15

1. ChubbyStars, 2. Colorbrick, 3. Simple Abundance 2, 4. Hooty Hoot 2, 5. ZigZags in Voile 6. All Stars (for Wrap Them in Love) 7. Arcadia Charm Bracelets 8. Play Ball (for Quilts for Kids) 9. Verna Coins 10. Turtle Power (for Quilts for Kids) 11. Summer Soiree12. Simple Abundance Scruffily 13. Hooty Hoot 1 14. California Love 15. Pinwheel Sampler

That's how many quilts I made this year. That's a perfectly sane number of quilts to make in a year, yes? Thought so.

I didn't include any smaller projects in that count. Just the big 'uns. Even though my favorite finish of 2010 was probably these little guys.


What will 2011 have in store? More quilts, I imagine. I haven't decided what my next project will be. I'm hoping I can be a little more confident and adventurous with my fabric and design choices. I'd like to try some embroidery too.

I'm a little embarrassed to tell you that I won another giveaway this week (I know, I hate me too), but this fabric is too gorgeous not to share. I was the lucky recipient of this FQ bundle from Rebecca at Chasing Cottons.





The fabric is Paradise by Pat Bravo. This fabric wasn't really on my radar before it arrived in my mailbox, but I love it! Rebecca sent along her new Eden's Garden pattern too.


Three of my favorite prints from the collection.

Wishing you a happy (and lucky!) New Year!!

One week, three movies.

aka A Very Good Week

We took advantage of grandparents willing to babysit Luke last week and saw three movies.


We saw the late show of True Grit, so I'm sure that colors my assessment. I liked it and the cinematography was really good and whatnot....but it was slow. I could watch Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon talk for two hours, which is a good thing because that's about all that happened (zing!).






















About halfway through The Fighter, I whispered to my husband, "Is that Christian Bale? Like, Batman?" He was incredible. Plus, Mark Wahlberg is shirtless for most of the movie, if that's your thing.

























I had low expectations of this movie, and I was pleasantly surprised. I cracked up at every word that came out of Paul Rudd's mouth and 60% of the words that came out of Owen Wilson's mouth. This was my favorite movie of the week.

Anything else worth seeing?

Merry Christmas!

Chubby stars

Here's my quilt from Tracey's Chubby Stars Quilt-Along.


My picture-taking fence is getting a workout! The fabric is a Flower Sugar 2 and a little red pindot.


I was worried about washing this. But I threw in a few Shout Color-Catchers and held my breath. No problems!


I used a print from Flower Sugar for the back.


Probably my last finish of 2010!

Giveaway day winner!

Obviously I'm not the only one excited about this new line! Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by my blog.

The winner is....

Lucky #651!

JANSIE

Who entered just under the wire!

Congrats, Jansie. I'm sending you an e-mail and I'll get this in the mail asap.

Two things

Here for my giveaway? Scroll down to the next post!

I made a ticker tape doll quilt for my niece using AmandaJean's tutorial.
I used my brightest and most fun fabric scraps in hopes that she'll think it's cool.


For the backing, I used this ants on a log FQ.


My corners are looking better! Hope she likes it.


And the lovely Kate Spain had a stocking stuffer giveaway on her blog, and I won! My excellent prize came in the mail this week.

The package came tied with a little fabric ornament, which went straight on my tree.


She sent me a little Kate Spain calendar, some gorgeous Fandango flannel, and (coincidence!) a baby charm pack of Central Park.


I took this picture so you could see the difference between my giveaway charm pack and the mini.
Thanks, Kate!

It's Giveaway Day!

The giveaway is now closed. Stay tuned for a winner!



I'm participating in Sew Mama Sew's giveaway day! There are tons of giveaways to enter, so I'll keep this brief.




Is it in poor taste to win your own giveaway? I suppose so...

One lucky winner will receive...
Two charm packs: Kate Spain's Central Park and Sweetwater's Sunkissed. I'm really excited about both of these new lines. I hope you like them too!

Want to win? Just leave a comment on this post. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you're the winner.

I'm happy to accept international entries. I'll close the giveaway at 9 p.m. (CST) on December 17, and then I'll pick a winner using Random.org.

Be sure to check out the rest of the giveaways at Sew Mama Sew.

Colorbrick...check!

It's been cold here (well, cold by Alabama standards anyway), so I've been perfectly happy to sit on the couch and sew bindings. (Let's be honest: I'm perfectly happy to sit on the couch and sew bindings in July too, but I digress.) I'm loving my finished Colorbrick (made from Rachel's quilt-along).


The fabrics are Meadowsweet, Del Hi, Katie Jump Rope, Full Moon Dots, Chocolate Lollipop, and probably a few others.


Full Moon Dot action for the binding.


I followed Rachel's instructions and quilted in straight(ish) lines in the mortar to make a stair-step pattern.


