June Project Finale!!!

Here they are, my finished art/activity bags...

These really were a lot of fun to make!

I ended up with 7, 6 of which will go along with us to an appointment at Children's Hospital next week, in addition to the pillowcases we are donating. The other bag will be a part of a gift basket for a silent auction to help support our local Healthy Families program which is part of a wonderful, family focused organization in our area, the Helen Ross McNabb Center.

The crayon rolls I made will be part of an upcoming fundraiser for an adoptive family.

Lots of colorful fun to help lots of different people!

Thank you Fat Quarter Shop for your generous support in providing the funky monkey fabric and allowing us to this opportunity!

Winners of the gift certificates to be announced tomorrow, so make sure and stop by!!!

 Showing off over at:

June Giveaway Entrants!

Tomorrow is the final day to get entered in our Fat Quarter Shop $50 gift certificates giveaway!

Here are the entrants we have received so far...

Suzanne's dress for Dress A Girl Around the World

Adelaide's plush froggie for Samaritan's Purse

Erin's pillowcases for the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge

Amanda's pillowcase for the Pillow Fight for a Cause

Debbie's pillowcase for a hospitalized child

Debbie's bear plushie for the Mother Bear project

There's still time for you to get entered!

Get all the details here.

I will do a final check for entrants Friday morning before the judges pick their favorites for the top 4. I'm so excited to see which 2 of you will be headed over to the Fat Quarter Shop to do some shopping with your gift certificates!!! What fun!

Winners will be announced Friday, July 1st here and on our facebook page, so be on the look out!

Do you quilt??? Wanna Cruise???

Woah! If I knew how to quilt yet, this would be such a giveaway to get in on!!! If you quilt, and I know a lot of you do, you will want to check it out!

And if you need inspiration....check out all the quilty goodness on the Riley Blake blog here!

Is this gorgeous or what???

Get entered here, http://wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/129802

And if you need anymore Riley Blake inspiration, check out our Just Dreamy skirt here! :)

Pattern Review - Sew Fun Boho Shoulder Bag

This weekend I had the chance to make one of these great Boho Shoulder Bags from Sew Fun.

The idea was that I would actually sew something for myself since that seems to rarely happen, but after having my daughter help me with pictures I think I may have lost "my" bag!

Nonetheless, this is a great bag, certainly worth my making a replacement! 

The bag calls for home dec. weight fabric for the outer which I don't sew with very often, but I was surprised at how much I loved working with it! Plus, it made for a very attractive and durable finished product. I had these coordinating home dec. fabrics in my stash, so I actually went with home dec. for both the outer and lining fabrics.

 This is an especially roomy bag and can be worn over the shoulder or messenger style. The wide strap makes it a very comfortable option for messenger style wear. This bag is so spacious it would make the perfect beach/pool bag for the summer! It can easily hold your towel, change of clothes, water bottle, and water-side reading material and additionally has a pocket inside to keep you from having to dig for your keys and wallet, along with one on the outside to help keep that cell phone or i-pod handy.

 Oh yea, did I mention it's reversible? 

So really it's like getting 2 bags in one! And can easily be sewn up and ready to go in a single afternoon for an experienced sewer. The pattern offers some features that provide a fun sewing challenge, like an attractive pleated bottom. I personally wouldn't recommend it for beginners. One would need at least basic sewing skills and pattern experience to be comfortable with this pattern.

Double top-stitching is recommended throughout, and I LOVE the finished look that it gives the bag! Very nice!

One of my favorite parts is the toggle closure! Isn't it beautiful?

Sew Fun also carries the German made, polished hardwood, toggle buttons in a 2-pack for only $1.99! (lucky for me I have an extra to make "my" next bag huh!?) ;)

**Added bonus!** If you sew to sell, the designer of Sew Fun, Jen, welcomes you to do so with a free license for up to 100 bags!!! I know, wow!!!

If you'd like to check out the Boho Shoulder Bag or other great patterns offered by Sew Fun, just click the image below to go straight to the pattern website.

Happy Sewing!

Pattern: Boho Shoulder Bag by Sew Fun

Fabric: Home Dec prints by Fabric Traditions

Hello Bloggy Friends!

Hope you are having a great start to your week! We are having an especially busy start! Daddy's home and we are cramming in all those appointments and such that are just easier with 2 sets of hands and eyes! You know how it is.

I wanted to post a quick reminder....just over 3 days left to get your pictures in of the items you've made for donation to get entered in the Fat Quarter Shop $50 Gift Certificates giveaway! Need more info? All the details in this post, click here. Flickr isn't seeming so user friendly, so please feel free to email me your pictures with donation descriptions and I will gladly add them to the folder and our facebook page! Yea, we're on facebook, so you can go "fan" or "friend" or "follow" us there so you don't miss anything fun going on around here! Check out some of the latest cuteness over at the Fat Quarter Shop that you could use your gift certificate for if you win...

....or this...

...or what about this one? I'm loving this one...

 How will you ever choose???

 I will be posting my finale pictures of the Funky Monkey activity totes I've been making later this week. I'm very pleased with how they've turned out and can't wait to share them here and then again at our Children's Hospital!

My daughter was thrilled with the doll I made her for her birthday! Thanks for all your sweet comments! I also got her a pattern to make another she was very interested in, along with all the fabric and embellishments to make it happen. So that means more dolly inspiration to come I imagine! ;)

Also, I just added an "About Me" tab to the top of the blog that tells a little more about how Hopeful Threads came to be. By the way, I'm loving it! And loving getting to know so many of you!

