Little Dresses!

Well I've made a good start on sewing my Little Dresses for Africa for the Sew along! Are you joining in for a chance to win one of 6 prizes? We have some stunning thread boxes from Aurifil and gift certificates from the Fat Quarter Shop! There will be 6 winners chosen at random! You still have time to sew up a little dress or two or Boy shorts! You can find all the information with the pattern links here! The linky party will be July 5th so be sure to take a photo of your dresses and /or shorts and link them up on July 5th! Happy Stitching ya'll! xo jan

Chain Piecing Log Cabin Blocks and LDFA !!

 Have any of you ever chain pieced Log Cabin blocks? I've had these pretty Autumnal fabrics for a while and finally decided to make Log Cabin blocks. I started with the red on the outer two strips, then thought maybe the brown would look better. I just couldn't decide. I decided to ask friends on facebook and the majority chose the red!

So I started chain piecing 4 blocks at a time!

This is a really neat You tube video that I watched!

It is really fun sewing! Until........... the UN-SEWING begins:

Yep, because when you pick up the incorrect strip/log to sew next - you sew it onto FOUR (4) blocks incorrectly instead of just one block!

 I was very happy  when I picked up Jack ( my trusty seam ripper) that I was using Aurifil thread. See that long piece of Aurifil. I took the seam out of all four blocks and didn't wind up with a million , kazillion tiny pieces of thread on both sides of my blocks. Just on the one side.The other side came off in one , long happy piece!  So Aurifil is great for sewing and Unsewing! :)

 Do those tiny pieces of thread drive ya'll crazy like they do me?
  Once I got over that catastrophe, I decided to switch things up and work on my Little Dresses for Africa!

 If you didn't read the last post, we are having a LDFA Sew Along with some great prizes like Gift Certificates from the Fat Quarter Shop ( yep 4 of them) and Aurifil thread boxes! I love my sponsors! They are always so generous! If you haven't joined in on the LDFA Sew- Along, it's not too late! You can find all the information here!
 And for those of you that have been wondering, Missy is doing much better. We are slowly, slowly weaning her off of the seizure medications.

The medications keep her so sleepy. It will take a couple of months to get her weaned off if we don't have any problems or symptons of the seizures returning!
  Thank ya'll for stopping by! Let me know if you have ever chained pieced blocks before and any helpful hints would be much appreciated! Hope ya'll are sewing a Dress or two along with us! There is a "Sew Along " button you can grab over on my right sidebar!
Happy Stitching!
Welcome to all my new friends and followers! Happy to have ya'll plowing along with us!
xo jan

It's Sew-Along time on the Farm!

Hey ya'll! Each summer I like to choose a Charity and help out however I can. The 10 little dresses above I made for Little dresses for Africa" in 2013. I chose LDFA once again this summer. If you are not familiar with this organization, you can read more about them HERE!
  Often seamstresses will get together and have a sewing party to make these simple but adorable dresses to send to little girls in need around the globe. Since I do not have any sewing buddies that live near the farm, I thought I would invite all of you to join me online for a LDFA Sew Along! And we have some great sponsors with fabulous prizes! Woohoo!
 You can use cotton pillowcases or 100% cotton yardage. Try to chose good quality fabrics that you cannot see through and fabrics that will hold up through a lot of washing! Remember the Dress you make may be the only dress that the child receiving it has to wear. It needs to last. If you are using pillowcases, you can find the pattern HERE! If you are using yardage, you can find a pattern HERE! They also need Boy shorts of all sizes!!!
  Pictured below are the fabrics, double fold bias tape and beautiful Aurifil threads that I will be working with! ( you can find a list of supplies on the pattern links).

 I would love it if ya'll could join in with me and sew a few dresses and/or shorts! To give us a little incentive, my wonderful sponsors are offering a few prizes!
   First we have  (4) Four - $50.00 gift Certificates from the Fat Quarter Shop! Four winners will each receive one $50.00 gift certificate to spend on what ever they choose at the Fat Quarter Shop! Woohoo! I love a shopping spree! Thank you Fat Quarter Shop for your generosity!

And we have (2) fabulous thread boxes from Aurifil thread! 

 One lucky winner will receive a 10 spool 50wt. Collector box of "Gleeful by Carolina Hulse. I love these yummy colors! 

