All I Want for Christmas...

...is to finish my projects in time! I had a great plan this year. I was going to get all of my sewing holiday projects done early - with plenty of time to spare, so as not to worry about the last minute crunch. I had my ideas of what to make for everyone, and even completed shopping for supplies by Veteran's Day.

But, I think I forgot to factor in the baking, shopping, wrapping, shipping, card writing, etc. that goes along with the holiday season. I've also been helping my future M-I-L re-launch her Etsy shop with her knitted items. Because, here it is - just over a week from the big day and I'm going to be scrambling ot get it all done!

So, let's see where I'm at...

Two table runners? Check! (Ok, we can mark that complete). One's made with a "Merry & Bright" charm pack using the disappearing nine patch. The other is made using a "Crazy Eight" mini-honey bun.


Three Santas? If only 33% were a passing grade. Perhaps I can work out some joint custody arrangement between family and friends, but that might get complicated as they all live in different states! Here's one of them complete and ready to mail. However, the rest of them still have their heads (sans beards) sitting to the side on the coffee table and the clothes are just a figment of my imagination. Must get stitchin'.


I do like how this guy turned out though. I used a pattern provided by a friend that she based on a kit she bought a while ago. The htb keeps asking if we can keep him, but maybe next year I'll have time to make one for us!

Tonight will be spent on the Santas' beards, and maybe even a little bit of clothing while watching the So You Think You Can Dance finale. And then wrapping up Santa #1 to get him into the mail tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving - albeit, a day early! No huge plans for the holiday here - I'm "working", which means I'm committed to staying in town, so my sister flew in for the holiday. We'll be joined by the fiancee, and a random assortment of co-workers for the big meal. I've hosted for the past three years here, and enjoy the day to cook and eat. Preparations started this past weekend with a huge shopping trip and I spent last night baking two pies and cookies - more on that later.

Below is a photo my parents sent me of the Thanksgiving present I sent them this year. I'm absolutely horrible at taking photos of my own projects before they go to the intended recipient, so I was happy to get this sent to me in my inbox. I've named him "Turkey Frank 2.0". Why 2.0? Well, I made myself one last Thanksgiving, so this is the new and improved version now living in New York!


My sister and I are planning a big shopping trip on Black Friday. I was never brave enough living up North to shop on that day, but found that down here it's much calmer - kinda like a typical shopping day up in NY. So, we'll see what deals we can find!

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Quilt Festival

Amy over at Park City Girl is hosting a Virtual Quilt Festival! She hosted one last spring, but I was out of town so I couldn't take part in it. I'm thrilled to show off the favorite quilt I've made.

This was a wedding gift made for a good friend and his now wife. It made it in 2007 for an October wedding. The quilt block is called "Peace and Plenty" and is made from Teresa Kogut's "Williamsburg" fabric line. The groom was a year ahead of me in college and we met through several activities we both participated in. He really served as a great mentor and big brother figure in my life, and I was thrilled when he got married. Since he and his wife met in college, and we all went to school in Williamsburg, I couldn't resist when I found this Williamsburg related fabric. Now, I will admit - it took me a little while to hand quilt it, so while they were married in October, the gift arrived in November to them.

Well, that's my quilt! I'm looking forward to seeing all the others out there!

I'm Back!

It's definitely been a while - I'm not quite sure where the two months have gone! Wait, I take that back - I do know - work and wedding planning. Working at a college, work really kicks into gear starting mid-August and only winds down starting around this time. Add in a visit from the future in-laws, as well as a very quick trip up to our wedding location (6 hour car ride one way), time has flown.

However, I am pleased to say that we have gotten quite a bit accomplished - at least on the wedding front! We have a chapel, a reception site, a caterer, a photographer and a DJ! So, almost all the big decisions are made. I'm wedding dress shopping next weekend, and then it's just a ton of smaller details!

But, with some big decisions made and work winding down, it means I get back to blogging and sewing.

