Something Sweet...

Look at how sweet this is:

Go check out Cathe's blog Just Something I Made, and see her free printable towel calender design...with a link to a tutorial to create! So sweet - I love it!

Progress...

Some progress on my Potholder Pass Swap - two fronts complete!!!

I haven't done alot of paper piecing and was thrilled to realize, it's really not that hard (for some reason though, I feel like I should bite my tongue and keep my mouth shut...I'm a little superstitous that way). You can find the pattern for this string/spiderweb block here. So now to quilt and bind them. I think I will follow this tutorial here...

On a second note, my choices for the pinwheel sampler quilt-a-long: Arcadia!

I have over 30 FQ's to choose from!!! This collection has been sitting in my stash for well over 6 months...so it's time...oh yes, it's time!

Some New Quilting Adventures

As I was catching up on over

1000 posts on my Google Reader (yes...I've been very neglectful...but I'm slowly browsing through them all), I came across a few very interesting things:

New quilt-a-long!!

Rachael over at p.s. i quilt, is hosting a quilt-a-long featuring her beautiful pinwheel sampler!

(photo courtesy of p.s. i quilt)

Isn't it beautiful??!!!

So now I just have to find the fabrics...and all stash...no new purchases (one of my new years resolutions). To sign up go to the flickr group page or check out Rachael's post here.

------------------------------------

Secondly, I stumbled upon this lovely little swap:

Potholder Pass

I've been wanting to make some potholders and placemats for my kitchen for a long time...so this was the perfect opportunity to not only get some much needed kitchen accessories, but also have a little fun swap in the meantime. Check out our group's flickr page to see all our lovely creations.

-----------------------------

Lastly, I stumbled upon this challenge:

I was too late to sign up officially for this challenge, but I figured I'd participate anyways. For my Live Piecefully Quilting Bee, I am queen bee for January. I had requested string blocks for my quilt, and so far, they are all looking beautiful! All fabric is from stash...no new purchases! So I figured that was completely fitting for this challenge.

Appreciation

I'm still loving this pillow!!!

Just wanted to shout out to Kristen at ThreeDancingMagPies - she made me this beautiful pillow for our Pillow Talk Swap (you have to go check out our group's flickr page - you will soooo be inspired!). It's too darn nice...so I rearranged some furniture so that it had it's own resting spot.

And our new pooch Levi (isn't he pretty!!!) loves the new furniture arrangement too.

More appreciation goes to my sister Carmen, for giving me this lovely AeroGarden!!!

Thats right!!! Soon I'll have fresh basil, oregano and thyme, ready for the picking!!! Can't wait to see these babies bud!

MMSB Blocks for January

Well it feels good to be at it again! Things get so hectic over the holidays that it becomes impossible to get in any creative time. So with the new year, comes new enthusiasm!!!

Here are the completed blocks for Sarah for Mish Mash Stash Bash.

She requested word blocks (based on this tutorial here), and double hourglass blocks for her future picnic blanket. So after working a night shift and a short nap, I figured I'd give it a try.

My first attempt at letters:

Not too bad, but also not wonky enough.

Next I tried a double hour glass (following this tutorial). It turned out very pretty; however, 1/4" too small!!! At this point I was thinking I should wait to quilt till I have more than 3 hours sleep.

So my second attempt:

Much better!!!!

And this double hourglass....

That's right! It's 6.5", just the way Sarah wanted it! I can't wait to see these all put together. Check out MMSB link here to see all our groups lovely blocks!

Pillow Talk Swap

Well it's been months since I last posted here. I guess maybe that's because I haven't really done much creating. Sometimes I go through stints where I don't even think to enter my sewing room. But now I'm out of the rut, and back to stitching. Good thing because I've already passed the deadline for the Pillow Talk Swap but here's the final result:

I was playing around with colour value and ended up with this arrangement. No fabric is used twice, so I got to snip into alot of my stash options. This broken bento box is similar to John's tutorial over at Quilt Dad, but I didn't "wonk it up". The back is envelope style with natural linen - a nice calming contrast to these big bold prints.

And in return I received this!!!!!

A beautiful string block pillow cover...with pillow form included!!!! Thanks to Kristen over at ThreeDancingMagPies, I received this gorgeous throw pillow to nicely complement my living room. She even included some lovely cuts of Summer in the City out of print fabrics!!!! I've been hoarding that collection for a while now, gathering enough to make a quilt...so definitely next on the project list.

This swap was alot of fun. And it was only round one. Perhaps another??? And this time I WILL BE ON TIME!

Luggage Tags

I whipped up a few luggage tags to coordinate with our new luggage purchases. And I must say, they are lovely! I used Good Folks, for it's bright, bold, eye-catching patterns. Won't miss these babies on the carosel. It was very tricky working with vinyl though. I think I'll invest in a teflon foot - has anyone used one of those before? Apparently nothing will stick to them...so smooth sailing on vinyl. Next time...