Frugal Friday With Marsha 11/14/14--Making Pillowcases

Continuing on sharing crafts that I have made for gifts, this week I will show you the pillowcases I've made.
I actually made a pillowcase for each of the 10 grandkids last year for their birthdays.   I take that back, 9 grandkids, as Killian wasn't born yet.  I did make 10 as I made one for my youngest daughter as well.
I also made a set of pillowcases for my son and his girlfriend and my oldest daughter and her boyfriend for Christmas.  Part of their gifts were also pillows that I bought at Walmart.
I appliqued the grandkids' names on all of theirs.

I don't know if I can round up all of the pictures from around my computer, but there will be a lot of them to share.
I have step by step photos taken too that I plan on posting a tutorial on how to make them.

Seems I am only missing one pictures and that's the one that I made for my grandson Cash.  It was a Hot Wheels one.

An InLinkz Link-up

Writer's Unite 11/13/14

Welcome and we have made it to another Thursday!

How many of you have joined TSU?    I wasn't going to, then talked in to it, and glad that I did.
I've been doing a lot of sharing of my writing there.  It seems to be a great place to share and earn at the same time.
If you have joined, feel free to add your profile link to the linky this week if you would like.  Mine will be the first one that I add.

Busy busy as always here.   I'm not writing blog posts as I should, but the last couple of days I've written more on bubblews instead.
I did 'get hit in the head' yesterday with something I should have been doing all along in my blog posts.   That is linking up key words in my posts to products and such elsewhere.  No, I won't go overboard with it, but why did it take me so long to learn about that?!

Onward!  Keep writing and sharing!

An InLinkz Link-up

WIP Wednesday 11/12/14

The retreat was awesome!  I really got busy sewing for 12 plus hours 2 days in a row.

I will start with a picture that I took from across the room.  I couldn't quite get all of the tables in.

The first thing I worked on was working on my Five and Dime quilt.  One of the gals who came let me borrow her Loose Change ruler.   I worked on it until I had all 40 of my blocks made and cut, then I put 2 blocks together to see what they would look like.

I then got started on my Charming Star quilt top for the sewalong with Terry's Treasures. (see button on the right).  I ran out of one color for my cream border, but one gal had some close enough in her stash.  Thanks to her I was able to complete the top.

I then moved on to cutting up some Christmas panels that a gal at church had given me.  I got the Christmas songs one cut and squared up, then it was time to leave for day 1.   I came back in the morning and got right to work squaring up the pictures from the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer panel.   These panels are made to be made into the soft books, but I always prefer to make them quilt tops instead.   I completed the Rudolph top.

Next I got out my fractured pineapple blocks.  I finished the 3rd one and made 2 more.
I got bored of those and moved on to making 4 patches with the 2 and a quarter inch squares. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of my progress with those.

Since being home I tried to get back to my lighter blue hexagons for the rainbow color challenge with the soscrappy blog.   I admit that I'm having a problem getting motivated to make these with so many things to get made.  I need to find a project other than just making the flowers.

Finally this week, yesterday was sewing club at church where we meet once a month to sew quilts for charity.  I'm just working on simple 4 patch tops now with larger 4 patches.   I had a goal to get my whole pile made into 4 patches.  As you can see by my picture, I didn't quite make that goal.

My current UFO list:
Rectangle quilt
challenge wall hanging
GoodNight Irene quilt/wall hanging
Yo-Yo Table runner
Emerald Island Fusique table runner
Five and Dime quilt
Fractured Pineapple quilt
Christmas bags (total of at least 25) (9 done)
Charming Stars quilt
Brown half square triangle quilt
? sets of doll blanket, pillows and rug
Hexagon flower table runner
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer quilt

I am linking up with the following blogs:

All Business Monday--Etsy

This week I want to talk about Etsy--the site to sell your hand made items, as well as supplies and vintage items.
I've had an etsy shop for a long time.  Every year I make a goal that I will at least list one new items each week.  Every year I don't maintain that goal.

Still, etsy is the place where I have sold the most of my crafts, which is a variety of items.  I have plastic canvas, quilts, table runners, baby bibs, fabric bags, crochet items and more.
I don't have a niche.  I am more of an all around type of gal.
Often I learn how to make something new and you will then see a lot of that in my shop.

I've had luck with special orders here and there.  Someone sees, say one of the fabric bags, and wants a certain color or print, and will order it special.  I love those!

I have found that even with the fees, etsy is still the best place to list your items for sale.


This morning I put off my procrastination and went in to my shop.  I renewed several listings that had expired as well as added a new item.  I WILL keep my goal from now on of listing something new each week, which can include relisting an expired item if I don't have anything new made.

Let's craft on!

Feel free to link up any of your blog posts that have to do with your business, but if you have an etsy shop, please do link it up.  Thanks!

An InLinkz Link-up

Super Sunday Reviews--Heaven if for Real

Heaven IS for Real!

 My teenager had started attending a youth group with one of her friends. She got in on the last 2 weeks of them reading Heaven is for Real as a group.

Both weeks she came home telling me about what she had read and telling me that I really needed to read the book. I was thrilled when they gave her a copy of the book to bring home.

I started reading, and didn’t stop until I was done. Yes folks, Heaven is for Real is THAT good. I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what 4 year Colton was going to tell us next about heaven.

See, Colton got very sick. He went for emergency surgery. During the surgery he went to heaven. When he came back he told his family the different things and the people that he seen there.

At first they thought he was just naming things that he had been taught, after all, his father is a pastor. But, as he talks of meeting his sister, who was miscarried, and his grandfather, who had died 30 years before he was born, they began to believe.

So much of what I read that Colton saw in heaven, I too have been taught throughout my Christian life. He gives so many details, it has to be real.

If you have not read Heaven is for Real, please do. I just went into my daughter’s room to ask her if I can have the book to read again. This time I’m going to read it out loud to my husband.

An InLinkz Link-up