Hearty Good Wishes

I got a new quilting book this week - Hearty Good Wishes by Janet Clare.  I discovered Janet during Moda's blog hop "Spell It With Moda".  I liked her letter and I loved her fabric line Hearty Good Wishes.  It's nautical themed!

What really grabbed me was her England block.  Could there be anything better than a quilted British Isles?!?  I suggest there could not!   I love the version on her blog; I love the version in the book.  I really love the version I'm dreaming up to someday make as a throw pillow for my bed...  :)

The entire book is delightfully British and nautical and unlike anything else on my shelf.  I can see myself using many of the patterns in this book.

It's Only July

I've recently been seeing some things in the store/on the internet that are...  dismaying.  Even though it is only July, fall/winter clothing has already begun to make an appearance.  And then I realized... summer is halfway over.

My solution to this discovery?  Getting out a brightly colored sewing project that was stashed in my closet (yay for continued stash busting!), and looking at summer clothes on Pinterest.  Maybe it's time to start thinking about fall fashion, but I'm not ready yet!

http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n601/seamsforadesire/mayo2012/IMG_6524.jpg

http://capecodcollegiate.tumblr.com/post/30660123699

There's still another month and a half of summer!  Enjoy your summer fashions!

Girly Letters

After Spell-It with Moda, my sisters and I made some quilted wallhanging letters for some little friends.  It was great fun to all work on the same project together!

Basic lines filled with beauty.  And a whimsical little decoration for each...

The girls liked them (though, I'm not sure children under 4 years of age fully appreciate things like this yet) and their mother was thrilled.  One of the greatest joys of crafting is giving!

Hand Quilting

I love the whole quilting process.  The piecing, sandwiching, binding: all of it is quite enjoyable.  But probably my very favorite part of making a quilt is the actual hand quilting.

All those tiny stitches making patterns across the quilt…

Being able to work on it while I watch television or sit chatting with my friends…

My kitten pouncing on my thread or snuggling in my hoop...

The feeling of being so close to the end…

Yes, this is the good part.  :)

The Quilting Stash

When I saw Bonnie and Camille's line "Happy Go Lucky" at my favorite local quilt store, it was love at first sight.  I knew I wanted some.  It didn't take long for me to become a fan of both of their fabric collections and blogs (check them out for some great inspiration!).  And since "Happy-Go-Lucky" was my first love, I indulged in my first precuts.

Four charm packs later, I decided they were perfect for a pinwheel quilt.  It will be my first experience with precuts, and I'm very much looking forward to it!   It's next on my list after I finish my nearly pieced Marmalade Squares quilt.

I also adore Bonnie and Camille's new line, "April Showers."  Unfortunately none of the quilt stores I usually visit carry any!  I even looked along the way when my sisters and I took a 17hr road trip to visit some good friends, but it was not to be found anywhere I stopped!

I had decided to order some online (even though I prefer supporting local stores) when, on the way home from my grandma's house, my sister suggested we stop in a little store we were passing but had not previously visited.   I'm so glad we stopped, because they had an April Showers jelly roll!  (And now I know of another great quilt shop ~25min away!)

I really wanted yardage to make this cheerful quilt, but I'm happy to have found anything from the collection.  Not completely sure what this jelly roll with eventually turn into, but with two other quilts to finish, I have some time to decide.  :) And in the meantime, I get great joy from just looking at it!

Happy Independence Day!!!

Wallpaper Drawers

It's a beautiful thing to be known for something.  Because people know that my sisters and I like to craft, we are often given crafty things (from cleaning out closets, when grandmas pass away, etc).  Because people know that I love nautical things I am often given nautical gifts.  Or, in this case, old wallpaper.

Yep, a girl at my church went to visit her grandmother ~8 hrs away and when she came home she brought me a roll of wallpaper.  Her grandmother was getting rid of it and she thought I might like it.  She was right.  :)

I have come up with a few different uses for it, but my newest discovery - it is perfect for lining drawers!

Before they were just plain wood...

And now they are lined with the best wallpaper ever!

Just goes to prove that someone's junk can be someone else's treasure.  Or drawer liner, as the case may be.