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hush | the "Country Girls" winner

I'm horrible at keeping secrets ~ ask my parents, ask my sister, they'll tell you.  When I'm working on stuff behind the scenes it nearly kills me to keep it all hush hush.  So, here I am telling you that I am working on a little project that has been taking more time than it should ~ and I can't even show it to you.  Yet.  Hush.  All I can show you is that I have been working with my massive stash of Cosmo floss.  I even made a small attempt to organize it ~ very small attempt.

In the meantime, I'm dealing with sick ones and laundry and, as always, that ongoing task of feeding everyone around here.  Omigosh, they never stop eating!!

But nothing could stop me from cutting into my Country Girls bundle... I really fell in love with the two little bluebirds inside the wreath.  So, I started some patchwork.  I gathered what I have left of Tasha's other two lines, The Simple Life and Little Red Riding Hood, and have started something I really like.  Her fabric is so sweet and it all works so effortlessly well together.  So, would you like to know who won the giveaway?

Congratulations to Natasha, the winner of the "Country Girls" fat quarter bundle, courtesy of Simply Sweet Fabric.  And thank you to all who entered and shared with me your crafting loves.  Now, I've really got to learn how to crochet ~ since it seems that everyone else in the world knows how except me!

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Oh, and that pretty fabric, second pic from the top?  I received a nice package of London Calling yardage from Kaufman last week.  I keep folding it and folding it, smoothing it with my hands.  There is something so luxurious about cotton lawn, don't you think?

xo amy

London Calling quilt | a "Country Girls" fat quarter giveaway

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Last week I shared a few pics of a folded up quilt top I made for Robert Kaufman using their new line, London Calling 4 ~ a rich mix of florals in soft, fine lawn.  They'd asked me to design a quilt that was charm pack friendly and in the end, I kinda surprised even myself at what I turned in.  Well, they had it quilted up lightening fast and here is the finished quilt:

{ photo courtesy of Robert Kaufman }

What do you think?  A diamond in the rough?  I love it, the quilter did an amazing job, and I look forward to seeing it in a Kaufman ad set to print in the March/April issue of Quilty.  yeah!

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I've been juggling so many projects lately ~ some of them with deadlines ~ but I had to take five minutes out of my day today to handsew this tag on a little holder that's been finished for a long time now... just because.  Just because it caught my eye, and I thought, oh snap, that needs a tag right there.  Do you do stuff like this, too?  Sometimes I think I just need a handsewing break.  That's my real great love.  Handsewing. 

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Yes, I've got another Simply Sweet Giveaway courtesy of Shay and her etsy shop, Simply Sweet Fabric.  This time, Shay sent me a bundle of 7 fat quarters from Tasha Noel's new line with Riley Blake, Country Girls.  Sooo cute.  I love Tasha's work, and I plan to cut into my bundle right away.  

Btw, Shay has a blog, The Little White Farmhouse, and this quilt (in the making) totally caught my eye.

If you'd like a chance to win the Country Girls fat quarter bundle, please leave a comment on this post telling me... what is your great crafting love (for instance, embroidery, knitting, crochet, making quilts, sewing small projects?)  Open to all.  Comments will close Thursday, January 23rd at midnight.  Good luck to you!

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p.s.  Since you asked, I use Alton Brown's recipe for pavlova and you can find it here.

xo amy

magic, again

So, we've started off the new year with my best pavlova yet and the return of Downton Abbey.  Not a bad start.  (I excitedly nabbed the last remaining Downton teapot from our local World Market store and felt like a thief in the night as I exited the store.  Would they stop me and ask for it back?  Goodness, that stuff sold fast!) 

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So what is your first crafty project this year?  I've been brushing up on my cross-stitching and falling in love again with that simple craft.  (Please try not to notice how I store my Cosmo floss supply.  Trying to keep it organized, I realize, is futile.)

