Cute as cake...

A good friend of mine messaged me last month to ask if I could make a t-shirt for her daughter's birthday. I was flattered and super excited to make something to be part of her special day. She is the cutest little girl -- a definite miniature version of her mother. Evidently, one of her signature sayings is "cute as cake." I think that is just too cute to hear from a 3 year-old. So, I searched for some designs and put together a little t-shirt. As a bonus, I also made a little Valentine's shirt for her too. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of that one.

Caroline, thanks for letting me be part of Madeline's special day!

Valentine's Towels

My talented sister owns a salon/boutique in South Carolina. In the last year or so, I have made a few things for her to sell in the shop. I started out making some little wristlets.

Then branched out to a different style wristlet...

And just recently I made some appliqued tea towls and cute little Valentines and Easter treat bags.

I also made this cute little set of fabric coasters. I'll be making more of these! They came together so easy and are so cute!

I'm always thinking of new ideas of things to make and sell. I'm working on some cute wall hangings right now. More on that later!

Baby Blankets

I recently finished two baby blankets for friends that are expecting early this year. Actually, one friend already had her baby girl and the other is due in the next couple of months. I went to the fabric store to find fabric and saw a quilt they had displayed with the cutest bird design. After I saw that, I knew I had to use that design. Here are the finished blankets.

For our friend Amy's baby boy

For my friend April's baby girl

These were really fun to make and I'll definitely be using this pattern again and again!

Christmas Recap (Way Late...)

Christmas 2011 was full of lots of handmade gifts. I really do enjoy gift-giving and somehow it is even more satisfying when I can make them myself. I will say that going out and buying gifts would have been much easier and much more economical too. There were several times when I was working in my sewing room late at night and wondering why I had decided to take on all of these projects. In the end, it all worked out and I was happy with what I got done. So, here's what I made:

Messenger bag for my niece

Inside of the bag

Placemats for my mother-in-law

Tablerunner for my Dad and his wife (front)

Tablerunner (back)

Santa Mantle Runner

I made a total of eight stockings using two main designs and lots of different fabrics. I set out to make four for friends' kids and then ended up making eight because I miscalculated and had way too much fabric. It was a lot of fun, but I was kind of bored with it by the eighth one. 

Santa Stocking

Snowman Stocking

I cross-stitched these two stockings for my friend's boys last Christmas, but never got them finished. So, this year I actually finished them and gave them to her!

I also made a couple of tea towels for my mother-in-law's "game girls" friends and also for some of the friends of the family. 

Didn't get a picture of this one finished

The last thing I did was made these cute luggage tags for stocking stuffers. They were pretty easy to put together. I was finishing them around midnight the day before we left for our holiday vacation. 

Luggage Tag

I should be starting my projects for next Christmas now. I always promise myself that I'll start earlier next time. 

Welcome to my blog!

I am an avid (read obsessive) blog reader and figured it was time to start my own blog to document my newest hobbies, sewing and quilting, along with other random things like gardening, cooking, and remodeling.  I'm lucky to have a wonderful husband that joins me in the gardening and cooking and is really the brains and brawn behind the remodeling.

My love for sewing and quilting has really taken off in the last couple of years. There is such a satisfaction in creating something from scratch and then admiring the final result knowing that YOU made it. My mother was an excellent seamstress who made most of our (mine and my sister's) clothes when we were kids and I remember her countless hours in the sewing room making the perfect outfit for one occasion or another. Unfortunately we didn't always appreciate this as kids, especially when we were standing in the store begging her to buy one thing or another and she would say, "I can make that." The truth is that she could and she did. In my late primary school years my mother actually bought a fabric store and my sister and I often accompanied her to work in the store on Saturdays and weekdays during the summer. We learned a lot of great lessons working in the shop and I have very fond memories of those times. It was actually great quality mother-daughter time.

So, all of this is to say that a couple years back I resolved to pick up this hobby that my mother so patiently and vigorously worked to pass along to my sister and me. I have loved every moment of it, even when some days I feel like I take out more stitches than I put in. It has been a great and rewarding creative outlet. My husband has said that the sewing machine he bought me two Christmases ago was the best gift he has ever given me. I couldn't agree more!

Finally, the title of the blog, "The Sew-n-So Place," is a beautiful reminder of the many lessons, some related to sewing and many not, that my mom so lovingly taught me. This was the name of her fabric shop. Although my mother passed away almost 10 years ago, I feel her with me every time I sit down at the sewing machine.