Another monogrammed hankie...

This weekend I had to use a hankie I stitched for the hubs years ago...

It was not for a sad occasion, but for a joyful one!

I've embroidered 3 handkerchiefs for my friend -- the first one was for the day her beautiful d.i.l. became part of her family:

The second one I made for the day of her husband's memorial service:

...but for this day, I needed to use "something old" & "something blue" so I figured this delicious old crocheted-edge linen would do!

Her new monogram:

posted from Bloggeroid

Über-handy phone wallet

I so ♥ my hipster. It’s perfect for keeping the phone close by… But I still had to use a wallet to carry cards & cash.
Then wonderful Reen from Embroidery Garden designed a new bag for containing it all. Her Phone Wallet has a pocket for the cell, slots for cards and a zipped area for coins & bills.  (A snap tab secures the phone & cards.)This one was custom-made for my friend Rebekah. She had some darling fabric left from a tote she’d made for herself that she wished used in the wallet.She’d never owned anything with her 3-letter monogram, so we decided to incorporate that. (This gorgeous monogram alphabet was purchased from Designs By JuJu.)

My dear friend Sara shops. She shops A LOT. She & her husband are constantly going to auctions. (Oh, they operate at least four booths in antique malls to justify this addiction of theirs… ) Anyhow -- I figured she could make good use of one of these wallets. She loves it!
Here are a few more I’ve stitched:
“Snappy” is for sale (has wrist-strap option)
as is “Pink Furr-ever!” 

...got my money's-worth out of that one!

I'm referring to this pattern:

I finished my 4th & 5th purses from View A this weekend. (You can read about the first two for my sisters here, and the third here. I also stitched a View C/D bag out of old suits here.) I think I will give the pattern a rest for a bit -- then maybe work on another couple with the patchwork style.

But back to the ones I finished yesterday:

For the first one I made a raggy & singed flower. I wanted to use a magnetic closure; but I needed something to "pop" on the bag's front in place of the button.  

The closure is not at all difficult to install; but in order to ensure that it & the surrounding fabric would wear well, there were a couple "extras" I decided to incorporate.

First, I used a leather scrap so the closure wouldn't eventually pull through the fabric. Secondly, I had to treat my top-stitching differently than in the other bags to better support the magnetic closure's weight.

It turned out to be a very pretty little purse.

The last one is MINE.  After stitching the previous four bags I knew what extra touches I wanted in mine.

I found a cute vintage cardigan button that was a little rose-y in color.

I totally needed this loop to keep my hand sanitizer

(it just looks bad attached to the handle of my suit bag...)

I really wanted a clip for my keys

I wanted a pocket to keep pens & my phone

& I wanted a pocket with my monogram. 

Now I've got it all! (...well, at least until I stitch up some accessories...)


(Gonna link up with Skip to my Lou.)










Julie invited me to her party, too!

M is for monogram

love love love love LOVE!

My heart is "full to overflowing" this week with all God's blessings.  I'm just going to try to capture a few...

My sister left for a lengthy time in Russia. We had a little "going-away" party for her. Keith grilled burgers & dogs -- I made a delicious green chile pasta salad.

(recipe furnished upon request...)

Since she was over-loaded in the luggage department, I wanted my parting gift for her to be light-weight & "tuckable". I embroidered a flour sack towel with Delft shoes on one end & a verse framed with Delft on the other...

I finished up Ian's quilt & mailed it off.

I was able to go to the Childrens' Hospital to see my friend Hunter. I "stole" this picture from his mom's facebook, because she said he was able to take some steps yesterday. Please continue to pray for his healing.

I embroidered a name on a fluffy blanket. The throw is from Costco & is soooooo soft!

We went to Sedona for a football game. There was quite a bit of smoke hanging around from the lightning-caused wildfires up North. But God's incredible handiwork was evident on every red wall...

The highschool where the game was played had some incredible views of the red rocks.

I believe we might've had more fans present than the home team...

Despite what this picture shows, my son is not an angel & doesn't sport a halo.