Surprise in the Aisle

Last night, i realized we were out of milk. No milk = no cereal in the morning, which = not a good start to the day, so off to the grocery store i went. No matter what time of day it is, it's always crowded in our local store...so over the years, i've drawn a mental map of the place for just these times when all i want to do is zip in and check out. You too? Even so, it's quite an obstacle course to get to the far back corner where the milk is, and i couldn't find a clear aisle to zip down! Canned goods aisle: full. Baking aisle: not even going to attempt it (plus, i wouldn't get passed the chocolate chips without buying them). Pet food aisle: what? did everyone run out of pet food at the same time? skip.

Then finally, the seasonal aisle (i think that's what they call it) where books, movies, magazines, patio furniture, balloons, wrapping paper, and halloween candy can be found...was empty. Smooth sailing! As i zipped by, I quickly glanced over at the magazines and continued on my way then stopped in my tracks. Did i see what i thought i saw? It was definitely the colors that registered in my mind, delayed by about 8 feet. Back up. Nope, i didn't imagine it! So i grabbed this off the shelf...

...and felt a Flurry of excitement (duh, sorry) to see that beautiful giant snowflake quilt on the cover! I flipped through and found the pattern instructions on p. 36. It's called "Snow-Kissed Star" and is made by none other than Konda Luckau of Moose on the Porch Quilts!

How weird that i just linked to her blog yesterday but didn't even notice her post about it! Anyway, i love this pattern and the instructions look really simple. The center snowflake uses only 1/2 a jelly roll (plus white for the background), so you could actually make two cute n' quilt-ie christmas gifts!

I continued to flip through the issue before plunking it in my basket, when what what to my wondering eyes should appear but...

...these a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. elfen stockings made by Vanessa of Lella Boutique! (btw Vanessa, i still can't wipe the dopey grin off my face either *wink*)

Congratulations, Konda and Vanessa! And thank you for making my trip to the grocery store so memorable. Except i was so excited after finding the magazine that not only did i get milk, i went back for the chocolate chips too.

stocking stuffer #5

Another day, another stocking stuffer winner! Congrats, Kim G.! Please email me with your mailing address so i know which chimney is yours :)

Again, if you're just joining us for my 12 Day-superfun-thank you-mixed-bag-surprise-giveaway-stocking-stuffer-extravaganza, please go back to this post to be entered for a chance to win a little giftie from me! Seven more days to go...don't miss out!

A Flurry of Winners!

Thank you all so much for sharing your Christmas projects. I definitely got some great ideas and i hope you did too! As for the winners, let's get right to it, shall we? And let's please ignore the fact that i was supposed to post this last night.

Lauren, i think it's so wonderful that you're setting out to make Christmas quilts for your whole family. Wow, are they ever lucky! I admire your goal, and hope the jelly roll will get you off to a fun start. Please email me your mailing address and i'll put it in the mail right away. Oh, there will be a little extra "stocking stuffer" surprise in there for you, too. Just because ;)

After Lauren's number was picked, i think i was possessed by the Christmas Spirit and just wanted to keep giving gifties! So...i couldn't stop myself and drew three more numbers/names. Congratulations to:

(It's the Marcia who said, "I would like to make a coffee table runner as a backdrop for Christmas decorations, and if enough material, a banner to hang over the front window.")
Each of you will receive one of these cutie cute cute 12 Days patterns to make an adorable 59" x 59" quilt that looks like this:

There will be a little extra stocking stuffer in there for you, too! Who doesn't love surprises!? Please email me your mailing addresses so i can get these out lickety split.
Merry very early Christmas to all!

Forgot...

Are you getting used to me forgetting to mention something and then having to post again? Sorry, i get into a bit of a blog fog. So, i just wanted to mention that if you haven't signed up for the
you should head over to Fat Quarter Shop and do so right now! There are still some spots available and the first block is shipping this month (woohoo!). I'll be sewing along with everyone and will even be posting the blocks i make (did i actually write that??) in the 12 Days flickr pool. It'll be such fun to get to know you a little better...one block at a time!

Also...if you're looking for some Christmas (and other holiday) inspiration...do you know Gudrun of G.E. Designs? I had the incredible pleasure of meeting her at her beautiful booth in Minneapolis.
Gudrun has a fun new book available! It's called Fast & Furious Holiday and has 16 different holiday-themed projects to "quilt as you go". Christmas, Easter, 4th of July and more!You can buy a copy from Gudrun's etsy shop. Or read more about it on her blog where some of the projects are featured. There are tree skirts, ornaments, table runners, wall-hangings and yes, these adorable stockings she made with...eh hem...a certain line of fabric that you might just win...Gudrun, thank you so much for using my fabric in your inspiring project (and for featuring it on the cover no less). I'm so honored. It was such a joy to finally meet you in person!

