i have to say...

shop notes: a stitch in color!

A Stitch in Color, Malka Dubrawsky's amazing new line, is in the shop! Click here to take a peek at all of this beautiful and bold color.

Have a lovely weekend!

something new

I have been wanting to replace my old lightbox for some time now, but I didn't want to make another cardboard one that would fall apart quickly.  Lucky for me, my husband knew of my plight, and, since he had some free time, took the project into his own hands.

I just love when that happens!

One day when I was on Kat's blog, I came across this post where she shows how her and her hubs put together a light box with an Ikea drawer.  I showed the idea to my hubs and he went to work.

Since my hubs is more of a wood guy, we went that route.  He made my new light box very nicely with pieces of wood from his shop, so basically this cost me nothing.

And that's my favorite price!

Well, the first one to take the box for a test drive was Aubry.  She has been making little clay goodies like crazy lately, and she wanted to take some pictures.  She put the light-box to good use and took this picture by herself:

I think it's pretty good!  The white balance could use a bit of adjustment, but I am sure this is going to work great!

Needless to say, I am very happy with my new toy!

life can be so pinteresting!

***something like this would make an adorable applique on a mini-quilt.

***these kitchen printables are so cute!

***this star block is perfect!  and the link leads to a tutorial!

***i will be testing out this recipe for homemade body wash. soon.

***my hubs wants me to try making this gluten-free pita bread.

***i tried to figure out how to do a zipper like this on my own, and it was a huge failure!  as soon as i find some time I will be trying this out.

***felt flowers are so cute!

***any opinions on savannah bop?  i think it's adorable!

Have a happy day!

just don't look too closely!

I haven't done any hand-stitching for years!  When I first started quilting, that was how I did it all since machine-quilting was in it's early stages and it was, quite frankly, ugly at that time.  Now that I am back at it, my stitches are not so perfect. 

Just don't look too closely and we will both be fine.

Back then I used hand-quilting thread, but I am using embroidery floss for this little quilt.  I considered using pearl cotton, but I had this on hand.  My thrifty ways got the best of me!

One thing about hand-quilting is that it is relaxing.  And it's especially nice since this is a small project.  The first quilt I ever hand-quilted was a queen-sized one, and it took me forever.  Forever, I tell you!

I hope to have this done by the end of the week.  I just need to find a little bit more sit-down time to finish up my stitches.

Am I the only one who finds it hard to come up with sit-down time in their day?

it's fat-eighth tuesday!

It's Fat 1/8th Tuesday over on my Facebook page!  To enter the giveaway, simply add a comment on the "Fat 1/8th Tuesday" post.  Hit the "SHARE" button and add another comment.

You can find this citrus-y sweet bundle in my shop. It's available in fat 1/8th and fat 1/4 sets.

Have a lovely day!

a winter hike

Yesterday my daughter was visiting with her yellow lab, and we needed to get some of the energy out of him and our own dog, so we took a little hike with them.  Once we were on the trail and they were off the leash, they paid no attention to each other, unlike at home when they were in a little territory war.  Our dog is not the alpha male, but it's his house, and he doesn't quite know how to deal with a new pooch.

The weather started out quite cold, but then the sun came out and changed all of that. It's funny what a little sunshine will do to the feel of  the weather!

This was the only "everyone in the picture" opportunity and it doesn't look everyone was excited to be involved.  Haha!  That's the way it is with teens sometimes!

Have a great Monday!

sale of the week---outfoxed!

This week's sale is Outfoxed by Lizzy House. It's 15% off! Click here to check out all of the fun prints!

Have a lovely day!

shop notes: patterns are 75% off!

Just a reminder: all patterns in my shop are on sale at 75% off through this evening.   Head over now to see what's in stock!

Have a lovely day!

stacks of things to come...

This week has been a very inspiring one for me.  It was one of those where lots of fun projects popped into my head AND I had the time to do something about it!  My hubs was out of town, so that had a little to do with the free time. He's back now and I like it that way!

First up, I decided to make a cover for my Bible, with a pocket for a notebook and pen.  The red, aqua and brown stack will be used for that.  A little bit of hand-quilting will be happening as well.  This will be  interesting since I haven't hand quilted for years!  Hopefully it's just like riding a bike--the skill comes back even when you haven't practiced for years.

Next up is a quilt I am REALLY excited about!

Since my hubs was out of town, I couldn't sleep well.  So one night at 2:00 AM I started thinking about what my next project might be.  A particular piece of fabric popped into my head and I just knew.

Of course, I immediately got out of bed and started going through my fabric stash.

At 2:00 AM.

And this is what I came up with:

 

And I can't wait to start.

Now I have to wait for the template to come in the mail so I can start cutting.

I just love the process of creating and sewing!

 

sew-along mini-quilts

1. Courthouse Steps Red Block, 2. Fresh squeezed sew along, 3. IMG_0345, 4. Sew along: Block 2

The sew-along was great and I thank all of you who participated!  Anyone who wants to continue to sew-along with the courthouse steps blocks, please feel free.  The tutorials will stay up and I check the Flickr group daily for pictures and any questions that are asked.

Next month's sew-along starting date will be Tuesday, February 14th.  As soon as I get some good pictures taken, I will post about what we will be making next.

Have a great day!