This 2011 New Year is bringing with it many new exciting changes for me

Since my “Year of Handmade” is over…it was really just a one year challenge…I am migrating my blog over to “The Threaded Nest” HERE over at Blogspot, in anticipation of my new Etsy shop where I will be offering custom quilts, pillows, and other handmade yummies!

Please hop on over now and check out “Mason’s Quilt”…and I would be thrilled if you would join me often (you can even subscribe, hint, hint!)

Happy New Year,

Colette

with “Surprise” and “PTS4″ (Pillow Talk Swap 4) and I totally start FREAKING OUT

because I know exactly what is inside of the box!!!

After I screamed

R. screamed, “I knew it was for YOU!”

I can hardly believe that I am the recipient of this SPECTACULAR Echino (serious love there) and linen pillow

from none other than my dear friend Gayle (pillow blogged HERE)!!!

When my daughter R. saw this pillow on her blog she said, “Wouldn’t you love to have that pillow Mum?  What if it is for you?”

I told her that I knew who it was for (because Gayle had told me who her PTS4 partner was)

but that I would definitely make myself one just like it to match my Echino quilt I made earlier this year…

ha ha Gayle, you totally fooled me ;D

Doesn’t it look just lovely and match perfectly with my Echino quilt???

I love how she used a couple of the prints from my quilt and then introduced a few other coordinating prints too.

I especially LOVE the turquoise panther…

and the design…

and the quilting…

and all of those lovely french knots!!!

I promise Gayle this is one pillow that will be treasure and LOVED

PS – this is my LUCKY week because I also won a $20 gift certificate to Quilthome.com

(link on side bar) ~ thanks Quilthome.com!

Happy holiday crafting,
Colette

so that I could take some pictures of this pillow I made for my Pillow Talk Swap 4 partner.

(Just look at all of our snow!!!)

I know I already have posted today, but I just couldn’t wait to show you this

I was inspired by this lovely pillow by Three Red Apples HERE

which is still available for purchase in her Etsy shp HERE.

(Wouldn’t it made a wonderful Christmas gift for someone special?)

This 12″ x 16″ pillow was made using Tula Pink’s “Plume” fabrics (I just adore all of her collections!)

I hand stitched all of my hexies, hand appliqued them to a white linen background, and then finished it with a decorative stitch.

For the pillow I back, I did some simple piecing with two of my favorite Plume fabrics.

I love how sweet and feminine this pillow is!

Oh, and check out that custom label…pretty legit right???

And to top it off…I put a hidden zipper in the bottom.

I am feeling pretty proud of myself at the moment…

my sewing skills have come a LOOOONG way since I started blogging last Christmas!

I really hate to see this little pretty go =0(

I certainly hope she loves it as much as I do.

Happy sewing,
Colette

Look at all of this UK loveliness that I received yesterday from Matildasgirl for the Scrappy mug Rug Swap on flickr!

I requested a Holiday mug rug in red, white, and linen with a Scandinavian feel and she was spot on with this one.

Both the snow flakes on the mug rug and that teenie tiny Union Jack (be still my heart!!!) are cross stitched.

Oh and look at those yummy hot cocoa packets she sent along…

R. and I will enjoy steaming cups of cocoa when we come back in from playing in the snow we got last night ;D

Off to play in the snow!

Happy Holidays,

Colette

This is an improvisational (right angle ~ she did not want wonky) blockfor Jenninfer ~ Not Your Grandmas Quilting Bee ~

made using this terrific tutorial over HERE at The Sometimes Crafter.

Once I made up one I was easily able to create my own improvised block…

but wish I would not have run out of the Kona white fabric

so I could have added a horizontal strip of white to the top of the block.

Its funny that I sort of dread (and procrastinate) sitting down to work on bee blocks

but once I actually start, I have a jolly good time sewing them up.

You would think I would have learned to look forward to it after all of these months, right???

I just received some lovely Hope Valley DS fabrics for some dresden blocks to make for the NYGQB December blocks ~

I am so looking forward to tackling those little cuties for Valerie

Happy quilting,

Colette

Christmas Tree “hunting” that is

Going to pick out our Christmas Tree has to be one of my favorite days of the year!

Its always followed by hot chocolate with marshmallows

and decorating the tree while listening to Christmas music…big SIGH here.

Wishing you a lovely Holiday Season!

