Whew!

Finally...although I don't know why...I'm feeling like things have slowed down a little...never mind that Christmas is on the way and I'm behind on all my projects...for whatever reason things seem a little slower this week. What was it about September and October? They seemed so rushed! Just this afternoon I finished my Cameos Christmas quilt top...the colors in the photo didn't come out as bright as they actually are...the pictures when I first posted this are a better representation of the true colors.


Last month I completely missed the boat on my Charming Girls' Quilt Club projects...although I did finish quite a few projects, I forgot to post about them! I really appreciate Kelly's idea to have this club...it's great motivation!

So...to get back on track this month...my first goal will be to piece a scrappy back for my Christmas Cameo quilt, and my second goal for Charming Girls' is to make my Cobblestones quilt top for the Fig Tree Club (can't wait to make this quilt)! My third goal (and I don't have a photo for this one) is to finish the November Tisket a Tasket block from Anne (it comes out tomorrow)! I do have quite a few other things to finish this month, but I can't share them either...Schnibbles and gifts mostly!

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Winners!

I can't post without at least a picture or two...so before I announce the winners from our Schnibbles Parade this weekend, I'll share a couple of things I was able to work on Saturday.

First I made a couple more of Rachel's Friendship bags using Flower Sugar. I think they'll be great to have on hand for gifts. Then I started a project using Amy Butler's Love...hopefully I'll finish this one soon!


Okay...now for the winners! Carrie posted her winners yesterday here. From Sinta's parade Megan of Crooked Seams won, and from my parade Jocelyn of Happy Cottage Quilter. Megan and Jocelyn please contact Carrie if you haven't already done so!

And now for the rest of the prizes...from my parade Carol won the gift certificate from FatQuarter Shop, and Stina won the gift certificate from Quilt Taffy! From Sinta's parade Judith won the Havasu Quilts prize, KJ Quilts won the Cottage Quilts gift certificate, and Quilting in Tattaville won the prize from Bear Paw Quilts! Congrats to all the winners...send me an e-mail, and we'll get these on the way!

And have fun working on those Picnics! Oh, and did you see there is something new Carrie has announced today over at her blog...sounds like fun! Have a great day!

Schnibbles Parade!

Well, it's November first...the big parade...but, first things first...do you recognize this Schnibbles pattern???

It's one of my favorites...

The November Schnibble is..."Picnic!" Mine is made with Simple Abundance by Moda (thank you for the suggestion, Carrie)! I had a great time making this pattern and can't wait to see all of the "Picnic" quilts on December 1st! A couple of ladies requested fabric requirements so they could start gathering materials while waiting for their patterns to arrive...I thought that was a great idea...so for "Picnic" you'll need 2 charm packs, 7/8 yard for background and inner border, 1/3 yard for binding, and 1 1/8 yard for backing.

We have some great prizes this month. First, from Carrie is a Happy Campers by American Jane for Moda Jelly Roll and a Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. project bag! Carrie will announce the winner of her giveaway on her blog! We also have some giveaways from some of our featured shops! We really appreciate these shops stocking the patterns and making it easier for you to get them, especially for those of you who don't live close to a quilt shop!

The wonderful Fat Quarter Shop girls have donated a $50 gift certificate!

And we also have a $25 gift certificate from Cottage Quilts!

Havasu Quilts is giving away this great panel and Fabulous Fall fabrics by Moda!

And Quilt Taffy is giving away a $10 gift certificate!

Finally, we have 2 charm packs from Bear Paw Quilts! Sinta and I will announce the winners of these prizes tomorrow. We'll do random draws from each parade! And now, as they say...on with the show! I can't tell you how fun it's been to see each quilt come in. It is so fun to see one pattern made up in so many ways...there is just so much wonderful creativity out there!

This version comes to us from Karen.

And this version is Andee's who used Moda's Harmony line.

Here is a fun version from Strlady...she used Crazy 8's by Moda...fun!

