Starting the Year Like a Zombie

Happy New Year! I have some serious high hopes for 2013. There were some highlights in 2012, but in general I was pretty happy to see an end to the year. In 2013 my parents will be moving to our state, we will welcome baby #3 and I have so many fun art adventures I'm ready to get started on. My word for this year is quite simply - JOY. Find it, embrace it, and above all give it. I hope this year has started on a fresh bright note for you too!

Back to starting the year like a Zombie. Well I mean like a Happy Zombie, of course! When I attended Spring Market last year, I picked up a fat quarter bundle of her Winterkist line. Ohh, the cuteness factor was off the charts! I loved the whimsical winter motif with bright colors and shiny, happy gnomes. I knew when I bought it that I wanted to create Christmas quilts for my girls. And well.. I've finished one so far..

This one is Kiddo's.. Green and blue are her favorite colors as she would be eager to tell you. I added the red colorway to add a more Christmas feel to it.

I created it with key blocks (which look way more involved than they truly are) and focus blocks of the gnomes with courthouse steps framing them.

Seriously, aren't those gnomes so adorable? They reminded Kiddo of Santa Claus and she loved to look at all their faces.

I used a white minky fabric on the back since Kiddo is on the sensory sensitive side and really loves to touch soft fabrics. 

I tried to create a swirling, swooshy wind quilt motif. I love how all the crevices get nice and crinkly after the wash.

It truly is her favorite quilt today, with the Halloween one taking a close second.

Baby's quilt took longer than I anticipated and is quite large! The pattern is from Material Obsession 2: More Modern Quilts with Traditional Roots . I love this book and was happy to finally create a quilt from it.

It still needs a pressing, quilting, and binding.. I went from planning it as a Christmas gift to now looking at Valentine's Day.. Oh well.. She is busy playing with her dolls from Santa anyways.

And last but not least, I bought Derwent Inktense Watersoluble Ink Pencils- Set of 24 Colors  with some Christmas money!

I need to finish a quilt for my guild and a quilt for a friend before I can break into these. I've read rave reviews about using them on fabric and can't wait to play. I'll post some pics once I have something to show.

Blog Hop Winner!

Thank you so much for joining me on the 

Quilting Gallery Blog Hop!

I hope you found new blogs to enjoy and learn from.

And I sincerely hope that you will return here as well.

And now the winner is........

Wendy said...

I love Lori Holt's patterns and I love her fabric, this is an amazing giveaway, thanks so much!

DECEMBER 10, 2012 12:44 PM 

Congratulations Wendy!

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A Nation Mourns

Last Friday afternoon both of my girls were in school. My husband and I were signing papers to refinance our home and then ran to Target for some stocking stuffer shopping. We knew there had a been a shooting incident at a school in Connecticut. We didn't know children were the victims, we didn't know how many lives had been lost. After my husband left Target for work, I checked my phone for more details. In Target, pushing a cart full of little toys for my sweet girls, I received the news and bawled. 

Like many of you, I've cried on and off all weekend. I've tried to hide it from daughters and of course I've told them nothing of the news. At almost 5 and 2, there is nothing to tell them that would make sense. At 34, I can't make sense of it. 

I've held my girls close, I've kissed them hourly and hugged them tighter than they like. I've ignored every mess, stayed calm during minor tantrums, and relished their early morning wake ups. Everything that may have irked me before is a loud reminder that my children are alive. I know miles away there are twenty homes where the halls are quiet, the home is clean from children playing and parents ache with a pain

I can't fathom.

I don't know how to reconcile with this loss. I don't understand. 

I am not going to discuss gun control anywhere other than in my home. It's a complicated issue. 

What our hearts want and what our reality can be are not going to be easily met on this issue.

I pray our country can find effective ways to help those suffering from mental illness and the families that are in despair over a loss of help.

I pray that every family that suffered a loss last Friday feels our nation mourning. 

Our nation is in desperate need for healing.

If we can not see those 20 little faces lost and not hear it as a screaming S.O.S., 

I'm not sure we can hear anything at all.

Connecticut, we are mourning with you.

Quilting Gallery - 2012 Blog Hop

Have you been to the Quilting Gallery? I joined last year and have had so much fun! I did an Easter quilted basket swap, a Christmas quilt-a-long, and was a featured designer. If you have any interest at all in quilting, you have to check them out!

This month they are doing a blog hop and I am of course participating! The best part? Every blogger is having a give-away! That's right!! Last time I checked I think they were up to 150+ bloggers all with fabulous giveaways! Crazy goodness..

Since I first joined Quilting Gallery, my style has evolved and I'm so happy that I have now found my quilting voice. I'm now dedicated to art quilts in my profession, though I do create a number of  lap quilts for family and friends. In 2013 my blog will be focused on exploring silk paints, silk applique, and a multitude of collage art quilt themes. If you would like to see more of my work, jump on over to my gallery. I would love to stay connected with you, please feel free to sign up as a blog follower!

Now what is my giveaway that I've been mentioning? A random, lucky winner will receive a fat quarter pack of Lori Holt's Daisy Cottage for Riley Blake. I love this line and have used it with a number of projects for my girls.

What do you have to do? Just leave a comment on this post anytime by midnight (MST) Monday, December 17th.

I will post the winner's name on Tuesday the 18th and ship out the gift that week.

And yes this giveaway is open to International readers!

In your comment, please leave an email to contact you.

Best of luck and enjoy the rest of the blog hop!

What some ideas on what you could make with your fabric? Check out  my tutorial page!

Christmas Tree Skirt Tutorials

Last year I designed two tree skirt tutorials, one for a Christmas tree and one for a table top tree. In case you are looking for some inspiration, I thought I would repost the tutorial links!

This is my Ribbon Candy tree skirt that I designed for Moda. You could easily change the serger thread or jelly roll fabric to any desired color for a different colored "candy".

And this is my paper pieced skirt for a table top tree that I designed for Riley Blake. If that much paper piecing gives you the shivers, you can easily replace those panels with coordinating fabric.

I have both of these skirts on our trees now and love the quilted touch. If you can believe it, I still have not made stockings for my family - we use store bought ones (boo!) That will be on my to-do list next summer.

What are your favorite holiday tutorials?