No one's missing.....

Do you remember a few weeks back when I was making the ladies?  Perhaps you've forgotten that we had two missing ladies.......#17 and #18.  Now, these gals weren't missing because of a postal glitch, heavens NO, but rather because #18 commissioned me in October to do two special quilts.  One for herself and one for her friend for Christmas gifts and now that Christmas is over, and #17 has gotten her gift of "herself" I can reveal them to you.

I am so pleased to finally introduce you to #17, Lynn:







There's a funny little story that I just discovered about Lynn's eyes.  You can read it on Mary's blog post.  First, you have to meet Mary, who was the sweetheart who instigated the whole surprise:





a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35289170@N06/6606241249/" title="#17 in the Ladies series - Mary by mamacjt, on Flickr">

And here is a picture of the two of them together with themselves:



You'll have to read Mary's blog to get the scoop on Lynn's eye color.  I was quite surprised when I read it....!!!!  LOL  And, I guess Mary thought her eyes should have been a bit browner too.  Hazel is tricky!  Everyone has their own opinion of hazel, I guess.  I'm sorry, Mary!

One thing though...... Mary is recovering from having her tonsils out right before Christmas!  Poor Mary!  I can't imagine not talking, can you?  Or eating normal food?  Especially around the holidays?  E-gads!!  I hope you are doing well, Mary, and recovering fast!  My best wishes to you and thank you again.  I had a ball making you both!  I hope Lynn loved herself.

Have a safe and marvelous New Year's, my friends!  I've had an awesome year full of surprises and fun!  I'm so happy that you have joined me on this journey through 2011.  I can't wait to see what 2012 will bring!

Can you say DOTS???

I always knew that I loved red and white together and I guess I always knew that I loved dots, but this year, I even surprised myself when I realized that I went a bit overboard.  First of all, I wrapped most of our gifts in this paper which I found at Target.......and was so happy when I discovered it:

Then, for our big family celebration of finger foods prior to the big day, I picked these to make my life easier so I didn't have to wash dishes:

Now, you'd think that would be enough.........ah....NOT!  When shopping at my favorite specialty grocery store one day, I spied this and just had to go back to buy it (even though I can't remember the last time I even drank tea!)

 Isn't it just the cutest?  Every time I look at it, I think of Alice in Wonderland for some reason.  It's just so happy sitting on my dirty stovetop (sorry about that...I should have made sure it was cleaner before I snapped this picture.)  Strange how things show up so much clearer in pics.....yikes!!)

Then, there's the tree.  Now you see it, and then you don't.  I already took it down, can you believe?  The temps have been so mild here that we figured we'd get everything put away before the snow falls....much easier that way since we store the tree in the garage off season and it's easier taking the outside stuff down without dealing with ice.

I decorate like I sew, I guess.....sort of funky!  So, another Christmas bites the dust!  I hope yours was happy!  I think the crowning glory of my festivities was making this:



Oh my, it was sooooooo good!  And sooooo easy!  But, now I need a 6 quart container......cause I surely will be making it again!

Pinterest.....have you heard of it???

Such interesting stuff!!!  It's amazing what I'm finding now that I've taken a sewing break......

How cool, huh?  And there's so much more.  Good thing I'm not going to get hooked into that too!  E-gads, if I spend any more time on this computer I'll never have time to sew!

I do want to wish you many blessings this holiday season!  Thank you for visiting with me! I appreciate each and every one of you and hope and pray that you all find peace and fun with those you love in these next few days of joyfulness.  Merry Christmas!!

Wow, you guys!!!!

It was just as good as Christmas.............no, make that BETTER than Christmas...........reading all your sweet and complimentary comments about my big news on my last post.  Thank you ever, ever, ever so much!!!  You are truly a gift to me!!

While many of us in the USA are waiting to see if our JoAnn fabrics really does carry Australian Homespun magazine, I've found some sources that are really reliable.

First of all, I was informed by a reader that http://www.zinio.com/ can provide a digital copy.  (In fact the editor of Homespun asked me to mention that too.)  So, if you like your reading material digital, that is the place to go and they already have it!!  If you're like me though, and like the paper feel in your hands, these two places in the US are available to order the magazine, BUT they don't have issue 12:12 in yet:
http://www.ericas.com/  and  http://stonehouse-publications.com/  (I'm praying that those links work??)

In the meantime, let me show you what I got in the last two swaps of this year.  Remember STUD?  by now you should surely know that it stands for Swap til you Drop.  LOL  I sent "momcindy" this, remember?  It was her dog, Sophie:



And she sent me this:



She named it, It's a Dog's Life" and certainly depicts my spoiled Havanese, Toby.  (Even though I haven't carried him a bag yet, at 7 lbs, I surely could.)  Actually, it looks just like him, don't you think?  Wow, such talent!  That's not an easy dog to copy!!!

Then, I got my quilt in the "Little Quilt - Sew, Vote and Swap" group.  It was my first choice:



How festive, right?  It looks like Lisa "incorigable2" made it specifically for me, it's so much my style.  I love it!

So, that's it for today, my friends.  2011 is winding down and that's a good thing.  Before you know it, we'll all be into the new year with sewing machines ready, but for now, it's time to take a break and reflect on the quietness of the season.  I hope you are winding down too.  Enjoy!!!  (And thank you again for making me feel like a superstar!!!)  Until next time...............

Tooting my own horn.....

Have you, ever in your life, read something or heard something and simply could not believe it until it was repeated at least 3 times?  Well, that was exactly my reaction when I opened my e-mail one balmy May morning and read a letter to me from the editor of Australian's Homespun magazine asking me if I'd like to be a guest designer for their upcoming December issue.

I think I sat with my mouth open for a full 5 minutes wondering all sorts of stuff, but especially how in the world they ever found me...although the editor did mention that she had seen this and loved it:

So......to continue.....I yell out to my hubby who was still in the bathroom, "Hey hon, wait until you hear this", and proceeded to read the e-mail again (and they as long as I was at it, printed it out so I could hold it in my grubby little hands).  Not only did they want me, BUT (get this) they were going to pay me to design it!!!  E-gads, can you believe???

Since the design was for their summer issue, the editor suggested a beach theme and after correspondence back and forth I drew 4 possibilities for their review:

I was delighted when they picked #1 which (all along) was my favorite.  It had to be fun and colorful and funky (after all, those are sort of my signatures I figured) so I started pulling fabrics (and buttons) and fusing my heart out:

Eventually, I ended up with the finished product:



And here are some close-ups:









And here I am with a nice profile story right in the magazine:



And here is the cover with my wall hanging on the top far right corner:



I'm telling you, this experience was one of the highlights of my year!  I LOVED it!!!  And how I shut up about it for 7 months I'll never know!  I usually can't keep a secret overnight.  LOL  And, for all of you in the US, someone told me that this magazine is available at the big JoAnn superstores, so in a week or two go get yourself a copy.  (It's not there yet...I checked.  LOL)  Guess what all my relatives are getting for Christmas?????