A different kind of stitching

Hey, did you notice my new button?  It's over there, on the right.  That's it :)  I'm taking the Kids Clothes Week Challenge!

I've never sewn any clothes for my kiddos, it's one of those To Do's that haven't made it off the list.  I'd like to make something for each of my boys as well as my goddaughter.

I don't have any definite plans yet, but these fabrics have been hanging around with no purpose for a long time now:

The top fabric is a paisley I-forget-what -it -is-called, the pink floral is seersucker I think, and the red on bottom is corduroy.

And from my garden:

I'm so thrilled my daffodils are blooming!!!  I'd cut some to share with you if I could, but we will just have to settle for virtual flower sharing, won't we?  These are new to my garden this spring.  My Mother-in-law shared some bulbs she divided last fall.  They were originally planted around the family farmhouse decades ago by my husband's step-grandmother.  I like having flowers blooming in my garden that have a family history.  :)

Easter sewing

Look what bloomed while I was out to Easter lunch Sunday :)

What do you cook for your in-laws, or company in general?  I have a habit of cooking something new, something I've never tried before.  Sometimes it is a total flop. But even when it isn't, an unfamiliar recipe under pressure can be stressful, you know?  I usually kick myself a dozen times over and vow not to put myself through that again.  And then I do.  I suppose the reason I search out new foods for special occasions is that our usual fare is rather dull.  I have better odds of getting dinner into the kids if it is simple food.  :)

Well, this weekend I did kind of the same thing, but in front of my sewing machine instead of the stovetop.  You see, I decided to bring a hostess gift for my Sister-in-law to Easter lunch.  Instead of flowers, I decided to sew her a little zippered pouch. 

I'd never sewn one before,  or any zipper at all.  I bought the fabric and zipper Saturday afternoon and spent Sunday morning sewing.  This is what I came up with:

It turned out fairly well I think, although I had my doubts for a little bit.  See, the directions called for a zipper foot, but somehow mine is missing.  I can't think what could have happened to it, I've never even used it.  So I made do with my walking foot, but the zipper pull knocked everything out of kilter when I had to stitch beside it.

I had a teensy bit of trouble when I didn't follow directions, and used too small a seam allowance.  Oops.

The corners on either side of the zipper are a bit odd.  There were openings on both sides of the zipper, because of the wrong seam allowance, that I had to hand stitch closed.  Oh, well, my sister-in-law liked it, and I'm planning to give it another go when I locate my zipper foot.  And I'll follow directions this time :)  If you're interested, I used a tutorial from Kelbysews.  And just to be clear, all problems I had were my own creation, the tutorial was great.

I love this picture :)
As for Easter lunch, I decided to ask the kids what they wanted me to bring - corn on the cob and ants on a log.  Nice and simple.  :) 

how to make laundry fun OR a desperation for spring flowers and warm sunshine

Hello!
My sewing machine has been pretty quiet this week, but the washer has been humming away!  These are just some of the fabrics I've been prewashing to use in another of my UFO's.

This quilt is the second I ever started, and this is as far as I got with it. There will be 23 varieties of flowers when it is done.

Here in New Hampshire, we had a tease of beautiful spring-like weather, but now we are back to this:

I'm longing for spring's flowers, but my gardens are under snowbanks, so I'm appliqueing some fabric ones until the real deal starts popping up in the backyard :)

I love my garden flowers, they bring much needed color and happiness to my days.
These are some of my favorites:

Dandelions
Daffodils
Lilacs
pink Lady's Slippers
Violets
Chinese Lanterns
Mayflowers
Johnny-Jump-Ups
Poppies
Jonquils
pink Bee Balm
Lupin
Black Eyed Susan
Snapdragons
Queen Anne's Lace
mums
Impatients
Buttercups

And you?  What are your favorite flowers?
I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced today.  If you haven't been over there, you really should stop by.  If you are new to my blog, welcome, and I hope you enjoyed your visit :) 
Happy Stitches everybody!