The New Look!!

Thank you so much, Rebekah at PillDesigns! The new logo for The Sharp Needle is AWESOME!!!!!

Tips and Tricks?

Except for what I learned from my mom growing up (when she could get me to sit still at the sewing machine long enough) and my 9th grade home economics class, I've pretty much taught myself most of the techniques I've used in my sewing projects. Lately I've been thinking about what tips or tricks everyone else might know, but of which I'm completely unaware.

What helps you sew faster?

How do you make your products look professional?

Which tips/tricks make your projects easier?

Crisis of Confidence

To all you crafters out there, has your confidence ever taken a hit when coming across difficulties while working on a project? I recently experienced this when I was making a pillow (one that I had, consequently, made before with great success) and kept making mistakes and having to rip out seams out and redo them. As a result, my interest in sewing has suddenly decreased and I feel that I'm having a crisis of confidence.

Being the perfectionist that I am, especially when it comes to sewing and knitting projects, I have a difficult time judging when things I make actually turn out well and when they need some work. I know all the little flaws and imperfections that are in each piece, and I wonder if others can see them, and if those flaws bother them as much as they bother me.

So anyway, I'm wondering if any other crafters out there share in this crisis of confidence? What do you do to move past it? How do you judge if your projects are charming because of the little flaws that come with handmade goodies, or if they are unprofessional and need revamping?

Custom Orders

I was finally able to take pictures of the bedding set I made for my sister and brother-in-law's wedding gift. I think they turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. :-)

If you or anyone you know are interested in having custom bedding made, please let me know. I will also be taking custom orders for just about anything and everything you can dream up that can be made with a sewing machine, so spread the word! Nursery bedding, baby gifts, kitchen towels, aprons, decorative pillows, table runners, etc etc etc.

More cute pictures

(Mr. GQ)

(Sic 'em, Bears!!)

(First picture with mommy)

(Feeding the hungry boy in the NICU)

(First bath at home!)

(So cool in our swim clothes!!)

(Not feeling the swim thing so much)

Introducing Micah Haddon

We got an early Easter present this year, in the form of the cutest little bunny one could ever imagine! Our little guy's original due date was May 15, but he decided he couldn't wait any longer and came on April 20. (Happy anniversary, Aunt Marci and Uncle Matty!) Of all the scenarios I imagined might happen when our sweet boy came into the world, I never imagined that he would be a NICU baby. As it happens, coming 3 1/2 weeks early and having some fluid in your lungs gets you a five-day stay in the NICU...or at least it did for us.

There were obviously some challenging and emotional days during his hospital days, but these were nothing compared to the overwhelming love and delight we have for Micah.

(Micah with his nose hose...just like Pops!)

Even big sister, Ruthie Jo, has enjoyed having little brother home! We were a little concerned at first that she would only be jealous of the time and attention we give to Micah, but thankfully she has decided to adopt him as her own baby. She barks to let us know when he's upset, she snuggles with him on the sofa, and licks his head to comfort him. We are so grateful that she is doing so well with this huge adjustment in her little puppy life!

(Such a big boy!!)

(2 months old already!!)

Almost There!

Okay, this freaks me out every time I say it, but we are down to 6 weeks (or less) before this little guy gets here! Since I am definitely in the uncomfortable, late stages of pregnancy I am totally ready on one hand for him to get here. On the other hand, every time I look at my to do list and look around our house at everything I want to finish first, I feel like I can use as much time as possible before he comes.

I can happily say that the nursery is definitely coming along well! We still need to get some storage drawers for the closet to help with organizing little socks and shoes and other small items, and we are waiting on our glider to get here before we can finalize the furniture placement, but everything else is close to being finished! Thanks to my wonderful Granny, we have beautiful bumpers, sheets, and a bedskirt for the crib, and a great valance for the window! (Don't worry Granny...the curtain width was PERFECT!!!! No need to tweak it at all!)

I have to say, I LOVE the way the colors in the curtain enhance the colors in the striped fabric on the bumpers (a little hard to see through the crib slats in these pictures). Oh, and please excuse the mess on the bookcase and changing table in the pictures...organization is still a work in progress!

