a couple finishes for January . . .

This lap-sized quilt is a surprise for a friend of mine . . . I won't tell you which one in case she reads my blog.  The pattern is a free online tutorial called Giant Vintage Star from In Color Order.  I did simple straight line quilting on either side of the ditch, which gives a nice design to the back of the quilt too.

The fabrics are a mix of Kumari Garden (which I won from a giveaway from Swell Cloth) and a mix of some other coordinating prints (which I picked out with a gift certificate I won from Modern Fabric Studio).  The batting is the new Eco-Cotton blend from Pellon which was given to me to review a while back.  And the backing is a Mar Bella minky from Fabric.com (I had actually bought it for a different quilt, but ended up making that quilt too large for the piece I ordered).  So in all, this was an almost-free quilt, just the backing was purchased by me (but it was in need of a project anyways).

And my second finish is this quick little table-topper for myself.  The fabric line is from Moda called Arcadia, and the honeybun was a giveaway prize from the SewMamaSew Giveaway Day in December.

Linking up to {Sew} Modern Monday and Fabric Tuesday.

a couple more bag finishes . . .

This is another 241 Tote, but the first one that I made for myself!  I also tried the zipper pockets this time, and they were seriously the easiest zippers I've ever done.  I have plans to make one more of these bags for my sister-in-law to use as a small diaper bag.  I'll make it with the outside pockets and zipper pockets so she'll have lots of places to put all the 'stuff' that comes along with toting a little one around.

I put in a key-chain holder this time too, so handy!  And the strap is extra-long so I could wear it cross-body for all the shopping we did on our vacation, I didn't want to run the risk putting it down and forgetting my ID somewhere.

And this is another bag for a little girl's birthday that one of my daughters went to.  The pattern is a smaller version of the Tie Front Tote.

And this bag also uses up the last of my bigger pieces of Feeling Groovy from Riley Blake.  I bought 12 half yard cuts back in August, and have made 6 little bags for birthday presents, some notebook holders and tissue pouches, and the wall decor and wall pockets for my daughters room.

All I have left are some scraps of these fabrics now, and I'm debating whether or not to buy some more from the fabric line.  I love how fun and girly it is, but not too 'young' for my almost 9-year old.  So I'd love some suggestions for another fabric line that would work well, or if someone sees a half-yard bundle of Feeling Groovy at some really good clearance pricing, I probably won't be able to pass it up :)

Linking up to Sew & Tell Friday and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

WIP Wednesday . . .

So the rain has started and the snow is melting.  My two oldest girls missed school on Monday because of water damage in their school, but are back again now.  The house is a lot quieter with just two little ones running around.  It seems that an unexpected week of all the kids home showed me how much extra toys and 'stuff' we have around here, and has compelled me to do a lot of sorting and purging this week.  But I did get a little bit of sewing time in, and played with this honeybun . . .

And made a new table topper for my kitchen table.  I still have to quilt and bind it, and I'm looking forward to the update from my old one.  Hope you're all having a lovely week!

working on a new quilt . . .

We've had a LOT of snow in our neck of the woods this week resulting in our kids' school being closed ALL WEEK.  Which means we've had lots of sleeping in, pajama days, colouring, paper-crafts, and playing in the white stuff.  It's definitely a nice way to ease back into things after our little vacation.  And to top it off, I got this lap quilt cut, pieced, and basted.  I'd say that makes for a pretty great week :)

Linking up to Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finish it Up Friday, and Sew & Tell Friday.

and the winners are . . .

The winners of the Bespoken fat quarter bundles sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop are . . .

Congratulations to supersara20
 and Happy Cottage Quilter!

I'll email you for your mailing info.

And thanks to everyone for answering my question!  

I started cutting a new quilt today and have another 241 tote to show you that went all the way to the Caribbean and back - I'll have to shake out the sand for a couple pics. :)

trying to decompress . . .

After spending a week on gorgeous beaches, being fed amazing 5-course meals every night, and being totally spoiled for my birthday, we are home again.  After a missed flight, an unexpected extra night in a hotel, and picking up our four kids from all over town today, we are FINALLY home.

But the snow and freezing temperatures are going to take some getting used to after being in this weather for a week . . .

I'll be picking the giveaway winner sometime tomorrow, because right now I still feel like I'm bobbing in an airplane . . . goodnight!

It's my Birthday! Time for a GIVEAWAY!

It's that time of year again ~ I'm turning another year older!  Only this year, I'm taking the whole week off and spending time eating out, getting pampered, and even taking off with my hubby and no kids for a few nights!  

So what better way to celebrate on my blog than with a giveaway?!  And with the help of my wonderful sponsor, the Fat Quarter Shop, here's what's up for grabs:

Not one, but TWO fat quarter bundles of Patricia Bravo's Bespoken fabric line.

 One winner will get the Lush colorway:

and the other winner will get the Fresh colorway:

So how do you enter?

• I love to quilt and sew, (I sometimes think it's the glue that holds this stay-at-home-mama together).  Tell me what you want to see more of in 2012 - quilts?  childrens clothing?  accessories?  bags/purses? something else?
• If you are a follower (new or old), you can leave a second comment.
• If you blog about this giveaway, you can leave a third comment with the link.

Winner will be picked by random.org on January 16th.  Open internationally.  Good luck!

Sweet Pea Totes ~ Hobo Bag

This is another pattern from Sweet Pea Totes that can be purchased as a PDF EBook or through Simplicity as a printed pattern.

I used one of the built-in embroidery stitches on my machine for the handle, and my oldest daughter gave it as a birthday gift to one of her friends.

There is a second pattern for a wristlet clutch included in the Simplicity pattern, and I made one without the ruffle.  It made for a very quick project.

Fiona's Fancy Accessories . . .

A little while back, I mentioned the accessory panels from Lila Tueller's Fiona's Fancy line.   There are three colour choices available in laminate or cotton, and each panel makes two cosmetic pouches and a sunglasses case.

I ordered a panel and sewed some up this past weekend.  The pouches are a nice update from what I'd been using, and the sunglasses case is the perfect size for my Epipen (and my two year old can't figure out how to open it).

There's a video tutorial for this set that can be found here.

Linking up to Manic Monday, Take-A-Look Tuesday, and Fabric Tuesday.