UFOs, they keep coming back to haunt you

And this one, well it's baaaaack again! Now that I am all caught up on paper work, a blessed event for sure, I feel that I can attack some of those UFOs. First up, this wool rug I started hooking about 10 years ago! Photo bomber Daisy is very curious about new to her project.

What ever was I thinking, lol? My 1st two rug hooking projects were pillows and I was able to complete them in a reasonable time frame. But this.... as you can see I have quite a ways to go! And so I am working on it during the evening hours while I watch TV. 

Next up is a new project. This is block 1 of The Splendid Sampler quilt along. The sampler is run and hosted by Jane Davidson and Pat Sloan. Sponsored by Moda Fabrics, Aurifil thread and Martingale Books. You can find all the information you will need if you wish to join this project at http://thesplendidsampler.com.
Each week beginning Feb 14th two blocks will be released, and the sampler will finish with a total of 100 blocks. I joined the group on Facebook and it is so much fun seeing the many different fabric choices that have been made. I have decided to work from my large fabric stash instead of purchasing more for this project. I will let each block lead me to it's fabric choice. Obviously hearts, flowers and love birds were my perfect choice for this pretty Valentine block. I hope that this time next year I won't be saying... what ever was I thinking!

And speaking of Valentines, I hope your day was filled with love and chocolate of course! 

We were pretty quiet, my honey took me out to brunch at a favorite restaurant in Kansas City. 

We then drove around the city to become familiar with where our cute engaged couple is going to be married, hotels, reception site, all those wonderful things. Beyond excited! And then today I had a call that my dress came in for the wedding! I know, Fall is a long time away, but these months are flying by so quickly it will be here before you know it! Love is in the air, yes it is. 

Happy Birthday Daisy!

An exciting weekend in our house, today is Daisies 1st Birthday! It is so hard to believe a year has gone by already. And so today is all about Daisy. She got a new toy and is dining on tuna (the canned variety) tonight! Daisy has added a lot of fun and laughter to our lives, as you know... we are just gaga about her. I made a short slide show of her 1st year for you to view if you wish!

Personalize your own slideshow design

Next up is Valentines Day tomorrow!
I hope you have some sweet plans. Hubby is taking me out to lunch and I am really looking forward to a little adventure! 

Last but not least, I have a new embroidery design for you, just in time for Easter!

"Clover and Sam", two cute bunny designs to stitch up quick. Pattern includes pillow finishing instructions. Now available on my web site if you want a peek.

And thats it for me tonight dear people. I am going to finish making my pizza for dinner. I love to make pizza, and of course I love pizza too! After dinner I'll play with Daisy, she loves to play! 

Hope your weekend is fun and full of treats!

Lovey Dovey

January has been a busy month, putting Christmas away keeping up with orders. Daisy and I have been nested in my sewing room, all cozy and warm, sewing up a storm. We have a new Valentine pattern ready for you.... "Lovey Dovey" awwwww. This runner is fast and fun to make, you can finish it in a weekend! Log cabin blocks with a scrappy look use a sew and trim method of construction. The center square uses a fussy cut motif of your choice, I of course chose what else but a Daisy kitten look a like! You can find it on my website here at: www.cleoandme.com if you wish.

Last weekend, while I was in my office deep in thought working away on the pattern, still in my jammies I hate to say, there was a racket at my front door! Door bell ringing and someone pounding on the door. I thought geeze... so I went to see who was making all that noise and who stood there but my friend Martha from Oklahoma.. SUPRISE she says.. I have candy for you :) LOL

Of course Hubby knew the plan, those two sure know how to keep a secret is all I can say! But what a fun surprise it was! And so I hopped into fast gear, fluffed up, and after a little catching up we headed into Kansas City for a little tour. We had a cocktail in the beautiful Union Train Station before heading to a favorite restaurant Cafe Trio for dinner.

Sunday we had brunch at Cafe Europa, love that place! Afterwards we stopped by a wonderful shop called Stuff where we had so much fun making necklaces with charms by Kansas designer Amy Labbe. This is just a sampling of the selection!

