Cute Little Pins and A Window Treatment

I've been busy.  Here in the midwest we are winding down the school year which means lots of school activities and sports tournaments and birthday parties.  

Well, this weekend we are having my daughter's party and as part of the favor bag I whipped up these cute little pins.  They came from an American Girl kit that I bought at my local Meijer for less than $5.  It came with everything I needed:  embroidery floss, needle, the felt cut outs, little embroidered patches, flower shaped sequins and adhesive pins.  

I could not have made all these pins myself for the price.  Sometimes these little kits are a real bargain.  And they turned out so cute.

Originally, I thought my daughter would help me put them together but this past week has been our first really nice warm sunny weather so she has been out playing from the minute she gets home from school until bath and bed.  I guess I can't blame her.  So anyways, it probably took me less than 2 hours to whip them all up.  I am sure the little girls will love them.


Meanwhile, I was also working on a custom quilt order.  My lovely customer asked for a quilt with a rod pocket so she could use it as a window treatment.  Well, it turned out fantastic and she just ordered another one.

That's my oldest holding up the finished product.  I didn't take a lot of pictures because I was in a hurry to get it shipped out but you can get the jist of it.

It's a basic HST pinwheel pattern measuring out to 40 inches square.  The customer and I worked together to pick out the fabrics which are all from Tanya Whelan - some petal and some from her other collections.

I quilted along the seams the width of my walking foot - down and across and then diagonal.  I am always amazed at how cool it looks on the back when you get done quilting it this way.

We did the back and the binding in white since she is using them as window treatments and the back will be facing the outside.

I think that green paisley fabric was my favorite.

Now I am off to a Kindergarten picnic, a dentist appointment and then an all day lacrosse tournament on Saturday.  Oh and then that special person's party on Sunday afternoon!!!  Busy weekend here.  What are you all up to?

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

Linking up to...

Crazy Mom Quilt's Friday Finishes Link Party

Beachy Pillows & Reader Special

So you knew I wouldn't be able to stop at just one pillow.  As long as I have scraps I have to use them up.  I ended up making 3 cute pillow covers in all.

You can see the adorable seahorse above.  I made it using leftover strips of fabric.  I sewed them all together and then cut them out into the seahorse shape and then used Wonderunder to attach it to the pillow front.  I top-stitched it using a bright blue thread.

I just love his little button eye.

Then I used some leftover patchwork squares to whip out a little 9-patch pillow cover.  Nice and simple but still cute.

I did quilt the pillow front up and down the seams.  Nothing fancy but just enough to make it feel cozy.

And here's the last pillow cover.

I still need some practice getting my satin stitching done just right but from a distance it looks nice.  Up close a good seamstress would be able to see my mistakes.  I still think it's really cute.

Anyways, I thought I would offer my loyal blog readers a special in my etsy shop.  If one of my readers purchases my beachy quilt I will throw in the beach pillow cover above for free.  Just click here to go to my etsy shop, purchase the quilt and in the notes to seller section let me know you are a blog reader.

This set would look so cute in your 3-season room, draped across a wicker chair or laid out on the lawn for summer concerts.  I hope one of you can take advantage of this great deal.

Now I am on to a custom pinwheel quilt for a special customer!!!

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

Linking up...

crazy mom quilt's finish it up friday

Beachy Picnic Quilt

My goal was to finish this quilt by Friday and I did it.  Of course, as soon as it was in the washer I started a little pillow to match and now that is not finished:)  Oh well.

I was alone when taking these pics so I can't give you a good full size picture of the quilt, but it is a great lap/beach/picnic/throw quilt that turned out approximately 52 x 70 inches.  

The patchwork squares are 5.5 inches finished.

The fabric is Seaside by October Afternoon for Riley Blake.  I bought it a while back and just got to it this week.  Although I think my timing is pretty good now that we are finally starting to see signs of spring around here it kinda makes you feel like going to the beach.

My favorite parts are that little girl in the sand and the too-cute red polka dot binding.  I machine quilted straight lines along the seams and did the binding with my machine too.

