Red Owl Designs ... The Blog

Hats, Mittens, and Shoes!

2011-12-28T06:51:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine recently commissioned me
to make baby gifts
for her two brand new nephews.

We went to this fun store downtown
and picked out some great yarns
and then I set to work making
hats and mittens and shoes.

Here's the first set ...

LOVE the green and gray!

I put little crocheted buttons on the sides of the shoes.

And the little mittens.

These were my favorite to make.

And I actually learned a new knitting technique in the process!

The Magic Loop

(sounds weird, but it really is a cool technique!!)

Here is the other set.

We didn't know if this was going to be for a girl or boy,

so we made it gender neutral

and planned to add flowers if it turned out to be a girl.

These shoes remind me of Oreos.

Yum.

Judah-man's Gift ... and my 200th Post!

2011-12-18T18:12:00.000-08:00

My sweet friend Heather
had her 5th child this year.
That's right ...
5 children
She's younger than me.
I feel like the slow kid in school.

But anyway ... after having 3 girls in a row,
she had a little boy this time.
(Her oldest ... a boy ... was SOOOO excited!!)
The baby's name is Judah.
Their family affectionately refers to him as
"Judah-man"
i love it.

So, I made him a little gifty
to welcome him into the world.

Of course, it had to be just the right shade of aqua.

If you don't know Heather,

you should know that sh

LOVES all things Hawaiian.

And blue.

Her whole family wears flip-flops year round.

That's what I love about them.

Well ... that and a lot of other things.

:o)

I love this blanket pattern.

Super easy to make

(which means I can actually get it done before the baby outgrows it!)

and not too girly and frilly.

Perfect for little baby boys.

Here's a close-up.

Don't look too closely, though ...

My knitting isn't perfect, but it'll work.

A Fall Cookout

2011-12-18T14:35:00.001-08:00

In October,
I had a cookout
as a way of saying THANK YOU
to everyone who had helped and encouraged me
during my recovery since my car accident.

I was (and still am!) fighting my way through my shoulder rehab,
but I didn't want to wait any longer to thank everyone.
And besides ... the weather was PERFECT in October,
and I wasn't going to get another good weather window until the Spring.

So, I invited everyone over to my dad's house,
and we had a fall cookout.
It was so much fun to have mostly all of my closest local friends
together under one roof!

My crazy niece.

LOVE her.

BOTH of my beautiful nieces.

How lucky am I?

My friend Deb, me, and my dad's wife Julie.

Deb & Julie were a HUGE help with the food and setup!!!

My dad, the grill master.

He loved it, because everyone at the party had to come see him

if they wanted to eat.

Which meant that he got to meet all of my friends.

Cornhole.

This game is so much fun.

Speaking of cornhole ...

... Have you heard the Rhett & Link Cornhole Song?

Hilarious.

There was fishing in the lake.

We didn't have any lures,

but no problem-o,

because one of the little boys who was there

made a lure out of a feather

(yes ... a feather)

and caught a bass.

Not kidding.

What would a cookout be without s'mores

by the fire?

Oh ... and glowsticks for the kiddos.

Wish I had a picture of all the kids

running around in the dark

with glowsticks on their heads.

Really good friends.

God has been so very gracious to me in this life.

I don't know what I would do if it weren't for these fabulous ladies.

(See Judah-man in his new aqua blanket??)

Artisan Show

2011-12-18T14:27:00.001-08:00

In November,
my friend Heather and I
(you know ... my friend with 5 kiddos)
shared a booth at a local artisan show.

We had tons of fun chatting and catching up.

We don't often have the opportunity to see each other regularly,

so we were both excited for the opportunity to spend time together!

This is our cutie booth.

You can't see it, but we're overlooking the ocean.

Seriously.

Neither of us realized how well our products went together

until we got them all up on the table.

I love all of Heather's fabrics,

my baby shoes went perfectly with a lot of her things!

Cute overload.

Oh ... and as an added bonus ...

Everything that didn't sell at this show

went over to this super-fun boutique here in Charleston.

So if you're local and looking for a gift ... go there.

They have so much fun stuff, and a lot of local vendors!!

Black & Cream

2011-07-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

I'm currently working on a special black & cream quilt.

Lots of hours have gone into this quilt,

and there are still lots more hours to go!

I've spent months sewing all these arcs together.

Seriously.

Months.

Last week, I finished the arcs

and moved on to these elliptical shapes.

In the process of cutting all of these ellipses,

I discovered my new favorite sewing tool ...

... this tiny rotary cutter!

Perfect for cutting around plastic templates!

SO much easier than tracing with a fabric pencil

and then cutting with regular scissors.

Where have you been all my life??!!??

I'm at the point now where I'm sewing the arcs to the ellipses.

Curved seams ... Yikes!

It's a little scary, but I love the way it's coming out!

Can't wait to see it come together!!!

I'll be sure to post more as I make progress.

Fun with my Nieces

2011-06-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Recently

I had my nieces over

for some afternoons of fun!

We played the piano.

Since my surgery I haven't been playing much

so it was nice to hear the music in my house again!

We made a cake for their mom's birthday

and they had fun decorating it.

We made Mothers Day gifts.

It was fun having them help in the studio

to make these fun fabric pins.

Mary Rose coloring Mothers Day bags.

And Anneliese ...

I have so much enjoyed spending time with these girls lately.

They are growing up so fast!!!!

The Stuffie Hospital ...

2011-06-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

The other day

my cutie niece

asked me to take home her Ladybug Pillow Pet

(otherwise known as "Ladybuggy")

so that I could fix the hole

that had appeared in its rear end.

Nevermind,

of course,

that both her mother and her grandmother

sew very well ...

... and live with her.

No matter ...

I enjoy doing things for my nieces and nephew,

so I gladly said

of course.

A few days later,

I returned

with a new and improved Ladybuggy

without the hole in its bum.

Mary Rose was so excited

to be reunited with her stuffie,

and I enjoyed seeing her smile big

and hug Ladybuggy tight

without the fear of squeezing out any of its stuffing.

Her mother

immediately asked her

"What do you say to Auntie?"

expecting her, of course, to say "Thank you, Auntie!"

Without even skipping a beat,

Mary Rose looked at me

and said

"I'm going to go get more stuffies

for you to fix!"

and she bolted upstairs to find them.

She came back

with her arms full.

Gotta love her.

So, for a brief time,

my house became

a stuffie hospital.

There was the bear that lost its hat.

And the ballerina bear

that apparently danced so much

that both her feet almost fell right off!

In addition to having a little bit of a

wardrobe malfunction.

And finally there was the dog

who almost lost his head.

Poor guy.

I'm happy to report

that these stuffies have been

nursed back to health

and are back in the arms of the little girl

who loves them.

And I suspect

that the vacancies in my stuffie hospital

won't last long.

:o)

My Nieces are Starbucks Junkies

2011-05-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

My nieces love frappucinos.

I guess they come by it honestly.

I mean, what can you expect when their mom and aunt

are rarely seen without a frappucino in their hands?

So, the other day,

I took my nieces to Starbucks

to celebrate their graduations with a frappucino.

No, they are not headed off to college in the Fall.

They just graduated from preschool and kindergarten.

That's right ... they are 4 and 6.

And they already love coffee ... a lot.

I hope Social Services is not reading this blog.

Anyway ...

As we were sitting in the comfy chairs at our local Starbucks,

my nieces were quick to point out that they were lacking

coffee cozies

for their frappucinos.

Not kidding.

So, like a good auntie,

I took them by the hand

and walked them the two blocks to my favorite fabric store

and let them pick out fabrics to make their very own cozies.

The fabrics they chose

are as different as their little personalities.

I love it.

Anneliese chose these sweet

under-the-sea prints.