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I've always considered the task of taking down the Christmas decorations as the most dreary ever, but this year I didn't mind nearly as much.  I think it's because I'm in the mood for "simplifying" and a fresh clean start feels good.

Mia was in heaven on de-Christmas day.  She finally got to touch everything that was colorful and sparkly ~ all that had been just out of reach during the holiday season.

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I made a quilt top last week, made completely of soft, fine, cotton lawn.  The prints are from a new line called London Calling 4 by Kaufman, and the solids (white and off-white) are lawn as well.  A bit of a challenge for me, but I fell in love with the fabric.  It's not my usual style ~ a little sophisticated ~ but I love it, I do.  Sadly, I didn't get any full pics of the quilt top before turning it in, but you get the idea.  My leftover scraps are being turned into two different patchwork projects.  The little squares you'll see below ~ those are 1 millimeter bigger than an inch.  Tiny.

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A friend and I share a "magic tupperware."  It wasn't a 'thing' that we planned or talked about ~ it just happened on its own.  The small container is passed back and forth between she and I, filled with a taste of whatever homemade food we've just cooked up, and the magic is this tupperware is never returned empty, no.  It's always filled with a tiny bit of something savory or sweet.  Today I made Thai cucumber salad and the tupperware is magic, again.

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Many of you asked about the fairy mouse Mia was playing with in the pics of my last post (see it here.)  It was made by a Danish design company named Maileg ~ and they make the cutest things.  Here's a little glimpse:

1. mouse, 2. Maileg Ponny Large, 3. Maileg Jaro - Léto 2013, 4. Train with soft toy, 5. Maileg Jaro - Léto 2013, 6. Maileg Jaro - Léto 2013, 7. Christmas present, 8. Mi regalo favorito. #maileg #mouse, 9. Maileg Rassel Soldat, 10. Maileg Jaro - Léto 2013, 11. maileg, 12. Maileg Mouse, 13. Maileg Jaro - Léto 2013

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Have a wonderful weekend!  xo amy

It's a New Year | Happy 2014!

Our Christmas was quiet and I needed that.  But I love the fresh start of a New Year.  Hello 2014... it's nice to meet you!  Did you make any resolutions?

My New Year's resolution is simple but I'm quite serious about it.  For some time now, I've had the earnest desire to slow things down in my life ~ which won't be easy in a world that is moving sooo fast.  For me, 'slowing down' will mean changing my focus a bit, learning to live more in the moment, learning to say "no" when I have to ~ and it won't come naturally.  But that's my goal, and I'm sticking to it.  What's yours?

As I like to do, here's a quick glance back at my makes in 2013. 

1. a "Be Joyful" embroidery companion, 2. 43 | 365 hexagon flower, 3. 48 | 365 a bunny for Mia, 4. patchwork pouch, 5. 81 | 365 alphabet book in progress, 6. Mint and Sorbet quilt, 7. 86 | 365, 8. tiny woolen strawberry, 9. one can never have too many pincushions, 10. posy + honeycomb quilt top, 11. patchwork zakka house, 12. 130 | 365 Liv's new doll bed, 13. 128 | 365 Posy diamonds doll quilt, 14. 142 | 365 embellished needlebook backs, 15. three small needlebooks, 16. dotty hot pad, 17. Nicholas and his Star Wars pillow, 18. the rabbit house, 19. zakka bento bag, 20. three scrap happy bibs, 21. 4 gingham bound needlebooks, 22. :: airmail "stamps", 23. Briar Rose hexagon potholders, 24. learning curves, 25. airmail mini quilt, 26. strawberry pincushion swap, 27. pretty potholders, 28. patchwork baby bib for Halle, 29. gingerbread house potholder, 30. felt mitten line-up, 31. finished at last!, 32. embroidered mouse ornament, 33. poinsettia tag, 34. Not even a mouse! pattern at my etsy shop, 35. 2013 Holiday Tag-A-Long | Round 2, 36. merry Christmas to you!

And now on to 2014!  Cheers, my friends, let's make it a good one.  xo amy