Time flies! I can't believe it has been a whole week although I have to admit that my weekdays and weekends are all mixed up and that certainly makes the weeks run together. Liam is 10 weeks old now. Growing like a weed and changing so quickly. He is smiling and holding his head up completely on his own. If I put him on his tummy he immediately props himself up on his forearms and elbows to look around. He is so curious and fun to watch. I know chasing him like crazy is just around the corner!

Before too much more time passed I wanted to share another great gift we got when Liam was born. It is from a fellow reader (Hi, Jamie!) who so sweetly sent these little items for Liam! The gift above is so adorable. It is a bundler made out of fleece. Can you see the print? You guessed it, owls!

These are hilarious and super cute burp cloths. They are a great gift idea too. Tri-fold cloth diapers with decorative fabric and grosgrain ribbon then a fun design or saying embroidered above! Thanks, Jamie!

The past few weeks have changed my life. Even now I'm sitting here typing with one hand, the other arm holding Liam. Motherhood is everything and nothing like I imagined! It's an amazing rollar coaster for sure.

In the past few weeks since Liam was born we've gotten cards and flowers and gifts galore! They are all so thoughtful and so appreciated. In the next few posts I thought I would share some of the handmade ones with all of you. So here is the first!

This is the beautiful quilt my Nana made for Liam. So beautiful and simple at the same time. She tucked little accents of teal flat piping between the main pieced section and the border and then between the border and the binding.

Each little block has not only beautiful quilting but these adorable little owls embroidered in the center of the squares! I love it and it will be a treasure for Liam for years to come.

Happy 2010 everyone! I can't believe 2009 is gone. Done. The memories I have from last year are fabulous and I am looking forward to a new, amazing year as Nina grows and as Jeff and I welcome a new member to our family. We celebrated all of our Christmas' and I will update you all with pictures soon from that and the baby shower!

In the meantime I wanted to make sure you stop by your local craft or sewing shop and pick up a copy of the new sewing directory Sew It All. This is a special issue brought to you by the same lovely folks that publish Sew News and Creative Machine Embroidery.

There are some projects from me in there (like this super quick mesh eco-friendly produce bag) as well as other super creative sewing and embroidery projects to get your new crafting year started of easy and painless! Check them out at www.sewingdistrict.com too!

I never thought about that until this week. Where would you turn if you had 17 projects to complete, proof, and send off in 5 days? I didn’t even look around me for help. I flew out to my mom and sisters. Although I felt like I was pushing child labor laws ( Ali is 11) to the limit almost every day I was there one of my sisters said something to me about how much fun they were having. Fun?! Yes, we’re a topsy, turvy group. We had so much fun sitting around sewing for hours on end it didn’t seem like work anymore. The deadlines disappeared and it just turned into being together.

While most of what we worked on I can’t show you yet, the younger girls, Ali, Clara and JoHannah finished up a king sized quilt that we have been working on…

Ali completed two baby sized quilt tops…

And Braeton took naps for all of us. He matches perfectly with Heather Bailey's Pop Garden!

I miss them all already and even the fantastic Japanese Steakhouse dinner wasn't enough to thank them!

Wherever you are I hope you've not been getting the crazy heat we have here in the Cleveland area! The past few days have been in the 90's with high humidity making me incredibly grateful I am spoiled with AC! As is the story these days I have been hard at work on the book but with some more fabric arrived some yummy patterns I just adore!

They are from Art Gallery Fabric. If you can stop staring at the beautiful covers and peek inside the directions seem simple and easy to follow. My First Playmat is brilliant. A safe, clean quilted mat for baby to play on and later on, learn shapes and matching. I have 4 friends expecting in the spring and I figured I need to get an early start on gifts. This with a few embroidered onesies and WOW personal gifts with style!

The Toybox is so cute and smart. Not only could it be used as a toybox, as suggested, but I can imagine making a few of these to house some of my samples, finished quilts or blankets and sleeping bags when not being used.

Next week brings a much needed trip to my east coast family and friends. I'm so looking forward to it! As you can guess, I'll have pictures and stories galore!

Apparently you all like free download embroidery designs! That is super exciting as there are more on their way in the coming months. Here it is again if you missed out on the adorable pumpkin design post. Also, when you finish a creation make sure to post it on the Nina flicker account in the Happy Lanturn Creations set. I can't wait to see all the cute projects!

Here are a few pictures from the weddings we attended in July.

Weddings are such an amazing time. Jeff and I are coming up on our second anniversary and I never imagined when I said "I do" that time would fly by this quickly. As I watched these weddings I didn't have to remember how these new couples felt because I still feel it and I am so grateful for that! That's my hubby playing classical guitar for our friend's ceremony music.