While Mary Rose

opted for the bright, bold Dr. Seuss look.

Here they are ...

ready and waiting for the next

Auntie date at Starbucks.

We'll have to do that soon.

Back in the Saddle

2011-05-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Has it really been nearly

4 months

since I have posted anything here??!!??

Goodness!

I wish I had a good excuse to offer.

Oh wait ...

I do have a good excuse.

So ... do you remember this post back in February?

Sure you do ...

it was my last post before this one!

Well, as a result of the accident

which started the Rental Car Chronicles in motion,

(more on that later ... it gets better.)

I had to have surgery in February

to fix my shoulder.

Long, boring story short ...

it has been a tough recovery

and I've been slow to get back into my normal activities.

So ... there hasn't been much to write about.

Unless you want me to write book reviews

for the 10 books I've read since my surgery

(which, by the way, is more books than I read all last year!)

Or update you on the ins and outs of how torturous physical therapy can be

(I'm starting to think that my Physical Therapist

either hates me or is a very angry individual!)

Or maybe I could have written

about how serious my frappucino addiction has become

since I've resorted to drinking them to help me cope with my shoulder pain

(not that starbucks actually helps with the physical pain,

but frappucinos always bring a smile to my face!)

Either way,

I think you'd rather hear about other things.

And now that I'm slowly getting back in my studio

from time to time,

I hope to have more to write about,

so stay tuned!

The Rental Car Chronicles

2011-02-08T12:44:00.000-08:00

I have driven four different cars in the last 6 weeks.

Not kidding.

Before I had my car accident,

I had never rented a car before in my life.

Now I've rented three different vehicles.

It has really become amusing.

Here's the skinny.

I had my accident on September 25th.

My car was undriveable, to say the least.

So I rented a car.

Well, technically, the other lady's car insurance rented it for me.

Here is what they offered me :

A Hyundai Elantra

Excepting that the one I got was black.

I have to say that I'm not a fan of the Hyundai.

Had I known I would be in it for THREE MONTHS,

I would have asked for something different.

But, that's water under the bridge.

Fast forward three months to the end of December

when the dealership's collision center called me

and said I could pick up my car ... finally!

So I did.

And for a full week I was driving my Honda again.

I love my Honda.

His name is Earl.

I missed him a lot.

Particularly his heated seats. :o)

But, sadly enough, I had to bring him back to the collision center

for a (long) list of things that were not fixed correctly.

So, the collision center then put me in another rental car.

When I went to the counter to pick it up,

they informed me that all they had left was this :

Not kidding.

I might have laughed out loud.

So, I drove off with the pickup truck

and went straight to the bank to take out a second mortgage on my house

so that I could afford the gas payments.

Were it not for the crazy gas mileage

and the sheer size of the thing,

I might consider trading my Honda for one of these.

But seriously ... I couldn't even pull the stupid thing into my garage

because I was afraid of running into the side of the house!

(My neighbor might have made fun of me for it.)

Although I will say that it came in handy

when I had to transfer a bunch of stuff from my dad's house to mine!

And I definitely felt safe in it.

Two weeks later, I returned the pickup truck

and picked up my Honda again.

But, not before the rental company

made me pay for the windshield on the pickup truck

since they failed to note the crack in the middle of the windshield

during our initial walkthrough.

Gotta love it.

So, I drove off in my Honda again

happy as a clam.

Well, that is until I got 100 feet down the road

and realized that the whole front of my car was rattling like crazy.

(insert eye-roll here)

So, I took it back,

and they gave me yet another rental car.

This time I asked for something that wasn't a truck.

This is what I got :

Yep.

A Prius.

And it's red, too!

It's actually not bad ...

It's a little difficult to get used to

because it hardly makes any noise at all.

And I love that you don't have to put the key in the ignition.

You just push a button and it starts.

So, when I rented this third car last Wednesday,

the rental company asked the collision guy

how long it would take for them to fix my car.

He said one or two days.

I laughed.

A Lot.

I couldn't control myself.

Since when ... after four and a half months ...

have they ever done something in one or two days??

It has now been a full week

and I'm still driving the Prius.

The only good part about this whole saga
is that I haven't had to pay for any of these vehicles.
Already the total rental charges are over $3,000.

Seriously?!?

And the saga continues ...

Christmastime is Here

2010-12-20T16:45:00.000-08:00

All my Christmas gifts are wrapped and ready for next weekend.

I even went ahead and brought them over to my dad's house

so that I wouldn't have to deal with them on Christmas day.

Wanna see what's inside some of these boxes?

OK ... just a little peek.

Caution : Scottie, if you are reading this, don't read any further!

I made a red shawl for my dad's wife.

The pattern is the same as the green one I made for myself.

I had to wrap this one up quickly

so that I wouldn't be tempted to keep it!

For my brother,

I made a warm scarf and hat.

He's a hunter, so I figure that he could get a lot of use out of them.

It was a ton of fun making the hat.

I think I will try to make myself one soon ... in red, of course.

For my father (the man who has everything!)

I finished up one of my mom's quilt that we found recently in the attic.

It was a sampler quilt that I think she was using to practice

her machine quilting skills.

I just had to put a second back on it (to cover the original muslin back),

lightly quilt it to attach the new back, and bind it all together.

I finished it off with a custom label.

This is my favorite part of quilting ...

... documenting the story of all the hard work that went into it!

And for my nieces ...

scarves.

But, not just any scarves.

Scarves with ladybugs on them.

And matching scarves for their American Girl dolls.

This is Mary Rose's scarf.

When I asked her what her favorite color was,

she ran through a long list of different colors.

She couldn't pick just one!

And here is Anneliese's pink scarf.

It was either pink or purple,

but I couldn't resist this bubble gum pink yarn.

I also made some things for my sister in law and her mom,

but they read my blog, so I can't show you until next week.

So, you see ...

I have been very busy!

So busy that I almost don't know what to do with myself

now that these Christmas gifts are finished!

Shop Walk

2010-12-18T16:43:00.000-08:00

Last Friday's Shop Walk went well,

and Heather and I both agreed

that we'd like to do it again in the Spring,

hopefully with a little more notice and marketing!

I definitely learned a lot, and have some plans

for how to make it easier the next time around.

For example, I think I'll bring my rolling drawer cart for under my table

instead of putting everything in stackable rubbermaids.

And I'm already envisioning a fitted table cover in red and white.

Check out this great space!

There were about a dozen etsy sellers there,

and it was a lot of fun!

Heather and I were right up front near the door.

We both sold a number of things,

but definitely would have loved to have sold more.

This is how I displayed my coffee cozies ...

... in a fun white cupcake holder.

I like how all the colors and patterns could be seen easily.

Here we are in front of Heather's tables.

Y'all, she is the BEST merchandiser.

She brought lots of fun props,

like old dresser drawers, a ladder, and a fun blue wooden chair.

Plus, her stuff is cute enough to not need anything extra.

You should check it out here.

Overall, it was a great experience,

and I can't wait for next time!

King Street Shop Walk Show Tomorrow Night!

2010-12-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

I'm making my list

and checking it twice!

No, I'm not Santa!

I'm getting ready to participate in an event downtown

in conjunction with the King Street Shop Walk.

A local real estate office is offering their space to local etsy sellers,

and my friend Heather and I are going to participate!

So I've packed up all my coffee cozies

and baby shoes

and belts

and everything else I will need (I hope!)

including this fun new cupcake holder,

which will be displaying my coffee cozies in all their colorful glory.

:o)

This is my little cart, all ready to go.

I might have also thrown in a kitchen sink.

(I'm a girl ... I do not pack light!)

Boy, am I grateful for these babies.

Tomorrow night (Friday, December 10th) from 5pm until 9 pm

214 King Street

Stop on by and see us, and have a glass of wine!

