Oh, boy, and "O" blog!

Today's creativity lies in being frugal. After all, it takes a creative mind to make good use of 'just a little.' You will find yummy recipes and tips over at "Our Red House." http://www.ourredhouse.blogspot.com/

It is pouring rain and gloomy here on Long Island. Kate has a recipe for "Easy, Cheesy Potato Chowder" that would really hit the spot this afternoon--if only I had potatoes on hand, LOL!

BTW, thanks to everyone for all the nice comments on my dress on Sew Crafty Friday! I didn't get back to check out the posts and was surprised at how many people responded. You're all the best!

A Nice Blog for N!

http://nomorethantwo.blogspot.com/

Nice, and funny, too--that's Cindy Lou, who is more than 2...if you appreciate Dr. Seuss, you'll get the joke. This blog is fun to read, and Cindy does some nice work--even her 'mistakes' look great, to me, LOL!

Scroll down for my contest winners, if you don't know!

My winners!

I did this in a rather unscientific way, but it worked. First, I cut the comments apart and tried to keep them about the same size. Then I divided them up by category. If you asked for more than one thing, you got entered more than once, so don't worry! Then I threw each group of papers at my cat and dog. The cat is more cooperative, the dog just looks at me like I'm nuts. These are the winners that Melody Kitty picked with her nose:

Miranda of "Life on Hackberry Road" won the hangers!

Becky of "Sew and So" won the Janet Evanovich book!

Kristen of "One & Two Makes Three" won the dishcloths!

and WindyCindy won the Koontz book!

Congratulations to all my winners! I'll be contacting you on your blogs (or via e-mail if you left me an address!)

I'll be back later with my next ABC blog.

Another dress by me

Here is another dress I designed for myself. The top half is adapted from the free "Lydia" pattern I got from Burdastyle.com. The sleeves are a little flairy, which is one change I made. I had to cut the front in two pieces, rather than on the fold, because I was 'using up and making do' with some fabric I already had, and nothing was wide enough to get both the front and back cut on the fold. So there's a seam, which I don't think you can see in the photo, but it's fine with me. The skirt is a floral seersucker (there I go with seersucker again--I love this stuff) and the ribbon around the waist is from a box of Christmas ribbon I got on clearance. I need to make loops to hold it in place. I also need to finish the neckline and hems. This is one I can wear to work because it isn't too short and it's comfortable.

If you want to feast your eyes on more craftiness, please visit Shereen's Blog, "Waiting for Him" for "Sew Crafty Friday!"

Mmmmm..."M" blog!

I've been hopping around cyberspace looking for cool blogs, as you know. Here is a nice one for "M"--http://marirob.blogspot.com/2008/05/run-marirob-run.html

Mari has done some awesome sewing projects, even hand-sewn ones! The colorwheel quilt is amazing--I especially like the cat sitting in the middle of it in one photo, LOL!

Come back later for my Sew Crafty Friday entry!

A Sweet "L" blog

Check out the cupcakes and the kitten at http://www.labelleavenue.com/blog/ --so cute and sweet! Makes me want to break out the Wilton cake decorating stuff. And that kitten...awwwww!
There are so many nice things on this blog that I'm sure you'll love it. I'm a nut for tutorials, and she's got a few great ones--especially a cool fabric box and a cute ice cream cone ornament!

BTW, don't forget to enter my 400th post giveaway--see below!

OMG, I'm 401!!!!

I didn't even realize I hit 400 posts with my "K" post! (See below!) Hmmm...gotta come up with a giveaway for that!

Okay, how about these:

Top: two child-sized hangers decorated by me.

Bottom: Set of "Patriotic" dishcloths, crocheted by me.

Also:

"Velocity" by Dean Koontz--hardcover

"Eleven on Top" by Janet Evanovich--hardcover

Both books are read but in very, very, very good condition!

Each of these 4 prizes is a separate giveaway, so let me know which one or ones you like! All you have to do is comment on this post. Please only leave one comment to make it fair for everyone. And sorry, I'm only going to ship in the USA. I will keep this open until Friday at midnight and draw a name on Saturday. Good luck!

Two Ks for the price of one!

My first "K" blog today doesn't start with "K" but has one in it...Bittersweet Punkin! I love this blog, and the blogger, too! http://bittersweetpunkin.blogspot.com/ Perusing her blog is like walking through a country store! Oh, wait...she has a country store of her own. Please check out the goodies Punkin has on sale at http://thepunkinpeddler.blogspot.com/. I bought the prettiest patchwork pillow and can say that I am one satisfied customer!

If you visit Punkin's blog today, you'll see a post about another blog written by her very, very talented friend "Kat." Here's the link: http://scaredykaterpillarsnomore.blogspot.com/ Guess what? She's got a 100 post giveway going on! Check out the sweet prizes--a lovely pillow and a gardening angel doll. Who wouldn't want a piece of handcrafted art?

J Today

Today's blog is "Joyful Abode.' http://www.joyfulabode.com/blog/


Sewing, recipes, tutorials, organization tips, etc.--what more could you want? (Except maybe for this perfect Spring day to last forever. I hope your day is as lovely!)

I like...

Incy Wincy for "I"! http://incywincytogs.blogspot.com/ Hop on over there (I had to say 'hop'--she's growing frogs) and enjoy! Sam's little girl, Emma, is darling, especially in a pretty white dress her mommy is making for her! And Sam's also making a cool dress out of one of Emma's dad's t-shirts (yes, Sam says he told her it was okay!), which I think is a really clever idea!

