I'm Back!

Hello again! Hope everyone has been well! We've had a lot going on and I've severely neglected this blog. We had our third little boy at the end of July, so all 3 of my boys have been keeping me busy. :) Our oldest is starting kindergarten next week (very excited for him but nervous).

I have been working on developing and marketing my Facebook page and have spent less time on Etsy. I am able to interact with fans/customers more through Facebook by doing different types of sales and giveaways and am able to better gauge what people are interested in. I have also been doing some trades with other wahms and am loving getting to know them and using their amazing products!

My Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/TGiftGarden. Please stop by and say hi! I currently have some ready to ship items and love doing customs so please do not hesitate to contact me if there is something I can create for you!

Also, I am having a giveaway on my page to celebrate reaching 300 fans! To enter, go to the pinned post at the top of my facebook page or click on the giveaway button at the top of the page!

As for the future of this blog: I am going to focus less on what I am doing and more on reviewing the products I have purchased and/or received from other small businesses.

So, check back soon for the first review...

Smooth Sailing?

I am currently working on the second challenge for Persimon Dreams Quilt challenge. The challenge this week is to quilt something using only your favorite color and white. You can read about the cahllenges by clicking on the Project Quilting Button to the right. I know I said after the last one that I was going to do a smaller project, but...I couldn't resist. So now, I will be fighting the clock to get this one done!

My favorite color is blue, but I actually do not have much in the blue fabric department. I found a pattern in one of my quilting books for sailboats and thought it would be a good way to use up my scraps.

I cut out the blocks and triangles and here is the layout of the boats:

I managed to get one sailboat pieced last night:

And all the triangles sewn together:

So, now I just need to piece the other three boats, add strips of white inbetween, figure out what to use as binding and backing, and quilt it by Sunday at noon. I better get to work!


I will be linking up to Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday so be sure to check out what everyone else is up to! Have a great day!

Oh Baby!

I'll start this Monday post with the biggest news: We are expecting our third baby July 30th! I have been wanting to tell everyone for a while but I wanted to wait until the first doctor visit and ultrasound were complete. Right now I am 12 weeks and 6 days, and everything is looking good and healthy. I was blessed to have very easy pregnancies with the boys and am hoping this one will be too. We would really like to have a girl this time, but if it's a boy we have a TON of clothes and toys lol. This pregnancy is similar to the others in that coffee makes me feel sick and I get stuffy off and on. It is different in that even tea (hot or cold) makes me sick if I drink too much and I have more moments of yucky-I guess you could say queasiness, without actually getting sick. I have the urge to make little girl clothes and am thinking about looking for patterns for cute summer dresses for me. Of course, it could all just be in my head because I'm hoping for a little girl. :) Oh well, we'll find out in a couple of months!

So, I made progress on the red and black table runner on Friday but then did nothing Saturday and Sunday. I am trying to keep Sunday a day of rest and let me tell ya, it is hard! lol. Although technically if sewing is relaxing to me and more like a hobby, I guess it would be okay, right?!

This week I will mainly be working on the Quilting challenge from Persimon Dreams. The challenge is to quilt something using only your favorite color (and various shades) and white. Since my favorite color is usually blue, I am going to try and use the blues I have, although I have a limited selection. It is really hard to resist the urge to run out to the store and buy some new fabric, but I am being disciplined! I have an idea that I found in one of my quilting books. I like the quilt and am thinking of making it into a wall hanging, but am a little worried about it looking a little plain. And yes, I know I said last week that I was going to do a smaller project but I just can't resist the bigger ones! I'll post pics of how it is coming along Wednesday. :)

I have other upcoming projects but am waiting until it is time to start on them. This week-the challenge will be my main focus and then if there is time, the black and red table runner, and the cat potholder and towel for my friend.

Projects, Mommy Inspiration, and Treasuries!