Trunk Show ... Sort of

2010-12-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

Belts and cozies, all made up and ready for a show in New Jersey last month.

I love all the colors next to each other!

Jesus is Coming

2010-12-06T18:13:00.000-08:00

Jesus is coming, y'all.

Seriously.

He's in a little wooden manger.

On some hay.

Wrapped in swaddling clothes.

(Doesn't that picture just make you smile?)

This is my 2010 Christmas Ornament!

I'm so excited about this ornament ...

... my dad helped make all the mangers.

It was fun spending the afternoon with him and working with power tools.

If you're on the list, you should be receiving yours soon,

(if not already!)

If you're not on the list, and feel you've been overlooked,

please contact the management.

:o)

The ABC's of Blocking

2010-11-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

My house has been looking like a toddler lives there recently ...

These are the foam flooring squares that I use to block my knitting projects when I am done with them.

(You can get non-alphabet squares,

but these happened to be on sale when I went to Lowe's,

and you know me and sales!)

I used to be afraid of blocking,

but I took a great class at my not-so-local knitting shop

(45 minutes from my house!)

and now I actually enjoy this part of the process.

The whole point of blocking a knitted project

is to gently stretch it into the shape / size you need it to be,

and then let it dry in place for at least 24 hours.

This way, it will hold its shape when you wear it!

You can also do this after you wash a knitted item to reshape it correctly.

Basically, you start by laying out your foam squares.

I put them up on my dining room table,

because I've found that my aging knees and back don't like kneeling on the floor.

Then, you soak your knitted item in cold water for about an hour.

Once the item is saturated,

it is important to be very careful when handling it,

as the fibers can be easily damaged.

You can wrap it in a towel to get the excess water out (being careful not to wring it!)

and then lay it out on the foam squares in preparation for shaping it.

Then, it's just a matter of stretching it gently into shape and pinning it to the foam squares until it is dry.

I purchased a blocking kit

which included metal rods that you can use to run through the edges of the knitted item

to ensure straight lines when it dries.

For this particular shawl, I used three rods - one for each side of the triangle.

The top was easy, because it's a straight edge.

The other edges were a little more challenging, since they are pointed.

It took a little bit of work to get them to be symmetrical on both sides.

Here is the finished product while it was drying.

See how much bigger it got from blocking?

I stretched it a good bit, being careful not to pull too hard and break the fibers.

Once it's dry,

it is ready for the finishing touches of weaving in ends and clipping yarns.

** Disclaimer **

I'm just sharing what I learned in my class ...

by no means am I an expert.

:o)

Top Five Reasons I Haven't Blogged in Over 2 Months

2010-11-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

I can't pull myself away from my new knitting obsession

long enough to focus on writing a blog post.

(More on that later)

I had a big wholesale order to fill ...

... belts and cozies coming out of my ears!

I also had samples to make for a trunk-show-type party in October.

I've been busy!

The holidays are upon us, people!

I have been working like mad to finish family Christmas gifts

and get started on this year's ornament!

I currently have three Christmas gifts left to finish,

and hope to have them done by Thanksgiving.

I was in a car accident in September

and have been overwhelmed with the details of getting back to normal.

(And when I say I've been overwhelmed, I'm talking about mutliple snot-faced meltdowns.

It hasn't been pretty.)

Doctor appointments, physical therapy, dealing with insurance, and getting my car fixed ...

... boy, does it take a lot of time!

(Fortunately, the accident was not my fault and I wasn't seriously injured ...

praise God!)

I am lazy and have not made blogging a priority.

(It's as simple as that, right?)

A Birthday Bookmark

2010-08-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

A co-worker of mine has a birthday today.

So I made her a little gift.

She loves to read

and she loves to quilt.

(She especially loves to read books about quilting

like all the books in this series, which I highly recommend ... good stuff.)

So I decided to make her a quilted bookmark.

It's made of some natural KONA cotton

with two layers of interfacing to make it sturdy.

I appliqued a "C" to personalize it

with that cute thimble fabric I love so much.

On a separate note ... if you are looking for a good read,

check this book out.

It will rock your world.

Trust me.

Membership Has Its Privileges ...

2010-08-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

Lookie what I just got in the mail!!!

What is it, you ask?

It's my new Starbucks GOLD CARD!

To find out how to get one of these beauties for yourself,

click here.

I'm just in it for the free frappucinos.

Does it make me a freak

if I use my Starbucks card to buy drinks

so that I can get free drinks,

and I reload it with my American Express card

so that I can get free miles while I get my free drinks,

and when I go to the Starbucks kiosk in the Piggly Wiggly,

I use my PFC card to get Greenbax

so that I can go to the FAIR for free,

all while earning free drinks and free miles?

:o)

On Pins and Needles ...

2010-08-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

Do you remember this post from last year?

Christmas gifts for all the sewing girls in my family

and one for me, too, of course!

Did I ever tell you what they were?

I can't remember.

Well ... they were fun pincushions / sewing organizers.

I got the pattern from Sew Mama Sew, which is a great site for anyone who loves to sew!

(You can find the tutorial here if you'd like!)

Come to think of it, I promised I would post some full pictures

after the holidays,

and I might have forgotten to do that!

Oops ... sorry!

Well, if you have been waiting for the photos

in suspense for all these months,

then today is your day!

Because I recently made another one of these jewels as a gift

for my dear friend Heather

who sews brilliantly

and has a love of all things hawaii / ocean / blue.

And this time I remembered to take pictures for you!

Aren't I thoughtful?

:o)

When I saw this fabric,

I knew I just had to make something for Heather with it!

The mermaids are just too darn cute for their own good.

The pincushion sits right on the edge of your sewing table

and dangles down

with spaces for scissors and other sewing tools

and a little catch basket to hold scraps and threads that need to be thrown away.

Basically, this keeps all your sewing stuff neat and tidy

which is exactly why I love it.

Isn't it a great design?

Just perfect to keep by your sewing machine

... or on the edge of your side table

next to the big comfy chair you sit in while you sew

in between your grande coffee frappucino

and your bowl of reese's pieces.

My New Addiction

2010-08-07T12:32:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago,

while out with my sister-in-law and her mom and another friend,

we stumbled across a fabulous knitting store.

I asked if we could go in briefly

because I was looking for an easy shawl pattern.

Little did I know that I would walk out with two patterns

and a bag full of luxurious yarn!

Can you believe that I chose the green / blue colorway

for one of my shawls?

Honestly, I never would have chosen this

had they not had one already on display made of this exact yarn.

I couldn't resist!

I am happy to report that I am nearly finished with this particular shawl,

(thanks in part to the owner of the shop who spent 3 hours with me last weekend

making sure that I understood the pattern!)

and once I learn how to block it,

I will post pictures.

I also found this yarn,

but they didn't have enough skeins

so I had to search online and order it from yarn.com

(Who knew there was a yarn.com?)

Yes ... it's half silk and half merino.

If I could afford to buy enough to make a big afghan out of this,

I would.

It is so soft and silky

and RED!!!

I still have a lot of work to do on this wrap,

but it's crochet, so it seems to go quicker than knitting.

This is a really flirty short "tea wrap"

and I seriously can't wait to wear it with a black dress

this Christmas season!!

More pictures to come when both shawls are finished!

No Sliding Zone

2010-08-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

So ... remember my little confessional the other day?

I might have one more confession to make.

Or two.

OK ... no more than three.

First Additional Confession :

I might be slightly addicted to knitting.

It all started with this scarf,

(which has quickly become a favorite!)

and things have gone downhill from there.

I'm having a seriously hard time putting down my current project

(a gorgeous shawl ... more on that later)

so much so that I find myself saying "just one more row"

while drifting into dreamland

in my big comfy chair

with knitting needles still in my hand!

Dangerous, I know!

