Shhhh...It's A Surprise!

Yeah! I finished another project for my One Project A Month Challenge ! This one wasn't on my list of UFOs, but I love it just the same.

You see, a special friend is having a Valentine's Tea Party. Everyone going to the Tea Party has to make one handmade gift in either pink or red. Well, unfortunately I can't make it to the Tea Party because of scheduling conflicts (i.e...no babysitter), but I wanted to get in on the gift exchange, so I made a special "little something" just for the occassion.

Hmmmm..will it be RED or will it be pink? Well, I can't tell you because the recipient might be "watching" , so I will just give you a peak....

I can tell you that it is MODA! Well I think that I am going to make myself one of these "special " little gifts.

Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting!

A Tisket A Tasket, I Completed My Basket!

I know that many of us are working on the Bunny Hill BOM- A Tisket A Tasket . Well I completed my basket! And I managed to do it BEFORE the next one comes out! This is a first for me and I can't say that it will happen again, but I am off to a good start!

Here is my basket:

This really isn't a good picture so I will tell you more about my basket. I am going to use a different background each time, but I am going to stick to the color blue. This time I used Moda's Simplicity fabric for the background.

I enjoyed doing this project and I can't wait to see what will be in next month's basket!

(This is for Mar ! Your kind words and inspiring creations will be truly missed! You and your family will be in the hearts and prayers of bloggers everywhere!)

Until Next Time....Happy Quilting!

Update & JoJo's Giveaway

First I want to tell everyone that JoJo @ Home Sweet Home is having a giveaway in order to celebrate her 100th post! Yeah! Happy 100th JoJo! All you have to do is tell her what are the 3 crafty things that you can't live without and then post them on your blog.

This was hard for me because I could list several things that I can't live without. So here is what I narrowed it down to:

1. My Sewing Machine-
   Let me introduce you to Jana, my middle aged, Janome Sewing Machine. It was given to me by my DH as a Christmas present. This was the start of my quilting passion because without her, I would be doing ALOT of handpiecing!
   

2. My Moda Fabric Stash: I am obsessed with my fabric. I love to look at the colors and dream of what I can create with it. (I probably do more dreaming than creating, but I am working on it!)




3. My Computer: Without my computer I couldn't stay connected to universe. It is also a great source for inspiration from my fellow bloggers!


I also thought about adding chocolate because how can you create without having a little bit of chocolate on hand? Does the music on my iPod count? How about my needle threader?

So what are the crafty things that you can't live without? Drop by JoJo's Home Sweet Home and let all of us know!

BTW- I have been plugging away at my reading list. A couple of weeks ago I finished this:

and now my pile looks like this:


I have started reading The Pillars of the Earth and so far I am hooked! I know that I am going to have to get the sequel! My MIL also gave me another book to add to the list. She gave me The Shack by Wm Paul Young. It looks like a really good book and I can't wait to read it.

Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting!

When Great Minds Think Alike!

I know that this is WAY past Christmas, but I just had to share what happens when great minds think alike!

For Christmas, Mrs. Nook and I decided to do our own Christmas ornament swap. The rules were simple: make 5 ornaments and send it to each other with our Christmas gifts. Simple right? We didn't discuss anything specific, except....make them scrappy!

So here is what she sent to me:

Here are the ornaments that I made:

Do you see the similarities? We both made:

• bird ornaments
• stockings
• star (which was the same pattern)

See what happens when great minds think alike and we didn't even plan it that way! We had so much fun making these that we are going to do it again next year.

I hope that you enjoyed our ornaments. Maybe it will inspire you to make some next year because Christmas is only 348 days away! Its never too early to plan ahead!

Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting!

Branching Out

Yeah! I have finished my first project for the "One-A-Month Challenge!" I have been carrying this project around for at least 4 years! I really don't know why it has taken me so long to complete it because it is not difficult. So here it is:

I know that it is strange that my first project of the New Year is a Christmas quilt but I really wanted to get it completed! At least it will be ready for next Christmas.

I usually do one of two quilting motifs: overlapping swirls or free form flowers. As you know, I don't stipple because I am not that good at it. Don't ask me why but I just can't the motion correct and it winds up looking like crazy lines.

So this time Jana (my middle aged Janome sewing machine) and I decided to do something different: free-form stars.

It feels really good to have completed this quilt and I had fun "branching out" with my quilting motif! Now I have this completed pile of 2009 quilts!

On to the next project! Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting!

No Quilting Last Night

Sorry bloggers, but I didn't do much quilting last night because I went to my Quilt Guild meeting. I am a member of Friendship Quilters and I love all of the ladies! Each month, we are lucky enough to have some really high caliber speakers. Last night was no exception.

Our speaker was Anita Shackelford and her topic was "Personalizing Your Quilts! This is what she brought to so us:

Can you say "Wow!' All hand quilted too! I think that it took her 2 years to complete.

She personalized to the quilt in many ways. If you look closely, you will see that the vases are really the silhouettes of her two daughters. Plus each daughter got to choose which flowers they wanted in their vase. Here is a close up:

Here grandmother's broach inspired this block:

Just look at the details in these blocks, which are all done by hand:

She had many more things to show us, but these were the most inspiring!

