Happy Halloween

from me and my little spooks....

My oldest has decided he is a bit too old for "looking ridiculous" as he called it but he was all for getting a bucket full of candy. My second wanted to go as Harry Potter but I think he ended up looking more like a brown haired version of George from Stuart Little. And the girls are pretty obvious as to who they decided to be. So they were my sewing project this week in between redoing the trim in the house.

Hope ya'll had a spookarriffic day

A Little of This and A Little of That

I met up with my perferred long arm quilter yesterday and was able to pick up the two quilts I left with her a couple weeks ago. The first was my kaleidoscope of color that will be a Christmas gift for mum.

The second, the Seeing Stars quilt that is a wedding gift for a friend's daughter.

Now on to finding some good moves to watch while I hem binding on both. The first is a king size so I might need several good movies.

I am hosting a shower for a friend that is having her first boy in a couple weeks and so today I got a jump start on some baby shower gift items. Both of her girls have a thing for sucking on their blankets so I thought the Ribbon Blanket on Moda Bake Shop was the perfect gift idea. I love these robot fabrics from Andover Fabrics and decided they would make a fun ribbon blanket. A purchase of 6 fat quarters from a local craft shop allows me to make 2 of these blankets as well as 2 sets of 3 burp cloths with scraps leftover for something else fun. I am sure with all the woman having babies at church at the moment that I will find a special home for the 2nd set of robot goodies.

I put together the 16 5" squares for the blanket this afternoon and will hopefully make it to the fabric shop sometime this week to pick up the minkee fabric to finish it out. I am leaning towards the aqua color as the backing but we shall see what they have to offer in colors at the store.

I am not so hot at drawing so I am on the look out for a super cute image of a robot that would be cute embrodiered on a onsies.

Stitcher's Angel Swap Revealed

I recieved a wonderful e-mail from my swap partner today letting me know that she had recieved her parcel. all items were very well recieved for which I am glad. I always worry when I do these swaps that the person on the other end will not like what I have made. Such was not the case. I did not get a decent photo of what I made, but if you check out Synnoeve's blog she will be posting about what she received tomorrow.

My Angel Swapper Revealed

Today I recieved a finaly parcel from my angel swapper and with it the reveal of who this amazing woman is. I have so enjoyed getting to know her a bit as she emailed me to get to know me. She was very helpful with some advice she had given me on some odd behavior our beloved Annie was displaying back in August. I jumped right on here to see her blog once I opened the card that came with my little treasures. WOW! What a fun blog and such a talented lady. Head over to Marina's, you'll enjoy the trip.

And another huge thank you to Marina. I absolutely love the pin cushion and the yo-yos are fabulous. I will have fun putting them to use. I have never used yo-yos before and have wanted to give them a try. Your generosity has been much appreciated, I feel so spoiled and love it.

Balloon Ball

A friend of mine recently received one of these at her baby shower and I was totally smitten with the idea.


So, I snagged her's and brought it home to make a pattern with the promise to her two boys that I would bring each of them one of their very own. They pretty much just follow a basic fabric ball design and then you add a button hole in one end. You then insert a balloon through the button hole and blow up the balloon. I made both of my girls one today in about 45 minutes and they are now enjoying loads of fun with their balloon balls. Course, Annie, our corgi is enjoying the fun too as she chases their "Balls" down the hallway or across the living room.
These are great for children of all ages, even my ten year old is having fun with them. They are intended more for babies and toddlers though as they can have the fun of playing with a balloon without the worry of them biting the balloon and putting it in their mouth.

Spoiled Rotten

My partner for the Stitcher's Angel swap is spoiling me rotten, and I LOVE it. I received another parcel in the post yesterday from her and it was filled with some more wonderful items. She does the most amazing stitches and her work is gorgeous. I am just tickled with all that she has sent. After being totally stood up on two of the last three swaps I've participated, in this has been so wonderful. She has done each item using Fig Tree fabrics which are perhaps my most favorite fabrics. Whenever I am asked what my favorite color is I alway think of this designer as there are so many wonderful fabrics by her.  I thought I would know with this parcel the identity of my angel swapper but she was too clever and has left me in suspense a tad longer. Another big THANK YOU to you, whom ever you are....and a huge hug to you as well. You made my day.
                                    

I love this needle case she made for me with all it's little pockets

And this mat for my sewing machine is fabulous. I have been admiring the ones I've seen here and there on blogs and was a tad sad that I had no one to make one for (always forget that I can do one for me, but I don't) and now I have the best one right under my machine.