Second Additional Confession :

Even before I was addicted to knitting,

I would hate to put down my project

for fear of the stitches sliding right off the end of the needle

and messing up all the hard work I had already put in.

I tried all sorts of techniques to avoid sliding stitches :

I tried pushing all my stitches to the non-pointed end of the needle,

but that only works if you have a smaller number of stitches on your needle.

Stitches can only be squished so far, you know

and there is no guarantee that they won't slide back!

I also tried poking the needle into the remaining ball of yarn

to hold the stitches in place,

but this only works with tightly-wound balls of yarn,

and I also realized that when you pull the needle back out,

sometimes the stitches stick to the yarn ball

and slide right off.

Ugh.

I even tried putting a rubber stopper on the end of the needle,

but honestly ... that was ugly,

and I'm all about the cute.

So ... this brings me to my

Third and Final Additional Confession :

(for now, at least)

I have officially made myself two

stitch keepers

I saw these online somewhere

(sorry, I don't remember where)

and I made some for myself.

Yes ... I know this is a trend ... I see something, I make it for myself.

I rarely buy.

It's a problem I have.

Anyway ... here is the one that fits my smaller needles.

It's just made out of cotton quilting fabric

that has some medium-weight interfacing in it to make it more sturdy.

I love the fun colorful thimbles ...

I imagine my mom would have LOVED this fabric.

Now ...

when I'm ready to put my project down,

I simply insert the non-pointy end of the needle into the little pocket

on the right-hand side of the stitch keeper

and slide the rest of the needle up in between the two layers of fabric.

It has to be a snug fit!

Then I close the little pearl snap on the left

to keep the needle secure.

The snap also serves as protection

to keep the stitches from sliding off the point of the needle.

I can then put my project in a bag with the ball of yarn

and the matching needle

without worrying about losing any of my work!

Cool, huh?

I also made one out of this fabric for my longer needles,

just for fun.

It makes me smile.

Now if I could just find a good solution for my circular needles!

Confessions ...

2010-07-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

Confession :

I inherited a lot of knitting needles from my mom.

(among loads of other craft / sewing - related items!)

Confession #2 :

Until recently, said needles have been stored in a drawer in my studio

in a big bunch

wrapped with a simple rubber band.

No organization whatsoever.

Confession #3 :

I didn't care about said disorganization until I learned that there exist in this world

knitting needle organizers

like this one

or this one

Confession #4 :

This pile of yummy fabric has been BEGGING to be used

ever since I made these with it last year

instead of packing for my trip to Ireland.

Confession #5 :

When I say the fabric was begging,

I do not mean that I hear the fabric talking,

so please don't call the looney bin on me,

ok?

Confession #6 :

Because I sew (a lot!),

I opted to try to make myself a knitting needle organizer

out of that fun red & aqua fabric

instead of purchasing one online.

If I didn't sew, I would have purchased this one (Vive la France!)

or this one (owls, of course!),

because they are so stinkin' fun,

and because I happen to know that madbird's stuff is well made.

So, if you don't sew, go buy one from her!

Confession #7 :

I might have fashioned my organizer after the ones in madbird's shop.

I did change a couple of things, though ...

I added a zipper pocket at the top,

because I needed a place to keep stitch markers.

and I used velcro instead of a toggle, because

me and toggles don't play well together.

I hope she doesn't get mad at me.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

Confession #8 :

I am a much happier knitter now that my needles are all organized.

Confession #9 :

I might need to purchase more needles to fill the empty spaces.

OK ... I'm done confessing.

Back to knitting.

(More on the projects I'm working on later!)

Owls Owls and More Owls

2010-07-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

Do you remember those good old college days
when you would go to your post office box on campus
and open it to find a notice that you had received a care package?

Care package days were seriously the best days of my college career.
Well ... excluding my graduation day, of course!

I loved standing in line at the post office window
with my package notice in hand,
anxiously running through the list of loved ones
who would have taken the time to fill a box up with fun treats to send to me.
It wouldn't even matter so much what was inside ...
more than anything I just loved relishing in the tangible evidence that I was loved.

One day I got a care package from my grandma

and it was a big box full of these.

Nothing else.

She remembered me saying that I loved them,

so she sent me a truck load of them.

I loved her.

Now that I am all "grown up" (note the quotation marks)

and have a house of my own,

the care package process is a little bit different,

but equally as exciting!

Lookie what arrived in my mailbox just last week!

I might have ripped this package open in the middle of my driveway

when I saw it was from my best friend from college, Mary.

I know ... I need to work on patience.

Owls, owls, and more owls!!!

Stickers, notecards, a folder, and a notebook!

... and a sweet note saying that they were calling out to her at the store to buy them for me.

Don't I have the bestest best friend EVER?

Look at these adorable owlies!!!!

They might not ever leave their pristine package.

I'm thinking that one of these owl cards
will become a thank you card soon!!!

THANK YOU, MARY!

You made me feel loved.

Blue Cuteness

2010-07-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

Check out these

ADORABLE

custom baby mary janes

that I recently made for Katie, a new customer.

Oh my heavens.

Could they be any cuter??!!??

I'm so glad that Katie picked out such a fun combo of yarn colors

because I'm not sure I would have come up with this on my own.

But it is now my favorite color combo to date.

I will put some in the shop soon.

I promise.

Happiness ...

2010-07-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

Guess what I just purchased?

I'll give you a clue ...

It is an appliance.

OK ... here's another clue ...

Yum.

Did you guess it yet?

I bought myself a Frappucino Maker

for my house!!!!

Before you judge ...

you should know that I got it 62% off original price.

(thanks to my industriously frugal sister in law Suzanne)

I might be slightly excited about this.

I mean ... this has the potential to save me a TON of money

that I would ordinarily give to Starbucks.
(I admit ... I have a frappucino addiction.)

I might also be excited to try the drink recipes

that came with the frappucino maker.

Like this one, for example ...

Raspberry Truffle Cappuccino Frappe

or this one ...

the Irish Cream Cappuccino Frappe

Anyone up for a frappucino party??

The Traveling Triangle Quilt

2010-06-12T06:27:00.000-07:00

Remember this quilt

that I laid out on my living room floor recently?

Well, I decided that it would be a good sewing project to take with me

on my recent flight to DC.

The only problem with taking a quilt like this to sew on the plane

is that it is difficult to keep the order of the triangles intact.

And since I spent so much time arranging the triangles just the way I wanted them,

I didn't want to risk messing that up.

I have one of these, but it doesn't work well for traveling.

So, this is what I came up with ...

I bought some manilla folders

and stapled some cotton quilt batting to the insides.

Then, I took the first three rows of the quilt

and placed the fabric triangles in order

among 7 or 8 of these folders.

The triangles easily stuck to the batting, which held them all in place

and prevented them from sliding all around in transit.

I purchased this plastic project box to hold the folders in order

and to keep everything together, with a picture of the whole layout

and the sewing directions.

It worked really well

and made for an easy and inexpensive way to transport this project on the plane!

I was able to sew 27 triangles together ...

now for the other 1101!

Race for the Cure

2010-06-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I ran the

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

in Washington, DC,

in memory of my mom and my grandma.

The race took place on the National Mall,

so it was the perfect opportunity for some scenic photos!

This is us before the race.

And after the race ...

I ran it with two of my friends from college - Mary & Kate.

Mary had her 3-month-old daughter Molly with her.

Molly slept for the whole race, and afterwards woke up with all smiles.

She might be the happiest baby I've ever met ...

Well, maybe it's a tie between her and Heather's daughter Leilani.

:o)

Here we are after we're all cleaned up after the race.

Such a fun weekend ...

... and it was so good to see these ladies again!!

Bad News, Good News ...

2010-06-08T06:26:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when your camera bag falls off the hook on the back of a public restroom door

onto the cement floor below.

