A cutie and some cupcakes!

What is it about this time of year that makes time go so fast? It's nearly the end of May, ten days since my last post and there are only two days of preschool left! Along with that comes the sudden realization that I will very shortly be the mom of a Kindergartener. When did that happen? Unbelievable how quickly time's gone and how grown up my little sweet pea is. Speaking of.....

Here he is, modeling a prototype kid's art apron I put together. This one was supposed to be for his friend's birthday, but Nathan liked it so much that he quickly claimed it for himself. Which turned out to be a good thing since I didn't catch all the seams as well as I should have. I had frayed patches popping up all over! Not to worry, a generous dash of zig-zagging and he's all set.



And here's the other part of this post's title:


I took these in today for the kids in Nathan's lunchroom. Thanks to Jenny at Sew Darn Cute for sharing her S'mores Cupcake creation. I followed her example and used Martha's One-bowl Chocolate Cupcake recipe. I must admit that I ate a cupcake sans frosting and it was just okay. And I admit that I later ate another one with frosting and oh. my. goodness!! They are just about the yummiest cupcakes ever. And a huge hit with Nathan's friends. Thanks Jenny!

Happy Mother's Day! And a tote bag...

I hope that all of you moms out there have had a wonderful Mother's Day. I certainly have. It started with a good round of family roughhouseing and tickle fights in bed. My hubby and son "sneaked" out to the garage and brought back in this beautiful bouquet of roses and daisies. Nathan ever wrote "I Love You" inside my card. Both of them humored me with a trip to IKEA. Neither of them really enjoy shopping (go figure), so it was nice of them to tag along. We had a nice lunch in the IKEA cafe, where I got a free lunch, just for being a mom! I love IKEA, but never seem to buy much there. Today it was a box of colorful drinking straws and 6 cardboard magazine holders. I thought these would be cute painted or decorated with fabric. I certainly have enough magazines to fill at least 6 of them!




I have been sewing on my new machine, but haven't actually finished much. It's been more like test driving all the lovely decorative stitches. I did finish this tote bag, which goes along with the picnic blanket in my previous post.
















And I'm working on a pair of shorts for Nathan. Just wait 'til you see the fabric he picked out!

Isn't she lovely!!

Meet my new baby-


She's a Bernina Activa 220.

After some research and a lot of thought, I finally took the plunge and invested in a wonderful new sewing machine. Some of you may remember my story of a "new" machine a few posts back. Well, that really taught me to consider not just the machine, but the dealer/shop and the support they had to offer. Luckily my favorite local quilt shop, Strawberry Patches, is having a Bernina sale this week. They are the only place in town where the sales people know how to use the machines they sell AND that I could sit down at a machine and take a test drive. I tried it out the same day my Mom bought me the Singer previously, but I just wasn't ready to pay the price for a Bernina. So, with the sale price, birthday money from my Mom and my husband's encouragement, I brought home the machine I really wanted.

I've gotten her out of the box, set her up and started playing with all the fun stitches. My old Kenmore was a good basic machine with straight and zig zag stitches, but nothing decorative. Now, I've got some real beauties to choose from. The motor is very strong too. At top speed, it shakes my kitchen table like you wouldn't believe! Hopefully, when I eventually get a sewing/crafting area set up, I'll have a good strong table to set it up on. So, stay tuned to see what fun I can create with this beauty!


And now, a project nearly finished:
Front side of "Watermelon Picnic Blanket".


Back side. Doesn't it look like a huge slice of watermelon?

I made myself finish this on my old machine before taking the Bernina out of the box. I figured that I might be a little distracted by all the fun new stuff on the Bernina and might not finish this. Don't pay any attention to all the miscellaneous threads all over it. Or the raggedy looking edge. I sewed the top and back together with the seams out, in the hopes that it'll fray when I wash it and have a casual sort of look. I also plan to make a quick tote bag for carrying the picnic blanket. Together, they'll be donated for a fundraising raffle conducted by my mom's group.

That's about it for now. Off to play some more! :)