A Quilt for Christmas

This is what I spent every spare minute through the month of December doing -- which isn't many with all of the holiday trimming and celebrating that goes on in our house.  But, I did get it done in time.  My inspiration came from here.  I fell in love with this pattern and had to try it.  It was a lot of fun.
This is a gift for my favorite sister.  She's not a quilty person but I hope she'll like it and feel a part of me in it.

 I loved each square as I made it but as I put it together, I wasn't so sure. There seemed to be too many bright colors going on but when it was completely finished... I loved it again.  These are some of my favorites:

The one above and below are the same background fabric and I love how it worked so well with orange and teal.  They look totally different.

I quilted it myself on my regular old machine.  It isn't perfect but it looks good.
I really love the back too. I just used scraps from the front and splashed it across the back.

 No outside pictures with weather like that.

Merry Christmas, Sis!

Ornament Exchange

So my search for ornaments in my last post was really for the Ornament Exchange Party that I was lucky enough to be invited to.  12 ladies were to each make 12 ornaments and then we trade them.  We all go home with 12 different, handmade, absolutely beautiful Christmas ornaments. 

I chose to make the quilled snowflakes.  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of them all but they were so beautiful.  Elegant and lacy. 

What Fun!  I was so excited!

So, here are the treasures I came home with....

 A penguin made of a flattened glass ball.

 The popcorn ball.  

I can't figure out how she got the popcorn inside that glass ball 

but it's awesome and smells delicious.

 Two different santa bellies from two different ladies.

Very cute, huh.

 Yo-Yo Christmas tree.

Love this one!

 A very delicate glitter ball with a snowflake on it.

 The Nativity made with polymer clay.

  A hand stitched Nativity.

 A stitched star.

 My own quilled paper snowflake. 

(I really am in love with it.)

 Wooden Believe.

 A rustic bell.

 A very cute Santa with a floppy hat.

Aren't they all just delightful!

I can't wait to put them all on my tree.

I had such a fun time with this - the making and the trading - I think I my just have to do my own party next year.

Christmas Ornaments

Lately, I have been searching for some ornament ideas to make for our Christmas tree.  I came upon this one for a felt ball at Zakka Life.  I'm a believer in using my sewing machine if at all possible (modern conveniences - you know) so instead of sewing it by hand... I used my machine and they were so quick.  I also added a dot of glue and some glitter to each of the joints.  I really like how they turned out.

The next one I found was this quilled snowflake.  Isn't it so elegant!  I fell in love with it right away. You can see the inspiration for this one HERE.  And, obviously, I made some changes.  My husband knows better than to expect anything I do to be done exactly like the recipe says.  I'm always adding my own interpretation whether it be food or crafting.
They are actually super easy.  That's one thing I love about this one - it looks so much more complicated than it really is.  Makes me look good!  :)

I didn't want to go and buy a quilling tool in case I didn't like it so I made a jimmy-rigged one.  I took a needle with an eye about 1/4 in. and cut the end off with wire cutters.  Then I wrapped  the point with a bunch of masking tape so I could hold onto it better.  It has worked great and now I'll go out and find a real quilling tool because I'm in love with this new art.

I can't wait to see these on my Christmas tree soon!

Halloween and Easter Collide!

I had the idea back in the spring when, after digging out our smashed Easter baskets, I realized that I needed something different.  I pondered this all summer (and procrastinated).  We needed something that would be easier to store.  

And why not make it to work for both goodie-collecting holidays?

So, here we have a reversible Halloween/Easter basket!!

They turned out to be so cute and fun that I made enough for my littles and some extra.

Now I have cute bags to work for both holidays and they store flat.

The kids are so excited too!

What I've Been Doing...