Next up on the blogging front? Participating in the Quilt Festival hosted by Park City Girl (see the button on my sidebar!)

Oh My!

It's August already! And not even just the start of August - we're eight days into it! I can't believe how quickly the summer has flown by. I had such grand plans: reading, sewing, cleaning, getting a tan. But, I'm still pale and no better read. My sewing room has been sorely neglected.

But, no worries - all of these grand plans have taken a backseat to the excitement of wedding planning! At the end of July, I made a trip up to Williamsburg where the htb and I will be married. My parents came down from NY to meet me and we hunted for some reception locations. We think we've found one, but now it's just waiting on trying to confirm our wedding date with our officiant. Once that comes through, we'll reserve the chapel and reception site and we'll be on our way!!!

People keep asking me all different questions like, have I picked out a dress, or do I have attendants yet? I keep telling them that the only thing I know for certain about my wedding is who the groom will be! But, that's not entirely true, I also had a chance to visit a LQS a couple of weeks ago and picked out some fabric for a quilted wall hanging I hope to make and use instead of a guest book.

Much to most people's surprise, we picked out green and pink as our colors (I think everyone was expecting something darker from me), but I think it's lovely and very spring-like. So, while at the LQS, I found these fabrics from Moda's Nature's Chorus...what do you think?

I'd love your honest opinion - I've now had two people say "REALLY?!?" when I told them these were the colors I picked out, so I'm starting to doubt myself.

Well, it's a beautiful day here in SC, so I'm going to enjoy it before it gets too hot! It's my last weekend of freedom before work kicks into high gear, so I'll probably continue with my trend of reading, and not posting blogs! Enjoy your Saturday!

WIP vs. UFO

Last night, I had an evening to myself that I finally decided to use to work on a WIP. Here's the progress I've made on my Quilt-A-Long Quilt. Yes, that event held by the Old Red Barn Co. has come and gone, but I'm slow (and apparently didn't accurate read the directions to see that each block was supposed to be different -I guess I really like consistency and even if not, the thought of ripping out my rows entered my mind for about a half a second).

But anyways, as I was working along on this project, I started thinking about the terms "Works in Progress" (WIPs) vs. "Unfinished Objects" (UFOs). Now, I know a lot of quilters use these interchangeably, but I feel like there's definitely a different.

A WIP gives a connotation that you're still working on it - you've visited it fairly recently and while it may not be on the top of the pile, it's still got a shot of getting completed sometime in the foreseeable future.

Whereas, a UFO, well that poor little project has been shoved in a back closet somewhere again - just hoping to see the light of day and the sewing machine. A UFO may or may not be remembered by me, and may have lost my interest so much that I can't even fathom finish it.

So, I guess my question is, when does a WIP become a UFO? Is there some point in time that any illusion of making progress on that project should be given up?

Week In Review

I can't believe it's already Thursday! Where has the week gone? Oh, yeah - most of it was spent in a medication induced stupor thanks to having two wisdom teeth removed. It was a bit of a whirlwind decision - went in for the consultation last Wednesday and on Friday morning I was having them removed! Not so much fun, but glad to have it over and done with. I'm finally up and about again, and trying to get caught up on dishes, laundry, cleaning and a bunch of organizing!

I hope everyone's Fourth was delightful. Mine was spent on the couch watching TV, though did manage to get to the fireworks display in town the night of my wisdom teeth removal. Don't remember much, but I did have a sno-cone...yum!

We did try to celebrate here...

...this was the celebration at my house while watching the Boston Pops on TV. I just love the Boston Pops. The HTB (husband-to-be...we'll try it and see how I like it), and I were able to see the Boston Pops play on the fourth when we lived in Boston. We also had the chance to visit the barge where they set off the fireworks in the Charles River, which was a really neat experience. (A little scary too when you think about how much firepower you're standing on).