Ok, i think that covers everything...for now. Until I remember that i forgot something else...

Catching Up

Whew, so much to share this week. First off, i'm tickled silly that Verna yardage is now shipping! So despite what Punxsutawney Phil said, Spring is coming early! Yippee! The Jolly Jabber asked me to share some thoughts about my first fabric line hitting the shops. Hard to put into words, really..but you can read more here. Hmm, just realized I use the word "Yippee!" a lot (with varying number of "ee"s and "!!!"s). What can i say? I get excited. On that note...

...thank you all so much for loading my inbox with wonderful notes of encouragement, kind thoughts, and inspired creative visions. It's an immeasurable joy for me to be able to share what I do with you (with help from the amazing Moda, of course)! I never realized that quilters are secretly spreading an epidemic of happiness. All I have to say about that is...count me in!

Which is why, when I learned that the Fat Quarter Shop had picked:

for the:


I signed up immediately! One look at the incredibly talented group of designers who were contributing their block designs, and that pretty much did it for me! I mean look at this list:

Anka's Treasures

Bonnie & Camille
Bunny Hill Designs
Fig Tree Quilts
G.E. Designs
Heartspun Quilts
Me and My Sister Designs
Minick and Simpson
Miss Rosie's Quilt Company
Pieces from my Heart
This & That
The Pattern Basket

You can read more about the Block of the Month here (and even get a sneak peek of one of the blocks!). Mind you, I'm really new to all of this, have only a general idea of how it works, and my sewing skills...well...they're improving. So why not head over to FQS to sign up — and then let me know you'll be doing it too so when I need help, I'll know who I can turn to! And if you don't participate, this adorable quilt kit is also available:

(this one uses the super fun panel! How can you resist!?)

And just this morning, I saw that another cuuute Verna quilt recipe is on the Moda Bake Shop! It's called "Easy as Cake" (amen, thank you Konda). When I clicked on the link to Moose on the Porch Quilts, it dawned on me that 1) I've only seen a moose in the road, but one on the porch? Wow! and 2) I actually have one of Konda's books! Simply Charming is on my desk rightthisveryminute. I guess it's fair to say that the words "easy" and "simple" are incredibly appealing to me. As are "fast" and "fun" (in case you're looking for a book title for beginning quilters).

So what all this amounts to is that each day is full of surprises and I'm grateful for each one of them and each one of you.

63 lb Box

The other day, my UPS guy dropped off a 63 lb box on my doorstep. I was in my studio and heard the truck pull up and stop (a sound that I've learned to distinguish from all others). Then the knock on the door. Now, I don't know about your UPS delivery people, but mine knocks and then zips back to the truck lickety-split — kind of like that kids' game "Ring and Run" where you ring your neighbor's doorbell and then run as fast as you can and hope not to be caught! Anyone else play that game? So anyway, by the time I got to the door, he was already pulling away...leaving me with this giant box. GIANT.

Once I spotted the Moda tape, I knew immediately what it was, got a serious fabric adrenaline rush and wrestled the box in and tore it open. Yippee! Here's what was inside, and just in time for Christmas — well, not this one, but since it won't be released until May, I thought I might as well show you while it's still cold outside and the holiday spirits are in the air:

(In case you're interested, 5 yards each of 36 prints--plus the box--weighs 63 lbs.)

And then, just yesterday, a smaller box arrived with these in it. Yum!

Skating elves, ornaments, poinsettias, berries and a fun panel with the 12 Days of Christmas (plus some cute embellishments) will be available to help deck your halls next year! There will even be 9 flannels of selected prints, too. How fun is that!?

Correction & Sneak Peek

A correction to the post I made y'day...the Cardstore.com WINTERSALE discount code for free shipping and 10% off all orders ends tonight (midnight PST)! eek! So if you wanna make use of it, ya better hurry! Otherwise, the MERRY15 code will still work.

While we're on the merry topic of Christmas, thought I'd share a sneak peek of my holiday 2010 fabric line for Moda called "12 Days of Christmas". And guess what? There's a panel in this one. Funnn!