bittersweet good-byes

June 1st was the last day of my career as an occupational therapist at Gundersen Lutheran in LaCrosse.  I made a little something for each of my dear co-workers: jewelry pouches for the gals and coasters for the guys.

Not just any dress

I made this dress for Izza for Easter... and had grand intentions of taking a picture of her in it.

She wore it yesterday for Chris's graduation from seminary and again I did not get the perfect shot to feature the dress, but this picture captures everything that I wanted her dress to be! 

Here she is peering over the balcony in Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN watching her daddy walk down the aisle after he received his Master's of Divinity degree!

Now what should she wear for her daddy's ordination?  If only my sewing machine wasn't packed up quite yet!

Mother's Day gifts

Baby Gift

I made this for a sweet co-worker of mine, who is expecting a baby boy.

Mod Log

I had so much fun making these table runners. 

The pattern is a modern twist on the log cabin quilt. 

Perfect fix

Our dear Eli has been blessed with a love for yarn crafts.  He loves to crochet, weave, braid, and anything else you can do with a skein of yarn. 

His latest creation was a hat.  As he made it, it seemed to get smaller and smaller.  I suggested that he increase his stitches to make it bigger BUT his solution was better than any I could have come up with!  A chin strap!

Scrappy Part II

My sweet niece, Mica, helped with some stitching

I used pearl cotton to quilt this piece.  I love how the circles look!

I am using this runner on an old thread cabinet, how fitting!  And here are two of my most recent book purchases:
"Girl's World: Twenty-One Sewing Projects to Make for Little Girls "
"You Can Still Wear Cute Shoes: And Other Great Advice from an Unlikely Preacher's Wife"

Scrappy

I have so many fabulous scraps! I found a wonderul pattern in my book, "Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design, and Inspiration" to use some of them.  This was such a fun project!

We LOVE teachers!

As the mother of three, I have a GRAND appreciation for all that teachers do for our children!

...and the bus drivers, speech therapists, para-educators, cooks, and the list goes on!....

I had fun making these Valentine's gifts with love and appreciation.  I covered soup cans with fabric, filled them with goodies, and even made a laminated bookmark!

Apron

I made this apron for my dear mother in law for Christmas.  I wish you could see the details more clearly, as the pleats are so sweet.  The fabric is from Amy Butler's Lark Collection.  I used Amy's Domestic Goddess apron pattern. 

A smock

(My camera was never found, but was reluctantly replaced. Ugh. I am now able to share what I have been busy creating and completing!) 

This is an art smock pattern from one of my favorite children's sewing books, oliver + s little things to sew.  It was too cute to use as just a smock. Izza shows how functional it is!  I will definitely make another.

Oh where, oh where could it be?

I am sooooo sad.... my camera is missing.  I am cleaning one room at a time with hopes of uncovering it!  I am anxious to share some more pictures....