Progress!

Today was a great day! I FINALLY feel like I'm making progress on the nursery! We have a crib, changing table, bookcase, and bassinet, and I just finished buying all of the fabric! The theme for the nursery is vintage airplanes, so our creative juices are flowing. I will post pictures when we have a final product, but until then here's a picture of the yummy fabrics to hold you over. :-)

It's a BOY!!!

It looks like we've got a future seminarian!...He's already praying! :-)
This is definitely my favorite sonogram picture so far!

We are so excited to announce that we are expecting a sweet baby BOY, due in May! We can't wait to meet Micah Haddon Sharp!

At least I have a good excuse this time...

It seems that I'm always starting my posts with "Well, it's been a while since I've written anything..." and I'm beginning to accept the fact that I just may not be the best blogger. Not to worry, I'm not shutting it down or anything, I'm just learning to have a little more grace with myself when I don't turn into Super Woman and get everything done.

So, let me explain my title for this post...we found out right before Labor Day that we are expecting a little miracle. It is such a blessing to finally see our prayers being answered for a family of our own. I'm definitely having to tamper my excitement a bit, just so I don't go out and start "investing" in cute outfits and toys for the little one. Our little Snap Bean (long story for the nickname) is due May 8, 2011, which just happens to be Mother's Day...how appropriate! :-)

Since I've been tired and not feeling too great during the first trimester, I haven't sat down at my sewing machine to work on anything in quite a few weeks. I'm hoping that since we're almost to the second trimester I'll get my motivation for those projects back very soon. Yes Megan, I know I still owe you a bedskirt! ;-) In the meantime, I've been enjoying some knitting and crocheting, trying to be as productive as possible during my couch time. I'm going to try and post some pictures of my works in progress soon, but in the meantime, enjoy this fun tidbit. :-)

My first car seat cover for a boy!

Not too long ago (okay, I'm adding in my head and it's actually been six months...I can't believe how the time has flown!!!) I was asked to make a car seat cover and canopy for a boy. How fun! I love the way the coordinating baseball fabrics turned out, and I was a little nervous about how the canopy would turn out without the frilly ruffle, but I think it looks great!

Since my creative juices tend to flow towards all things girly, and I can find any excuse to put a bow or ruffle or flower on things, this was a refreshing change.

Custom Bedding

I still can't believe my baby sister got married! Probably the moment it really hit me, strangely enough, was when I had to change her name in my phone to her new married name. So strange!!!

I'll post more pics of the wedding as soon as they are ready from the photographer, but in the meantime, here are some pictures of the wedding present I've been working on. Megan and Michael supplied the materials, but my gift to them was making some custom bedding. The set includes a duvet cover, bed skirt, 3 euro shams, and 6 decorative pillows. Aside from worrying that everything looks good and has professional quality, I really have enjoyed working on the projects! I've learned tons of new things, including how to sew in a zipper, how to "southern engineer" flat trim to be sew-in trim (more on that later), and how to sew with cording. I'm sure to many of you those are simple techniques that you've been doing for a long time, but considering that last March was the first time I'd sewn anything since 9th grade, I think I'm learning pretty quickly. :-) I promise to post more pics when I'm close to finishing all of the projects.

(Do you think she likes it??)

Cute Pics

I haven't posted any cute pictures in a while, so here are some of my sweet nephews and my adorable puppy. Enjoy! :-)

Today's Adventures

Well, it's always an adventure when my mom and I keep my nephews. Today was the carwash with my youngest nephew, Lincoln. After I took the video and sent it to our family members so they could see, my brother called and very helpfully told us that Lincoln doesn't like the carwash. Gee, you think?

What's Your Motivation?

Lately I've been pondering what drives me to start new projects when I have other projects that are still in the works. I've got about four total knitting projects on the needles, and am already contemplating starting other projects that have caught my fancy. Also, I've got about a dozen sewing projects in mind, and I find it difficult to finish one project before I start a new project. Do you have this problem?

