alittlesweetness

still here!

Yep, I am still here!  My life hasn't been too exciting lately, just taking care of the day-to-day things.  I've enjoyed doing things like making dinner and walking to the park with the little one's.  Sometimes I just feel like I need to be more available and a break is in order.

Like enjoying ice cream cones on a warm Spring evening....

and watching my son do his stuff and the skate park...

I also wanted to take the opportunity to make some baby blakets for babies in need, so I was able to round up a few friends from church to get that done and it was wonderful and fun!  (Thank you ladies!)

I took pictures in about 3 minutes and 27 seconds flat, so they aren't the best, but the blankets were super cute....

and super cuddly with fluffy, snuggly backings...

MMM!  They turned out adorable!

Since then, my 9 year old broke his arm while also doing his stuff at the skate park....he's also a rollerblader.  He always wears a helmet, but this time left the wrist/arm guards in the car.  (of course!)  We enjoyed getting Menchies frozen yogurt after a Dr. appointment...especially him...look at that bite!

yes, he ate it all!  (and needs a hair cut...)

I'm also thankful I was able to help my sister, who has needed round the clock help since she had back surgery a few weeks ago.  She has 4 young children, and she can't do any bending, twisting or lifting anything over 10 lbs for 4-6 weeks and she's moving slowly.  I stayed for a couple nights this week and will go another day next week.  Unfortunatly she lives a little over an hour away, and with the kids in school I can't be there everyday, but thankfully she's getting the help she needs. 

I loved holding this little fella, the one I made the quilt for.  I thought it would be a good time to get some photos.  :)  He's simply sweet and adorable!

For the most part, that's been what I've been up to!  I'll be getting back on track shortly though and hopefully have some new projects to show you.  If you're waiting for orders, I'm working on it.  ;)

Thanks for peeking in!

Tasha

*Edit* P.S.

I also went to this most adorable and amazing party with Ava!  Take a looky....it's so cute!  :)

little bitties....

So, it's Spring Break and I've got lots of to do's with kids home, a baby shower to help with and Easter quickly approaching!  One thing I'm working on is some little bitty hexie flowers....

EEEK!  I'm in love!

I had fun pulling pretty springy fabrics for these!

These are tiny 1/2" hexagons, which I got at Sew Deerly Loved.  I don't see them in her shop, so maybe ask if she still has some not listed. 

And what are they for? I'll leave that part a surprise....heehehee.

But I can't wait to get these little bitties all done!

I'll be taking the week off of any extra blogging and shop to do's....just going to focus on kids and projects, but just for kicks, (and although I won't be shipping anything off this week) if you'd like a little spring discount at the shop, please enter COUPON CODE: SPRING20 at checkout for 20% off your total purchase.  This is for paper products and embroidery patterns only. 

Happy Spring!!

Tasha

pretty and cute

I've kept rather busy this week with several things, one of which is a gift so I'll share that next week.  So I thought I'd just quickly show a couple little things that have made me smile!

This for one.....

is most definitly the prettiest little stack of fabrics from Kerri that I seriously am in LOVE with!

I actually couldn't stop photographing the little bundle of adorableness!

love, love, love!

I'll be in heaven incorporating these into my projects....

Speaking of projects....

I'm still p-o-k-i-n-g away at my Farmer's Wife blocks, which always are so fun to make, just hard to find the time for everything. 

So, I think this is like my 19th block?  (something like that?) and the group is on about week 28-ish (something like that)  So, ya, i'm poking along, but oh well.  I just do it when I have the moment and I'm so glad, cuz look how cute...

BOX {9}

I finally took the suggestion from Kristyne and did pink and red for Valentines Day and I totally love it!!

It's helpful to decide on just a couple colors first.  It's not so overwhelming and it does help balance out all of the really scrappy multi-colored blocks....I still love those kind too.  Maybe my next one.

So, anyway...

That was my pretty and my cute!

Happy Weekend!

Tasha

be mine

When I started this pillow, again, I had a vision!  (I have lots of those!)  Sometimes my visions work out, and sometimes...not so much.  This time though, I think it worked out the way I wanted it to.  It was a little time consuming with the stitching and the patchwork ruffle (oh boy!), but I kept telling myself it would be worth it. 

I don't very often make totally over-the-top girly items, but I thought with this being for Valentine's Day, I was justified. 

The hearts are quilted to give them a little dimension, then I stitched the 'string' in between.

I hand wrote the "be mine" on paper, then traced it onto the fabric with a water soluable pen.

I dangerously eye-balled the stitching onto the pink striped fabric....

Then made my patchwork ruffle with 32 5" squares...

See! 

A ruffle takes time, especially a patchwork one, but I couldn't get that idea out of my head!  I very hesitantly got started because I knew I wouldn't be happy if I had settled for using just one fabric.  And I do like the effect.... 

Plus, who doesn't like a reason to use as many cute fabrics as possible in one project?!?!?!

