Not-so-little Sew N Sews

One of the original Little Sew N Sews, Maggie R. turns SIX this week. For her birthday, I made her this adorable applique monogrammed shirt. I bought the white shirt at Target and paired it with a Circo brand pink scooter. She'll look so cute as she heads off to first grade.

Happy Hour

I worked on a new and VERY different to me project tonight: A customer asked me to create a tag for a decorative pillow. I've never done anything like it but it turned out very nice. I hope that the "Martini Mama", who celebrates a BIG milestone birthday this week, will love her special gift.

I have so much sewing to do this week. Backpacks are starting to pile up in the factory. I have a birthday outfit to make for a very special little girl's birthday party on THURSDAY!

...and my SIL's baby shower is this coming Saturday and I haven't done a single stitch in preparation! However, I *did* pin her down on a name today. I even asked if I could start monogramming items for little Greta...she said YES! I can't believe I'm going to have a niece so close by. My niece Kerry lives out in Southern California and we miss her (and big bro Jacob!) everyday.

So...keep an eye on the LSnS blog this week to see what I come up with for my newest niece.

Oh, and while getting my kids ready for a day of swimming at my Mom's house today I checked out her swim towel cabinet. Aren't those towels cute?!? Of course Greta will need one next summer!

Tunnel Vision

Sometimes home embroidery can be like sewing in a tunnel. All kinds of bags are this way. They make me a nervous wreck...but always turn out "sew" cute. :-)

Why a tunnel? Because bags have to be turned inside out with the inside of the bag (the underside of the sewing area) stuck down on a special material that keeps the bag stable on the sewing hoop. Then the hooped area is then placed under the needle with the rest of the bag out beyond the sewing arm. Okay, I can't explain it but you can see in the picture that the needle can barely even be seen while it's sewing.


A new customer (hi, Stephanie!) called today and wanted a duffel bag with a personalization and design. Normally I only do names on these bags but I knew that the design would be so cute. Sewing in a tunnel is certainly adventurous but just look how cute the outcome can be!

By the way, I found out tonight that I have mispelled "duffel" all over my web site. I thought it was "duffle" but according to Webster's it's "duffel". Looks weird to me!!!

Run...be free!

I had hoped to get lots of productive sewing done today. However, my oldest So N So had other ideas. After a morning of Blue's Clues, he was bent on making a sock puppet. Since he's three and can't be trusted with a needle and thread, I spent my lunchtime sewing eyes and hair on a big white sock we got on clearance at Target. Meanwhile my littlest So N So threw mandarin oranges at me and the sock-puppet-requester kept trying to grab the needle. Ugh!

But, the outcome was wonderful because there were smiles all around and Jack is now napping with his puppet. What's puppet's name? He tells me it's "Sock Puppet". Creativity runs deep in the Rork family. :-)

I feel the need to pass on the easy instructions for this project to you:

You'll need yarn for hair, buttons for eyes, a needle and thread and of course....a sock!

I cut a handful of 5-inch lengths of yarn, tied them together and then sewed them down, using the knot as the anchor spot, on the puppet a few inches above the toe seam. Just below there I sewed on the "eyes". Voila...adorable.

Also, if you are wondering about the title of today's Blog entry, check out the Blue's Clues episode about Steve making Blue Laugh. It's a classic episode which illustrates just how great Steve Burns was and how not-so-great Donovan Patton is. Yes, I'm a Blue's Clues connoiseur.

Also, it was nine years ago today Gary and I married. We'll be celebrating with a romantic dinner for three and a high-chair at Chili's. Ha!

What's new at the LSnS factory? Check here!

The Factory Foreman (me!) finally found a place for all of those side-projects LSnS churns out every week. So many of them don't belong on the main site since they aren't in the 'permanent collection' but they are interesting enough to share...thus a blog!

So, stay tuned here for lots of photos (in process photos too!) of current projects. Soon I'll update you on all of my applique projects like this picture of a tee shirt I made for a monkey-crazed 3-year-old.

I'm also working a bit with some chenille. I made some lovely burpers last week...but of course I didn't take any pics. There are other chenille projects in the works, so stay tuned!

Most of all, let me know what you think.

So many of my custom projects are ideas hatched by my customers. So, feel free to hatch your own and we'll see what we can come up with together.