sewtakeahike

peonies and strawberry lockets

                                                                                       

I've been keeping an eye out for these since spring started, and finally, they are starting to show their pretty little faces.  My peonies are blooming!  Every year I can hardly wait to chop them down once they open enough and put them in a pretty vase given to me by my husband's parents.  It's the perfect size and shape for a bouquet of peonies.

Also, a special prize came for me in the mail yesterday.  I marked this necklace as a fav on Etsy ages ago and I finally ordered it.  I fell in love with the little glass bluebell flowers at once and knew I would have it!  I love it!  The little strawberry is a locket, hum...... what photo shall I put in it?

Lastly, I need to say a big thank-you to my Dad.  He's always on the lookout for me in for any crafting "things" that I may be able to use while he is at garage sales, estate sales, or wherever he finds himself.  We live in different states, so between the two of us, we have Colorado and Kansas covered.  Anyway, a few weeks ago he sent a package to me with some of his latest finds.  All I can say is, Dad, you're the best.  You make my heart sing and I love you!

Ok, so here are some pics!

Just look at these lovely buttons!  My favorite is the blue flower one.                        

These are knit squares someone cut for a quilt.  Most of them have interfacing fused to the backs already.  I may have to make my first quilt!  The fabrics are all so interesting, just my style!

And would you just look at all that beautiful fabric.  Someone cut out several pieces, sewed some together and then stopped for some reason.  I'm sorry to say that it won't end up the way it was originally intended, but I already have a few pretty projects in mind for this.

~Penny

 

Ashley's favorite birthday cake

                                                                              

                                                                                             

Fruit Pizza

                           

You will need:

Sugar cookie dough (I used premade Pillsbury from the dairy section)

Fruit of choice, strawberries, bananas, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, etc.

8 oz. cream cheese

1/3 C. granulated sugar

½ tsp vanilla

                                       

To make:

Place slightly flattened round mound of cookie dough on parchment in the middle of a pizza stone or pizza pan and bake according to recipe or package directions.  Remove from oven and let cool.

Cream together cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer and then add vanilla and mix in.

Spread cream cheese mixture over baked and cooled cookie crust and top with fruit of choice.  Refrigerate.

Enjoy

(not your) mum's hotpad

I'm going to start out talking to those that are at least 30 something.  If you're not there yet, well, you can probably just go ahead and skip to the pictures in this post.  **Edit, I don't mean this in a negative kind of way, it's just you young'uns probably just won't know what I'm talking about... :)

So, do you all remember those pretty crochet hot pads that your grandmother (or mom) used to use when you were a little one?  They were so intricate that it seemed that whoever made them must have sat in a rocking chair for ages before completing one round of these things.  I did some research and found this chrysanthemum pattern here.

*Edit, apparently, the owner of the link decided to take the site down.  You can download the pdf pattern here. 

A lot of people seem to be having trouble getting the pdf to open, if that is you, here is the pattern (with my handwritten modifications) that you can copy and save to your computer:

 

The pattern was not as detailed as a beginner would need, I had to figure out a few things on my own.  I changed the needle size from the recommended 7, to a size D because I was looking for it to have a tighter stitch.  I used Paton's "Grace" mercerized cotton fiber, lined it with a single layer of cotton flannel and used Amy Butler fabric for the backing.

This was an absolute joy to make!

Hope your holiday weekend  is everything you hoped for!

~Penny

Out of the box

I've kind of been in a sewing funk this last week or so.  Normally, I get excited about sewing projects that produce something functional (you've probably all picked up on this with the number of bags I make).  This week however, I have not wanted to make anything that is useful or "makes sense" to me.  This is completely out of character.  The themes to the things I am inclined to make are 1. function and  2. useful.  It's not very often that I have made something just because it's cute.  However, I always try to combine the cuteness factor into something that is functional and useful.  Today, I'm climbing out of that self-imposed box of "if I can't use it, I don't want to waste my time making it" attitude.  I think it all started with an email I sent to Alpa, suggesting some sewing projects for her to try.  The power of suggestion must be real, because I took my own advice! 

"Bella" is made of totally thrifted materials (which you know totally floats my boat) except for the thread.  The pattern is from this book.

So I pose a question for you, what kind of crafter are you?  Do you create for function, or for cuteness or both?

                  ~Penny 

rosettes in the kitchen

I was feeling inspired yesterday, so I decided to finally try my sweetheart rose pan that I've had for over a year.  I am so delighted that I did.  I made a chocolate cake that has milk chocolate chips and white chocolate chips in it and it's namesake is definitely spot on, "Darn Good Chocolate Cake" (found in this book which I would highly recommend even for those purists out there that don't like to use anything from a box).

The recipe actually calls for semi-sweet chips, but if you have a husband that isn't too keen on chocolate, white chocolate and milk chocolate chips work fine, (although I like the semi-sweet better!)

Have a great Sunday!

~Penny