Happy Birthday, Dancer!

No, it's not that Dancer's birthday. It's my daughter's birthday! She is such a fun person to be around. She makes us laugh everyday! Typical teenager...texting, Twilight, friends, Ipod....and of course shopping at the mall! Once in a while there is a little drama...ok...maybe a lot of drama, after all, she is a teenage girl!




Piece & Love,
Dawn

Wrap It Up!

I just finished the last binding for my table runners. Yipee!! All of these table runners are Christmas presents! I am trying to do a homemade pledge that I first saw on Stephanie's blog during the summer. So far so good...but I still have a ways to go!



The pattern I used is by Heather Muler Peterson's Charmed and Dangerous. I like this book a lot! She has super cute patterns! The charm packs I used are Cotton Blossoms, Thimbleberries and Doll Dresses. And I have to say...I am pattin' myself on the back!



I made this ginormous bag for my sweet mom who is currently in a rehab facility. Our family hopes she will be home soon. When she gets home she will more than likely be wheelchair bound. So I made this bag to put on the back of her wheelchair. The chair certainly needs something cute on it don't ya think?

Instead of making shoulder straps I made tie straps so we can easily tie it to the back of the chair. Another pat on the back for me...I came up with that one on my own!



Now head on over to my friend Nanette's blog. She is having a week long Happy Anniversary Blog 7 days/ways to win giveaway. Just look...don't comment...'cause I really want to win! LOL!

Piece & Love,
Dawn

Makin' Prezzies

I know Christmas is in a few weeks, but around here I am still dealing with birthdays! So I wanted to show you some of the birthday gifts I've been working on. I have already given away two of the bags to my November birthday friends and still have one left. I won't need to send it until January though. It is Helen's pattern.

I changed the one in the middle bag to a pirate theme cause it was for my friend and teacher at our local high school and we are the Pirates. (Oh, and by the way, we just took state in football...go Pirates!) I filled it with lotion, candy, soup, Tylenol and a few other essentials for a 6 hour kit. (You know instead of a 72hr. kit. LOL)



And here are some needle cases I made. I was on a roll...I just love Anni Down's book, Simple Pleasures. She has oodles of patterns in the book along with ideas on how to use them. I will be using this book a lot!



I am ready to start on my Christmas gifties! Jingle Jingle!

One added note: I can reveal my Stitchers Angel recipient....Susana of Susan Patch. My gifties went all the way to Spain!

Piece & Love,
Dawn

Do You Remember Tri-chem?

I have fond memories of Tri-chem. My mom's friend, Vi, sold the product much like selling Tupperware. There were lots of Tri-chem parties at our house growing up. When I googled Tri-chem I was surprised to find it still sells today.



My mom saved these blocks I painted many years ago. I think I must have been about 10 years old, which puts the years in the early 70's. (I know I just dated myself!) I love these little blue kitties! We embroidered everything until Tri-chem came along and then we painted everything. I found this blue kittie fabric to use as sashing between the blocks. It was the perfect fabric! I hand quilted each block. My kitties are now complete!


Here are a few pressies just for leaving a comment on a blog! This blogging thing is soooo much fun! This one came from Luann at Bare Foot Quilter in the Garden. (I can't find her...her blog disappeared from my bloglines.) It is a darling sewing roll!



See the candle on the right? It smells yummy! It has a light in the center so I get the look of a candle and the smell of a candle without the smoke of a real candle. Thank you to my new blogging friends over at Prim Friends Network. You should check them out cause they have giveaways often!



Piece & Love,
Dawn

Happy Birthday! Merry Christmas!

This week was my son's birthday! I officially have an adult child. I have very mixed emotions on the subject. Part of me wipes my brow and thinks, "Phew, I made it!" (Well, at least this far....) And then the other part of me says, "What happened to my baby?" I'm not old enough to have an adult child... I'm only 29 ya know!! Right now he is in Tennessee serving a mission for our church. Happy Birthday Son!



