It's Here!

Oh Happy Day! My doll quilt arrived today from far, far away. Half way around the world it travelled, all the way from Australia! It is lovely--all hand stitched and hand quilted! In yummy colors that will go perfectly in my sewing room. And as if the quilt wasn't special enough, the package was loaded with goodies, too! My thoughtful swap partner, Samantha, included some very cute fabric with a back-to-school theme and the current issue of Australian Patchwork & Quilting magazine. What a treat for me. It's a wonderful magazine that I pick up at the fabric shop sometimes when I'm in the mood for a bit of a splurge! So, here are the photos:

Isn't it great! I had so much fun doing the Doll Quilt Swap II. I hope they do it again, I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Now I have to bake a cake - wheat, milk, and peanut-free, for my son who is having a birthday tomorrow. And wrap presents...

Better get busy!

Wendy

My Doll Quilt!

The Doll Quilt I made arrived at its destination last week. So, here are a few pictures of it. The colors really didn't photograph very well, but it was raining so going outside was not an option. Here is "Hollyhocks & Honeybees"...

I wanted to try something different with this quilt, so I machine appliqued the leaves and stems and used yo-yos for the hollyhocks. I wanted them to have fuzzy centers, so I used my pinking shears to cut small circles and attached them with embroidery floss tied in a knot with long tails. All in all, I am very pleased with the result. I learned some new things in the process and realized I need to spend more time machine quilting on pieced quilts to develop my machine quilting skills. Practicing on plain fabric just doesn't give me the same result. Maybe I get nervous or something, but I don't seem to be able to control the pieced quilt as well as plain fabric. I've got lots and lots of fabric in my stash, so I see a number of small quilts in my future. Practice makes perfect....I enjoyed the Doll Quilt Swap experience; it was lots of fun to design a quilt for the first time. I am still waiting, more or less patiently, for my quilt to arrive in the mail.

Until next time!

Wendy

Busy Days...

Well, it's Monday and today was the first weekday this summer that my kids didn't have to be at swim practice! So we slept in a bit, then got up and got to work. I did a little cleaning, a little laundry and thought alot about what I'll be making to put in my Etsy shop next. Before I can do that though, I have some window treatments to make for my sister-in-law, and my sister. But then my little shop needs some serious creative effort. I understand things can be slow in the summer, and I haven't put any effort there for awhile, so my lack of sales is not a surprise. But, I really want to turn things around in the fall so time to plan!!

I'm still anxiously awaiting the arrival of my swap quilt. I mailed mine off to Florida last Wednesday, so it should arrive there soon - if not already. But the mail lady came today with no packages, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for tomorrow. I can't wait to see it. The anticipation is killing me!!!!

So tomorrow morning, its back to swim practice then home to sew!

Bye for now!

Wendy

Finish Line!

We've reached the midpoint of the summer and my early summer activities are wrapping up. My children's summer swim team had its championship meet last night; our team won! I completed half a dozen totebags over the weekend to be given as gifts to swim team helpers. They are very cute, but I forgot to take pictures before I delivered them. And, most importantly, I've finished my swap quilt for the Doll Quilt Swap. I'll be mailing it tomorrow after I try to get some better pictures of it. I think it turned out well; it's my very own design -- no patterns here! I call it "Hollyhocks & Honeybees." Here's a sneak peak...more pictures after it arrives at its new home.


Now to decide which project is next....

That's all for tonight!

Wendy