I made aprons

 I don't really know what I am going to do with them, but they were fun to make.  There are so many pretty, cute, and vintage apron patterns out there now.  So I decided to make these and use up some fabrics I have accumulated. 


This was my first one. 
The bows are on scallopped pockets.  The hem is scallopped also. 



This one is real "cutsie".       

Lots of piping and rick-rack.

This is a half apron.  It has pleats that are a little hard to see in the photo.  Piping and ribbon accent the co-ordinating fabrics. 

no guilt muffins - I had an urge for a snack...

Healthy Apple Carrot Muffins

2 cups raisin bran cereal
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup finely chopped peeled tart apple
3/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup Grapenuts cereal
1/4 cup ground flax seed
Directions:
In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a small bowl, beat the egg, buttermilk and oil.
Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apple, carrots, Grapenuts and flax seed.
Fill paper-lined muffin cups or cups coated with nonstick cooking spray three-fourths full. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.  Makes 12 muffins.

machine covers for the sewing room

I have taken my sewing room back.  It spent 24 years housing my beautiful daughter.  That is why it is the color that it is.  Iris white with smoky plum trim.  She has been away to college and now grad school for awhile, but I couldn't get up the gumption to empty it of all of her "stuff".  All that "stuff" is boxed up and waiting for her to get a place big enough to put it.  I still miss her.

my sewing/embroidery machine

My machine (Babylock Essante-my pride & joy!) came with a hard cover with a built in book holder.  It is just too much of a pain to put on and take off.  I dug through my scraps and made this quilted throw on cover.  It is easy to use, so I'm more likely to actually cover it up when I'm not using it.  This was my first attempt at crazy quilting.  It's not as easy as it looks!  I used a piece of an old sheet as a base fabric.  All the fabric scraps remind me of different things I have made.  I smile when I look at it.  Lace & ribbon ends complete the trim.  I tried to keep the blue & lavender color scheme. It was fun.

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my serger

I stuck with the blue & lavender colors in this one, too.  But I just did a simple quilt pattern in strips.  After piecing it together I attached fusible interfacing to stiffen the front and back pieces up.  I had to customize the shape at the bottom to fit the step on my serger table.  I've had my serger for 20 years and have never had a cover, so this is nice, and pretty, too. 

a new potholder

I didn't really need new potholders.  I threw all of mine in the washing machine, so they are clean but well worn.  But I felt the urge to play with my sewing machine and came up with this. The center dark green is dyed fleece that I made a winter skirt for Amy out of. I changed the colors of the embroidered flowers to match the outer fabric. It's gonna hurt the first time it gets spilled on.

I needed a pin cushion

So I found a great tutorial on the Sew ,Mama, Sew blog. I dug through my scraps and came up with this: weighted pin-cushion organizer.  The directions were great and it came out really nice.

The scrap bag is oh so handy!  My sweet husband made the shelves with the rimmed top to size so it fits perfectly next to my machine table.

new embroidery

I started with this little picture that Amy drew:

I used my new digitizing program (thanks Putt!) and came up with this:

I think it's cute, but Amy thinks it's creepy.

Amy gave me a pizza stone and a zither (commonly known as a pizza peel - a BIG spatula ) for Christmas.  I finally used it.  Really good pizza. I used this recipe for the crust:           

Quick and Easy Pizza Crust

Submitted By: CHEF RIDER
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 30 Minutes
"A quick chewy pizza crust that can be made in 30 minutes."
Ingredients:
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45degrees C)
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 1/5/2010

As you can see- we enjoyed it!  Now I want to try different pizza crusts & toppings. I made up the pizza sauce with tomato sauce, italian seasoning mix, oregano, garlic powder and fresh garlic, onion powder, and a little catsup.