New Year's Resolutions? Ha!

A mere 7 days into the new year, and am I ever glad I did not make one of the many resolutions to which I had given a moment's thought on New Year's Eve. One of them was No More Swaps...can you believe that? After all the fun I had participating in almost a dozen swaps last year?

Not too long ago, I had seen some yummy pictures like this one on Rachel's P.S. I Quilt website...




I knew she was cooking up something fun with all those delicious fabrics and that fabulous tutorial on making siggy blocks, so I kept my eyes open for news. Today I discovered that sign-ups for this swap had already begun. Ooooh, it was so tempting, but did I really need to get into another swap so soon into the new year? I still have so many projects pending, but they are all just-for-fun projects, no commissioned work right now. Maybe I ought to think about it and check back tomorrow. Ah, what the heck! I jumped in and sent my info. I received a confirmation email and I was in the swap!

Not more than an hour and a half later, I go back to check out the tutorial and the fabric requirements, only to discover that all 100 slots for this swap are filled! Already! Whew! Good thing I didn't wait until tomorrow!

Now to choose some fresh modern fabrics from my fat quarter stash, or perhaps this calls for a trip to a quilt shop I recently heard about down in West Concord, Massachusetts, which is just about a 30 minute drive from my house. Oh, so many temptations!

Do you have any fun, new projects planned for the new year?

Happy Stitching!

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My Secret Santa had Very Busy Fingers!

The gifts are opened and the children are busy playing with all their new toys. Christmas was a wonderfully joyful time in our household yesterday, and will continue until January 6th when we un-decorate and return things back to ordinary. The last gift I opened yesterday was from my Secret Santa, Australian Rachel of Four Wise Monkeys. Rachel is quite the stitcher and spoiled me terribly with lots of beautiful handmade things.


This is what greeted me upon opening the pretty paper package that had been waiting under my tree since its arrival two weeks ago. I recognized those birds! I remember seeing them on Rachel's website a while ago and admiring them.


This lovely wall hanging is the first thing I looked at, and the more I look at it, the more I see in it. The detail is quite amazing and all the stitching is perfect!

Take a look...you can click on the pictures to make them bigger.




This star is filled with French Knots! Wow!


The big red heart hanging from the moon, and the red trim along this angel's collar and hem are also French Knots.


A wonderful thought for this time of year, and throughout the new year too!




And here's Rudolph complete with red nose, leading the way!




This is one tall tree!



Two little Christmas love birds!


Then there was this fabulous bag...how did Rachel know I like bags? Maybe I mentioned it here once or twice? Don't you just love the fabric she used?


And check out the button hole stitch around the flower petals...perfect!


I love the ric-rac trim around the top of the bag. It's lined with pretty fabric too! Just my kind of bag and the perfect size to tote a project along.


Under all the other handmade loveliness was this Melly & Me pattern for the cutest little stuffed bears, Bonzer and Beaut.

What a package! Didn't I say that Rachel spoiled me? Now you can see it's true!

Thank you once again to Rachel for all the beautiful gifts of stitchery, sewing, time and talent. Your thoughtfulness and generosity are very much appreciated!

And another thank you to Chookyblue for hosting this swap again. It's a lot of work for one person to undertake so that all of us can make new friends across the world and share our talents with each other.

Happy Stitching!

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Secret Santa Christmas Swap gifts received!

Secret Santa arrived at my house today! George the mailman left a nice cushy package in my mailbox and it had the code I had been waiting to see written on the back...SSCS! It was all the way from Australia too...how exciting to receive something from someone so far away!


Here are the two gifts that were in the package - one clearly labeled to open at Christmas and the smaller one said 'ornament' which meant I could open it right away...so I did!


Isn't this the cutest hand-stitched ornament? And isn't it what everyone wants for Christmas too? I just love it! Can you tell red was the perfect color for the stitching...it even matches my tablecloth!


It also matches the ornaments on our living room tree! Whoever my secret Santa is did a good job picking this project for me...it is perfect!