Anyways, now that I'm up and running again, I'm hoping to get some sewing done again. However, having your wisdom teeth out does allow you some time to catch up on blog reading. One of the blogs I follow, Green Fairy Quilts, is having a great giveaway, as well as doing some real great things - so you should go check it out!!! Tell her I sent you!

We Have a Winner...er...Winners!

Finally my week has slowed down enough that I'm able to pick a winner. My best friend and her husband were here for an overnight visit on Sunday. Monday was full of work and a migraine, and last night was a bachelorette party for a colleague (very tame - we painted pottery!)

I'm killing a little bit of time until another friend comes over tonight to watch So You Think You Can Dance. Has anyone else seen that show? I love it - been hooked since season 2!

Anyway, the real reason you came was to see who won. As you can see below, I used a very technical method to choose my winners. And the winners are...

Congratulations Amy (no blog) and Katie! Amy, since your name was out of the hat first, you won the quilt pattern. Katie, the fat quarters will be on their way to you! I'll e-mail each of you as soon and I'm done posting here to get your address info!

Hope everyone's having a great first day of July!

When You Fall Asleep at 8:30 pm...

...craft night becomes craft morning. I had all of the best intentions to spend last night crafting, but I was just so tired and worn out, that after taking a hot shower, I just fell into bed.

Well, that meant I woke up early today (well, at least early for me - 8 am...yeah, if you do that math it means I slept for almost 12 hours, I guess I was tired!).

Since then, I've spent the morning crafting. Here's what I've been working on:

Cutting and piecing the strips of fabric for the Old Red Barn Co.'s quilt-a-long. I'm pretty far behind, but I'm making a push today to catch up! This is one of the fabrics I'm using from a line called the Power of Healing!

Nametags for next year's staff. I supervise six wonderful women and I try to make them nametags for them to post on their doors. This year, I decided to go with fabric.

It's getting to be lunchtime, so I'm going to find some food and then maybe visit a brand new indoor flea market in the area. Hopefully I'll get through some more sewing later today!

And don't forget about my giveaway! Leave a post there to be entered!

I Hereby Declare...

...tonight to be craft night!

So, to you, the dirty dishes in the sink - get comfortable, because you're staying there. And the dinner waiting to be made? You're bumped in favor of some form of take-out, that may even be delivered! Same goes for you laundry - you get to see another day in the hamper. And dust bunnies? Well, I'm coming for you tomorrow before company arrives...but you've got at least 12 hours.

Wish me luck - I'll give an update later!

Oh, and don't forget, I've got a giveaway going - scroll down. Leave a comment on this post or the one below and I'll enter you. Open until Sunday!

Big News...and a Giveaway to Celebrate!

EDITED: Thank you to all who entered - the giveaway is now closed. I'll pick a winner soon!

Some big news here in Gnomemade world. The BF is no longer the BF! After 7 years, 6 months and 4 days (but hey, who was counting) of dating, he proposed on Friday night! I can't begin to explain how happy and excited I am!!! He did a great job with the proposal and I'm so thrilled to begin this next chapter in our life together!

Well, since I'm so ecstatic, I felt like a giveaway was in order. I'm going to do two items for a giveaway...

Giveaway item #1: A Flutterbys and Flowers pattern designed by Sarah Tuttle. The finished measurements are 58" x 74".


Giveaway item #2: A cute little pack of three blue and yellow themed fat quarters!

So, if you want to win - simply leave a comment! Anything will do. I'll give you an extra entry if you're a follower - so, please let me know that in your comment section as well! I'll pick two winners in a random drawing. This giveaway will close next Sunday (June 28th) at midnight!

Oh, and now that he's no longer the bf, any idea how to refer to him on here? The FI? I don't know...hmm.

I'm Back!

