Aunt Phyllis' quilt

I finally got Carpenter Star #2 finished last night. This quilt is for my Great Aunt Phyllis for Christmas. I'll be wrapping it up and mailing it to Utah next week! I am so excited for her to receive a quilt. Mark had lit a nice fire in the fireplace last night, so I finished the binding on it while we got nice and warm. I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving yesterday with your family and friends. We went to our friend's home and we had such a good time! The food was fantastic and I was pretty lazy for the rest of the day.


I got up pretty late today, and Jessie went with me to Hollyhill Quilt Shop. It's my favorite place for buying fabric, and I got some nice things to make a few more projects in the near future. So many fun things to do...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Christmas gifties and squishies

I've been working like one of Santa's elves the past few weeks. I finished another quilt! This is the Carpenter Star pattern. I have done about 5 of these now, and highly recommend it for those who are just learning to make a quilt, it is a fun one to do!

I made 6 more of these cute red and white bags, along with a matching pin cushion. Those scraps have gone a long way into making things haven't they?? Gotta love that.

I got the inspiration to make a pin cushion from Carrie's Blog. Her patterns are so pretty, be sure to visit her blog!

Jessie helped me set up for this picture, and when I was getting the photos off of the camera, I came across this picture, she had an idea of her own for the photo shoot I see. :) LOL!

See how guilty she looks?

And I made some little zippered pouches just to try it out. I used a tutorial that is over on my side bar. Super easy, and CUTE! I will make more of these :D

Back to being an elf, lots to do!

Curren's quilt is done!

Well, I finally got it all finished. Curren has been asking me a few times a week if it is done yet. When I told him yesterday that it was, he gave me a huge hug and said “Mom, you took forever!” and I heard Jessie say “Mom, I want a quilt too!” even though she has one :D Kids are so funny. I told Curren that I got this done really fast (I think a couple of months is fast!) He was not impressed :D

It turned out kind of big for his bed, he has a full size bed. I think it’d fit on a queen bed with no problems. I added an extra border, I had quite a few scraps left, so I did the small squares, all of the way around the quilt, I think it added a lot to it by doing that. I love how it turned out, it’s a great pattern for a boy, he thinks it’s cool, and that is what matters! :D
I’ve been able to get a lot done in the past two weeks. There are several reasons behind this. It is dark by the time I get home from work now, which means we can’t go for walks, play outside, or be in the yard. It has been pouring rain quite a bit, which means you just don’t go outside, adding to it being pitch black out there. And, Mark has been in China on business, which means free time at night to do whatever my little heart desires :D I have a big long list of things I worked on while he was gone. We all missed him a lot, and he got home safe today. I am so glad to see him!

I was able to make six more of the red/white pouches, I tied both of my Carpenter Star quilts, I only need to bind them and they’ll be done! My ornament is finished for an exchange I am in, and I worked on Snapperville. I feel like I got a lot done, but I am kind of tired now, so we’ll see how much more I get done before Christmas :)

Are you all ready for Christmas? I am not, but I never am :D I am excited for it!

Fall Exchange from Leena

I received a beautiful exchange from Leena last night. We have done a personal exchange, and wanted it to be fall themed, since we both love fall. She made me a beautiful wall hanging, it's finished so perfectly. I love it! Thank you Leena.

Leena stitched a Bent Creek snapper chart October, over one. It is so pretty, and then added the twigs onto it, it is amazing. I am trying to figure out how she finished it so perfectly, I can not do it, no matter how hard I try :)

Here is the whole exchange, she was so sweet and sent a chart from my wishlist, I will be stitching this very soon :D Also, she sent a heart shaped thread keeper, and lots of finishing goodies. I am a lucky girl yes?

