A Secret Project Revealed!!!

The new book Kitchen Stitches will be out soon—and and I so thrilled to get to announce that I am one of the designers in it!   Squeal of excitement!!!  Goodness, that was a long secret to keep, like almost a year :)  This is my contribution to Kitchen Stitches a Bistro Tablecloth and Napkin set.  The four sides say "Soup", "Salad", "Bread" and "Dessert", so cute ;)  This was such a fun project to make and I am so excited to finally be able to share it :)  

And there will be more Kitchen Stitches fun coming your way.  The publisher, Martingale, is hosting a big blog hop for the book with new sewing-tip videos and 14 book giveaways, PLUS a $100 gift-certificate giveaway.   You can “Like” them on Facebook to be sure you’ll be in the know when it all starts on January 30th.  And of course I will be posting here as well ;)   

It's a Happy Quilting Day for sure around here!!!!  Hope your's is as well ;)

Some Oakshott Geese

This weekend I finally pulled my beautiful Italy Oakshott bundle off the shelf.  I was hesitant to take the ribbon off, it just looks so cute and perfect all bundled up.  (Please say I am not the only one that has a hard time unwrapping beautiful bundles :)  But once the ribbon was off, I got to work.

A bit of pressing, some quick cutting, and before I knew it I had a lovely pile of large colored squares and two little piles of grey squares.  The grey squares are still waiting to be turned into some Half Square Triangles because I went to work on those gorgeous rich colored squares.

And this morning, I have a beautiful gaggle of geese in stunning Oakshott Cottens.  Oh my, oh my, they are just so pretty!!!  I used my favorite No-Waste Flying Geese Method to make the geese but I increased the sizes just a 1/8" so that I could trim them.

Then I used my awesome Bloc-Loc Flying Geese ruler to trim them all up so perfect.  I can't wait to sew them into my planned block and see all of those perfect points ;)  But I do have to say sorry here, as I can't show that planned block.  Yup, another one of those secret projects, what ya gonna do :)

But before I start whipping up those Half Square Triangles and making blocks, I best do some laundry and I don't know, maybe take down the Christmas Tree.  Oh ya, it's time ;)

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Cotton Bliss Winner

Just popping in real quick today to announce the winner of the Cotton Bliss $25.00 Gift Certificate

   

Congrats Linda B.!!  Enjoy your Shopping!!!

And if you didn't win today, you can always try your luck at the giveaway I announced yesterday as part of the Quilt. St. George Blog Hop ;)

Hope you have a Happy Quilting Weekend!!

Quilt St. George Blog Hop and Giveaway

I am so excited to be teaching at Quilt St. George in just a little under 2 weeks!!!!  What a great way to start the new year.   This is the first year of this retreat and for a little first year, new year fun, the creators of Quilt St. George have put together a great little Blog Hop hosted by the teachers of Quilt St. George.  And today's my turn!!!

 I will be teaching 3 classes at Quilt St. George.  First off is my Braided Irish Chain pattern on Tuesday morning, followed by my Summer Breeze pattern on Tuesday afternoon.  That evening there will be a wonderful Meet the Teachers event as well as a seminar hosted by Dr. Bob of Superior Threads.  (So very excited!!!)   And lastly, on Wednesday morning I will be teaching my The Way The Crow Flies pattern.  

Each of these quilts are so fun to put together and I am so excited to be teaching classes on them.  As you can see, they all have their own feel and provide for lots and lots of color options.  I can't wait to see what everyone chooses.  Seeing all of the different fabrics is one of my favorite parts of teaching ;)    My Braided Irish Chain Class is full but there is still room in the other 2 classes.  It's not to late to sign up, I would love to see you there.  We are going to have such a great time!!!!

And for more great times and classes, be sure to check out all of the stops along the blog hop.

Superior threads January 2nd
The Superior Blog
http://www.superiorthreads.com/blog/  

Melissa Corry  January 3rd
Happy Quilting Blog
www.happyquiltingmelissa.blogspot.com

Sandra Starley January 4th

Antique and Vintage Quilts Blog  from Textile Time Travels 

http://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com/

Yvette Jones January 5th
http://www.vetmari.com/blog.html

Annie Unrein January 6th
Blogs By Annie 
http://byanniecom.blogspot.com/

Lynette Bingham January 7th
Main Street Quilt Cottage Blog
http://mainstreetquiltcottage.blogspot.com/

Sandra Starley January 8th

Art Quilt and Reproduction Quilt Blog from Quilt Art Star  

 http://starleyquilts.blogspot.com/

And let's finish out with another little great time opportunity . . .  lets do a Giveaway.  Oh yes, there will be some super fun giveaway along this blog hop :)

For 3 lucky readers, I will be giving away 3 patterns each, you can choose your favorites :)

For a chance to win . . . Just leave me a comment telling me which three patterns you would choose :)

And that's it.  1 entry per person max and everyone is welcome to enter.  I will choose the winners Thursday the 9th, at the close of the blog hop :)  Good Luck and Happy Quilting!!!

My Christmas Surprise

So my sweet husband pulled out all the stops this Christmas and got me a super special surprise for Christmas.  A Nikon D3200!!!!  Oh, my goodness, oh my goodness!!!!

  

We didn't get a picture of me opening the gift so I have done my best to recreate the facial expression I had at the moment I saw my new camera. It was a pretty even mix of shock and joy.   It looked a little like this :)   And that was followed quickly by tears, what can I say, I am a crier ;)

So here's the thing.  I have no idea what I am doing, but I am so eager to learn!!!  I am just so excited, I know the possibilities are endless (heck, the buttons on the camera seem endless :)  So I have a question for you??

Where do I start???   Do you know any fabulous websites that go over some of the basics of using a camera like this??  I am very much a visual learner and ya, the manual is pretty much going over my head.  Is there a fantastic Craftsy video you might have taken that walked you through how to use one of these??   I am a blank slate here so please, please, fill me up with your suggestions :)