A Plague in our Land

Friends and Family,

• Over the years, abortion has continued to rise in our nation.
• Millions of innocent unborn babies have been murdered since Margaret Sanger created planned parenthood.
• In the year 2009, over 7,000 babies in Wake County alone were murdered under "pro choice".

We have been convicted of our apathy when, throughout the nation, women are being brainwashed into murdering their unborn babies under the guise of "choice." Records have shown a steady rise in abortions, with over 7,000 unborn babies murdered in Wake County, NC only. Rising as a beacon of light in this dark world is the Pregnancy Support Services of Wake Forest, an organization which truly understands the sanctity of life and seeks to encourage women who find themselves pregnant to keep their babies, and they provide moral, spiritual, and physical support for them. In order to do this, they need help. We are seeking, during this fundraiser, to provide them adequate funds to help them continue this ministry.   And our question to you is this: Would you consider joining with us in prayer and possibly financial support as the Lord leads?
Timothy, Arianne, and I have put together a team fundraiser page which you can visit HERE.

New Projects in the Works...

Sadly, both my sewing machines are still having problems, but as soon as I can get them back to Sew and Vac and get the problems resolved, I should have some new sewing projects to share with you all.

In the meantime, a trip to Walmart today yielded some lovely new goodies for projects stewing in the recesses of my mind for some time now. Any guesses? (Psst...I gave you some hints in the post tags...)

Be on the lookout soon for some cute new additions to the shop and another exciting announcement!

A Giveaway!

I'm excited that I've had the opportunity to participate as a vendor in a children's boutique giveaway over at JK Photography! Do check it out if you have a chance! It is being hosted by JK Photography and Happy Hooks Crochet, and has wonderful advertising opportunity for my little shop. :) And the prizes offered are cute as well!

Beautiful Randomness...

Weekend musings on the random and beautiful happenings in my life...

One of my favorite models, 3-month-old Maria, modeling at last my most popular baby hat! Isn't she a bundle of irresistible cuteness? :)

We got home on Wednesday evening from a delightful three-day trip to Colonial Williamsburg in VA with friends. These are the girls on the village green.

Tiger, basking in his 8-month cuteness!

Crocheting...

I've been busy, and here are some of my newest creations in further detail than has hitherto been revealed! The last two are a sneak peak of my first crochet pattern to be released soon!

Crocheted Baby Bear Hat

Maria (about 10 weeks)

Aww...someone's not happy...

But that's better!

Crocheted Frilly-Brimmed Sunhat - 3 to 6 months size

Lilly (3 months)

...A little worried...

But a good laugh always sets things right!

Crocheted Frilly-Brimmed Sunhat - size 6 to 9 months

Kamryn (6 months)

Just plain, ol', utter...

cuteness!

I HAVE Been Shopping

(In case you are (you're) wondering about the change of title, I have modified it per a very succinctly-worded suggestion from Timothy Anonymous. Thank you, Timothy.)

Yes, the dangerous four words. Yesterday, I went shopping and Walmart and Goodwill yielded some delightful components for projects that have been simmering on my back burners of creativity lately.

I got the itch to learn knitting with circular needles. I can knit, but just the normal 'back and forth, knit and purl' knitting. So, I bought this cute baby jester pompom hat pattern   and purchased some soft, bulky weight yarn at Walmart to try it with.

The sale ribbon bin at Walmart yielded these delightful finds. Ribbon bows for stuffed animals...gift wrapping...there's many ideas for this ribbon!

Light yellow fleece...a whole yard of it!

???

Minky fleece pajama pants from Goodwill...more details forthcoming! :-)

(And no, I'm not wearing these!)

A Month of Sewing and Decluttering: Part 1

In spite of the fact that I spent most of the month of February getting acquainted with my new sewing machine, waiting to pick it up from Sew and Vac after its tune-up, and then getting sick, I did manage to get some sewing and decluttering of my work areas accomplished. I'll be posting about it all in several posts.

Two projects I had been wanting to sew for some time are fabric book covers for my Shakespeare books. I love old books and I have two complete volumes of Shakespeare's works - one from a library book sale that is 100 years old this year, and the other from cleaning out Meme and Pepe's house last May that is 105 years old this year. The insides are in great condition, but the covers have seen better days.

I used Marie-Madeline Studio's Fabric Book Cover tutorial but ended up modifying it some. Instead of batting, I used medium-weight iron-on interfacing. I modified the pattern to make it reversible with the cover in one fabric and the spine and inside flaps in another.

Cover for the 105-year-old Shakespeare book. I don't have pictures of either of these two reversed yet, but you can see the purple on the spine. When I flip it inside out, the flaps are purple instead of the red ones in the picture. I used the same beige floral fabric for the covers of both sides.

Cover for the 100-year-old Shakespeare book. This one is a little simpler than the previous one, being the first one I made. On one side, the spine and flaps are the blue material and the cover is the purple. Reverse it and the spine and flaps are the purple material and the cover is the blue.

I love all the fabrics used in these two book covers. Pretty much all of them were fat quarters I had picked up full-price at Joanns because I loved them so much. Let's clarify at the start that this is a frivolous practice I rarely engage in, preferring to by the fabric cheaper off the bolt, but once in a while, I'll happen upon a gorgeous fabric that is only sold by the fat quarter. And sometimes, I just can't resist... :-)

Aren't they now a beautiful addition to my bookshelves?!

Another project I was able to begin this month was my Beatrix Walking Skirt from Sense and Sensibility Patterns (link on the sidebar) I'm making it out of a roll of deep red and green plaid wool from my grandmother. The picture is a little overexposed; the colors are somewhat darker and more subtle than shown.

And a bonus, the best result from my attempt at the art of self-portraits with the camera this morning. :-)

More to follow...