Sew Bird Crazy

Patchwork Sewing Machine Cover and Tutorial

What an easy project, and I had the layer cake laying around waiting for me to do something with it. I just cut the layer cake sheets into 4 squares, sewed them together, used a cream colored chenille for the backing, cut the Moda tie that came around the layer cake and used them as the ribbon ties. I like it so much, I'm going to make a second one to cover my serger machine. A great rainy day project I found on Sew, Mama, Sew blog tutorial, courtesy of Tiny House. Thanks Tiny House for keeping me busy on this rainy day.

 

  

Children's Activity Apron and Tutorial

Finally finished a project. I had to get my Mother to help me figure out how the waistband went together. The tutorial was pretty vague or maybe it's just me, I don't follow written instructions very well. I used some dusty blue ticking stripe fabric, fusible web and images via The Vintage Workshop. I think the images are from an old kids book, shows kittens getting into trouble, perfect for my niece, she's a terrible 2. Hope she likes it.

 

 

 

Swans at Camel Beach Water Park

We spent the day at Camel Beach Water Park, was supposed to be the hottest day so far this year, but high in the Pocono Mountains the temp drops about 10 degrees. I don't know what was worse the price to get in or the long wait to get on a water ride. Total price was over a hundred dollars for 2 people. I couldn't image taking kids along, you would spend your entire paycheck there. On our 2 mile trek back to our car we came upon a pond with 2 beautiful swans. People must feed them on a regular basis because as soon as I came up with the camera, they started to swim right over to me. So I got some nice shots of them.

 

Here they are swimming over...

waiting.........probably for french fries

I haven't shown him the goods so now I think he's giving me the evil eye.

  

No food and now he's done with me. It was nice to see them so close up, I've never been this close to a swan before.

Anna Marie Horner Flower Pincushion Tutorial

Here is my attempt at the Anna Marie Horner Flower Pincushion. Mine didn't turn out as well as hers, maybe it was my choice in fabric. I will try again, and make this one a dog toy. I found this pattern on the Better Homes and Gardens website, here is the link to the page. Flower pincushion tutorial.

  

Ocean Fishing in Delaware Yields Big Shark.......well not really

We took a mini vacation to Delaware to do some ocean fishing, check it out and just plain get away. I didn't catch a darn thing, but a friend of ours caught this baby shark. I just fell in love with him, couldn't stop holding him and checking him out. I loved his shark skin feel and super soft belly.I played with him as long as I could and then I had to let him go, sniff....sniff.  I have no clue what kind of shark he is, but I would love it if anyone that trips across this blog could tell me. Here he is.

 

oh sharky, oh sharky, ain't you the one........what makes me love you so?

Queen of unfinished projects and the pillowcase tutorial

I'm the queen of unfinished projects. I get this idea about a month ago, I want to make a pillowcase dress for my niece who will soon be 2. Instead of searching blogs for free tutorials, I buy a tutorial off the internet and not a very good one either. As a matter of fact, I think the instructions are lost in my computer here somewhere. Anyways, I still haven't made the dress of course, but I did find a good tutorial this morning on Freshly Picked. You can find her pillowcase dress tutorial here. Hey maybe I'll finally get around to making her one before the snow flies. Have a happy hump day.

Fall in July

I wake up this morning and this is what I see out of the skylight in my bedroom.

 

This is depressing for me, especially to see in the middle of July. To be honest, I've been seeing hints of this since the beginning of the month, but until now I've been in denial. Everybody in the NE of Pennsylvania has been waiting for Summer to start. I guess I will let go of the dream and take the air conditioner out of the window. Don't get me wrong, I do like Fall, it has its colorful qualities, but I would welcome it more after a boiling hot summer. I'm not a fan of Winter, snow or cold, signs of Fall this early is like a run in my pantyhose, it's all over now. I guess while I'm crying over my coffee this morning, I'll include a picture of my favorite coffee cup. It's a little more cheery than the weather and of course it has birds on it. It was purchased through Etsy from Village Clayworks.

Blossom Dish by Red Hot Pottery

Another favorite Etsy find. The blossom dish by Red Hot Pottery. I would love to mount this on the wall of my sewing room, but for now it sits on my computer desk. I love its sky blue crackly center, makes me think of the ocean in an exotic place. I'll keep dreaming.

  

Vintage Image Mama Bird Pillow

 I have tons of ticking stripe material and need to use it up. I downloaded this adorable image from The Vintage Workshop. All you do is purchase your desired image, download it, and print it to an ink jet fabric sheet. I topped the pillow off with an applique stitch and some coordinating buttons and here she is, cute as ever. I love this print so much, I'm daydreaming of what I can use her for next. The image used on the front of this pillow was created with imagery from The Vintage Workshop.

 

Vintage Image Clothes Pin Bag and Tutorial

Finally, after making four or five of these I'm finally satisfied. It's a super easy pattern I found on My Lucky Chicken. For her tutorial click here. I used a decor weight ticking stripe and a vintage flower pattern using fusible webbing. This can even be hung over a hanger instead of straight over the line if you wish. Depending on the fabric you use, I would bring it inside, especially if you live in the north-east like me and it rains EVERYDAY! The image used on the front of this clothes pin bag was created with imagery from The Vintage Workshop.