Auntie Em's House

Machine Embroidery

2008-05-20T15:56:00.002-04:00

I love to use my embroidery machine. It might not be the lastest greatest one out there but it gets the job done. I've used it to personalize everything under the sun. When I first got my machine years ago I found this great website called ArtisticThreadWorks (ATW). After reading a few posts and seeing some of the designs I knew that my best investment would be to join ATW. I have never once regretted my membership. When I ever I have a question or need some advice there are always people on the forums to help. I also love browsing through the photos section to see what other are doing. Both of those are great but the real bang for your buck comes with the designs. They have thousands of designs you can choose from and I always find the one I'm looking for on the site.

If you have an embroidery machine or are thinking about getting one you MUST join ATW. It will be well worth the money! Have questions? Feel free to ask me or any of the lovely ATW folks.

I'm in an Etsy Treasury!

2008-05-10T03:47:00.003-04:00

"Aaahh, Wash Day! Who doesn't love clean laundry?" Treasury includes my vintage clothespins! This treasury does expire soon so you are reading this at a later date sorry you missed it. I just wanted to share the fun with everyone. The clothes pins she included are really cool. I found them at an estate sale in a hanging clothespin bag. I do have some more in my store so feel free to check them out. Such brightly colored pins should make anyone's laundry day a little brighter.

In the garden

2008-04-28T07:51:00.003-04:00

Spring is here! I've been longing for the beginning of spring since the beginning of March. I guess that is what happens after you live in the Southwest for a few years. Now that we are up north again spring never seems to come fast enough. Just the thought of planting my garden and working in the yard makes me happy.

Yesterday was our frost free date and I'm glad I did not try to rush it this year since we did have a hard freeze two nights before. So far I have planted my pea and carrot seeds along with starter potatoes and onion sets. One of the many things I love about my garden is the asparagus patch. How I love the taste of asparagus! It has started to grow and I'm longing for the first of many dinners with asparagus this spring.

Along with my many daffidils and tulips, I have a varity of native woodland flowers in our ravine that are blooming. Here is a photo of one of them.

For more farmgirl gardening info and tips join me over at Mary Janes Farm forums.

In the Kitchen

2008-04-20T18:32:00.002-04:00

I have to fully admit that my "weak point" as a farmgirl is in the kitchen. BUT I do have a thing for canning. I guess it goes back to my frugal farm girl roots. Nothing goes to waste. What you can not eat fresh should be saved for a rainy day (ie. the winter or off season). This past year I have learned a lot about canning. On of the best resources I found for canning online I actually stumbed upon while looking up u-pick locations. The website is called Pick Your Own. I have followed their easy to use canning, freezing and pie recipes and they have all worked great! Who knew I'd find one more reason to wear my aprons?

For more kitchen fun check out the kitchen section of Mary Jane Farm's forums or for some of MJ's yummy foods check out her online store. I can say that everything I've tried from her store is yummy!

Farm Girl Heart!

2008-04-15T19:53:00.003-04:00

So who is a farm girl at heart? What does that mean? My definition of a farm girl at heart can not be summed up by one action or thing. For starters it is a state of mind not a location. Growing up on farm I saw farmer's wives who where not farmgirls and then living in a big city after college I saw farmgirls living in urban areas!

Being a farmgirl is all about caring. Caring for people, livestock, veggies and flowers, the woods, and woodland creatures. It is about stewardship, sustainable living, family/neighbors and a frugal life style.

Am I a farmgirl at heart? You bet I am! 100% farmgirl. I've been known to say " You can take the girl off the farm but you can't take the farm out of the girl.". I was raised on a farm while watching my dad, uncle and grandfather farm. My first job was picking up rocks in my dad's field while I was in grade school. By 7th grade I was working in test plots for a local seed corn company. And of course I was 10 year 4-H member!

Now I'm grown up with two small daughters of my own. I don't live on a farm at the moment but we have 1 1/4 acres in a small town. It feels like the country because our house sets way back off the road and our backyard is a wooded ravine with a winter view of the river below. I have a large garden (100ft x 40ft) that I love. I also spend a lot of time during the summer visiting local fruit farms getting yummy things like blueberries, apples, peaches and more. When I'm not doing that I'm busy canning and freezing all these fresh foods in my non-air conditioned kitchen.