I've been MIA for a while. I took a week off from work and headed up North to visit my parents for a while. I haven't seen them since New Year's, so it was a long overdue visit. However, the main purpose was to assist my family. My grandmother is moving out of her home where she's lived for 62 years. I spent my days cleaning out cupboards, cleaning up items and pricing them for a garage sale. Other than that, there really wasn't much time to do anything else - though I did catch up with two friends, and of course shared a lot of time, conversation, and thankfully, laughs with my family. Cleaning out a house and helping my grandmother move is a bittersweet process.

On Friday and Saturday we held a garage sale at her home. It went really well, thanks in part to the three other garage sales in a two block radius! While hanging up signs for our garage sale, my mom and I took a look at the other ones. One was held by a fellow quilter - who was selling her quilting frame (too tough to send to SC). But, she also had some great fabrics for sale. Below is the stash I picked up...

The whole stash cost $12! That's right - $12! Each bundle had at least 4 fat quarters. And the darker Thimbleberries fabric is a yard of each print.

I've always wanted to play around with these fabrics - but never bought any - so I was thrilled to find them.

I have some other photos from my trip, which I'll share in a later post. Now it's time for brunch and to visit with the bf!

Just What I Need...

...another project! But after hours of browsing different blogs for the Sew Mama Sew giveaway, I couldn't resist after seeing so many people get involved with this one...

I just ordered some fabrics off the web for CHEAP! It's the only way I could justify participating (I struggle finding coordinating fabric within my own stash). I'm excited to get started. The fabrics I found are perfect for a gift for a wonderful woman who has been especially kind to me over the past two years.

The fabrics should be in the mail tomorrow or the next day, so hopefully, I'll get started once I get back from vacation (not exactly in line with what the quilt-a-long suggests, but I'm already two weeks behind, so what's another two?)

On another note, I realized as I was reading through all my comments from the giveaway, I never let people know where the patterns I used came from. The tablerunner was courteous of P.S. I Quilt's tutorial. And the bags came from a pattern in Better Homes and Gardens "Quilts and More" Fall 2008 issue. So, if you want to make your own, now you can!

Introducing...

My newly named sewing machine...

Adelaide (or Addy for short)!

Many thanks to Carrie from Delaware who first suggested the name. She wrote "I like the flower power purse. How about Adelaide. You can call her Addy for short :)"

So, the flower power purse will be on its way to Deleware.

As for the other two prizes...I used a random number generator and the winners are...

Kim, who wrote" I love the patriotic table runner- SO CUTE!!! I think your machines name should be Sally."

(Kim, I can't access your blog profile, so please e-mail or leave a comment with how I can get in touch with you! If I don't hear from you, I'll need to find a different home for the table runner.)

And...

Mommyof2Girlz who wrote, "Hi, i'm Stephanie from San Diego, CA...she looks like an "Adeline". It means "Noble". Thanks for the giveaway :)" (And it's kinda ironic that she picked a name so close to the one I ultimately chose! But I promise, it was random. )

So, the black and white and red all over bag will be heading to San Diego!

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in my giveaway. The response was overwhelming!!! I really enjoyed reading through all your comments and checking out some of your blogs (and I'm definitely going to check out more as I have time!)

It was tough picking just one name. I sat in front of my sewing machine for a while trying to figure out which one just felt right. But, with my love of Broadway musicals, I couldn't resist Adelaide, one of the leading ladies in Guys and Dolls. However, if it was up to the BF, my sewing machine would now definitely be Mr. Winklebottom!

Well, it's getting late, and it's back to work on Monday for me!! Hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

Name Game Giveaway

UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who entered. This giveaway is now closed. I am combing through all of your wonderful suggestions and trying to figure out which of the great names calls to me! I'll post soon our winner(s)!

Well, it's giveaway day here - as hosted by Sew Mama Sew! I'm really excited about the giveaway, and I promise, it's in this post, but first humor me for a very short story.

