Tutorial re-visited: Simple Heart Garland

I just love Valentine's Day!! It's right around the corner folks....yep, 2012 is flying by isn't it? I took this fun picture of some buttons while I was working on new towels for my shop. Stop by and take a look! I'll be adding more items soon.

If you are looking for a quick and easy project to do for Valentine's Day, why don't you try my Simple Heart Garland? It's a great way to use up those tiny fabric scraps. You can drape this anywhere or even hang it in your doorways to spread a little love this Valentine's Day!

I hung it in my daughter's room on her shelf. Looks so festive! Did  I mention I love V-Day??

Giveaway: Pink Stitches One Year Blogiversary!

 ***This giveaway is now closed. Thank you everyone who entered! Congratulations Katie! She is the lucky winner!!***

I am participating today in a giveaway! Bonnie's having a one year Blogiversary over at Pink Stitches! Way to go Bonnie! She has only been sewing for a year, can you believe that? 

Super talented, that one. 

I first met Bonnie from Pink Stitches through Facebook. I saw that she had an Etsy shop and asked her about it...then the rest is history! I hadn't found anyone who lived in Laredo with an Etsy shop, so I was super excited. We found out we had a lot in common, including 3 year old sons (who think they are superheroes), a love for the Hunger Games series, and  participating in our first craft show together. I was so excited to find someone in Laredo who is crafty like me. For awhile, we were just Facebook friends.  Whenever I would mention her, I would say: 'My friend, Bonnie, who I met on Facebook and has an Etsy shop and a crafty blog.'  Ha! I can now say we have met in person!

Hop on over and enter her giveaways! There will be one everyday this week, and I am honored that she asked me to participate.

One lucky winner will receive this lovely Hanging Kitchen Towel, and a coffee cozy of their choice from my Etsy shop.

Woo hoo!! 

Won't this look lovely in your kitchen??

I was so caught up in the holidays and my wedding anniversary, that I didn't even notice I missed MY Blogiversary.

Yikes!

This little blog turned ONE on January 11. Hard to believe.

To celebrate, I am giving away one more coffee cozy of choice from my Etsy shop!

To enter:

Follow Sweet Stitches

'Like' just stitch. on Facebook

'Heart' just stitch. on Etsy

One comment per entry please! (I'll draw a winner on Monday!)

Good Luck to everyone who enters!!

Giveaway: Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

 ***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

Thank you everyone who left comments for my giveaway! It really blessed me to read all of them! You all have so many lovely memories! Some made me laugh out loud, some made me almost cry, and others made me think back to more of my own memories! 

And now...for the winner! Comment #63 from SewLindaAnn, who said:

'Fave memory was when we were visiting family in New York on Long Island one Christmas. We had just finished our Christmas Eve meal and we got in the car to drive back to my parents house and it was snowing. It was so amazing.'

 Congratulations!! Check your email soon, I'll be emailing you to get your address!

The day is here! Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day! Thank you all who are stopping by for the first time, and welcome back old friends! I participated in Giveaway Day last time and it was so much fun. Good luck to everyone who enters.

I decided since I love Christmas to giveaway two of my Christmas items from my shop!  A Coffee Cozy and a Hanging Kitchen Towel! Just in time for Christmas!

    The Coffee Cozy is made with Riley Blake 'Be Merry Christmas Trees' in cream.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas' is on the inside! I chose to close it with a green sparkly button. How fun!

This Hanging Kitchen Towel could be yours also! I hope you like it. It, too, is made from Riley Blake fabric. 'Mittens on White' from her 'Colorful Christmas' collection. 

The button closure makes it perfect if you have toddlers with little hands that like to pull the towels off of the stove. I've even had one customer buy them to keep her cats from pulling down her towels!!

I would love for you to become a follower of this little blog, but if you decide not to, no worries! All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post telling me your favorite Christmas memory. One of my favorites was when we had a white Christmas in Houston!! It was about 7 years ago, I think. That almost never happens! This giveaway will be open until DEC. 16 at 5 PM CENTRAL TIME.  The winner will be chosen randomly and announced no later than SUNDAY DEC. 18. Please leave me your email address so I can contact the lucky winner!  For this giveaway,  I will not ship internationally this time...sorry!

Good luck everyone! 

If you like what you see here, you are in luck...I just re-stocked my shop full of new coffee cozies! Plus, as an added bonus, all my Christmas items are now $2.00 off!!

Shop Update: Halloween Kitchen Towels

I've updated my shop! I added a bunch of fun Halloween Hanging Kitchen Towels! I love them all. It's so hard to pick my favorite. Stop on bye and check them out! Thanks, friends!