The protective lens filter seems to have worked to protect the glass part of the lens,

but the force of the fall did damage to the focus mechanism.

So, I can only take pictures with my zoom lens (which fortunately was not damaged in the fall!)

The actual camera still takes pictures but is rattling and making weird noises.

I'm very thankful that my friend Deb encouraged me to purchase the extended warranty when I bought this camera two years ago ... it covers accidental damage ...

"even damage caused by your own negligence."

WOO HOO!

So, today I will be taking it to the camera store to get a replacement.

1,128

2010-05-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

1,128

That's the number of fabric triangles I laid out on my living room floor this weekend.

Yep ... that's right.

1,128 triangles.

By the time I finished laying all the pieces out,

I could no longer move my knees and my back.

I am getting old.

I'm pretty excited about seeing this quilt take shape.

It's made entirely out of fabric scraps ...

... some of which my mom had cut out,

and others I cut out.

I don't think I've ever made a quilt that is so colorful!

Now all the triangles are in neat little piles

according to rows.

Boy, do I have a lot of sewing ahead of me.

I'll keep you updated ...

can't wait to get this one finished!

Merry Christmas

2010-05-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

This is a picture taken in my living room

THIS MORNING

Not kidding.

My friend Cynthia helped me put up these vinyl letters in December of last year

and I have procrastinated in taking them down

(That's a bit of an understatement, don't you think?)

At this point, I'm thinking I should just tough it out and leave them up there,

since it's only 6 more months until they will be an appropriate wall decoration again.

:o)

Speaking of Christmas ...

I just finished a Christmas quilt I've been working on for the past 18 months (or has it been 24 months?)

It was a "block of the month" program at People Places and Quilts

and now it is a wall hanging that will replace this quilt during the holiday season

This is my mom's Southern Album quilt, which stays on my living room wall for most of the year.

During the summer, I have a red and aqua quilt that I hang on the wall.

I suppose it's about time to put that one up!

And now ... at Christmas time

(and ONLY at Christmas time ... I promise)

I'll hang this one :

(pay no attention to the clothespins holding this up over the other quilt for the photo)

Isn't this a great pattern?

I love the colors. Of course.

I had a lot of fun putting it together.

I just have a couple of little embellishments to add ...

... some beads and other decorations here and there.

This is my favorite block

A partridge in a pear tree

I mean ... how much fun is that?

I also love this block of candles

and how Vickie (who quilted it for me) put little golden halos around the flames

And look at the fun swirlies Vickie made in the snow!

Love them.

And I suppose that since we're on the subject of Christmas

I should remind everyone that June is right around the corner

And you know what that means ...

... the start of my annual Christmas ornament.

This year ... the baby Jesus.

Seriously can't wait.

The Dangers of Couponing

2010-05-21T08:04:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago,

thanks to my fun college friend Amanda,

I started shopping at CVS.

I was intrigued by Amanda's claims that she never paid for things like

toothpaste

shampoo

deoderant

razors

lotion

makeup

etc...

How could anyone NOT pay for these things?

Ever?!?

Well, I'm here to tell you that she's right.

I now no longer pay for any of those things either!!

It has become a game to me ... how much useful stuff can I get for free?

(If you want to learn how to do this, Jenny at Southern Savers has a great guide to shopping at CVS,

and she posts the good CVS deals every week)

The only danger about all these great deails is that

I am the only person in my household

so, I end up with a lot of extra loot.

And when I say a lot, I mean a lot.

I mean ... there is only so much free toothpaste that one person can use!!!

Here is a picture of all of the EXTRA stuff I currently have, which I do not need.

Crazy, huh?

So, here's the deal.

For all of my local Charleston friends,

(and Mary & Kate, since I will be visiting you in 2 weeks!)

if you see something here that you (or someone you know) could use,

it's yours.

Absolutely Free.

Today, I'll be like WalMart ... passing my savings on to you.

First come, first served.

Just leave me a comment to let me know what you want,

and include your email so that I can contact you.

If I still have stuff left by the end of the month,

I'll donate them to the Our Lady of Mercy Outreach Center on Johns Island

(which, by the way, is a fantastic organization that my family has been working with for years)

Deal?

OK ...

So here are some closeup pictures, and descriptions of what is up for grabs.

2 Right Guard Total Defense 5 Power Gel Men's Deoderant (Fresh Blast Scent)

Covergirl Foundation (2 in Ivory & 1 in Classic Ivory)

2 Bayer Aspirin Quick Release Crystals - 4 pack

1 Bayer Contour Blood Glucose Monitoring System

Aussie shampoo - "Aussome Volume)

2 Dove Shampoo - Go Fresh with Cool Moisture (Cucumber & Green Tea Scent)

4 packages Stayfree pads (Super)

1 Dentek Floss Picks (fresh mint)

2 Schick Intuition Plus razors (variety pack with 1 shea butter and 1 milk & honey)

2 Natural Dentist Healthy Gums Daily Oral Rinse (Peppermint Twist)

5 Colgate Total (these are going with Jodi to the Lowcountry Orphan Relief)

4 Toothbrushes (these are also going with Jodi to the Lowcountry Orphan Relief)

9 Dry Idea Deoderants for Women (these will go with Jodi to the Lowcountry Orphan Relief)

2 Dove Cool Moisture Conditioner (Green Tea Scent)

1 Schick Hydro 3 Razor for Men

1 Blade 5 Razor & Trimmer for Men

1 Schick Quattro Titanium for Men (Wolverine Limited Edition)

Let me know if you - or someone you know - want any of these items!

Miscellany Monday

2010-05-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Today is Miscellany Monday over at

lowercase letters

and I thought I'd join in the fun.

I have been neglecting my blog recently,
and I thought maybe this would kick-start some creativity.

At least for today. :o)

So ... here goes ...

1.
I have one of these fancy-pants devices made for runners
that I used when I was training for marathons.
It's a pretty cool system, although I'm sure I never really used it to its full potential.

I decided to get it out this weekend and use it again,

since I've been running outside more in preparation for the National Race for the Cure.

Well ... after realizing the batteries were dead, I discovered that this thing takes batteries in each of the three components ... the GPS foot pod, the wrist unit, AND the heart rate strap.

And they are ALL different batteries.

I searched all over town yesterday to find all three batteries,
and finally ended up at the new Batteries Plus store about 5 minutes from my house.

Next time, I will save myself the effort and go to Batteries Plus first.

Whoever started that store is a genius.

2.
I heard on the news the other day that some satellite has gone out of orbit
and will potentially interfere with cable television coverage for many people in the US.

They are predicting that outages could occur on Sunday, May 23rd.

That just happens to be the same day as the Series Finale of LOST.

(as in the very LAST Lost episode ever)

Great.

3.
My mom was an artist.

Some of her artistic genes passed down to me.

Others did not. Drawing, for example.

All I know how to draw are ladybugs and flowers.

Not kidding.

And so ... when I sit down to draw with my sweet niece Anneliese, that's what I draw.

Every time.

This weekend, I realized that now, every time she draws me a picture, it has ladybugs on it.

I love her.

4.
Every girl wants a hero.

My brother is mine.

He sticks up for me when others don't.

And I love him for it.

5.
I'm a big fan of peanut m and m's.

Have you ever seen The Wedding Planner?

Matthew McConaughey's character has a theory that he only eats the brown m and m's,
because chocolate is already brown, so you get less articificial coloring.

I, on the other hand, will eat all the colors ...

but ...

I always eat them in the same order :

blue, red, orange, yellow, green, brown.

Don't ask.

6.
Speaking of chocolate ...
If you're looking for a quick chocolate fix, try these

Nestle Mini Brownie Bites.

