Back in the sewing room...

The two weeks of being "unplugged"has turned into more like three and some days,sorry about that.  Our visit with Gil and his buddy was way to short,but Sweet at the same time :)))!  The guys headed back to Cali with a car loaded with all kinds of goodies raided from "mom's"pantry :)

Although they have been back home for a week and a half,my computer hiatus continued so that I might get caught up on a few craft fair projects.  This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland setting.  Tonight you can barely see the tops of the solar lights on the patio table,and it is still coming down.  Nothing like a little snow to get you in the mood to sew up some Christmas projects!

First though,one of the few sewing projects I worked on while Gil was here.  This trio of bubble gum themed baskets landed at his sisters house recently as her birthday was this month.  Of course stuffed inside the baskets were jars of homemade jam.

Since Jolene's baskets were so much fun,I decided to make up a bunch for the upcoming craft fair.  Here are the thirteen that are done so far.

Next on the agenda,some Christmas themed mini gift bags(15).  These mini gift bags were a good seller this summer at the FM.

These cocktail napkins started out as a panel of squares,the original plan (when the fabric was purchased)was to make potholders,but they were not large enough for that.

You can not tell from this photo,but I used a decorative stitch that looks like a snowflake,near the center of each napkin to secure the two layers of fabric together.

The next project,a few car seat blankets...

The strings/ties on the sides are for securing the blanket to the car seat,so that it does not slip or get kicked off!

This one is still in progress,the grey bits are little elephants.

A little pink monkey love for the last one ;)

This is an idea that has been running around my head for awhile,I took a dish drying mat and added some binding made from a scrap of Christmas fabric.

These would make a great last minute gift!  Even if you have a dishwasher,you could still use it for pots and pans,or other items to large for the dishwasher.

So far I have only 10 of these little yoyo trees made,but will have more soon.  The thread is just to show the size.  I also plan on painting the little ribbon spools brown for the trunks.

These Christmas Tree napkins have been on my list for some time,they are for Mr. P and I  :)  Tutorial Here

Lastly,this is going to be a set of fabric ornaments,the 12 days of Christmas,from the Partridge in a Pear tree to the twelve lads a leaping.  Okay,so now you know what I have been up to,what have you been sewing for the Holidays?

Burnt cookies :(

Yep,that is what happens when you (I) have way to many things going on at once!  Thank goodness it was only the last 5 cookies!

No not these five,these are some of the good ones :)  The recipe for these can be found here the cookies in the recipe are Lime Shortbread cookies,but this week Mr. P asked me to make oatmeal cookies and just put the filling in them.

The rest of the Maxine goodies for my friend.  Napkins,coasters and also two napkin rings for the napkins.  The napkins are 12x12 instead of the usual larger size.

I also decided to make up a couple sets of hand warmers for her :)  They are filled with rice,and just the right size to fit in the palm of your hand.  A nice thing to have in your pocket after taking the trash out during the cold months.  Especially when the dumpster is a few hundred feet away.

These little ones are perfect for little hands!  I started out with 2 1/2 inch squares,so they ended up being a 2 inch square.  It seemed to take me forever to sew the openings closed on these 11 sets.  I am a very slow hand sewer.

They look big in my hand,but I do have small hands.  If I can find the time these will be listed in my etsy shop.

There were also a few other finishes this weekend,but I am saving those for another post.  Hope you all enjoyed your weekend :)

Easter with Maxine?

So this is what it looked like outside this Easter Sunday!
The snow melted off in short order, and the rest of the day
it has drizzled off and on.
which is fine because we need the moisture.

Here are the Maxine Napkins that I finished
sewing this morning.
There are 3 sets of 8 napkins each, and then
6 that I am keeping.

Here are the back sides of all the napkins.  I
tried to pick a coordinating color for the backside
of each napkin.
Which made me realize that I need some yellows,
reds, and pinks for my stash!

Here are 5 of the 9 different Maxine sayings
that are on the front of each napkin.

These are the other 4 Maxine sayings on the front side of
each napkin.
I should have had 4 sets of 8 napkins.  However the person
who cut the fabric either for me, or for the person before me,
cut through some of the squares, and I wasn't able to use
them.  Grrr Hate it when that happens!  Because you know that
I had to pay for All the fabric.
Oh well, I still love how my napkins turned out :)