Difficult decisions but I finally picked a few :)

We had a really fun visit and it flew by way to fast. Martha has a unique hobby I think, she has been studying and practicing glass blowing. She brought me this beautiful paperweight she made for my desk. Awww Cleo, I see you there :)

And so I'm back to my normal predictable routine this week, the break from it was fun and nice. Slowly writing another pattern and stitching up some very cute little bunnies for another! 

Wishing you a happy week!

Kittens and chocolate!

On chocolate overload after a sweet Valentine weekend. Hubby and I always celebrate Valentines Day at home, cooking a special dinner. We long ago decided in some ways this was more relaxing than going out. The dining room is all decked out. And you may wonder why there are baby kittens hanging from my chandelier. Well... I have been waiting for a litter of kittens to be born. You can view them here at www.houseofstewardragdolls.com. They were born on the 13th and I am on the waiting list to adopt one. I am beyond excited and I will keep you updated as the process moves along!

Back to Valentines Day, I slaved away in the kitchen all afternoon. Making a yummy dessert and......

our favorite dinner! Who doesn't love steak, green beans, potatoes grand mere and a glass of wine by candle light. It was YUMMY!!

With a side of chocolate. I got Hubby the giant size box this year, he said oh my goodness this is way to much chocolate... ha ha... I'm sure someone will help him out with that. 

And now it is time to move right in to spring! My latest design can be found on my website at www.cleoandme.com. This bunny is cute as can be! Dressed in his overalls he carries a sack of colored eggs and a bouquet of flowers. Colorful "penny eggs" accent the bottom edge. My model was worked all in yummy shades of wool. 

And now it is time to start our Sunday dinner. Hubby likes spaghetti on Sundays so that is what he shall have. I better hop to it! Thanks for stopping by!

Share The Love

A look out my kitchen window this morning... an all too familiar one for many of us I'm sure. We had a foot of snow fall yesterday, our 1st big one this year. The sun is shining today although the temperature is only warming up to 12 degrees and dropping to -5 tonight. My furnace is roaring I'll tell you! 

Valentines Day is fast approaching, next weekend! Such a fun little holiday to chase away the winter doldrums. I don''t decorate much for Valentines Day, but I do love to celebrate by sending cards and treats to those I love. I think it is just as exciting to get a Valentine now as when you were a little kid.

Love makes the world go round right?

This week I finished a little pdf pattern, my 1st in that format. Trying to keep up with technology here. It is available in my Etsy shop now and will make it to my web site soon. Cleo's Treat Mat- fast and fun to whip up fast. My model uses some of that cute Valentine fabric by Deb Strain I showed you several posts ago. This will also be purrfectly cute stitched up in any non seasonable fabric. Awww Cleo... you are forever in my heart. 

Thanks for stopping by, share the love this week! XXX0000

Special Delivery

Brrrr… its a cold one today. Minus 2 degree start but the sun is shining and I know some of you have it much worse this week so I am not going to complain. Its a good thing I ate my Wheaties this morning as UPS delivered a nice big box of wool felt. And just pretend you don't see those fake poinsettias on my entry table…. they are not really there :)

I finished writing my new pattern this weekend and it is now available on my web site. My pretty model is all stitched up in yummy wools, just in time for Valentines Day or any special occasion. My heart is always very happy to see a finished pattern. Because usually there is another nipping right at its heels. 

This week I will be busy writing the pattern for a new Easter design. Cuteness abounds in this one and you are just going to LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Also working on a pdf file for a small design. PDF patterns are new to me and I am anxious to see how it turns out.

And now its time to lug all that wool felt upstairs. Enjoy the remainder of your week and stay warm!

Meatloaf, Valentines & Flat Stanley

Meatloaf in the oven.... mmmmm, smells pretty good in here and now I have a little time to

plop down and write a quick post! I love Valentines Day, a sweet little day to break up the winter doldrums. A day filled with hearts and candy, cute little cards that say I Love You.... :)

Do you decorate for Valentines Day? I found darling Valentine kitties to scatter about my sewing room. Add a stack of Robert Kaufman polka dot fat quarters, how purrfect would that be for a Valentine project! 

Valentine kitties tacked to the bulletin board in my sewing room and a strand of vintage Valentines, my sewing room is a happy place to be.

This past week was very busy here and enjoyably so. Friends of ours from Buffalo NY flew in to visit, 

friends of 35 plus years, so special to have such a long lasting friendship. We had the BEST time and did a little bit of everything, their time with us flew by way too fast! 

