Shop Talk

New stock is available atCollage today. New items become available at noon (eastern time) but many are up for preview now.

All of my *Princess Nimble-Thimble* items can be seen *here*.

Yes, I did it. I made some needlebooks. I've been asked repeatedly to make some needlebooks for sale. I've been hesitant though. To be honest, they take so long to make that I've been concerned they'd end up being priced too high. Keeping my pricing reasonable is always a concern of mine. But then so is attention to detail. Finding balance between the two can be a challenge to say the least!

Since I've been asked about them so much recently I decided to make a couple and see how it goes. Perhaps there will be more in the future. I hope so. I just love making them!

More finishes

I finished this little quilt (15" square) the other day. The last of the autumn themed projects. Which makes me a little sad. Autumn is my favorite, you know.



I also whipped up this redwork heart using a free pattern from Angela at The Country Cellar. Thanks, Angela!!

Finally, I need to answer a couple questions left in the comments of my "Socks are not for feet" post (some people do not have "show my email" checked in their blogger profile...hint, hint...and cannot be replied to through email)

Yes, I have more sock dolls coming. :) I only have supplies enough for around 15 more dolls...one or two of most sock options. So if you are hoping for something specific, please email me ( PrincessNimbleThimble AT gmail DOT com ) and let me know. I'll happily make what you need as long as I still have the supplies on hand.

As for bendy dolls: I'm working on some right now. So, same thing. Email me if you would like something specific. Or, if you prefer to choose from an assortment, there will be some available very soon. It will be in the next day or so. I'll definitely be posting here when they're available.

I've also got some business news beans to spill soon! Something exciting is brewing!!

Autumn Annie Embroidery Pattern

Here ya go. Just right-click to save and then print and trace onto your fabric.

It's also available as a .pdf over there on my sidebar.

Enjoy!

Making progress

Progress is being made around here-both on the crafty front and on the recovery front. I'm just about all better (YAY!).

I finished this little quilt over the weekend. It's a Bare Roots pattern. I just love those patterns! Thank you, so much, Jenny, for sharing it with me!! (Jenny keeps hers on her kitchen table and you can catch glimpses of it in the backround of many of her pictures)

I wanted to make progress on the Wild Things quilt but we were out and about most of the weekend and I needed something portable. The Wild Things quilt is at a stage where it isn't portable. It's on the agenda for this week though.

I also started on this Annie embroidery (from a free pattern) in the interest of portability. It's for a future project-a quilted wallhanging for my bathroom, which is decorated in Annies and quilts. I don't usually embroider before putting the quilt top together. But I had to grab something fast and it was all I could think to pack. I can't leave the house without a project, you know!

I've also started on a little jute basket. I usually have a simple crochet project in the works. They get worked on when I'm sitting on the deck drip-drying after swimming or when I'm sneaking in a few minutes of crafting in bed by very dim light (so as to not wake the husband).

Finished!

Christiana's christening gown is all finished. The bonnet was an afterthought but it really seems to finish it off nicely, don'tcha think?

I ended up hemming it all by hand because a line of machine stitching just seemed wrong. And I don't know how to do a blind hem on the machine.

Oh! And there was a buttonhole emergency. I couldn't find the buttonhole foot to my machine that has one-step buttonhole capabilities. My other machine does horrid 4-step buttonholes that always look awful.


So I pulled out my handy-dandy embroidery book and followed the directions for making buttonholes by hand. And I thanked God that I'm the type who learns best from books. The buttonholes had to be done today. And you know what? In my opinion, it looked perfect. Not that my buttonhole making is flawless, but rather that the handmade buttonholes really suited the old-fashionedness of the dress.

All the leftover linen gets to stay here, too! I've been eyeing the instructions for cutwork in the embroidery book!

One big project finished...just one more to go (the Wild Things quilt!).

Checking in!

I've been crafting!!

Jewelry:



Embroidery for a friend's daughter's christening gown:



Working on sewing the gown itself is on today's agenda. And my friend is coming over tomorrow so we can finish up. The christening is this weekend!

And progress on the "Wild Things" quilt:



Don't mind the dampness on the monster's face. I had just "erased" the water soluble ink. All of the applique pieces that have been made so far are stitched down. The embroidery is almost finished. This monster needs some claws oh his feet and he'll be done. The other monster needs all of his embroidery. Then I just need to add all the greenery and stitch it down. Then piece the border. Then my favorite part...the quilting!