Being the good girl that I try to be, I placed the other package under the tree to await the arrival of Christmas...just 2 weeks away! You can be sure I'll let you all know just what I find inside that lovely package, and who sent it too!

Happy Stitching!

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I Spy Swap squares and a little Tool Time Tuesday gift

So many fun packages have been coming in the mail recently! One of them was the 'I Spy' fabric squares from Karen's swap back in September. Can you imagine...a package of 120 different 5 inch squares of fun fabric? That wasn't all. Karen included a little gift in each package! Take a look...









Won't this make a super fun I Spy quilt? I think so!


Karen made each participant one of her Tool Time Tuesday projects which is a little sewing necklace to hold pins, scissors and thread. Isn't she a clever lady? Thanks, Karen, for a fun swap!

Happy Stitching!

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Secret Santa Christmas Swap gifts ready to go!

And they've already arrived, all the way down in Australia at Trudi's Craft Room! Pop over and take a look at the little crocheted Christmas angel ornament she has already unwrapped and the package that is still wrapped up in Christmas fabric waiting for Christmas morning.

I can't tell you what it is, but I'll give you a little hint...I was working on it one day in the middle of October when it was snowing outside and I was cozy inside with a fire in the fireplace. If you figure it out, don't tell Trudi! It's supposed to be a surprise!

Happy Stitching!

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Angel Swap gifts arrived in New Zealand - finally!

After much anticipation for about 3 weeks, my Angel Swap gifts finally arrived in New Zealand and I found them pictured on Laurie's website. What a relief! I've sent things to that area before and nothing ever took longer than a week, so I was a little concerned that my package may have been lost or damaged or something awful.

Anyway, take a look at what Laurie received, and while you're there go ahead and poke around her website. She's a fascinating person with so many wonderful experiences to share.

Happy Stitching!

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Red and Aqua D9P blocks received!

Back in October, I showed all of the 100 blocks I made for Jane's Red and Aqua Disappearing 9-patch block swap. You can see them by clicking HERE. Well, just the other day, George the mailman was once again my friend when he delivered my package of blocks from Jane with 100 different red and aqua D9P blocks. I couldn't wait to spread them out and see how they look...


What a variety!


I only found a few duplicate fabrics among all these blocks!


Now what do you think I should do with them? Just sew them together the way they are in the picture? Or maybe introduce a third color to use as sashing between the blocks? What color do you think would look good with these blocks?

This project will have to wait a while since I have quite a to-do list right now. First on that list is a daybed cover and pillows for a friend. After that, I need to take apart an old Christmas stocking and change one name for another in embroidery so it can continue to be used by another friend. I still have a few crochet stitches for which videos have been requested, so I need to spend some time hugging my camera...that's how I do it! And then there are the million and one things that need to be done around Thanksgiving and Christmas and general family life. You all know how that is!

Any ideas on using these quilt blocks would be welcome, so don't be shy!

Happy Stitching!

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Angel Swap 2009 gifts received - Wow!

Don't you just love it when the mailman shows up with something other than the usual bills, junk and more junk? George surprised me the other day and I wasn't even home to enjoy it! This past Tuesday was an election day here in our city so I worked down at my local polling place from 6:30 in the morning until 8:30 that night. It's a long day of mostly sitting and waiting, but I brought my crochet bag and was able to whip up a few more cotton floor duster covers in between visiting with neighbors.

When I got home, here's what was waiting for me...

This package came all the way from Norway from my Secret Stitcher's Angel, Marit of Marit's Hobbyblogg!


Look at all the wonderful things she sent me!


This bag is so different from anything I've seen before. It's a Norwegian design by Annaka called Byveska (Townbag) which Marit improvised a little to include the hand stitched piece with roses.


Inside the bag on one side are open pockets and on the other side there is a zippered pocket. This bag is very generously sized and has long straps so it can be carried comfortably over the shoulder and hold plenty of stuff...I'm thinking of course of knitting or crochet stuff!


Around the top of the bag are little loop tabs with a very heavy rope through them. When you pull the ends apart, the bag closes up. Very clever design! I just love it!