For my 24th birthday, my parents gave me my first sewing machine. Up until then, I'd only used my mother's when I was at home. But as I had just graduated with my Master's and was moving to Boston for my first job, getting to that machine was going to prove difficult. Armed with now much more free time (no more required readings, no more papers), I decided I wanted to take up quilting/sewing. So with my new trusty sewing machine and a Better Homes and Garden book on quilting, I gave it a whirl.

Immediately, I was hooked and me and my sewing machine have bonded over the years. As I was working on my giveaways on her, I came to realize that unlike pretty much everything else I own my sewing machine doesn't have a name...which just won't do. (On a side note...my car's name is Dr. Talbot, which is a story for another time, but does involve a late night infomercial and a cat) .

Thus brings me to my giveaway.

To enter, what you need to do is this...tell me your name, where you're from, which of the three giveaway items you like best and suggest a name for my sewing machine.

Entries will close on Sunday, May 31st around 10 am-ish EST (or whenever I can get myself out of bed!). I'll pick my favorite name, christen my sewing machine with it and the winner will receive their favorite of my giveaways. Everyone else's name will go into a drawing to win the remaining gifts!

Here are your choices of giveaway items (the colors aren't great - I took these fairly late at night, which means no natural light!)...

Patriotic Table Runner (in honor of Memorial Day just past and 4th of July coming up)

Flower Power Purse

Black, White and Red All Over Bag & Coin Purse

And to tempt you even more, I just recently went to a quilt store garage sale, and picked up bunches of fun things for future giveaways - so become a follower if you want to get in on some more upcoming giveaways!

A Little Early or A Little Late?

I'll let you decide. A little while back, a few women from my quilt guild taught me some basic embroidery. I came across Gail Pan's block of the month a while ago, but just recently thought I'd try my hand at it.
For my first real embroidery block, I'm pretty happy with it. I'm looking forward to trying the others she has - I'm 4 months behind (soon to be 5), but at least I'm ahead of the game for my Christmas gifts!

Busy Day Ahead...

Today's a big day! One of my former employees, who delightfully has transitioned to being a very good friend is getting married today! She and her soon-to-be husband live in town, and are getting married at a local church, so I've had the pleasure of being involved in the wedding. As I speak there are hundreds of bubbles currently sitting in my living room having been recently tied up with ribbon in her colors. Thank goodness for the BF, as he was a significant help in doing all of those last night - otherwise I'd still be tying and curling ribbons.

There are also four dozen cupcakes just waiting to be iced and loaded into the car to take over to the church. The bride and groom decided they didn't want a traditional cake, so their family and friends are baking funfetti cupcakes with white icing. She's got a cute cupcake tower that I've been made responsible for - so wish me luck!!!

Before I head off to ice cupcakes and load my car and get dressed myself, I thought I'd leave you with a photo of a past project. Since I haven't been doing much sewing myself right now (too much baking and ribbon curling!), at least I can show that I do quilt sometimes!

In honor of the wedding today, here are photos of a quilt I made for a very good friend and his bride for their wedding in October 2007. They met, went to school and were married in Williamsburg VA, so I couldn't think of a better use of all the Teresa Kogut "Williamsburg" fabrics I found on a shopping expedition. It was machine pieced, but I did all the quilting by hand.

It ended up being much larger than I anticipated - almost covered a full bed.

Here's some detail of the end - I didn't realize how blurry my photos were.

The block was called "Peace and Plenty" - I think. I figured it was a good wish for newlyweds.

Hope you all enjoy your day!

May Giveaway Day

The wonderful Sew Mama Sew Blog is hosting a May Giveaway Day! I happened to stumble upon it by my newest hobby - blog-hopping!

This Giveaway Day is the second one they've held - the first being in December. It's a day for bloggers everywhere to host a give-away. The giveaway can be anything related to handmade goodness and needs to be up until May 31st! All the details can be found on the link above.

I'm planning on participating - I've wanted to do a giveaway to give back to all the ones I've entered since I joined the blogging world. So, I've got a couple ideas of what I may giveaway and I can't wait to see all the others offered. They'll have a full list of everyone participating!

