A book review {& Sweet Little Coin Purses.}

The other day I went to the library to pick up a book I had placed on hold.  When I arrived at the desk the librarian said I had 2 items on hold.  Two?  I didn't remember putting a hold on two.  I couldn't imagine what else I had put on hold. When the librarian returned I looked down on the counter and found that at some point I had reserved Best of Stitch Bags to Sew by Interweave.  Okay,  I thought  I give it a go.

What I found was a treasure of 20 wonderful bag patterns large and small. Many of the patterns are from bloggers and blogs that I follow. And a few that I need to start following. How did not know about this?

I immediately went through and book marked 5 patterns I need to sew.  (okay so I am going to need to renew it at least once, possibly twice)

I started with little stitches coin purses by Rachael Hauser. You can find an old blog post about the purses (HERE).   So cute. It is ideas like these that really make my ideas seem just so BLAH.

 I pulled my embroidery floss back out and got busy stitching up the fronts of these little Rainbow Purses. I have stitched up two of these little purses so far.  I have not yet attempted to glue the purse into the purse frame, which I have to admit I am a little hesitant to do.  Glue and I, well let's just say we don't always play well together.

Today I am getting adventurous and stepping ever so slightly out of the box.  I downloaded a hand embroidery pattern, Dancing Daisies Garden from Needle and Thread and plan to change up the motif and learn a few new stitches in the process.  I am also stitching on 100% pure cotton linen, a first for me, we'll see  how that compares to the Kona solid I used with the rainbow stitches.

A little aside:  When I made a trip out to Hancock Fabrics to pick out the linen it just so happened that they had the Best of Stitch Bags to Sew.  Not only that, but all the books were on sale! It was fate, destiny and a 50% off coupon that put us together.

Stocking

It's official.  My Long-arm is sick.  I received the cable Saturday.  I had hoped that it would fix the problem.  Sadly, No.  She is all boxed up and loaded into my truck. Sniff.  Soon she will be on her way to Utah.  Hopefully she will be restored to her former glory and return home soon. sniff. sniff.

Meanwhile I have been busily working on another project.  Christmas Stockings. Remember when I said that I had found a new plan for my Hexagons?  Well this is it.

Cute!

Don't give me all of the credit.  I had a little help in the form of inspiration from Amanda Murphy's Modern Holiday.  She has four different and equally striking stocking ideas in her book.  But I saw the hexagons and just new I had to make it for my nephew.  I didn't follow Amanda's pattern, basically because I am lazy.  The pattern in the book called for enlarging the templet 300%.  My printer/copier doesn't enlarge.  And I just didn't feel like driving to the print store.  See?  Lazy.  

I simply made up my own by tracing a generic red and white felt stocking I had on hand.  I had to  modify the hexagons I had already sewn up by adding a row to the bottom and a couple to the side to accommodate the heel.

I embroidered my nephew's name by hand.  It finished up quickly, seriously it only took one Dr.'s Appointment to finish it up. I checked out TaDa! Creations for her quick embroidery tutorial and she just happened to have a stocking tutorial too!  Her embroidery is far superior to mine but her tutorials are awesome.  I even added the ruffle from her stocking tutorial!

I backed the stocking with Santa fabric.  In hindsight, red would have been a better choice, but for a 2 year-old I just couldn't resist Santa.

Now for the really fun part.....Filling it!

books

I have an e-reader, which I love.  I often browse through the free books, and every so often I download one.  Last week I stumbled upon a book called.  The Last Noel, by Michael Malone.  The reviews were positive, with many of the reviewers giving the book 5 stars.  I read the "warnings" stating that the book was an emotional story.  "Grab your Tissues and settle down for a great read," the reviewers warned.  Despite my tendency to avoid emotional tear jerking stories, I occasionally need a good cathartic cry.  It helps me remember all of the things I am thankful for,  all the love I have in my life and forget all of the negative things I tend to 'stew' on.  

The book did not disappoint.  The characters were memorable and real; I connected with them; I became connected to them and yes, I cried and cried.  My connection to these characters was so strong, I could not stop thinking about them.  This continued well past the conclusion of their story.  I laid awake one night thinking about them.  As tired as I was I could not let them go.  It was then I decided if I was going to be awake I might as well do something I like.

I stitched up this journal cover one of the nights I couldn't sleep.  I used my Go!Baby by Accuquilt, with my tumbling block die to cut out these cute shapes for this cover.  It was a quick hours work, where I sat and enjoyed Christmas music and was able to forget the sadness that plagued me.

After I finished the Journal cover, I finished up a soft baby book for a little cutie I know.  Then I fell exhausted into bed.  My reprieve lasted less than 6 hours when once awake the story of Kaye and Noni, continued to twirl around inside my head.  I was not surprised when the next night I was once again laying in bed unable to sleep.  I was up out of bed quicker and this time knew exactly what I planned to do.  Yes, another Journal cover.  This time I went with a South Carolina theme.  

These covers were quick and easy when following the pattern provided by Rachel at Stitched In Color. (you can find it here.) and a great distraction from a sleepless night.  The third night I fell exhausted into bed at 9 pm and slept blissfully for 12 hours!  I still though of Kaye and Noni periodically through out my week.  There story beautifully told will give you pause to think of all the gifts you have in your life, and perhaps even stimulate a creative streak! (perhaps even a journal cover or two.)