As Promised

It has been very rainy around these parts lately. Perfect weather for ducks and getting some sewing done. I've worked on a few things since my last post.

I made myself a nice big pincushion. The one I had wasn't quite fat enough and the pins were poking through the bottom. I went through my scraps and put it together in a log cabin-ish way.

Speaking of pincushions...Nana Bear snapped a photo of the pincushions I made her so I could share them with everyone. She's already got them all filled with pins and sewing goodies.

I also made a few Black Apple Dolls. One is for Big Sister Bear and the other is going to be a gift. I just love these dolls, they are so cute and easy to make. I plan to make many more for Christmas presents since they're the perfect companion for any sweet little girl.

I also have a late Sunday Stash post because the order didn't come until yesterday. I got a few half yards of Hope Valley in Fiesta and New Day. I also got a half yard of some adorable Kokka train fabric, Full Moon Dot in red and Meadow Dot in citrus. I ordered them from Thistle Hill Fabrics on etsy.

We also had two momentous occasions here in the Bear Den last night. Little Sister Bear started taking the spoon and feeding herself and Big Sister Bear sat in the booster seat and ate at the table!

Finally, Lucy & Norman are having an awesome giveaway for their blog-aversary here, check it out!


Whew! That was a long one, hope you enjoyed it!

Sunday Stash

This particular Sunday I have been organizing my stash and choosing wedding quilt fabrics. The pressure is on since the quilt is for my cousin (who was more like a brother to me growing up) and his lovely, soon to be bride. I've been doing quite a bit of planning for this project and want it to be perfect.

I'm also working on a few other things right now, but more about that on my next post.

Another Birthday Monster

For the about the past year and a half it seems to me that there have been quite a few beautiful babies brought into this world within our social circles. As a result there are lots of first birthdays being celebrated. The couple who introduced me and my Papa Bear celebrated their son's first birthday today. I decided to sew him up a gift.

The birthday boy got his very own, one of a kind, made by Mama Bear, rock n' roll monster. I used Michael Miller's Groovy Guitars, since his Dad is into music and aspires that someday he'll be the next Jack Johnson. The solids are Kona in coal, lime and black. I also made a buffalo chicken dip that was a hit with everybody. The birthday boy had a blast and his parents threw a great party.

Tomorrow is Nana Bear's birthday! I made her a few mason jar pincushions but, in all the craziness getting ready for the little guy's party I wrapped them before getting any pictures. She has already started using them and is wicked excited about them.

Nana Bear is a sewer as well. She makes these amazing bags made out of upcycled jeans. She's going to have a table at the upcoming Chili Chowder Fest on September 25th. She's making up some diaper bags and I'm going to make some booties for her to sell along with them. I have 34 days to make 12 pairs of boots which works out to be about one pair of booties every 2 days (which seems reasonable). I'm excited to be selling my creations for the first time and am anxious to see how it turns out. We'll have to wait and see.

Sunday Stash on a Tuesday

As you might have guessed I missed posting my Sunday Stash on Sunday this week. I was very busy this weekend and come Sunday night I was just too tired.

Saturday night we had some good friends over for dinner. I made a delicious feast of mussels (steamed in Sam Adams Summer Ale), avocado chicken burgers, couscous and salad. After dinner I had my first martini and it was amazing. Our guests brought some very tasty brownies that went well with our cocktails. I love cooking for people and having dinner parties. I find it very gratifying.

Sunday we went to a baby shower for a friend of mine who I've known since high school. The blanket and booties that I made were well received. I hope the baby who is expected sometime next month likes them as much as I do.

the coloring is off a little due to the position of the sun

reversible booties

Finally, here is the original reason for this post, this weeks Sunday Stash. This week I've posted my Christmas stash. Now I know it's not even September but, I'm starting a few projects for the holidays early for two reasons: 1. I don't want to leave them to the last minute and be stressed out about it...and... 2. I'm going to need to spread out my projects in order to work on the wedding quilt and other projects simultaneously.

Last but not least...a few totally unrelated but super cute pictures of Little Sister Bear.

Adventures in Baby Blanket Making

Here's the cute baby blanket that I made yesterday and the story that goes with it. This blanket was originally made for a friend's baby shower next weekend. It's made with 6" squares and backed with minky. I was so proud of the blanket and even appliqued baby's first initial on the bottom right corner. When it was all finished I popped it in the wash. Taking it out of the dryer with pride I hold it up to find that the black squares had unraveled and the seams were opening. I am chalking this up to the fact that the black was the only non-designer fabric (i.e. it was the only cheap fabric). Not wanting to give the defective blanket as a gift I appliqued a few pieces over the splits and gave it to my cubs. Conveniently one of the cubs has the same initial so it worked out.

Big Sister Bear was immediately enamored with the blanket. She has a thing for blankets. Little Sister Bear likes chewing on it. She chews on everything.

Tonight I'll be cutting another blanket that will be constructed from only high quality fabric. Stay tuned for take #2 of the gift blanket.

Sunday Stash

fabric.com had an amazing sale on Westminster fabrics so I stocked up

Prairie Gothic by Jane S.

Japanese imports

Castle Peeps by Lizzy House

not part of this week's Sunday Stash but I had to show off the fabric for Papa Bear's camera bag