happy holidays from the brindle squad!

I can't believe it's Christmas again... I guess that means it's also my blog-i-versary. Ah, it's been a good, productive year and full of changes, at that. We said goodbye to a lovely, loyal, and absolutely legendary canine friend and welcomed a new member to the tribe: miss violet p. (shown here in all her chunky glory!). My hubby graduated nursing school and started a new job (yay!), we moved (ack!), and we finally went on our honeymoon (only 2 years late!). Oh, and I got a walking foot for my newly-repaired sewing machine (major yay!). Who knows what next year holds? It's a big one for me... 30 here I come!

What I do know is that I'm excited to have an itty bitty break from work. I've got some projects planned (two smallish quilts) so crafty photos to come. In the meantime, here are some pillows I made for some of my pals at the office. I really do want to try some paper-piecing - especially hexes - in the new year, but these little hexes are appliqued (shhhh!).

Happy holidays to you and yours, from digs and the brindle squad! and cheers for a grand 2010!

everything's coming up toadstools!

Okay, yes, that's probably the cheesiest blog heading I've ever come up with, but I can't help it. These little ladies just make me happy. Thank you, Cathy Gaubert! And they make our Christmas ficus look oh-so-merry, don't you think? Despite the fact that they look a little...er...dehydrated.

More holiday crafting updates to come, and soon if I'm going to get everything made in time.

in the lab... (er, sewing room)

I spent my weekend experimenting with some quilting designs that have been in my head for a while. The first is a quilt block that I've been dreaming about for my round of the Common Threads quilting bee. I'm wondering if I can actually make the vertical lines match up and how well those colors will play out over a queen size quilt... open to suggestions!

Then I worked on some stitched holiday cards with some super cute green (of course) polka dot fabric I found. I love stitching on paper... it always surprises me that it's so easy to do.

And finally, the girlies got some new bling.... matching, of course. Aw, (spoiled rotten) mama's girls!

big (big, big) news!

I'm so very excited... remember that "felt mystery project" I was working on over the summer? Well, mystery revealed: I was feverishly creating projects for this book: Fa La La La Felt. Lots of hard work on a crazy fast schedule, but so worth it! This book is Lark's very first ebook, available for purchase at Zinio.com. It's also coming out in its print version early next fall, but instant gratification is so nice, especially this close to the holidays. I had such a fun time getting acquainted with felt (especially the whole easy-to-work-with bit)... and the book is chock full of super cute designs, both traditional and indie. And what a smashing collection of designers!

Here's one of my designs as a sneak preview; maybe it's my quilterly ways, but I couldn't help but bring a little fabric into the mix. Wanna get a free project from the book? Try Cathy Gaubert's totally rad Holiday Toadstools on for size. I want to make about 62 for our Christmas ficus!