I'M BACK!!!

HELLO EVERYONE!

After a much needed break I'm starting to get back into the swing of things again. My oldest son, Alex, started kindergarten and he has the same teacher that I had when i was in kindergarten. And my younger son, Jon, keeps me on my toes...always on the go and never slows down....starting to miss nap time :(

I've also moved, but only 30 minutes away...I'm closer to my family and friends...couldn't ask for a better bunch of people.

Oh, i almost forgot to tell you the must exciting part....

I got a new job, the BEST job ever....I'm working at a local quilt shop....EEEKK!! I love getting up in the morning to go to work, because I know I will be surrounded by fabric and I get to sew. Only been there for about a month and already have 2 quilts done for the shop and currently working on an applique project. Wish i would have remembered to take pictures, but I promise to post them soon.

Yeppers, I life is great right now!!

Everyone have a great weekend and I will see you next year!!!

Claire

If you hadn't noticed already.....

I'm kinda of taking a break...from blogging that is.

Going through a rough patch in life right now, but I have my sewing to keep my mind off the bad things.

Currently I'm working on 2 t-shirt quilts as graduation gifts which need to be done in the next the week...no pictures right now, but I'm taking them as I sew along, so there will be a huge post the next time I come.

Well that's in for now...off to go sew....just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still here!!!!

I'm still here, I promise....

Okay, okay, okay....i know I've been lacking here in the posts, but I have been busy, busy, busy in my sewing cave.

I couldn't wait anymore and I got started on those mitered squares from One Yard Wonders.

I had to stop for little bit, since they're not lining up properly...I thought a break would do me some good.

So, I started on the mini quilt for the DQS10...

 Still have a few more items to add before I'll be ready to quilt it.

Then a few weeks ago I got an e-mail from Kate. She wanted me to proofread a  quilt pattern for her....

I WAS SIKED!!!!

Sherbet Dreams Quilt Pattern

I used Free Bird by MoMo for Moda.

Out of pure boredom, I got out my paints and a canvas I never used so I could created this.....so simple it only took me a few hours to create from start to finish....I use a template from here.

And yesterday, I decided to wipe up this pillow from Cluck Cluck Sew.

Close up of center.

After the pillow was done I got to work on this mini quilt.

 Still working on quilting this.

So you see I have indeed been very, very, very BUSY!

I Love Getting Mail...

notice anything different about package???

take a closer look at the stamps!

still stumped?? than look here....

all the way from NORWAY!!!

awhile back i noticed a link on facebook on One Yard Wonders page and came across this blog and she was having a giveaway!!

and before i enter into any giveaway I always cruise the blog to see what the person is all about....i found that katt has such the cutest little rats ever...no, seriously...go see for yourself, there's two in the header on her blog!!

when i got the e-mail from her i.was.syked!!!! first time i've won anything EVER in the giveaway world! so I've been waiting patiently for this to arrive so i can share it with all of you.

 isn't the bag cute....and i just love the tags she uses..if you can't see it in the picture is says, "thatdamncat"! gotta love her humor!!

I Almost Forgot.....

For Christmas this year i made the nieces dolls, 

and i almost forgot to tell you all.

The dolls were tailored to each girl....

the clothes were chosen from their favorite color....

the hair matches the hair color of each niece.....

so without further adue here they are:

For Kamille

 She loves purple.....took me forever to find the right kind of purple to use, 

but after searching through my whole fabric stash i finally found it.....

if she didn't love i was going to keep it for myself!

For Ayla

I wasn't quite sure what her favorite color was, 

but she's 4 years old and what 4 y/o girl doesn't like pink...

am i right! But i have to be honest, i originally made her for Kamille, 

but after considering the the colors for a awhile, 

i just wasn't satisfied about them and decided they were more pink than purple

For Hailey

Yes people, my niece has fire red hair, 

which is actually a very dark orange-red color.....

and to top it off she's about as 'tom-boy' as you can get....

she must take after me, because i was a big tom boy growing up! 

