As many of you know I’m in the throw’s of apple season so time has been a bit tight…but I’m getting the random drawing winners posted right now… (sorry for the delay!)

 

The names are all in the hat…Cedi will draw the winner of a pdf pattern for this beautiful quilt by FabricsNQuilts And the winner is… MoranArtandQuilts! Now it’s Capri’s turn to draw a name… Whomever she chooses will win a copy of the book Pretty Little Mini Quilts published by Lark Books from PennyFabricArt.And the winner is QuiltingDiva!

 

Congrats to both my winners!

 

I will be announcing the Grand Prize Winner of Season 1 either Thursday or Friday this week…stay tuned!

Hi everyone! It’s now time to announce the winner of the Judges Vote for the Nursery Rhyme Challenge.

We actually have a TIE for third! Both with an average score of 8.18. Congrats to…

Karen’s Crafty World

Here's what the judges had to say:

Judge 1: Very creative making your own blue and green fabric. Very whimsical. It makes me smile.

Judge 2: I absolutely love the creativity behind this piece. It never would have occurred to do what Karen did here. Love the dimensional element of the pigs added on the frame and especially the texturing of the sky and grass. I also think the antiqueing of the frame was brilliant. It sets the piece perfectly!

Judge 3: First, bigger isn’t always better. You started your story by telling us you “didn’t have a lot of time this week, so my project is small.” You sold yourself way short when you start out a GREAT article explaining your piece.

This piece has so many obvious homes and I think that is important in all quilt competitions. Whenever I make any type of quilt, I always consider, “What will the quilt be used for when finished.” If your quilt and your title tell a story even BEFORE reading the story, this is true success.

I love your whole piece. The use of paper when needed is delightful! I love the “scribbly” sun in the corner. The little plastic pigs bring a smile immediately and confirm the story of the picture. Your frame is perfect!

Judge 4: Very cute! I especially like the quilting in the grass and for the sun’s beams. The style of the frame works well.

and MoranArtandQuilts!

Here's what the Judges had to say:

Judge 1: Love the cow’s look and the question mark. The different quilting for grass and sky is well done. I like the cloud shape and the different colored stars.

Judge 2: Of all the submissions I think this piece captures it’s corresponding nursery rhyme the best. There is no confusion at all which rhyme this is about. I love the irregular shape and that it was inspired by clouds (versus just cut irregularly)…I think it fits the design perfectly. Great job with the perspective of the grass and the cow is too cute and very realistic/well executed with the stars and quilting decisions.

Judge 3: I love the details in this little quilt. The buttons are adorable. The question mark made me laugh. The cow is so simple but you can almost see what she is thinking and also the moon seems to be telling the cow, No Way! Your field of green adds a lot of dimension to the wall hanging.

I assume you plan to use this as a wallhanging. One potential problem I can see with this piece is how do you hang it and keep it straight. I am in no way marking you down for this but this would be a concern I would have if I was looking at this piece to purchase on Etsy or at a craft show.

Judge 4: Just adorable! I especially like the vine print on the moon and the swirls on the cow’s spots. I hope your daughter keeps it long enough to use it in a nursery (many years from now!)

Second place, with an average score of 8.70 goes to…

PennyFabricArt!

The Judges thought:

Judge 1:Beautiful. Your brother will love this very realistic portrait of his dogs. I like that you chose the less obvious part of Hey Diddle Diddle to portray.

Judge 2: Wow, what talent. Amazing technique and the result is wonderfully realistic dogs who truly do look like they are laughing. And I think it speaks to her talent that she captured two very unique expressions for the dogs.

Judge 3: WOW! This piece looks like a painting and is finished to total professionalism with the micro suede and canvas. Your brother is going to have a fantastic piece hanging in his house and you are going to be getting order for wallhanging “pictures” of people’s pets.

I can see your dogs laughing. I can see them laughing at you taking their picture! It reminds me of all your girls running around now with their little digital cameras taking a thousand close up pictures of them with their friends, always smiling to the max at arm’s length with their own camera. If only dogs could talk! Great job.

Judge 4: Nice piece! I especially like all the colors going on in the coat of the dog on the left.

And our first place prize, winning $15 to FabricFascination AND a $10 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop, with an average score of 9.50 goes to…

LoveBugStudios!

And the judges thought:

Judge 1: Wonderful art piece. It looks just like the crooked little house I always picture when I hear this rhyme. The shreds work wonderfully here. The trees add just the right detail.

