Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas!

I've had a serious case of blog-neglect going on lately, and haven't managed to post or even announce the winner of my giveaway in the Blog Hop Party with Giveaways.

Congratulations to Elizabeth, aka Catskill Quilter. :)  She has been notified previously, and gnomes will be winging their way to her soon.  So happy for you, Elizabeth!!

Other than that.. it's been a busy Christmas season.. complete with a school play, lots of wrapping, crafts, cooking, eating, picking up my parents at the airport and having them here with us for a couple of weeks.. on top of my son and I getting over the stomach flu about a week and a half ago, just in time for all of the busyness to kick in!  I will be back soon with some fun pictures of quilty things and maybe a couple of not quilty pictures, too.

Until then, wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest of New Years! :)



xoxo
Sunday, December 9, 2012

Winterkist anyone?

Blog Hop Party with Give-Aways


It's time for the Blog Hop Party with Giveaways again!!!  :)  If it's your first time here, welcome!  If you're a already a follower, glad you dropped in, welcome back, and good luck in the drawing!

My giveaway is being sponsored by my newest blog sponsor, Mad About Patchwork. 






It is run by the lovely Pam, out of her home in Ontario, Canada.  She has a great selection and wonderful service.  I love that you can order in 1/4 yard increments, and she will cut them into FQ's if you do.  There's also a great clearance section

Also, orders placed before 2 p.m. EST will be shipped out the same day.  And..she has free shipping within Canada through December 24. 

She has generously offered up this FQ bundle of Winterkist fabric, in the Icy colorway to one of my followers. :)  




Wouldn't it make the cutest Christmas table runner.. quilt.. pillow.. hot pads.. some funky ornaments.. etc.? I just love it! 

I particularly love Gnoma-Claus!



So no hoops to jump through here.. just be a follower of my blog and let me know that you are.  For an extra entry, which is totally optional, not required, you can hop over to Pam's Mad About Patchwork FB page, and give it a "like" and leave me a separate comment.  Giveaway will be open until December 16th.

Thanks for dropping in.  Happy Hopping!  I love these hops, and can't wait to hop around and enter a few myself. :)

Hope you're all having a great weekend.  

xo

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Really Random and Busy!

Hi! Long time no blog! Life has been really randomly busy lately, so this is going to be a quick, picture-y, Really Random Thursday post. 

Here's a bit of what's keeping us so busy.. aside from shopping, wrapping, and cleaning in anticipation of house guests for Christmas..

FINALLY made the Advent Calendar from the kit that I won a while back from Blueberry Park.  I decided to change it up a bit though, add some fabrics and quilt it out, instead of just hemming around all of the edges.  Also, instead of hemming the edges of the numbers, I pinked them and quilted them on in ticker tape fashion, leaving the tops open for the little gifts.  




Someone is in love with it. :)  (and I used up only fabrics that I had on hand.)



That's about it on the sewing front.. although, I do have Jumbo Jack 3/4 of the way bound.  Only one more side to finish.  Yay!  And I finished up the hot pad for my MIL.  Seems like sewing has taken a backseat to some other creative things recently..

Like our yearly gingerbread house kit..  last year and the year before we made the gingerbread train, but couldn't find the kit this year, so we got the mini village one. Each little house is different and about as big as a coffee cup.  There are four of them..  Someone is always really excited at the start and then ends up just eating all the candies while I finish them and do most of the work. This year, I put them on my favorite cake stand that I found a while back at a home store for dirt cheap, as it was missing the center of the flower.. I fixed that by gluing one of my grandmother's vintage buttons in the center.  It warms my heart now. :)




Here's the roof sprinkler enjoying himself after he put sprinkles on each roof.  Playing in and eating the candies while I finish them up.



Then there was the rain.. and wind.. which blew most of the leaves down, as not that many had fallen yet.  Causing all the drains to clog and the streets to flood temporarily.  But the leaves are still beautiful.



