Thursday, November 29, 2012

Little Trees







































The Christmas decorations are slowly making their way out of storage.   I have ordered a new white unlit tree.  I'm done with prelit trees from companies that promise if one light goes out the rest will stay on - oh and impossible to remove from the tree once they quit working, but I digress.  I stopped by one of my favorite stores, Bella Patina, last week and picked up this trio of trees for my mantel.  The largest jar is about 5" so imagine how small the other two are.  I love supporting local small businesses.  Check out Bella Patina's amazing pinterest boards here.  Have a blessed day!

Joyfully,

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Y-U-M-M-O!



I really enjoy a one dish meal.  The house smells wonderful and it's not a ton of work to prepare it.  I have tried two from pinterest and love them both.  I must have a thing for garlic and lemon because both recipes use it.  I made the above dish twice in one week - it was that good!  I liked it best made with chicken thighs instead of breasts and less lemon, more garlic than called for.  It was delish!




My son loves shrimp and this recipe did not disappoint.  I would double it next time, it went fast. Right now when sewing takes precedence over everything else, these dishes are perfect!  Let me know what you think if you try them.  Enjoy!

Smiles,

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Santa Baby







































I finished a quilt for Art Hop.  I'm on the countdown with Art Hop on December 7.  This is a crib size quilt.  One of the reasons I like sewing for Christmas is that I use colors and fabric patterns that don't normally show up in my work.  This retro Santa fabric came from JoAnn's and is so stinking cute.  I wish now I had purchased the whole bolt.  I'm off to quilt another top.  Have a great day doing something you love!

xoxo,

Monday, November 26, 2012

Comfort Sewing ~ Row Seven







































Good morning, friends!  I hope that you had a blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends.  It was so good to have our family together.  Its pretty quiet here, this morning, with the kids back to school and my husband making his drive back to his new job.  My heart is full and I'm thankful for a few days with all of them.  I was able to finish row seven of Lori's Row-a-long the day before Thanksgiving but never got a chance to post it.  These leaves were so fun to make!







































I want to thank Lori again for all the time and work she has done to make this free Row-a-long available to us.  I think of how busy she must be with family, new fabric lines, pattern writing and more and yet she has taken the time to create this for us.  It is truly something I look forward to every other week.  I think this quilt holds special significance for me because our family is in a season of transition and when this quilt is complete my family will be together again.  In a comforting way, it feels like a traveling companion who will be there through the spring.  I'll be able to hang this in my new home and reflect on the journey it took to get there.   Thank you, Lori, for giving me this.  One of these days I hope that I get the chance to thank Lori in person.  Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Thursday, November 22, 2012

On This Day




Wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Joyfully,

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Pinning







































Happy Saturday!

xoxo,

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Bright Christmas Cheer







































The ground was covered in sparkly frost this morning as I took Maddie to school.  It won't be long until snow.  We had a few flakes leisurely falling from the sky the other day.  Winter seems to come out of nowhere, one day you wake up and the grass is covered.  Today the sun is shining brightly.  I've got spaghetti sauce and meatballs cooking on the stove and the house is already smelling good at ten in the morning.  







































I have three quilt tops completed for the art hop next month.  I plan on making one more with the fabric above.  Bright colors are speaking to me right now as well as retro Santa's.  I need to get busy quilting these as I hope to make a couple of pillows, some elf dolls and tote bags.  Its crunch time but I'm not concerned.  Whatever is done is what I'll take to sell.  Are you working on anything for Christmas?

Hugs,

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Work in Progress







































Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?…

Wink,

Monday, November 12, 2012

Pretty Cups ~ Elves ~ Giveaway Winner


I'd like to congratulate Mimi on winning my November Giveaway!
I have sent you an email Mimi ~ enjoy!

I had a fun time sewing row six of Lori's row along.  When I was finished I noticed that the pink gingham cup was screaming for detail so I appliqued a rose I cut from a piece of fabric.  Now it's my favorite cup!


A close second to the rose cup is this pale blue dog and cat print.  It is a very old piece from my stash, but I love it!  I wish I had more.  I'm not even sure what it is.  I adore any print that looks vintagey!


The last couple of days have been spent getting the cafe windows ready for Christmas.  I painted these little elves on the windows and I like how they came out.  Our orange elf looks like he is hanging an ornament on the tree.


My Mom has painted the windows in her home ever since I was little.  After she drew the design on, she would let my brothers and I paint a small part of the window.  I thought about those windows a lot as I was drawing the elves.


In case you were wondering, the tree is really that bright!  It is covered in cupcake ornaments that Nancy has collected as well as been gifted with over the past few years.  We are getting quite a reaction from customers.  The children love it!  Wishing you a day that is merry and bright!

Smiles,

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

November Giveaway







































Today marks the 11th monthly giveaway from Sewn With Grace.  We are down to the last two.  I can't believe how fast this year has passed.  This giveaway will help you get creative for Christmas.  One winner will receive:


My entire fabric scrap stash
The book, "Tilda's Christmas Ideas" by Tone Finnanger
A handknit Christmas heart by me

To enter:
Be a follower of Sewn With Grace
Leave one comment on this post

Since it's the middle of the week, I will leave this giveaway open until Sunday, November 11 at midnight and announce the winner on Monday, November 12. 

Blessings,

Monday, November 5, 2012

Flying Geese







































Today I got caught up with row five of Lori Holt's Row Along Quilt.  I had been dragging my feet on this row because I am not a fan of making flying geese.  My points always seem to get cut off and end up looking wonky.  I knew that if I followed Lori's method I would have success so I just went for it. These are little geese, 1 1/2" x 2 1/2".  From what I can tell, I didn't lose one point, yea!!!  








































As I've said before, one of the things I love most about this quilt is that we don't know what it will end up looking like.  When I choose fabrics I'm not even sure of how the rows will come out but so far I am loving it.  It's not too late to join the row along and get caught up.  I always look forward to the next row.  Sweet blessings today!  Be sure to stop by tomorrow for November's Giveaway!

Smiles,

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Color Wheels







































Thank you for all of your kind words about my "Sugar Rail" quilt.  It was very fun to make and will be hard to part with.  For those who asked about the pattern, I cut my strips 2 1/2" x 8 1/2" and then put four together.  I alternated the direction of each block.  I did six blocks across and seven blocks down. It is a quick sew and packs a lot of punch.  I want to show you the second quilt top I finished today. This pattern is from the book "Scrap Basket Sensations" by Kim Brackett.  It is the "Over Under" pattern. I left off the border because I wanted a smaller quilt.  This one measures 50" square. 







































This fabric is an old line by Alexander Henry called "Willow".  I had quite a bit of scraps left over from another quilt.  I used up every bit except for some pieces of the dark green mushroom print.  The yellow and white gingham makes for a fun touch and I will hand quilt this one.  I'm going to use some fun bright variegated thread.  I can hardly wait to get started.

Smiles,