A Few More Projects Complete

Here's a quick look at my finished Hideaway quilt! I love the machine leaf stitch but my poor sewing machine didn't like doing it that much : (  I think it's best to use that stitch for smaller projects next time.

My mom adores sunflowers and I wanted to give her a very special present so I made this place mat for her the other day. It was my first time making a Dresden plate. It was really fun and pretty easy. The only thing I had a heck of a time with was centering the sunflower on my larger circle. I tried a few tricks and thought I had it right but as I sewed it all together it kind of slipped to one side slightly. You can see one of the petals touching the border ~ that wasn't suppose to happen. I think I may be making a felt butterfly to add a little something special to it. I think it would be pretty cute near the brown center of the flower!

I'm excited to get going on my Dream On quilt but am at a stand still for now with large projects. it looks like with our temporary move up to the cooler mountains of Northern California very soon I won't have time to do anything for a while. Although yesterday I made some pin toppers of flowers that remind me of Dream On! I'll be posting pics either later today or tomorrow!
Happy Creating everyone!

Hugs,
Gigi

A Shout Out to Pretty By Hand

If anyone liked Julie & Julia you're sure to love what my friend Kristyne up in Canada is doing! It will be a very fun quilt along for charity ~ she's starting Monday March 28th. Please see her lovely blog Pretty By Hand for all the details : ) I'm going to try and quilt along as best as I can but being a beginner quilter I'm not sure if I will be able to keep up or not. I'll for sure try my best!

Quilting Project #1 Complete

I was pretty excited to finish this the other night. I became so engrossed in it that I stayed up until 2 am and managed to wash and dry too! I suppose that's the rewarding part - to see if all fluffy and warm right out of the dryer : ) I didn't follow a pattern ~ just instinct. I made the binding out of the same cream cotton as the back. I machine stitched a cute leaf pattern throughout which I really like a lot.

I also finished up the top of the big Summer quilt too : ) That's Big Red holding it up for all to see! His wing span is pretty impressive!

When I was falling asleep last night I imagined a light blue backing with white clouds sewn on to it ~ I guess whenever I think of the word dream I think of clouds! I'm hoping to head to the fabric store tomorrow to get the stuff for the back. I really love the soft colors ~ like an Easter basket : )

Charm Pack Fun

As many of you know I am a long time lover of quilts but never have any time to make any of my own. As of this year that is going to change! It seems a bit ironic that my little shop Pinks & Needles caters to mostly quilters! Don't you think it's about time I make quilts of my own?! I mean seriously! So I bought a few charm packs and went completely hog wild with them this past week. The problem is I have no fabric to back any of them and no batting either (well that isn't 20 years old)....hmmm...time to take a trip over the overpass to Palm Springs and get in gear. Anyway, here are a few pics of what I have been working on:

Hideaway Picnic Blanket ~  once finished this will be the perfect size for two people to sit on...oh and a small dog too but only if he doesn't steal the chicken salad sandwiches! Bruiser I'm talking to you buddy : )

 It's a Hoot Table Runner ~ I'm thinking about giving this to my Auntie Ruthie who loves crazy patterns and lots of color! I think adding lots of misc. buttons and fun stitches will be so cute!

 Dream On Summer Quilt ~ for our bed. The colors are so beautiful and we have a lot of greens and oranges and white going on in there : )

I'm really looking forward to all of my Charm Pack WIPs! Should keep me very busy this Summer!

WINNERS OF THE GIVEAWAY HAVE BEEN CHOSEN!

A big huge thank you to all who commented on my blog, flickr page or who purchased anything from my shop in the month of February! Winners were picked at random out of a basket : ) Drum roll please......

The Winner of the cute pair of Fairy Winged Scissors is: Carole Stitches (on Etsy)! Please follow this link to pick up your prize! Pink Fairy Winged Scissors! 
Proceed through check out as normal - you will be reimbursed through Paypal : )

The Winner of the hand sculpted Banana Yellow Lollipop Ornament is: Cupcake DD (on flickr)! Please follow this link to pick up your prize! Banana Yellow Lollipop Ornament!
Proceed through check out as normal - you will be reimbursed through Paypal : )

The Winner of the Cherry Swirly Lollipop Pin Topper is: 7 Cherry (on flickr)! Please follow this link to pick up your prize! Cherry Swirly Lollipop Pin Topper!
Proceed through check out as normal - you will be reimbursed through Paypal : )
Thanks again everyone for participating! I am hoping to hold another Giveaway sometime in the month of March so please check back soon for details!

Have a wonderful day today~
Gigi