When the weather doesn't let me be outside I'm busy sewing in my sewing room. If you have been following this blog you have seen my many creations. I sew anything and everything. One of my many farmgirl attributes I learned from my family growing up is to survival. Some years where good on my dad's farm but others where not. Sometimes it rains, sometimes it doesn't. That make do attitude has stuck with me. My family has a written budget every month and we always live within our means even if that means going without. But we usually can find away to get what we want. There are always garage sales, auctions, coupons, and making it yourself.

I could go on and on about all my farmgirl traits but I'm sure you are painting the picture by now. Do you think that I just described you? Does this sound the person you strive to be? If so you are a farmgirl at heart or at least on your way! Join myself and overs over at Mary Janes Farm Forums to meet others like us and learn more about Farmgirl Heart.

So when you think about a farmgirl throw out the location because it is all in the heart!

Tie One On!

2008-04-15T10:36:00.002-04:00

I love aprons! I'm not sure when it started or exactly why but I do know why I love them.

I have an apron for all my needs and my families also. I have a clothes pin apron, a half apron (great for going over a big baby belly), a full apron, a basic black for hubby and several for my oldest daughter. I don't have one for the baby yet but I'm still not sure how that would work since she is only three months!

It's a toss up for which one is my favorite apron. As you can see in the two photos I made my daughter and I matching aprons. She loves to wear hers and it makes me proud to think that she wants to be a hard working farm girl. My other favorite apron is hanging in the background of my daughter's photo. I made it using the same style as my grandmother's apron but with a strawberry print fabric because I LOVE my fond memories of her strawberry patch and her yummy homemade strawberry jam.

I might be addicted to aprons but they are sooo useful and beautiful. I can not image how dirty my clothes would get if I did not wear one or how much harder a job like hanging clothes could be. My addiction has meant that I also collect vintage aprons. I love to look at them and think of the other hard working women who once wore that apron or the women who lovingly stitched it into a piece of working art.

To meet other apron loving farmgirls check out Mary Janes Farm website and forums. She has an excellent magazine called "Artists in Aprons". If you love aprons you have to get the magazine.

Howdy Friends!

2008-04-15T10:14:00.002-04:00

Long time no see! For those of you who have been checking my blog I'm sorry there has not been any posts in about two months. Life has been very busy and crazy at Auntie Em's house. My newest baby (just turned three months this weekend) was born with a tumor on her leg. As one could imagine, I have spent the last two months dealing with insurance and doctors appointments. We where able to have it removed and it was benign. Praise God! Her leg has been healing very well and things in our house are getting back to "normal". We do have have a few more follow up appointments but I'm not expecting anything big.

To help me get back into the blogging mood I'm going to be participating in a blog-a-thon. It should be a lot of fun and you will be able to learn a lot about me I'm sure. It the Farmgirl Blog-a-thon. Garden Goose at http://gardengoose.blogspot.com/ is leading it and it's open to any farmgirls who would like to participate. I'm sure it will be full of the FG's over at MaryJane's forum. If you have not checked out Mary Jane's website or forums you are really missing out. I have the link on my blog. Check it out!

Sweet Day

2008-02-15T13:17:00.003-05:00

What a sweet day Valentines day was! I enjoyed the day with my two daughters. When they took their afternoon nap I got busy in the kitchen making some yummy brownie cupcakes then decorated them with hearts made out of m&ms. My oldest was very surprised and happy to see them. I hope that everyone else was able to enjoy this holiday of sweetness and sweeties.

Free Shipping This Weekend!

2008-02-09T09:12:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day is right around the corner. This weekend I'm offering free shipping on all of the Momma's Love Boo Boo patches in my Etsy shop. The free shipping is for all orders sent to the USA and Canada. For shipping to other locations you receive an extra $2.50 off the cost of shipping. All orders will be shipped out first thing Monday morning.

No need to enter a special code. The shipping costs have already been adjusted.

Puppets!