Also included in my package was this hand stitched bookmark, a darling little pin cushion, and the softest skein of yarn I have ever owned! I'll have to make something nice out of that for sure!

Marit and I seem to have many things in common, among them our love of bags and knitting. Did she spoil me in this swap or what?

Happy Stitching!

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Disappearing 9 Patch Scrappy Quilt Finished

A few months ago, I participated in my first Disappearing 9 Patch block swap which was hosted by Aunt Pitty Pat. I had never made that particular quilt block before, so I really enjoyed putting together my charm squares and seeing them come apart again into this fun and easy block.

Over the past week or so, I have been working on putting together all the blocks I received back from this swap, and yesterday I finally completed the quilt. With 40 different people participating and no theme specified, the variety of blocks was very interesting, and the resulting quilt is colorful and scrappy. I really like it. What do you think?


It turned out to be a nice lap quilt or baby quilt size, approximately 60 by 45 inches, which includes the scrappy border I added using fabric from my stash.


To arrange the blocks in a totally random way, I simply took the pile of blocks out of the bag as I had received them and started laying them out in five rows of eight. I liked the overall arrangement except for exchanging the places of two blocks so that one section would not have so much of the same color. Then I started sewing them together. Once the piecing was finished, I realized that a border would be needed, so in keeping with the scrappiness of the quilt, I fished through my stash and pulled out a variety of fabrics. I cut them into various width strips and sewed the strips together. Then I cut the resulting fabric into five inch strips and sewed them to the edges for the border. This made the quilt the perfect size for a leftover piece of batting I had and a piece of fabric for the backing that was leftover from a wedding quilt I had made for one of my sisters a very long time ago.



After layering the three together with the right sides facing each other and the batting on the top, I stitched around the edges, turned the whole thing right side out, closed the opening and topstitched around all four sides. I've been looking for opportunities to practice my machine quilting, so I dug out my walking foot and got to work, quilting along the straight lines of the blocks.


I have not yet decided what to do with this finished scrappy quilt, but I think it would make a great little floor blanket for a baby with all the colors and designs. It would also make a good picnic blanket, or a colorful lap quilt. This one may stay in my personal collection, or I may decide to donate it to our local CareNet Pregnancy Resource Center for a new mom to share with her baby.

Coming up soon here at Hooked On Needles will be an introduction to Broomstick Lace with video tutorials showing some of the techniques used for this fun and different type of crochet. I will also be sharing with you an item I made while testing a pattern for a fellow blogger, along with a giveaway of the pattern once it is available to the public. Fun stuff ahead, so stay tuned!

Happy Stitching!

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Halloween Apron Swap gift received - so cute!

George the mailman was my friend today. Just as I was sitting down to work on a Christmas project, he brought me a little Halloween something from Micki who was my swap partner for the Halloween Apron swap. Here's what I pulled out of the package...


...a nice little bundle of softness all wrapped up in a piece of fun pumpkin fabric and black ribbon. I was liking it already! But wait until you see what was inside...


Check out that very fun and fancy Halloween apron! The picture really does not do it justice. It is a half apron with a wide orange waist panel, then the main body of it is the candy corn fabric with a black pocket. The bottom ruffle is orange fabric with sheer black spider fabric over it and it is so darn cute, I can't even think of words to say how cute it is! The black grosgrain bow finishes off the fancy look perfectly.

Also in the package were some happy pumpkin socks, a candy corn kitchen towel and a Halloween hot mitt that will very quickly replace my old one that keeps burning me!


Here's a close-up of the spider fabric. Isn't that just so fun and festive? Even my husband noticed and commented on it - and that's saying something! You can't see it in the picture, but the spiders have sparkles on them which just adds to their appeal.

What a fun swap this was for me on both sides of it. I thoroughly enjoyed designing and making the apron I sent to Micki. And the apron I received is so unique and fun and far beyond my expectations. I think I'll wear it when I answer the door on Halloween night!

Thanks Micki! Thanks also to Aunt Pitty Pat for organizing this fun Halloween swap to get us all into the spirit (pun intended!) of the season.

Happy Stitching!

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