oh for the love of embroidery hoops..............

simply said.... i. love. embroidery hoops.

I saw a pouch on pinterest with this little sewing machine on it for the person's sewing notions as they travel and I just fell in love with the scrappy little machine.

So here is what I was inspired to make for my girlfriend's birthday

It's a small hoop just about 6 inches but the little machine is so stinking sweet. Now I'm itching to make myself one for my bare wall in my sewing room.

Happy Birthday A!

MQG Madrona Road Challenge

I am so excited. I am finally done and was able to meet the challenge's deadline. Here's my Madrona Road wonky star wall hanging. It's already hanging in my foyer and I love it. Wasn't sure about the yellow background at first but it really grew on me! My guild chose a stars and stripes theme for the challenge so I pieced the wonky stars and quilted on the stripes. The stars are all nestled in with each other and I love the random order of it. 

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This is my favorite star, i think because of the center fabric. 

Not sure if you can tell in the pics, but I played with the binding and made a few of the stars part of the binding. I really love this effect. It might be easier to see in the larger picture. I quilted with a 12 weight aurifil wool thread. It was a gorgeous variegated yellow. It looks really good in person and you can see the extra thick stitches opposed to normal cotton thread.

I have a few more finished projects to still post, it's been a very productive January!

Advent Calendar with Print out

 So, the advent season is quickly closing in on us and our house is fully decorated! Yeah! We scaled back a little this year, but the lights are on outside, the tree is up and the stockings are hung. 

With Elise now here some of our traditions are changing to be more baby friendly and there have been a few added. This year, after begging Brian he made me an advent calendar. There was a debate on whether it should be quilted or made of wood. Each wanting the other to make it....guess I won. :).

 

The concept is very simple, each day we flip over a block and it reveals another word to our Christmas verse. Luke 2:11. After turning the block we have a coordinating verse to read out of the bible, thus preparing our hearts for the season. 

Brian made it so it can either hang on the wall or sit on a table. This year, we just took off a picture from the wall and replaced it, so no extra whole in the wall. 

 

After Brian made the shelf and blocks....i.e a lot of sanding, I introduced him to the world of mod podge. Love that stuff. So we created the labels and mod podged them on.

 If you have your own advent calendar already or were hoping to make one, you still have a little time. Here's our daily reading we'll be using. You can also do this with candles or just getting together as a family for a short time each night before bed just to read works just as well.

I think it's important to take a little time to slow down during this busy season and just refocus on what's really important.

Are you adding any new traditions this year?

Sudan Wall Hanging

My wall hanging using my fabrics from Sudan and my dyed fabrics is finally completed. I am so excited with how it turned out and love it hanging on the wall in my entry way. The lighting isn't the greatest in the pictures but it's visible.

 Here it is on my design wall before completion. The lighting is much better in my sewing room to bring out the true colors.

Here is a pic of the backing and the original fabric that was given to me. My mom heads back to Sudan in less than a month and I can't wait to see what treasures she brings back this time!