Spring Wear

It's starting to get hot down here in the South. Just a few weeks ago, I switched out all my winter clothes for my summer clothes - though living down in SC, my real winter clothes never really make an appearance.

My wardrobe is in need of some updating, so how could I resist when I found the Spring Top Tutorial from Made by Rae over at Sew Mama Sew, I figured I'd give it a shot.

I've never made any clothes other than some pajama pants (well, there was that sweatshirt I made in 7th grade home ec. class...though that one is probably best still suited for simply gardening or never leaving the house). But anyways, with very little practice, I took a stab. Here's how it turned out...



I couldn't get it to hang flat anywhere that had natural light...so...off to the grass we go...

I really like the contrast of the two fabrics.

It was definitely a learning experience, and I don't know if I'll be starting another one soon. It's a wonderful tutorial and very easy to follow - I may just stick with buying my clothes and spending my sewing time on my other crafting. But, perhaps, if I learned as much as I think I did with this one, I may try it again!

I Think I Need A Checklist...

...for when I finish a project. I'm not sure if it's because I'm usually cutting it close to my deadline, or because I'm just so excited to send a project off to the recipient, but I seem to always forget to take a photo of my projects.

Case in point...I made a basket for the May basket swap, yet taped up the box, and then realized I had no photo.

So, you would think I learned from my mistakes? Nope.

What did I do this week - finished up a project late at night, fell asleep with the best of intentions of photographing it in the morning light and then sending it off. But, looks like I missed a step. I ended up wrapping the project up, put it in the mail and then on the walk back from the post office only then realized I had no photo.

Oh well. It's a mother's day present for my mom, so I guess I can get a picture of it the next time I'm up visiting the folks!

So, I guess this brings this to my checklist idea. Maybe I need a visual reminder (more than my camera sitting on my desk just asking to be used) to remind me of what needs to happen before the tape goes on the package!

Happy May...Basket

Susan over at Blackberry Creek Home Arts hosted a "May Day" basket swap, which I participated in. We were paired up with another swapper to create a "May Day Basket" for our partner with all of her favorite things.

After a bit of deliberation and some shopping, I put together my package for my partner who loves reading, birds, gardening and kayaking. Here it is all packaged up and ready to go...

Well, wouldn't you know it...as soon as I put the tape on the box, I realized I never got a photo of what was inside. But, basically, I got a couple of great reads, some gardening books, and made a basket from Pink Penguin's tutorial out of the Moda "Celebrate Spring" line.

My basket arrived in the mail this past week, but I waited to open it until last night. It was such a lovely package, that I hated to cut through that butterfly. Even the lady at the post office, who handed me my package commented how cute it was.

Inside, it was chock-full of goodies! A lovely basket with a note pad, tissue pack, fabric, needles, a pin and some tasty looking chocolates!

My partner has an etsy shop where she sells thes adorable little birds - don't they just scream (or should I say "tweet") spring?

And such a lovely basket. My partner also is a paper artists - I know that's not the right term, bu the appropriate one escapes me, so this cone basket is just wonderful.

I had never heard of the tradition of May baskets, so it was lots of fun to participate. Thank you Susan for organizing and thank you Ginny for my treats!

Social Gnome

I feel as though I've been MIA for a while here. And I guess for good reason - since my last post was over a week ago. But what a week plus it has been!

The trip to Williamsburg was wonderful. It was a lot of catching up with the BF's friends, wedding-related duties, and of course, eating! The BF and I joke that we always end up eating our way through Williamsburg when we're there.

Overall, the trip was delightful - albeit, very long time in the car. The wedding was beautiful and the bride and groom very happy. I wish I had some good pics to share, but the BF is the photographer in this relationship, and they're still all on his camera. However, I do have a couple of shots of campus (and the building where the wedding took place), as well as Colonial Williamsburg...