Judge 2: OMG, this is amazing. So much to say. First it is beautifully inspired by the nursery rhyme and so beautifully executed. I think the color selections are gorgeous and realistic. I love that she introduced a technique that most of us have never heard of let alone tried. I think the irregular shape of the final piece “makes” it. It just wouldn’t have been the same if it was square or rectangular. I really respect the thought and work that went into this piece in a short amount of time. Beautiful and so well done!!

Judge 3: The entries in this challenge are a lot of fun. I think that is probably because Nursery Rhymes bring out the kid in all of us. Your technique gets an A+ for this challenge. This is something very new to the challenge and your execution of the technique is fantastic. I have seen this done before but your lines and end product is very clear instead of more “abstract” as is normally seen.

This piece and process has huge potential for selling pieces on Etsy or at craft shows. I have never really looked but I think it would be a great seller! I also love the crooked border to match the story of the Crooked House.

Judge 4: Neat interpretation! This came out very nice. I feel the irregularity of the shape is a little too irregular in the upper right corner, but the rest of the shape works well with the “crooked” theme.

Congrats again to all the winners and to ALL the participants. Fantastic, creative, wonderful entries. I’m glad we could help inspire you to make some beautiful quilts this season!

PS. I will announce the random drawing winners later today once my girls get home from the sitter!

WOW!  I can’t believe I’m typing about the final public winner for Season 1 of Project QUILTING!  What an amazing 16 weeks it’s been (20 weeks if you include preseason).  So much talent, creativity and ingenuity! 

Now, I won’t keep you waiting any longer… with 59 of the 129 votes (or 45.7%) the Public Winner goes to…

LoveBugStudios and her ‘Crooked House’ Quilt!  LoveBugStudios will take home 4 fat quarters (their choice) from FabricAlaCarte AND a $10 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop!  CONGRATULATIONS!

 

Now, I’m going to choose the winner of the $20 gift certificate to the apple using www.random.org.

22 comments were left and comment 12 was chosen as the winner:

Terry Aske said...

I subscribe to your newsletter already.

Congrats Terry!  I’ll contact you about claiming your prize :)

Now that apple season has begun Thursday has turned into Apple Cider night.  We make unpasteurized cider at our orchard so we need to press it every week. Thursday seems to be the best night since we’re close to the weekend when we’ll sell most of it.  Unpasteurized cider should be consumed within 2 weeks of pressing…unless you want a bit of a buzz from drinking it.

 

In honor of Apple cider night – I found some great items on etsy to go along with it…

Amber Topaz Lampwork Hollow 14k Gold Filled Earrings - Mulled Cider from GlitzGlitter

an upcycled 'apple mint cider' waste wonderful wristlet from sparkyjones

Cider Apples - 8 x 8 inch fine art photograph – signed from opart

Apple Cider BBQ Sauce from BettysGourmetDelight

Rustic Cider Mill Photograph  from Foxxysair8

Fire Cider from rootworkherbals

The last challenge of the season has not disappointed me.  Some amazing entries have been submitted and I don’t envy the judges one bit…

For those of you just tuning in you can read more about Project Quilting Here: http://kimscraftyapple.blogspot.com/2010/04/project-quilting.html

and about the eighth challenge of Season 1 Here:

http://kimscraftyapple.blogspot.com/2010/08/season-1-challenge-8-nursery-rhymes.html

CHALLENGE WINNERS: There will be two winners for this challenge – one for the public vote and one for the ‘judged vote’ – Diane, Barb, Pam, and guest judge Michelle.

The winner of the PUBLIC vote will receive 4 fat quarters (their choice) from FabricAlaCarte AND a $10 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop!

The winner of the JUDGES Choice will receive $15 to FabricFascinationAND a $10 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop!

Voting is extended this week because I’m hosting a HUGE event at my orchard on Sunday so everyone will benefit… it will close at 7pm CDT on Sunday, August 29th.

OTHER BONUSES:

One RANDOMLY Drawn Participant will win a pdf pattern for this beautiful quilt by FabricsNQuilts

and a second randomly drawn participant will receive a copy of the book Pretty Little Mini Quilts published by Lark Books fromPennyFabricArt.

Don't forget! Everyone that enters can decide if they want their name entered in a drawing for $50 off the 2010 Quilts by Barb Quilt - Papercraft - Scrapbooking Getaway Weekend!