This version is done in Jo Morton fabrics and comes to us from Edith.

Next up is this delightful Valentine's version from Kari of Fresh Cut Quilts!

Here is the "Cindy Lou Who" from Ginger Patches. She used Peace on Earth, Winter, and Roman Holiday--all from Moda.

Stina used French General Rouenneries fabrics by Moda along with some from her stash...she finished one hour before midnight!!!

This version comes from Simone...what wonderful bright colors! Simone's quilt is completely finished, quilted, and bound!

This quilt is Julia's. Her quilt isn't quilted yet...but for good reason. She is going to do redwork stitchery in the snowball blocks! What a terrific idea!

This quilt is Christy's. She used the Mary Engelbreit fabric The Caroler for her "Cindy Lou Who!" Love this!

This is from Trish of Quilt Tales. She used Thimbleberries and Civil War prints from her stash and only had to purchase backing!

This is from Jocelyn of Happy Cottage Quilter. She used fabrics from her Civil War stash to complete her quilt!

This quilt is from Ariane. She used Christmas fabrics from her stash, and it's lovely!

This is from Anne of Batik's by the Bay. She plans on using a navy fabric to bind it with which will be stunning!

This quilt is from Aimee. She used Spooktacular and even machine quilted this herself using a free-hand drawn spiderweb!

Carol of Carol's Craft Blog used Authentic...it's gorgeous! Carol made a terrific label for the back of her quilt using selvedges so that she'll always know the name of the line of fabrics she used...clever!

This is Regena's. She also made her quilt a little larger.

This is from Di at Quilting is Blissful! She has hand-quilted her quilt already!

And finally...this is Terri's version of Cindy Lou Who! What a parade! You can see the rest of the quilts over at Sinta's blog! Also, be sure to head over to Carrie's blog as well.

I'll be back tomorrow with our giveaway winners...and I can't wait to see those pictures of "Picnic" quilts start coming in! Have a great day!

Best Laid Plans

Really, I wasn't going to make this until next year...really. I have a plan of projects for the next couple of months that didn't include any new Christmas quilts for me.

But the fabrics all came from my stash, with most of them purchased last January at 75% off. So since it wasn't costing anything, I convinced myself to make one block, just to be sure that this was what I wanted to do with these fabrics. Next year, of course.

I soon realized this was what I wanted to do with these fabrics, and now that I'm half-way done, I might as well finish it, right?! (The fabrics are from several different makers...Moda, Michael Miller, Alexander Henry, Free Spirit and Benartex, and the pattern is "Cameos" by Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree & Company).

This collection of wonderful fabrics arrived recently from Nanette! I'm helping Nanette with a little project, and she sent me this thank you gift before I've even finished. Thank you, Nanette!

I have a couple more thank you's to send out as well...I recently won a giveaway and received a Bunny Hill bag pattern and two Moda charm packs from Rene of "Rene Creates." Thank you so much, Rene!

And, have you seen this book...Scrap Basket Surprises by Kim Brackett? Kim sent me a (signed!) copy this week, and I've been busy trying to decide which quilt to make first. All of the quilts in the book are designed for 2 1/2" strips--which is perfect since I've been organizing a lot of my scraps into bins and have lots of this size strips to work with. I'm using a Beach House Jelly Roll and then adding strips from my stash for my first project. Kim also has a great blog, Magnolia Bay Quilts, and is working on another book! Thank you Kim!

Finally, just a few words about A Year of Schnibbles: Sinta and I are getting ready for the parades...be sure to leave a comment with a link to your quilt (or e-mail a picture) by October 31st. We'll have the parade and the reveal of the November Schnibble on November 1st. Also, Carrie has recently shown some great new upcoming Schnibbles patterns on this post...you'll love them! Again there will be giveaways...including a fun one from Fat Quarter Shop!

Have a wonderful day!

Sometimes You Know...

