. . . and the cats!

A quarter of the way finished now! Are you sewing pillowcases with me? I’d love to know! You can find my pillowcase tutorial here, in case you’d like to join in.

Fall is coming soon, and here in Dallas, fall brings the Texas State Fair! Last year, Allen submitted a Lego project in the Creative Arts Competition at the fair, and he was so excited to receive an honorable mention ribbon. He enjoyed participating so much that Samantha and I decided to join in this year, too.

Allen’s following up last year’s submission with another Lego construction. During our study of Texas state history last year, Allen especially enjoyed learning about the Alamo so he decided to recreate it for this year’s fair! Can you see Davey Crockett in his coon-skin cap standing in the entryway?

Samantha taught herself to knit this year, and now she’s always got some project on her knitting needles. She decided on this very cute beret for her state fair submission.

This was her first project knit in the round on circular needles. She did such a great job!

And, then there are my projects. I actually considered whether or not I wanted to share mine, but in the end, I decided that since the fair is actually a few months away, you’ll probably forget that I posted these by then. If I do well, I’ll remind you. If I don’t, then we’ll just forget I ever mentioned sewing something for the fair. Sound good?

I’ve been holding onto this cotton knit Texas-themed fabric for years now, just waiting for the right project. What could be a better use for it than the Texas State Fair? In the Children’s Clothing category, I’m submitting this color-blocked and appliqued Charlie Tee. It’s a size 4T, so Jamie can wear it when the fair is over.

In the Infant Clothing category, I’m turning in this embroidered Jamie Jumper in size 18 months. This one’s my favorite of the two. I’m really excited about Charlie getting to wear it this fall. It’s a little big now, so I hope it fits!

We’re delivering all our projects to the fairgrounds tomorrow. The kids will be on pins and needles waiting for the judging. The results should come around the middle of next month.

Pillowcases numbers 5 and 6 are all done. 34 to go! These two sport some of my favorite Michael Miller prints.

And, I’m finally caught up on quilt blocks for the Fresh Comfort Quilting Bee. Bibi send us these adorable prints and asked us to sew up Dutchman’s Puzzle Blocks.

Of course, I had to make a matching one for myself, too!

Are you ready to see the winners? I have a quite a few to announce.

First up, the winner for the Week 3 Drawing. Rather than having the kids draw this time, I assigned a number to each entry and used random.org to choose. The number that came up was number 9, and number 9 was assigned to brenda3boysplus for her photo contest entry! Congratulations, Brenda!

Next is the random drawing for those who voted for the contest winner. There were a total of 67 comments between the two posts. I numbered them 1 to 67 starting with the first comment on the the first round of voting. Random.org chose number 30. Comment #30 belongs to Sarah AJ. Congratulations, Sarah!

And, the winners that I know you’re most excited about . . . the photo contest winners!

Drum roll, please . . . .

In the Baby Steps Category the winner is Baby Mushroom by Suburbanbelle!

In the On My Own Category the winner is Cruis’n the Cul De Sac by emilyjohnson226!

In the Friends & Family Category the winner is Hanging Around by Sew Me a Garden!

Congratulations to all the winners! I’ll be getting in touch with you to get your mailing addresses so I can get your prizes out to you right away. And, a huge THANK YOU to all of you who submitted photos, commented, blogged and voted! I hope you all enjoyed the contest as much as I did!

In 40 days, I’ll be *gulp* 40 years old! I was checking out the Crafthope blog a few days ago and discovered that they’re participating in ConKerr Cancer’s Miles of Pillowcase Smiles project. ConKerr Cancer organizes sewists around the country who sew bright and cheery handmade pillowcases for children who are seriously ill. It just so happens that the deadline for this project is September 15th–my 40th birthday. So, I’ve set a goal for myself to sew 40 pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer in the next 40 days.

I finished up my first four pillowcases today. They were so quick and easy! I’m sure there are zillions of tutorials online for pillowcases, but I thought I’d put together one to show my method. I timed myself to see exactly how long one pillowcase takes. Including cutting out the fabric, the total time was 9 1/2 minutes! You do need a serger to use this tutorial. (If you don’t have a serger, check out the ConKerr Cancer website for a tutorial using your sewing machine.) Just click for The 9 1/2 Minute Pillowcase Tutorial.

If one pillowcase only takes 9 1/2 minutes, surely you have time to sew up one or two, too! If you do, I’d love to see them!

And the finalists are . . . .

In the Baby Steps category, you’ll be voting for one of these three finalists:

Baby Mushroom by Suburbanbelle
In this photo, Maggie is wearing the Halloween costume that her mom crafted using the Jamie Jumper from the Little One Layette pattern.

