Trust

This being the beginning of the new year (ok, ok, I know it's almost February) lots of people on lots of blogs have been making resolutions, talking about the coming year. One trend I have seen on several blogs is people choosing a word to represent their year. This got me thinking. So many good words! So many terrific possibilities. I decided to choose a word too. What would it be? Something crafty? Create maybe?


One of my friends has chosen the word Simplify. Outstanding word! Ahhhh too many choices.


Then I thought, what word would really push me to become something I want to be. And the word I decided on is TRUST. You see, I struggled with this the last few years. I have always had a strong faith in God. He never lets me down. Why then, when things are tough, do I lay awake, night after night, worrying? Why do I insist on trying to control things, even when they are way out of my control? Why do I not TRUST God, when I know He is so much bigger than me, and that whatever plan He has is way better than anything I could conjure up in the middle of the night.


So this year, I am going to learn to Trust God. Completely. And to celebrate my word, I went looking for a necklace to wear, especially on days that I need a reminder. And I found this gem... I found it on Etsy, at Big Girl Studio. Isn't it gorgeous? In fact, I loved it so much, I ordered two and sent one to my awesome sister. All of the beautiful jewelry in this shop is made by Danit. She customized my necklaces for me & shipped them right off.... I had them within 4 days of ordering! And I have worn mine every single day since.


And guess what? Danit has agreed to sponsor a giveaway right here at ellyn's place! That's right, you can win this awesome necklace from her shop, just in time for Valentines day.....

She calls it "Peace of mind - Heart". Wouldn't you love to have one of your very own? Well all you have to do is leave me a comment on this post.... share your word for 2011! Or share something you'd like to accomplish this year. Or just say, "Hey Ellyn, pick me!" Anything at all. Just make sure you leave me an email address to contact you if you win. On February 5, I will choose a random winner. And you know I won't forget to do it because that will be my Birthday. The BIG ONE. What better way to celebrate than sending off a gift to one of my bloggy friends!

Good luck to you all....

pincushion swap

The Quilt Asylum is having a pincushion swap in a couple of weeks. I love pincushions! So I decided to play along. It took me a while to decide which pincushion to make. Then I saw this pattern on the Better Homes and Gardens website and I knew it was the one for me. I love working with wool felt and I really enjoy handwork.

Oh, and I added a little surprise on my pincushion. See it there on the pink leaf?

I hope my swap partner likes it!

mail from far away!

In two weeks I am having a birthday. It's a big one. The big five-O. Sheesh. How the heck did that happen??? Seems like just yesterday I was a young, thirtysomething mommy with little people underfoot. Them days are gone!


I have to admit I am looking forward to my fifties. My forties were good, don't get me wrong. But there were a few bumps in the road, health issues (mine and others), things like that. I'm ready to move on! Turning fifty seems like a good place to start. I can only imagine the joy the next decade will bring.


So, anyways, I'm having this birthday. And yesterday a birthday surprise box arrived in the mail, from my friend Maria in Australia! Now those who know me, know that I am ordinarily very good about waiting. The normal me would put the box on the mantle, unopened, and wait until the fifth of February to even think about opening it! Unlike my friend, Tracey, who would have ripped that puppy right out of the mail lady's hand & torn it apart in the street. But this post isn't about Tracey... (sorry Trace).


Anyways, perhaps I was feeling a bit Tracey-ish yesterday, or maybe I just needed to feel a little spoiled. Or maybe turning 50 is changing me (nahhhh). But I did open that box right up when it arrived. I couldn't help myself! And the first thing I found inside was this soft-as-a-kitten, beautiful winter scarf! Never mind that it is summertime in Australia, sweet Maria knew that it was wintertime in my world. Isn't it gorgeous? That pretty scarf was keeping everything else in the box nicely cushioned and safe! Next I opened up this lovely mug rug, mug and spoon, all with sweet reminders of the land that they came from!

I had admired Maria's mug rugs before. Oh, and also tucked inside was this adorable little tin... bet you can't guess what it has inside?

Come on! Try to guess! You can do it.

Buttons of course! Cheerful and bright & just waiting for some fancy project to stitch them onto!

Thank you Maria. If this is any indication of how turning 50 is going to be, then I'm all for it.

I'm doing a block of the month! Block one done

Little Miss Shabby has the cutest Block of the Month this year! It's called Birdie Stitches & I have decided to play along....

Each month the block has an embroidered pattern in the center, done on an 8 1/2 inch square. I decided to do mine on a cream linen. To support the stitchery better I backed each square in lightweight fusible woven interfacing.

The stitchery is surrounded by 2 1/2 inch squares. I have been hording polka dot fat quarters for some time now. I decided these would be perfect for my borders.

Here are all my pieces cut and ready:

And block one, DONE! Yay! You'll see I decided to add a touch of applique to each block, just to be different. On this one, I appliqued the snowman's scarf. So far I am not behind..... let's see how long I can keep this up.
Check out the flickr group for more adorable January blocks! Why don't you join in the fun? Come on! It's still January after all!

Texas???

I do not miss the northern winters. Every now & then, we get a good snow here in Texas to remind me how much I don't miss it! Steve enjoyed the snow today! Me? I went inside, curled up under the Christmas quilt & took a big old nap! I am having a hard time putting the quilt away this year. Maybe I won't.

Ipad Case

I decided my new Ipad needed a pretty new case! I had already bought a hard cover to protect it, refused to take it out of the house until I had. But it needed to be prettied up... I think it came out pretty snazzy! You know I have been enjoying the wool felt. I picked out a few motifs in the lining fabric to applique onto the outside of the case.

I put hooks on both ends of the strap, so it can be removed if not needed, hooked on long to sling across my chest, or doubled up & hooked to make a perfect shoulder bag...

My first finish of 2011! I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. Thinking of making a few more for my shop...

Happy 2011! A fresh start

Happy New Year friends! I am ready to start tackling some new projects. This year I plan to keep a log of all the projects I finish. This will make looking back at the end of the year so much easier! But enough about looking back. Let's look forward.


What better way to celebrate a fresh start than with a new ironing board cover! Thanks to Mom & Dad, I have a beautiful new cover for my board. Love the red (of course!) and the flowers.... almost makes me want to iron! Almost. (Mom loves to iron! Why didn't I get that gene?) To celebrate the new year, I have started a new quilt....

The nice ladies at Happiness is Quilting gave me a huge bag full of charm packs for participating in the Christmas quilt challenge (also a 12 1/2" square ruler! Yay!). There were four packs of this line so I decided to make them into four patches for a prayer quilt for a friend. I'll show you more as it progresses.

Do you have lots of UFOs to complete from 2010? I really don't. Once I get rolling on a project, I'm pretty good about finishing them up. I do have a couple, a storybook quilt for quilt guild, my heart blocks and witch blocks from the swaps last year.... that's really all the major ones. Lots of unstarted projects, but those don't really count, do they? I say NO!

Can't wait to see what everyone else is up to this year!