Happy Thanksgiving!

May you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Hugs,

Sunday Scripture

With Joy,

Lots of Blocks

The sewing fun continues!  First up is a grouping of all of the blocks for Donna's quilt along.  I finished number six and really like how it fits in with the rest of them.  Three blocks are done for the Christmas quilt that Trish and I are each making.  I love seeing how we each are using the same bundle of fabric to get different blocks.  Trish is such a dear friend of mine that sewing together across all these miles is very special to me.  I decided to tackle my fear of templates and join in with Charise and her Vintage block quilt along.  I am thrilled with how the first two turned out.  The pink one is called "Rose Dream" and required curved piecing and the yellow and aqua block is called "Night & Day" and required sewing Y seams.  The rest of the group is way ahead of me but that's ok, I'll make it slowly so I don't make a bunch of mistakes.  What are you working on today?

Smiles, 

We are Santa's Elves...

I'm starting to feel excited for the Christmas season.  It's the kind of excitement that spurs my creativity and gets me moving.  This is my favorite time of year as I stitch and knit in preparation for Christmas.  For me, it's in the preparing that gives me the most joy.  I wish I could feel this excitement earlier in the year so that I could make things for Christmas much sooner but that special excitement doesn't appear until November, so I don't fret over it, I just hum "we are Santa's elves" in my head and I roll up my sleeves.  That sweet deer jumped into my cart at Ikea.  How cute is he?  He makes me smile whenever I walk into the room.  I don't know what it is about my favorite stores, but they sparkle more at Christmas time.  I guess everything sparkles more at Christmas time!  I finished my pillow for the Holiday Pillow Talk Swap.  I am thrilled with how it turned out.  I can't wait to send it off.  I'm in the process of collecting goodies to go with it.  I've started sewing with Trish.  We both have a bundle of Santa's Workshop and decided to sew together across the miles.  I have completed two blocks and loving it.  My sewing room looks like an absolute, beautiful, disaster.  In the throes of sewing I just yank out fabric and let the rest fall.  When I'm all done it gets organized again, which is fun because I always find fabric I forgot I had!  The best shopping find was the darling elf fabric and the scrapbook paper to go with it.  Get yourself over to Hobby Lobby to get some before it's all gone.  The elves are tiny and so stinking cute.  Have a blessed day, friends!

Smiles,

Sunday Scripture

Joyfully,

The Stockings Were Hung

I woke up determined to spend the day sewing.  I've been wanting a Christmas pillow for my bed to go with the Log Cabin quilt I made a while back.  It took me all day, but it was a lot of fun and I really like how it turned out.  My favorite sock is the red plaid with the black and white polka dot patches.  I also completed block five in Donna's quilt along.  It was a good sewing day!

Smiles,

Fresh Forest

I hope you all had a good weekend!  I worked on putting some Christmas items in my little booth at the antique mall.  We got our fill of Michigan sports with a basketball game on Friday and the boys going to the football game on Saturday.  I spent some precious time with Maddie, snatching her away from her dorm for a bit.  In between I cut and pieced this top, Fresh Forest.  It is a pattern from the Holiday 2012 issue of Stitch, Craft, Create.  I wanted a new quilt to hang on the wall for our first Christmas in our new house.  I even cut up my red Tilda fabric that I've been saving, it's more raspberry than red.  It's raining today and I've got Christmas music on.  I just can't help myself!

Tis the Season...

Sunday Scripture

With Joy,

Pretty Sewing

Lots of sewing going on at my house.  My sewing room is in a constant state of pretty messes.  I completed block four in Donna's quilt along.  I love the Churn Dash block.  It says generations of quilters to me.  I'm having fun with these blocks.  Lastly, I want to show you the beginnings of a pillow cover for the Holiday Pillow Talk swap I'm a part of.  This block is in the Summer issue of Quiltmakers 100 blocks.  I did some tweaking to it.  The most fun part was the book.  I found a picture of a vintage book online and copied it onto fabric.  I found the Little Golden Book fabric in my stash and put the book together.  Very, very fun sewing!  Blessings!

Smiles,

Holiday Pillow Talk Swap

After participating the in the Strawberry Pincushion Swap hosted by the lovely Erin, I was eager to do another swap.  I was fortunate to get into the Holiday Pillow Talk Swap and have been working on the pillow for my partner.  The top photo shows my progress so far.  I have a really neat idea for the book. I'm having a lot of fun with this.  The partners are kept secret and we ask them questions on Flickr about whether or not we are headed in the right direction.  If she tells me this is not for her, I will still have enjoyed making it and then I'll start on a different one.  I didn't have to go to far to get inspired, I noticed that the same colors can be found in my yarn.  Recently I was blessed by this comment on another post:

I don't know you, I'm just a reader of your blog but I wanted to comment that I so appreciate how everything you make seems to go together. You have a style and you're good at that style. I'm only 2 years into quilting (with a full-time job) so I think I'm still figuring that out. My imagination says your stash is all cohesive in your style sense. Mine's a bit all over. You inspire me to work on that. Great job!

Thank you, Lisa, for that comment.  It has taken me a long time to figure out what style I like.  I have made so many quilts for others and have used such a variety of fabrics that they liked and it gave me an opportunity to really think about what I like and the direction I wanted my style to go.  Lately I have been really working at pulling things from my stash before I head out the door to the quilt shop. I would hardly ever venture out from a fabric line and I'm enjoying adding other fabrics to that fabric line for that extra pop of pattern and color in a quilt.  I encourage you to keep at it, for your style will certainly emerge.  Often all it takes is looking around you at the colors you use in your home and your clothing as well as your garden.  Blessings!

Xoxo,

Sunday Scripture

Joyfully,