I know I do!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Tasha

P.S. I'm hoping to let out a little secret next week....I'd love it if you stop by!  ;)

giveaway winners!

Thanks to everyone who played along in my little giveaway!  It's such a treat for me to be able to share a little something here and there throughout the year.  I'm always so grateful for the support and encouragement I recieve and friends made along the way.  Plus, aren't giveaways just plain fun?  oh ya.  

I thought it would be a cuter post if I had Ava to help me announce the winners!  This is what she did when I gave her the embroidery hoop and asked her to show it to me.  Oh well, you get the idea.  (I hope.)

The 3 WINNERS of my Embroidery Pattern giveaway are:

#12...

Anita said ..

I love them all but I love the angel the best.
Happy holidays!

#29 ...

Melanie said ...

Laundry day - so cute :)

and...

#63...

Kristal said...

Everything is adorable, but since my daughter had a hedgehog for a pet, I'd get the patterns that have a hedgie on them!

Each of those numbers were chosen by me asking my 3 oldest boys to tell me their favorite number! 

I hope you have fun stitching up something sweet for your home or another's.  Either way, ENJOY!

(Anita, Melanie and Krystal...if you see this, please email me at pthorsley@comcast.net since none of you have links). 

I'm not sure I'll get back to the computer anytime soon, so I thought I'd leave you with this adorable little video message, so very appropriate for this time of year.  It's just 2 minutes and you won't be disappointed.  ;)

Click here to watch "The Coat"

As for my shop, it'll be open, but I won't be shipping anything until well into the first week of the new year.  I'll probably check on it here and there and send of patterns, but generally I'll be taking a break. 

Thanks again, for a wonderful year! 

Merry Christmas!

Tasha

pretty new dress

When I saw this beautiful fabric from Denyse Schmidt's newest line at Joann's, Sugar Creek, I knew it would make the prettiest dress for Ava and I had a coupon, so it was a done deal.  I started it right away, but then got stuck on what to use for my coordinating print and how to embellish the top.  I overwhelmed myself so much that I ended up putting it aside.  Last weekend we had a big family gathering, so the dress got finished up so she could have something cute to wear.  

I think it turned out adorable!  I bought the pattern off Etsy from Growing Up With Charissa. 

This morning Ava was amazingly willing to get dressed up again and let me take some pictures....so I moved quickly! 

This is about the best shot I got of the top of the dress, embellished with polka dot fabric, white ric-rac and pretty little buttons, which are Riley Blake and sold at Sew Deerly Loved on Etsy. 

Here's a few more I took:

     

I know....generally she looks pretty sweet and she acts all shy around other people.  And she does have her sweet moments.... 

But trust me, this girl is FULL. OF. IT!

C-ya!

Tasha

the farmer takes another wife.....

Yep, I'm jumpin on the bandwagon here!  The Farmer's Wife Quilt-A-long has already started on Flickr, but I'm joining in anyway.

After seeing some of my favorite girls join up and other inspiring quilters here and there around the quilty blog world, I finally checked in on the group and couldn't resist picking up the book just as fast as my little (big!) car could take me.

As of a couple days ago, the book was on sale at my local Joann's for about $16 after tax.  I called ahead and had them save a copy for me at the desk, so it was a quick stop for me.  Which is good not to meander too much at the craft store!

The book is really interesting because it shares the answers from 1920's farm wifes to the question "Do you want your daughter to marry a farmer?"  Each of the women have 2 blocks in the book. 

I recieved some oh, so lovely fabrics from a swap last week and the precious little stack is begging to be put to some sewing love!  Perfect for some farmer's wifing if you ask me.  ;)

(thank you miss sweet and lovely person!! ;))

Some of the funny ladies in the Farmer's Wife group had me giggling with their comments that perhaps they couldn't quite live up to being a Farmer's Wife....it is 111 blocks!.....so they may just end up being the Farmer's Girlfreind or some even a Mistress!  (You know they may only get to making about half the blocks!).  Honestly, being just a girlfriend sounded good to me!  I figured instead of doing the 2 blocks a week, I'll probably just do one.  

I think someone said something like "...all the fun, but no commitment".....some seriously funny company.

So, I've gathered me up a little inspiration.......

.........and I can't wait to get going!   

How about you, did you always want to be a Farmer's Wife?  Well, you're in luck....you can! 

Happy Weekend.  :)

Tasha 

some R & R

Saturday we visted the beach with family for some good old fashioned R & R.....much needed after a busy week for both my husband and I.  We seriously just sat and watched the kids play for a good portion of our time.

They were so very happy! 

And me too! 

Afterwards we found the coolest little retro diner to eat at called Nifty Fifties!  It was all decked out in pink and aqua!  The kids loved sitting at the counter and pretty much occupied that area!

My 3 with their cones.....my older 2 weren't with us.  :(

Silly cousins!

Me and Kerri with our Nifty-Fifties postcards!

