road trip + hexies = fun!!

It has been a bit crazy lately with arriving back home and having family in town.  We had such a lovely trip to Yellowstone & Iowa!  I'd never been to Yellowstone so I was in complete amazement the entire time.  I truly loved it.  We then went onto Iowa so we could visit some of my family.

One of the best parts of taking road trips is being able to work on hexies.  I finished my June block and then also started on my July block.

My June block!  

 My July block!  I think I'm going to really like this one.  Some of these fabrics are my favorites!

 While in Iowa we went to the pool a couple times so brought along my hand stitching.

I also was able to start on my Sewing Room Swap project.  I love pretty hexie flowers and these will make a great wall hanging or pillow.

Since we've been home we've gone to the beach several times.  Now I'm stitching the hexies flowers together.  :)

A geyser at West Thumb.  My kiddos didn't really like going and seeing the geysers as they have a very strong smell.  I hope they eventually remember their spectacular beauty.

Old Faithful

This giant bison came into our campsite.    He really was huge, and fun to watch!  What an amazing animal!

The grand canyon of Yellowstone!  It was beautiful!!

Mammoth Hot Springs

I loved going to a couple of my favorite antique shops while in Iowa!  It made the trip complete.  :)

Here are some of the lovely vintage finds.  I see there was an aqua and pink theme with what I ended up purchasing.  Hee Hee!

  I found a couple vintage quilts.  I love the feedsack one!  

A close-up of some of the pretty feedsacks!

I also found a fabulous rough postage stamp quilt!  

 When I got home I found this lovely antique gate.  I love the rustic red and aqua paint!

There is nothing quite as fabulous than to return home from a long trip to find some pretty fabrics and a lovely gift in the mail!

This pretty pouch is from my sweet and talented friend Amy!  Thanks so much!!  It is so lovely!!  

There was much more that we did but it is hard to get it all in one blog post.   Though, I'm glad I was able to share a little of my trip with you.  :)

Hugs,

sweet deer pillow & my studio

I'm so excited to finally be able to show you my sweet deer pillow I received from Julianna and it flew all the way from Poland!!  I love how adorable and perfect it is for my studio!!

There is such sweet detail and the colors and little extras like ric rac make it even that much cuter!!  I really do love it!!

I thought I'd show you around my studio a little.  I've added a few new things and I really love working in it that much more now.  :)

Sweet vintage sheets!!  And I'm always searching for new ones.  

Then I added a couple new pieces where the shipping station is to put some of my crafting supplies on.  :)

This one shows them together so you can see both. 

I'm so glad that summer is finally here.  As most know my favorite place to go in the summer is the beach.  We are so lucky to have it only a mile down the road so I really love to go as much as I can.  Here are some recent pictures.

We love going when the tide is out.  The kids love searching for all the sea creatures to admire.  :)

 Look mom, I found a baby crab!!

All the blackish/purple round things are live sand dollars.  It amazes me how at this time of year there are millions of them!!  It makes me sad when I accidentally step on one, but it is pretty much impossible not too.

My youngest and oldest!

This one is from last Sunday evening!  So pretty!!

For shop news, I'll be putting it in Vacation mode tomorrow for the next couple weeks for a little break and for some family time.  I'll be re-opening in mid July.   If you order before I put it in vacation mode your order will ship within 24-48 hours.  :)

See you in a couple weeks!!  Hugs,

kaleidoscope pillow

This last week I was able to finish my kaleidoscope pillow and get it sent off.  It already has made its way to its new home and was well received.  There is nothing better than getting a wonderful thank you and someone saying they've always wanted a pillow from me {blush, blush}!  Made my week and all the work well worth it!! 

I love this fun pattern!!  I'm now ready to make one for me since I love it so much!!  One of the best things about swaps is getting inspiration from others and creating something you normally may not have.    I love having to think outside the box and giving myself a bit of a challenge!

I used Lori Holts text print for the border and Leciens Old New 30's strawberries, cherries w/ polka dots for the binding.

The finished size is approx. 20 X 20.  I actually purposely make my pillows about a 1/2 to an inch smaller than the form as I like my pillows a little fuller. This one is about a 1/2 inch smaller than 20 inches.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous Friday and has a wonderful week-end!! 

Hugs,

the kaleidoscope & new atsuko fabrics!

Since I've been back from market I've been able to start on my Pillow Talk Swap pillow.  I'm doing the kaleidoscope block.  These are such cute scrappy little blocks that are only 4 inches.   If you'd like to make some too, there is a fabulous tutorial for the block from Brooke of Pitter Putter Stitch.

I love foundation paper piecing and the kaleidoscope is really simple yet fun as it has a lovely end result!!  This would be a great one to start with if you've never tried this type of paper piecing.  Really, anyone can do it.  Though like English paper piecing, once you start, you may not be able to stop.  :)

So far I have 9 blocks done and have 7 more to go.  I love how it is looking so far!!

Recently I've had lots of new Atsuko fabrics arrive!!  They are all simply the most delightful fabrics!!   This one below is the Floral Scallop Doilies.

Strawberries & Cherries with Pin Dots

Yuwa Strawberries

 Pretty Patchwork Cheater Print

Ribbons & Bows

One of my favorite things about having my shop is cutting custom bundles!  I love seeing how my customers put together fabrics from my shop!  Here is one I cut yesterday.  Isn't it pretty!!

I've also found some lovely vintage finds at my local goodwill and antique shop lately.    Finding these hidden treasures is pure joy to me!!  :)  Isn't this deer planter the cutest!  My pincushion now had a lovely new home.

My hubby spotted these lovely Dansk pots when we were at a local antique shop.  I had actually been looking for these and it surely made my day when we found them locally!!!

I've been collecting vintage hankies for awhile now to hopefully soon make a lovely curtain like this one I saw on Pinterest.   I think I may be getting close to having enough.  These ones I found at my local goodwill  this week for only 50 cents each and a pretty red vintage sheet!!   Yeah!!

I hope everyone is having a lovely week!    I'm off to run some errands this morning and then get back to work on some orders.  :)

Hugs,