) for the grandmothers from Kira!!

This one is for my mum!!!  Anyone remember loose leaf paper!!! I love how this turned out!!

Rubber stamping fabric is the way to go when in a hurry!!  It has the look of an old type writer.

I also love the back! When my sister and I shared a room as kids we had curtains and bed spreads with Raggidy Ann and Andy on them.  I don’t even remember where I saw this fabric but it couldn’t be more perfect!!!!!

My sister is going to get a big kick out of this !!

And this one is for Chris’s mom who Kira calls G-Ma.

She said the first mug rug I made was too pretty to use so I went a bit darker with this one.  No need to worry about getting coffee stains on it!!    The letters already have a slightly “stained” look.

To Coralie and Barbara…Happy Mother’s Day!!! We love you!!!

May not only plays the piano beautifully but she also teaches it!! I thought this would go nicely in her piano room.  The original pattern had a teal border but I thought burgundy…reminded me of a class of wine.  The perfect accompaniment while playing/listening to music by piano.

When I went to buy the black fabric (how did I not have any in my stash) the sales rep showed me cheater piano fabric.  The keys were already on it.  I told her no thanks, the fun is creating/sewing the keys myself.  I love how they came out!!!

I also bought fabric that was covered in musical notes, it was adorable.  And I couldn’t resist a tiny little applique!

Simple black backing fabric so the stitching between the keys wouldn’t stand out as much.

Sing us a song, you’re the piano man

Sing us a song tonight.

Well we’re all in the mood for a melody,

And you’ve got us feelin’ alright…

-Billy Joel

It’s on its way my friend.  Love ya!!!!

Please stick with me!! I’ll have some fun stuff up here later today!!!

In the meantime…I’m very good about posting regularly on my Facebook page so don’t forget to visit me there for the latest goings-on!!!

There may also be a giveaway coming up soon!!!!

www.facebook.com/earthtonesgirl

Before I get to the actual sewing project let me show you the reason behind it.  May I introduce you to my new toy!!!

It’s my new Mini and I love her so much!!!  I don’t know why but I tend to assign the female gender to all my electronic gadgets and tools and equipment…again no idea why.

Isn’t she beautiful!!!  When my best friend May came to visit in the beginning of March she brought her new one along.  I couldn’t stop playing with it!  So now I have my own and oh boy!!!!  Of course I ordered a cover for it, which I highly (this is THE case/cover to own) recommend.

It’s a Moshi iGlaze VersaCover Origami Case, in pink (seems to be my new color).  And look what this thing can do…a real conversation piece.

Now I take this little baby with me everywhere so needless to say I was a bit concerned that even with the awesome case it might still get bumped around in my bag.  So I made a sleeve for it!!!  Another fun sewing project!!!

If you know how to sew you can make one of these…very simple and quick!  My favorite feature is the pockets!!!

No need to say where I found the pattern.  This is a paid pdf but so worth the money.  You can order your copy here!  There are free version out there but they require some calculations!!  I just wanted to sew and have it fit!!

And I just have to talk about this button for a moment.  I found it at Joann’s and it was the only one.  Just sitting there…waiting for me!!  Taking your time to find all the right parts/pieces for a project make the end result so worth the wait! (Ok I did have to go out to get a button).

Thank heaven for these last two successes because there a big FAIL I have to fix.  It is so NOT going to be fun…you’ll see.

That said I’ll try to keep my ipad and sleeve near by for motivation…I’m going to need it for this next project!

STORAGE!  I don’t think there is anyone out there who is not always in need of more storage space.  And if you’re a crafty person of any kind it’s essential.  In my case I just can’t seem to settle down with a project if my surroundings are a mess.  So I hit my Organization Pin board to find some help.  I found these!!!

My darling husband built this shelving unit for me.  While its super functional I felt like there was a lot of good space going to waste.  Not any more.  The original pattern was for storage bins that were much bigger but with a little measuring and adjusting it was very customizable.

Cute, cute, cute, cute!!! Love them!!

And held securely in place by the hoop closure.

They are the perfect size for the space and for my sewing notions.  A little fusible interfacing and the lining make them firm enough to stand on their own.

The box shaping on the bottom helps too.  Have I mentioned how much I love sewing!!!

This is the tip of my sewing notions ice burg.  Up to this point everything was in shoe boxes in the closet.  And in case you were wondering what’s in the drawers of my sewing table…quilting tools and notions.  I think another row of these and I’ll have all the space I need (for now…).  One could say it’s too much stuff but truth is I use all of it at some point or other and on some project or other.

You’ll see in my next little project!

This is what arrived!

The label is stuck to the fabric!!!! WHAT ON EARTH!!!

This is what I’m used to getting from Fat Quarter…

So what’s wrong with this situation!!!  I only paid $8.30 for 24 strips but come on!!!!

And they don’t even look like the colors in the catalog!!  So disappointed.  They will still be put to good use but will I be ordering from them again…I’m thinking not….

The entire family agreed 2 years ago that since we are family there is no need for thank you notes.  Now up to that point, we had all been super diligent about sending them to each other.  So last year no notes and the truth is it felt totally wrong.  So this year I thought of a great alternative.

The new Thank You note…..

A thank you mug rug!!  No one is as dedicated to their morning coffee as she is, so now her coffee mug has a place to rest.  She is reminded of her grandchild and gratitude has been expressed.

A bit more time-consuming than a simple card/note but how happy am I to have yet another reason to quilt.  Now I don’t think I’ll  be making one for every holiday but definitely for the big ones!! This one is for Christmas/Easter.  The next one will be saying thanks after Kira’s birthday.

This has all my favorite elements, a bit of embroidery.  I got to practice my French knots.

Applique…which I’m getting better at…

And the actual quilting of course.  My mind has been racing with all the applique projects and applications out there.  Let’s face it, my mind has been racing with tons of projects period!

I love the back of this mug rug the most.  I’ll talk about the process of arriving to this point in another post.

All wrapped and ready to go.  Kira delivered it to the Gma on Sunday to rave reviews!!  Mission accomplished!!

I might borrow it back to add a date.  I always forget to add a label.

The wording for the mug rug was found on Pinterest then I added a personal touch.

Now to make them for the rest of the family. Oh what a heavy burden, all these thank you notes to “write”…hee hee!!!!

I was in Tarrytown the other day visiting my old haunt Flying Fingers yarn shop when I saw the new sock yarn by Manos del Uruguay, Alegria.  Oh my!!

Look at those colors! If they are not screaming spring then I don’t know what is.

Cure for the “not quite here yet spring blues”? I’d say so!!!

Another cure, my new iPad mini!!!! This post and that picture were done with it!! I’m so excited…you have no idea! Oh the possibilities!!!

Oh, and a belated Happy Easter to everyone!!!!  Hope you all had a very blessed and happy day!!!

I made these for Kira’s nursery school class for the parade they had on Friday.  They came out very cute but were a bit tedious to make.  But the looks on the kids faces made it more than worth it.  If you’d like to give one a try, the pattern is here.

And here’s a well-timed lesson for all of us who have been saying and writing it wrong all these years.

It’s Paddy, not Patty…

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY EVERYONE!!!

Be safe