And just for fun I'll share what happens when a person stacks all of the beads they were playing with on top of the cart used to store the beads. And then moves the cart. As the wheel falls out. Tragedy. This happened more than a week ago and I still need to resort everything. I just scooped it up into one container and there it all still sits.

We're also experiencing pool tragedy here. Saturday I awoke to find the water had turned green. So I added a shock treatment. The green instantly disappeared but was immediately replaced with milky, cloudy water. I tried adding clarifier yesterday but messed up by adding way too much. Apparently I'm quite bad at guessing how many gallons of water the pool holds!

So the water is cloudy and over-chlorinated. I have no idea if it's ok to use or not. Which is a bummer as the pool is where I've been doing my exercise. (I'm still working on losing weight...down 44lbs so far!). I suppose I'll give it a few days and see if the cloudy goes away on it's own. All of the other water levels show to be perfect when I test them so maybe I just need to be patient. And do icky exercise in the meantime. Bleck!

Oh! Netflix finally decided it was my turn to see Miss Potter. I loved it!! Watched it twice this weekend.

And then, this morning, I received an email from The Fat Quarter Shop with their sales and new additions. I could not resist the Beatrix Potter Victorian Nursery line. So a "jolly pack" and half a yard of the green pansies fabric are on their way to me. YAY! I have this book of embroidery transfers that will go nicely!

Well I've got a bit of housework calling my name. Then it's on to sewing the christening gown. I should have more pictures very soon!

Meet Felix

Felix is a doll that came to be about 7 or 8 years ago. He spent the first year or so as a blank body. But when Mason got to be around a year old I thought it was time he have a little boy doll. So Felix got finished.

Here he is wearing a pair of pants he's borrowed from a doll named Jo-Jo (who has taken to calling himself "fartin' Martin" lately and no longer wears this style of clothing). Felix is a bit of a nudist, usually. He had his own clothes at one point but we gave up on finding them.


He's had a rough life. Flannel, while soft, does not make for strong skin. Felix has had run-ins with markers and lived to tell the tale. Lately he's begun hanging around with fartin' Martin, who leads a much wilder life than dolls with flannel skin should emulate. But he thinks Martin is cool and he tries to keep up.

Recently Felix found himself with a 4" gash that went from the front of his middle to the back. The poor guy was near death. I managed to close the wound and he recovered.



Immediately following his release from the hospital Felix returned to living life to the hilt. To celebrate his recovery he went out and got a tattoo! Can you believe it?! Who knew Felix was so into the tropical look? I had no idea. And it does hide his scar nicely.

We're so glad Felix is doing so well. But we do hope he settles down just a little.

On another note, I've added lots and lots of new earrings to my Etsy shop!

I can't believe it's been a week!

Has it really been that long since I've posted?

I've had my nose to the grindstone this past week, working on a quilt. And it's finished! Christiana and her mama came by for a visit today so she got to take it home with her. That little babe is such a beauty!

Here are some pictures of the embroidery:





And just click here for a view of the back of the quilt, if that's your sort of thing (it's totally my thing...love the backs!).

It's been a long, long (fun!) day so a short post. Sorry to be so short after such a lapse. I'll be back with more tomorrow.

So sweet it'll give ya a cavity!

I finally got around to doing something with that bit of embroidery I did for the tutorial. It wasn't very big so a sachet seemed like the obvious choice. I got a little carried away so it's a bit too fancy maybe. Too sweet and frou-frou! But the curled organza ribbon tacked in place by teensy knot-flowers got me thinking on things like making things for my children's weddings or christening gowns for grandchildren. Someday. It's quite a ways off, I hope. But I'm going to have so much fun being a granny. :-)



And speaking of preciousness and super sweetness- Remember that baby quilt I made? Well, here's the baby it belongs to modelling it's usefulness. Isn't he beyond adorable?! You just forget that people start out so small, ya know? He's the most easy going baby ever. Happy to just be held. Even my husband commented (several times...which only helps to fuel my babylust!) on how precious he is!

Ya know that embroidery tutorial I've been promising?

It's here. And it's linked in my sidebar with all the other free patterns and tutorials.

It's a whole (small) project from start to finish. And it includes step-by-step instructions for beginners as well as details on why I make some of my wacky reccomendations for those that would wonder what the heck I'm thinking. :-) You'll see what I mean, I'm a bit of a rule breaker.

