Here's to TwentyTen!

What a year, What a year! This year has been full of new adventures for my family and myself ;) From moving twice, buying a home, and starting my blog and little Flickr groups with a dear friend…. I have had an exciting time!
However, I must say… I’m very excited for what the New Year will bring! Although, I have been quite blessed with my second year of my Etsy Shop… I think it’s time to retire from my business and start a new adventure ;) Between my local shops, wholesalers, and my dearest of clients… I have produced hundreds and hundreds of rag quilts and have had a blast doing so… but I’m ready to move on to new techniques!
I’m very much looking forward to my three virtual quilting bees that I’ll be participating in this year, my embroidery swaps, fabric swaps, and my fav… The Pillow Talk Swap! It’s been quite a long time that I have made anything for myself or family… so here’s to us this year! Here’s to filling my home with handmade crafts produced by myself and my new friends that I have been so fortunate to have met through 2009!

I truly look forward to our next year together and the newly dedicated time I will have to give our joint endeavors!

Happy New Year friends!

I will leave you with some Pillow Talk Swap favorites!!! { and yes... I realize my Mosaic ability is a little less than par ;) }





1. Pillow for....., 2. Pillow for Swap - Ready to Send, 3. Pillow Talk Swap - done, 4. finished!, 5. going to......., 6. pillow talk swap, 7. front of pillow cover, 8. front of pillow cover, 9. Pillow talk swap finished!, 10. pillow talk front, 11. Pillow Talk Swap - Front View, 12. Swap Pillow, 13. Pillow Talk Swap - For My Partner, 14. Pillow Talk Swap - All Mine, 15. pillow talk swap~ finished!, 16. Pillow Talk Swap (ready to send), 17. pillow swap front, 18. The Pillow Talk { Swap } sent :)), 19. Pillow swap front, 20. pillow talk swap, 21. Pillow Talk {Swap}, 22. Pillow Talk Swap *Sent*, 23. a gorgeous gnome and girl pillow!, 24. Pillow Talk Swap 3, 25. Aren't they lovely together?, 26. Pillow Talk Swap, 27. My Pillow Talk Swap, 28. Pillow swap, 29. The Pillow Talk Swap For Sasikirana - Side B, 30. Pillow Swap Pillow front, 31. Pillow swap back, 32. Wonky Square in Square Pillow 2, 33. SNEAK previews, 34. Pillow talk /finished, 35. Pillow Talk {swap} Button

My SEWing Space...

Today I found some little treasures at K-Mart ( of all places )... apparently they carry Martha Stewart decorations that I thought would be a clever addition to my Christmas tree next year... and they got me thinking, boy... has my sewing room changed! I have ordered my " Capiz Hanging Pendant Lanterns " to hang over my sewing area and I still need to decide on my drapes... but, I think it's really coming along!

The Before...



The After ( in the works... wink, wink )...











My new Lights...



OOOhhh and I almost forgot... my boy toy bought me some goodies today, so I'm off to drool and play ;) I sure hope all your holidays are going as fantastically as mine!

XO, Heather

The Winner!

Wow... all of your stories of thoughtful, warm giving has really made the last few days feel like the holidays! It is always so wonderful to hear how clever loved ones surprises their family and friends with creative ideas that truly inspire! thanks so much for sharing your stories with us and being a part of our holiday season!! ;)

Although, I'm a bit behind on posting the winner of the double give-a-way... Here they are in all their glory!

Here are your random numbers:

136
Timestamp: 2009-12-18 16:19:52 UTC

gina said...
I think my favorite gift giving is when I make something for someone. You sit there with anticipation wondering if they're gonna like it. Then they squeal with delight and rush to go try it on to see if it fits. I love it!!

Hugs,
Gina
www.gigglekidsboutique.com
gina@gigglekidsboutique.com


Congrats Gina!!! I will be contacting you later this evening and passing on your contact info to Leigh too!! :)

Thanks again to everyone for an amazing first year of blogging and having a Flickr account! I can't wait to see what happens in 2010!!

Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

XO, Heather

GIVE - A - WAY !!! Holiday Spirit ~

I must first begin with the fact that my family has been very blessed this year, really... even with all the relocating ;) and I would love to share this spirit with all my wonderful virtual friends during this holiday season!

This, my friends, is a DOUBLE giveaway! Yes, you heard me right... Double! Not only will the very lucky recipient receive a fq of each of this fabrics (which are mostly OOP)... they will also receive a stunning set of earrings ( your choice )for yourself or to give as a gift from the lovely Leigh!



Here are some wonderful examples of what you will find in her Etsy shop!






Now... to the rules! :)

Okay… so if your interested… Here’s whatcha do… please leave a comment on this post with your contact information and a description of your favorite Holiday gift you gave! That’s it! Both Leigh and myself would love to hear how you share your holiday spirit!!!

♥ Ending Entry Date will be at Thursday, December 17th at 9:00pm PST

Now… if you’d like to gain yourself an extra entry… you can blog about this give-a-way, tweet about it, or sign up as a follower for mine or Leigh's blog! Just leave a second comment with your contact info to your cyber shout out you used and which way you chose to spread the word about our blogs, Hearting Leigh's Etsy Shop and this promotion!

Thanks so much for a great year and we hope you have a wonderful holiday season!!

XO, Heather & Leigh

Catch up!

All I can say about my lack of la blogging... is unpacking! It's crazy how much stuff you forget about after moving twice within six months, however... never again! We are home and I am finally starting dig out my sewing room from all the boxes... the change is insane from the original picture, but that's for another post {wink, wink}!

Here's some of my catch ups and sneeky peekys!

DECEMBER ~

The { Munki Munki } Quilt a Long and Swaps











My darling oldest, Reed, has been helping me with the Teacher's Christmas gifts too! Cara ( Me? A Mom ? ) and Kirsten ( threedancingmagpies ) helped me pull together this clever idea for bookmarks! We're just waiting for our paper clips to arrive!



Then a sneeky peeky on my next quilt... The Calypso Star... I'm following this fab tutorial at The Silly BooDilly...



I sure hope everyone is having a wonderful Holiday season and sewing their little hearts out!

XO, Heather

The Pillow Talk { Swap }

Today I finished my Pillow for The Pillow Talk Swap and I sure hope my blind partner is pleased! I used some of my most favorite fabrics of Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy and some (out of print) Japanese fabrics that I think truly represent the beauty of my partner! Here is it is in all it's glory ;)

Munki Munki Snowballs of LOVE !

I am in Love with my Munki Munki Snowballs and not for the reason you all probably assume ;) I LOVE them because I am able to use charms of the fabric that have already been cut & prepared for me by the " Munki Munki Quilt A Long & Swap "! I figured today that if I was ever going to get anywhere near a lap size quilt with my Munki quilt - a - long desire... I would need to make two of these little 9.5' gems each month, soooo... when I went to start cutting into my stash earlier, I realized... duh, no need... I have charms!

Anyone who has made a snowball quilt knows just how fun they are, but those charms made them super quick to sew together too! I sure can't wait for our next Munki Charm Swap {which I'll be hosting, since Kerri so generously did the first}... My block just flew together!

I also started another stitching project! I think I may have a new addition... it's not my fault really, I blame Ariel! Her & Kerri's "Hand Stitched" Embroidery SWAP... it's very me!



I think it's going to look very cool next to my hoop from Kerri! Thanks Kerri!!!

Aqua & Tangerine....

These things I know to be true... The sky is blue, the grass.. green, and I am completely manic about organization! Now... I know you might be shocked by that slight turn of event, since past posts have shown some of my more embarrassing messy moments... but the truth is... I am a manic, organizational freak! This even extends into my love of Flickr. It only took one group for the addiction to take over and now I am admin of more than ten groups, swaps and/ or bees. I recognize that this is a bit wrong and inappropriate, but I just can't help myself { wink, wink } :)

Not only am I so fortunate to have just purchased a home in my hometown of Portland, Or.. I get to decorate it with my latest obsession... Aqua and Tangerine...



