Gold Rush Kids

I 

I could be completely in error by using the Gold Rush name for Jordan. I don't really know anything about the San Francisco 49ers. You would not believe how many images of t-shirts and cheerleaders I looked at while trying to make these shirts. Are the cheerleaders the only ones to use the term "Gold Rush".

My daughter's friend was a cheerleader for the 49ers. Now she has two little ones. Lauren met Melanie when she first moved to NYC. Melanie was also a transplant and they became fast friends. I had been wanting to make Mikayla a little cheerleader shirt. I couldn't send Mikayla something and nothing for Jordan.

I drove this to the corner drugstore this afternoon when I was finished for shipping. I really, really wanted to keep this. I think it's one of the cutest things I've made in a while. You can't really tell by the picture but there are three different metallic threads in this design. The pom poms, the shoe ties and the bow. I was going to try using minkee fabric but decided to use a flannel along with the metallic thread. The applique is from Applique for Kids. The font is Kooks from 8 Claws and a Paw.

Mikayla was fortunate enough to be able to cheer last year at a game. I hope she likes the cheerleader.

I used this design before. For Jordan, I went down to a smaller design since Jordan is only three. I used a gold 49er color for the flames. Went I went on the hunt for ideas, I saw a tshirt that had the "9" and the "E" merged together. I decided I HAD to have that on his t-shirt. The applique is from AK Designs. The font is Whoa Nelly from 8CAAP.

I Need Someone To Blame

 Who is responsible for forcing me to buy all this stuff? My friend Yvonne went shopping with me two days in a row. I guess she's it. Day One was my fault. Day Two is Yvonne's. Yvonne had asked if I was interested in driving to Madison for the Library book sale and to check up on our college kids. I told her I would but I brought up a fabric/Viking shop that was closing it's doors two hours away. So on Friday we drove two hours north. I came home with two feet for my machine, two patterns, a little bit of cotton lace and some fabric.

Day Two. You didn't think we'd just stop at a book sale did you? Saturday, we went two hours to the west of us. That lead us to two quilt shops. I mistakenly believed I wouldn't be buying anything because I didn't need anything. Hah! I came. I spent. All fabric.

The greens and oranges are perfect for fall appliques.

You can never have enough polka dots. They go with everything.

I love this cow fabric. You can't live in America's Dairyland and not love cow fabric.

 

I needed this fabric like I needed a hole in the head. I have no need to make a baby quilt. On Day One, I see this  charm pack. It's called Little Rascals from Moda. I haven't heard of that particular line. Oh well, it was 25% off. I came home and looked it up and thought it must be an older line because so few online shops had carried it. When we stopped into JJ Stitches in Sun Prairie, there it was, about 15 bolts of fabric in this line. My $7.00 charm pack ended up costing me about $50.00. I guess it saved me from ordering online.

The Pattern Trustee

 Have you ever been entrusted with something special? My dear friend and former boss entrusted me with these special doll patterns. Connie took a position in Arizona and had a household of belongings to move from Wisconsin to Arizona. She went thru her sewing closet and I was the lucky one to be given these patterns. Connie also gave me several bags of fiberfil for sock monkeys and some quilt batting. The Simplicity pattern above is my favorite. It's for a Skipper doll and the copyright date is 1964.

Of course the larger doll patterns are wonderful also. Did any of you have a Chatty Cathy doll? I can't remember if I did or not. Surely with five girls in the house, one of use had to have had this doll.

Connie, your patterns are in good hands. They are a piece of history and a piece of you. Thank you for these special patterns!

This Isn't a Cooking Blog

Good thing.

I'm going to blame this on Pinterest. For those of you who haven't heard of Pinterest it means "Pinning Things of Interest". It's like an electronic bulletin board. How many times have you printed off a recipe or tutorial? With Pinterest, if I see something I like, I can "pin it". Its a place where you pin crafts that are too complicated or things you'll never afford. It's fantastic!

I had my quilt group over this week. I went to my Pinterest boards and looked under "Foodalicious" for something to make. There it was, little bowls. How simple. My brain was working it. Let's see, find some fall-ish ice cream, a little whip cream and nutmeg. How spectacular it will be. But my vision did not materialize.

 

This is what my snickerdoodle cookies looked right out of the oven. So far, so good. Think about this cinnamon goodness with my pumpkin ice cream inside it.

This is what the pan looked like as I tried to chisel the cookie bowls off of it. Trust me, it got much worse than this. Needless to say, there were no cookie bowls for quilt night.

If The Shoe Fits

I'm losing count. I had both of the pillowcases planned for some time. I actually purchased the shoe fabrics in Minnesota a couple of years ago. The birthday fabric I bought at Nancy's Notions a couple of months ago. I finally put them together and I'm real happy with them both.

Too bad I didn't take the time to repress this pillowcase. I finished it at a crafting fundraiser and pulled it out of my bag. The shoe applique is from Five Star Fonts and the actual font is Fairytale from 8CAAP. The fabric is Sandy Gervais for Moda and the line is called Objects of Desire. Perfect for the little shoe diva.

I love how this pillowcase turned out. The font is Gracie from Embrotique. The little balloon applique is from MCA Designs. The fabric is so bright, colorful and fun. The fabric designer is Kari Pearson for Quilting Treasures. Happy Birthday Kayla!

Plump Pumpkin

I wanted to make my niece a fall shirt. I had seen so many cute applique pumpkin designs. It was hard to pick one. It's just like picking the real thing! Anyway, I decided on this plump pumpkin design from Applique Market. Nice and simple and a fairly quick stitch out. The great thing about this design is that she can wear it for both Halloween season and Thanksgiving season. 

Are You Ready for Some Football?

