~ Excited. Grateful. ~

This magazine arrived in my mailbox yesterday.  I have loved this magazine for years.
But I have a particular fondness for this particular issue.

You see ... if you turn to page 81, you'll find me there.
This was in response to a reader's challenge to make a 10" x 10" quilt that represented the theme:
"Passages"

Let me just say that working on such a small piece is quite fabulous. It definitely makes the quilting process easier. Oh who am I kidding ... the entire thing was a joy from start to finish!

Thank you, Quilting Arts Magazine!!

~ Pinkalicious ~

My granddaughter Penelope recently turned three.  This was the first year she really had an opinion as to how her birthday party should play out and what the theme should be.  When asked that very question, her answer was ...

~ PINK ~

Penelope wanted a Pink Party.
Her mom was more than happy to oblige.

You might say she was tickled ... Pink.

So ... there were pink cake pops and pink pretzels.

Pink candies and pink water.

There were pink pinwheels and a pink bounce house.

Penelope was appropriately dressed in ... well, you get the picture.

Unfortunately, I did not get the picture.  Once the party started, I was too busy having fun to take a picture of my Pink Penelope at her Precious Pink Party.

Just imagine a plethora of pink topped off by a head of curls.

Perfection.

~ You May Need a Bib ~

Here is the project that greeted me this morning, having had some work already done on it on previous mornings.

Yes, I am a morning person.

I'm making a pillow actually.  More specifically ... a pillow slipcover.

Once again I am chossing not to reinvent a new design, but to use one I designed in the past.

This was a (very) small quilt I made earlier this year, for an earlier purpose.
Usually, when I use my design a second time, I use different fabrics.
This time I wanted to recreate it very closely since I had previously been gaga over the contrast between the corals and the aquas.

I. Am. Having. Fun.
And you?

~ America the Beautiful ~

On this Eleventh of September

I offer this picture of patriotism.

I was blessed enough to take a trip to Boston over Labor Day weekend.
My son, his wife and I walked miles (and miles) of history laden streets and I loved it all.

I snapped this photo of a charming cobblestone street with my iPhone, and it wasn't until I was home and browsing through all my pictures on a larger screen, that I saw the flag.

After a full weekend of American history ... it touched my heart.

I hope ... on this day ... that all American hearts are touched.

Congratulations to Cathy who is the winner of a BOO on the Beach pattern.
  

~ BOO!: A Pattern GiveAway ~

While I was on a lovely end-of-summer trip, the entire (creative) world turned its collective head to
Autumn.

Fine by me.

Last year I designed this small wall hanging that spoke to Autumn ... but in a lovelier, beachier kind of way.

I called her "BOO on the Beach".

I have a pattern for this (27"w x 23" h) little beauty on my Etsy Shop.
Today I would like to GIVE one of these patterns away.

Just leave me a comment and I will pick the winner next Wednesday, September 11.

In the meantime I will sit around and wait for the view from my front porch to look like this.
However ... I won't actually sit on the front porch as it will be in the high 90's here in SoCal again today.
Sigh.

Happy Autumn!!

~ Sea Escape ~

This baby of mine has actually been completed for a short time now, but with all the surfboards/patterns, she hasn't had a proper photo shoot.

I have found that it's quite difficult to get the silvery shimmer on the water ... on film.

But trust me ... there's a lot of shimmer going on here.

Which extends down to the froth and the foam. 

And the sand.

 The stars simply lie on the sand.
This wall hanging is 25" wide x 36" long just like the others.

I can't decide whether or not to go with another seascape next, or one of the other things on that very long list in my head.
A great many lists have been made on paper, but the one in my head seems to always take precedence.

I love the Sea.
Can ya tell?

~ Surf's UP!"

It is shocking but true!
I have added a NEW pattern to my Etsy Shop ... the first new pattern in almost a year.

Truth be told ... I made this little gem last summer, strictly as decor for my studio.
A couple of weeks ago, I took note of this, found my notes and wrote the pattern this weekend.
You can make this quilt in a weekend.  Easy. Simple. Quick.



She is small ... 16" wide x 27" high.
Hence, the price is a little smaller also ... only $6.00 for the pattern.
This is a true bargain, because there are essentially two (2!) patterns here. You can make the quilt or you can make a 16" square pillow out of the center panel.

I have named her "Moondoggie" and, yes, I realize that dates me.

You can find the pattern here on my Etsy Shop.

You can find the original Moondoggie ... surfing some California waves with Gidget.