My conclusion is that I think I like to learn new skills and techniques, so when I feel like I've got the hang of something, I'm ready to move on. Case in point, I'm currently working on a duvet cover (amidst a few other things) for my sister and soon-to-be-brother in law. Already I have learned how to sew with piping, match up patterns on a big project, and how to do buttonholes. Now, these probably seem very basic to anyone who has sewn for a long time, but seeing as how I only picked sewing back up about a year ago, this has been quite a big project for me. Now that all I have to do to finish the project is sew the top and bottom pieces together, I feel my motivation beginning to wane.

The same is true for my knitting projects. I get excited to start a project that has new techniques in it (cabling, yarn overs, color work, etc.) but then once I master the new skill, I'm ready to move on to the next new thing.

So, what's your motivation? What gets you excited about new projects?

How Big is Lincoln??

Merry Christmas! card

This was the picture on our Christmas card this year. I made the tutu skirt for Ruthie Jo, and Aaron helped me take pictures of her. What do you think? :-)


And here are some funny blooper pics... I love the way she looks like she's giving us the stink-eye in the first one! :-)

Cute Kiddos

A friend of ours recently asked me to make some fun stuff for his sweet niece and nephews. Here are the results!

Superman Cape

Bib, Burp cloth, & Receiving blanket set

Chalk board applique shirt...complete with pocket for chalk! :-)

Applique onesie

Applique Initial Shirts...

Crayon Roll

Papa Sharp

This week was bittersweet for Aaron and I. His grandfather, affectionately known as Papa Sharp, passed away Monday morning. Obviously we grieved the loss of such a great man, but at the same time it did allow us (me, really) to get to meet and know some of his extended family. I wanted to share something that Aaron wrote about his Papa Sharp. Get out the tissues!


A few days ago the angel Michael entered Heaven’s throne room with his head down. He shuffled along doing his duties until finally the Father summoned him to the steps of His grand throne. “What is the matter O mighty warrior? Your face is long and you do not have your usual enthusiasm,” the Almighty asked.

“Well my Lord,” the heavenly being began in an unusually soft tone, “Our beautiful city has developed many problems. Your Son, seated here on your right hand, has tarried His second coming to earth so long that some of the dwelling places He built are in need of repairs. Some other buildings need to be painted, and the pearly gates squeak and do not open well as they should. Our lawnmower is broken yet again and no one here knows how to repair it, and so our beautiful lawns are overgrown.”

The Father could sense how upset His angel was and gesturing toward the Son and the Spirit to circle around He placed His hand on Gabriel’s shoulder and said, “I have known all along that this day would come; do not let it worry you. You see many decades ago I created a man just for this occasion. He grew up working in the fields and playing hooky from school. I gave him a keen mind, made him good with his hands, and he might have been the hardest working creature that I ever created. Some even said that if something could break, he could fix it.”

With that the Son began to speak all the while waving his nail-scarred hands. “I protected him through a dangerous war where many men lost their lives. In fact, one night in particular when he was frozen in a foxhole I changed the course of many bullets to spare his life because he had not yet come to Us. For many years of the man’s life I called to him to come to Me. For a while he resisted. We knew when We created him that he would be someone who was set in his ways, but eventually my grace overwhelmed his legendary stubbornness and He finally came to me.”

The Spirit, seeing an opening as the Son took a breath, now took the lead. “This man Gabriel, he spent many years working for Us on the earth. You may never have heard of Him because he did not preach or do anything that made the newspapers, but his pew at church was always filled and most of what He did for Us was dirty work that many other supposedly righteous people would not even consider doing.”

The Father, by now wearing a tremendous smile, lovingly squeezed his hand on the angel’s shoulder. “As I said We have always known this day is coming. This man has lived a long life. He has seen the next generations of his family take root, but now it is time for him to enter into my rest. Soon he will step through those pearly gates to his new eternal home. He will fix the squeak in the pearly gate, he will repair the dwelling places, and our mower will be operational in no time, better than when it was new. Tell your angels to put on their overalls, and try to keep up with Him, with a glorified body only I knew what he is capable of. He has lived a long and faithful life on earth, but now I have a new mission for him here in my presence.”

And with that God called my grandfather home.

Happy Halloween!

Isn't Ruthie Jo just as cute as a bug? :-)