This week has flown by, but don't they always?! I kind of dropped the ball on my projects. Yesterday got away from me and by the time the kids went to bed, I just could not get myself to into the dining room. I think the cold, rainy weather had something to do with it! Anyway, I finished one tote and am hoping to get the other one done today. It would be wonderful to finish the cat towel and pot holder on Saturday, but you know how that usually goes!

I am super excited to see what Kim and Diane have planned for the next quilting challenge! They will post it over at Persimon Dreams on Sunday!

So,earlier this week, our pastor sent out an email about being a stay at home mom. The author explained how we tend to take on almost a martyr-type role, and exclaim that it is the hardest job in the world. The author basically gives a reality check, that while certainly hard and exhausting, no it is not the hardest job in the world and is actually a blessing compared to what some jobs entail. It was a gentle reality check, not harsh at all and was just what I needed to snap out of my rotten mood. For some reason, Ihad woken up just grumpy towards the world and everything the kids did was driving me crazy. Ever had one of those days?! I had been trying to talk to myself about all I had to be grateful for and how I really had no reason to be grumpy. I guess this article was just what I needed to help snap me out of it. It truly is a blessing to stay home with the kids and even in the midst of one of their bad moments/days, it is still a better job than many others out there! I'll link up the article here.


Well, that is about all I have for today!

If you would like to look at some precious treasuries I was featured in this week, here are the links (and if anyone can explain how to post the actual treasuries here, I would be so happy):

Hearts, Hearts, Hearts!!!

Memories are Made of This

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

And remember, if you would like to purchase something I have made, would like an explanation of how I made something, or just have a general question, you can email me at mastarkey81@yahoo.com.

Works in Progress Wednesday

Well, time to see how I am doing on Monday's to-do list.

1) CLEAN THE HOUSE Progress has been made, but how clean can a house get and stay with two young boys lol

2) Finish my friend's Spring bag (still need to get to Joann's for this) Almost done-made it to Joann's yesterday and got the lining and straps for the bag. Now I just have to finish putting it together. The lining looks very similar to the purple squares on the outside but it's small hearts instead of circles and it is a thin flannel.

3) Make a cat kitchen towel for another friend No progress-still hoping to get this done this week.

4) Design and make a cat potholder for same friend No progress-also hoping to get this done this week, or at least started.

5) Email a third friend some fabric ideas for a gym bag Done!

6) Finish my sis-in-laws bag Progress made and would LOVE to finish it tonight or tomorrow. She asked me for this probably over a year ago and I bought fabric but never made it. She asked for lime green and pink so the outside will look like this:

The inside will look like this:

This is my first reversible bag-I did the blue and purple squares in case she wants a little change. The solid squares are actually sparkly, and I bought yellow and green but ended up not using them. I like how bright and cheery it is!

7) Finish a red and black table runner that I started oh, last year lol Haven't even taken it out yet lol.

So, some progress made which I am happy with of course, but am hoping to make much more before the next quilting challenge opens on Sunday.

Enjoy the day! I think today is one of the last of the nicer days until rain and slightly cooler weather comes in so we will probably be outside.

I will be linking up to Freshly Pieced so be sure to head over there and check out the other WIPs!

Accomplishments and Lists

Well, I finished my table runner for the quilting challenge over at persimon dreams. I had to do a bit of marathon sewing on Saturday but I finished it.

It was only my second time actually "quilting" something so I am pretty happy with it despite some issues I had. With the first table runner I made, I had some bunching and puffy issues. I just figured my pinning wasn't as up to par as it should be and was told polyester batting has a tendency to make things puffier than cotton batting. For this table runner, I pulled the polyester batting apart so it was even thinner and really took my time and pinned like crazy. Well, the first square I sewed around was very puffy and the next section I tried to quilt had some major bunching and folding over. The third section was even worse. What made it even more frustrating was that I was using a walking foot and had dropped the tension down. I ended up taking those quilting lines out and taking off my walking foot and just using the regular sewing attachment. The quilting came out SO much nicer. I don't think it's perfect (I never think that) but overall I am happy with the end result. So, is my walking foot a dud, or what? I do not even want to mess with it anymore.