2008-02-02T17:43:00.001-05:00

So I just love making these puppet sets! Not because they are so much fun to make (which they are), but because of how they turn out. As I stitch the faces on to each puppet it's like they come to life with their own little personality. This set includes a first for my little girl monkey. As I was sewing I was longing for a sunny beach not the snow covered one we have here in Michigan right now. It inspired me to making a tropical looking monkey including flowers behind her ear. It turned out soooo cute! I was very happy with it. And from what I hear the little girl who received the puppet set loves them as well.

I just love a happy ending...

Projects in the Pipeline

2008-01-23T09:47:00.001-05:00

I have been busy with non-sewing projects over the past week or so. Mainly having a baby last Sunday. However, even though I have not been at the cutting board or the sewing machine I have been busy working on some new projects.

The first one is a casserole carrier. This carrier is not your normal country grandma looking one. It is more modern and sleek in design but very practical as it can carry more then just the casserole dish. I'm hoping to have a prototype sewn in the next week or two. As soon as it's done I'll post photos of it.

The second project is a variation of the Bandage Style Boo Boo Patch. This one is an adult size and made for someone having knee surgery. I'm actually making this for my father who is going to be having knee replacement surgery in a couple weeks. If it works well for him I'll start offering it in my shop. Nothing like using your family for testing! :)

HandMade with Heart

2008-01-21T13:10:00.000-05:00

Just in time for Valentine's Day shopping - Farmgirl Flair's Handmade With Heart!! Check out our Etsy shops for beautiful Valentine's offerings or put FGF in the search box on Etsy. Shop now through February 7th to ship in time for gift giving to your special Sweetheart!

Making News!

2008-01-20T17:43:00.001-05:00

Well, it might not be your typical news but over the past week I have made the "news" twice online. I've attached the two links to the blurbs about my Etsy store and my Boo Boo patches. Check out the links!

http://www.bigtownfarmer.com/articles/JanFGF.html

http://theartsandcrafts.blogspot.com/

Bandage Style – Boo Boo Patch

2008-01-09T17:36:00.000-05:00

I'm super excited about my lasted creation! This is was created with the thought of "How do I keep the rice pack in my non-stop kid's knee?". After a lot of research (found nothing out there), development, and then prototypes I came up with the right size and style.

This boo boo patch is specially designed to wrap around your wiggly little one’s leg or arm while keeping the rice pack in place. For brave little girls or rough-and-tumble little boys, the wrap is held into place with Aplix (a hook and loop fastener like Velcro, but softer) strips that will adjust to different sizes. The removable rice pack makes cleaning the bandage a breeze. Keep it in the freezer so it’s ready for bumps, bruises, and fevers at a moments notice. The outer flannel layer adds just that extra little bit of comfort and love.

The bandage will fit around a child’s arm or leg that is approximately 9 to 14 inches around and the rice pack insert is approx. 5 inches square. Adult sizes coming soon.

Hand Puppets

2008-01-07T14:20:00.000-05:00

For Christmas this year I made my daughter and two nephews hand puppets. My daughter loves the puppets at the local library so I thought that she might enjoy having some at home. I was not happy with what I was finding both pre-made and pattern wise. In the end I decided to make my own hand puppets. I wanted them to be soft, washable, and safe for a child of any age to use.

What I came up with was a simple child-like design. The puppets are made of soft fleece then I hand embroider their facial features on so that they have no buttons or anything else that might be a hazard to a little one.

Each puppet is unique and cartoon like. I was trying to keep in mind what a toddler or preschooler would find attractive and would also foster their imagination. Well, from the rave reviews from my daughter and her friends I think that I found a winner! She loves them and plays with them all the time. They have become their own little person in her world.

Since then I've been asked to make more. Here are photos of the two latest sets that I've made for someone. I'll be making more very soon since they are such a hit. As of now I think that they will sell for $45 + 4 in shipping per set. If you would like to get your name in the hat for one of the next sets please contact me and I'll add you to a waiting list. If you have a specific animal or gender of child in mind please let me know ahead of time. The sets contain 5 animal puppets but not always the same animals, colors, or attire. Some of the animals I've done so far that might be repeated are bears, monkeys, bunnies, pigs, dogs, cats, lions, and frogs. There are also some other animals that I'm working on to add some more variety to the sets. Each set does come in their own drawstring style bag for storing and taking on the go.