Sometimes you know that a project is going to turn out so cute that you might as well just make two to begin with...that's the way it was when I set out to make a couple of friendship bags from Simple Abundance using the tutorial by Rachel of PS I Quilt.

After making the bags I decided one would be perfect to go along with the gifts I was making to send to my Stitcher's Angel...across the ocean...(I hope she likes Simple Abundance)!

My gifts from my stitcher's Angel recently arrived. I received a wonderful tote bag, "Sweet" needle case, luggage tags (I really, really needed these) and lovely soaps from Marie. Everything is beautiful...thank you Marie!

I've just finished the tenth block in the Tisket a Tasket quilt designed by Anne...just in time for block eleven to be released next week...only two blocks to go!

Sinta and I are getting ready for the next Year of Schnibbles parade! I've seen some great finishes in the last few days...and can't wait to share the November Schnibbles pattern with you. I finished mine last week and absolutely love it! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Here is a new blog for you to visit...I've been waiting (not so patiently) for this blog debut since I love the Where Women Create book and magazine!

Market Sewing

This is just a corner of the Fig Tree & Company booth at International Quilt Market in Houston this weekend. For me...the booth photos I was most anxious to see were the ones from this booth since I was able to work on a few things for Joanna this summer and fall.

This is the first quilt-top I pieced. This is a jelly roll pattern and is by far my favorite jelly-roll pattern ever. The quilt above is called "Jelly & Jam" and is made using Mill House Inn. I get to make another one of these because my daughter wants one for Christmas!

Next I was able to make the same pattern, the "Christmas Jelly" version using yardage of just three fabrics and some cream background. This one was just as much fun to make--I love this pattern!

I was also able to sew the new "Bella" bag pattern from Joanna's new fabric line, Whimsy! The really terrific thing about the Whimsy line is that the fabrics coordinate with the previous Fig Tree Lines...just a few of the prints are decidedly children's prints...so it makes this fabric extremely versatile. I can't wait to use some of the florals from Whimsy in a scrappy quilt I'm making with earlier lines.

This is another quilt top I had a lot of fun with. This pattern is called "Cameos," and I was able to piece the Whimsy version. Again, this is another delightful pattern. I've already started one for myself using Mill House Inn. The angles were actually fun to do...and very simple. I really wanted to see the quilts quilted and had asked a couple of blogging friends that were going to market if they could take a couple pictures for me. Kelly of Charming Chatter was so gracious to take time out of her busy schedules to do this...I'm so appreciative. She even posted these on her blog before market was even over! Thanks also to Julie and Vickie for heading over to take pictures also!

This picture shows "Christmas Jelly " on the left and "Jelly and Jam" on the right. The Whimsy version is in the middle. Joanna wrote about these patterns here.

And here is the Whimsy "Cameos" quilt that was so much fun--did I mention I love this pattern? Joanna showed this pattern on her blog here.

And the "Bella" bag! If you look back at the first booth photo you'll see another wonderful version of this bag...the possibilities are endless. Another option with this bag is that of making bows out of several different fabric...then you can change out the bows to match your mood...or your outfit! These patterns are available now from Fig Tree & Company, and I've also seen them recently listed at FatQuarter Shop!

I really had fun following along with all the market posts and tweets this weekend! Of course the posts from Pam Kitty Morning and Elizabeth of Late Bloomer Quilts were fun as usual...and the tweets and posts from FatQuarterShop were so wonderful it was almost like being there...thanks so much to everyone who posted from market!

Have a wonderful day!

Pay it Forward

I couldn't resist signing up for Pay it Forward on Sarah's blog!!! I mean...I own both Material Obsession books that she authored!!! So...you know how it goes...the first three people to comment will receive a Pay it Forward from me sometime in the next year! You have to play along by posting your own "Pay it Forward!"

Have a great day!

