First time knitting socks

   I am currently working on a pair of socks. I have knitted off and on for many years, but nothing too complicated. So far these are working out pretty easy. I hope I can say the same when I get to the heel.

My First Burlap Stocking

     I just completed my first burlap Christmas stocking. I have never sewed with burlap before, but it was surprisingly easy. I created this one from some ideas I compiled off the web, and a little of my own. This is a little more taylored. The other two I have plans to add some ruffles to them. I also plan on making a tree skirt. I cant remember ever having one before. I am going to model my skirt after the gorgeous one created on      u-createcrafts.com Their skirt has to be the prettiest I have ever seen. Below is my new stocking:

Lysol Clean Flip Washable Covers

      I hate to buy things and throw them away. It seems such a waste of money and precious resources to buy the disposable cloths for those little mops. I had a coupon for $1 off the Lysol Clean Flip mop. I decided to purchase one  because my Swiffer mop had a broken handle. I decided very quickly I was going to make over some towels into washable pads for it. I thought at first it might be a little time- consuming, but actually they worked up very quickly.I tried to find some inexpensive microfiber towels, and maybe if I had looked at Big Lots or something I could have, but I was shopping with hubby and as usual, he was in a hurry. So I picked up a package of 5 barmops from Walmart for about $6.

After doing some measuring and comparing the best way to cut one from each towel, I came up with this:

Its hard to tell from this pic, but there is a blue border on this lower edge. I measured up 4" from the inside edge of the border, and the same with the left edge.

I trimmed off the blue border, and the left hem first.Then from the remaining 4" strip on the left, and the 4" strip across the bottom, I was able to get 2 more panels (for a total of 3) the length of the mop to lay down the center for extra absorbency. As shown in the center pic this will lay across the center of the panel from left to right  as shown in the main panel in pic two. The pic below is showing the main panel with the left side down at the bottom now.

The pic below shows the left edge of the main panel being folded over the center paddings about 3/8" Then this edge and the other 3 edges of the center padding will be zig zagged to hold securely. The same will be done to the other raw edge of towel.

Now fold over left edge to meet center padding stitching( approx 2"). Do the same with the right edge. Stitch the folded edge down with straight stitching along the edge. Be sure about double or triple stitch this and reinforce the edge where it will be pulled alot to pull it on and off the mop. Do the same with the other 3 corners.

This is the final product:

You can easily flip the edges of the mop up by pushing the rounded disk edge, and these easily slip over the edges of the mop. I didnt bother prewashing my towels, as I am always in a hurry, It may be a big mistake if these shrink much int he wash. So you may want to prewash before cutting. I only made two, so I will wait to make more until after these are washed.

UPDATE: I just used my first one and washed it in warm water and dried it. It came out beautifully. No shrinking, and washed perfectly clean. Now I can finish the rest of the set.

  

Beautiful Dames Rocket

      I had a few plants last yr, towards the back of this end of the bed. I wasnt sure I liked them. I even pulled a few out last yr. But this yr a bunch sprouted up in shades of purple and white, and look so nice near the purple iris's and the bright pink azalea. My huge weigela  just to the right of the azalea, and looks just as beautiful. I think I will let them stay.

PS: I edited the title as I at first thought these were phlox and later found out they are really Dames Rocket.

AreThese Tomato Seedlings?

I planted several different heirloom tomatoes last yr along with a couple early girl. I had so much problems with tomato hornworms and stinkbugs, I got very few fit to eat. Needless to say, a LOT fell to the ground. Now this same 4'x8' bed is full to the brim of these little seedlings. They appear, and smell like tomato plants. I dont know what to do with them. I thought at first they were marigolds, and was going to just leave a few sturdy ones, but now after they have gotten bigger and I smelled the leaves, I am pretty sure they are tomatoes. I hate to destroy them, but there is no way I have room for a few hundred tomato plants,lol. I didnt know the seeds would survive winter.

Hidden Dangers in Food!

           I thought the only time we had to watch for razor blades, and other dangerous objects in food, was only on Halloween. Well this evening, I learned that is definitely NOT the case. I always buy the little 6 , snack size packs of Sun-Maid Raisins for in my husband's lunch and my 5 year old grand daughter to snack on. I have bought these for years. A healthy, quick snack. But this evening my grand daughter grabbed the brand new pack off the counter and wanted me to open it and give her a box. I did so,as I turned to walk away ,she  suddenly brings something to my attention, asking : "whats this?". I looked at her little hand and couldnt believe my eyes. She had a raisin that was slightly mashed and pressed onto and wrapped 3/4 the distance around  a 1 inch long piece of wood that was about 1/8 inch wide. Had she just popped it into her mouth without noticing, there could have been serious injury.

Robot Baby Blanket

      My 21 yr old daughter just completed her first major sewing project. She is a nursing student right now and wanted to earn a little spending money. She made this gorgeous flannel and flannel lined satin baby blanket and matching burp, that she is now offering on Etsy.