Here is a collage of pictures of my cutie patootie! When he graduated from High School he joined the Volunteer Fire Department in our community and he also went to school to become an EMT-B (Emergency Medical Technician-Basic). But when he turned 19 he decided to go on a mission. What a great decision! I am ultra proud of him!



Now on to Merry Christmas...I put the final touches on my Sister's Christmas present. I am showing it now cause she is getting it on Thanksgiving. My sister still uses a sheet under her tree every year, so I thought it was about time for her to have a 'real' tree skirt! She will get her gift early thus she will be able to use it this year. I am pleased on how it turned out. I used Thimbleberries Star Swirl Tree Skirt pattern and fabrics.





Now after Thanksgiving I can tell my sister I have a blog..
Piece & love,
Dawn

I'm In a Bind!

I was in a binding mood this week. Not because I enjoy binding quilts, it was because I had time to do it. My mom recently got out of a nine day ICU stay at the hospital and between the two hour long driving trips to visit her and now 'grandma-sitting' for my dad, I bound a few quilts.



This one I made at Relief Society. A group of us quilters decided to teach some of the women in our ward how to quilt. This is the row quilt we started with! Can you believe it? Do you think we could have picked an easier pattern? But I have to say...I think each one of the women can pick out any pattern and 'go for it'! I used a lot of scraps from my stash. What a nice feeling to use stash fabrics without purchasing more. (See my sweet Annie? She loves quilts too!)


This quilt was a BOM from Mormon Handicraft in St. George, Utah. My daughter wants it really bad! We'll see...after all Christmas is coming!



I have a few more to go...

Piece & Love,
Dawn

Hoppin' & Shoppin'

Oh, what fun I had! The annual Las Vegas, Nevada Quilt Shop Hop was this weekend. Sherri, Gail (no blog) and I hopped to all the quilt shops and did some shoppin'. Each quilt shop gave out a delicious pattern and fun little prizes if you made a purchase. This year we only had 5 shops to hop to but that was ok by me cause that meant more time to shop and more time to eat lunch!


We saved the best for last on our hop! The Goose went all out with The Wizard of Oz theme. The great Oz spoke and we (scarecrow, cowardly lion and tin man) met Dorothy at the door and followed her down the yellow brick road to the Emerald City. Oh boy, oh boy...what a treat we had in store! The Great Wizard had many of her new quilt patterns and samples to show us! What a surprise!

Doesn't Dorothy look cute in her blue gingham apron?!



Here are a few things I purchased. I have plans for it all! Hopefully, in future posts you will see some of these fabrics.



Hope you enjoyed a peek of my fun filled Shop Hop! I can't wait till next year!

Piece & Love, Dawn

Happy Halloween

This is a Halloween quilt I made last year. It is one of my favorite quilts.
Halloween/Fall is a favorite at our house...especially for my husband. He truly enjoys the entire process from decorating to handing out candy to the 'trick-or-treat'ers.
Happy Halloween!

Piece & Love,
Dawn

Mail Call

Look what arrived in the mail...all the way from Australia! I just knew it had to be from my Stitchers' Angel. Sure enough, it was....Do you want to know what's in it? And who it is from?



Can you believe it? I (heart) everything! My Angel is very generous, don't you think? She did a fantastic job on all her projects. I am so glad I gave my couch caddy away. The one my angel made me matches my couch exactly! I know she had a tough time finding "Civil War" fabrics. I wasn't thinking that my angel might possibly be from another country. 'Civil War'...it's a state side thing! I'm glad you can't see my red cheeks...

So are you ready for me to reveal who my Stitchers' Angel is? My Angel is Dawnie from Itching For Stitching. Go check our her blog, she is awesome! Thank you Dawnie...hugs!



My BOMs from Fat Quarter Shop are coming along. This quilt is going to be gorgeous!