I will also be sending everyone their rank (somewhere between 1 and 10 – be sure you’ve emailed me {lapaceksorchard@gmail.com} your email address) and any critique’s the judges have about your creation. The top 3 scoring projects will be posted on my blog this weekend.

PUBLIC WINNERS: YES, you can win a prize too! You’ll find out how to WIN at the bottom of this post after you’ve checked out each of our challengers entries.

And now here are all the entries – in no particular order…

***Please note – I have left the images smaller than I normally do as I’ve received some feedback that my blog was loading slowly – hopefully this will help that issue. I strongly URGE you to take closer looks at the projects before voting by checking out their submittals on the flickr group:http://www.flickr.com/groups/1401824@N21/

 

Quilter:  Kelsey Rose

The Monkey Who Fell Off the Bed

When I saw this challenge I knew I had to create a project that
involved monkies. I am only about 5 weeks from delivering my first
son, and we've been creating a nursery with a monkey theme, and a
nursery rhyme challenge was just too perfect to not create something
to add to our nursery. A quick Google search and I had my rhyme, "Five
Little Monkies", which goes like so:

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the Doctor and the Doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Four little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped her head.
Papa called the Doctor and the Doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Three little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the Doctor and the Doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and bumped her head.
Papa called the Doctor and the Doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

One little monkey jumping on the bed,
He fell off and bumped his head.
Mama called the Doctor and the Doctor said,
"Put those monkeys straight to bed!"

I chewed the rhyme around for a while, not wanting to just paint a
scene from the rhyme and to be a little bit less expected, and also to
think about what would fit in our nursery. Eventually, an idea struck
- I'd make a rug in the shape of a flattened monkey to go right below
the crib (hence including the crib in the picture, an integral part of
the message ;) ), and this monkey would be "The Monkey Who Fell Off
the Bed", a not-so-subtle reminder for little Paul that
climbing/jumping/otherwise rocketing out of his crib will be a bad
idea once the idea strikes in a year or two.

I bought a nice fuzzy fabric for the top, with a similar feel to a
stuffed animal, and a brown corduroy for the backing because it added
a weight to it that I liked. Now, I've never actually finished a
quilting project before (I'm still working on my first quilt), and I
only have ever hand-quilted, so quilting this monkey up in one evening
was going to be a bit of a challenge. I ended up using my Kenmore with
a straight-stitch foot (I only have a straight-stitch and a zipper
foot...) and doing loose free-form quilting lines. The tail was
actually created a separate piece and then attached to the main body.

Now, to vacuum up all those teeny tiny brown fuzzies all over my apartment... :D

Created in: Mountain View, CA

Dimensions: About 50" head to toe (or 41" head to rump), and 38" at
its widest point, including the tail.

Kelsey Rose

P.S. This is my first entry to Project Quilting

Quilter:  Kathleen’s Quilts

Mary's re:Fresh-ing Garden

Yesterday morning as I was taking a few hand stitches in my project I suddenly realized my inspiration had been a fairy tale instead of a nursery rhyme. Funny. Not. A recent post on my blog discussed the fact that my brain has been AWOL lately. More proof. I thought of finishing anyway as I really liked what I was doing, but what's the fun if you aren't going by the challenge rules. So I scrounged up a few brain cells, thought for a bit and a half hour later was on the move with a new project inspired by...

"Mary Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
Silver bells and cockleshells,
And pretty maids all in a row."

I looked up the meaning for more inspiration. Ick - don't do that with this one! Pretty flowers all in a row was enough inspiration for me! I pictured Mary in a pretty sun dress watering her garden. Ruffles were to be a part of my original project and I just couldn't let go of them so I decided to do ruffles of flowers all in a row. Ruffles of green for grass were sewn in the seams. Ruffles of fabric with prints of tiny flowers were sewn above the grass. The quilting is leafy stems from the grass to the flowers; and some stitching in the ditch just inside the border. The border is alternating green and white to represent a little white picket fence, which is my favorite for surrounding a flower garden.

A fun, frilly project that blessed me with lots of thoughts of my sweet niece Mary.

Grown in Cissna Park IL
15" x 23"

P.S. I had a blast this first season on Project QUILTING. Looking forward to the next season (but ready for a break!). Thank you so much to Kim and Diane and all the judges and sponsors!!!