How I Spent my Weekend...or in other words..."Cameos" and Half-Square Triangles

I finished my "Cameos" quilt top using Mill House Inn Friday evening! I love this pattern and had been wanting to make this for myself since sewing the Whimsy version for Joanna. This quilt pattern doesn't just call to me...it sings. I already have plans for another one using fabric in my stash.

There is just something so classic and timeless and yet also so very modern about this design...I can't imagine any fabric it wouldn't look wonderful in!

On Saturday I made a lot of half-square triangles..well...144 plus a few more. I used a ruler that made squaring them up a cinch. Kim mentioned the Quilt in a Day Triangle Square Up ruler on her recent Moda Bake Shop post...and as I went to order it I luckily realized I already had it. This ruler was so handy...and to think I've owned it for several years and haven't been using it! I'll be using it a lot from now on!

I also finished block five of the Designer Mystery Block of the Month from FatQuarterShop...this month's block was designed by Camille...once again another great block!

I couldn't get a very good picture of my second block using Americana fabrics from my stash--it's a bit more colorful than this picture shows and was a lot of fun to put together as well!

I learned something new about Blogger today...I didn't realize that if you worked on a post and saved it as a draft that it would publish in the order it was originally worked on...so my market sewing post that I just finished editing today is actually back here!

Well, now I'm off to read blogs...my reader is approaching triple digits as I haven't read in a couple of days!

Have a wonderful day!

Three Piles Down...

Three piles down...well, actually four...but the two piles on the left were for the same project. Anyway...I'm getting things done, and some of them are even for Christmas. Progress on the Christmas list in October is always a good thing!

First I finished my "Garden Path" quilt from the new Lori Smith book Fat Quarter Quilts. I love this quilt, and I love the book. I love the mix of Simple Abundance with a little bit of Shangri-La. This quilt, like each quilt in Lori's book, measures 16 by 20--the perfect size for a quick project. I'm debating on how to finish this one; I was going to hand quilt it, but there are so many seams that I might do a cross-hatch on my machine...I'm not sure...any ideas? After I quilt it I will probably frame it.

And I finished two Glace' baskets. I've made this pattern before and absolutely loved it. The pattern is from Fresh Vintage Number 10. One of these is going to look lovely this Christmas sitting on my Glace' table runner; the other one is a gift!

Ok...well, back to work on those piles! Have a great day!

Blogger's Quilt Festival...and More!

I had so much fun with the Blogger's Quilt Festival (hosted by Amy over at Park City Girl) last spring that it was a definite for this fall. Today I've decided to share my very first sampler quilt made in 2004. I'd been quilting for a few years before getting the courage to sign up for this block of the month at one of my favorite quilt shops, The Christmas Goose. I'd never done anything but simple quilts before starting this project and didn't have a 1/4 inch foot for my machine when I made it. So...it has a few cut-off corners, but I love it anyway!

The quilt is from the book At Piece with Time: A Woman's Journey Stitched in Cloth by Kristin C. Steiner & Diane C. Frankenberger. The book was delightful in and of itself...sometimes I still browse through it for inspiration. If you are familiar with this book and quilt you will recognize that there is a lot of applique' in the original pattern. I was definitely too afraid to try the applique' when I made this; every once in a while I think about making it again...with the applique'!

Just a few more things going on in my sewing room...yesterday Love arrived via the USPS! Yes, Amy Butler's new line...I'd ordered a few fat quarters and love them all. In fact, I couldn't wait to sew with them and made a posy flower block right away--now I just need to decide what to do with the block! I have a project in mind for the fat quarters that I'll get going on next week as well.

This is the time of year I start collecting "piles" in my sewing room...piles of projects for Christmas gifts. I've started several...think I need to finish a few before I start any more piles!

Another pile...Simple Abundance with some Shangri-La added in...they coordinate wonderfully! These triangles will make up the border blocks for this applique' block I just finished. This project is from the new Lori Smith book Fat Quarter Quilting...I love Lori's designs and am working on two right now.

Well...off to work on those piles...have a great weekend!