As you can imagine the writing the copy for the book has knocked a few other things out of balance. A clean sewing room for instance. I've spent all morning moving, organizing, sorting, dusting and throwing away and it feels great! I found some great recipes I have been saving and marched them into the kitchen for making. A zillion books that can be put back on the shelves. Magazines that can be sorted through and cut out projects that can be sewn. I can finally see the tops of my tables and can move onto more important things, like messing it all up again sewing all the samples for the book! I really hope you all like what is coming your way!

I love new sewing tools. Obviously there are the ones that wow you and the ones that you know are going to make your task at hand so much easier to accomplish. At the Janome Convention last weekend I found one of both. There were some really great vendors there but these two stuck out.

First, the HoopSisters. I don’t know how many of you like to embroider or quilt but for me the combination of both is a fantastic concept. I have seen many embroidery designs that “quilt” in the hoop but it seems to be the same crazy patch concept in just a little different design. Not Annie and Lynda. I met Annie in the booth and was amazed at the amazingly beautiful quilts they had hanging there. These embroidery designs are available in multiple formats and can be done on any machine. I hope to get my hands on one shortly and start to try it out!

The second vendor was the tool I knew would help make my task at hand easier to accomplish. The Accuquilt. If you’ve seen the BigShot or Cuttlebug for scrapbooking it is the same concept…but with fabric and with dies designed specifically for quilting! Gone are the days (and for me it is literally days upon days) of rotary cutting endless strips and squares and circles (yup! Circles!). The Accuquilt Go! cuts up to 6 layers of fabric at a time. This tool would help immensely with one or two of the projects in my upcoming book so it has been promoted to the top of my “really want for Christmas or my birthday” list.

I’m going to go finish a project and start a new one…I’ll share them tomorrow!
 

I know. Too much time between posts.  I don’t come empty handed though!

This is an amazing site a friend at work passed on to me. What does a girl need more than a cute, stylish, multi-tasking dress! The One Dress project put the power of social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Flickr to use by connecting over 1000 women who essentially designed this one dress. By sharing their lifestyles, needs and dreams they helped design a dress for any occasion. The knit jersey fabric is perfect for travel and if you wander around on their site you’ll see all the different styles the dress can produce makes this a truly classic dress and well worth the investment!

I have been pretty inspired in the garment area lately. For me, summer time is the hardest time to stay inside and sew but this adorable top and irresistible dress made it onto my to-make-very-soon list! If you’re looking for another quick, restyle project make sure to download the Lace Tank Top from the Free Project Download section of the site!
 

And if you’re in the mood for a road trip check out the workshop my friends at DIY Style are putting on in St. Louis! Fun classes with fun, talented girls!
 

It's time for a party! It is the one year mark for Nina. In that year how-to videos, free project downloads and posts have been seen by thousands. Thank you for your support and as a thank you the first 5 people to post comments about their favorite part of the website will win a fat quarter pack of Sew You, Sew Fun fabrics and a pack of Iris thread!

I have realized lately how easy it is to let life get in the way of crafting and sewing. Sometimes it is too many activities. Sometimes it is not making it a priority. Sometimes it is because I feel I need a million hours to make something super impressive. So in honor of getting back to the basics, making time to create a quick project as a birthday gift or using your creative juices to relax...We're having a contest! I have created a group on Flicker called Sewing Easy. Upload your original easy to sew project that was made in 10 steps or less. You could be one of five people to win a package of beautiful Iris Embroidery Thread, an assorted pack of fat quarters or a signed copy of my book, Your Space. Leave comments on other's designs and the one with the most comments wins "Viewer's Choice" and one of each of the prizes!

I seriously can't believe March is gone. Easter is right around the corner and this article I wrote for Creative Machine Embroidery brought back all sorts of childhood memories.

When I was little, maybe 5 or 6 years old I remember decorating easter eggs with my Nana. She would take a safety pin, put a tiny whole in each end and then it was my job to gently blow out the insides of the egg. I remember being terrified about getting that guck on me so I blew super gentle, just like Nana said, so I wouldn't break the egg and make a mess. Once the insides were out, I would get to put the decorative plastic wrappers around the egg and Nana would hold it in place and pour the hot water on top. Magically, the plastic would shrink to just the right size and encase the middle of the egg in beautiful design. I also remember the coloring eggs with my mom. Watching those little disks of dye dissolve in the vinegar and being the designer of a perfect half-colored egg, learning how purple and yellow make a yucky looking color...these were creative experiences that I'll never forget.

So I'm reminding you. This year make a tradition. It doesn't have to be for a holiday. Maybe it is as simple as making everyone's favorite dinner the same day every month. Maybe you'll grab this magazine, use the project instructions to create these eggs with or for friends and family as a tradition for spring! At the risk of sounding cheesy...make a memory.