Quilter:  QuiltingDiva

I knew I wanted to do something with embroidery so I purchased the set of 4 "Hey Diddle Diddle" blocks and stitched them out on light blue Kona Cotton. Initially I thought I would make a fabric book out of the squares, but I thought it would make a cute little doll quilt or wall hanging. I used fabric and thread from my stash. It measures approximately 27" square, the back is solid light green Kona cotton. I made this in Tampa, FL.

Stacy Edell

 

Quilter:  Karen’s Crafty World

The Story Behind ‘Don't Blow My House Down’

I took my inspiration from the 3 little pigs. I didn't have a lot of time this week, so my project is small.
I started on Wednesday when I was at work sitting around waiting for my patient to kick into labor. (For those of you who don't know, I'm a Home Birth nurse and I do a lot of waiting ;)I always carry a bag of art supplies with me in case I'm stuck at someone's house for hours on end.
I started this project by cutting up blue and green fabric into approx. one inch squares. I didn't have enough variety of fabric, so I colored white fabric with green and blue markers and crayons. I also used some paper squares cut out of a magazine. I glued all the pieces down to a sheet of cardstock and when I got home, I sewed over the glued down pieces. I then built my picture on top of that. A brick house, a straw house and a house made from sticks. I added trees, some sunshine and a picket fence and of course, some little piggies. I dug a frame out of the closet and "antiqued" it with some cream and brown paint.

All supplies came from my stash and no $$ was spent.

This project was started in Lake Zurich, IL and finished in Elgin IL.

 

Quilter:  LoveBugStudios

The story behind: Crooked House
Size: 20" x 24"
Made in: Hainesville, IL

I can't believe I made it to the end of the season! :)

"Crooked House" was inspired by this nursery rhyme:
"There was a crooked man
Who walked a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence
Against a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat
That caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together
In a crooked little house."

I started thinking about the man, and how old he must be, and the long walk he had to take every day to get home. I pictured him the day he found the money & bought the cat, and the line that kept singing to me over and over was "They all lived together in a crooked little house." So I tried to create the house & the crooked lane it was set upon.

The quilting technique was inspired by Noriko Endo, a Japanese quilt artist who shreds her scraps to make the most amazing quilts. In some of the detail pictures, you'll see the scene made up of tiny shreds of fabric - there are 15 colors of green alone.

I quilted this on a frame - which is only the second time I've done that! It's stippled to hold the shreds (under a layer of bridal tulle). In some areas there are multiple layers of tulle to create shadows.

After it was quilted, I cut it into an irregular shape, and then bound it in a dark green.

This one was probably the most fun to make out of all my PQ quilts, and was certainly the messiest too! My studio is still recovering.

Quilter:  MoranArtandQuilts

The Story Behind Hey Diddle Diddle

Size: 23"x26"

Hey diddle diddle
The cat and the fiddle
The cow jumped over the moon
The little dog laughed
To see such a sight
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

My inspiration for this was a cute mug that my daughter has seeing it from the poor cow's point of view. "How in the world am I going to jump over the moon?"

The field was pieced together and appliqued down as well as the cow and moon. I used paint to add the little details and sewed on colorful star buttons. The quilting is a swirl design in the sky and straight lines in the field. The shape of the quilt was inspired by clouds.

Once again my daughter has claimed this quilt because her room is blue and green!

Catherine
Columbus, Oh

Quilter: PennyFabricArt

The Story behind ‘The little dog laughed to see such sport'

It felt a little surreal this week to be using nursery rhymes for inspiration, while preparing my youngest to go off to college next week. It's been a long time since that old book came off the shelf!

Our favorite rhyme was always "Hey Diddle Diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to see such sport, and the dish ran away with the spoon." I love the nonsensical fun of this rhyme, and the idea of dogs laughing.

Last summer we were visiting my brother and playing with his two silly dogs. My son said "These dogs are always laughing!" and he was right! When I read this challenge, I immediately thought of that, and decided to do a portrait of my brother's two laughing dogs. Although I think they are laughing more from the joy of getting away with being on the sofa, than at a cat and a cow.

I used a similar construction to my Apple Blossoms piece from earlier in PQ. I set a foundation of color blocking using satin-stitch appliqué, then I cut tons of strips of fabric to fuse for raw-edge appliqué on top. This captures the wild curly hair of Maggie, and the short straight hair of the one I call Doggie ('cause I can never remember her name).

