12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop Kick Off!

It's here! The 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop, hosted by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, is live!

This is my second year participating, having made the Holiday Forest runner and placemat pattern last year.

Earlier this summer, Holiday Forest took second place (behind Love Abounds) in the sewing division at the local fair. Woohoo!

My day in the hop is next Friday, but here's a sneak peek of what I've got in store for Christmas.

The idea rolled around in my head for a few weeks, then after several tries, it's worked out beautifully.

Now get hopping!

Fireworks Wall Hanging

I'm celebrating the nation's birthday this July 4th with a spectacular Fireworks wall hanging!

Created over the last week, I've teased everyone plenty with sneak peeks - hope it has exceeded expectations!

Inspired a week ago Sunday by this image from a craft store ad, 

I just knew I had to make a fireworks wall hanging. A 4th of July celebration just wouldn't be complete without one!

After working out the concept with paper templates, appliqueing with fabric was easy, as shown with the teaser pictures last week. And now it's time for closeup pictures of the finished Fireworks wall hanging!

Aren't these fireworks just bursting with happy celebration?

There are also sprays of stars in the border,

meeting up in the corners.

Notice the red/white striped inner border, adding a pop of Americana.

And last, the back, a fun patriotic pinwheel fabric.

And you too can have oohs and ahhs over this fireworks display in your own home! The bursting red, white, and blue Fireworks wall hanging is now available as a pattern in my Etsy store. 

Happy 4th of July!

July and August 2017 Book of the Month

It's the 1st of July, which means another choice for the Book of the Month feature! This one goes to Kate Henderson and her book, Strip Savvy (affiliate link).

For many months, I've contemplated cutting some of my stash into strips, to easily make quilts and make room for new fabric. That last part is probably the bigger reason - wink, wink! Seriously, we all love new fabric. But the older stuff needs to be used first. That's just the way I think.

Glancing through this book, there are numerous quilts that have caught my eye. So, I've gone ahead and made this my choice for both July and August. Plenty of time to work on at least one quilt!

It may be a week or two before I get a start as there a several projects to work on first: the patriotic project, the duck pinwheels, and a project for the Christmas in July blog hop. Busy, busy, busy!

Continue to have a great weekend - see you on Monday!

This post contains affiliate links. I only endorse items that I feel bring value to quilters, and may receive compensation for any purchase you make.