Wednesday, November 16, 2011

An Exclusive

For any of you wonderful followers that live close to my favorite quilt shop (Patched Works in Elm Grove) tonight will be special and I think you should go there.  Every Wednesday night for the past who knows how many weeks, they have featured fun projects which are simple and creative.  Tonight I will be the "feature".  No, not me personally, but an applique project (with free instructions and pattern) that I created just for them.  (Actually, it is a take off on something I did for a secret swap and haven't shown anywhere yet, but don't tell anyone!  That's also the reason I'm not showing a picture of it.  Duh!) You'll just have to go and be overwhelmed (I hope!)  They're open until 8 CST.

In the meantime, and for all of you who live too far away to go tonight, I can show you two things that I recently made and showed sneak peeks of last time.  First was to Mom Cindy for the STUD group.  Remember, STUD stands for "swap til U drop".....not something nasty.  LOL  The theme this time was pets and since we both have dogs, that was the object of both of our mini quilts to each other.  This is her "Sophie":

Diggin' in the garden

I was really undecided on how to do a dog (in actuality I wanted to do a cat), until I found those flowers in my stash.  Once I found them, the whole thing seemed to evolve from there and even after I was done, I had to get out my pearle cotton and embellish a bit with some embroidery.  Lately too, I have been enthralled with using buttons in quilts for some reason.  You'll see what I mean in the next one.

My absolute two favorite swaps in the world are the doll swap (which, by now, should be no secret) and the mug rug swap.  Personally, I wish they both were ongoing because my imagination seems to go in those directions with whimsy and fun.  For the current mug rug swap, the theme was Christmas and unlike in times past where we had secret partners, this time partners were assigned.  My partner, Laney, (lrmcdonald2000) posted somewhere that she loved color on white.  (Which by now, my friends, you should KNOW, is my very favorite to do!)  I knew immediately what I was going to make:

"To you - From me"

The gift tag

With a personalized gift tag, just for her!  (Did you note the buttons?????  Told ya!)  I had a hard time giving that one away.  After it was done, (and with the addition of a O ring on the back) I had it hanging in my kitchen for a few days just to smile at it every time I walked by.  I hope she is smiling too!

So, that's it for today, my friends.  I'm working on something else, but who knows how far I will get.  I still have so many ideas for this year, but I'm running out of time!  (I did get all 12 double and triple batches of Christmas cookies done though (and in the freezer) this past weekend so I'm one happy girl!!)  One thing off the list to do!!!  Yeah!!!  Hope your list is going as well............until next time........

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

They are both so wonderful! I love them both!

Ursula

Susanne said...

They are both great. Lovely!

Stray Stitches (Linda G) said...

Both are so cute!!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Two more works of art - how fun to receive the delightful swap!

Teje Karjalainen said...

Hi! You are just amazing! You have just so wonderful, sweet and good ideas! I love the dog and his hidden bones and the flowers! As well as the other one with presents! Buttons are so great and cute details - thank you for inspiration!
xxx Teje

Mrs.Pickles said...

both are soo beautiful!

Gill said...

They are both gorgeous!
I wish I lived nearer (I'm in the UK!!) so I could visit your favourite quilt shop tonight!!

Sparky said...

Both I adore but the present one made me smile

deb said...

LOVE your work!!

Britt-Inger said...

They are adorable. I love them both but the mugrug with the presents is my favorite.
Sweden is too far away for visit your LQS

A.J. Dub. (Amy) said...

Super cute! Love the bones in the flower beds. :)

When you put buttons on, do you do it after you quilt it?

Snoodles said...

Love them both, and I'll see you there...uh oh --- Google says it will take me about 13 hours to get there. Will ya wait up for me? LOL Have fun at the quilt shop!

Shayla Sharp said...

These are gorgeous! Okay, I'm leaving now before my jealousy kicks in. lol

Farm Gate Creations Incorporating Hummingbird Quilting said...

Super gorgeous! I love the dog and how you have put in that little bottom detail. :0

Annie said...

hahaha...only you, Carol, would think to place the cute doggie in that position! I love it! And the girl with the stack of gifts is adorable. It so reminds me of the Mary Englebrite character that is a similar design. Both are such fun works!

Unknown said...

Amazing :-) As usual!
Your work is gorgeous!

Jo said...

Two more masterpieces, just love them.

VickiT said...

First ~ I am totally going to pout. I sure wish that store was not doing this during the week. I would go for sure if it wasn't at night. In the dark. Travelling on I43 in the dark. (did I mention this already?) AND most importantly ~ DURING DEER SEASON!!! That means our van would be a target for those crazy WI deer for a total of about 3 hrs roundtrip. I just LOVE your work but given the fact hubby's car is dead in the garage and he's driving my van, our only other vehicle now and he works an hour from our house, any deer taking out our van means he has no way to get to work. A very quick story as to why deer freak me out now even though I've lived in this area my entire life. About 3 yrs ago we drove through SW WI to go just into Iowa to see Wayne Brady. On our way back home after his show in a span of 1 1/2 hours time we hit TWO deer creating two accident reports for our insurance on the same night. LOL Now I'm afraid still to drive at night even three years later.

So anyway, I would love to take a drive over there since it is so close but only during the day at this time of the year.

I love that dog but those flowers are awesome with the extra stitching you've added. Super cute.

And that Christmas one? Adorable. I love that one. Your work is just amazing.

Sewconsult said...

I love both, but the packages one is my favorite. When are you going to publish a book of your drawings/designs? What kind of cookies did you make? I want to get on to my baking, but I am so far behind.
Beckie in Brentwood, TN

Ulla's Quilt World said...

Hi! Greetings from Finland! Your quilts are so fantastic! It's so nice to find other quilters all around the world! :)

beachiesews said...

Those are so cute, and I'm going to just say it...I love the dog butt! Too funny!

QUILTONLINE said...

I LOVE THIS BLOG, INTERESTING AND VERY NICE. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BEAUTY OF YOUR LABOR. I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU SUCCEED TO CREATE SUCH BEAUTIFUL THINGS?!?! ON SOON. GOOGLE TRANSLATION.

suecieslak said...

I love the present one! How do we get the pattern? Can it be ordered? I live in Michigan...too far away!