We had another "guest" during their visit. This little guy flew up in an envelope from Oklahoma City,

meet my "Grandson" Alexander lol! Perhaps you may be familiar with a school project called "flat Stanley". If not, a school age child mails a paper image to you with a request to show "them" around your city and provide information (postcards, maps, pictures etc) telling the class about your city. You then mail all the info you gathered back to the school for their class to learn from. I did one for another Grandson last year. His flat Stanley was only envelope size. This one is actual size and more cumbersome to drag around.

Here he is having tea and pastries with my friend Kathy and I at a local favorite chocolate shop!

Perfect timing, the oven buzzer is going off, time to put dinner on the table. 

Bon appetit!

A Sweet Child's Apron Tutorial

Happy Valentines Day To You!

Child's Half Apron Tutorial

When I 1st saw Pam Kitty Mornings sweet Love line of Valentine fabric I just knew I would have to design something special integrating that cute Valentine block panel in my project. Cleo and I chose two blocks for our pockets and used that darling heart selvage for our waistband. 

Ties were made simple by using satin ribbon!

To get started you will need: 

1/2 yard fabric for apron skirt

1 Pam Kitty Love Valentine Block panel for waistband and pockets

1 fat quarter white fabric for pocket and waistband linings

1/8 yard lightweight fusible interfacing for the waistband

2 yards 1-1/2- inch wide washable red satin double faced ribbon

white thread, quilters rotary cutter, acrylic ruler and cutting mat

Cutting directions:

From fabric for skirt cut 1 rectangle 15" long x 30" wide.

Pockets- choose 2 quilt blocks from the panel,

carefully center the design and trim each block to 6-1/2 inches square.

Waistband- cut selvage from end of the Valentine block panel to measure 2-1/2" wide. 

Trim selvage to 16-1/2" long centering the heart designs you wish to feature on your waistband.

Cut 1 fusible interfacing 2-1/2" x 16-1/2" for waistband.

From white fabric cut: two 6-1/2" squares for pocket linings and

one 2-1/2" x 16-1/2" strip for waistband lining.

Use 1/2 inch seams unless otherwise noted.

Lets get started! 

To hem the bottom 30" edge of skirt: fold fabric 1/4" to the wrong side and press. Fold over 

1 inch and press again. Stitch hem close to the 1st fold line through all layers.

To hem side edges: fold fabric 1/4" to the wrong side and press. Fold over

1/2 inch and press again. Stitch hem close to 1st fold line through all layers.

Here is your cute pocket block, design all centered and trimmed to 6-1/2" square.

With right sides facing, pin block to pocket lining. Sew around the pocket leaving approximately 

3 inches open at the bottom edge for turning. Clip corners close to stitch lines. Turn pocket right side out and press. Make a 2nd pocket in the same manor.

Pin pockets to apron, placement is 1-1/2" from side and bottom edges. 

Stitch pocket to apron on all sides except the top edge. 

Gather the waist: using your longest straight stitch setting, sew two gathering lines along the top edge of your apron approximately 1/4 inch apart. Pull bobbin threads to gather top to measure 15-1/2".

Here are your 3 waistband pieces all laid out: heart selvage, lining and fusible interfacing. 

Fuse interfacing to wrong side of the heart selvage strip. With right sides facing, pin and sew lining to selvage along the top raw edge. Press seam towards lining.

Attach waistband to skirt: right sides facing pin gathered edge of skirt to remaining selvage edge of waistband. Waistband should extend 1/2" on either side of the skirt. Adjust gathers making sure they are spaced evenly, sew skirt to waistband. 

Remove gathering stitches, press seam towards the apron waistband which

should now look like this!

Press long edge of waistband lining under 1/2 inch to the wrong side. 

Right sides facing flip lining on top of waistband as pictured below.

Cut ribbon in half to make two 36" pieces. Cut one end of each ribbon tie diagonally,  this will keep the cut edge from fraying besides adding a pretty finish.

Sandwich ribbon ties in between waistband and lining matching straight raw edges and pin.

Stitch across the waistband 1/2" side seams encasing the ties within. 

Trim seams, turn waistband and ties right side out.

Pin and slip stitch folded edge of waistband in place on wrong side of apron.

