Hi Reader,

Have you ever felt like you're living in a fog?

I have felt like that for the past 12 months.

Handling my mother's estate required a lot of mental bandwidth. I wasn't prepared for how much was involved to wrap up someone's life.

Everything has seemed like a struggle. That's the main reason why you haven't received a newsletter from me since May.

It's been almost a year since she passed away, and during this time, I unintentionally put sewing on hold as even the simplest projects seemed overwhelming.

The fog is slowly lifting and I'm starting to feel like myself again.

Over the past month, I've completed one sewing project for my niece and another for a friend. Plus I've been working on a Halloween UFO of my mother's.

Creativity is finding it's way back into my life and my sew-jo is returning.

If you ever find yourself living in a fog, give yourself some grace and time. Do what you need to do to get through each day and anything extra will get figured out.

These foggy seasons of life eventually pass and creativity and a desire to sew will find you again.

Pumpkins

I wrote about Mom's pumpkin quilt in this newsletter a couple of years ago. She was using Bonnie Hunter's Punkin' Patch pattern and tweaked the color scheme by using purples instead of grays.

She had gotten as far as making the pumpkins, sewing the blocks to make rows, and sewing all but two rows to each other.

By that time, she was tired of working on it, so she bundled everything up and put it in a bin.

Fast forward to a month or so ago when I pulled the pumpkin quilt out of the bin.

It was easy to pick up where Mom had left off. Everything I needed was in the bin - the magazine article with the directions, all the fabric she had pulled for the pumpkins and borders, and the almost finished quilt top.

I sewed on the bottom two rows and have been working on getting the four borders done and attached.

I finished the last border yesterday, and the top is finished!

I need to decide on a quilting design, but for now, I'm celebrating the win on completing the top.

Do you have some Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas projects on your to-do list?

Don't let another year go by when you think, "I wish I had made ________."

Now's the time to get at least one holiday project out and start working on it.

➡️ Interested in learning more about string piecing, the technique Mom used to make the pumpkins? Take a look at the blog post I wrote about it - A Beginner's Guide to String Piecing.

Scrub caps

In May, my niece, Audrey, graduated from college with a B.S. in Nursing and passed the tests to receive her RN certification.

She asked if I could make her some scrub caps with a ponytail holder.

I told her I would but that it might be a while before I got them done (stupid brain fog and missing sew-jo 😕).

She told me that wasn't a problem because she could buy some on Amazon until I was ready.

She started her first nursing job at the end of July, and I began thinking about the scrub caps.

A search online led me to discover a free scrub cap pattern and tutorial by Nathalie at My Hall Closet. The printed pattern instructions are easy to follow, but Nathalie also has a YouTube video that shows you how to make it.

I made a prototype cap out of muslin and had Audrey try it on for size. It was a little big but changing the seam allowance from 1/4" to 1/2" resulted in a perfect fit.

She then shopped my stash and picked out 4 different fun fabrics so I could make several scrub caps.

I batched each step of the process which made cutting and construction happen more efficiently than if I made one cap at a time.

Audrey was super excited to get the scrub caps and told me that she has gotten compliments from other nurses.

If you have a friend or family member who could use a scrub cap with a ponytail holder, this free pattern is a great one to use.

Saving t-shirt graphics

Do you (or someone you know) have a t-shirt that can no longer be worn but has a favorite graphic on it?

Maybe the t-shirt is too big or too small. Maybe there is a tear, hole, or stain on the t-shirt.

Whatever the reason, the graphic is still in good shape but the shirt can't be worn.

Well there is a solution. Cut out the graphic and attach it to another shirt!

My very best friend, Holly, was helping her mother clean out her closet. They came across a t-shirt that was too small and had a stain across the bottom.

Holly's mom did not want to get rid of the t-shirt even though she could no longer wear it. She loved the graphic and had good memories related to when she got the shirt.

Holly didn't like the idea of the t-shirt hanging in the back of her mom's closet never to be seen again, so she asked me if there was a way to transfer the graphic to another shirt.

I follow @madi_mac_fashions on IG where she does some fun upcycling of t-shirt graphics.

​From this reel, I knew exactly what I needed to do to save Holly's mom's t-shirt graphic and turn it into a garment she could wear.

The original t-shirt was white, but I found a colored t-shirt that complimented the colors of the graphic.

Then I followed the directions on the Heat n Bond Soft Stretch. Because I've never used this product before, I added a zig-zag stitch all the way around to make sure the edges stayed in place.

Holly's mom hasn't seen it yet, and I can't wait to give it to her. She's going to be so excited!

That's all for now. Until next time...

P.S. Are you new to the Snappy Scissors newsletter? Check out past issues HERE.

P.P.S. Thanks so much for subscribing to my newsletter. I appreciate you allowing me into your inbox and hope you find the the content useful.

I like to personalize the newsletter greeting with your first name, but the system doesn't always pick it up correctly. There are different reasons why this happens, but it's an easy fix on my end.

If the greeting at the beginning of the newsletter is not how you want it, just reply to this newsletter and let me know what to change it to. Like I said, it's an easy fix, I just need to know what you would like it to say. 😊