The quilting is free-motion stitching giving contour to the faces, coats, and sofa detailing. The outer border is a rich chocolate micro suede, gallery wrapped around a stretched canvas frame to hang like a painting. Measures 28"x22".

Created in Ridgefield, CT. Don't tell my brother - it's a surprise gift!

Quilter:  SpringWaterDesigns

The Story behind ‘Fear Not Little One’

I have lots of favorite Nursery Rhymes that my mom used to read to me from an antique Jr Editions book. So much so that that volume of our Jr Editions set got worn out!

The inspiration for my challenge project is Little Miss Muffet. I started by piecing a spider web block, and then I added a collage of items that includes a vintage picture of Little Miss Muffet that I got from a free to use blog of Vintage Clip Art (and printed off on fabric that you can put through your printer). I sewed on ribbons, ric rac, and lace and added a silver heart, crocheted flower embellishment, and old buttons. The vintage picture had the spider in it, but I thought it needed a spider web, so I drew that in the upper left corner with a micron pen. I quilted over the collage pieces, and around the outside edge with some decorative machine stitches, and I quilted the entire block like a spider web.

I chose soft fabrics to coordinate with the vintage storybook picture, and it will fit well in a child's nursery. I call it "Fear Not Little One" because that's the message that I think this (and most) nursery rhymes were trying to portray to children. There are things to fear in the world, but they have people there who will protect them ~ the person reading/reciting the story to them :)

This little art quilt measures 15" wide, and 15" tall, and was made in Jessup Maryland
~ Dawn
Spring Water Designs

Quilter:  KimsCraftyApple

The Story Behind ‘Hickory Dickory Clock’

When I saw the challenge I immediately went up stairs and grabbed my daughter's Mother Goose book.

The first thing that struck me was the cover (picture shown...) a black and white checkered border and the striking gold background.

Then I went and started to read through the nursery rhymes...one thing that struck me was their whimsy. When I read through Hickory Dickory Dock I knew what I wanted to do - a black and white, whimsical clock. I mixed a beautiful fabric by Jason Yenter Floragraphix III Black and White (from FabricFascination), with a classic black and a sparkly white to create the checker board look. I used four different hand-dyed fabric and drew some whimsical numbers for the clock. Also, I couldn't leave this as a standard circular clock so I had to cut it into a curved whimsical design. Because of this curve I decided to 'pillowcase' the quilt to finish it nicely. Five different strands of eyelash fibers add even more color and fun to the border.

I kept the quilting simple for this quilt...just rays from the center out to each number. I felt that there was already enough going on with my design that I didn't want to make it too 'much'.

I needed the perfect item for the hands of the clock so I pulled out Mother Goose again...ah ah! "the dish ran away with the SPOON" I decided to take a fork and spoon and spray paint them gold to mimic the front of the book (I added some gold sparkles just because you can never have enough sparkles). The quilt is backed with a thick piece of cardboard to support the weight of the spoon and so that a bolt (also spray painted gold) could be threaded through the silverwear and allow the clock hands to spin. I also added accents of gold Lumeire paint to the numbers to make them pop just a bit more...

Again...another long story...

Created in: Poynette, WI

Dimensions: 31" x 19.5"

 

PUBLIC WINNERS: The winner from the Random Generator will receive a $20 gift certificate to spend on whatever you choose at TheApple!

Ring - Sterling Silver and Epoxy Coated Candy Drop Bouquet of Circles - Wrap Around - Size 7-1/2

A wide selection of fun, crazy, colorful and whimsical jewelry from earrings to necklaces to bracelets to rings can be found at theApple. Use your gift certificate to treat yourself or find the perfect gift for someone you love!

Daisy Earrings – Jewel Toned with Glass Pearls

SEVEN Chances to WIN!

Entry 1: REQUIRED! Leave a comment on your favorite entry and vote for your favorite on the poll on the upper left hand side of the blog. - ***MUST DO***

Optional/Additional Entries – please note – if you want to qualify for these additional entries you must leave a SEPERATE comment for each – if you already follow or are a fan, etc just leave comments saying each. If you write everything in ONE comment you only will have ONE entry…

Entry 2: Follow my blog.

Entry 3: Tweet about this fantastic contest with hashtag #PQNursery (important or I won’t know you did it)

Entry 4: Become a Fan of Project QUILTING on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/ProjectQUILTING

Entry 5: add my Project Quilting ‘Grab my Blinkie’ to your blog or blog about my giveaway (link your blog or post in your comment, please)

Entry 6: Head on over to theApple and let me know what you would get if you won this weeks prize!

