Wait 'til you see...

...what you get when you use this...

...and this...

 

I am having so much fun!!!

And my cardinal comes every day right outside my window to have a snack.

 
 

See the cold, frozen lake in the background. BRRRR.  1.6 degrees this A.M.

 

One More Journal Cover

I found enough strings to make one more journal cover out of Cotton Blossoms by Thimble Blossom!

And this one is my favorite!

 

I used a larger button to cover because this fabric has the perfect medallions to cover buttons.  Isn't it cute?

Making Journals

When I finished my Cotton Blossoms quilt last year, of course I bagged up all the leftover scraps (except for the tissue holder and ipod case I made). 

Yesterday I dug them out and started working on Journal Covers using this tutorial.

 

The only thing I had to buy were the buttons to cover!

 

...and the backs

I used all those triangles cut off my original quilt to make the itty bitty pinwheels (2 1/2 inch finished).

 

If I scrounge, I might have enough supplies to make one more!

Not sure if they will be birthday or Christmas gifts.

The only change I made (on the advice of Amy of Diary of a Quilter) was to square up the quilted piece to 10 1/2" by 16" rather than 10 1/2" by 15 1/2".

Swanky Belgian Waffle Finish

This is my fourth Swanky quilt.  I had not planned on making any more until I won the Swanky turnover from Monica at The Happy Zombie.  And then I found the Belgian Waffle pattern that she designed for Moda Bake Shop.

 

  

  

  

This is the best photo I could get on a snowy afternoon.  You can see from the other photos how wonderful the colors are.

Thanks again Monica!!

Three by Three progress and Valentine

I finally made my Three by Three blocks from the Anina of Twittletails swap into a flimsy.  Unusual color for sashings?  What do you think? 

The colors are much brighter than they show.  Click on the photo to see truer colors.  I don't have time to quilt it right now, but at least the front is together!

+++++++

Have you seen all of the great Valentine ideas on Sew Mama Sew?

Well, I saw this Danish Woven Heart in this list of projects and had to give it a try.

I used craft felt and some Valentine fabric I won from Sandi at A Legacy of Stitches.

It's a little basket when you open it up (and there you see the heart fabric) and I added a caramel and gave it to my Mom this morning.

Do. Not. Stop. Until. Every. Last. Scrap. Is. Used.

Where did I get this from?  My Mother?  My Grandmother?

I don't know.

I do know that out of one L'amour jelly roll I made:

Three table runners for Pay It Forward gifts

One little table runner that I ended up giving to my DIL

Then yesterday I used a few scraps for a thank you post card:

 

Still had some more scraps so I made this today:

 

Now that jelly roll is gone and I only made six project out of it!!

No finishes, but I've been busy!

First the easy part;  I received a lovely gift in my mailbox yesterday from someone I've never met in person but consider a friend.

I am now the proud owner of an original Dana Doorknob Art!!

It was custom made just for me and I am so happy and grateful!  Thank you so much Dana! I really love it, especially the wonderful silk piece you added.  

Isn't it beautiful?

++++++++

I had the Swanky turnover that I won from Monica of the Happy Zombie and was looking around for a pattern and was so happy to find a pattern I really liked on Moda Bake Shop using a Swanky turnover!  And guess who disigned the Belgian Waffle pattern?  It was Monica of the Happy Zombie!

 

Here is the flimsy.  I couldn't find anything in my stash for the second border, so I ordered something yesterday.  This photo doesn't make it look very flat, does it? I promise it will look better after it is quilted and I'll be sure to show it.

++++++++

And I think I just said somewhere that I am obsessed with quilts, not garment construction, so I'm not sure how I ended up making a swimsuit, yes a swimsuit for my sister!!

She's in sunny Mexico and I'm located in a Winter Storm Warning area until TUESDAY and I'm making HER a swimsuit.

 

She couldn't decide on black or silver for the bottom, so requested BOTH!  Actually my sewing machine is amazing on swimsuit fabric compared to the one I had thirty years ago when I last made swimsuits.  All I have left is to fit the straps when she decides to come back to MN.

I have proof!

I used to know how to crochet!

 

I got out this baby blanket I made for my son 32 years ago, washed it and gave it to him and my DIL when they made a surprise visit for my birthday yesterday.  I actually made it before he was born (back when no one knew if they were having a boy or girl). 

I think I would need to start with a class if I wanted to crochet again, but I did a lot of it back then.

Winner

Random Number Generator chose number 36 which is Apple Avenue Quilts !  Please email me with your mailing address and I will send the Whimseyland book and fat quarters!  Congratulations.

Celebrating....

And There Is a Gift For One Of You!

I am celebrating:

• One year of blogging (how did that happen?)
• Over 100 posts (did I really say anything?)
• Over 100 followers (who reads this stuff?)
• My birthday (again?)

I will draw a name tomorrow (February 3rd at 8 PM Central) of someone who commented on this post and is a follower!

They will receive:

 

Whimsyland book by Lizzie B and six fatquarters of Tea Party by Susan Branch for RJR Fabrics!