They are so so yummy.
I keep a stash in my freezer, and I just bake a half a dozen at a time.
I would recommend you not look at the nutritional information, though.

7.
Last night I had a nightmare about a stalker

who had all of my personal information, and was tracking all of my activity

including credit card charges.

I was trying to figure out how to buy a plane ticket without my stalker knowing it

so I could skip the country and fly to Paris to hide out with my French family for a while

Then I woke up.

While exercising this morning, I told my dad about my nightmare

and he asked, "Why didn't you just pay cash for the plane ticket?"

He's totally an engineer.

That's it for now ...
Happy Monday to everyone!

I've been working in my studio a lot recently,
so I should have some picture updates soon!

Baby Boom

2010-05-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

I think there's something in the water that my friends are drinking.

Not kidding.

I have made gifts for 5 babies born in the last 3 months.

And that's only for my CLOSE friends!

Crazy!

For all the baby girls,

I've decided to make smocked dresses.

Needless to say, I've been sewing like mad to get these done.

Here's a picture of all three together :

Three little dresses all in a row.

You might remember me posting about getting started on each of these recently.

Here's a closeup of the smocking on the green dress.

I went out of my box on this one.

I usually don't choose blues and greens,

but I really like the way this came out!

This dress is right up my alley ... RED!

It's hard to see the smocking in this picture, but I like the simplicity of it.

Of course, they all have labels on them.

This might be my favorite part of making dresses ...

... being able to write their names in them after they are born!

Yay!

They're done!

(finally)

And a Happy Mother's Day to all these mothers, too!

(one day early!)

Happy Birthday, Eden!

2010-05-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

Today is Eden's 6th birthday.

Eden is my sweet friend Heather's daughter.

I heart her.

A lot.

So, when she asked me to make her brownies for her birthday,

I said OF COURSE!!!

I used my alphabet cookie cutters to cut them into "E" shapes

to celebrate Eden's life!

I figured it was a simple way to make them special.

I might have had too much fun with the cookie cutters.

I need to get out more. :o)

Happy Birthday, sweet Eden!!!

Custom Mary Janes!

2010-05-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

Recently, I received an order for a pair of Custom Mary Jane Baby Shoes

for this customer's grand-daughter's christening.

She requested white shoes with pink soles and a special embellishment on the toe!

I just think they are the cutest, girly-est shoes.
I love the pink.
Particularly because it allows me to donate a portion of this sale
to the Charleston Breast Center
AND to the Susan G. Komen Foundation in honor of my race next month!

I embroidered an "S" on each toe.

Here they are all packaged up and ready to be delivered!

What I love most about this order is knowing that these are exactly what the customer wanted!

She chose everything ... color, size, embellishment ...

I got to thinking that maybe other people would like to have a pair of custom shoes for their baby.

Would you like to design a pair of shoes with your favorite colors?

So ... here's a listing in my shop for a CUSTOM pair of shoes.

You pick everything, and I make it for you.

What could be easier??

National Race for the Cure

2010-04-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

In 2003, I lost my mom to breast cancer.

She fought for 11 years.

She was very brave.

She was my hero.

The following year, her mother ... my grandmother ... died from the same disease.

I am a huge advocate for early screenings and prevention,

and am involved with the Charleston Breast Center on a local level.

But, I also feel that it is important to be involved on a national level, too.

That is why,

on Saturday, June 5th,

I will be in Washington, DC ... running the National Race for the Cure

in memory of both my mom and my grandma.

And ... as a measure of support for the Susan G. Komen Foundation,

from now until race day,

a portion of the proceeds from the sale of any PINK items in my shop

will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation

(in addition to my regular donations to the Charleston Breast Center).

So, if you've been wanting a pink coffee cozy

like this one

or this one

or a cute pair of pink baby mary janes for the new baby in your life

or a reusable shopping bag like this one

then there is no better time than now!

Additionally, if you would like to donate in support of my race,

there is a button on the right that will take you directly to my support page.

Let's do what we can to kick breast cancer's tail!

New Quilts

2010-04-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

I am currently working on 2 new quilts :

One is being made from these fabrics.

(This picture is for you, Heather!)

And the other is being made from my scrap basket.

Looking at this picture, I'm pretty sure I'm out of my mind!!!

My mom had started cutting out triangles from her scraps

before she died, and she had two ziploc bags full ... about 360 triangles.

When I read the instructions, I discovered I needed 700 more triangles! Yipes!

So, I've been - slowly but surely - cutting out more triangles from MY scraps.

I figure that the combination of triangles will be a fun union of mine and my mom's styles.

I've decided to sew this quilt together by hand.

This will be my first attempt at hand-piecing, so we'll see how it goes!

(Again ... I think I might be out of my mind!)

So, I'm sure it will take me ages and ages to finish it,

but it will definitely be an adventure while it lasts!

Dresses!

2010-04-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

This is a dress

for a sweet baby girl who is not yet born.

I tried out a new smocking pattern on this one,

and I decided that I really like it!

I'm pretty sure that I'll be using the same pattern

on this dress, too :

I haven't started smocking this one yet.

I only just ran it through my pleater last week.

And, I have to say ... it went through like a dream.

No broken needles (yay!)

And only a one or two dropped pleats (double yay!)

I think it's the weight of the fabric ... really light and soft.

I decided to smock this with bubblegum colors.

I can't wait to see how it turns out!!!

And, although it doesn't look like it now,

this, too, is a dress ...

... for a baby girl I just can't wait to meet.

She has some of the coolest parents I know.

I think I'll smock it in either red or white, or both.

Maybe with a touch of black, too ... not sure yet.

Hmmm ... I guess I'm in one of those seasons of life

where all my friends are having babies!!!

Projects, Projects, Projects ...

2010-04-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure I'm the queen of the unfinished project.

At any given time, I usually have at least 5 short term sewing projects going

in addition to the long term projects I am working on (like quilts!)

For example, here's a picture of the project basket beside my big comfy chair

(I like to sit in this chair and watch TV or read or talk on the phone,

and I hate having idle hands ...
... except when watching LOST, which requires my full concentration!)

Can you spy :

1 pair of yummy brown and aqua baby shoes

(for a friend who will be having her first baby - a boy - soon!)

2 green soles for another pair of baby shoes

(my pastor's wife just had her fourth - a boy - who will hopefully be wearing these really soon!)

1 purple smocked dress

which only needs some snaps, and then it will be finished!

This is for a sweet baby girl who is due in the next couple of weeks!

1 green dress

pleated and ready to be smocked in fun bubblegum colors

This is for an adorable baby red-head that I'm visiting in June! yay!

And this doesn't even show the 2 quilts I'm working on in my studio

and the American Girl PJ's that I'm making for my best friend's daughters

(an attempt to bribe them into liking me when I visit them in June!)

I'll post some closeups on some of these projects soon!

Needless to say I've been busy!

What have you been working on?

Go Orange!

2010-04-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to add orange fabric to my shop for a while now,

but I haven't found anything that I loved ...

... until now.

Check out the newest coffee cozy in my shop.

Isn't this Sandi Henderson butterfly fabric yummy?

It makes me happy.

And fun dots on the inside.

I love the little touch of red.

(of course!)

This one is for all the Clemson fans out there.

Go Tigers!

:o)

Custom Cozies for a New Customer

2010-04-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

This week, I made three custom coffee cozies for a new customer.

I love the fabrics she chose!

So colorful!

I love this brown paisley with the aqua filigree!

It has quickly become one of my favorite fabric combos.

This one is a new twist on an old favorite ...

usually, I reverse these fabrics, but I really like it this way!

Mary, these are on their way to you!

Hope you love them!

Coming Soon ...

2010-03-02T16:01:00.000-08:00

I've been hard at work on a new project ...

BELTS!

Here's a sneak peek at a few of the belts that I hope to have in the shop soon ...