I've been busy working on my Bent Creek Snapperville, I want to get one of the blocks stitched this month. I think I will make the goal. I also stitched up the ornament for Courtney, I am working on finishing it! And you know that little red & white bag I made? Well, it is breeding, 6 more are in the works for Christmas gifts :)

I wanted to share what Curren made for me a few days ago. This little heart was folded in half, and on the back it says "I love you so mutch!" I just about died from the cuteness of it, and it made me cry. He is such a sweet kid!

Winter Stack

So, I've been working on this for a few months off and on. Mostly when there was a lot of daylight because of the dark fabric. I hadn't stitched on darker linen much at all, so it was an adjustment :) I finished this today and think it's adorable. It's for my little sister Nikki, whose birthday is on Friday! Even though she doesn't live by me, at least I got it done before her birthday LOL!! Now I have to get it mailed to her.

It is Winter Stack by Waxing Moon. I used most of the recommended threads... had to substitute a few with what I had in my stash.
I love the big polar bear, he's so cute!
I've picked up an ornament chart to make for a personal exchange I am doing with Courtney, I can't wait to start on it. Also, I got both of my Carpenter Star quilts basted together, they are now ready to be tied, I am so happy about that, for that is the part I dread. I will be setting up my frame tomorrow night to start working on them. I am happy to be motivated to get things done! Woo!

Von's NRR is complete :)

Well, I must say it feels good to have accomplished finishing such a big round robin. The neighborhood round robin has been going on for over a year and a half for this group. We all stitched a lot, and have done such a good job.

I finished Von's NRR today, and will mail it to her tomorrow. I hope you like it Von, it really is beautiful. It was exciting to put the final stitches on it today!
I used a chart from the July 2008 Cross Stitch and Needlework Magazine. I think it fits in perfectly :)

Thanksgiving Exchange from Carol

The past few days have been such fun mail days for me. First I want to show off what Carol made for a Thanksgiving exchange we were in. She is so great, have you been to her blog? If not, you must go and visit, she is a stitching machine! LOL! I mean that in a good way of course, she is very inspirational to me. She made me a pinkeep from a Shepherd's Bush chart, and I LOVE it. She also sent fabric and a pattern to make a bag! I am excited to try it out :) Thanks Carol!!! *hugs*

I heard from Joan that she received the Thanksgiving exchange I sent her. I stitched her a small ornament, and the chart was by Lizzie Kate :)

My friend Karen came over last night to sew with me, and I was all over the place, I could not settle on any one thing to work on for more than 15 minutes. This week I had received a pattern in the mail from This and That called Abby's Treasure Box. So, I made one, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be :P I can see me making many more! It was fun. I want to figure out how to double the size of it, because it's pretty small. I used the red/white fabric scraps I had from cutting out my new quilt! I am not too far, so no pictures of that yet.

I got the binding sewn onto Curren's quilt this morning, so I will start getting that done, and I hope to get Von's NRR done this weekend too! You all have a great weekend!!! Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting. :)

What have I been up to?

For the past few months, I’ve been busy working on a dozen different things, which means slow progress on each of them, which doesn’t make for exciting blogging :) I do have a few things to share now, and I say, it’s about time! :D

First off, I finished a small quilt top last night, it’s another of the Schnibbles patterns by Miss Rosie Quilt Company, called Gazebo. I want to do every single one of these mini quilts, they are all adorable. I used the Moda Flutterby fabrics, they all have some sort of bug incorporated into the pattern, and it is very cute, and very bright, in fact, the brightest one I’ve made so far, and I LOVE it. I plan on giving it to Jessie of course. So now I have to quilt it and bind it.
I’ve been collecting red and white fabrics for a new quilt. Here is my stack, I pre-washed them with one of those color catcher sheets, and I am glad I did, because the sheet was very pink when I pulled it out of the washing machine. I really never pre-wash my fabrics, but since it’s all red with white, I figured I’d better do it this time. I am excited to start this quilt, more pictures to come once the assembly begins!And I am making good progress on Von’s NRR. I am almost done, I have some backstitching to do and that’s it! I am so excited!
I’ve been working on this tablerunner for my mom the past couple of weeks. I wanted to give this to her for her birthday, which was on October 6th, so I am totally late. I am such a lame daughter. But it’s the thought that counts right? At least I try, LOL! She loves the country décor and has lots of cows in her kitchen, so this should fit on her table nicely.
So, I mailed off my Thanksgiving exchange today, which means I have 3 more exchanges to mail out and I’ll be exchange free for as long as I can. That is until I can’t take it anymore and have to do another one. I plan on holding off for now though, too much stuff to work on for family and friends around here.

