I finished my Schnibbles Picnic quilt top!

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well. I finished my Schnibbles Picnic quilt top tonight. I honestly didn't think that I was going to get it done on time. I have been feeling really horribly lately. I really need to see my doctor again. But I'm surviving, and taking things one day at a time. I really love this little quilt top. I'm keeping this one too. It was a lot of work. But definitely worth it. I ripped out a lot of seams in this one in order to get it right. But, I wanted to do a good job. So, I couldn't just leave the mistakes. I'm happy that I did the extra work. It was worth it in the end. I really had to push to get through this top since I felt so terrible. I'll always be able to look at this one and remember that I just kept going when I felt rough and came out ahead with a wonderful little quilt top.

My computer is fixed!! Here is my photo!!





Hugs Ariane

I figured out how to get online using the PS3!!

Hi everyone, I've figured out how to get online using my kids PS3. It's taking a bit to get used to, but at least the screen is bigger than the iPod. I can also use my mouse and wireless keyboard. It's going to take a bit before I get my computer fixed. So at least I can still go online and see all your wonderful projects. My kids are a little anoyed that I figured out how to get online with the PS3. Now they are going to have to share. Ahhhhh! Too bad. I've added the two blocks I've made to my flickr account. I can upload the photos there but not on my blog.

I think my account is flickr.com/photo/arianescrafts/ .

So go check them out.

Hugs Ariane

Coming to you via my sons iPod

Hi everyone! I wanted to let you know what I'm working on. I finished another Shabby roses block. No picture to share. I only have two more to make.  I'm going to work on my picnic quilt this weekend. Hopefully I can finish the top this weekend. I hope to have my computer back soon.  Take care! Hugs   Ariane :o)

My computer died....so I can't post much now. Hopefully will be fixed soon

Another Block done and a few cute ornaments

On the weekend, I spent some time with my daughter making some Christmas ornaments. This is a tradition for our family. I always make some simple decorations with the kids to put on the tree. The boys were not as interested so my daughter and I went ahead and made some. She painted some simple wooden ornaments with an aqua color. This is her favorite color. I had bought a Martha Stewart stamp and glitter starter kit (on sale 30% off). I also bought some cheap Christmas stamps. These were $1.50 each. We had fun using the glue and glitter to decorate these ornaments. I just have to glue the ribbon to the back in order to hang them on the tree. Aren't these cute!!!

I also finished another Shabby Roses Block. Only 3 more blocks to make. Yeah!!

I have to work evenings tonight. Have a great day.

Happy Stitching!!

Hugs Ariane

A great giveaway at Pink Pincushion!!!

Oh! I hate to share this with you, because I want to win. But I'll share anyways. Sinta at Pink Pincushion is having an amazing giveaway to celebrate her 100th post. She has a wonderful blog, so go check it out.

A cute little Reindeer Stitchery!

Hi everyone! I hope you are all well.
Today, I organized some of my sewing area.

I don't have a sewing room and my stuff was kind of getting out of control.

So, I spent about four hours today organizing my stuff
so that it's more organized and accessible.

There is still some work to be done. But it looks a lot better.

 I also made a small Christmas Stitchery today.

I'm going to be turning it into an ornament.
I used a free pattern that I got online.

Unfortunately, I can't remember what site I got it from.

I'll have to look around to see if I can find it. If I do, I'll let you know.

I hope you like it.

Edited November 23, 2009: I found the free embroidery pattern online. It's from Andrea Zeill at Badbirds blog. She had the free embroidery pattern posted in December of 2007. Here is the link.

Happy Stitching!!

Hugs Ariane

Finished Block 5,6 and 7 of Shabby Roses BOM

I hope you are all having a nice day!
I finished a few blocks the last couple of days.

They are for my Shabby Roses BOM.
I finished block 5, 6, and 7.
I'm very happy about that.

Now I have the first 8 blocks done.
Only 4 more to go. Yeah!!!

I'm feeling much better today.

Thanks to all of you who commented about that.

I had some kind of stomach virus. It was not pretty.

 But I'm over it now. I'm so glad.

 I had a really good day today. The kids all had planned activities today.

 So, my husband and I were left on our own.

We spent some time together and went out to a concert tonight.

We had a great time.  I hope you all a great day.

Happy Stitching!!!

Hugs Ariane

Ahhhh! More Fabric....I love it!!

So, Yesterday I got a wonderful package in the mail. I ordered some fabric from Flair For Fabric because she had it on sale. Her store is closing, so I decided to just get a bunch before it was all sold out.

I bought some Amy Butler fabric and patterns.

Some Heather Bailey.......

Some Patty Young......

Here's a few more....don't you just love those pink trees. Those are my favorite.

So, I'm very spoiled.

I kind of blew my budget on this purchase.

But they are all one yard cuts and I got them at an amazing price.

They are designer fabrics. So they are amazing.

