Friday Finds

I spend way too much time window shopping on Etsy.  If there is a limit for the favorites list, I have no doubt that I'm quickly approaching it.  The best (or worst) part is that my sister is in my Etsy circle, so I see everything see adds to her favorites list too.  Of course, I feel compelled to check out her picks, which leads me to new shops with new items to add to MY list, and so on and so on.  It's like a huge snowball rolling down a hill.  A gigantic crafty snowball.

Today isn't just any Friday.  It's the first day of fall y'all!  So in celebration of the official end of summer in Texas, I thought I would share a few of my recent Etsy finds with you today.

via tomdesign

I love these earrings by tomdesign.  But I also love this bracelet, and this necklace, and this necklace, and the list goes on and on.  I think it's safe to say that this entire shop is one of my favorites.

via claylicious

Owls are very popular right now, and these ceramic owls from claylicious are adorable!  I especially love the little turquoise guy in the back.  He would look great on my bookshelf.

via RaspberryCreekFabric

This fabric bundle by RaspeberryCreekFabric is sitting in my cart at this very moment.  It would be perfect for a quilt for a baby boy.  Now I just need to decide if I should buy fat quarters or half yard cuts?

via fabricshoppe

 This collection of fat quarters by fabricshoppe is screaming "Oh Ricki...buy me, buy me, buy me!"  It would be rude to ignore it, right?

Have a great weekend!

Work in Progress Wednesday

My daughter started back to preschool last week, and even though my (now walking/running/climbing) son is a handful and a half, I still manage to squeeze in a few minutes of sewing every day during his naptime.  My to-do list is about ten miles long.  It reminds me of a scene from an old cartoon where a little kid is reading to Santa from his little wish list, and just when Santa thinks he's finished the rest of the paper unrolls and you see that the list is reeeeally long.  Yep, it's like that.  It's time to kick the sewing machine into over drive.

At the moment I'm working on turning this set of strips...

into this...

The 2 1/2" strips are from a jellyroll that I bought at JoAnn's.  Cutting fabric is my least favorite part of the quilting process, so I love buying pre-cut sets of fabric like charm packs, fat quarter bundles, and jellyrolls.  Plus, I am very indecisive and spend way too much time trying to figure out which fabrics look best together, so it's an added bonus that the fabric are already coordinated for me.  I'm sure this particular block has a name, but I have no idea what it is.  I'm just making it up as I go along, trying to make the most efficient use of my jellyroll fabric.  The end product will be a quilt for a family friend who has been recently diagnosed with cancer.  Hopefully I can crank out all of the blocks this week and share a picture of the completed quilt top next week.

Have a great week!

I Spy with My Little Eye...a Fabric Swap!

A few weeks ago, I joined my first I Spy fabric swap, hosted by Carla at Lollyquiltz.  The idea behind the swap was to mail in 20 five inch squares (also known as charm squares) of a unique novelty fabric, and I would receive charm squares in 20 different prints in return.  The only restrictions were that the fabric needed to be good quality cotton and licensed fabrics were not allowed.

This is the fabric I chose to send as my contribution to the swap...

Cowboys of course!  Yeehaw!  I dutifully cut out my 20 charm squares and dropped them in the mail ASAP.  I was so eager to see what I would receive in return...I was not disappointed!  Less than one week later, I received these in my mailbox...

So many cute fabrics!  I think the gorillas may be my favorite, although the dogs in colorful sweaters make me smile too!  With 42 participants and 2460 squares of fabric (some sent in multiple sets), I can't even imagine how difficult it must have been to organize this swap.  I really appreciate being able to participate. When I add these 20 squares to the novelty fabric that I already have, it makes quite a nice little stash for a future I Spy quilt.  I can't wait for the next swap!

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting...

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of this in my mailbox...

I ordered two stacks of 10 inch squares of this Mountainside Batik Sampler from Connecting Threads last week.  I'm not sure yet what I'm going to make with it, but without a doubt it will be beautiful!

Waiting for a package to come in the mail is like waiting for Christmas morning...it seems like it will never get here, and it's so exciting when it finally does!

Keeping My Fingers Crossed...

...that this fabric magically transforms into a skirt for my daughter today.

Ok, let's be realistic. I would settle for finishing it sometime this week...or even this month!

A Charming Collection

Image courtesy of Twiddletails

I love vintage-esque fabrics that remind me of the quilts my grandma makes.  Anina over at Twiddletails now stocks 100 different 1930's reproduction fabrics and is hosting a fantastic giveaway in celebration!  Click here to enter to win one of four charm packs featuring fabulous 1930's reproduction fabrics.  I could easily see this collection turned into a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt or maybe a Dresden Plate pillow.  Vintage at it's best!