October Review / November Goals

Did you all have a fun Halloween? The kids had a great time roaming the neighborhood. Curren was a Zombie and Jessie a witch... here they are looking as scary as possible...

Mark carved this pumpkin, he had fun with this one :)

It was a fun night!!!

Here are my goals and whatnot, for tracking purposes :D I worked on a gift for a friend today and finished it, I wish I could share a picture, but it'll have to wait until Christmas, it turned out fun, and I am so excited about it!! Until next time, enjoy your weekend.

October Review

Bind Pumpkin Quilt *yes, finished it*

Finish one Carpenter Star Quilt *no*
Work on Old McMary’s *yes*
Stitch one block on Snapperville *no*
Work on Winter Stack *no*
Work on Von’s NRR *yes*

Stitch an ornament *no*

Work on Thanksgiving Exchange *yes*

Also, worked on Christmas Exchange, finished Leena's fall exchange, worked on Cherie's quilt, and mom's tablerunner.

November Goals

Finish one Carpenter Star Quilt

Bind Curren's quilt

Mail Von's NRR

Mail Thanksgiving Exchange

Finish Christmas Exchange

Work on Old McMary's

Work on Winter Stack

Stitch one block on Snapperville

Pumpkin Quilt DONE

So, I finally finished it!!! *Happy Dances all around* I’ve been working on this pumpkin quilt for over a year now, and am very excited to have it finished. It is from a Thimbleberries pattern book.
I had it quilted with a leaf pattern, which matches it nicely…

Now we can enjoy it for the last month of fall, I am glad I got it done before Christmas time at least :D

And I must post about a giveaway on JC Handmade’s blog. She is offering to make a baby quilt for somebody lucky! I’d love to have her make one for me, her stuff is soooo adorable. If I could pick the colors they’d be aquas, greens, blues… something like the ocean of course. Go check out her blog, it’s great.

WIP catch up

I’ve been working on a few things when I can. I’ve been feeling kind of sick the past week. I had 3 fillings in my teeth, and one of them got pretty sore, so the medication they put me on made me exhausted, it was the weirdest feeling. Yesterday was my final dose of medication so today I feel better. Well, I am just making up excuses as to why I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked this past week LOL!

I have worked on Old McMary’s for several hours, and love how it’s turning out :) It’s really pretty.
I have made good progress on Von’s NRR, I hope to get it done in the next week or two.
We went to the pumpkin patch over the weekend. The weather here in Portland has been nothing short of amazing for the past few weeks. I feel so lucky, because by now it’s usually cold, dark and raining. Which is supposed to start up on Friday… but for now it’s beautiful! We took advantage of the weather and were outside a lot this weekend.
Are your kiddies all ready for Halloween? My kids are counting down the days, they are SO excited for it.

I have so many things I want to get done before Christmas. I made a list, and after I got done with it I just started laughing, there is NO way I will be able to finish all of it, so I will just concentrate on the ones I have mostly done :D One thing at a time right? LOL!

Fall Exchange for Leena

I have heard from Miss Leena that she received the fall exchange I sent, and liked it yay!!! We are doing a personal exchange this year, and I was so excited to make something for her. She had my name last year for the birthday/Christmas exchange board, and I have been wanting to make her something in return ever since.