    The set turned out beautiful. Take a look and see what you think.

My 4th Grand Daughter

   We just welcomed a new grand baby to the family in January. She is now 2 months old. Her name is Braylee. She weighed 6'4". A tiny little bundle of Joy. She is the first child to my youngest son.

Wintersowing for 2011

   It is such a warm beautiful day outside today ( a warm 65°) , I decided to get started on a little wintersowing. I am much later than last yr. But this yr I have no intentions of sowing over 200 containers either. I want to see how things filled out from last year. With perennials they frequently dont show their true glory until yr 2 or 3. Mostly what I sowed today are the fantastic seeds sent to me from Renee's Garden about a month ago (see link in side bar). I participated in a group grow last yr sponsored by her.It was a lot of fun. I got about 15 containers sowed this afternoon. It didnt take long as I saved a few bags of last year's containers. So I didnt have all the cutting to do.
   I also sowed some more rose seeds I had saved. last yr I got two wonderful rose bushes this way. I expected some weird looking thing with flowers no where near the parent, but I got a wonderful surprise when they bloomed. What a cheap,easy way to make more roses.
  Traditionally, winter sowing is started on Winter Solstice. But I avoid the cold weather as much as possible. This is such an easy method to start seeds. Mother Nature takes care of most of the gardener's duties. Give it a try and drop a line to let me know how it did.

Christmas At Home

  I dont have much to say, but I just had to share some photo's that looking amazing in the Christmas lights.

and Many Blessings for the New year !

New Baby Shoes

    My newest grand daughter is due in a few weeks and I have been busy making things for her, among others. I found this cute baby shoe pattern online, and thought about trying it, but never got around to it. Then while shopping at target this evening, I found the exact same style shoe there for $8. It was so cute... but what isn't when its baby size,lol. Anyway, when I got back I decided to give it a try. The pattern is for 0-6 mo, but I wanted newborn, so I just took a generous seam allowance. I havent gotten the other one made yet, but I will get it done shortly. I just couldnt wait to share how cute this pattern is. The tutorial and pattern can be found HERE.

Baby Quilt For Coming DGD

    We are expecting out 4th grand-daughter sometime the middle of January. I started this baby quilt for her the first of September while on the road to Tennessee with our camper for the annual car show in Pigeon Forge. I finished it after our return the day before the baby shower the end of October. It is totally my design. i kinda winged it as I went along. I knew I wanted soft colors. I started with the center floral wreath then added the stars around that, then did a simple border. I want to embroidery the baby's name, birth date and weight ( the only time a woman ever truthfully tells her weight....well come to think of it, someone else is opening their big mouth even then,lol) into the center of the quilt. The mom loved it.

Snow Bunny Crochet Ponytail Hat

         My grand daughter has been bugging me since this summer that she needed a new ponytail hat. I had made one for her a couple of years ago, and forgot how I did it. Well I finally buckled down and created a new pattern. This one turned out so much nicer, with loads of feminine detail. The hat is open at the top to allow you to pull your ponytail thru the top so you no longer have to full with unsightly bulges in the back of your hat due to your ponytail.
        This time, for the first time ever...I wrote down my pattern as I went. I always tend to wing it, and make it up as i go. However sometimes that makes it rough when I need to create more than one of my design, and now I have 3 DGD and one more on the way.

This pattern is available for purchase at Stitch This Designs.

Fantastic Giveaway at Stonegable!

I just followed THIS link to a FANTASTIC giveaway being held at Stonegable. She is offering a huge set of gorgeous Christmas dishes. Some lucky winner is going to be very happy at Christmas.
Tammy

My First Baby Wipes Case

         We are expecting our 4th DGD the end of January, so I have been busy with sewing and crocheting projects. I have a baby quilt that is in the hoop now almost done with the hand quilting, A crocheted baby blanket done. And today I made my first In-The-Hoop baby wipes case. These In-The-Hoop projects are so much fun. its hard to believe you can sew this whole case completely in the hoop (other than the two tabs on the ends). All I had to do when I removed it from the hoop was to trim the excess fabric around the edges and turn right side out.

I digitized the design myself. I havent done any digitizing for several years, and have just gotten back into it this year. I am also loving my new (to me ) Viking Designer 1 Embroidery/Sewing machine. 

A Laptop Case For My Daughter

      My youngest daughter is in nursing school, and just purchased her first laptop. It is a 17" computer and we couldnt find a ready made case. All the better. She picked out her fabric and style, and I stitched this up for her. its a perfect fit. More importantly, she is very pleased.

My New Fall Table Runner

    I just got my new Fall table runner completed this morning. I am having a blast playing around with my new embroidery machine. I digitized the pumpkin design myself. I used to digitize a lot, but was stopped for a couple of years. I am just getting back into it. The design file can be found on my Stitch This Designs website.