I love good mail, but surprise good mail is even better.  Melissa sent me some cute potholders.  They are so fantastic and were used pretty much as soon as the package was opened.  Not only are they super cute, but they are well-loved.  Just look at the melted butter stain.  Thank you, friend.  Your thoughtfulness made my day week.

I now have an overwhelming urge to stop camera strap production and whip up a bunch of potholders.  Seriously.  I already have the insulated batting and lots of fabric on hand.  Hmmm....

Resistance is probably futile.

Thanks for laughing with me about the Heineken film.  I appreciate all the film tips.  I'm headed to Target tomorrow and am going to take a look while I am there.  Fingers crossed.

Remember how I said I have a hard time finding my cell phone in the bottom of my bag?  No more.

I bought myself a cell phone charm from Blair.  It's so cute, it kind of kills me.  It jingles when I'm digging in the bag so I can find the phone now.  Yay!  She has a few more in her shop - they are very reasonably priced.  If you don't want one for yourself, maybe as a small gift (or stocking stuffer) for someone you know.  She has some charm bracelets for sale, too.  They'd be a great gift - I have one and I adore it.

Back tomorrow or Monday with the hat pattern.  I'm waiting on my photographer....

I have spent the last few weeks reading The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket.  The book arrived on my doorstep, courtesy of STC Craft.

Reading this book was a comfort to me.  I loved the way Jane explored the things that she loves to do, which are coincidentally some of the things I like too.  Beyond the sewing and the knitting, her ponderings struck a chord with me on so many levels.  The photos are inviting, the words captivating and the tone welcoming.  I didn't read her blog before I read this book, but I will now.  It's that wonderful.

And lucky for you, I have an extra copy for sharing.  If you would like the book, leave a comment on this post before Saturday, September 13th and I will use the random number generator to choose a winner.

Hope you are having a great day.

Awhile back, Lisa Leonard asked if I wanted to have a little swap.  If you have seen her jewelry, you can understand why I did not hesitate one bit.  The hardest part was choosing what I wanted!

I decided on the open circle necklace with my initials on it.  And it is perfect.  Simple and elegant - it is just as great with a t-shirt and a skirt as it is with a pretty summer dress.  The preppy me loves the single pearl and the monogram.  I adore it.  I am sure that I will buy more of Lisa's jewelry  - for myself and for gifts.  She has so many beautiful baubles to choose from!

Thanks, Lisa!  I am so happy we swapped.  Back tomorrow with details on what I sent.

I wanted to thank everyone that sent me sheet scraps by sending them a little something in return.

I bought a stack of moleskins with the intent of taking pieces from my scrap box and making some stitched notebooks similar to the ones in Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts.  Once I finished my quilt, though, I took a different course.

I used more of the sheet scraps and made bloom notebooks.  I was a bit concerned that all the stitching would weaken the cover, but it didn't.   I took the same approach to the stitching as I did in my bloom quilt except that my letters turned out WAY better on these.  I think it was because they are on a smaller scale, but who knows?  I love how they turned out.

Everyone was so generous adding to my fabric garden with their scraps.  I wouldn't have been able to make my quilt without their help.  This is just a small token of my appreciation.  Thanks to all 16 of you!
(Tonya, I didn't mail yours.  I will get it to you when I get home).

I think you will probably see more stitched paper from me in the future.  These were so fun to make and the ideas keep coming.

Happy Tuesday!

When I opened the envelope from Jen six weeks ago, I was thrilled to see the word bloom.  The first thing that came to mind was the saying, "Bloom where you are planted."  And I knew exactly how I wanted to proceed even though I wasn't sure how it would all come together.

Although wordplay is a collaboration with Tracy and Emily, I wanted this project to go further.  I imagined a wider collaboration, something that I could make with bits and pieces given to me from different people.  I was thinking about flowers and gardens and how so often people dig plants up and divide them between neighbors and friends.  That's what I wanted:  a community garden of fabric.  And so, I asked for vintage sheet scraps and boy, oh boy, did you guys comethrough for me!  Seventeen of you to be exact.  There are just somany good floral prints in a wonderful color palette in those oldlinens.  I wanted a large variety and small bits.  You all had the best stash of scraps a girl could wish for.  And you were willing to share - for that, I thank you.

I found this aqua linen on clearance and thought it would be a perfect background for the various colors in the sheet scraps.  I began by cutting out concentric circles from different prints - just eyeing them and cutting, no tracing was done here.  Once I had a decent stack of "blooms", I started laying them out on the fabric to see what I had.  I cut some more flowers until I had a random scattering around the perimeter.  I had planned on embroidering the saying by hand in the middle somehow, but felt I needed something to signify myself to anchor it so I cut the one large bloom for that space.

I appliqued the individual flowers to the quilt top by stitching three straight lines across each one.  My original plan was to tie the center of the flowers using embroidery floss, but once I had the quilt sandwiched, I realized that I would need more quilting to hold it nicely together.   I improvised by quilting three circles around one flower.  Initially, I wasn't looking for the wavy lines that I got, but when I stood back to look at it, it was perfect.  It reminded me of my favorite flowers and I smiled.

I had so many scraps to choose from that I ended up using some for a strip of patchwork on the back.  I sewed a label on there, too.  It got quilted over and I really like how it made it blend in a bit more.  The quilting on the back is my favorite part.  Even if the words read backwards, I like it.

I think "bloom" and "Bloom where you are planted" are about finding your hidden potential no matter what your circumstances are at the moment.  I know that if you had asked me nine years ago where I would be in 2008, I would have never imagined that my life as I know it.  I would not be living in this town.  I would have more children.  I would not be sewing as much as I do and certainly not quilting.  I might be knitting.  I would not be writing and designing.  And I most certainly would not have this group of peers, people that I have never met in person, that support, encourage and inspire me.  But I do!  What a great surprise!  And I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing talent.  I have planted myself in this blogging community and in turn, you have planted seeds of inspiration in me.  With a little of my own creativity and time, I am growing in directions I had never imagined.

I had fun making this quilt.  I haven't made anything for myself in a long time and I plan on keeping this one.  It measures 45" x 51" - a perfect summer-nap-in-the-chair size.  Thanks, Jen, for a great word to get me started and thanks, too, Emily and Tracy for playing along.

Life is about the now, not the past or the future.  And if you are successful in living in the moment, I think that you have no choice but to bloom.

I love my train case, made for me by my friend, the super talented Meg.  It came last week when I was feeling down in the dumps about running.  The timing was perfect and I adore it, especially because it is yellow and has houses and the illustrations are embroidered.  Thanks Meg!

And I have found a craft that I can do with the wrist brace on.  This is one of Hillary's Stitchettes...I finished the summer, fall and winter ones last year.  On to spring!

Helen is a bunny who likes a bit of an adventure.

On Tuesday, she put on her shoes

and her favorite pink sweater and headed out for new lands.  Arizona is far away, but she knows that her new friend, Mary, is waiting for her.

After they play for a long time, Helen thinks she'll be ready for a nap.  It's a good thing she packed her pillow and quilt.

Sweet dreams Helen.  We will miss you.

Helen is from wee wonderfuls put-together book 1.  Her sweater is also a wee wonderfuls pattern.  The doll quilt and pillow were made by me without a pattern.  Making Helen and her things was so much fun for me.  Thanks so much for swapping with us, Jen and Mary.  We love everything you sent!

Click on the photo to see the great things we got!  They also sent us two great books, but Kate has hidden them somewhere.  Most likely, they are in her bed.

Happy leap day everyone!