Acorns and Owls...

I spent part of Wednesday in the studio, creating larger mug mats for two special people in Wisconsin. My dear friend, Grace (who I call "Mom"), my "Sis" Deb (her daughter), and I always exchange gifts this time of year. This is part of what I'll be sending to them.
I wanted something cheerful to brighten Mom's side table next to her favorite chair. She knows how I adore acorns, and has made more than one quilt for me using acorn fabrics. I wanted to add an acorn to her mat, so I went into my assortment of Michelle Palmer acorn drawings and decided on this one.
Michelle drew this one on a leafy batik fabric - perfect for this purpose - and then she hand colored it. It's one of my favorites. The fabric for this mat is from Moda's Fresh Cottons line. It's sure to brighten Grace's outlook on a gloomy, Wisconsin winter day.
I chose my favorite ivory fabric for the backing, and the mat does have batting sandwiched in between. I used the techniques in this tutorial by Amy Smart (Diary of a Quilter blog) for a table runner, but downsized it to suit my purposes. My oversized mug mats measure 6 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" long, including the binding.
Deb has loved and collected owls as long as I've known her (38 years!!), and I've found more than a few for her in that time. When Michelle offered this one in her Etsy shop, I immediately thought of Deb and purchased it for a future project.
Michelle added the buttons with her artwork, too! This fabric is from Moda's Collection for a Cause - Heritage line. I think they were perfect for a fall look that wasn't masculine.
I have more of this fabric (kitted in this cool metal case) that I'm going to use to create a larger quilt. I'm so looking forward to working with these fabrics again, and I've decided to make this my first major quilt project in the new year.
This case holds all the fabric needed to create a 91" square quilt, except the backing fabric. The quilt pattern is reflected on the exterior of the case, as well as on the front of the pattern here.

I'm back in the studio today and I'm still making mats. I love making these mats, and they're also a great way to use scrap fabric! I've made a resolution to use as my stash for my projects this year. I'm hoping that I won't even need to purchase fabric for backing, as I have quite a lot of larger cuts. (We'll see how that works out as the year progresses.)

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Happy Birthday, Husband...

I met him twenty nine years ago, and it was classic "love at first sight". I married him three years later. Today is his birthday.

Today, I'll stop to thank his mom and dad (long passed) for loving each other and giving him life. I'll stop to thank God for bringing us together.

Happy Birthday, Husband.

** I took this picture of Handsome in 1984 on our honeymoon on Grand Cayman, BWI.

Lucky Girl...

It arrived a little late, but it's here now! My new serger table for the studio. Handsome asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I told him that if he was going to choose a gift for me (in addition to Fezzik), I needed one of these tables.

Until now, I'd move Evvie from table to table when I used her, but she's a heavy girl and this serger table would make life easier. Handsome told me to go ahead and order the table, so I called the shop where we'd purchased the other Horn cabinets. Then, he still surprised me with the iPad (which I'm loving, by the way!).

Apparently, this table has been discontinued by Horn, but Sheila found one for me - in Wisconsin. It finally arrived last week and I put it together while Handsome was at band rehearsal.
Now, I have a flat surface right next to the serger to support the fabric, and the serger is at a comfortable height for stitching now, too.
Another great feature is that the platform has a hinged lid so that I can store all the serger feet and other accessories on the same table - and have easy access to them. Isn't it wonderful? I'm lovin' it, I tell you! All I have to do now is swing my chair from the sewing cabinet right around to my serger table.

I know, I know...S.P.O.I.L.E.D. Yup, that's me! (Thought I'd save you the trouble, Shell!)

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