Quilting Around The World!

I recently found a very cool place to hang out and talk all things quilting. The lovely ladies over at QATW are super swappers, extremely helpful, and a tonne of fun to be with! Best of all is that you are continually motivated to work on your projects (and to start new ones).

Over the American Thanksgiving weekend I put together my very first set of blocks for one of their swaps - and I have to say it was a lot of fun. I noticed that I cut and pieced MUCH more carefully than I normally would. I'm pretty sure that is a good habit to cultivate!

Here are the swap blocks for Scraptastic that I put together:

They look so pretty and scrappy on my wall I can't wait to mail and swap and see what I get back!

A quick something for my door

With a 2 year old in the house this Christmas will be special for us in new ways. I wanted to do more decorating - and of course, I wanted to accomplish that with fabric!

This is what I tossed together literally from things lying around for our front door.

 

Merry Christmas at my door!

Some of the quilting details in one section

 Now Santa will know someone crafty lives here, and hopefully he'll stuff my stocking with some things to play with in the new year .. fabric, thread, notions, ...all are fine with me!

^.^

Yayyyyy, we did it!

What I did today:

Watched endless amounts of Dora the Explorer while my tiny terror ran in a whirlwind that spouted occasional Spanish words

Made a mad dash to the quilt store to pick up some much needed supplies

Tweaked my blog design (hooray for happy blue!)

Crafted, cajoled, fretted, fidgeted, kludged, and cursed my new Ordering page into existence! HOORAY! Yup, I"m proud of myself for this one. Now you can order, I can sew, and the world is back in balance again.

And now for the impossible task of getting preschooler's cartoon jingles out of my head.

Fabulous Fantastic (for sale!) Ornaments!

 These are my hand crafted origami stars, made from stunning Christmas fabrics. I'm working on 3 sizes, for all your decorating needs ^.^

You know you want some! Get a whole stack - or just a few - and there are so many things you can do with them:

• Hang them on the tree, of course!
• Decorate your garlands and wreaths
• Use one as a wreath at home, the office, in the car
• Give them as a gift! (Perfect for Secret Santa, Teachers, and anyone else on your list who appreciates "heartfelt homemade")
• Use them as a bow on a present (on boxes, on wine bottle, etc)

You want them because:

1. They are stunning and unique and do not say "Made in China" anywhere on them
2. They are lightweight and can be folded flat for easy shipping and storage
3. They are toddler and pet proof (tested by my in home experts ..)
4. Having something handmade to admire during the holidays will make you (and whoever else is on Santa's list) feel warm and fuzzy inside!

Some of the fabrics currently being made into ornaments by my tireless elves ... I mean .. one very tired momma.

HAPPY HOMEMADE HOLIDAYS!


You can order now if you have paypal:
Additional payment and ordering options HERE

Sizes

Small Star (4") $4.00 Medium Star (5") $5.00 Large Star (6") $6.00 "One of Each" Standard Package $15.00 "Half a Dozen" Standard Package" $28.00 "Full Dozen" Standard Package $56.00

Colours

Red White Green Gold Surprise Me! I want more than one colour - Specify below

Specific Colour Instructions

A quote for today

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.

"Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

"Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty...

"You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

"What you create doesn’t have to be perfect...Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

"If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it."

~Dieter F. Uchtdorf

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