I know. I haven't been on my blog nearly as much as I'd like to be.  But I haven't been sitting on my couch eating chocolate.  Well, that's only half true -- I rarely sit down and rest but I still eat plenty of chocolate whenever I get a chance.  Here is what I've been up to:

It's harvest time!  Our garden has produced well for it's first year.  I've canned nearly 50 jars each of tomatoes and peaches.  I did some Mandarin Sauce and some jam too.  This weekend I will be doing applesauce and pumpkin puree.  It's so rewarding to see it all done and stored nicely for us to enjoy later.
I've also been working on some Halloween sewing.  --More on that later.--
Speaking of sewing, there is a great give-away going on at one of my favorite blogs, Spun Sugar Quilts.  Go see.
Have a happy fall day.  (I love the Fall!!)

Mother Hen

There are eight children in my family.  One year for Mother's Day, I made this little quilted wall hanging for my Mom.  Isn't it so cute!  The pattern came from this book.

Book Club

This summer, our book club took it easy and we only did one book for the whole summer.  We read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  It is a very sweet and cozy novel about the small island of Guernsey in the English Channel and how a book club banded together during World War II.  I give this one 5 stars.  It is definitely one I could read over and over like comfort food.

What did you enjoy for your summer reading?

A Gift from a Mother

My mother is my mentor and teacher when it comes to sewing.  She taught me how when I was a very young child.  She continues to sew beautiful creations. This one is a quilt she made for my brother and his wife for their anniversary.  She actually hand quilted it and it is amazing.  (I wish my photography could do it justice.)  The pattern came from this book

.

My New Bed

This in one of my ...and So On's...

This is the reason why I have not sewed in a few weeks.  This and our summer travels.

This is a dream come true for me and I have to say, I'm pretty darn pleased with it!!

No, not the quilt

THE BED!!

I built the bed!!

(I did make the quilt though, and the pillows, a few years ago.  That's another post for another day.)

I found the plans on Knock-Off Wood and followed Ana's instructions.

And $150 and three sanders later.... wha-la!

The story (in short):  I have been saving my pennies for years for a nice bedroom set and I'm still far off my goal. Then I came across Knock-Off Wood and stars started dancing around me and I knew I had found it.

It all went together nicely.  We wore out our own sander and then borrowed another which we promptly burned up and then we borrowed a bigger one which finished the job.  We now know what kind of sander we want when we go buy a new one.  ;)

Now check out this and notice the price for the bed.

smiles... smiles... smiles

I love the arched headboard!

My next furniture project is night stands...

Stay Tuned!!

Something From the Past...

Right now my sewing room is being occupied as the guest room by a special guest.  I found some pictures of a quilt I made a few years ago as a gift for this particular guest and I thought I'd share them.  The pattern came from this book.

Her favorite colors are olive greens.  My special assistant (my husband) suggested adding a splash of purple.  I love the addition.

I love this quilt.

It Is Finished - Looking for Summer

I've called it "Looking for Summer" because I've been working on it throughout winter and this long spring as we impatiently wait for summer to arrive.  It seems that spring has over stayed it's welcome this year and I am ready for the bright sun shiny days of summer.  So here is my bright sun shiny quilt as we are "Looking for Summer."

There is a story behind this lovely gem:

Auntie was a member of a cotton club about 25 years ago where members received a sampling of four inch cotton squares on a regular basis.  She collected these squares for years.  Some time ago when she learned that I enjoyed sewing too, she gave me her box full of about a thousand four inch squares.  They were all so beautiful and unique.  I would get them out just to play - sort - admire - drool over them.  I finally decided to design a quilt so I could use some of them.  I still have hundreds left for another project someday.  I sorted out the brightest ones I could find in the collection and came up with my new beauty. 

I'm in love with it!

I tried a new basting method for me.  I usually do the, lay it out on the floor and pin the heck out of it, method but not this time.  I wanted to try fusible batting on this one and see if I might get less puckers.  I think I'm in love!  It was so easy to put together.  I ironed in together and just pinned around the edges for security.  It held together throughout the entire quilting process and I had ZERO puckers!  Yes, I will use that again.

I bound it with strips of bright scraps to add to the colorfulness.  It measures 66 x 78" and my daughter has already spoken for it so it's first home will be on her bed.