I hope that you enjoyed the "quilter's eye candy". I have completed my first project for the "One-A-Month" challenge. It isn't as amazing as this, but it is a completed quilt. I still have to take pictures of it, so I will post them later.

Until Next Time...Happy Quilting!

Waste Not, Want Not

What do you do when you finish making your blocks and you have a pile of scraps?

Well, as you know, my new motto for this year is "Waste Not, Want Not", so I took my pile of scraps and I just started to sew the pieces together.

Here is what I made from the leftover scraps from my Designer Mystery Blocks:

Everything was just randomly sewn together and done without a plan. It was quite liberating to just make whatever I wanted to make! I think that I am going to dig through my "scrap basket" and pull out the other scraps from my previous blocks and continue sewing them together.



Now, what should I do with this when I am done with it? Should I:

1. Add it to the back of the quilt


2. Make a table runner


3. Make a wall hanging

Can you help me decide or give me any other suggestions?

Well, I think that I am going to look for some more scraps to sew together. Remember, "Waste Not, Want Not"!

Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting!

Has It Really Been 3 Months?

Boy has the time really flown by me! The other day while I was taking inventory of my UFOs, I came across this:

Three months worth of the Fat Quarter Shop's Designer Mystery BOM. This means that I am 3 months behind and that it has been 7 months since I started this BOM!



So, after spending the day cleaning, I sat down and tackled these blocks. Here are my completed blocks (#5,6,&7).

Here is a photo of all 7 blocks:

I am not sure if this is the correct order, but I am really starting to love all of them! Besides, how could you go wrong when Moda fabric is involved!It is a good thing that I completed my blocks because I am sure that block # 8 will be in the mail shortly!



RED, I know that you have this BOM! How are your blocks coming along?



Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting!

Check Out This BOM

Jo-Jo at Home Sweet Home just passed on the news that Bunny Hill is giving all of her fans a FREE BOM! Yeah! It is called a Tisket A Tasket and it is too cute! I am such a fan of baskets and I think that this will be so cute with my Piece N Plenty BOM!!

So, I am going to get in on this one also. How about you?

I guess that I am going to need to update my UFO list now! This will make 14....Ugh!

Until Next Time....Happy Quilting!

A New Start

I decided to change my blog header for the New Year. Here is a glimpse of my "blue stash" for everyone who is feeling "blue" because of all of the snow and cold weather!

Sorry Belinda, I changed the header before I read your comment! I'll have to send you some more photos of my fabric basket and my pink stash. Don't worry RED, your color is coming up next!

Until Next Time...Happy Quilting!

I Have Joined In The Fun

(Look RED another post for you! Aren't you impressed?)

Well I have taken the plunge and decided to join in on the fun. Kris and May Britt are hosting a quilt challenge-to complete one project a month.....What a great way to knock off those 13 UFOs that I have!

How about you? Are you in?

BTW- Check out Mrs. Sweet Liberty . She has posted her reading list. It looks pretty interesting!

Until Next Time.....Happy Quilting

Out With The Old

(Look RED 2 posts in one week! Just for you!)

They always say that the New Year is out with the old and in with the new! So in order to bring in the new, I have to "complete" the old! Actually, I really need to save money, so I am going to spend my time completing the old projects that I have started. This way I can justify bringing in new projects!

After I dropped the "little person" off at school this morning, I sat down and took inventory of all of my projects. So armed with my cup of tea, pen, and notepad, I did this:


As you can see, I have a total of 13 UFOs that I started last year.

• 4 Block of the Months (which I am WAY behind on)
• 9 Projects that I started and are at various stages in the quilting process

I think that this is enough projects to keep me busy for a little while! The hard part is going to be deciding which project I want to complete first!

I am an avid reader and I have always loved to read. When I was little I used to sleep with books under my pillow! So this year I also want to be out with the old books that I have sitting on my nightstand in order to make way for new books!

Here is what is on my nightstand right now:

I have started reading Something Blue. It is the sequel to Something Borrowed, which I finished reading on Monday night.

I had previously started reading The Pillars of the Earth, but for whatever reason, I quit reading it. I loved the parts that I read and I am looking forward to starting it again. What a great scandalous book! Plus the sequel is now out in paperback!

If you visit Ginger Patches , you will see that she is participating in 2009 To Be Read Challenge. I was going to sign up for it , but I missed the deadline and I couldn't decide on any other books to read. I like to browse around the bookstore and pick up whatever strikes my fancy. Maybe we can keep each other on track?

Anywone else what to join the reading challenge? How about you Mrs. Sweet Liberty ?

Finally, I did complete one more quilt before 2008 ended! I finished putting on the binding to this quilt on Tuesday night, which is why I didn't include it in my UFO list. I made it for a special guy in my life and he loves it!

The pattern is called Yellow Brick Road. I have used the pattern to make 3 other baby quilts, so I am about done using this pattern. However, it is a great way to use up fat quarters.

So here is the start of my 2009 completed quilts pile! Stick around and hopefully I will 13 more to the pile!



Until Next Time......Happy Quilting!