A couple of months ago I was in Target scouring the clearance sections. I found a nice yellow polo shirt for my nephew Braden. I sent my sister a message asking her if he would like a football design. I sent her the link to this football design. She said, send the shirt but no design. Ok, he's in eighth grade. My feelings weren't hurt. Well after the polo shirt arrived, she told Braden I wanted to put a football design on the shirt. Well wouldn't you know he liked the idea. These may be the last things I make for him. He's at an age where I don't think he'll want any more. I guess there's just too much competition for his t-shirt attention and auntie loses.

The football design came from AK Designs. The design came in several sizes and I decided to go with the largest. I then did a search for football sayings. I really wanted to use a Vince Lombardi saying but I can only fit so much into the embroidery hoop. So I kept on trucking. I finally found this saying and decided it might fit and it was a decent saying for his shirt. Now, once again the difficult challenge of finding the perfect font for an eighth grade boy. I ended up using the font called Diner from 8CAAP.

 I bought this cave art football design last month from Embroidery Library and finally tried it out. I love this design. I think it's fun. I hope Braden thinks so.

Football Mom

My sister Jodi is a football mom. Both her boys play football. I saw this design and fell in love with it. I've seen other designs but liked this one enough to purchase it. The design is from Katelyn's Kreative Stitches. It took a while for the machine to stitch it out. I did this late one night and was dozing at the machine. I'm crossing my fingers that it fits her.

Basketball Again!

I used both of these basketball designs last month. This time, I used the "real" basketball vinyl that I found on the Joann's clearance shelf. The new vinyl certainly a more authentic look. However, the last basketball t-shirts I used a flannel backed tablecloth vinyl. I think it still had the look of a basketball and it was easier to stitch on. The new vinyl that I purchased has little bumps on it, just like a basketball, but it's more difficult to get coverage.

I made these shirts for my nephew Donovan.

Here is a side by side comparison of the two fabrics. The true basketball vinyl is on the right. I think I have almost a yard of this stuff. That should last me for quite some time seeing you only need between three and five inches for an applique!

Stop Six, Around the World

 Can you believe there is a store that sells just fashion magazines? The reason this was on my list was so I could pick up the latest edition of Burda Style. I had purchased that at stop one, so I didn't really need anything. Wanted yes. Some of the specialty magazines had a price tag of over $200 for one issue! But as the name implies, they have magazines from around the world. I never knew there were so many Vogue editions. Around the World is a huge store. This is actually a new location for them. They've were only open maybe a couple of months before we visited.

There was a couple of magazines that I did have my eye on. There were some old, and I do mean old, Italian childrens wear magazines. The price tag was $20 for a magazine that was at least seven to eight years old! I'm not in the industry so I was hesitant to plunk down that kind of money for a magazine. The issue was thick and had cute things in it. Another trip perhaps.

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Stop Five, Spandex House

 Yes, Spandex House was on my list of stores to visit. If you're a garment sewer, this is the place to go for knits. Anything that has stretch in it can be found here. The huge rolls of fabric are stacked high.This is only part of the store.

I think this bag of knit weighed 10 pounds. Thank goodness Jeff was carrying it.

This is a thinner, lower quality knit but I got it for $1.00 a yard. I'll be able to make something with it. 

My two purchases from Spandex House. The stars and stripes fabric is lycra. I plan to make my niece a little swimsuit with it.

Stop Four, Mood!

 "Designers, you have 10 minutes!" OMG, I felt that Tim Gunn was in Mood with me, yelling how much time I had left to shop. This was our last stop before lunch. I had roughly 50-60 minutes before we met Lauren. I felt like one of the Project Runway designers as I raced through Mood. How can you get through three floors of fabric goodness in such a small amount of time? I knew what I was getting into since I wasn't a Mood virgin but still, it had been about eight years since my last visit.

I knew what I didn't need. I didn't need denim, wool, suitings, special occassion fabrics or home dec fabrics. I ran upstairs to take a look and immediately came back to the main floor. This is where the action was. I have to say, Mood has a large staff. I can't tell you how many employees were on just the second floor helping customers.

There is a small table in the front of the store near the bouncer. Yes, there's a fabric bouncer at the front door! You do need to check your large bags. Jeff sat at the table and soon the owner of Mood sat with him and talked to him for some time. My husband's business is world's away from the fashion district but he was pretty impressed after spending time here. 

These were the only two fabrics that I purchased. Both of them knits. I love the crinkly, multi-colored stripe.

This was the only lace that I picked up. It should be mostly cotton. This type of lace is usually at least 95% cotton. I just can't remember what the label said. I think it was running $7.50/yard. I bought three yards of this. 

One never knows when you're going to need elastic bridal loops. I needed to replenish my stash. 

Even though my time was short, I came away with a few items that I'm quite happy with. Thank You Mood!

Stop Three, Daytona Braids and Trimmings

This little store packs a punch. It looks small from the outside but there's a lot of merchandise per square foot in this place.

Let me tell you about the best thing or should I say person here. I'm kicking myself for not remembering her name. I didn't ask if I could take her picture but she was a hoot. Right out of the gates, she let us know about the store. She told me how to mark the items that I wanted then we would go through and cut everything at once. Jeff and I were sad to leave we had so much fun with her. I think she made a comment on being tired and not going to make it to the end of the day. I said, "Can you just hold on until I'm done shopping then you can have your meltdown?" That started our time in the store. She was a hoot.

Lot's of fun stuff. No particular project in mind but when in Rome.

I had to get some of this. I don't think I've seen this around town. Its loops on elastic. So you could do maybe shoulder straps for a little girls garment. Who knows. I'll think of something!

My husband helped me shop for these trims. He wanted the Dutch trims. Having a Dutch son-in-law, we hope we have a little Dutch-German-Irish grandchild someday. Of course I had to have the nautical trim.