Merry Christmas-a bit late

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone. The month of December is always so busy, baking, sewing, shopping, etc. I baked/made 10 batches of cookie and candies. There are a few left. My family is always sad when they are gone. Many gifts were made, like the nesting snow folk in the picture. I also designed and made hedgehog earmuffs for my daughter. I'm hoping to post a picture of those soon. As well as all the making and baking there were the parties. One of the most fun was the neighborhood progressive dinner. Appetizers and drinks at one house, main course at another and dessert at our house. Maybe this will become an annual event.

Pretty Present

I really haven't been ignoring my blog. I've been so busy making Christmas presents that just today I found time to take pictures. This Matryoshka doll is a tree ornament I made for an ornament exchange. She is made from my own pattern and happens to fit perfectly in the pretty pocket I made from this pattern. This pretty pocket is very fast and easy to make. I also think it would look great hanging on the Christmas tree.

Group Photo

My studio is starting to look empty as I pack up all these cute critters. I am participating in a local craft show that runs between Thanksgiving and New Year. It is always such fun to be in a frenzy creating lots of different things. It adds so much color and makes a huge mess. Yikes! After a while you can't find the work surfaces much less the tools you need. Hopefully all these cuties will find good homes.

Wips

Lots of works in progress. It's that time of the year. My studio is a complete mess. There are so many piles of projects to be completed. Not only are there piles of unfinished projects but there are piles of supplies everywhere. Fabrics, ribbons, threads, beads and patterns make a colorful collage. Now only if I can only find what I need, when I need it, that will be an accomplishment.

Latest Pin Design

I love creating new designs. This is a picture of one of my latest pin designs. She's about 2" tall. The fun thing about this design is the beading free flows based on the design of the fabric. You'll never be able to make two the same. As well as designing new pins, I've been working on some new softies. If time permits they should be done in a couple of days.

Almost Black Cat and Friend

The black and pink (not very Halloweenish) cat and his companion the elephant are the latest of my creations. This photo doesn't do justice to the elephant's nose. It has a very nice curve at the end. I have more variations in the works for this basic pattern which I hope to share soon.

My Matryoshka

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. I've been very busy sewing. This is a good thing. Two scrap quilts have been cut out. The center of one is completely sewn. It just needs borders. I walked into one of my favorite fabric stores and found the border fabric in just about 2 minutes. I'm still working on the four patch squares for the other one. As well as sewing quilt tops, I've been making fun small things. I'm involved in several swaps at Swap-bot. These swaps can be helpful for stimulating creativity. Anyway there is a Matryoshka doll swap which lead me to create my own. Yes, they do nest. Some more details need to be added, like some decorative embroidery. Because I'm so pleased with the way these turned out, I'm sure they will multiply in my sewing room, hopefully faster than the dust bunnies.

Dust Bunnies and Scrap Quilts

I'm not vacuuming. I've been cutting and sewing scrap quilts. So far I've cut out two quilts and it hasn't even made a dent in the scrap pile. The scraps multiply like dust bunnies. I should know. There are plenty of them in my house. You know it's time to vacuum when the dust bunnies get as large as the smallest animal in the house. Wouldn't want them to take over the animals or anything like that. But back to quilting. I love scrap quilts, especially brightly colored ones. My family loves them too. They use them while reading, napping, watching t.v. and a variety of other activities. Now back to sewing.

Monkey, monkey, monkey

I've spent the last week making monkeys and other fun stuffed animals. The monkeys were designed for a swap. I also went to the bay area for a few days. Got to shop in Los Gatos. Located there are three of my favorite cookware stores: Williams-Sonoma, Sur la table and Domus. Also checked out a fabric/bead store called Natural Expressions. They had a great selection of fabric and beads. How good does it get? For a light snack we got cookies from the bakery, Icing on the Cake. Before I left I managed to go to Kinokuniya, the Japanese bookstore. I love Japanese craft books. I was lucky enough to get the current issue of Cotton Time. They have some very fun projects in that magazine.

A blog for my birthday

Today is my birthday and as a present to myself I've decided to start a blog. With this blog I can chronicle all my sewing and crafting adventures. Hopefully this will stimulate my creativity and productivity. Finally, I would like to be able to encourage others in their sewing and crafting ventures.