PP6

Such beautiful, chocolatey, rich potholders!  These babies were made just for me by Val for the Potholder Pass 6 swap.  How fun are those!?!  I just love them and they are a great addition to my little kitchen!



Val also included a sweet treat that we don't have in the US.  I hope I won't get hooked since I can't get them here.  Thanks for the awesome package,Val!!

And here is a recent picture of my now two month old Baby M!  I can't believe how quickly the time has gone.

He's so precious!!  He's going to be the model in my next post.

Pinwheels!



Here are my completed potholders for the PP6 swap.  I like how thay turned out and I hope that my partner will, too.  The theme was monotone, thus all of the purple.  My partner let me pick the color.  I think it took me longer to decide what color to use than it did to actually make the potholders.  These are my first ever pinwheels which I mentioned here.  I also put a link to a really cool pinwheel tutorial in that post as well.  They were really quick to cut and piece.

Here is a close up of the quilting.  I love the center of each wheel.  It made a cool looking star! 

FNSI- not so productive

Another FNSI, thanks to Bobbi and Heidi!! Unfortunately, I wasn't as productive as I had planned.  If only I could grow four or five new hands or hire an au pair!  My children all had other plans for my evening, but I did manage to get my Potholder Pass 6 potholders quilted and the bindings partially prepared to put on.  I like how these potholders are turning out.  I hope that my secret partner will enjoy them.  I'm very excited that my shipping deadline is over a month away and I am almost finished.  That doesn't usually happen when I'm working.  I'm loving my time off!

These were my first ever pinwheels.  I have always stayed away from pinwheels because I was afraid of the points not meeting in the middle.  Thanks to a post from Pam's blog, I found out about a super simple way to make pinwheels using a tutorial from the Missouri Star Quilt Company on youtube.  They have a ton of really useful tutorials!  Be sure to check them out!

And if you are looking for my Blogiversary Giveaway just click here.  It is open until Monday AM.

Back from a long blogging respite

Apologies to my blog readers and to the bloggers whose blogs I enjoy!  I had to step away for a bit as life got out of my control.  Too much to do and not enough time!  Hopefully things are under control now and I'll have some time to post and to read my favorite blogs.  I have missed posting quite a few things, so there is lots to catch up on.

 Anyway, I have my potholders for Potholder Pass 4 to share.  I really like these.  I think I got this block pattern from Anna Marie Horner's blog.  It is a lovely argyle block.  I can see myself making more of these blocks for some other projects.  I think they turned out well, although I wish I would have finished them with a binding instead of simply turning them. 

And as you can see from the top picture, I 've been knitting, too.  It's been awhile, but I'm glad I picked up my needles again!  Knitting has been theraputic the past few weeks.  It also travels well to soccer and karate practices.  I knitted a hat for my dad, who recently had brain surgery, but I forgot to take a picture before I gave it to him.  I am making a similar hat right now for a friend who is undergoing chemo for breast cancer, so I'll be sure to take a photo of that one instead.

And on my other set of needles is a little blue hat for my baby on the way!  It will definitely be useful in January when he is supposed to arrive!

FNSI and Potholders!

This is what I worked on for the Friday Night Sew In.  I had hoped to get the borders done too, but I also had to do a lot of baking for a bake sale.  This quilt is for my son's 1st grade teacher who will retire at the end of this year.  Each student created a block for it.  My oldest son also had the same teacher for 1st grade.  She is pretty special to us. 

I also received a special package in the mail this week!  It was my potholder pass 3 package from Karrie.  She is super talented!

Not only did she include potholders, but she also gave me two beautiful towels and a third potholder.  Thank you so much, Karrie!

potholders

Potholder Pass 3- it's not even the deadline and I actually have mine done.  Now that is a good feeling!  I just have to get to the post office and they will be on their cross country journey!

And I haven't posted for a long time, I missed Mama's Day.  Here are a couple of the beautiful creations I got last weekend.  I also got a really nice book of poems that my 9 year old wrote for me.  They made all of these at school.  I have really great kids with really great teachers!

Potholders complete!

Well, I almost passed my deadline for Potholder Pass 2, but just in time I have them completed.  I'm almost embarrassed to show them, but I will.  Let's just say that I'm learning.  

These are the first things I've ever done machine binding on.  I've always done it by hand before.  I hope my swap partner won't be too offended.  I did have fun though, and I'm sure that my next attempt will be much neater!  I also sent along a little tea towel that I made from weaver's cloth and some of the binding fabric.  I think it turned out really cute.

The fabric that I used was Soiree honeybun from Moda.  I really like the springtime feel it has.  I am all about springtime right now.  Just waiting for that warm weather and the birds chirping!  The binding is a batik polka dot that I picked up at JoAnn's.  I really like it and you might be seeing it again soon in another project! 

Potholder Pass 2 MAIL!!! Thank you, CARLA!

Hooray!  I got fabulous mail again!  So much better than a stack of bills!!  I love getting this kind of mail.  Carla from AZ sent me these really fun and pretty potholders!  They are the perfect match for my kitchen.  Just the right colors! Check out Carla's blog  here .  She has so many cool projects to see!

I love the quilting and the cute circle flowers!  She sent me a nice note and a tea towel to match. I love it all!

It is hard to see here, but there is one line of bright blue thread on the back.  It is really cool!

I better get sewing on my potholders!

Perfect Potholders

Thank you, Bobbi!  I LOVE them!

What an amazing way to end the workday!  My potholders from Bobbi  arrived this afternoon!  I am so excited!  They are perfect for my kitchen... brown, blue and coffee!  I don't know how she knew! 

And some super cute fat quarters!  I can't wait to sew them into something spectacular!  Maybe during the Friday Night Sew In.

I absolutely love the potholders! I'm also excited to have a new friend in Nevada! I am SO glad that we joined the potholder pass swap late so that we were partners!

And here are the potholders that I sent to Bobbi...

Like I said previously,the corners need a bit of help, but I'm learning.  I still think they are cute.  And she loves the owls!   I can't wait to start on the next swap!

project complete!

Hurray!  I have officially completed my pot holder pass project!  I can't wait for them to arrive at their new home in a much warmer climate.  

Here is a little sneak peak.  I'll be sure to post them when I'm sure that they have arrived.

I must say, after looking at all of the other potholders which have been posted, I hope that mine will live up to expectations!  I still have a lot to learn, in particular how to create a neat binding.  Any tips for corners??  Practice , practice, practice!  I'll have to sign up for round two!