When I did the Shepherd’s Bush exchange, Joan had my name, and made the cutest project bag, I decided I had to try to make one too :) So, that is what I made Leena. I stitched a design from My Aunt’s Attic, and incorporated it into the bag, so it can be useful for Leena to use.
It’s pretty big, and can fit a chart in there without bending it etc. I can’t wait to make more, it was fun to put together. Sorry Leena, I don’t have great photos of it either :)

I am stitching away on Von’s NRR, working on two Christmas exchanges, a few quilts, and finished the stitching on a Thanksgiving exchange, just have to make it into something now. I am busy busy busy. How about you? What projects are you working on?

I have signed off the SBEBB board, and after the NRR is complete I’ll have a lot more free time to do the long list of projects I’ve been holding off on for a long time. I can’t wait! I think in January I’ll start Shores of Hawk Run Hollow. I’ve been wanting to start this one for a long time now.

Tomorrow is my 2 year “blogaversary” How would you spell that? :D It’s been so fun having a crafty blog, it’s been a good journal for me to track my progress on projects, it’s fun, and keeps me organized. Thank you all for taking time to visit me here, and to do exchanges with me, I’ve really enjoyed it!

Birthday gift for Edda

I had Edda's name for the SBBC exchange this year. I had a lot of fun making this package for her. This past summer she and her family took a really neat vacation on a boat down canals/rivers in her country. It was so fun to see that! And I was inspired to make her gift package a boat/water/ocean theme. I love all of this stuff too, so it was too fun to do it!

I stitched her a freebie chart from By The Bay: Bay View Estates. Isn't it cute? I made it into a pinkeep.

I am so glad you like it Edda :)

We are all doing good here, I am not posting a whole lot right now because I am in the middle of so many projects :D I will post when I can! Have a great weekend :)

The drawing winner is....

So, Miss Jessie was in charge of our drawing today... and the winner is PAT!! Congrats Pat, I'll be mailing you your chart when I get your address :)

Have you all been enjoying the weekend? The weather was beautiful today, and we were able to get outside to play. I've been sewing like a madman the past few days, but don't have anything finished to show at the moment. I did get to a quilt shop today, and got red and white fabrics to make a new quilt with, I can't wait to start it. :D

Here is an updated picture of how far along I am with Von's NRR. It's turning out very cute :)

I hope you all have a lovely remainder of your weekend.

P.S. Sunny the giant puppy says HI!! Actually she is begging for a doggy treat LOL!

Homespun Elegance: Autumn Time & a Giveaway

I heard that Wanda has received my Autumn House exchange through the SBEBB board! She likes it too yay! I chose the Autumn Time chart from Homespun Elegance. I liked the little details this chart has, it was very cute.

I liked the squirrels tail that is all french knots. Very fun!

Work has begun on constructing Von's NRR as of a few nights ago. I found a chart in a recent magazine, and thought it would fit in perfect. I am glad I found that chart because I was having a hard time deciding what I wanted to add to her neighborhood. I stayed up way too late last night stitching on this, I really like it so far, and am looking forward to working on it again tonight!

A Giveaway!!!

And to celebrate fall I'd like to give away the chart Autumn Time by Homespun Elegance. Yes, it's the pinkeep above that I stitched. Cathy actually gave it to me, so I'll pass it on now. Just comment here if you'd like it, and I'll draw a name for it next Saturday the 11th.

Fall House Exchange from Simone

I received a beautiful exchange from Simone yesterday! I was so excited to get this exchange, I love fall. She made a pinkeep using the chart Acorn Hill from Little House Needleworks. I think it is so cute. She also sent many goodies that I will use right up. Thank you Simone <3

Here is a picture of Jessie the other day before church, she was wanting to be very "fancy" She even picked out these fancy shoes for her new church shoes. She's growing up overnight.

Enjoy the weekend! I think I'll be sewing... or painting my bedroom. I don't know which one yet. Maybe I can do both? Or just sew, and make Mark paint the bedroom *wink wink* Have a good day!