My First Quilt-Along

I know its been a long time since I last posted - but I'm back!

I was browsing along online a couple of days ago and happened to check out a great blog called the Old Red Barn Co. They are having a Quilt-Along for the next 6 weeks and I am so excited to be a part of it!

Each week there will be instructions of the next step in the process and at the end of 6 weeks - I will have a finished quilt! I am VERY excited.

The pattern is one she created and will look like this:

I have decided to go with the Adriatic Collection by Anna Maria Horner (Good Folks). Here it is here:

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL! I absolutely LOVE it and can't wait to get started! I will keep you updated on my progress as I quilt-along!

Hooters and Creepy Dolls

I haven't 'blogged' for a while so I thought I'd just do a quick one with a couple of things I have been working on this week.

I am a part of the 'Ogling Owlies' swap on Swap-Bot. For this Swap you need to make one handmade Owl using your choice of materials. I did a little research and decided to do my little owl in felt! I LOVE the way he came out! I have decided to do these owls for another swap I am in - The Handmade Christmas Ornament Swap. I will need to make 10 to send off and in return I will receive 10 different ornaments from around the world! So fun!

I also tried making a "Dotee Doll' for a 'Dotee Doll Swap'. Here she is! I called her 'Paisley'. Jamie hates her - he thinks it is creepy! I think she is 'Ugly Cute'! My daughter wanted to join in the fun and has been making some of her own!

I included a 'Sunshine' knit dishcloth with this swap, I should have taken a picture before I rolled it up so you could see the design, silly me!

I also created this little felt pouch to house all these items in. I made a cute yo-yo flower out of the same material as my Dotee Doll to embellish the front...

and I used a simple black button for the back so it could be used for stuff in the future - like makeup, purse items, whatever she likes!

I have been pretty crazy busy trying to get all of these done! I have almost completed all of my 'hooters' and hope to get them in the mail on Monday! I will post a picture of them when I have them ready to go!

Peony Project

Wow, I have been so busy the last couple of days....I have been thinking non-stop about this post and wanted to post it days ago - but there has been no time!

Anyways, I am very excited about this new project that I have started. A few years ago I inherited a antique sewing table with bench and have wanted to do something with it since then. In the place we are currently living, my ensuite has a dressing table section with room for a stool to put on makeup on, etc. I have decided to reupholster the bench to go there.

So in the last couple of weeks I have been scouring the internet at quilting sites, fabric sites, fabric designer sites, and ebay and finally narrowed down my search to the most beautiful fabric designed by my favorite fabric designer Amy Butler. The fabric is called Sky/Tree Peony.

Here is a picture of this GORGEOUS fabric.

I think I am going to paint the base of the bench in off white which I think will make the fabric pop. I LOVE all of Amy Butler fabrics., they are all so bold, somewhat vintage inspired, and lots of prints!

I found a great site on Ebay to buy the fabric for an incredible price, but there is this quilting store here in Calgary that I have been dying to check out called My Sewing Room. It is apparently the largest quilting store in Canada. It has hundreds of fabrics, notions, quilting supplies, etc. It even has this special lighting that imitates sunlight so that when you are picking out fabric - you see the actual colour of the fabric (not tinted by fluorescent lighting). Very cool!

So on Wednesday when I dropped off my daughter for Gymnastics training I took off to the SE to check it out. Well, let's just say I was in there for over 2 1/2 hrs! They even had a selection of Amy Butler fabrics and I couldn't resist picking up a yard of the above fabric for my project. I know I am a geek, but I am so excited about starting into the quilting world that the whole time I was there - I was literally shaking! LOL!

I have been so pumped to start my bench project, and had it all ready to go and then realized that I don't know where our staple gun is. It must be still packed away in the garage. I AM SO ANNOYED. You know how you get that burst of adrenaline before a project? Well, that bubble is caught between my heart and my mouth now just wanting to burst! So my goal tonight is to find that staple gun...I'll let you know how it goes!!