Piece & Love,
Dawn

Leavin' On A Jet Plane

I finished my Stitchers' Angel projects! Wahoo! Applause greatly appreciated!... So this is what I made and it has been shipped off to someone far, far away! I made the caddy designed by Helen along with a needle keeper, scissor tag and pin cushion. I also added the cute pattern from Meg along with all the DMC floss to go with the project. We always need a stitchin' project to work on ya know. I hope she likes her pressies.

Here is a big shout out to all the designers:
Helen of Hugs and Kisses
Natalie of Cinderberry Stitches
May Britt our "favourite" blogger from Norway
Karen of Cottonspice
Lynette of Lynette Anderson Designs
Tracy of Plumcute Designs
Sue of Patchwork with Busy Fingers

Now I want to show you what came in the mail. Recently, Melissa hosted a Cottage Open House and the party was a blast! I even got to come in my jammies. I toured some grand cottages, played fun games and had treats. Of course Mel had prizes to go along with the games....and I was the recipient of one of the spectacular prizes! Another Wahoo! So this is the prize I won! Thanks for the invite!


The prize came from Nanette of Freda's Hive. Her patterns are marvelous! I was skippin when I saw both patterns in the package! I can't wait to get started! Take a look at those vintage fabrics. Are they razzle-dazzle or what?!.. Thanks Nanette!

Piece & love,
Dawn

Pumpkins and Place Mats

Fall is my favorite time of year! Many wonderful events happen in fall for me and my family. Both of my children were born in the fall, my husband and I were born in the fall and I was sealed to my hubby for time and all eternity in the fall. There are many other wonderful things I love about fall...the cooler weather, the brilliant color of fall leaves, sweaters, hot chocolate, Thanksgiving, pumpkin cake...the list can go on and on...

I just picked up my "Pumpkins 4 Sale" wall hanging just in time for fall. Take a look at the quilting. Andrea is one the most talented long arm quilters' I know . I took a few close-up pictures of her stitching so you can get a good look. Isn't it wonderful?!!

Now on to place mats...while I was at Christmas Goose I picked up a copy of "Quilts & Gifts" from American Patchwork & Quilting's favorite picks. It has a lot of fun and dazzling projects of gifts for every occasion. When I saw the pattern for these place mats I knew I had the perfect gift for my cousin's daughter who is getting married in a few weeks. I am pleased on how they turned out. I hope she likes them!

I have finished all my Stitchers' Angel projects and they are ready to to be shipped off to someone far, far away. I will give you a sneek peek soon. FUN FUN FUN!!

Piece & love,

Dawn

Give O Giveaway

Hello everybody! I am having my first giveaway! I should have taken a picture of my happy feet. Oh, well..... I guess I spared you on that one; I do need a pedicure! Anyway back to the giveaway! I am participating in the Fall into Fall Quilters Giveaway. Click on the sidebar or here and you can participate too or just enter all the quilter's giveaways. It is going to be soooo much fun!

So here is my Give O Giveaway:





This is what you get and these are the rules. Grumble, grumble...I know, I know ...I tell my kids there are ALWAYS rules...

My prizes are a cute scarecrow, a potholder and dish towel made by me (from the Acorn Hollow book by Nancy Halversen) and a Moda charm pack!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post between now and October 14! Tell me something you are "thankful for" and I will put you name in the drawing. This is open to bloggers and no-bloggers (as I was once a no-blogger, but I have reformed). If you are a no-blogger I need your email address.

Good luck! I will announce the winner on October 15!

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!
With the help of DD...she picked #4
Kim of Kim's Quilting Adventure

Apron and Ironing board

Disclaimer: I think every picture I took is blurry! I am a terrible photographer....

Let me show you some of the things I've accomplished this week. Recently I won a few giveaways and I wanted to show you what I did with my prizes. This one came a few days ago from Nadine at Material Girls. It is fabric and a all the trimmings to make an ironing board cover.



