Tree Skirt

I got my Christmas tree on sale after Christmas 2006. Once I had the tree, I realized I needed accessories. This tree skirt is one of the few projects I've made that I can say is completely hand-sewn. I think I figured it would be easier to hem a circle by hand than on the machine. The center hole is bit bigger than necessary, but it turned out pretty well considering I made it before taking the tree out of the box. I used some of the left over fabric for some of the ornaments I made last year.

Kitty Ornament

My mom and sister love their cats, so last year I made them these kitty-themed ornaments. They're one of my favorite designs - I love the paw print fabric and the kitty button! Thanks again to mom and dad for sending a picture.

Try one yourself using this tutorial.

Christmas Ornament 2008

These are the Christmas-themed ornaments I made for my family members last year. Thanks to my parents for sending a picture since I didn't make one for myself. Instead of covering the seam with matching fabric as usual, I used gold ribbon on these. The buttons on the top are little red hearts. You can see the fabric a little better in the picture of my tree skirt.

Try one yourself using this tutorial.

Dabbled Feature

Decorating for the holidays? Check out Dabbled.org for a round-up of Handmade Christmas Ornament Tutorials. You may recognize a certain shamrock ornament.
For more ideas, there's also last year's feature, Bunches of Christmas Ornaments.

Quilt Block #51

I created this block solely because I wanted to use this bird. I originally purchased 1/4 yard of this fabric just because it yielded several different designs for my Cathedral Window quilt. The bird is also featured there, and I liked it so much I felt the need to highlight it a bit more in another project.

Pumpkin Cards

These are my Thanksgiving cards for this year. I know the pumpkins might be more appropriate for Halloween, but they were just too cute to pass up. They're not as intricate as last year's, since I used stickers instead of cutting out paper leaves. As you can see, I couldn't decided whether I liked the orange or green background better. When it came down to actually reading what I had written in them, I decided the orange was a better choice.

Quilt Block #50

I love this block mostly because it is so very accurate. All the intersections are unusually precise for me, which is amazing considering I didn't do anything different to achieve this. Despite the picture, it is actually square.

Quilt Block #49

This block turned out to be exactly the design I had in mind, but I think the solid red and brown fabrics detract from the overall look. I really like the red and brown print, but it didn't end up standing out.

Quilt Block #48

This block is admittedly kind of boring. However, it's exactly what I had in mind, so in that respect it turned out well. I just wish I had considered ahead of time my trouble with matching seams.

Quilt Block #47

Some time it amazes me how long it takes me to pair fabrics with a design. This block, which should have come together a lot sooner, is a perfect example of that. This design has been on my list of possibilities for a while, and it's the perfect fit for these fabrics. I had only a little bit of the daisy fabric left over from the pot holders and butterflies I made for my aunt, and I wanted to make sure you could actually tell that the yellow fabric had polka dots, so I needed a design that maximized one fabric and minimized the other. Voila!

Quilt Block #46

I really like the colors in this block. The blue and green fabrics look great together, and the fact that the design on the blue fabric doesn't line up doesn't really detract from the overall effect. However, I do wish that I'd paid attention to the little clusters of dots so that they were all properly oriented.

Quilt Block #45

I started this block with nothing particular in mind, except attempting to build something out of the four flower squares. For a block without a concrete plan, I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

Quilt Block #44

I have, at long last, resumed the Quilt Block Project with the goal of completing either 45 or 48 blocks (3 quilts of 15 blocks each or 4 quilts of 12 blocks each). I think now I might go for an even 50, so I'll have replacements for a couple of the less attractive blocks.

For this block, I was inspired to use left over bits of a fat quarter I originally made use of in my Cathedral Window quilt. I was not at all sure how this color combination would work, but I love it! This is definitely my new favorite block!

Replacing Windows

Last month I got some new fabrics, and I was kind of sad that I couldn't fit them into my Cathedral Window quilt. In my impatience I had included these six not-so-attractive blue fabrics, so I replaced them with the new fabrics, which are much more attractive.

Quilt Will

I am not yet 30; I don't have a regular will.

However, I decided I wanted to leave a list of which quilts I wanted my friends and family members to have should I die. Living so far from where I spent most of my life, Zack hasn't met most of my friends, so he would have no idea who should get one, let alone which one. I compiled pictures of them and put everyone's names next to the ones I want them to have. Obviously, like any real will, it will change over time, as I make more quilts.

I don't think this is that odd. Like any other important possession, I imagine this is something other people might include in a will, or at least make some similar provision.

My mother thinks this is morbid and doesn't understand why I think of things like this. Nonetheless, she also thinks she should get all my quilts. My sister thinks she should trump my husband because she's known me longer. Zack commented that even though we're married, I only left one to him. (It is my favorite.)

Regardless of what they think, it makes me feel better.