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Birthday Placemat Tutorial

Quilt Retreat

Our small sewing group, Seams Like Sisters, had a retreat this weekend. I was only able to go for part of the day Saturday, but it was fun to see what all the ladies were working on. Check out these lovely quilts!

Yes, most of the ladies got nice big quilts done. I had a kit for a small quilt block that Joellen had given me for my birthday & I decided to put it together. Here's the topper done, hope to get it quilted this week:

I love the bright colors! I also cut out a Tunic from an Amy Butler pattern for myself. Hoping to get that stitched up this week too! So I should have lots to share later in the week.

Cakes!

Ally has a new hobby! She has taken up cake decorating. She is taking classes at Hobby Lobby every week & practicing whenever she has the time. Look at that steady hand... And the concentration on her face!

Here's her first cake, a lovely rainbow, that she made in class on Friday! I wish it was gluten free.... I'd dig in! But then that would ruin it. I think I'll just look at it instead!

winter in Texas

Out my front window this morning: I know it doesn't begin to compare with what my friends on the East Coast are dealing with, but still.... isn't this Texas? Yes, school is open! Tomorrow is supposed to be much colder & worse.

I've been taking advantage of the wintry weather & working on my mini quilt for the winter swap. Here are my pieces all laid out.....

and a sneak peek of the quilt going together. I can't tell you where it's going, but I will say that warm mittens would come in very handy for my swap partner where she lives! I hope she likes it.

Stay warm my friends!

new projects

I've been having a lot of fun in my sewing room lately.... working on odds & ends. I got several new sewing books for my birthday, like One Yard Wonders, there are soooo many cute ideas in there! And Sew Liberated. Well I've already delved into this one! There is the cutest little art smock in here & I just had to make one. No, I don't have anyone here tiny enough to wear this, but isn't it darling?I used some more of my IKEA fabric. Oh, & I changed the back a bit. The pattern calls for the elastic to go all the way around the neck. The child would then pull it over their head. I added ties instead. Here's the back:I had another fun project this week. I have to tell you a little story about this one. Ten years ago, a friend of mine asked me to make her little girl, who was turning three, a dress out of her favorite fabric. She had a blankie that she loved out of fish fabric. Of course I said yes! I made her a little jumper style dress and a matching one for her doll. Well...... just a few weeks ago her mom emailed me again. Seems her daughter JUST outgrew that little dress! Apparently she was wearing it as a little swing top over leggings all these years! She's a tiny little thing. Well, I found a very similar fabric (amazing after 10 years!) and made her a pair of pj pants to replace the little dress. I hope she likes them!You might remember about a year ago, I shared with you that I had been on a retreat with the women from my church. On that retreat, all of the ladies made quilt blocks with their favorite Bible verses on them. Well, this past Saturday we retreated again! I had stitched the quilt blocks into a top & had it ready for the ladies to help with the tying.... here's a peak!

I am anxious to get started on my swap quilt for the Winter Time mini quilt swap! I think I'll do that next.... I have checked out my swap partner's blog & flickr site & we have very similar tastes! This is going to be fun.

American Idol tonight! Hollywood week! I'm excited... anybody else?

February? Already?

Where the heck did January go? This year is flying by already. Yikes!

I thought I'd share some of the projects I've been finishing up.... you might remember the heart blocks I was working on for the quilt block swap? Well those are done, all 28 of them! They will go off to the quilt store on Saturday to be swapped. I even added a little bird to a few of them (but not all! I simply ran out of time).

Then there are the English paper pieced hexagons I was playing around with. Remember? Will I finished up this giant hexagon piece (next time I'm using smaller hex's!). I love the colors. I'm thinking of appliqueing it onto this pillow ticking & making a bag... what do you think?

I also finished up a table runner & coasters to match the placemats I was working on.

Whew! I've had fun finishing up unfinished projects! So today I pulled out my hexagon afghan. You might remember this one too? I haven't worked on it in ages. It currently stands at 60 hexagons & it needs many more. So, I packed up a bag of yarn & a crochet hook to take along to doctor's offices/physical therapy while I wait for Ally.

I'm loving this little goodie that came in the mail from my buddy Annie, back in Ohio..... look at all those pockets! I filled it up in no time, my ipod even fits in one pocket! Thanks Annie, so sweet!

Happy Crafty February friends!

my camera came home!

Oh, my hubby came home too! Yay! He took lots of pictures, mostly of airports, hotel rooms & bright lights.... Lots of familiar places, like the Hard Rock Cafe! I guess Singapore & China are more western than I imagined.

It's a small world, isn't it?

I've been busy sewing up a storm & will have some more projects to share with you soon!