I'm behind on my hand stitching homework.

I finally (FINALLY) finished the start of my modern medallion today. I had planned on finishing it on Thursday and time ran out before our road trip. I even woke up early on Friday morning, determined to sew the borders on the reverse applique block only to find out that I had squared it  1/2" too small. Aargh.

After some simple math, I adjusted the measurements and I quickly cut widths of fabric for new borders, packed it all in a zip lock and continued packing clothes for the trip that we were taking in less than two hours.

Procrastinate much, Erin?

(To be fair to myself...with great effort, I've cut down on procrastinating in the last year or so. I've been mindful of it and have worked hard to change things. Really. I have. This last incident was out of the relatively recent ordinary which made it hurt just a bit more).

Luckily for me, I have a mother-in-law with sewing skills and equipment so I managed to finish this square up this afternoon. That is not to say there weren't issues. There were. I am the sole person to blame - Rachel wrote it all up beautifully. All faults are mine.

Now to embroider.

As much as I've let the hand sewing pile up, the crochet is happening.

And people, I am loving it.

Thank you, Blair. I KNOW how much time things like this take. I do not take it for granted.

Last weekend, I finished stitching this t-shirt for Rachel's hand stitching class. I really enjoyed working on this project. I had never thought to put a woven under a knit, but I like it. I wish I had a better photo for you, but my assistants were busy reading and I was too lazy to get the tripod out. Anyhow, the design continues around the side to the back. I used a perle cotton, doubled for the stitching. I think button/carpet thread a la Alabama Chanin would have been better, but I am determined to use what I have on hand for this class. So, therefore, perle cotton it was. The woven fabric is an Anna Maria Horner print and the t-shirt came out of my closet.

I'm still crocheting. And working on my medallion quilt - will share those soon.

Also, summer is busier than I'd like. Yesterday I said no to TV a gazillion times. I'd told them to find something else to do. In the end, each girl read an entire book. Go figure.

Summer is busy. I thought I'd get here earlier this week, but it just did not happen.

I am managing to get my crochet homework done each week. And I have one of my hand stitching projects finished, too. I'll show and tell just as soon as I get some one to take photos of me wearing it.

Someone asked for lime cocktail recipes...I'm working on that, too. I have a new one that I'm excited to share.

Camera strap colorways have been chosen. Realistically, the shop will be restocked in July. I'm also working on another item for the shop. I'm super excited about it. Giddy, in fact.

I best go. There's a field hockey game starting in a half hour. I'll be yelling loudly for Jane and under my breath for Kate as she has forbidden me to cheer for her.  So be it.

Back soon.

A few weeks ago, a copy of Jennifer Paganelli's latest book, Happy Home, arrived on my doorstep for review. I immediately thumbed through it and was wowed by all the gorgeous photos. I have always enjoyed Jennifer's bright, cheerful prints and this book shows them off in a magnificient way. When I had more time to spare, I spent some time reading and really looking at the projects. There are lots of great household items including home dec (bed coverings, curtains, bedskirt, pillows, tablecloth and napkins) as well as accessories for the home (fabric boxes, garland, pompom lanterns) and accessories to wear (hat, apron). The ones that caught my eye immediately are:

The Playful Patterned Pillow - I love the large hexagons and there are good instructions for machine sewing them all together.

The Laundry Bag (would make a nice high school graduation gift and great for overnight campers!) and Jimbo Jumbo Dog Bed Cover

The Sophia Stocking - I love seeing different versions of the same pattern.

The Express Yourself Applique Pillow - This is the one that I knew I would make right away. I love the overscale letters and the cute sayings. Plus, I'm a sucker for applique - it's fast, easy and gives you a lot of color bang for your time.

Jane and I decided that we would make one of these pillows for her friend's birthday this week. Jane picked out a stack of purple, green and pink fabrics to spell out "SWEET DREAMS". I thought this was such a great idea until I came down with the flu. I started to make the pillow, but I was thinking straight and cut the fabric all wrong (measure TWICE, cut once). I did manage to save enough fabric to eek out the birthday girl's name and applique it onto a premade tote. Although it was what we had originally planned, I think it turned out cute and I have Happy Home to thank for the inspiration.

Chronicle Books has offered to give a copy of Happy Home to one of my readers (U.S. addresses only, please). To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post telling me what you want to sew for your Happy Home before Sunday, June 10, 5:00 p.m. EST. I'll draw one winner using the random number generator at that time.

Good luck and happy weekend!

I finished the latest granny square sampler assignment over the weekend.

I am really, really having fun with this project.

I was storing my yarn in a tote bag because a certain feline someone really likes wool. She likes it even more when it is in ball form and I was not going to let her get her paws (and teeth) on this. But I was having a hard time seeing what I had and was making a mess with all of the yarn ends as the balls unwound while I dug through looking for certain colors. I pulled this basket out of the sewing room where it was holding some random patterns and papers and brought it downstairs.

I put it up on a chest that Scout can't reach. I can see what I have and it's much prettier to look at this way, right? Now I just have to wait for tomorrow's assignment...

I made this little rabbit for my niece's first birthday. The pattern is from Ellen's book, 1, 2, 3 Sew. I have wanted to make this critter since the book was published and I am so happy I finally had the chance. It came together so easily and fairly fast, although the embroidery on the face did take a bit of time. No matter, though. I think she turned out pretty sweet.

I haven't found much time to sew lately - the studio is under reorganization, but the end is in sight. The fabric is all neatly folded and back on the shelves so I can find things once more. With all this cleaning, I think that there will be scrap bags going into the shop as well as some other things down the line. I've got a few ideas percolating and with any luck, I'll have some new items to share soon.

In the meantime, I'm still crocheting. See you back here soon.