And here is my new ironing board! Thanks Nadine...It looks beautiful. Isn't it a fun print? My DD especially liked the pink and black. I told her she could use the new ironing board whenever she wanted. She just laughed....



Here is my next win....Can you guess who gave away these wonderful Japanese fabrics? You guessed it! Ayumills of Pink Penguin. These fabrics are absolutely delightful! At first I didn't want to do anything , I just liked to look at them. But then the need to make something took over. Look out...



This is what I made first. It is the basket designed by Ayumills of Pink Penguin. It it such a fun and easy basket to make. This is the fourth basket I made. Did you notice the teapot button?




Finally, I made an apron out of another one of the pieces. I love aprons. Now I need to decide if I want to keep it for myself or give it away as a gift.



Thanks ladies! I noticed on Ayumil's blog she has a new bag tutorial. I can't wait to make that one too!

Piece & love,
Dawn

Arsenic and Old Lace

is one of my all time favorite classic movies. Cutie, cutie Cary Grant learns on his wedding day his favorite aunts have murdered their 13 gentlemen friends. He also learns that insanity runs in his family. Speaking of favorite aunts, old lace and insanity in the family...

My Aunt Shirley (one of my favorites) came by to visit this week and brought me this:



This old lace was made by my great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth. She died in 1910 at the age of 26 shortly after giving birth to my grandpa. Mary Elizabeth contracted malaria and after a difficult delivery she was simply too tired and passed away when grandpa was only 10 days old. That means this lace is approximately 100 years old! It is in excellent condition. Wow! My great grandma crocheted two pillowcase edgings and my aunt kept one for herself and gave me this one. Now here comes the insanity part....What was my aunt thinking? How blessed I am to be the recipient of such a wonderful gift. Thank you Aunt Shirley!



I finished two arm chair caddys designed by Helen of Hugs and Kisses. Thanks Helen and hugs and kisses back at ya. Also, hugs to Ayumi at Pink Penguin for the basket tutorial. The basket and the top arm caddy are for my mom for Christmas. Shhh, don't tell. And the bottom one is for...me!

Thanks to all the wonderful bloggers who left a comment on my very first post! You are all the best.

Piece & love, Dawn

First

Ok, here we go! I guess it's time for me to jump on this band wagon. Now where to start? I think I will start at the beginning.

I remember as a very young child sitting under a quilt "tacked" to wooden frames. The frames were supported in each corner with the chairs from our kitchen table. It was a magical place. It was where I watched Saturday morning cartoons with my sister and cousins. It was where I played Barbies and 'house'. It was where I would listen to grown-up talk. Or at least I thought I was.

I grew up in the era of "tied" quilts. Often my mom and grandma would buy sheets (or fabric)and tie the quilts with yarn. I don't remember ever seeing pieced quilts. Although my mom had a large assortment of scrap fabrics. Speaking of scraps...

This was the first quilt I ever made. I was about 12 years old. How do you like those colors? I rummaged through my mom's scraps (now we call it a "stash") picking out a solid that matched my print. My template was a piece of cardboard I used to trace each square and then I cut the square out with scissors. No rotary cutter or cutting mat for me.

This was the sewing machine I made my quilt on. It is a Singer 'featherweight'. It belonged to my mom and last year for my birthday she asked me what I wanted. You guessed it! I love this machine. It brings back a lot of wonderful memories. Some day I will show you what I sew with now.

This was the very beginning of my journey as a quilter. As a newlywed my husband bought me a sewing machine at a yard sale. I sewed Halloween costumes and clothes for my young kids. But as they grew they liked the mall clothes better and no longer went Trick-or-Treating. About 5 years ago my friend Sherri reintroduced me to the quilting world. Now I'm totally hooked! I have wonderful quilting friends aka peeps (you know who you are). Now I'm ready to fly with this blogging thing and hopefully gain some new friends out there in the blogging world.

One more thing: Thanks Sherri for helping me get started!