This is the Wren Building - the oldest continually used academic building in the country. The wing on the right is where the chapel is housed and where the wedding happened.



We also took advantage of the gorgeous weather in Wmbg to stroll through CW (Colonial Williamburg) a bit. It's always pretty in the spring.



After we got back late Sunday night, it's just been a whirlwind of activities. My quilt guild met on Monday night, and I had to work after that meeting. Then Tuesday, I saw "Legally Blonde: The Musical" in Charlotte. Wednesday was birthday dinner for a friend. Thursday was a bridal shower I helped host for another friend. Then came Friday, where I basically just laid on the couch, ate leftovers and watched my Netflix. Up early the next morning to proctor an exam and then do some cleaning around the apartment, which I guess brings us to right now.

After a good night's sleep, I'm ready to tackle some quilting projects. Hopefully, I'll have something to show for myself soon - especially since some of the deadlines I have set for myself are coming up very soon!

Roadtrip!

Nothing like a last minute project before you hit the road. I'm headed out of town in just a bit to head up to Williamsburg, VA for a wedding. The BF's college friend is getting married, he's a groomsman, so we're headed up to see friends and celebrate with them. It should be a lot of fun - though it's been a push to the finish to be ready to head out of town. I still need to fill up the car with gas and check tire pressure, but I've got a bit of time since the BF is still at work until about 1 pm today.

We're looking forward to our trip. Williamsburg is home to the BF's and my undergraduate alma mater, so it's really like home for us. It's actually where we met, so it holds even more significance. We try to get up there at least once a year, though with a six hour drive, and limited vacation time, I'm not sure if that's always going to work.

But anyway, onto the project - since that's what this blog is supposed to be about. Another one of the BF's friend and his wife are expecting their second child in May. I was hoping to get a quilt done in time, but let's be honest - I dream big. Since we just found out they're going to make it to the wedding, I wanted to have something for the new little guy (yup, it's a boy) when we see them. So, this morning, I put together these...

I've made these bibs from "Bend the Rules Sewing" before for a baby shower for a colleague at work. She stopped me in the hall just a few days ago and said she just loves them - so with that ringing endorsement, I figured they might be perfect for the new baby on the way!

Well, I should make sure I have everything packed, grab some lunch, get gas, etc. Enjoy your weekends!

Finally!

Something to show for myself! See, I really was working hard. I just have a nasty habit of starting multiple projects and never actually finishing one for a long long while.

This was a pretty quick start to finish for me though - just about a week. On an expedition to IKEA, I purchased a TV stand for my living room. It's a beautiful wood piece, which I'm certain my heavy TV is going to scratch up like crazy. So, currently, the TV is sitting on a make-shift protective layer of some old placemats and a coaster - not so attractive.

I was browsing blogland when I came across a tutorial for a Disappearing Nine-Patch table runner over at Rachel's blog. I'd been itching to try a disappearing nine-patch and this finally pushed me over the edge - plus I finally had a good reason to make something.

So, after a bit of browsing on Etsy (I love that site), I settled on the Cotton Blossom's charm pack and waited for it to arrive in the mail.

Once it arrived, I got to work....
It matches my decor in my living room really well, so I'm excited. Plus, it's got that wonderful crinkly goodness I read about on blogs about machine-quilting and then putting it in the wash.

I was pretty happy that I could find some coordinating fabrics for the backing and binding in my stash - I'm trying to work through.

Next up is to put it under the TV - I'm just kinda sad so much of it will be hidden! It's one of the first few projects I'm keeping for myself!

ETA: These disappearing nine-patch blocks are great!  I've been able to make some really cute baby quilts using them...check them out: Baby Boy Chase Quilt, Baby Boy Sean Quilt & Baby Girl Ellie Quilt! Such a versatile block!

Where has a week gone?