 Don't they look spooktacular?? (I love that word!)

 Green Spooky Skulls and Dots

 Candy Corn Polka Dot

One of my favorites, Trick or Treat!

Shop Update: Crayon Rolls

I hope everyone is having a great first day back to school!! I know it's hard for all you mommies of Kindergarteners, but just think about how much fun they are having! I know I'll be a mess when my kids start school. I cried when Bobby started Mother's Day Out last year!

I finally sat down in front of my sewing machine and made a bunch of crayon rolls for the shop! I thought it was fitting for the start of the school year. Stop by and see if anything catches your eye!

One of my favorites for girls!

So fun for a little boy!

I heart skulls!

I just love this print by Ann Kelle. So bright and cheerful!

Shop Update

I finally had some time to sew up some new goodies for the shop! I hope you'll stop by and check it out. I have some new hanging kitchen towels, baby bibs and coffee cozies! My shop is a great place to find handmade gifts for you or your friends! Here are a few of my favorites:

Groovy Guitar Baby Bib

I Like It Spicy--Hanging Kitchen Towel

I Heart Coffee-- Coffee Cozy

Let's Go Flying Baby Bib

Business Cards

Look what arrived in my mailbox a few days ago!! My new business cards! I love my blog header so much, I asked my sister, Casey, to design some new cards for me to match. They turned out so cute and colorful.

Don't you just love them??

I heart them...

Bazaar time!

I participated in a Bazaar today! It was the 2nd time I've done this, and it was a lot of fun! Unfortunately, there wasn't very much advertising for the event, so at times it was very S.L.O.W., but I did sell some things and made some extra spending money! I plan on doing this every month, and I am hoping to sell some things in the Farmer's Market soon! Yikes! I need to get to sewing! I need to make more coffee cozies, crayon rolls and towels. Those were my big sellers.

My goal for 2011 is to do a real craft fair. Hopefully I can do one with my sister and her shop, Paper+Twine, towards the end of the year. I learned today that I need to work on my display. I want everything to be bright and colorful. I really want to get an old hat rack to spray paint for my aprons, and possibly an old ladder also for all the bibs and towels. My sister in law and I may go rummage through a flea market this week, so I'll see what I can snag. Can't wait to see it all come together!

Thanks to my Laredo family for coming out to support me today!

So cozy...

With all this talk about snow, I feel like cuddling up under a blanket with some coffee and a good book. Supposedly, there might be snow here in Laredo on Friday...although you wouldn't know it from the weather these past 2 days!! It's been in the 80's! Crazy.

Snow or sun, you can't go wrong with a trip to Starbucks...am I right? With that in mind, I whipped up some Coffee Cozies! They are so cute, I want one in every print! I lined them with Insul-Bright, to keep the heat in the cup and not on your hands. Practical, and stylish! They are available in my Etsy shop, stop by and check them out!

Two of my favorites...

I used my last bit of Amy Butler Morning Glory fabric for this one!

I love mixing prints...

&hearts s

Valentine's Day is just around the corner! I love V-day, probably one of my favorite holidays, next to Christmas (of course!). I have a thing for hearts...a big thing. Ever since I was little, it has been a favorite of mine, but having a girl of my own has made me love them even more. So when I find heart fabric and get to sew with it, I am extra excited.

I fell in love with this fabric so much, that I keep coming up with new ways to use it! I thought it would be perfect to use for my Valentine's Day hanging kitchen towels! They are in the shop right now, along with other prints that will sweeten up your kitchen.

Red Heart Hanging Kitchen Towels

Bright Hearts Hanging Kitchen Towels

I can't decide which one I like the most!

These towels are one of my favorite things to make. I came up with this pattern thanks to my sister-in-law, Becky, who mentioned that she wanted some. Now they are some of my most popular items! I should have some 'every day' patterns in the shop within the next two weeks or so. Don't you worry! Until then, I hope you enjoy all the hearts!

Welcome!

Welcome to just stitch.'s blog! Here you'll find updates to my shop, just stitch., giveaways, and maybe even a tutorial or two! In fact...now that I think about it, a giveaway sounds like a great idea, don't you think?? Leave me a comment here on the blog, and you could win one of my Polka Dot Thick-bands!

Bright and colorful!

I can't wait to see where just stitch. will go in 2011. I have so many ideas written down (and even more in my head) to share with you. I would love to hear your feedback, so don't be shy...leave a comment!

Please leave a comment by this Monday, Jan. 17, 2011. I'll do it the old fashioned way...by drawing your name out of a hat! I'll announce it on my blog on Tuesday, Jan. 18! Good luck!!