These are just some little treasures I have picked up lately at some local Goodwill's...





Please feel free to stop by for more beautiful examples of these color ways at The Sweet { Aqua } Tangerine!

Munki Munki Quilt A Long - Snowball

Hulu rant over... now back to creating yummy quilt blocks ;) I decided after seeing Kerri's, Allison's, and Kate's snowball quilts that the design would work wonderfully in my Munki Munki quilt a long. Since Kerri and I are facilitating a Munki charm swap { hopefully every other month }... I thought what a great way to use the charms... in a snowball quilt! Now each print will be showcased! For anyone interested in this pattern... I used Allison's tutorial with a size twist... Cluck. Cluck. Sew.... My main fabric print is charm size 5 X 5 and I used 2 X 2 inch Kona ( snow colored ) cotton to separate them. I ended up with a 9 1/4 inch block when all was said and done! I think I'm liking it :)

Not Sewing! Ranting...

This is not my typical blog post about sewing... this is a rant about the fact that one of the most fabulous... simultaneous tasks... that I can do while sewing is about to be ruined. Yes people... it is true, Hulu will start charging a membership for their very handy, instant Internet entertainment, catch you up on all your missed TV programs with out commercials, while keeping your mind busy as you're sewing the same patterns for hours... benefit! Can you believe the nerve of them??? I kid. But still, what will I do??? Hulu seems not to even be enough anymore either... I now have a membership to Netflix, so I can rewatch certain TV shows while I'm working. Thank goodness I can count on hours of True Blood, Charmed, Sex in the City, and Buffy... I can't even imagine what my alternative is??? Books on tape??? Of course I did succumb to that while in the middle of Twilight, but please... who wouldn't have if they had custom orders and only so many hours in the day to keep their eyes open??? I mean really!
Priorities people! LOL...

I do honestly kid... but I would sure like to know what others do who spend hours at their machines??? I can only listen to the radio just so much!! :)

Busy Little Garden Gnomes Mini Quilt

Well... I'm all done and just getting done packaging up my first mini quilt swap! I decided after see what other participates were receiving, that I should give one a try and I sure hope my partner is pleased with the results... She asked for Red, Aqua, Turquoise and Gnomes... So, I gave her The Busy Little Garden Gnomes Mini Quilt

MY { Pillow } Swap Talk ARRIVED!

OMGosh!!! Kate, from One Flew Over was my blind partner and I must say she has done a stellar job on my pillow!!! Kate always seems to display a very swanky, clean and modern design to all of her goodies and this pillow is such a wonderful display of her craft ;) I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT, I LOVE IT Kate, Thank you soooo much! You made my day!







It's just Fabulous!

Etsy's Front Page!

There is nothing like the sudden surprise that one of your crafty items has been featured on the Front Page of Etsy! I can't even begin to express the glee I get each and every time... this time it was my Flea Market Fancy infused Lovey with Japanese fabrics!

My Fairy Tale Lovey ~







You can check out the the Etsy Treasury here!

Mushroom Land Embroidery Hoop & more...

I finished my " Hand Stitched " embroidery hope for my partner... Kerri yesterday! I have to admit I was very nervous, since this was my first hoop... I combined several patterns to create a sweet little scene that I hope will be darling in her little girls room! All the artist among this swap have really inspired me to keep going with it and I'm thinking I might bust out some more cuties to mix into my shop quilts???... They are just simply too cute!





You have to check out these made by Sublime Stitching... super modern with a touch of whimsical! I have several and I can say I'm completely addicted!!

http://www.sublimestitching.com/

VINTAGE - LAMPS

THE BLACK APPLE

JULIE WEST

Hannah Montana Doll - Munki Munki

Updated photo!!! I found a size small camie set to match my nieces doll!!! Thanks Kerri!



Okay... so I couldn't help buying one of these dolls of Hannah Montana in the yoga pj's... but now I need to find a set of small Yoga Munki Munki pj's to go with the doll for my niece's Christmas gift... Do any of my darling junkies have a set to spare or know where I can get one??? Thanks!