What about me?

Can you believe its the end of March already?  It seems to me that the year has hardly started, and here we are a quarter of the way through.  Work and family stuff has kept me out of the sewing room lately, but I started a little project last night.  My dear friend's mom is doing the snow bird thing not too far from me, and when we went out for dinner she mentioned that she is having a hard time finding a soft sided case for her sunglasses.  "I can fix that!" I said. 

So into the sewing room I went to choose fabric and get to work.  This is what happened when I started sewing.  She rested her little chin on my knee, and looked up at me with those big brown eyes.

And I melted.  Poor Miss Katie needed some love.  So we had a little tummy rubbing time instead.  More on the glasses case soon, along with a pretty star block for do Good Stitches.

Friday is for Sharing

This week has just flown by!  Has it felt like that for you too?

Today's Friday fabulousness is a quick one.  Have you checked out the Moda Sliced competition?  There were some truly awesome contributions and I don't know how the judges could possibly narrow it down to only 4 finalists.  Here are the four.  I can't pick a favorite, but I'm looking forward to seeing what they create with their Pincushion assignment.

The honorable mentions can be found here.  I think the crocheted caddies by akalauni, shown below, are my favorite since they combine my love of fabric with crochet!  Her lovely & inspiring blog can be found at Gracious Rain.  

Its worth a peek at all the entries on Flickr - there are some really wonderful, original projects there and its full of inspiration for things you might want to create.

Did you submit a project?  If so, yay you for being brave & trying!

Have a great weekend!

Some Everyday Sewing Projects

Sewing little items for everyday use is a fun way of using your favorite fabrics, and getting just what you want!  I've finished up a couple small sewing projects lately.  Ages ago I saw these cute earbud holders over at Dog Under My Desk (how awesome is that for a blog name?  Katie would wholeheartedly woof at that!)  She has a fabulous blog and some really cute patterns in her shop too - its worth a click to go visit!  Since I was in my usual lazy mood, I didn't bother using the computer and decided to just wing it.  I didn't want to fuss with a zipper, so I didn't.  It could probably be a little bigger, but it works for now.  I love this red floral fabric, and it goes nicely with my little red earbuds.

I listen to audiobooks on my phone or MP3 player while I'm walking Katie or on my way to work, and I really needed a place to keep my earbuds safe.  This way they don't get tangled and hopefully will last longer.  Even though there is no zipper, they are fairly secure in their little pouch but I would like to try Erin's tutorial one of these days.  If I make this for my 11 year old nephew, I'd definitely go with the zipper version since well, he's a boy and not as careful with his stuff.

And speaking of my sweet doggy dog Katie, I realized that some of her collars were getting rather worn.  When I first adopted her (yay Petfinder!) I bought a bunch of cute handmade collars on Ebay and she has enough of a wardrobe of them that we switch them out alot.  I picked the most worn one, figured out how it worked, and then chopped off the hardware to reuse it.  Add in a scrap of Mezzanine with some fusible web and before you could say Bob's your uncle ...

By the time I finished I thought of a couple ways to make it better, so a tutorial may be forthcoming.  Isn't her little dog tag cute?  Her name & my phone number are stamped into the other side.  I got it from a wonderful Etsy seller called Poochy Couture, and she has a ton of darling designs for both cats & dogs.  I bought some for my sister's menagerie for Christmas gifts and had a fun time choosing them. 

My little darlin' is all preppy and ready for Spring, although she's so furry her collar is rarely visible.  You'll just have to trust me its there!

She's probably thinking "Can you stop with the camera and let's get back to our walk?!?!" 

What have you been working on?

Scraps, Scraps, Scraps!

Everyone has a bin or basket of fabric scraps, and mine has finally reached the point where it needed some organization.  I've used lots of scraps for the do. Good Stitches blocks, but the last time I went scrap diving it was kind of a pain to filter through.  There are so many great ideas for scrap storage, like vintage wire baskets at The Cottage Home (visit to see a studio worth drooling over!) or a handy over the door shoe organizer like the one at Elsie's Girl  but my favorite is the large canning jars that I saw at I Like Orange Too. She did a whole tutorial on making the lids match the scraps - click on the link to read more.

courtesy of I Like Orange Too blog

I got these large Ball jars at my local Ace Hardware and spent just a few minutes sorting the scraps.  The jars came in a set of 6, and I thought that was probably enough to start with.  After a wee bit of sorting, we have a Red & Pink jar, an Orange / Coral / Yellow jar, a Green jar, a Blue & Purple jar, a Whites & Creams jar and a Black, Brown & Grey jar.  Easy peasy, organizing squeezy!

