Bookshelf Tote Bag

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I made a lot of Christmas gifts this year, way more than I normally do. Part of the reason is because I can finish a lot more when I'm sewing than when I'm cross stitching. A made quite a few smaller gifts but this was one of the bigger ones I did and I am so proud of how it turned out. Please note: This post contains affiliate links as indicated by an asterisk*. This project comes from the book Fat Quarters: Small Fabrics, More Than 50 Big Ideas and I modified it a bit. For the bottom of the bag, instead of doing a thin bookshelf and then white again, I ... Read More

Save the UFOs – January 

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Every year I set the goal that I will finish more of my WIPs (works in progress) yet I still have an ever growing pile. This year I'm going to get really serious because it's getting out of control. This year I'm going to Save the UFOs (unfinished objects). Last year I posted about knowing when to call it quits on a project and I abandoned a blanket that's been in my pile for years. I feel like everything that's left in my UFO pile are all things I really want to finish, I just have gotten distracted by other things. Mollie at Wild Olive posted this week ... Read More

2016 Goals

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I've been thinking a lot about what I want to accomplish this year and I really like getting it out in public to keep me accountable. BLOG GOALS Try Something New Every Month I really loved doing TSNEM last year and I am so excited about the new direction it is taking. I posted my first project on Monday and there is a lot more to come this month. Read more about it here. Continue Free Pattern Friday and also release one paid pattern a month Free Pattern Friday is still going strong and will definitely continue in 2016. I have a backlog of patterns I've ... Read More

January TSNEM – Free Motion Quilting

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First, thanks so much to everyone who's joined the Facebook group! I love all the interest in trying new things this year! And next, I wanted to make sure that everyone knows it's ok if you don't want to follow along with the month's theme. Stephanie and I thought it would be fun to set themes to give people a little direction and to see other people working on similar projects, but they are definitely not strict guidelines. If you have no interest in the month's theme, we would still love to have you participate and try whatever you are interested in! January - ... Read More

Free Pattern Friday – Tiny Cross Stitches

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I had an idea awhile back to make a series of tiny cross stitch patterns. My initial thought was that they could go on a hexagon, but they're so tiny you could stitch them on almost anything. Each of these are only about 1.5" when stitched on 14 ct. Aida. Download the PDF here – Tiny Cross Stitch Patterns There are more free patterns to download here, and patterns to purchase here at my Etsy. If you stitch up one of my patterns, I'd love to see it! Tag it on Instagram with the hashtag #hugsarefunstitches If you ever have any ideas for patterns, please send ... Read More

2015 In Review – My Top Projects 

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I love going back and looking at past projects for the year. The other day I went and got my top 9 posts of the year on Instagram. I love that even though I have a variety of different types of crafts, they're all tied together with the rainbows. I went back and looked at the top three posts for the year and found it interesting. 1. February TSNEM - Rainbow Sashiko 2. Free Pattern Friday - Tea Love 3. Virtual Busy Bag Swap - Sock Matching Game The tea cross stitch pattern wasn't from 2015, but it's consistently my most pinned thing on ... Read More

2015 In Review – My Goals

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I went back and looked at my 2015 goals thinking for sure that my year had been a complete failure. I've been making a LOT of stuff. Sewing has become a huge thing for me over the past year and it's so much faster than cross stitch or even embroidery. But I also feel like I've dropped the ball a bit on blogging. Because of my switch to doing more sewing, I feel like I've been in a weird state of transition and I'm not entirely sure where I fit in creatively. With my blog redesign I finally ditched "cross stitch" from my tagline and in 2016 I plan on really focusing a ... Read More

Try Something New Every Month 2016 – Join Us!

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In 2015 Stephanie from Swoodson Says proposed the idea of TSNEM - Try Something New Every Month. She had hoped to get other bloggers to participate but in the end there were only three of us that did it every month, Stephanie and Kristy. This year we are doing it again but hoping to get more people involved! First is the addition of a Facebook group. Come join us and get ideas, ask questions, and share what you're trying for the month! Each month there will be a post announcing the theme and either Stephanie or I will host a link-up on the post that is open all ... Read More