All of the ladies at Jackman’s were touched and motivated to help out with the little pillowcase dresses for the orphanages in Africa program. After seeing it on the BabyLock website, they decided to make it an Independence Day workshop sort of thing. They put a shout out to their customers and invited them to come in to make these little dresses over the long holiday weekend. They charged $2.00 to cover the cost of the fabric and the ribbons used in the dresses. This was a tremendous success. Not only did they get a lot of people in to sew dresses, all those that came in got to sew on the Top of the Line Ellisimo! What a treat for doing a good deed!
At the end of the weekend, we have a total of 200+ dresses to mail out for this worthy cause. And, since posting about this on Facebook, they have an additional 100 making a grand total of 300 Dresses for Africa!
I just thought I would share this with you!
As graduation time draws near, use your sewing machine to create a memorable scrapbook. It’s a great way to showcase the pictures of special moments in your life.
I absolutely love to see other artist’s workspace. It’s like a little glimpse into the mind of the creator and what inspires them. Here are a few of my favorites plus a couple peeks at mine.

My little sewing corner with bulletin boards filled with things that inspire me.
Here is a look at Amy Butler’s Studio:
Alison Rose has a bright and colorful sewing studio.
I cannot get over the color combination in the next studio. The teal and pink together kind of makes me want to squeal with delight, kind of the same way you do when you see a cute puppy for the first time! Look at the chinese lanterns and crocheted slippers on the wall! I couldn’t resist showing two pictures of this studio.
Fun notions that you can do with children are hard to find. Luckily, Clover has done it again with a series of yo-yo makers. This quick handwork is easy — great for watching TV, a rainy day, day camp, etc.
Not only can you use your fabric scraps to make them, you can also turn them into something else — embellish a t-shirt, jacket, or bag, make a doll or wreath, use it as a key chain and more!
Check out the instructional video from Nancy’s Notions on how to use these great yo-yo makers, along with some project ideas!

This fun bag is cute and environmental friendly! Instead of using grocery bags that harm the planet only one time, you can use this bag over and over again to bring your gorceries home. Another plus, this eco bag is incredibly easy to make!
Plush handmade critters are quite the hot item. They’re cute, easy and fun to make and everyone seems to love them! Etsy, a place where you can buy handmade items, has a category with sub-categories for h
andmade plush dolls.
Stephanie and I recently attended a handmade fair, several of the booths featured cute plush stuffed animals. These aren’t your ordinary stuffed animals, they’re unique in every way possible — shape, size, material, embellishments, etc.
Indygo Junction, one of our favorite pattern makers, recently came out with a Zipper Critters pattern. These step-by-step instructions can help get you started on this hot and easy sewing trend.
What kind of critter have you made?