And a Second lucky reader will receive a 12 Large Spools 40 wt.Collection of Arizona by April Rhodes! I love 40 wt! And these colors are gorgeous! I am seriously crushing on these beauties! 

THANK YOU Aurifil for your generosity!!

So, how do you participate and get a chance to win one of these lovely 6 prizes?

1. Grab some fabric and/or pillowcases and one of the patterns here or here! Or use your own simple pattern.
2. You can make one or more dresses or shorts or both! These are simple and fun to make! I hope to get at least 10 dresses made! You can get together with friends or even your Guild Members and have a sewing party! (mailing instructions are found with the patterns and you are responsible for the postage and mailing your dresses/shorts.)
3. Take photos of your Dresses and/or shorts. (Be sure to take photos BEFORE you mail them!)
4. Come back here on July 5th and link up with your photo. If you have a blog, please share this post on your blog and invite your friends to participate! You can grab a "2015 LDFA Sew Along" button from the sidebar with the html code and post it to your blog's sidebar and your blog post about the sew along! If you do not have a blog, you can post your dresses and or shorts to facebook and link up to the facebook post!
5. Winners will be randomly selected after the linky party.

  You can also share the 2015 Little Dresses for Africa Sew Along button above on facebook, twitter, pinterest, instagram etc... I will be sharing this on face book , so please find me on face book and share! Help spread the word and let's get some Dresses and Shorts made!

Please note that only Dresses/Shorts made between today, 6/20/2015 and 7/5/2015 are eligible. Please do not link up dresses/shorts made prior to this date. International entries are welcome,  however,please remember that you will be responsible for postage and mailing your dresses/shorts to the appropriate addresses.
Please let me know if you have any questions! I can't wait to see the parade of Little dresses and Shorts on July 5th! So gather your friends and fabrics and have a great time stitching!
  I love the Little Dresses for Africas' motto: "

"We're not just sending dresses, We're sending Hope!" 

Thank ya'll for participating!
Welcome new friends and followers! We are so happy to have ya'll plowing along with us! Grab a Tractor and LDFA button from the sidebar!
Happy Stitching!
xo jan

The Winner and a Sew Along with more prizes!!

Hatties sweet smiling face!

Hi everyone! I hope ya'll enjoyed National Sewing Machine Day and had time for a little stitching! I really enjoyed hearing about all of the different sewing machines! I love my Vintage machines and try to use them all a little to help keep them going. Tami asked if Hattie is the one that I sew on when on the tractor. No, but I've thought about it! :) She is just too heavy and the tractor I usually use is not a cab tractor so I am afraid she would get damaged and/or too dirty. I have taken a toy hand crank to the hay field with me though and sat on the tail gate of the pickup truck and worked on nine patches:)!
  So thank you all for telling me about your machines New and Old! Mr Random number generator has picked a number ! The winner of the Mini Charm Pack and Spool of Aurifil thread is:
59. KarenJune 14, 2015 at 1:23 PM

I picked up a 1950's era Singer that runs very well. I haven't used it much, but it does make a very nice stitch.

Woohoo! Congratulations Karen! And thank you to everyone for participating!

 Now I also wanted to announce an upcoming mini sew along with some fantastic prizes! I know we will have at least (4) Gift Certificates and some Aurifil Thread boxes! Maybe even a fat quarter bundle or two! And the Sew Along is for a Charity! How fun this will be! So stay tuned for the announcement for the Sew Along! I will be back with all the details when I get my ducks in a row!

Thank ya'll!

Welcome to all my new friends and followers! We are so happy to have ya'll plowing along with us!

xo jan

Giftaway for National Sewing Machine Day 2015

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED> THANK YOU FOR ENTERING> WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED MONDAY JUNE 15,2015.

Happy National Sewing Machine Day  June 13, 2015! This is "Hattie", my 1889 Singer Fiddlebase Hand Crank! I love this Old Girl!  Hattie is one of several Vintage (Antique) Machines hanging out at the Farm! But she is the eldest by far! And very special!

What about you? Do you ever sew with a Vintage or Antique Machine? Do you have a collection? Leave a comment below telling us about your machine(s),  New or Old,  for a chance to win a Mini Charm pack and a spool of Aurifil thread!  Woohoo! This giveaway is open until Sunday June 14th 2015 11:30 pm EST. International entries are welcome! Winner will be announced on Monday June 15th 2015! One entry per person please :)!

Happy Stitching ya'll!
Good Luck
xo jan