The back is a pale yellowish/off white color that matches the background of the prints just right.  

Here's the pillow front.

Sometimes I impress myself with my photos.  Most of the time not so much.  Anyways, the pillow is going to be 12 x 16 and as you can see I'm about to stitch around the letters with some blue thread.  I'm sure I'll share when I'm done.

In the meantime the quilt is for sale in my etsy shop.  I was really torn about selling it because as I was making it I started loving it - a lot - and it would look really cute at our cottage - especially with the little pillow to match -  so if you want it you better get it quick before I change my mind:)!!!

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

Linking up...

Crazy Mom Quilts

Gemini Stitches

Status Updates

It's been busy around here the last couple of weeks - - - not getting a whole lot finished but making progress on a bunch of things.  I'll give you my lists and a few teaser pics to keep you on the edge of your seats:).

Upstairs bathroom project - 

what's done:
*walls painted
*new light installed
*frame around mirror installed
*hung hooks for bath towels
*hung new art above toilet

You can see the new light fixture, the new mirror frame and even a peek of the new artwork in this picture.  I'm still not sure I like the way the light is hanging.  I prefer it to hang down like this but I don't like that it hangs over the mirror so far.  We can switch it so the light faces up but then all the light will be going up towards the ceiling and since this room is windowless we really need all the light we can get.  My husband says it looks fine but I don't know - what do you all think?  

what still needs to be done:
*finish trim painting including both doors - UGH
*replace gold doorknobs with brushed nickel
*caulk and finish paint mirror frame
*reattach and caulk splash guards on sink

Sewing/Craft Room project -

what's done:
*wall paint
*floor
*restocked shelves
*hung clock, art, bins, spool holder, etc
*moved computer and stuff into room
*hung new chandelier

This is the new chandelier.  Much better than the old ugly light.

Just a little gratuitous picture of my fabric stacks.  All back on their shelves.

what still needs to be done:
*finish painting closet door
*finish painting window trim - another big UGH
*hang super cute pompom curtains
*come up with some system to hang quilts on wall so I can photograph them better

Other Works in Progress:

Beachy Quilt

I'm using Seaside by October Afternoon for this lap/picnic quilt.  I'm about halfway done with the quilting and then I'm gonna use that awesome red dot for the binding.  Hopefully, I'll finish by Friday.

A Custom Order Quilt

I am working on a custom pinwheel quilt order for a really nice lady who wants to use these fabrics from Tanya Whelan's Petal Collection.  We're waiting on a few other fabrics to arrive in the mail this week and then I'll get started cutting and sewing.

Things I Actually Finished:

Pink Preppy Baby Girl Quilt

This one turned out so cute and it crinkled up and got so soft after I washed it.  This is available in my etsy shop if anyone is interested.

Baby Quilt Set

I made this from the same fabrics as the baby quilt.  It sold in one day from my etsy shop.  I've sold 3 of these sets so far.  I started making these as a way to use up all the scraps but they seem popular so I guess I'll have to make some more.

So that's what I've been up to lately.  I'm trying to finish up as much as possible in the next 30 days because before I know it school will be out and then my daytime freedom will be gone.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~

Linking up...

Sewing Room Progress

Over the weekend we got a lot done for my sewing room makeover.  Here are just a few teaser pics.  Now I am busy loading up the room and installing the finishing touches.  

Gone are the dark walls, icky carpet and ucky oaky trim.  It's so light and bright and lovely now.

I can't wait to show you the shelves all filled with lovely fabric.  I ordered a set of pompom curtains for the windows - normally I would have made curtains myself but the price was just too good.

Notice the new floor.  I love, love, love it and I love my husband for installing it:).

And just before we had to dismantle my sewing machine I finished off this cute little blanket.

It's Kate Spain Cuzco patchwork on the front and white minky dot on the reverse.  It's super snuggly.

The fabrics are bright and vibrant.

The cute peacocks are the best.

~ Gold Shoe Girl ~