What’s on My Head? by Suburbanbelle
Here’s adorable little Maggie again dressed in her Christmas Emmy Top.

A Precious Gift by johnnysgirl77
This sweet little guy is 2-day-old Simeon modeling a Little One Layette gown.

In the On My Own category, the finalists are these three beautiful photographs:

Simon’s Ollie by brenda3boysplus
Simon and his skateboard are airborne in his driveway showing off a Patrick Curved Raglan.

Cruis’n the Cul De Sac by emilyjohnson226
Morgan’s speeding around the cul de sac on his bicycle wearing a Patrick Raglan that his Aunt Michelle sewed for him for Christmas last year.

Sweet Birthday Girl by Imamama Diapers
Because of Autistic Spectrum Disorder, this is a rare shot of Olivia actually looking at the camera showing off a sweet smile. She’s wearing an Emmy Top made by her mom for her third birthday.

In the Friends & Family category, these three amazing photographs made the top positions:

Snuggly Brother by mom2katncole
In this photo, big sister is wearing the new Charlie Tee while snuggling with her little brother.

Brotherly Love by emilyjohnson226
Miles and Phineas are sharing a hug here in their matching Patrick Curved Raglans.

Hanging Around by Sew Me a Garden
Big sister is wearing the new Charlie Colorblocked Tee while “hanging around” with her little sister who is wearing the Charlie Tee modified into a nightgown.

Now, you get to decide the winner! You’ll be voting for one photo in each category this time:

 Click here to vote.

Remember to come back here and leave a comment that you’ve voted to be entered into the drawing for a free Charlie Tee pattern. You can leave a comment today even if you left one yesterday for a second entry.

The voting will run through 5 p. m. central time tomorrow (Saturday, August 8). I’ll announce all the winners Monday morning!

This round of voting is closed! Watch for the final round to start in a few hours.

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It’s time to pick the finalists! Choose your favorite three photos from each category: Baby Steps, On My Own and Friends & Family and then click the link below to vote.

Click here to vote!

You’ll only be allowed to vote one time, so be sure of your choices before clicking “Done”. Don’t forget to choose three photos from each category! The way the survey is set up, if you don’t choose three, your vote won’t count properly.

This round of voting will run through tomorrow (August 6th) at 10 a.m. central. I’ll announce the finalists tomorrow afternoon and the final vote will run for 24 hours through Saturday.

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Adding a little prize for the voters here . . . After you vote, come back here and leave a comment that says, “I voted”, and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win your choice of either the infant/toddler or the big kid version of my newest pattern, The Charlie Tee, which is due to be released tomorrow!

You’ll have a second chance to enter in the final round of voting tomorrow, and I’ll choose the winner by random drawing when the voting is all finished.

Entries in the Baby Steps Category of the 2010 Fishsticks Designs Photo Contest. Just click the thumbnail to see the full size photo:

Sitting on My Own       Smiles!              A Precious Gift           Baby Sydney

    
  Ooga Booga            All Girly            The First Days      Checking My Email

               
On Her Feet      Dressed for Tea    What’s on My Head?    Baby Mushroom

The first round of voting will begin Thursday, August 5th at 10 a. m. central and end Friday, August 6th at 10 a. m. central.

Entries in the On My Own Category of the 2010 Fishsticks Designs Photo Contest. Just click the thumbnail to see the full size photo:

Sweet Birthday Girl       Gwen      the christmas rosemary    wheelbarrow

  pumpkin patch        voracious reader     big boy T             Stella’s dress

     
Hi, from Stella!         Lunchtime yet?            Bombs!               My new tee!

                           
       Prepared for Vacation      Showing Off   Cruis’n the Cul De Sac   

                        
          Simon’s Ollie            Caitlyn’s New Tee                She Likes It!

                      
          wild pajama party        Pajamas!      Daydreaming in Our Garden
           
  Woops!    cheesyalanapinkgirlystripe    webheartdress   bluestripeyalana

The first round of voting will begin Thursday, August 5th at 10 a. m. central and end Friday, August 6th at 10 a. m. central.

Entries in the Friends & Family Category of the 2010 Fishsticks Designs Photo Contest. Just click the thumbnail to see the full size photo:

                             
trying for both smiling             Brotherly Love             Hanging Around 

                           
    Snack Time           Did We Take the Picture Yet?           Snuggly Brother

The first round of voting will begin Thursday, August 5th at 10 a. m. central and end Friday, August 6th at 10 a. m. central.