Like Christmas all over again!

I received an amazing box this week from Green Fairy Quilts. 

I am so excited! It is like having a Christmas present all over again....even though I did order it myself.  I had never ordered fabric online before, so was a bit cautious, but it was so easy, and there were lots of pictures and lots  of specials too. Cant wait to order more...but guess I had better get busy and finish a few things..........and maybe start a few new ones that I have lined up in my head !
 
And the best thing is there is a BIG giveaway over there!! It is a Dilly Dally layer cake and Dilly Dally jelly roll, so check it out !! Although I am sure that I will win at least one of them LOL. I love those clean bright colours, and I already have plans for it !!! mmmm or maybe....I could order some and get it in the mail. :)

A new Day !

The sun is rising over the snow covered houses out my kitchen window:

It is minus 25 degrees Celcius, and I am warm a cozy inside, drinking my morning coffee.  I am sooooo excited !! I have had my first visitor to my blog! I really dont expect followers, at least not yet, as I am just new at this, but it is so exciting to see that someone stopped to visit !! THANK YOU!

I have been busy sewing on my Christmas break. My son ventured into our local quilting store Periwinkle Quilting and gave me a Jelly Roll for Christmas. It was Deb Stain's "Cup-O-Joe" line from Moda.

I have never used any of the pre-cuts before, so have been thinking long and hard about what I will do with it. I finally decided on 8" blocks, so cut up the strips into pieces....the scary part!

I spent quite a bit of time sorting through them and matching up the different colors into blocks.....the fun part!

and here is the first finished block: (the colors are prettier though )

I cant wait to see how it all turns out when it is put together. I am thinking of carmel colored borders, but will wait and see what it needs and what fits best once it is put together.  Stay tuned...I may actually finish this one ! HaHa !

Christmas sewing

This year I tried to make many Christmas gifts.
Neko, who is turning 2 soon, got her very own "travel tote" full of goodies, including a stuffed whale from leftover fleece and a crayon roll-up carrier:

Another project was placemats which are really fun to make....although I have to admit they sat unfinished a long time ....waiting for the binding, not my favourite part !! I think they turned out great though.

 Sea Turtles

 Reversible - two different looks!

for my "pink" girl : )

Hope everybody had a great Christmas, we did. There were 20 family here for dinner, so it was wonderful to see everyone and catch up on family news. Lots of food, lots of noise and lots of hugs !



the most Magical day of the year!

Christmas Eve is the most magical day of the year......the anticipation ..... the family ....excitement and noise.  All the preparations are done, it is time to enjoy !

Merry Christmas one and all .

Confession time

Well, I have to confess that I had never even heard of a rotary cutter until a few years ago!! I know, I have lived a very sheltered life. But that was about to change !  I have sewn for many years, starting with Barbie clothes as a child, and then mostly clothing. My dear, supportive husband bought me a new sewing machine for my birthday,and I discovered a wonderful little shop in Fernie, British Columbia called the Cotton Tree here and felt right at home. You know how you get that feeling sometimes, that it is "your place"? I was immediatly in love with all the fabric, and beautiful colors. I was hooked!  So I bought some inexpensive material and started practicing. With no particular plan in mind I started making strips and blocks and eventually put them all together. Now this is my very first attempt at anything quilt related, and even as a beginner I can see that I had a lot to learn...but we all start somewhere and here is my start.... The "Whiteswan Quilt"

The name comes from the weekend where I first started the rotary cutting practice ! My oldest daughter was taking a scuba diving certification and had to spend the weekend at Whiteswan Lake, here in Saskatchewan, so I went along with her and spent the days cutting!

I felt so encouraged that I made a quilt for my youger daughter who was going away to University. She said she wanted it pink......well, she got her wish! Looking at this, it is clear that I still had a lot to learn ! LOL !

I am slowly making progress, though, and made a quilt for older daughers wedding (the scuba diver !) this past summer. I was very pleased with how it turned out, and they were really happy with it too.

(that is my son, my oldest, that you see holding the quilt ! He is tall enough to hold it up !!)
So far that is the extent of my big quilt "history", I have been sidetracked a few times to other projects, but that is for another day!

Lots of new babies in the family !

We seem to have had a lot of new babies in our family in the past little while, my nieces and nephews having children.  And that has kept me busy making little baby quilts. I love making baby quilts!  They are something that actually gets finished.....and of course the deadline helps to keep me focused! Here are a few of the recent ones...

for baby Manuel

 for baby Dominic

 for baby Kiera

and for baby Ella 

I used higher loft batting in the baby quilts, because they are often used on the floor. I usually back them with flannel to make them cozy though. They are just fun to make! I didn't use a pattern for these, and mostly just made them up as I went along.

This one is from a pattern by "Quilted Frog"(http://www.quiltedfrog.com/patterns_1.htm) It was for my Step-grandaughters 1st birthday !! I called it her "garden blanket". We all had those when we were kids, blankets that we could take out to the yard to sit on and play. I love it !

How about some pictures?

Well, I guess I should learn how to add pictures so I can actually show off some of what I like to make!

Fat Quarter Bags...so fun!

fabric bowls..so cute!



placemats..for my sister's wedding gift!

Can I really commit to doing this??

I am new to this! I enjoy reading other quilters blog and find them soooooooo...ooo inspiring. I am really not sure that I have anything interesting to share, but as a beginner at quilting thought that I could post some of my success and failures. Maybe having someone else to laugh at my mistakes will make them rewarding too !