I'm not going to lie ...

I might have made myself one of these brown / aqua ones ...

and I definitely wore it

three times already.

I heart it.

New cozies in the shop today!

2010-03-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

I put some new cozies in the shop today ...

Black & White!

(It has little black & white polka dots on the inside)

Brown Paisley

with Aqua filigree on the inside.

I heart this one.

Cream paisley

with aqua filigree inside.

All of these can now be found in my shop.

yahoo! I won!

2010-02-28T15:56:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago,

I entered a giveaway

on one of my favorite blogs ...

Liesl Made

I rarely ever win anything.

(Although I did win this fun purse

and this fun little zip pouch last year.)

and, this time, I won this great yellow purse!!

Isn't it lovely?

I just made a fun new yellow scarf,

and I'm pretty sure it's a match made in heaven!

And look what else Liesl included in the package!!!

A fun plastic grocery bag holder

and a pretty flowered makeup pouch!

How generous is she??!!??

And look at how fun the package was that she mailed everything in :

Isn't that awesome?

She stitched the paper together to create her own mailer.

So creative!!!

Thanks Liesl!

I love all my fun goodies!

Hoot Hoot ...

2010-02-11T09:07:00.000-08:00

So, last week, I got an email from a new customer

asking if I had any owl fabric for coffee cozies.

She wanted to order some for her sorority sisters, since owls are their mascot.

She's in Chi Omega.

This is where the story gets fun ...

You see, my mom was a Chi-O when she was in college.

As a result, she collected owl stuff,

and to this day, whenever I see an owl, I am reminded of my mom.

That's why I named my business Red Owl Designs ...

well, red for my favorite color, of course,

and owl for my mom.

It makes me feel like she's in this with me,

and that makes me happy.

SO ...

when Emma asked about the owl fabric,

I was happy to help ...

I offered to order some owl fabric in for her

to make some custom cozies for her sisters

(Little did she know that I am ALWAYS looking for an excuse to buy fabric!)

This is the super-fun fabric that she chose ...

I'm hoping to pair it with the pink polka dot that I already have in my shop.

So ... as of yesterday, this lovely is making its way to me from Kentucky.

I seriously cannot wait for it to arrive.

I might have ordered a bit of extra to make some cozies for the shop, too.

I couldn't resist.

What I also couldn't resist was picking up some of this fabric as well :

I mean ... look at it.

Isn't it adorable??

I've been coveting this one for a good while now,

and I used the other purchase as an excuse to just go ahead and buy it.

Why not, right?

I'm excited to know that it will be living in my studio very soon!!

:o)

Stay tuned ... it won't be long before all of these little owlies

will be making an appearance in the shop!

PS - Thanks to Emma for encouraging me to finally take the plunge!

NEW Winners!

2010-02-10T12:09:00.000-08:00

OK ... so my original giveaway winners never contacted me,

so I did a new drawing just now,

and the lucky NEW winners are :

KATIE BIGBIE

I heart this girl ... she's a dear friend,

and she has a super-fun blog.

You should go visit it.

Katie, you won a personalized cozy!

So, just let me know which one you'd like, and what initial you'd like on it.

Yay!

AND ...

the runner-up is Amanda Corley.

She won a reversible cozy of her choice from my shop.

Congratulations, girls!

(and thank you for playing by the rules and already giving me your contact info when you entered!)

If you didn't win this time around,

don't worry ...

there will be more opportunities!!

Football and Paris ...

2010-02-09T04:34:00.000-08:00

I am not a huge football fan.

Don't get me wrong ... I enjoy a good game once in a while.

And, I have a couple of teams that I will always cheer for.

Namely, Clemson and whatever team Brett Favre is playing on.

When it comes to the Superbowl,

I have to admit that I watch it primarily for the commercials

(Although this year's game was really good, and I did actually get into it)

I was a good bit disappointed in this year's commercials,

although I was happy to see the one with Tim Tebow.

Well done, Focus on the Family.

But my very favorite commercial was this one ...

Makes me smile every time.

(I know ... I'm so predictable)

Stay tuned ...

I'll do another drawing (hopefully tomorrow) for those cozies

since the original winners never contacted me.

Good News & Bad News ...

2010-02-05T14:46:00.000-08:00

OK ... so today, there's some good news,

and there's some bad news.

The good news is that I'm anxious to get coffee cozies

to my giveaway winners ... Heather O'Donnell and Carey Gibbons.

The bad news is that neither of these ladies

have contacted me to give me their information.

SO ... in fairness to everyone else who entered the giveaway,

I'm asking that the winners contact me

by Monday, February 8th

with their information,

or I'll have to draw another winner!

(which could spell good news for another lucky person!)

So ...

Heather & Carey ...

I hope to hear from you soon!!!

Giveaway Winner!

2010-02-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

As promised,

This evening I chose a winner at random

(using random.org!)

for my recent giveaway.

And the winner is ...

(drumroll please)

Heather O'Donnell

Heather chose this cozy to be personalized.

(Good choice, Heather ... I love these fabrics!)

Heather, please contact me so that I can get your info and get this cozy out to you!

And ...

... because I wasn't really ready for the giveaway to be over so quickly,

I went ahead and chose a "runner up"

(It's my giveaway, and I'll do what I want, right?)

SO ...

Carey Gibbons ... Congratulations! You're the runner up!

I'll send you a non-personalized version of this cozy (the one you picked).

Please contact me so that I can get your info.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

We'll do this again soon.

I heart giveaways!

Don't Forget!!!

2010-01-30T06:46:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is your last day to enter my giveaway!!!

Just go two posts below this one and leave a comment (refer to the post for details).

I'll draw a winner on Monday.

Happy Saturday!

(pardon me while I go put my cute new rain boots on!)

Brown & Aqua Shoes

2010-01-27T15:51:00.000-08:00

An old friend of mine just had a baby boy.

(Of course, when I say old, I don't mean in age ...

we've been friends since we were kids)

I thought that little Will needed some stylin' shoes.

So, here they are ...

I'm loving the combination of the warm brown and the aqua.

Will should be able to wear them in his first year ...

They're about a 6-month size.

My favorite part might be the stitching on the bottom.

Reminds me of a pair of shoes I had when I was a little girl.

Isn't this the most adorable shoe pattern ever?

If you know how to crochet, you can purchase the pattern here.

If not, you can find this color combo (and others!) in my shop.

149 Posts ... and a Giveaway!

2010-01-13T10:04:00.000-08:00

This is my 149th post.

Seriously?

It feels like just yesterday that I started blogging!

I didn't think I had THAT much to say ...

... but I guess I'm more talkative than I thought.

Anyway ...

In celebration of my 149th post,

I'm thinking that it's time for a giveaway.

What do you think?

You agree?

OK.

Here's the drill :

I will give away a personalized, custom-made coffee cozy to one lucky winner.

You pick the fabrics from my shop,

and I'll make it for you with one initial appliqued on it.

You could choose something like one of these ...

Or this one ...

Or even one of these.

Confession : This one might be my current favorite :

OK ... now for the important stuff ...

Here's how you can earn a chance to win :

1. Go to my shop.

2. Come back and leave a comment on this post,

telling me what your favorite coffee cozy fabric combination is

(ie, your choice, if you win)

AND what color combination I'm missing from my shop.
(ie, is there a color that you would like but isn't already there?)

(Fair warning ... I'm a stickler for details,

so make sure you include both answers,

or your comment won't count!)
ALSO ... make sure you leave a way for me to contact you
in case you win!! (ie, email address!)
I wouldn't want you to miss out on your cozy because I can't get a hold of you.

3. For an extra 2 entries,

become a fan of Red Owl Designs, LLC on Facebook,

and leave a comment saying that you're a fan.