I'm not quite sure where over a week has gone since I last posted. I'd love to say I've been having glamorous adventures, but honestly, I've just been working and trying to get through the week. I have been productive on the quilting/sewing front, but haven't gotten far enough along with any project to feel like it's worthy of showing here.

Luckily, it's a low key weekend here in SC for me. We'll celebrate Easter with just a small dinner for the two of us (turkey, since I hate ham). But other than that, no real plans. Perhaps I'll get a project done?

Cute Easter Giveaway!

One of the blogs I follow is having a really cute Easter giveaway. Check out Sew Fantastic's blog for a wonderful giveaway from Aly's Esty store, Bliss Forest.

Those bunnies and gnomes are just so cute. I just love the Ninja bunny! It's so creative, and so cute!

Look How Beautiful!

I received my bag in the mail from my Charming Handbag swap partner. I was happy to learn earlier this week that my bag arrived safely to its new home, and was thrilled to get this lovely bag in the mail - thanks so much Lorna! I love the color combination of blue and brown and the tissue holder is just adorable. Oh, and I can't wait to play around with the fabrics!


Sorry the photo's not great - I don't get a ton of natural light in my apartment.

Today is a day off from work for me - yippee! So, I'm hoping to run some errands and hopefully have some time at home to work on some of my projects. If all goes according to plan - but when does it ever - I'll have some photos of some projects up online soon!

Happy Tuesday.

Mail on it's way!

I made it to the post office just before closing today - cut it pretty close! But, I was able to get my "Charming Handbag" on it's way to it's new owner. I really enjoyed making this one and making it for someone else definitely made me step outside my comfort zone of fabric choices. I'm hoping she enjoys the bag, as much as I enjoyed participating in the swap.

Here are some photos of my creation...

I was pretty proud of myself for how well the seams on the side matched up (not to brag, but it's a first for me).

The fabrics are from Amy Butler's "Lotus" collection and I picked them up at Mary Jo's when I was there last week.

We were encouraged to add some "crafty" items to the package as well, so I sent along some fun fabrics - didn't get a pic of them - which hopefully she enjoys and can use.

My partner doesn't know who I am, so even with the pics up on my blog, she will still be surprised when it arrives. Hopefully she enjoys it!

I'm looking forward to receiving my bag - we're supposed to mail them out no later than March 31st! The swapper who has me left me a message letting me know she's making mine, so I'm thrilled to have met a new friend on the internet and see what she creates - it's her first swap too!

Past Projects #1

I'm enjoying a couple of nice days off from work. Headed up to Mary Jo's yesterday and had a ball going through all the fabric choices. I came home with a bunch of stuff - but almost all of it was on my shopping list, so I feel pretty good about it. My favorite find was some "themed" fabric for a quilt I think I finally can start after putting it off for two years.

I spent today enjoying some quiet time at home, while also finishing a book. I also started and finished my "Charming Handbag" for the BTRS swap. I'm hoping to get it into the mail either tomorrow, but most likely on Monday. After it gets approval from my bf to make sure it's worthy of sending along to someone else. I was super excited about participating in the swap, but am worried that the receipient of my bag will be disappointed in my skill level. I'll post photos once it's in the mail.

I figured I might share some photos of my past projects - I've made a point to photograph almost every project I've completed- since all but one have been given away. These I'm somewhat embarrassed by - there my first attempts. You can tell that I'm definitely self-taught and I was still learning about color choice. But they were made with love for several of my staff members. I actually made 9 over the course of a year plus (the tops were done in a year, but took me a little longer to quilt). These are four of them - and I'll post the other four I have photos of sometime soon. I missed getting a photo of one.

My first quilt ever - it was music themed and had so many problems!

My second top - but the last of the nine to be quilted - the girl I gave it to loved purple!

This one is currently residing in California.

Not a great shot, but I liked the earthtone colors.

This is the bf's favorite - for all of these I complete just made up patterns based on what I thought would look cool. I was shocked later to learn that you could buy patterns for quilts!