Entry 7:  Sign up for my newsletter in the upper right hand corner of my blog.

***Participants in project quilting ARE allowed to enter in the public poll/contest as well.***

This means you have SEVEN chances to win! I need you to write each of these entries as different comments in order to qualify you for all five entries and include your email address. If you don’t include your email address I won’t be able to contact you when you win and I will have to choose a new winner. I will be picking the winner at 7pm on Monday, August 30th.

A good ‘virtual’ friend of mine AlltheNumbers (or theMeasure) had two beautiful babies not too long ago.  My Quiltsy Team is like ‘aunts’ to her little ones so we decided to make Heritage Block quilts for the little ones.   Can you guess which one’s I made? (the apple trees of course).  Are these two little ones ADORABLE!?

I was lucky enough to find another fantastic Guest Judge for this week’s Project QUILTING Challenge (the last one of season 1).  I wanted to let Michelle of SFOQuilter, tell you herself about her beginnings in and love for the art of quilting:

Modern Framed Block Quilt in Amy Butler

 

For a whole bunch of reasons about 5 years ago I decided a hobby would add a new dimension and perhaps some better balance to my life that was at that time very focused on my career in marketing and all the travel that came along with it. It was serendipitous I think that during that time I strolled past a sewing machine store in my town and wandered in. I came home with a brand new sewing/embroidery combo machine. I had no real plans for how I would use it. I had taken sewing classes in high school but had never become a great seamstress and no one in my family was ever into sewing or quilting. I tinkered with the embroidery on the machine for awhile but reached a point where I thought I should make better use of my investment. One night I decided to go to Joann's for inspiration. I came home THAT night with a book called "The Quilting Bible", a small cutting mat, a rotary cutter and some pre-cut quilt kits. Literally, the rest is history.

Painter's Canvas Quilt in Lantern Bloom from Laura Gunn

I read and re-read the book, did a lot of internet research and became hooked so fast it made my head spin. I discovered the existence of quilt shops, the unbelievable talents of fabric designers and their gorgeous lines, the huge number of online and offline quilting communities, quilting retreats and more. For two years, I made quilts for every person in my family and every friend. I couldn't stop. I would piece them and send them out to a wonderful woman for the quilting. Then, during a trip to the Nashville AQS quilt show 3 years ago I became enamored with what is now my Handiquilter 16. How wonderful would it be to make my quilts from beginning to finish on my own schedule! So THAT weekend I went home to the (almost) final piece of what was now a growing sewing studio. Suddenly I could make quilts in record speed (if I wanted to) because I now controlled every piece of the production. But every one in my family and all my friends already had quilts and I knew I wasn't going to stop making them and began to research an outlet for selling them.

Pair of Decorative Toss Pillow Covers - 16 inches - Michael Miller

In April 2008 I discovered Etsy and now the rest REALLY is history:) From my very first sale to today, I love every part of the process. I love the piecing, the free motion quilting, even hand sewing my bindings...I love it all. Most all, like many quilters I have come to know, I love shopping for fabric the best. I became an early fan of Amy Butler (in fact, my first ever quilt sold on Etsy featured Amy Butler's Midwest Modern line) and today still love her fabrics along with Joel Dewberry, Basic Grey, Patricia Bravo and many more. Quilting has truly become a passion that was missing in my life and an immensely creative outlet.

Scruffy Christmas Lap Quilt in Fruitcake by Basic Grey for Moda

I finally got Cedi and Capri to wear the dresses they dyed at our Summer Dying Day AND to ‘pose’ for me!

I’ll apologize right away – I’m going to be showing you A LOT of pictures of my girls in the post.  I could have just showed you one or two pictures of them looking adorable but I just thought each frame showed such a fantastic story of what truly happens when you try to do a photo shoot of a 2 and 3 year old at the same time… Capri has an itch…Cedi’s not into it… Neither are really into it… There’s that itch again… Cedi just decided to move to a new location… Capri is ‘smiling’ for me… Hmm…Cedi’s going to start to bother Capri… She got her… Cedi’s ready to pose with Capri – Capri has that itch again… Something happened…Capri is down…

And it ends with Cedi smiling and Capri sobbing on the floor…  I don’t envy any child photographer…