If you've ever wished you knew how to embroidery, TRY! It's really easy, I promise. The project I chose used three of the most basic stitches. With just those three you can embroider most things.

Embroidery is such a fun and (even better!) inexpensive hobby. Seriously, you can get started for around $12. And you can make more than one project with that $12 investment.

So go on, get brave! And have fun!

Another finish! Well, almost...

This is my "welcome to the world" gift for baby Oak. And I'm really happy because, although far from expert, my quilting skills are coming along. Most of my points meet or are "close enough". And thanks to Heather and her tutorial I now feel like Queen of the continuous quilt binding! My corners are all perfectly mitered. This makes me very happy!



Scattered around the quilt are bits of embroidery. You know I couldn't leave that out! I am loving this squirrel!! I added some quilting stitches throughout his tail so once the quilt is washed he should look fluffy.



And, of course, his name and birth date had to be on there somewhere.





I also felt an oak leaf was needed. How could I not include one? It had to be done.





And who can resist a sweet little bunny? Not me, that's for sure. I think I even prefer little brown woodland rabbits to white rabbits.

I'm also very pleased that the more I practice hand quilting, the better I get. I know, it seems like a logical conclusion. But the very first time I tried quilting by hand I was not thrilled. Sure, I labelled my uneven three stitches-per-inch as primitive and rustic and tried to pretend it was intentional. But, truth be told, I wasn't pleased. I know what looks nice and what my hands were producing had tons of room for improvement.

I'm not ready to sit around an Amish woman's quilting frame (ack! the very thought! LOL!) but my smaller-than-before, relatively even, five stitches-per-inch are a huge improvement. I do think they actually look pretty ok. I think I might even be able to eek out six stitches per inch next time around.

All that's left is to stitch down the back side of the binding. And since American Idol and House are on tonight (the only shows I make an effort to watch...well, Medium too), I don't think it will be a problem.

I promised someone I'd post an embroidery tutorial. It's coming. Soon...very soon. I've had several people mention that they wish they could embroider so my goal with this tutorial will be focussed on starting at the absolute beginning. And really, you'd be amazed at how much you can accomplish with very limited embroidery skills.

Finished!

I cannot wait until Friday when I get to give this to little Miss Zella. When she likes something she puckers her mouth into an "o" and gets big eyes. And never makes a sound. I'll have to bring my camera so I can snap a picture of that expression. It's so stinkin' adorable.

Close-up pictures of each panel here

No time for big posting today though. I've got some big time housework to do (still spring cleaning...making the floors shiny today). My treat when I finish is that I get to start on a gift for Zella's newborn baby brother. He was born last Sunday. His name is Oak. My head is swirling with ideas inspired by his name!

Am I too old for this look?

Are nursery rhymes too juvenile for 36 year olds? Because I'm loving this skirt. Miss Zella is lucky it's not my size. And luckily, nursery rhymes are very "in" for 2 year olds.

(click the picture to make it bigger...it's better bigger, I promise.)

If you're seeing a strange blueness beneath the embroidery, it's just water soluble marker. I haven't erased it yet. And I'm waiting until the embroidery is finished to add the elastic to the waist. But it's definitely coming along.

The spring cleaning is also coming along. Yesterday was the hideous day. You know. The one where you do something insane like empty the entire contents of your closet onto the bed. About 3 hours into it I was really questioning myself. But it was far too late at that point. I had to push ever onward to at least find the bed.

Right now the closet is pristine. Completely organized. My bed is no longer cluttered with all. that. stuff. But there are still some stray piles on the floor that need attention. I stared at them all morning hoping that by some miracle they'd disappear. Or at least someone else would see them and take pity on me. Neither has happened and I've come to terms with the reality that it's all on me. Blah.

I've apparently lost all track of time!

Lots of pictures so they're all little. Just click on them for a larger version.


I had no idea it had been so long since I've posted. This past week has blown by-an absolute flurry of friends, crafting, American Idol watching, spring cleaning, and sick children. The sick children part has only been since yesterday so we're in the thick of it now. So far I'm not sick. We'll see how long that lasts.



I finished up the order I had been working on and it's on its way to its new home.

As for the spring cleaning... I started with the children's rooms because as Simmy would say (gotta love those Brit's and their adorable expressions!) they were "a tip".

Their rooms are now spic-and-span and squeaky clean. Mason's bedroom closet went through the biggest transformation. After a whole day spent cleaning/decluttering/organizing his room I had to take a picture of that closet. Silly, I know. But it had to be done.