And Hailey's favorite color just so happens to be blue, 

which goes great with orange.

Aren't the dollies lovely??

I used Dahlia the Doll pattern for Melly & Me. 

When first opened the pattern I about freaked out...

8 pages of instructions...

i thought i was going to die...what did i get myself into. 

But once you start working at the dolls, 

it starts coming together very quickly!

Look What I Rec'd in the Mail......

my potholders from my partner, Tiffany (flickr: love2quilt7), for the Potholder Pass #6!

 Are they lovely??? And just in time for Valentine's Day.

I absolutely love them and I'm enjoying the squishy stress reliever ball that came with them!

Thank You So Much Tiffany!!!

Busy Beaver Here!

Ok, I know I've neglected blogging lately, but I have a good reason. I swear!

I've been sewing away and away and away....

I've got most of this quilt top done, but I'm uphappy that most of the blocks don't line up....but i do plan on finishing it.....maybe add some borders or something.

I used Bali Pops from Hoffman Fabric in Berry Bliss and Spumoni.....I needed some more red strips that Spumoni had, so I switched out some of the littler blues from Berry Bliss for them. Hopefully I can get this done by Memorial Day.

I also got the my second pot holder done except for the binding.

I was also debating on whether or not to join in on the Postage Stamp Quilt Along hosted by p.s. i quilt but i finally took the plunge and the quilt top looks great.

 I used a Fat Eighth (18" x 11") of Riviera from Connecting Threads....unfortunately this line can no longer be purchased. Because I used a FE I decided to alter the top a little bit, which I think turned out great.

 Plan on using the remain pieces in the backing....more on that later though. And I'm hoping to get this quilt done late March or Early April.

And finally I've been working on some tote bags from One Yard Wonders.

 I used 100% linen for the outside and 100% cotton on the inside....i also imbellished the outside with some great iron on decals from Sukie. Aren't the lovely???

For the lining I use Woodland Wonderland (JY15 Green) by Jay McCarroll for Free Spirit Fabrics.

 I ran out of linen for the handles for the other tote bags, so you'll have to wait to see those later.

So, for February I've got more items on my do to list....

I need to get crackin on a mini quilt for the Mini Quilt Swap 10

 Finish the binding on the potholders for the Potholder Pass 6

And hopefully get started on this lovely Mitered Square Quilt from One Yard Wonders.

I found this fabric at my local Joann's.....it has such a great variety of colors and width of stripes...I honestly cannot wait to get started on this....and FYI i purchased 2yds in the hope of making a slightly bigger quilt, since the one in the book is for a baby.

Well I'm off to some more sewing....

Potholder #1 Coming Along

I've been working on the potholder today, which didn't take as long as i thought it would.

I didn't want to the traditional applique look, instead i sewed just inside the design about 3 times around all the pieces and i used my free motion foot to achieve the look i was going for....

So what do you think?.....i layered  the front with regular white natural cotton batting and solid white cotton fabric on the back. Now don't freak out....i'm not done with the potholder yet....it still needs insulated batting...i just didn't want the batting to start coming apart in the sewing machine and adding all that cotton fuzz in the bobbin area

Here's what the complete reverse looks like, but you will not be able to see it when i'm done.

This is the completed front...i love the outlining ALOT!

At this point I have added a layer of insulated batting and the backing

A look at the back

All I need to do now is add the binding and a loop or something for hanging.

PP#6 - First Attempt

It's been snowing all day, so what's a girl gonna do....SEW!!!

I've been working on the first potholder, but haven't sewn anything yet.

Here is what i have so far.

I hope my partner likes it and I hope I'm following the rules.....

It's suppose to monotone and aqua!

Pot Holder Pass #6

It's official....I'm participating in round 6 of the Potholder Pass. 

Click here for the Flickr group

 A few minutes ago I received my partner for the swap and her/his preference is AQUA, along with about 50% o the people in the swap. So, I went digging through my fabric and scraps and this is what a came up with...

I already have an idea for all this wonderful fabric...I just hope it turns out as great as it looks in my heads!