The quilting shows up really well on the back. I went with a pieced back. I used some leftover blocks from the front and paid reference to the quilting by piecing them in a stair-step pattern. You like? I like. I know I've said it before...but this has to be my new favorite.

Two things:

Be sure to check out Tracey's new Quilt Hope In project. She's setting up an Etsy shop to support Heartline Ministries. I'll be helping out. Will you?


AND...be sure to check back on Monday. It's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day, and I'll be participating again. I think you'll like what I'm giving away...

Simple Abundance 2: Finished!

This quilt top has been finished for a couple of months, but I finally got around to quilting and binding it. I made it for the Fat Quarterly quilt along. It's a really easy way to put a jelly roll to good use.





I had some yardage of the Sunshine print for the backing, but I didn't have quite enough. I added some strips of Kona solids to make it work.


I used this tutorial on the Fat Quarterly blog for quilting. Basically, you set your machine to do a giant zig-zag stitch. I think it's a cool effect, and it's really simple.


I used Kona Chinese Red for the binding. When I ran out of that, I switched to Sunshine.


I have to admit that I've lost my ability to make a decent mitered corner. I used to be pretty good at it, but things have really gone off the rails lately. Anyone have a foolproof tip?

Have you noticed? It's December.

Guess it's time to start decking the halls! I got out Luke's advent calendar last night, and I finished sewing the binding on my Christmas tree skirt while watching the season finale of Sons of Anarchy. (Love that show, but I'm so glad it's over! I don't have the emotional fortitude to watch any more.)


I fell in love with this tree skirt pattern from MamaCJT. I love the way it turned out!


I've been collecting green and red fabrics for the last few months. I used some Sparkle All the Way, gnomes from Holiday Happy, and even a little Tufted Tweets. The buttons (my favorite) are from Alexander Henry's Sew Christmas. I have lots of fabric left over. I think I see a Christmas quilt in my future! (Someone please remind me that I don't have time to make a Christmas quilt this year.)


I echo quilted around the trees...


...and did some loopy quilting in the red parts. I've never done loops before, and I definitely should've practiced first! Oh well.


I was little nervous about the binding because, well, it looked tricky. I used Tracey's (very clever) continuous binding tutorial and Krista's tips for creating the scallops, and it looks pretty good!

I suppose there's nothing left to do but put up the tree!

Hooty Hoot #2 aka Whole Planet of Squares*

I finished up this quilt just in time for my friend Leah's baby shower. (Remember, I made her the small Hooty Hoot quilt a few months ago?) Leah and I picked out the fabric and design, but the finished product was still a surprise. Leah is a super-crafter, so making stuff for her is a little intimidating! Check out her blog to see all of the projects she's made with this fabric.


I based the quilt off of Elizabeth's Small Plates pattern from The Practical Guide to Patchwork. Just squares in squares. The fabric is from Riley Blake's Hooty Hoot Kangaroo line. We also added some Kona solids: chocolate, Chinese Red, snow, teal, and lake. I think the teal (dark blue) is my new fave.


I fussy cut some of the larger prints. This koala mom and baby is one of my favorites.


Love this little owl too.


The binding is the blue dots from the Hooty Hoot line. We used the blue jacks for the backing.


Leah picked out bamboo batting. I was a little worried about how the bamboo would work out. I'd heard problems of bearding and shrinking. I prewashed and dried the batting, and it shrunk by about an inch. I didn't have any problems with the bamboo, and it makes for a very soft quilt!

*When I had this quilt spread out on the floor, Luke said, "Wow! It's a whole planet of squares!" Awesome.


I used some of the scraps to make these onesies. Quick and easy gift.


This guy is all business.


One last thing: I whipped up these book plates on my antique letterpress.
Kidding, kidding! I found them on Inkello and couldn't pass them up. They're owl-riffic!

In a bind

I just need to hand-stitch the binding on these three quilts, and they'll be ready to go! It's a good thing this is my favorite part of the process. Think I'll still enjoy it after this pile?

I've been dabbling in The Good Wife, but I recently decided to officially jump on board. (The Michael J. Fox episode sold me.) So I have some catching up to do. If you need me, I'll probably be sitting on the couch, sewing some bindings and watching Julianna Margulies.

Progress...

I finished my quilt top for Rachel's Colorbrick Quilt-Along.
This is shaping up to be my new favorite quilt.


I pulled all of these fabrics out of my stash. There's lots of Meadowsweet in there, as well as some Amy Butler Full Moon Dots, Anna Maria Horner Chocolate Lollipop, Katie Jump Rope, Del Hi by Valori Wells...and probably a few I'm forgetting.


This color combination looks like fall to me! I have a plan for the back, but I think I'm going to need to buy a little more of the Kona Bone I used for the "grout" (or would that be mortar?) to finish it.