And since I mentioned American Idol, I hope y'all are voting for Blake!!



Mere moments ago I finished sewing this skirt for me. It *was* a bed sheet...Ralph Lauren, too, so super-duper soft. I bought the sheet from an online-mama-friend. She's probably kicking herself for selling it now ::snicker::gloat::snicker::.

There's a wee little skirt I'm making for a friend's daughter. I'm going to try to use the same sheet-fabric for the non-embroidered panels. The skirt will have eight panels...four floral and four embroidered. This sweet lil' girlie LOVES the itsy-bitsy spider. So I drew four drawings-one for each line of the nursery rhyme-to be embroidered around the skirt. I plan to start this project tommorrow.

Then I have a couple baby gifts to put together. ASAP. One baby is due today!



Have you been over to visit Little Jenny Wren? Well you should. Jenny is just the sweetest ever! I complimented a little quilt in the backround of one of her pictures and she offered to send me the pattern! Yet another project I can't wait to start!!

I just received the fabrics I ordered for it from the Fat Quarter Shop. Aren't they pretty!!

I just noticed... Between those fabrics and the sheet-skirt, I seem to have a certain look on the brain these days. hmmm...

just a quickie, fly-by post

Just popping in to post this picture of the tea cozy I made today. I should have made my pattern a bit taller as the bottom edge didn't want to sit flat on the table. I added the buttons on the side and the problem was fixed. Next time I make one I'll adjust the pattern though.

I'm still knee-deep in miles of tangled lace!

Hope everyone's weekend is lovely, so far!

Finally a finished somethin' to show y'all

I know, this pillow is super sweet...almost too cutesy. But I don't care. :-) Soon I will have my own sewing room and it can live down there if it's deemed to cute for the main area of the house. Although, (maybe I should be ashamed to admit this) it does coordinate quite well with my super girlie bedroom.

I can't really say where the sweetie mice came from since I didn't acquire that image completely ethically. I convinced myself it would all be ok since I have no intentions of selling it. I just had to have it for me. And let's just say that any image is fair game when you have one of these.

The strip of flowers along the bottom came from my brain. And the bluebirds and vines along the top came from a BareRoots booklet.

I used the same blue gingham for the back that I used for the ruffle. And I added the smidgiest bit of color to the mice embroidery with prismacolor pencils. I colored on a scrap of fabric and lightly smudged a bit of color onto the pillow. It all started with some rosy cheeks and then I found that I couldn't stop.

It seems the pillow has already found a home amongst a grouping of Annies and cheery spring things. (sorry about the flash...a photographer I'm not)



On another note, Miss Vicki over there at TurkeyFeathers (link in sidebar) has inspired me with her A-Z quiche adventure. I haven't made quiche in forever. And I'm thinking I have the deepest pie pans ever because every recipe I found called for 3-4 eggs. I ended up using 14 eggs between the 2 quiches. And there's plenty of other stuff in there too: brocolli, shredded zucchini and carrots, onion, bacon, and monterey jack cheese. Everyone "ewwwed" them based on looks alone. But once they tasted everyone declared quiche their new favorite food. Which is good because there's lots left over!

Got a surprise for you!

It all began with a surprise for me. I finally got a scanner! In celebration I've put together an Annie pattern to share with all my blog friends. Have fun sewing! And if you have any questions just ask away! I'd love to see pictures of everyone's masterpieces. :-)



Here's a backpack I made for a friend's son's birthday. I embroidered a little robot on the pocket.

And I embroidered the wee mice. I think they'll end up being a pillow.



Mostly I've been busy organizing my sewing and crafting supplies. My husband has been working on making a room for me in the basement. I'm getting so exciting now that it's really coming together. I can't wait to have space to spread out my projects. And storage space for all my stashes will be an absolute dream come true!

I hope you all are having a great weekend so far! The weather is beautiful here...my favorite sort of weather. It's in the low 60's, sunny, with a mild breeze. Lovely!

I received my Redwork Swap package in the mail. Isn't it adorable? Y'all know I like teapots! ;-) Thank you,Meagan!

Click here to see the Flickr pool of all the swapped redwork items.



I spent the weekend watching movies and stitching, yet again. I love this Lady Bug! She's from a set I bought from Pattern Bee.