I haven't done the lids to color coordinate, because I think the colors may come and go in different jars, depending on what I'm making.  But these are a fun way of seeing what I've got to work with and its like using your stash as art.  (Ignore that stack of wall art that's wrapped up in vintage sheets behind my table, won't you?  This little house just doesn't have enough room for all my stuff.)

Anything that was more of a strip or about an eighth of a yard just got folded and stacked back in the basket.  There's scraps, and then there's scraps, you know? 

How do you organize your scraps - do you separate out the tiny bits from the 'less than a fat quarter' bits?  Got 'em out where you can see them?

Springing into March

Its a new month and that's always a great time to take a look back and to plan ahead!  Lily's Quilts has a Fresh Sewing Day at the beginning of each month and I love that idea, so I'm jumping in this month.  February was not as productive as I had hoped, but I got a few things accomplished.  Some pillows to go in the Etsy shop...

A cute red heart pillow to add a bit of Valentine's cheer to my house ...

And some blocks for do. Good Stitches got finished up and sent off.

 

That doesn't seem terribly productive at all, now does it?

This week I will be finishing up a cute gnome embroidery project.  I've been doing alot of doodling lately, and that turned into embroidery ideas, and that just might turn into a new line of patterns in my Etsy shop.  This fella isn't finished yet, and I'm not sure I like the chain stitch for the mushroom top so that may change before you see this in its final form.  Its messier in person than this photo shows.

My Orange Waves quilt, based on the New Wave Quilt by Oh, Fransson is also on my list of WIPs to finish up in March.  I've got two and a half columns done.  The pieces are all cut, so its just a matter of sitting down and sewing it all up.

And recently I stumbled across these Sunbonnet Sue blocks from a few years ago.  When I first got into quilting, I wanted to make a Sue quilt for my baby niece. Her nursery was primarily yellow and green so this quilt would have gone nicely.  But time passed, and this quilt didn't get finished.  I need to finish up the Sues, choose fabric for sashing and get 'er done.  I'm going to try to get this into the Etsy shop soon. 

And my final task for this month?  I think I'd like to change my online identity.  I have an idea for the name I'll use, and a super sweet logo to go with it, but I haven't pulled the trigger.  It means transferring the blog to its new name, changing the Etsy shop, and changing my Flickr and Twitter accounts too.  If you have any advice on recreating your online identity, please share!

 

I'm linking up with Lily's Quilts Small Blog Meet.  Its a great spot to meet new bloggers so be sure to go and check it out! 

Friday Is for Sharing

Its Friday!  Even though I've worked weekends for several years, every Friday morning I feel like I'm about to have a break, and that makes me want to plan fun things for my free time.  Whether I've got plans in the evenings with friends, or I want to get out in the garden or maybe get cracking on my next craft project, Friday is a day for daydreaming.  I've decided Friday posts on Hot Pink Peonies will be for sharing inspiring things found on the web.

Flickr is such a wonderful place to find inspiration, to join groups with your interests, show off your work (be it blankets, babies or blossoming gardens), participate in hobby related swaps and bees, and to socialize through photography.  do. Good Stitches is on Flickr and that's how we stay in touch with one another and create the quilts.  For quilting and sewing specifically, you can find groups that do swaps of finished items, blocks or fabric itself. You can also join quilt-a-longs, and see what other sewists do with your favorite fabric lines.  There's so much fun to be had!

Some days though, its just pure inspiration.  I love seeing different color combinations and learning new techniques.  Click on the links below to learn more about each photo - many Flickr users will include a link to their blog.  And aren't those quilted cupcakes cute?  My niece is all about the cupcakes these days, so I was thinking I might surprise her with a cupcake themed doll quilt.

1. Bliss Stars Top by Why Not Quilt  2. Pillow Talk Swap by This Crafty Fox  3. Garden Steps Quiltalong by Clover & Violet  4. Friday Night Sewin Project by Stitched By Me 5. Sparkle Punch Progress by I Dream in Fabric 6. Quilted Cupcakes by Quilted Cupcake  7. Hexagon Quilt by Quarks & Widgets  8. Best Bee Quilt Ever by Kelby Sews  9. Granny Squares by Sew Deerly Loved

Are you on Flickr too?  You can find me there as Hot Pink Peonies Sews.

Lovely Finish

Lovely by Sandy Gervais of Moda has been out for a while now, but it just makes me smile every time I see it!  The coral, turquoise and yellows are so cheerful and perky and they scream spring.

This is your basic Dresden plate that I appliqued onto my favorite white on white leafy fabric.  I used pinking shears on the center of the plate, which mimics the petals and makes it look alot like a flower.  I used coral perle cotton to hand quilt around the plates too.  I love that look!

Its available in my Etsy shop.  These fabrics are so cheerful I think I'll make a table topper too!

What have you been working on?