I made a chenille wall hanging for Christmas and in my spring decorating found myself wishing for something similar for spring/summer. So here it is!

It's never too early to be thinking about Christmas! I purchased these in-the-hoop stuffy ornaments from Embroidery Library (emblibrary.com), and I'm really pleased with how they turned out.

As you can see, I tried one on red felt with metallic silver stitching.

Well, I liked the zip bag I made for Karen so much that I decided I would make myself one.  I picked remnants from a quilt and, again, added some quilting of my own. I'll use this for the eyeglass cleaner and wipe that we keep in the car.

And here's another one for the eyeglass cleaner and wipe for the truck. I loved this fabric when I saw it the other day at JoAnns, so just bought a bit for this project.

I made zip cases for friends' gifts in 2012. Karen has been using hers but said she lost it (hint-hint). Her birthday is coming up on June 10, so I made her another one, plus a larger one in case she can use it. When I made the first ones, I had an embroidery machine which only had a 4" hoop. I was a little disappointed in the first zip cases that they weren't quite big enough to put a credit card into. If I make any more, I think I will enlarge it just a bit and use a 5x7" hoop.

I added some quilting to the larger one (just a serpentine decorative stitch on my sewing machine), since there wasn't any in the digitized pattern.

The small zip case is a design I purchased from Five Star Fonts; and the larger one is a design from Kreative Kiwi Embroidery. They both sew up very nicely.

Zip cases from 2012

It was love at first sight with this flannel fabric. I bought enough to make myself a caftan with my favorite pattern. The pattern was originally copied by a friend of mine off of a caftan that I had purchased. I modified the neckline to avoid buttons and buttonholes (so it wouldn't gape open when I sit down), and made it full length. I'm not sure if I really need another one, but I do wear them every morning and often into the afternoon.  😉

Since I've been going to Open Sew with some friends, I decided I could use a sewing machine tote. I got it with some discount gift cards at Quality Sewing. Then, of course, I needed a project tote with a trolley sleeve. I had a little fabric left from my mini iron tote, so I used it, together with some other fabric that I purchased. I got the bag pattern from Etsy but changed the size, the construction of the straps (thanks to Vanessa, The Crafty Gemini), and added a water bottle pocket. I used a heavy foam batting which helps make the sides stand up, but was very cumbersome to sew the large main pattern piece. I did some ruler work quilting on the trolley sleeve, but just straight line quilting on the body of the tote. 

Once the tote was completed, I decided I should have a small project bag with a clear vinyl side, so I used some of the fabric scraps for  that. I found several free tutorials for reference.

Note my creative design element in
putting the zipper at the bottom of the bag. LOL

And lastly, I put binding on this little scrap from the
trolley sleeve to make a little mug rug.

Yes, it's time for Mother's Day cards. The rose and pansy are machine embroidery motifs that I actually stitched out some time ago but didn't end up using. The tulips are ones I stitched out recently. I actually made one other tulip card for Leslie's birthday card, but didn't get a picture of it. If I can get her to send me a picture, I'll add it. 

For Emelie

For Shirley

For Leslie

Here's another moebius strip cowl. These are becoming addictive and don't take very much yarn. I think I have enough left from this skein to make another one.

I fell in love with these Scandanavian Christmas ornaments from Embroidery Library. This is the first of several designs that I purchased.

I made these pads for under my machines that sit on top of my marble vinyl, to help protect the finish. It was a good chance to practice some ruler work quilting and try out some machine embroidery quilt block designs, but it doesn't show up too well on the fabric I used. Maybe that's a good thing. I just serged the edges. 

Embroidery machine pad

Serger pad

Close up of quilting - machine embroidery on the right 

- ruler work feathers on the left