Miss Lady Bug and this wee birdie are destined for my hallway "wall o' stitching". I made a mistake when hanging everything and these are needed to make everything centered on the wall. You see, there are 2 air intake vents at the top of that wall. And I centered the whole arrangement under the vents, not noticing that the vents aren't centered on the wall. Easily fixed though. I just need to paint the frames and put these stitcheries in them and the problem is solved.



I've got another bit of embroidery in the works and I'm about to get started on the clothing for the poor nakie doll on my nightstand. Oh, and I've played with my new free motion embroidery foot a little. There is, apparently, a learning curve to it. I'm rethinking my plan of attack for quilting the winter quilt since I'd like to get it finished before winter is officially over.

Yet another finished cross stitch project. I hung all the stitcheries I've made in the hallway today. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it yet. I'm so used to the wall being blank, I guess. I'll live with it a bit before deciding if I love it or if I need to tweak it.

I used these cool velcro picture hanging strips to hang everything so when if I change my mind, it can all be rearranged easily.


Here's a little peek at how it turned out. I apologize for the weird angle but it is a hallway after all.

In addition to playing with my new free motion quilting foot for my sewing machine, I'll be working on making a lil' something for the redwork swap I'm participating in. The deadline is fast approaching. But that's ok. I've pretty much settled on what I'll be making.

And before long I'd better get back to my business. I'm sure everyone must be thinking I've quit or died or something. Things do tend to slow down after Christmas but I think I've gone a bit overboard in taking advantage of the lull. Perhaps March will be a month of business productivity. It could happen...

Things I love...

(Lots of pictures today so I uploaded them all small. Just click on them if you'd like a larger version.)



I am head-over-heels for these Yazzii bags! I am always on the lookout for ways to bring organization to my craft supplies. I am really picky though. I have no interest in organization that looks nice but is actually more work than being a slob.

My former method of organizing my embroidery and hand-sewing supplies worked well for me in some ways. I kept my embroidery floss seperated into baggies and the baggies lined up in a basket. And I have a tray basket that held my other supplies (scissors, thimbles, marking pens, needles, etc). This system worked pretty well but it was definitely not all that portable. And my stash of needles had grown far beyond my needlebook. My needlebook works well for my loose needles, but I really needed something to hold packages of needles.

Let me tell ya, these bags are dreamy! And I was able to use 40-50% off coupons for each of them at Joann.com! The small bag has four "pages" of zipper pouches. Each one holds a particular variety of needles (embroidery, tapestry, quilting, and a misc category for yarn/doll/bead/chenille needles). And there are pockets on the front and back "covers" that hold my often used supplies (scissors and such) and seldom used supplies (tape measure, marking pens).


And then there's the big bag. There are 2 main compartments. One has pockets and space for holding the current project and it's supplies (how amazingly handy-dandy and portable is that!). The other big compartments has pages of pouches that have been filled with all my embroidery floss. And I have quite a bit so that is truly impressive!

I am also still loving cross-stitch, though I'm not so sure I love working with linen. I'm trying, though. My new glasses certainly help. (Which, by the way, arrived in a different color than I ordered. But they go surprisingly well with with my new darker and grayless hair.) Here's my current work-in-progress, nearly finished.


And here are my future projects. I purchased these patterns from Handcrafts Online. When I'm finished with them they will live in my new sewing/crafty room. My husband is in the process of finishing the basement and it's really starting to come together.

We just tiled the part of the basement that leads to the walk-out. There's a hallway there that has the washer/dryer closet on one side. Since it's a small area we went with what we loved rather than what was most practical. We both instantly fell in love with this travertine. It took us about an hour of discussion, in the store, before we decided that we did, indeed, need to have it.

Please overlook the stray bits of construction debris. This is the only bit of the floor that isn't hiding beneath a piece of plywood at the moment.

Oh yay!! UPS just arrived with my new free motion embroidery foot for my sewing machine!! I was all pouty that there isn't any mail service today. I had forgotten all about UPS.

I can't wait to use it on the winter quilt. But first I plan to practice using it a bit. I plan to use this Martha Stewart slipper pattern as practice. I intend to use denim for the soles and quilt the pieces before stitching them together. I think the seams will have that cool raggy look. I wonder how many pairs of slippers I'll make before feeling brave enough to tackle the quilt!




And how can ya help but love a cutie boy at the sewing machine! He hasn't sewn anything of consequence yet, but he loves sewing little scraps together!