We had a great weekend and look forward to more trips to the beach this summer.....

P.S.

Thanks to all who stopped by the shop for my sale last week!  It turned out great, so it was a lot of fun for me.  I'd give you all a hug if I could!  :)

Have a fabulous week!

Tasha

cupcakes and a giveaway

Last week I finally downloaded my camera's manual from online!  I know...too exciting. 

Over the last several years, I've read a lot of photography advice, tutorials, etc from various blogs and sometimes it's been helpful, but many times it really doesn't matter what the advice is or the information is, if you don't know what certain things are or where that function is on your camera...it really can't help you. 

I've also read several times something like.....'READ YOUR MANUAL!' 

So, finally I did......well not all 170-something-ish pages, but a lot of it.

I started learning about those magical things like aperture, shutter speed, ISO and exposure compostion.  SO HELPFUL! 

Now, it's still going to be a whole 'nother thing to execute all of that information into my pictures, but at least I can start attempting to figure it out.  Slowly, but hopefully it will come along.  It's alot to understand...I have so much admiration for those who truly are gifted in this area!

I basically started taking a trillion photos of boring things like my kids stuffed animals laying on the floor or a bow I had made for Ava that was sitting on my desk. 

Then I graduated to a more interesting subject........Cupcakes.  My kids were going crazy waiting to eat them while I practiced taking pictures.  

During and after I had read my manual, and then read certain parts again and again....I also found these posts to be helpful....some of which I had read before, but made no sense at the time and others I have stumbled upon this past week.....That now I can make sense of!

Kevin and Amanda "What Settings Should I Use?"

Kevin and Amanda "Photography Tutorial"

The Pioneer Woman "What the Heck is Aperture? Part One" (read all 4 parts)

Simplify "Here Goes Nothin'"

Ashley Ann SnapShop {May 2011} (the nice thing about Ashley's photos, is that she documents her settings above each photo, which...when you understand what all those numbers mean, can be very helpful.

Meadowbrooke Farm "Photography Q and A" (her cupcakes are WAAAAY prettier than mine!)

Those are all I can think of at the moment, but there really is so much out there, you shouldn't have a problem if you want to learn more about photography. 

However, FIRST.....READ YOUR MANUAL.  It will make all the difference in your understanding.  And trust me, if I can learn even a little, you can too.  I am seriously not the brainy type, nor the technical type.  I have to work at it, and I do have a software developer husband who at times I have relied on heavily for techy help.  But, with the camera, so far, it's been all me.  Which is sayin alot!

Now if I could get these girls to share a few tips and information, I'd be sooo happy! *hint, hint*  

Amy from nanaCompany

Charla Anne from Love, Charla Anne

Mandy Lynne from Mandy Lynne

Karina from A Fresh Take Photography

Kim from Pearlie Pink

Okay so enough of that! 

Now, I need to let you know that there is a GIVEAWAY going on at Little Miss Shabby until Thursday for my Window Shopping Illustration and your choice of either the Russian Sweeties Embroidery Pattern Set or the Favorite Dresses Embroidery Pattern Set. 

Russian Sweeties is a set of 4, Favorite Dresses is a set of 5.

Also, Gigi from Pinks and Needles is giving away the cutest pin topper she made especially to go along with my artwork for this giveaway.  I think it's super cute!! 

This giveaway ends on Thursday, so head over to Little Miss Shabby and enter!  Corey is doing several giveaways for her Birthday week, so check them out.  Happy Birthday Corey and thanks for all the fun!  :)

Have a wonderful week!

Tasha

vintage ava

 

I used to be so much better about taking my kids outside for a little photo shoot, or really focusing on getting some good pictures when we go on an outing.  Lately....very lately.....I've been more pre-occupied with photographing things for the shop or just doing shop things in general, that I really have neglected taking very many pictures of my kids.  Let alone delving into learning more about editing or experimenting around at all. 

Today I felt the urge to do some photography!  Even though it's a wet, rainy, gray day...I took my camera and my baby girl out for a little photo shoot.  She's 2 now and I've been feeling bad that I don't take very many pictures of her.  The one above is probably a very favorite so I'm sure glad I have it now.  Rainy day or not!  

I'm definitly no pro, so for editing I've use some actions from Pioneer Woman....I LOVE them!  I've also done some of my own tweaking along with the actions.  The PW Actions I've used are 'Seventies' and 'Soft and Faded' together. 

We brought Hello Kitty (her favorite) along for the journey.  Recognize the vintage Little Red Riding Hood dress I bought off Etsy?   It was her first vintage dress....now she has a 2nd!  I'll show you soon!

Here she was talking to me.....this one I think is just Seventies and I then I did some tweaking. 

This one below isn't very good quality, but it was the only one where she felt like 'posing' for me.

I still have a lot to learn, but it sure is fun experimenting. 

Thanks for stopping by!  And go have some photography fun! 

Those arms won't be squishy forever. 

Tasha