I've been sick the last two days. I was working evenings and it took everything I had to make it through my shifts. I'm off this weekend. So, I'm going to rest and hopefully get to work on some of my projects. I did work on my Shabby Roses blocks. Doing hand embroidery is always very relaxing for me. I can work on those even if I don't feel well. So, I'm going to be doing a lot of hand stitching this weekend.

I hope you are all well!!

Happy Stitching!

Hugs Ariane

I received my Stitcher's Angel gifts!!!

Hi everyone, I just got home from work and received my Stitcher's Angel package from my swap partner Kylie.  Look at what I had to open. Aren't these packages beautifully wrapped!!!

I was so excited to open them. My daughter helped me with the wrapping. She gets so excited when I get packages in the mail. I received the most wonderful gifts.

She sent me a wonderful floss holder. This is definitly going to be handy when I'm working on my hand stitching projects. I always carried my floss in a ziplock plastic bag. This will help me stay organized. She also sent me three wonderful fat quarters. They are so nice. She also sent a wonderful little stitchery pattern. I love it. But best of all is the little stitched bag and needlecase. Here's a close-up.

I just love the stitching on the bag and needlecase. It's just wonderful. Thank you so much Kylie. I just love my whole package. Thanks Again!!!!

Thanks to Helen for organizing this Stitcher's Angel Swap. It has been so much fun. Thanks to all the wonderful designers who shared their patterns with us to make.

I also received another package in the mail today from my Advent Swap partner Jeannette. I can't open that yet. I have to wait until December 1st to open my first gift. There are 25 gifts in the package she sent me. One for each day until Christmas. I'm so excited. I can't wait to see my little gifts.

This has been a great mail day. It just made my day!!

Hugs Ariane

Handmade Christmas Ornament Inspiration from Flickr

1. christmas decoration, 2. christmas ornaments inspired by maileg, 3. Snowman Battalion, 4. My Little Xmas Doggy, 5. christmas ornaments, 6. Softie Ornament Set, 7. felt ornaments, 8. holiday swap ornaments, 9. little christmas houses, 10. christmas puds all in a row, 11. Christmas Trees, 12. forest of tree ornaments, 13. rainbow of trees - front, 14. Linen Bird Ornaments, 15. CandyCanes, 16. Christmas Ornaments, 17. leftover gingerbread men, 18. christmas tree ornament - snowmen, 19. how to make christmas ornaments, 20. handmade ornaments, 21. handmade ornaments, 22. little angel, 23. holiday christmas owl ornaments, 24. primitive christmas ornaments, 25. christmas ornaments

Just a little inspiration to help you create your own wonderful Handmade Christmas Ornaments.

Enjoy!!

Hugs Ariane

Another Shabby Roses Block done!!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good day.

Today I worked day shift. It was a good day,
but I had a really bad headache.

It got so bad that I ended up having to rest for a
few hours when I got home.

But then when I got up again I was better.

I didn't feel like working on my Picnic quilt tonight,

so I decided to finish one of my Shabby Roses Blocks.
This is block #8. I haven't done block 5,6 or 7.
But I really liked this one so I jumped ahead.
Now it's done.

 I really like it. I have to get a few more of these ready
so that I can work on them. This is one of the projects
I'm hoping to get done before the end of the year.

Well, I have to work again in the morning.

So I have to go to bed now. Have a good night!!!

Hugs Ariane

I started my Picnic Schnibbles quilt top!

Hi everyone! I got my Schnibbles Picnic pattern today

and the two charm packs that I'm using to make it.

 I decided to use Simply Abundance.

I've been just loving that material from a distance

and decided to finally order the charm packs and a bit of yardage to make this quilt.

I love it. I'm going to order a bit more yardage of some of the colors.

The red and the aqua are my favorite. I have to get more of it.

I started sewing, cutting and trimming the squares to make the blocks.

This pattern is a lot more work then the previous Schnibbles pattern that I've made.

I worked on it for over three hours.

All I have done is the baskets half square triangles sewn and trimmed.

Lots and lots and lots of trimming. My arm hurts.

It doesn't help that I got the H1N1 vaccine this week in my left arm and it really hurts.

It's been three days and my arm is still very sore. But hopefully it will protect me from getting it.

Well, I hope you are all well. I will keep working on this project this evening.

I have to work in the morning, so I don't want to stay up too late.

Have a good night.

Hugs Ariane

New Stuff!!!

Hi everyone!! I got a new washer and dryer today!!! YEAH!!!!!! I have been doing my laundry....some by hand and the rest at the laundrymat for the last four months. Awwh!! It's been a long four months. We finally were able to afford the washer and dryer we wanted and it was delivered today. Wow!!! What a difference. I've had so much extra work because of the laundry. We are five people....and you know how kids are. They dirty a lot of clothes. So, I've been happily doing my laundry all day.

I also got a few things in the mail that I had never showed on my blog. I had ordered some discount books from Martingale & Company. These were 5 books for $25 dollars. I didn't know what books I would get. But I'm happy with the ones I received.

I had also ordered a few bundles of fabric. I bought some the Authentic fabrics and some Nature-ology fabrics. I love both of these collections. I ordered these from the Fabricshoppe.