More sewing, at least one new pattern review coming up and some fabric shopping with a friend for her own personal project this week....I never say no to fabric shopping, even if it's not for me! :)  

What about you all??? What do you have going on this week? A whirlwind of activities or some summertime slow-down sun soaking? I'm hoping for a bit of that myself....maybe next week! ;)

Happy Monday to ya!

Loving Memory

As with all of you, I have a life behind the blog that is glimpsed through my sharing here. This week there has been a lot going on behind the scenes.

Today we will be celebrating the life and memories of my grandmother with our extended family. 

 4/13/32 - 6/21/11

She was known to us as "Mamaw". 

She was blessed with a very big family.

Seriously, you should see it when we all get together! :)

She was one of 9 in her family. She had 6 children, 9 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren (so far!).

When I think of how she has impacted my life, if I had to name the greatest thing she taught me, it would be an unwavering work ethic. She was one of the hardest workers I've ever known. Until the very end. 

This is something regularly and often even unknowingly applied in my life and something I fervently teach my children as well. Thank you Mamaw.

She was a tiny woman who loved her family intensely and protected and provided like a mama bear. She was the caretaker of the family, always with children at her heals or on her lap. 

She will never be forgotten.

She will always be loved.

Birthday Surprise...shhhhh!

June is birthday month for my oldest daughter. When she was helping me surf the Sew, Mama, Sew giveaways last month, she saw a Matroyshka doll that she fell in love with. We didn't win that giveaway, but I didn't forget! :)

This little sweetie was made with a pattern from one of my most favorite pattern companies, Whimsy Couture. It was so super easy to follow that I had her together in less than an hour!

Her little eyes and mouth are hand-stitched, and do you recognize that sweet flower button embellishment? Yep, that's one of those amazing hand-crafted Incomparable Buttons I won! It was the perfect accent for this sweet doll and matched the fabrics I used like I had planned it. Love that!

Sure to be making more of these in the future!

These are gonna be good!!!

You know that feeling when you can smell chocolate chip cookies in the oven and you know once they are finally ready they are gonna be good??? Ever had that feeling about a project you were working on???

That's where I'm at with these adorable Funky Monkey Activity Totes! And the more they come together, the more this fabric just seems meant for this project! A few finishing stitches and these babies will be ready to fill with creative goodies....can't wait!

Got a few crayon rolls ready too...

Both of these projects make for really good "batch" sewing projects. They come together quickly and easily and you'll be surprised at how many you'll have in no time. In addition to being an ideal donation item, they are also great as gifts, party favors, basket/stocking stuffers or just a handy item to keep in the car for times that busy little hands need something extra to do.

I'll have these finished up with finale pictures soon! How 'bout you? Any sewing progress? Are you planning to enter this month's giveaway? Sure hope so! Just over a week to get those pics in, so don't forget! :)

Happy Sewing,

Green Bag Goodness

Have you heard of the Green Bag Lady?

Pretty cool huh?

And get this, she's given away nearly 16,000 bags!!!

 We were privileged to win a bag from her blog recently and Teresa also sent a bag for us to give to another. Well, since we grabbed our bag to use for our library trip, we decided the lucky recipient of the bonus bag would be the librarian!

She was so sweet! And she was so excited about her new bag!

I told her all about what the Green Bag Lady does and that the bag was made from Harmony's gorgeous organic fabric....which she loved! I know she is going to enjoy using it and it was a lot of fun to get to "give", so thanks Teresa! :)

Oh yea, and since I know you like to see pics of your bags in action, here's my gorgeous vintage bag full of our library treasures...

 If you haven't checked out the Green Bag Lady before, you'll want to!

She has a free pattern with a video tutorial to help you make your own bags.

Happy Summer reading & sewing! 

*Petite Pillows*

For our second entry into the Pillow Fight For a Cause over at Ladybird Ln. my girls and I decided to share the petite pillows we made for their little plastic friends. :)

We had just recently made a new fleece no-sew/tie blanket for my oldest daughter. We had scraps leftover and decided to also make a little blanket and pillow set for them to use with their Barbie stuff. She even cut the edges around the blanket to give it the same "shaggy" look her's has. Too cute!!!

Then, Barbie being the princess that she is, we made her a plush dot minky pillow and matching leopard minky sleeping bag....

Poor girl, she's still suffering from insomnia despite our efforts to offer her luxurious comfort. ;)

My girls were thrilled with both sets and were proud that it was something they helped make! I of course love that!

Now, if you haven't entered the Pillow Fight For a Cause yet, there is still time, so go check it out!

All the details are clearly laid out, along with an easy to follow pillowcase tutorial and a LIST of giveaway items for several lucky winners!!! 

Here is a pic of the pillowcases we will be donating in honor of the Ladybird Ln. gals and their Pillow Fight For a Cause...

 Each pillowcase will also have a super lush, minky lined slumber mask attached to it since we all know that hospitals can be one of the hardest places on earth to get good sleep! We hope these help! We will be delivering them to our local Children's Hospital along with the Activity Bags we are working on for this months project.

Thanks Ladybird Ln. for organizing such a fun event and encouraging and inspiring us to give back in this small way. 

Many Blessings,