No quilting challenge this week so I am going to try and tackle my list of to-do's. Persimon dreams is also starting a quilt along this week and I am so tempted to join in. However, I am almost positive I do not have enough coordinating fabric so I am going to try and resist! Okay, so here is what I hope to at least make a dent in:

1) CLEAN THE HOUSE lol
2) Finish my friend's Spring bag (still need to get to Joann's for this)
3) Make a cat kitchen towel for another friend
4) Design and make a cat potholder for same friend
5) Email a third friend some fabric ideas for a gym bag
6) Finish my sis-in-laws bag
7) Finish a red and black table runner that I started oh, last year lol

So, how many of these will actually finish? Hopefully more than one, but we will see! Hope everyone has a great week!

The Week and Lessons Learned

Happy friday! Except hubby may be working Sat and Sun. :( Oh well, at least it is supposed to continue to be nice out. My older son's first dentist visit went extremely well. He did not seem to be stressing about it, more excited actually. He kept asking when his appointment was. Before we went in, he said he was a little nervous. The girl that did his teeth was amazing with him and had him laughing. His xrays looked fine and the dentist said he had beautiful teeth. Yay! Let's hope it stays that way. We took the younger one along too so he could see, even though he has another year and a half before they will give him his first cleaning. After C was done, little H climbed right up in the chair, ready for his turn. So, cute. I am definitely glad he had such a good first experience. I remember dreading going to the dentist as a child.


This week the boys have been doing a lot of pretend remote control play, mostly flying helicopters and planes. While we were visiting my family over Christmas, my Poppop took us out to the flying field he uses for his model airplanes. My husband flew the airplane a couple of times and C got to try for a minute and even got the plane to do a loop-de-loop. My dad has a flight simulator program on his computer and the boys are always asking him to fly it. My dad also has a smaller remote controlled helicopter that they thought was awesome. So, for Christmas they got remote controlled trucks and my husband got a remote helicopter like my dad has. The batteries on the trucks were dead when we got home (they were apparently left on the whole 11 hour drive home) and one has a broken control that we need to fix. They love when my husband flies his helicopter in the house (he enjoys it too) and so while he is at work, they make up their own. They use random toy steering wheels and bike ramps, basically whatever they find, as remotes for their planes, helicopters, motorcycles, etc. It is so cute to watch and I know my Poppop would be so tickled to see them doing that.


We got a little bit of yard work done the other day, there is still a lot to be done. This weather is making me want to go ahead and plant my bulbs and get the early spring garden started but I think I need to wait a few more weeks, just in case. In the meantime, there is plenty of prep work to do to the yard and I can start seeds indoors in just a little while. I also saw somewhere (probably Pinterest) cutting the top off a 2 liter bottle,filling it with soil and planting carrot seeds in it. That way the kids can watch them grow. I'm hoping to do that this weekend.


No finished projects to display. I only have 2 days to finish the table runner for the quilt challenge. I have the squares and inbetween strips sewn. I just need to add the side borders, cut out backing and batting, quilt, and bind it. My friend's bag is still waiting on lining and straps, but I am hoping to get to Joanns this weekend as well.


I would have to say my lesson learned from this week is being satisfied with what you have, specifically fabric and skills. I received a Connecting Threads and a Keepsake Quilting catalog in the mail yesterday. Looking at all of the amazing fabric and threads inspired me but then I began to feel frustrated because I do not have such an extensive collection from which to choose. I also see all of the quilts and want to do them so badly but in reality, a lot of the designs would probably be too difficult for me. I also need to work on the quilting part-I have only done it once. So, I started to get frustrated but quickly realized that those are things that will come with time. I need to focus on what I CAN do and what I already have on hand. I need to pick projects that I am excited about and that can challenge me without being too advanced. Most of all, I need to ENJOY what I am doing or it is not going to come together. Just my little philosophical thought.


Have a great weekend!