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.