Momma's Love-- Boo Boo Patch

2008-01-05T20:35:00.000-05:00

Sometimes only a mom’s love can fix your boo-boos. This child sized rice pack in a heart shape is the perfect Valentine’s day gift to show your little love how much you care. Keep it in the freezer so it’s ready for bumps, bruises, and fevers at a moments notice. The outer flannel layer adds just that extra little bit of soft love.

I've used a mismatched tube sock filled with rice for a year now for "boo boos". However, no matter how bad my daughter was hurt she did not want to use it. Well, I was thinking about why that was... It's dad's "stinky" sock (not that is was dirty or stinky)! So I made my girlie girl a heart shaped rice pack. She loves it! She is always looking for an excuse to use it now. Knowing how much love my daughter has for her rice pack it made me think that other little one's could use and love one too.

Here are some photos from my latest creation: Momma's Love- Boo Boo Patch

Baby Sewing Projects

2008-01-04T14:02:00.001-05:00

For those of you who don't know me personally, I'm expecting any day. For our second daughter we decided to switch from sposies to cloth diapers. There are lots of great reasons to use cloth and I'm excited to be trying it out. I could have just bought all of the diapers I needed but what fun would that be?!?! So instead I bought a few (just in case mine don't fit right) and made the rest. Here is some of my fun fluffy diaper stash for a newborn. I have even more fitted diapers, embellished prefolds, wetbags, etc. that are not shown here.

These are fitted diapers made from prefolds.

The following are different styles of fleece covers for the diapers.

Flannel wipes and diaper inserts/doublers

I used a sling with my first daughter and loved it. I'm big into baby wearing and decided this time around to add to my collection. This is the Asian style carrier that I made. It's reversible so that the one side is a little bit more masculine for my hubby.

Some of My Work

2008-01-04T13:24:00.000-05:00

Here are some of my more recent projects. Some of them where gifts, trades, or sold. Others are on my Etsy site waiting for a home. If you see something on my blog you like but it's not on Etsy site please feel contact me about the item.

Both of these blankets where done as gifts. The first one was a gift for a 1 yr old and the second one was a baby shower gift. Both were made out of fleece with the child's name embroidered on one side of the blanket. I also did another one that is girlie for a customer. Since I know she has not given it to the recipient I'll wait to post it, just in case...

My lovely model has a pair of babylegs/ arm warmers on her arms that I sewed for her and her baby sister. These are great for keeping little ones warm who insist on wearing their favorite short sleeve shirts or skirts all year long.

These brooches are so fun to wear! I wear them on about everything and I've had similar feedback from others who have bought them. Some of these are still available in my store so feel free to check them out!

There is nothing more beautiful then elegant stockings hung by the fireplace for Christmas. These two are just one of the many sets that I have made. It started with making them for my own family one year. They turned out so great that I ended up making them for Christmas gifts for a few people. They liked them so much they asked if they could buy them for others and it just snowballed from there!

This was a special bag for a special lady. This was a gift for a young lady going through treatment for breast cancer. With all of the meds and things she had to carry around with her she found herself using two bags and never being able to find anything. I made this bag with lots of pockets and in bright bold colors for this cheerful young mom.

Like most pet owners I love my dogs (and the outside cat too). I don't love giving them baths and drying them off when they come inside on a rainy day. Normal towels are okay but they are not always the most absorbent. I was able to find grooming chamoises that were very absorbent. After trying them out I really did like them, but they are very plain which is not me. :) I decided to try embroidering on them. It turned out great! I like them so much I've been making them for others as well for gifts and for sale. Here are a few of my more recent custom orders.

Welcome to my House!

2007-12-18T08:17:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Auntie Em's House! This blog is going to feature some of my creations in the process of making them and the after shots. I'll also post "newsletters" and shop updates for my Etsy Store.

If you are interested in any of the items you see on the blog please go to auntieemshouse.etsy.com to purchase. If the item you are looking for is currently not listed in the shop please contact me to see if I have one ready or if I can do a custom order.