The past two weeks have been full of some very fun projects going out just as quickly as they are coming in! I had the chance to do some very fun scarf projects, a snuggly wool throw with a top made completely out of yarn and an exciting embellished shirt and duvet/sham set for a new hand embroidery publication. I can't wait to get the duvet/sham project back from the publication and stick it on my bed! I also did a cute Pin-Up Apron made from half a placemat and two napkins! I'll pass along more details on these as I can!

If you have some time, surf the how-to video section! Jeff made some super cool updates on how you view the videos and there are over 10 new videos to help you learn some awesome techniques!

The Christmas tree is still up. My mantel is still decorated with fresh pine boughs. The lights are still up outside. I just can't take down Christmas! Even if I hadn't been fighting the yucky flu this weekend and working like crazy on some projects since the holidays...I don't know that I would have made the time to take down the cheerful decorations.

Almost all my gifts this year were sewing and crafting related. I got some awesome books from my sister Alison for my birthday and Christmas and a very indulgent hubby gifted me with an ipod Touch! I also gifted myself a little something...a new sewing studio! After a crazy trip to Ikea the day after Christmas Jeff and I assembled this crazy fun studio.

I can't believe the storage!!! I organized all my fabrics, every scissor, yarn and button has it's place. My paperwork is organized and stylishly stored.

A fantastic picture of Audrey tops it all off! Having this new space has inspired me. It's like a clean slate. Organized, fresh and together. I'd love to see where you sew and what is in there that inspires you! Send me a note and picture at shannon@theninaline.com!

 Time to go make this place a mess!

The Iris Thread Giveaway Contest has officially ended.

Winners will be contacted via e-mail and their names will also be posted right here on TheNinaLine.com blog.

Thanks to everyone who participated and made this contest a success!

Well, my best friend is in the shop. I had to take my sewing machine in for repair so I've been catching up on the not so fun paperwork side of life. I did make a super cute crafting project I'll post tomorrow.

There are two new projects up in the Free Download section for you guys. This cute wristlet is super quick to make. The handle is actually a elastic bracelet (super cute) so now you won't have to worry about dropping your purse or walking away without it!

The second new project is this super sweet towel wrap. This is a great quick project and perfect for beach or pool visits. It would be cute for a swim team wrap (maybe embroider the team name on the back of the wrap) or, if lengthened, as a wrap for the shower at college.

I have some cool stuff to share once I am back in sewing order! Stay tuned!

I love this site and it's not just because I write for them! CraftStylish is a utopia of imagination for every type of crafting and creating. Now they have a tote bag challenge and I am already thinking about which category I want to participate in!

Ever wonder what basting means? How about the real way to complete a blind hem?

I remember trying to sew through a pattern that was a little above my skill level and not having a close reference to learn, or remember, these little techniques. Check out the Sewepedia. This will obviously grow but is a great place to find these little terms in one place. A bonus? They have little videos attached! This too will grow...we've added 3 more videos since the launch last week. So if you are a more visual person and need to know what Topstitching is..just click on it!

I'd love to get some terms or techniques up there that you all run into or struggle with. Let me know and we'll get them up as soon as we can!

-Shannon

I'm home! Not quite settled in yet but the laundry is done. I went to Husqvarna Viking International Convention last week in San Antonio, Texas. It was so wonderful to see old friends and make some new ones. So why was I there?

First, to debut Iris Embroidery thread. I am the spokesperson for this new-wonderful-you-have-to-try-it-yourself polyester thread. I am so excited about this thread! Amazing colors, awesome sheen and, unlike rayon, you can bleach it and leave it in the sun. Decorative stitches, embroidery and construction sewing will never be the same!...or maybe I'm super bias. In anycase, it should hit your local sewing machine retailer stores within the next few weeks and you all should try it out.

Second, I was there to see the unveiling of the new Husqvarna Viking Designer Diamond! What a crazy amazing machine! A huge embroidery area now with all the Viking features we love...and more.

Then the fun stuff. I met one of my online icons while in Texas. I adore Anna Maria Horner's style, personality and zest for life...not to mention I know how difficult it is to be a designer and she has 5 children she is raising! I also got a smile from Martha Stewart. I was so excited I was shaking. I also got the chance to connect with some awesome people I will be creating some projects with so I will keep you all updated when that all starts to happen!

Welcome to creative.

Welcome to crafty.

Welcome to too much inspiration and fun stuff for me to keep to myself.

Welcome to Nina.

I can't believe this day is finally here. I hope this community is not only fun and inspirational but continues to be full of tips and hints for your crafting needs. I look forward to hearing from you all, getting to know you and sharing!