Now, here's my Mother's Day Report: we all went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant, Catfish Annie's. We've been going there for about 25 years now. They've watched my kids grow up, and I can say the same for the family that runs the place. The little girl who used to help clear tables is now head waitress. It's not fancy--I don't do fancy. There's a fresh seafood counter on one side. The food is simple, but amazing. And reasonable! I got a twin lobster dinner with sides for less than $30, which is saying a lot for New York. 3 of my kids ordered scungilli--ugh. Scungilli, if you don't know, is a kind of snail.
My husband had softshell crab. My youngest had chicken. The older ones teased him about it, but Catfish Annie's makes amazing fried chicken, too. We really enjoyed ourselves. The lobster was luxurious (and I brought some home to make myself a lobster roll today!)--but the best part was having all my kids together for a meal. That doesn't happen often these days.

I hope you all had wonderful days yesterday, too!

H is for...

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

I hope everyone has a day filled with love!

And while we're at it, H is for...

http://www.thimble.ca/

Okay, it isn't...but there's in 'h' in there and it's a really fun site! Lots of cool tutorial links! Enjoy!

G...

Is for "Girls in the Garden." http://girlsinthegarden.blogspot.com/

I like the way Lori combines different fabrics in some of the tops she made. I also love the little American Girl outfits with matching clothes for a little girl!

If I don't get on tomorrow...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, EVERYONE!

Found an "F" Blog

And it's for http://fairythreads.com/

Fairy Threads is chockful of free ideas for sewing, crochet, beading and more!

A few things today

First, my "E" blog. It is http://www.ericabunker.com/ Erica makes some beautiful things, and her wardrobe is nicer than anything you could buy ready-to-wear!


I also want to mention that E is for Etsy. Many of my fellow bloggers have Etsy shoppes. I hope to have one someday, too. (Dang, I gotta get working on that!) But I'd like to remind you that Etsy isn't just for finished handmade items. I have bought fabric, vintage patterns and buttons there, too! In fact, lately it's the first place I look for buttons.


And now on to Sew Crafty Friday! http://w8ng4him.blogspot.com/ Why don't you pay Shereen a visit?


This is my first attempt at amigurumi. In fact, it's such a first attempt I don't know how to spell the word. Let me check...yeah, I think I got it right. I made an octopus, and I like the way she came out...even if it was a pain to sew on the tentacles. Here's the link: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/70588AD.html

You have to sign up, but it's free and there are a lot of cool crochet patterns. There's knit stuff in there, too, of course!

That's a bow on her head, just so you know it's a 'she.' She is now living on a shelf in my dining room hutch. My husband likes her, and he works at the dining room table. So she can be his mascot.

Not really a blog, but...

"Digiscrap Depot" is a great site for scrapbooking freebies! Every day, there are dozens of links to free downloads for scrapbookers. Here you go, have fun!

http://www.digiscrapdepot.com/freebies/

Found a new blog...and it starts with

C! What else?*



http://www.chicaandjo.com/



It is called Chica and Jo and is full of fun, creative ideas. They fall into numerous categories, including sewing, cooking and organization. They have some very clever ways of doing things!

*okay, I'm doing a creative blogs ABCs, but I already know I'm going to have troubles. So I, as this blog's owner and writer, reserve the right to say my letters can fall anywhere within a blog's title!

B is for...

"Blackberry Creek." Susan visits here often (she's on my sidebar) so I'd like everyone to visit her at http://www.blackberrycreek.typepad.com/

She makes the most beautiful quilts! Honestly, I wish I could sew like that. Go visit her blog and marvel.

Her altered playing cards ain't too shabby, either! And don't forget to check out her book reviews on her sidebar!

Yep, Susan and her blog are awesome.

Sewing Blogs ABCs

Just because I having nothing to do (ha, ha, ha), I decided I'm going to post links to some cool blogs relating to sewing and crafts, in ABC order. The first one is "Artsy Craftsy Babe" which is just chock full of cuteness! Check out her little "Birthday Girl" modeling the sweetest, most cheerful sundress ever.
And there's a tutorial for adorable button flowers!
Go ahead and visit: http://artsycraftybabe.typepad.com/artsycrafty_babe/ you'll be glad you did!

The apron, continued

I did some more work on my apron. As you can see, I tucked a hand towel into the waistband. It just happens to be the right colors.
The only thing left to do is the sashes. I only had a half yard of the red and white fabric and a yard of the kitchen print. I don't have enough of either to make ties, so I'll probably use some brown ribbon, which picks up from the print. Then I might put a brown bow to match at the top of the towel...to 'tie it all together' (yes, I get the pun.)

I don't have a sewing tip today, but if I think of one I'll be back.

Sew Crafty Friday

I don't have anything finished, but here are some WIPs. On top is a baby dress I'm making with the same seersucker I used for the toddler dress. It is for my friend's little girl who just turned one, and should fit her nicely by the summer. It has matching bubble pants (whatever you call those). If I have enough, I'm going to put rickrack around the bottom, about an inch or so from the hemline. The arms will be bound in red, and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to find some cute strawberry-shaped buttons for the back.

On the bottom is an apron I'm making. Can I tell you how much I detest doing gathers? Truthfully, I'll put pleats in things to avoid gathers. So this ruffle was a production for me.
I didn't buy these fabrics to go together, but they just do. Don't you love when that happens? And isn't that old-fashioned kitchen fabric a riot?

Please visit Shereen's blog and join in "Sew Crafty Friday"!http://w8ng4him.blogspot.com/