The Talented Darcy

I love to sew but after the twins were born, I didn't have any time to even consider sewing. I needed new pillows sewn for my living room last year so I turned to KSL (more popular than Craigslist here in Utah) where I found Darcy's listing for sewing. She has helped me with my sewing and mending ever since. Darcy is a fabulous seamstress and she's fast. For me, she has made pillows, a custom tablecloth, matching clothes for my daughter and her American Girl doll, and many more projects.

She's darling and I really enjoy her friendship. I think I'm busy with my 5 kids... Darcy has 11 children!! She truly is amazing.

Darcy not only donated her time to make 6 bags, but I learned that she is a poet too!

She made this Simplify poem into a fridge magnet:

SIMPLIFY

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

Return to the life of days gone by,

Feed our souls, as well as ourselves,

Reduce the things we have on our shelves

Return to Nature, from whence we came,

Find honor in life and bring no shame.

A great accomplishment it would be,

To hunger for less of the luxuries we see.

To value our friends, to see beauty in skies,

What we need to do is to simplify.

Darcy H. Jacobs

This Ripples poem she made into a bookmark.



Ripples

Drop a pebble in the water, just one plop and it is gone,

But there’s half a hundred ripples going on and on and on.

One loving act of kindness, one caring smile, and it’s begun,

Then, as one life affects another, God’s love goes on and on and on.

Darcy H. Jacobs

Then, as if that weren't enough... Darcy made 43 draw-string bags for the magnet, bookmark and a granola bar.

Thanks Darcy!

Friends + Projects = Fun

After I received the fabric from Amy Butler, I emailed my friends, told them about the project, and invited them to join me for a night of sewing and card making.

What wonderful support from amazing women!

Candice was at the cutting table.

Andrea and Tracy ironed and surged.

Megan loves to sew. She's really good and fast.

Megan, a fellow twin mom, holding the first completed bag!

My daughter was so thrilled to help with the sewing and stuffing the candy bags. She even got to stay up waaaaaay past her bedtime! Marcy, my darling mother-in-law came and helped too.

The ladies put together bags of candy donated by Amy.

The completed bags of candy. They're filled with my favorites... m&ms and other chocolate goodies.

Kristy, Amy, and Linley worked on assembling cards.

The finished product was 35 sets of unique handmade cards. Shellee was so kind and gave them to me at less than cost.

We'll have another project night to finish up the bags.

Reusable shopping totes made from Amy Butler fabric

It all started with an email. I love Amy Butler fabrics and noticed on their website that they support charities in their local area.

I emailed them and asked if they'd be willing to donate fabric or provide it at a discount for this project. A week later I received an email saying they'd donate home decor fabric from her August Fields line.

I was thrilled that they were willing to help but blown away when I got the package and it had 18 yards of fabric!

The woman at Amy Butler's company suggested using a reusable shopping bag pattern from Green Bag Lady, a woman who provides homemade shopping totes for free to people who promise to use it instead of plastic bags.

I made a sample bag before the project night so that we'd know what we were doing. I used Amy Butler fabric in my personal stash. I made it just like the pattern but we decided to make the straps wider and longer on the gift bags.

We still have 6 bags that need straps. We'll do those during the next project night.

Our goal was to make 35 bags but we've sewn 43 bags so we'll fill those and distribute the last 8 to another hospital in Utah.

Bibs for two!

My amazing friend, Megan, had twins in May. I am still trying to put my life back together but she, on the other hand, is already back to her crafty self. She recently mailed me not 1, not 2, but 8 bibs for my big boys! They are our favorites and I use them at every meal. For their first birthday.

Each bib has two designs and each has rick-rack, my favorite go-to embellishment.

It's fun to have generous, talented friends! Thanks, Megan!

Projects on my list

When will I make the time to create these cute, useful things?Belle has the perfect pair of jeans that are too worn out in the knees but would be perfect in a skirt.
I'm hoping to make a few of these nursing covers for me and a few moms-to-be.

Artsy Clutch

Last week, I used Amy Butler fabrics from my overflowing fabric stash to make a little Artsy Clutch from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing book.

It was easy and done in less than an hour. Seriously easy (and I'm not super fast nor an accomplished seamstress).

Sewing Inspiration

Last week, my husband bought me a great new Bernina Activa 230 sewing machine. I've been so inspired to work on a whole lot of new projects from these books....
Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing has great ideas and suggestions. I'm going to make this artsy clutch on the cover with I have on hand as well as a few baby bibs for friends that are going to have babies. I think I may add a little appliqué to the bibs too.This pattern book has beautiful projects. I used their letters as a guide for a special phrase I appliquéd on a quilt for a friend. I'm planning to make their Diaper & Wipes Quick Totes and try their Bib ideas as well.
I love Amy Butler's designs and this book is no exception. I'm planning to make quite a few projects from it starting with a new pair of pajama pants made out of her Olive Lacework and Linen Full Moon Polka fabrics.

Great ideas in both of these "Last-Minute" books.

I don't have this book...yet. I really want to make that little purse on the cover but the library doesn't have the book. Guess I'll just buy it but I wanted to glance through it first.

Sew & Stow... a title and description that intrigue me. I'll have to check it out and let you know if it's as great as it seems.

Do you have any favorite sewing books or patterns?

Anna Tunic by Amy Butler

As soon as I get a new sewing machine, this Anna Tunic by Amy Butler is one of the first projects on my list of things to make.

And, I LOVE it in the Full Moon Polka fabric. Maybe I could make one for Belle in the Cherry color...