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.

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.

Sailor Dog

My sister found this sailor dog panel at JoAnns and gave it to me for my birthday because she knew - being the lover of all things nautical that I am - that I would love it.  :)  It made such a fun and easy project.  And is completely adorable!

The cats love a good quilting project!

Because it is a printed panel this was really just a hand quilting project.  It was made even simpler because there were no bulky seams to go through.

I went really very basic with the quilting, outlining the print and going diagonally through the sky.  But I did decide on a scroll pattern that resembles waves beneath the boat.

I just love it.  What could be better than a baby quilt with a sailor dog on it?

Ring Of Stars Quilt

My Ring Of Stars quilt is finally finished!

As I mentioned in my binding post, I was motivated by Moda's Quilt Olympics to finish so I could enter.  My sisters joined me to get it done Friday...  And we did it!  But they had already taken down the competition.  :(  Oh, well.  I'm still grateful for the inspiration, and I'm so happy that my first quilt is completed!

It is a queen sized quilt and doesn't have a single machine stitch in it!  I even hand sewed the binding pieces together!  It was fun, but I'm planning to machine piece my next quilt.  And do something a little smaller, too.  ;)

It was a super fun project, and I'm so pleased with it.  (And as you can tell, my cats love it!)  I have quilter's callous' on 4 fingers and am already starting 2 other quilting projects, so I think I'm officially addicted to quilting!

Now to repaint my pink furniture, hang stuff on the walls, and complete the redecorating!

Sailboat Bag

When you find an adorable, sailboat-covered upholstery fabric there is only one thing to do;  make a messenger bag!

I'd been looking at this tutorial for a while, and this was the perfect time to try it.  It is wonderful!  Very easy to follow - great for an afternoon project.

I like larger bags, and this one has great pockets which makes it really nice and easier to find things.

My newest purse is definitely a winner!

Anchor Bag

My old cross stitch bag was just a freebie I got from a homeschool conference. It worked fine, but it was very small, making it hard to fit everything. Even finding anything without completely emptying was hard! So when I saw these bags at Forever 21 for $1.99 I decided it was time for an upgrade.



My "cross stitch bag" carries stuff for my cross stitching, quilting, and any other portable project I'm working on, so the larger bag is much nicer! I'm loving all the extra space, and the anchor is totally me! How perfect!

Finished Boat Baby Blanket!

I finished the top and got the backing fabric for this blanket a while ago, but hadn't bothered to actually finish it yet...



But when I got my new Heritage Celtic Thunder cd, I wanted something I could do and listen at the same time, and finishing this up was the thing! :o)



Now I'm dreaming of a future day when I'll be playing with a sweet little baby boy on this blanket... :o)

Ship Cross Stitch Book

A dear friend who is a great inspiration gave me this cross stitch book knowing how much I love ships.



I’m so excited to make one of these! I’m planning to hang it in my room. As soon as I finish my Paula Vaughn I know what I'm gonna do next. :o)

Stack of Squares

I know I just posted about this yesterday, but this is what I'm working on right now. And I love looking at this stack of cut squares ready to be laid out and sewn together... (well, after I've embroidered a few little boats)



You can kinda see how tall it is because of the teacup sitting beside it. I'm wondering how many baby blankets I can get from these... 2 or 3 maybe?

Blanket squares

I went to the fabric store on Monday so now I have the stuff I need to finish a couple of my projects. I also got the other fabrics for my baby blanket. So I've traced all the squares on the fabric and am working on cutting them out...



Then I'll lay them all out and start sewing! Look for updates soon!

Baby Boat Blanket

At JoAnn fabrics a few months ago I found the cutest fabric in the nursery prints that had lots of little boats on it and said "Little Sailor" all over it. It was so sweet, and being a lover of all things nautical, I thought "When I have a little boy he needs a little sailor blanket!" But I hadn't brought any money with me, so I decided I would get it next time we were there.

Well, it seems that they don't have any more. So when we went to JoAnn's last week I decided I was going to buy the next best thing. The anchor accent fabric, and another fabric, not as good, but it still has little boats on it. I'm planning to embroider blocks with that little ship on them, and it will look nautical. So now I'm excited about making my first baby blanket!