(You just have to search for Red Owl Designs, LLC on Facebook,

and then click on "Become a Fan" ... easy peasy)
If you're already a fan, thank you!
Just leave a comment telling me, and I'll credit you 2 entries.

4. For an extra 3 entries,

blog about this giveaway ...

and then come back and leave a comment linking to your blog post.

It's as simple as that, folks.

Everyone has 6 chances to win.

I think that's fair, right?

I'll leave comments open through the end of the month.

Let the games begin!

Oooo ... this is fun!

Lists ...

2010-01-03T18:12:00.000-08:00

I am a list maker.

I have to-do lists in my planner, on my desk, on sticky-notes in my wallet and on my kitchen counter, in my studio ... you name it. I like lists because they keep me on track and free me up to think about other things. I really have a hard time functioning without them, to be very honest.

SO ... in light of my love of lists, here are a couple of lists to sum up my Christmas holidays :

Things that made me laugh :

This site, where you can create your own message from Santa

and send it to your friends and family. My brother sent me a message.

Apparently, I'm on Santa's naughty list because I buy too many pairs of shoes.

Ha!

Santa must know me well. :o)

The sight of my father hula-hooping on the Wii Fit.

Hysterical.

The fact that my father seriously thought that I knitted him a hat for Christmas.

It was a golf club cover.

Seriously?

Things that made me cry :

The onions that I had to chop so that Anneliese and I could make Quiche Lorraine on Christmas morning ... a tradition (well, for the last two years ...)

The sappy Folgers Coffee Christmas Commercial.

I wish I could find it online, but I can't ...

It's the one where the brother comes home all the way from Africa

and gives his sister her Christmas gift,

but she takes the bow off the top and sticks it on him

and says "You're my gift this Christmas."

Gets me every time.

This movie.

It was one of my favorite books as a little girl.

What a great re-make.

Very well done.

I would highly recommend it.

Just make sure to have a box of tissues handy.

This gift,

which was under the tree for me.

Well-thought-out gifts speak love to me.

Thanks, Suzanne!!

SO ... that was my Christmas,

in a nutshell.

How about yours??

I Can't Get No Satisfaction ...

2009-12-26T06:09:00.000-08:00

The other night, I watched this movie for the first time.

To be honest, I can't believe I hadn't seen it before.

You see ... this movie played a big part in my childhood.

Let me explain.

When I was a young girl, I was obsessed with Justine Bateman.

Probably because one of my favorite TV shows growing up was Family Ties.

(I know ... I know ... I'm now dating myself severely)

Anyway ... one day, my brother and I discovered

that there was a movie
(this movie, to be exact)
being filmed on the island where we lived.

And

... wouldn't you know ...

Justine Bateman was one of the actors!

We might have stalked the set

trying to get a role as an extra.

We were unsuccessful.

BUT ...

when the movie ended,

my parents were invited to a party to meet the actors.

And they brought my brother and me along.

I was so excited to finally meet Justine Bateman in person.

I might have followed her into the bathroom to get her autograph.

No shame.

She was smoking with a friend,

and told me never to smoke cigarettes.

Not kidding.

I definitely came running out of the bathroom with her autograph in my hand,

and I went straight over to my parents to show them.

They were talking to a man.

My dad proceeded to tell me that I needed to get the man's autograph as well,

because he was going to make it big one day.

I ... trying to be polite ... begrudgingly asked the man for his autograph.

He signed.

He was Liam Neeson.

I'll never forget that day.

It was my first brush with fame.

What I don't understand - after having seen the movie -

is why I didn't realize that Julia Roberts was in that movie, too.

That's right ... Julia Roberts.

THE Julie Roberts.

Seriously??

I wonder if I met her at that party, too,

but didn't realize because I was so excited about meeting Justine Bateman.

CRAZY!

A Smock for the Painter

2009-12-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

My littlest niece is getting an easel for Christmas

(shhh ... don't tell her!)

She loves to paint.

So, when I asked her mom what I should do for her for Christmas,

it was pretty easy to come up with an answer ...

a painting smock!

She's going to look so cute in this!

(Pay no attention to the creases and wrinkles ...

... I couldn't be bothered to iron it before the photo shoot)

It's reversible!

Seriously? Love these fabrics!

There are three pocket on each side for paint brushes and stuff.

I used this pattern to make the smock.

It was a pretty simple little pattern,

but I modified it a bit to make it reversible,

and I used snaps instead of ribbons for closures in the back.

I hope Brett loves it!!!

I guess we'll see in a couple of days!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

2009-12-20T14:05:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of shots of my Christmas decorations ...

My friend Cynthia came over to help me put up my tree and get my house ready for the holiday.

I really am enjoying that tradition ... even though it's only been the last two years!

This is my new favorite ornament ... my friend Jodi gave it to me this year.

Perfect.

Here are Mary & Joseph resting comfortably on the tree.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

Meet the Happy Couple

2009-12-13T16:05:00.000-08:00

I just sent out all of this year's Christmas ornaments to friends and family.

I'm excited about the continuation of the Nativity Series!

This year, Mary gets her husband!

Here's the happy couple ...

Merry Christmas, everyone!

A Knitting Experiment

2009-12-09T06:01:00.000-08:00

So ... I'm into knitting these days.

I really love it.

I'm excited about my new yellow scarf that is half-made.
Hopefully I can finish it before the winter hits the South.

I've already worn my purple scarf once this season.

Last weekend, I started a project that required double-pointed needles.

I might have been a little bit scared to try this.
But, I think I'm beginning to get the hang of it.

This is my SECOND attempt ....

We won't even talk about the first attempt.
;o)

Hopefully this one will be a success,

because I intend to give this as a Christmas gift in two weeks!!!
(better get back to work!)

As Promised ...

2009-12-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

I just put this coffee cozy in the shop ...

I have to confess ... I might need one of these for myself!!

Selvedges Everywhere!!!

2009-12-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

It's official ...

I'm now accepting selvedge donations.

This weekend, I had an order for three selvedge coffee cozies.

Yay!

I've been LOVING using my own selvedge cozy ...

I love the fun colorful dots.

I'm glad that there will now be others who will have their very own selvedge cozies!

So ... I spent last night sewing selvedges together ...

lots of selvedges ...

for a long time!

The only sad thing is that now I'm running really low on selvedges.

I forgot how many it takes to make a cozy!

SO ... if you sew and you have no need for your selvedges, I'd love to have them!!

Seriously.

I Heart Pajamas

2009-11-30T12:59:00.000-08:00

I have to admit ...

I heart pajamas.

I pretty much change into them immediately when I get home from work.

I don't need fancy pajamas, either ... just comfy ones.

:o)

So, you can imagine how happy I was when Anneliese told me what she wanted for Christmas ...

pajamas for her American Girl dolls!

She specifically requested pink & purple pajamas.

So, I went to my favorite shop and bought some 1930's reproduction fabrics,

and I set to work on four pairs of pajamas this weekend

(one for each of her dolls).

This is one of the pairs ... being modelled by an extra American Girl doll

that my sister-in-law found online for super-cheap.

(This was the only doll we could sneak out of the house without Anneliese finding out!)

I think they turned out really cute!

The tops were a little bit tedious, but only because the pieces are so small!

I still need to add some velcro down the fronts, so that they'll be easy to open & close,

and maybe some buttons on the outside for decoration.

The only problem ...

my sister in law tells me Anneliese is getting a new doll for Christmas!

She might have to sleep in her clothes.

Gift Sets

2009-11-27T06:15:00.000-08:00

Recently I had a customer who ordered two reusable shopping bags and two matching coffee cozies.

These must be for Christmas gifts.

What a nice gift to give someone!

BRILLIANT!

So, I was thinking about putting a gift set in my shop.

Like this one.

What do you think?