I also got fabric from Flair for Fabric: a fat quarter bundle of Jennifer Paganelli Dance with me "Sunrise" and a rose damask in red. I really love these too.

Did I say that I was addicted to buying fabric?

Hugs Ariane

Got "Don't Look Now" patterns in the mail!!!

Hi everyone! I worked today, and haven't done any sewing yet tonight. But I did get some wonderful mail. I had ordered two patterns from Kellie at Don't Look Now. They are so wonderful. I just love these patterns. I'm hoping to make a few of these pillows for my daughters bedrooms. Aren't they just amazing. I don't know when I'll work on these, but I do have a lot of material that I can use for these. I wouldn't have to buy any. Hmmmmmm!!!!

Hugs Ariane

A beautiful day at the football field!!

Hi everyone! Today I spent the day at the football field. My oldest played in the regional finals with his Junior High School Team. My sons team won the finals. It was a very close game, but the team played very well. It was a real nail bitter. The weather was amazing. A perfect day to be outside and spending time with the family. It was very exciting. As you can see in the photo above, the boys were very happy about their win. I hope you all had a great day.

Hugs Ariane

Motivation to finish projects.....

Hi everyone, I hope you are well!! I've been working on so many swaps and little projects lately that I haven't worked on some of the projects that I've started a while back. I know that I'm not the only one with UFO's. It's one of the side affects of becoming addicted to quilting and fabric. You just always want to start something new. Well, I sent out my last swap of the year. I've been really good and didn't sign up to any more swaps so that I can work on some of my projects. I've done 8 swaps this year. I think that's pretty good. So, here's the list of projects that I need to finish.

1. Schnibbles Cindy Lou Who Quilt - needs to be quilted
2. Woodland Bloom Quilt - need to finish the border then quilt it
3. Hexagon Star Quilt - hand piecing this top, have 6 rows of 17 stars done, 9 rows of 17 to go
4. Rocky Road to Kansas Quilt - 6 blocks done, 6 blocks to make
5. Shabby Roses BOM - 4 blocks done, 8 left to do
6. 9-patch Quilt Along - Not very far along, need to work on this one
7. Sister's Quilt - need to sew the blocks together to finish the top

Now, my "I want to make" list is much longer .  But I"m trying to not think of those too much. I'm going to try to work on these projects this month. I'm still going to make the Schnibbles quilt if I get the pattern on time. But I really do want to get some of these done. Let's see if I can get some of these projects done. Even if I get only one totally done and some progress on others, I'll be happy. But I'm really going to try hard not to start any new projects. That's going to be really hard. Well I hope you all have a great night.

Edited to add....... Well, since I plan to work on all these projects, I might as well join the "Joy of New Year Challenge" by Jacquie at Tallgrass Prairie Studio. I'm going to try to get as many of these projects done before the New Year. So let's get to work!!!!

Hugs Ariane

I finally finished my Winter White Schnibbles quilt!!!

I'm done!! Yeah! Today, I finished my Winter White Schnibbles quilt. I'm so excited to be done. I spent the morning quilting it and then it took me the rest of the day to hand stitch the binding to the back. I just finished it a few minutes ago. I love the way this quilt turned out. It's not perfect, but still very pretty. I used fabric from my stash for this quilt. I usually buy fat quarters, and that's what I used. I even pieced the back with blocks cut from some of the fat quarters that I used for the front. I decided to make a simple nine patch block for the back. I think it's cute. I even pieced left over strips of fabric to make the binding. This quilt is being gifted so I took lots of pictures to remind me of it. I really like this pattern. I may have to make another one like this at some point. It was not the easiest, but I love the look of it.

On another note, last night I went to my local quilt guild meeting. I had so much fun. Some of the long time members of the quilt guild had their very own truck shows. Six members showed their quilts and shared their stories. It was so much fun. I had some good laughs. I think it was one of the most enjoyable nights out I had in a while. I'm really happy I was able to go this month. I hope you are all well!!

Happy Stitching!!!

Hugs Ariane

Amazing packages in the mail!!!

I got home from work today and my husband said:

"Hey Honey, You got some more mail! How come you always get packages in the mail?"

Hmmmm! A little bit jelous I think! Well, he should be.

I got the most amazing package from Caryn @ Pieceful Chaos. She was my swap partner for the flickr placemat swap. She made me 6 wonderful matching snowman placemats. I just LOVE them. They are amazing. She made them out of the softess flannels. I feel so blessed to have received such a gift. Thank you so much Caryn. I'm so excited about them.

Then, I also received my package from Fahrenheit 350. She sent me a sample of her traditional sweet log. It was eaten by MOI in about 60 seconds. I did have to savor it a little. Mmmmmm!!! It was delicious and sweeeeeeeeet!!! I loved it!!! Thank you so much Kitty!!

As you can see, I was very excited after work. This just made my day. Thanks to both Caryn and Kitty. I'm so very blessed!!!!

Hugs Ariane