All finished, now go make some cupcakes with your little darlings!

XXX000

Barbie Jo and Cleo

PS: if you make an apron using our tutorial, feel free to email Cleo a picture of your finished project, we would love to see and include you in a special Valentine LOVE post! 

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day to you!

I just love Valentines Day! Pink and red, lots of glitter, a mail box full of love, maybe some flowers, most certainly some chocolate!!

My Valentine is on his way home from Vegas. Even though it was a conference trip, I'm thinking that overhead bin must contain a very large box of chocolate due to feelings of guilt LOL!

I'm off to the grocery store, Cleo and I are making a special dinner for Hubby and we better hop to it.

I hope your day is filled with sweets and fun surprises!

PHEW!

Phew.... that was one crazy week! I have been on a roll, lots of company and cooking and such, all good :) Last Monday our daughter and her little family drove up from Dallas. Remember those stockings I was in a rush to finish for the boys? Well I got them done in the nick of time for their visit. Aren't they cute? I added vintage gift tie-ons to the bow for a little extra "me" touch. I love vintage doo-dads!

The boys did well with their long car drive and were ready to explore Grandmas house and release some pent up energy upon arrival. That same night our nephew also arrived, he was driving cross country from PA to Colorado and we were delighted to be a brief pit stop on his way.

Tuesday we decided to get out for a little while and took the boys to Union Station in Kansas City to see the automated Dinosaur exhibit. ROAR! Lots of these there!

And then there was the train set up which was hard to capture because it was such a large exhibit and dark but fun to watch dozens of trains going round and round.

Our visit was short but sweet as my pumpkins left Wed morning to continue on to Iowa and more family. But no time to sit and loaf.....next batch arriving for Turkey Day! Our son came home for the weekend from KU and brought his room mate as well. We were a small crowd for Thanksgiving, just the 4 of us LOL, but we had our usual full blown dinner, gotta have those leftovers!

And now my house is quiet, I can hear the clock ticking. I think it's saying Christmas is coming and I better drag the totes up from the basement. And oh my, I just heard the Hallmark Christmas movie is on tonight.... it really is sneaking up fast people!

I had another finish last week, February Annie is ready and on my web site. Won't you be my Valentine Cleo????? I just love getting cards in the mail, don't you? Especially ones with big red hearts on them :) Floss colors used were: Black, #3607 ,#938, #598, #414, #317, #899,

#581, #817, #167 and #758 if you are interested.

I have a new stack of fabric sitting on my cutting table, hope to get some sewing time in this week. Hmmmmmmm... what will it be?

Have a happy week all!

Vegas Baby!

Good morning! Still catching up from a busy whirlwind week. Last week I had the pleasure of making a quick trip to Vegas with hubby. He was there for a convention and I was able to tag along. I was ready to leave the cold behind for a few days, when we left KC it was only 8 degrees! Vegas was only in the 40s and 50s but it's amazing what a little sunshine can do for you.
We stayed at the hotel Paris.


Such a pretty hotel with the replica of the Eiffel Tower. You can actually ride to the top of the tower and have dinner however we did not.


I was able to attend one of the convention functions, a special opening night where George Bush was the guest speaker. He talked for 1-1/2 hours, I was really excited to be able to hear him speak!


And what hotel lobby is complete without lots and lots of slot machines. This one caught my eye right away lol!

Lots of walking in Vegas, so many places to go and see in such a short time. So much eye candy!
Would you like some ice cream, can you believe this is ice cream?


We walked and walked, visited several of the hotels near by, they were all decked out for Chinese New Years and the displays were all so stunning. The next few pictures are from the Bellagio lobby and atrium, pictures just don't do justice to the beauty of it all.


Health and Prosperity.

Year of the Tiger.

Topiary Pandas at play.

Home again, home again, more snow and cold, as I said the brief reprieve was lovely. Full swing into preparing for my Valentines! I spent all day Saturday in the kitchen. Making cupcakes, cookies and goodies for my boys.


Did you have a nice Valentines Day? Mine was wonderful. Jerry and I drove down to Lawrence, to have lunch with our son Jon at KU. Lunch with my boys, it doesn't get better than that!

Wishing you a wonderful week!
X0 Barbie Jo and Cleo