Our Mom!

As many of you may already know, my mom is a big part of our business. In the first place she taught us how to sew, how to keep track of finances, and basically everything else. She helps us to keep our ideas down to earth and she helps us solve problems and arguments and is a joy to work with.  She knows how to do it all; knitting (and is so, so fast at it), crocheting, quilting, sewing, cooking, gardening, bookkeeping and lots more. I must say, she is the best mom in the world! (yes, I know I don't think that at times-especially when there's laundry to be done, but she really is!)
Today we thought we would show off pictures of my mom's side of the business. Right now she is working on a wedding quilt for a friend and it is SOOO beautiful, as well as knitting up sweaters, sewing another quilt, making baby blankets...and the list could go on. Her hands are never idle. That's one thing we love about our mom.  
 

Ver, Mom, Vic

The wedding quilt she is working on!

It's very beautiful

Working on the green sweater on vacation

She just finished making this adorable sweater!

Karen looks very sweet!

Another cute sweater

Yummy rolls she made for dinner last night (filled with cheese and basil)

Old Fashioned to New Fashioned

One of the many projects we are working on this week is a Shirley Temple style dress and pinafore, like from the movie "Heidi". A friend of ours wanted this dress for her daughter Emma's 3rd birthday. She purchased a vintage pattern that matches the dress on Heidi almost perfectly! It is so adorable with all the lace trimmings and little pinafore over the dress. Old fashioned dresses are so, so sweet! Actually, Emma looks a lot like Shirley Temple, which makes this dress even more perfect for her. It seems like old fashioned dresses are becoming more and more in style these days.

Preparing the bodice

Cutting out the skirt

Vic sews the organza pinafore. We weren't sure how you were supposed "french seam" on a curved seam - well, we got out our Complet Guide to Sewing book that our friend Diane lent us and found out that you just zig zag the seam and then trim it way down! (a quick tip for the day)

See what I mean?

Getting it put together

Doesn't it look so adorable? We had to lay everything on top to "get the picture"

The Best Cinnamon Rolls Ever...

Okay, since a few of you asked, I decided to post this recipe of the cinnamon rolls we made (last post).
Although, I cannot take credit for this recipe- I first saw it on my friend Leah's Blog. She found out about them and let us know! So, there you have it, I take all the gifts I can get. Anyways, here is the recipe! Hope you enjoy...

Sewing Class Sleepover...

Last night was a special night! We invited four of our sewing class students, Rose, Ruby, Crystal, and Katherine, over for a pajama party, because they had all helped us decorate our shop the night before. No, we didn't do sewing, but we did bake. We decided to make the best cinnamon rolls ever (that's the name of the recipe). All the girls were a great help! We put it together, kneaded it, and finally rolled it up into perfect rolls. While the dough was rising, we played dominoes. Also, Crystal decided she was going to dress up as a "thief in the night". It was quite the get up, getting all of her accessories and clothes from our pantry! While the rolls were baking we got to watch a movie. Towards the end we could smell the delicious cinnamon rolls, and decided we would each eat 1/2 of one and save 1 for each of us for breakfast. Soon we attempted to go to bed, but you know how it us with 4 little girls, sleep doesn't come easily, so we ended up falling asleep at 12:30! That's alright though, we had lots of fun that evening and woke up bright and cheery at 6:30 (at least the little girls were cheery) We ate our delicious cinnamon rolls, then came quickly out to the shop to begin the work day. All the girls played "store" for a while, then they cleaned up, and we took them home. It was a night to remember!

Change of season for the Shop...

Last night we decided it was time to redecorate our shop. I love the fall season with orange and brown colors and glowing candles. We looked at the pictures we had gathered for ideas (our last post) and set our to conquer this task. We invited a few of our friends over, they also take sewing lesson from us, and they helped us a lot. We started with pulling furniture out of the shop so we could sweep and dust in the more unnoticeable places. Then we started rearranging furniture etc... We had a great time listening to music and talking as we worked. (well we had to remind the little girls about talking and working both at the same time). Anyways, we had a great time, and this is what we came up with... Mind you we are still getting details finished...

For our tablecloth we just took fall fabric we had in store and laid it over the table

I love the pumpkin basket with scented pine cones

Every customer who came in today enjoyed our candy corn!

Candles make everything so warm and inviting!

This is a fall quilt we sell, and just hung over the door

Gotta have a scented candle to complete the essence

Notice the nuts under the candles and the pine cones- I love it!

Getting Ready for Fall...

I love the fall time when you can snuggle up in a blanket, watch football or read a book as a candle fills the room with a delightful aroma.  Also, I love to redecorate our shop for the autumn season because the colors are welcoming and cozy. Lately, I have been searching for ideas on how to decorate the shop this year and have come across some photos that express the decor I think makes a room have the inviting feeling of fall.

Vase filled with acorns, leaves and a candle in the center!

A candle surrounded by cranberries in a vase

I love the variety of shapes of all the vases. The nuts give this look warmth

This is dried corn husks wrapped around a glass vase.