Happy “hunting”,

Colette

Bad News:  It was really over cast, windy, and cloudy every day except our last day and we were to busy rushing around to give the quilt a proper photograph…large sigh.

Nonetheless, I did manage to take a couple of quick shots as it went into her suitcase.

In spite of bursting into tears after attempting to straight line quilt the first few rows

I remained calm and carried on

and it turned out beautifully (after I got the hang of dealing with the bulk of this 70″ x 70″ quilt).

One of the greatest things about NOT prewashing your fabrics

is that they shrink and pucker around your quilting

hiding all of those little imperfections!

But best of all…she TOTALLY loved it!!!

“I never imagined it would be this beautiful!”

I just love giving something so special to someone who truly loves and appreciates all of

the time, money, effort, and love that goes into making a quilt.

I can’t wait to start on my Nephew’s quilt next.

Happy quilting,

Colette

Amy Butler’s new line “Soul Blossoms” in the Joy palette.

I am seriously in LOVE with these beautiful and very saturated brights!

I have always wanted a double wedding ring quilt.

I think there is something beautiful in the tradition of receiving one as a wedding gift.

This January, D and I will be celebrating 11 years of wedded bliss

ha ha, mostly anyways ;D

and so I thought I would make us up a lovely double wedding ring quilt (since we never got one)

out of these lovely fabrics for an Anniversary gift for us.

These two bright blues, Queen Street by Jennifer Paganelli, also arrived yesterday.

I just love them along with the Kona Ash.

I plan on making up a sweet little quilt for my new Nephew Mason after Thanksgiving.

I absolutely adore all of Jennifer Paganelli’s fabrics!

Her colors are intense and her floral and paisley prints are beautiful.

I am thinking they would be really fantastic mixed in with the Soul Blossoms for my quilt???

Off to admire my new pretties

Have a lovely Thanksgiving.

Happy quilting,
Colette

We’ve been reading lots of Christmas picture books together.

It already feels like Christmas around here…but its only the beginning!

My friend Gayle and I took a Christmas tree paper-piecing class together on Friday…

and I am going to send it to my Scrappy Mug Rug Partner along with this one:

Sorry for the dark photos but it is overcast and rainy here, ugh.

My friend Gayle has a super fancy sewing machine that does embroidery

and she was sweet enough to embroider “Baby, it’s cold outside!” for me on some linen.

I drew up a mug, very like my most favorite one from the UK, and raw-edge appliqued it to the linen.

I put in an insulated batting layer to keep her mug nice and toasty and free motion quilted it.

This was my first time stippling and it is OK, but I am thinking I need to stipple an entire quilt to really get the hang of it.

BTW, I am still straight line quilting my Mum’s quilt (HERE) and should be finished this afternoon.

Oh, and I have FINALLY got the hang of it ;D There really is no better practice than actually quilting on a real quilt!

And for the back I wanted to do something really special

so I pieced some hexies (another first, and wow, this was so much work!)

and lightly quilted them by stitching (mostly) in the ditch.

I really hope I got her style right and that she loves the fabrics I chose for her.

I’ll definitely be making several more of the trees as potholders to give as gifts to my family.

I better get my tush in gear if I have any hope of making Christmas gifts for this year!

Happy quilting,
Colette

and ever…

and I really am not getting very far!

I’ve been doing straight lines (in groups of 3 every 3 inches on the diagonal of this 70″x70″ quilt)

for a couple of hours a day, every day this week, and I am only now finishing up the first direction.

This has been another “What in the bleep was I thinking???” project.

I came across this lovely quilt at Little Island Quilting HERE and thought my quilt would look beautiful quilted like hers.

I thought to myself, “Self, how hard can it be to sew straight lines?”

(I even followed her lead by not drawing lines or using tape, ha ha, the joke is on me!)

Well here’s my answer…

its pretty darn hard when you have 70 inches of quilt pulling in every which way

and trying to fit under the arm of my sewing machine!

On the upside, my lines are getting much better and my stitches are becoming much more even

By the end of this quilt, I should think I will be an expert in straight line quilting, ha ha.

I am seriously hoping to finish the other diagonal next week,

so that I’ll have time to get the binding on it before Thanksgiving.

My Mum is making that super long flight from the West Coast to the East Coast

and I sincerely hope she will have a new quilt to drag back home with her!

This is the first quilt I’ve ever made for her and I know she will love it (wonky lines and all!) because she’s good like that.

Happy quilting,

Colette