Buster's funky fire hydrant..



The beast himself relaxing after a swim in the lake..









Oh, and super random.. the storm blew a honeycomb into our yard.. haven't quite figured out where the hive is yet, but really neat to see it up close, there's a bee still on it.. it's full of honey.



And the Christmas tree is up, trimmed and lit.  Now, to only get the rest of the house cleaned up!



After a few more games of (kindergarten) Scrabble, where we bend the rules and let Mr. Sonny try to spell words by himself.  It's most entertaining to see what he comes up with. :)  Here are my three favorites.. I died laughing (on the inside so as not to give him a complex about trying to spell-so cute!)  Can you guess what they are?





answers: volcano, zebra, quiet (I guessed quit) :)

Happy Thursday!!!  Off to clean and get some more work done before school pick up time.

xoxo

p.s. Come back on the 9th for the Blog Hop with Giveaways! :)

also gonna link up here:
live a colorful life
making rebecca lynne
a crafty soiree
do something crafty
or so she says
six sisters' stuff
project inspire
make it pretty monday


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

TTT~Inspiration for Holiday Wreaths



15 Ideas To Make Cool Thanksgiving Wreaths | Shelterness

Happy Thanksgiving! (if you're celebrating) And after Thanksgiving, it's onward to Christmas.  It will be here soon.  This Thursday, I'm participating in the Thursday Think Tank Holiday Hop over at Making Rebecca Lynne..

Thursday Think Tank Holiday Hop

..so how about some Christmas spirit?  The goal of the TTT-Holiday Hop is to provide some inspiration for DIY projects.. my topic is wreaths, so here we go.  I've been pinning a few here and there that I'd like to share.  Does anyone have a favorite DIY holiday wreath that they've done that they can share?

Here are a few ideas that I've found.. and they don't just have to be round anymore! 

I love a monogram!  In fact, I have a largish cardboard "F" that I could do something like this with, I just don't know what to cover it in yet.. maybe you'll see it in a future post.

Holiday letters ;)

They can also be..

Quilter-y.. (there are lots of great ideas at this site) Do you have leftover Christmas fabrics?

WREATHS

Economical, cute, and fun for the kiddies to help with.. love the paper straws!

DIY straw wreath


How about square?  Have you got an old picture frame laying around that you can spray paint?  I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, God bless the man who came up with putting paint in a pressurized can!  Or you might find a thrift store frame and some inexpensive ornaments of your choice.. I love this one.


You could go the way of yarn and/or felt.. I love the argyle one, even though it's not super Christmas-y, it could be adapted..


There are soooo many others out there, that use everything from burlap to wine corks to red and white loofahs .. in case you have a surplus of them in Christmas colors. :) If not, they cost next to nothing..  I can see the kids getting on board with making this one, too. :)


Well, that's enough from me, now it's your turn to dive into the think tank.  Are you thinking about any DIY Christmas projects? You can also just jump in and link up your latest projects, or ideas.  There will be a drawing and a giveaway at the end.  All you have to do is link up.

Here is the linky and all of the info from Rebecca Lynne.  Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and are looking forward to Christmas. I'll be eating turkey tomorrow with family out of town, so am posting this a tiny bit early. :) Thanks for dropping by.
xoxo 


As promised, here is all the info. :)
1. November 1 - Making Rebecca Lynne DIY Christmas Cards
2. November 8 - Piecemeal Quilts Thanksgiving Etiquette (when you are lucky enough to be a guest!)
3. November 15 - Canadian Abroad Holiday Decor
4. November 22 - Seriously...I Think it Needs Stitches & MRL free pillow cover pattern
5. November 29 - She Can Quilt Gifts for Tweens/Teens/Twenties
6. December 6 - Missy Mac Creations Christmas Gifts for Kids from Kids
7. December 13 - Rainbow Hare Quilts Wrapping it Up
8. December 20 - YOU!  DIY Christmas Party Link Up

Prizes?  

WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR THINK TANK THIS WEEK?  
HERE ARE THE RULES! 
  1. Link up any post from the past week that features some creative thinking going on in your creative world.   It can be anything, quilting, home improvement, fashion, crafting, DIY gifts, cooking...whatever you have recently thought "hmmm, you know what I should create" is perfectly appropriate for the Think Tank.  TTT is all about whatever you are currently brainstorming and would like feedback or encouragement on!
  2. Somewhere in your post, link back here to my blog. (Or grab the T.T.T. button for your sidebar.)
  3. Comment on at least a few of the other links—because what fun is a linky party without comments?
Tuesday, November 20, 2012

My Favorite Mixer--Part Two--Craftsy

2012~the year of firsts. :)

I did it!  I wrote a pattern for my mixer block, fiddled around with it, changed it around lots of times, and finally put it on Craftsy!  

But not until I made up another one, this one for my MIL, I think.  Two of her favorite things are the color red, and polka dots.



It's not made into anything yet, but I am leaning toward, what else, but a hot pad. :) Which do you like better, red or pink?



I had lots of fun making up my own English Paper Pieced pattern, and lots of fun writing the pattern for it. (Thanks, Beth, for some tips.)  Of course, my EPP skills could improve, but I still enjoy the hand sewing.  So portable, and quiet.  I hope my SIL loves her pink polka dot mixer hot pad that led to all of this. :)

My blog friend Sharon--of Lilabelle Lane--all the way down under, was even kind enough to test it for me, and has written a review on her blog today.  Check out her awesome EPP skills and cute block.  Thanks Sharon!



If you'd like to give it a go, the pattern is located here.

Look! Am I a nerd to be so excited about this?  I mean, even if no one ever tries it, it's just fun to have accomplished something that I never thought I would. :)



Of course, if you love hand piecing, I would be honored if you gave it a go, and sent a pic to me. :)

Off to get to work!  Lots to do before Thanksgiving.  Hope you're having a great week, and Happy Thanksgiving to you!!

xoxo

linking up here: dedicated house, sew can do, freemotion by the river, quilt story, the girl creative, masterpiece monday, skip to my lou, craft-o-maniac, wip wednesday, crafty soiree, see vanessa craft, design wall monday, or so she says, six sisters' stuff, anything blue friday
Thursday, November 15, 2012

Mickey Mouse Hot Pad

It's hot pad fever over here at my place.

I finished the second one for my SIL for Christmas.. er.. hope she is in need of some new hot pads this year.. if not.. hope she likes them anyway! :)

I got this idea from a tutorial over at Quilt Taffy, though I changed it up a bit, and added small finger pockets on the back in the same backing fabric but a different color.



This is the front, used up the rest of that vintage red ric-rac.




So I quilted it in a grid around the tickets to make them stand out, and when it came to the binding, I had planned to just use red bias tape..

Until I found this left-over binding from an old project.  



The only problem was that it was cut straight and not on the bias, and getting it around all of those curves was nearly impossible.  So I put a gathering stitch in both edges and gathered them slightly, and it worked out well.  



Don't know how useful this little feature will be, I just thought it'd be cute and fun. :)



Here it is hangin' out in my kitchen..



I think it looks enough like Mickey that my bro. and SIL (who are actually going to WDW again in December!) will recognize it.  It's a small finish but a finish nonetheless. 

I think Buster has caught wind that Thanksgiving is coming up, and is already waiting for his leftover turkey. :)





Happy Weekend from the furry beast himself!

xoxo



linking up @ these fun places:
TTT@Making Rebecca Lynne
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop@Confessions of a Fabric Addict
finish it up friday@crazy mom quilts
Do Something Crafty Friday@See Vanessa Craft
Weekend Showoff@Ladybird Ln.
Weekend Wrap Up@TaterTots&Jello
Crafty Soiree @Katie's Nesting Spot
Wednesday, November 14, 2012

WIP--a pattern, and a winner!

