japanese charm pack~ the winner!

thanks for all the responses and wonderful comments!! i enjoyed reading every single one. i'm so glad everyone was as excited about this givaway as i was. :)

random.org chose the lucky number 30

Emily B

"Wow, what a great giveaway! I can think of a zillion possibilities. But, I think with the colour combination so nicely laid out... a baby quilt would be a super fun way to use the charms! ebickell (at) hotmail (dot) com"

thanks to everyone who made this such a fun week!!

the whirly pinwheel~ being quilted!

i finally got the back done, and am now in the process of quilting it. i only added a strip of the whirly pinwheels to the backside, but for some reason that took longer than actually piecing the front. with my other fun projects going on, this one was put on the back burner for awhile. but now i'm so excited to have it almost done!!

i just love this process of quilting. seeing it evolve when free motion quilting it is amazing to me. there is such a transformation to the quilt!!

when i free motion quilt, i use an extention table, and my ironing board. this helps so the quilt isn't hanging and pulling as i'm trying to quilt it. it seems to be quite helpful for me. :)

hope everyone has a lovely day!!

giveaway~ a japanese charm pack

the giveaway is closed. thanks for everyones wonderful comments!!

yippee!! it's time for my first giveaway!!

i'm so excited to be able to offer such a fun giveaway; i think anyone would love...a japanese charm pack. in this charm pack there are 30 lovely, 5 inch japanese charms, in the color scheme of red, aqua and brown. one of my favorites!! plus, one bonus hr mushroom charm! :)

to win

simply leave a comment, even a simple hi is o.k. the giveaway will be open till Saturday the 28th.

in your comment make sure there is a way for me to contact you.

do you want an extra chance to win? post a link on your blog to this giveaway, and then come back and leave another comment telling me that you've posted about this on your blog!

are you a follower? then i think you deserve even another chance to win!! simply leave another comment stating that you're a follower, and you'll be entered in again!

i will be using a random genorator for randomly choosing the chosen one for me. Please, make sure to leave that extra comment if you've blogged about this, or if you follow my blog, as that is the only way to be entered in again.

in other exciting news, i'm being featured on simply this, that and the other. thanks so much jodi, for the shout out of my new blog!!

wonky star blocks

i started working on some wonky star blocks for the bushfire quilt project and now LOVE these star blocks. i decided to keep making them since i enjoyed the process so much. this will be the perfect quilt for my other daughter- to go at the end of her bed. i have 18 to make. 16 for my daughter, and then 2 to go for the bushfire quilt project.

a close-up of the pink van block. aren't they so fun!

i origanlly was going to be using these blocks for my daughters quilt, but was having a bit of a challenge with these. now these will be made into a doll quilt for her. :)

hope everyone has a splendid day!

oh, so lovely!

i got my package today from jessica and oh, my is this little monkey ever so lovely!! my daughter almost claimed our new friend, but oh, no he has his new home in our living room for everyone to oohh and aahh over. :)

this adorable little quilt also came with him and it is just as lovely. i can't believe it has my favorite fabric in it, the hr mushrooms!! THANKS, JESSICA!!!

this week i worked on a patchwork valance for my girls room, and just got it finished this morning. i quilted it so it would almost look as a quilt was hanging in their window. i love how it turned out. now i just need to get the perfect rod. :)

the banner i also did this week and it was a quick and easy project, and adds a wonderful touch to the window as well.

i did a larger stipple than i usually do, since i wanted it to be a pretty quick and easy project.

the banner hanging in their window now. i just love the colors, so bright and cheery!

hope everyone has a wonderful valentines day!!

project improv~ with my little guy!

i worked a little more on my project improv blocks this week-end, and got a few shots of my little guy trying to get into the yummy red fabrics. it was just too cute, and couldn't pass up the picture perfect moment. :)

i cut all the fabrics into strips, and then sorted them into small containers to help the process go a little quicker. :)

hope everyone has a magical week!

project improv~ a few more blocks

it has been a little slow going, but i have a few more blocks to share. now i'm just waiting on my bolt of white sashing that i ordered online to arrive, so i can make more progress on this. (thought you'd want to know des, that i did order a bolt of the white sashing). :)

here is the lovely fabrics that nettie sent me from our swap. i love them all, and if you notice in one of my project improv. blocks, i've put some of these already to use! :)


see you next week! :)

a whirly pinwheel~ the quilt top

i finally got the top all done!! yah!! this was a bit time consuming with all the cutting and trimming during each step, but well worth it!! i used this tutorial from two dogs & a quilt for making the pinwheels. i like how it has the pinwheel look, but still has the touch of the whirly giggle.

a close up of a few blocks

hope everyone has a splendid week! :)

fun with swaps!

i've been having such a fun week with two swaps. a fabric swap with nettie, and celebrating handmade: the swap.

nettie and i are swapping some adorable japanese fabrics, hr fabrics, and some flea market fancy!! i feel so lucky to be doing this with nettie, and it has been so much fun!! thinking of all these fabrics just makes me feel so giddy! :)

for the celebrating handmade swap, i'm swapping with jessica yen, and it has been another wonderful experience. there is such a sweet story behind this swap, but it is kind of lengthy, so i hope you don't mind me sharing.

to start out, jessica emails me and tells me that she doesn't have any kids. since this is a swap where we are making a handmade toy she asked if she could gift hers to a little girl that lives next door to her. the little girl is here with her family from iran, and when i read that i started to tear up. i was born in iran when my parents were there with boeing back in the 70's. we had to leave quickly when the shah was taken over, and have never been able to return to visit. i've always had a longing to someday go there. (not right now though with all their political issues) but isn't that some coincidence?

and there is more!!! then jessica emails me a few days later, she tells me about how she just got back from dinner with some friends, and that they gave her a red envelope for chinese new year. jessica then explains to me how the elderly give the red envelopes to the kids for chinese new year, and how her grandmother did that for her. now this was dear to me as well since i lived in shanghai, china for a few years and knew exactly what she was talking about. i taught at an international school since my parents lived there while again, working for boeing. she then emails be back and tells me her brother is living in beijing right now, and she lived there a couple years ago, and that she loved visiting shanghai and is more a southern chinese girl! and of course since i was a young adult living there i have many more memories of china, than iran, and loved every minute while i was there.

hopefully you didn't mind finding out so much about me in one post. :)

little red riding hood~ i thought since little red riding hood is a western fairytale, it would give the little girl something she can take with her when her family returns to iran, that will remind her of living here.

i hope the little girl likes little red riding hood.

my week-end projects

i had a couple week-end projects that i worked on saturday and sunday. a version of the whirly giggle for my first little kiddo, and then i got my first project improv block done!! yah!!! i spent a lot of the time cutting and cutting and doing more cutting for both quilts!! at least the cutting is mostly done! :)

here is my first block for project improv~ the wonky log cabin

whirly giggle blocks~ i'm wanting to make some bed quilts for my kiddos but want to do a few more lap ones first so this one will go at the end of my daughters bed. the colors match her room!

i have 15 done and still need to sew 10 more together. almost done though with the blocks. i'm thinking of adding some sashing in between the blocks so they pop out more. not really a traditional way of doing this type of quilt though. do you think that would look o.k.?

here are a few of my favorite blocks. as most are getting to know, i love the japanese fabrics!! this one is the mushrooms in a line with a pink background.

the super cute birdie fabric!! there is a little sparkle to the birds that i love!!

i just got this little red riding hood fabric in the mail about a week ago so i'm excited to be able to put it in a quilt already!

hope every one has a magical week!!