HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

My furkids are ready to party....

****Merry Christmas****

This is what we woke up to this morning, a very lovely snowfall.  It just fits the beauty of the day!

Just popping in to tell you that Anina at the Twiddletails Blog is having a give-away to celebrate having the whole Wild Thyme fabric line in her store.  There is still time to hurry on over and enter...she is taking entries until midnight Dec 17th....check it out!!!  You will LOVE the fabric! 

What fun!  I won a give away at Kristina's Sew Domestic blog.  She is a very creative women and I am sure you will love a visiting her blog on a regular basis.  Please  check it  out.

I have been busy making a quilt for a friend's daughter for Christmas...here is a sneak peak of the finished quilt.  But ssshhhh!  don't show anyone....  She drew several pictures on fabric when she was 4 yr old.  Now they are part  a quilt she will be getting for Christmas.

With all the 'sick' going around it is nice to sit with a cup of hot tea and surf all the fun quilting sites.  I found this one and thought I would share.  Jackie at Canton Village Quilt Works is having a give away of some fun things she found at Quilt Market.  The deadline for her giveaway is November 2nd.  So there is still time to go on over to Jackie's blog and enter in the fun.  I am coveting the book on black & whites....

Made up a few leather and bead bracelets last night.  I like them but they need to be worn so the leather softens up a bit.  They are a little stiff right now.

This is a purchased purse that I dressed up with some material, beads, embroidery, a button and a touch of wool.  A perfect bag for fall!

Second felted sweater bag...has a burgundy lining and a pom pom with iridescent bead center.   Thanks to my 'butler' for modeling...LOL!

Kumihimo is a very fun braid to work. A little time consuming but I enjoy it. I like the puffy heart on the cream and tan necklace. All of these pieces will end up in my Etsy store as soon as I have the time to put them up there.

The stars are navy and sparkly. I love them....

Kumihimo Jewelry

I love these soft bracelets and necklaces. They are so fun to make!

Felted Sweater Bag

Lest anyone think I have not been busy lately here is what I have been up to..... I have been making purses out of felted sweaters. More to come on these, they will all end up on my Etsy site.

My sunshine quilt

Last winter was dragging on and seemed like it would never end. Each trip to the fabric store I was drawn to the warm yellows that reminded me of the sun and summer. I just had to do something with them. I found this pattern called Romantic Patches in the Leisure Arts book 'Quaint Quilts to Love'. It just makes me feel warm and comforted to look at it. It is my instant sunshine for the long winter months ahead.

I started a sweater about 10 years ago and never finished it. So this week I ripped out all the stitches and I am going to start again with a new pattern. I hope I finish this one, I like the yarn. I am using a pattern from a book called Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard. You can get the pattern free here. I haven't done any knitting (except for some felted slippers) for awhile so this should be interesting.

This absolutely darling mini quilt arrived at my home on Friday. There are so many special details stitched into it...so very fun to look at and discover all the unique touches. It has made it's way from Austria to an honored place in my home in Wisconsin. Thank you so much Michi!!! I love it! Michi also slipped a little chocolate in the package...and it was yummy! I hope you enjoy looking at this work of art as much as I am. Many, many thanks Michi!!!!!

FINALLY! a start on my flannel/homespun quilt. These fabrics have been staring at me and begging me to get to work with them for over a year. It feels good to be making a start on this one. I can hardly wait to see it come together...only 9 more fat quarters to cut into and that part of the process will be done.

This is my rhubarb leaf I cast in terracotta colored cement. I can seal it in 30 days. I may put a little paint on it before I seal it.

I took a little break from sewing and I am working on putting glass mosaic on a bowling ball. I am not done yet but I have to put it away for a few days as a couple of my grandkids are coming to visit for the weekend. Can't have all that glass around a 3 and 6 yr old. Shudder! I cut myself twice just moving it around. LOL! I can't wait to start grouting.

I made this pillow cover from a shirt I dearly loved but couldn't part with...a big shirt I would never wear. Now that it is a pillow cover I can use it all the time. the back unbuttons so the pillow comes in and out. I left the pocket in the back to hold my cell phone. LOL! Thanks Jessica for the great idea!!!

Detail....

These might be my fabric choices for the summer mini quilt swap. I will have to see how they work up. Good thing we have lots of time to play and experiment. LOL!

This is the start of another quilt on my 'to do' list. The pattern for this one is called 'Tobacco Road'. It is all flannels and homespuns. I can't wait to get to work on it...unlike the paper piecing below.

I started this paper piecing project about a year ago. I like the fabrics but I just can't get into quilting this way. Now it has been so long since I started it I have forgotten how to do it and will have to read the instructions and learn all over again. Ugh! It has been haunting me lately...I might have to do it just to get it off my list of projects to finish. I keep telling myself how good it will feel to have it done. I am just not sure if that is enough to motivate me.

This is my current work in process...a quilt for a baby boy due in July. I have to finish sewing the binding and when the little guy is born I will sew his name and birthdate in the center block.
This quilt I stitched my name and the year into one of the blocks instead of doing a label on the back. I think I like doing it that way.