Another new thing in 2012..

After my mixer hot pad got such great feedback from you all, and a couple of people said that they would love to make one, I am attempting to make it into a pattern.  I've been having lots of fun trying this new thing, and other than sewing up the Mickey hot pad (which just needs ric-rac now), that's about all I've been up to.  Here's what I've got so far as far as the draft.. Now just need to make some changes to the instructions and tweak it a little, and I think I might put it on Craftsy.  Or Etsy.  Or both?  What do you think?  I'm totally new at this.  I've been getting great advice from my friend Beth at EvaPaige Quilt Designs.  And just generally having fun with it. :)



That is my current WIP project, and Jumbo Jack is waiting patiently while I play with the mixer.  I WILL get it's binding on, just as soon as that last row of ric-rac is on the Mickey hot pad!



And finally, Congrats to Rhonda D., the winner of the half yard bundle from Skye Reve Fabrics!! WooHoo!! 

Linking up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.

xo
Friday, November 9, 2012

Friday Finish, a WIP, and a New Start

*Click here to enter my giveaway--since I'll be out of town tomorrow, I've extended it until Monday night*

Can you guess what this will be?
  

I will get to that in a minute, but first the Friday Finish...

Pink KitchenAid hot pad is done!  I am so happy with the finished result of my first EPP draft. :)  I just need to add a pink ribbon to the corner of it and it will be ready to wrap for my SIL for Christmas!







Now on to the new start.. my SIL will be getting two hot pads for Christmas, since I started another one for her after I finished the mixer.  The second one is inspired by this tutorial at Quilt Taffy.  

I may or may not have mentioned that my bro. and SIL are Disney super fans.  Hopefully I can pull this one off.  I am tweaking it a bit and hopefully my outline of Mickey's head will come out looking remotely like Mickey. *fingers crossed*  I am using some FQ's I picked up at my LQS. It is in the very beginning stages.




 And I finally see light at the end of the tunnel for Jumbo Jack.  The binding is prepped and ready to be sewn on. 



I will be doing a happy dance when that one is done! :)  If only we weren't going out of town this weekend.. my sewing mojo sure has bad timing! ;)

Linking up with TGIFF, Do Something Crafty, Ladybird Ln., The Dedicated House, Katie's Nesting Spot & Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Happy Weekend!

xo
Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I love a KitchenAid Mixer!

Jumbo Jack is still awaiting its binding, because I've been distracted by this little WIP.



It all started when I ordered an Everything Nice four-FQ bundle from Skye Reve Fabrics.  I LOVE it, and knew I wanted to make some hot pads with it for Christmas gifts.



Because I love my KitchenAid mixer (though it's just white) and because my SIL (who is a breast cancer survivor-woot!) loves all things pink AND because I was inspired by the mixer in this print.. (which I'm using for the back of the hot pad)



I decided to try and do an English Paper Pieced KitchenAid-ish mixer and turn it into a hot pad.

So I grabbed a pencil and paper, (my first ever draft of an EPP pattern) and looking at this little pic from Google search..



..I came up with a sketch..



which turned into this..



and then this..



I fussy cut the word 'bake' for the contrasting strip..



..and used one of my grandmother's vintage scraps for the whisk/beater..




..and now it's all done, except for the binding! I fussy cut the binding, too.. hope it works out! Fingers crossed that my SIL likes it.



Hoping this little finish (when it actually gets finished) will give me the momentum I need to get on with binding the Jacks.  

Speaking of Skye Reve Fabrics, they have generously offered a half yard bundle of The Simple life in aqua to one lucky winner, if you haven't entered, and would like to, click here.  You have until Saturday. :) Two and a half yards of yumminess.  Thank you Skye Reve!




Happy Wednesday!  Linking up with Patchwork Times, Freemotion by the RiverFabric Tuesday and  Freshly Pieced. Thanks for stopping by! xo

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