Just one more day........

.....until Liberty of London for Target is available in stores!!! I have loved Liberty prints for eons - we lived in England when I was a youngster and I can remember loving the Liberty Store in London. When I saw the blog rumors that they were coming out with a line here in the US, I did a little dance. I already have a list of must-haves: headbands, sheeting (that I will probably cut up for projects), shirts, dresses, kitchenware and maybe even the cruiser bike! I think that my mom and I will make an online shopping attempt at 9pm PST and possibly brave a Target store or two tomorrow. For now, here is a sneaky peek of what's to come.................

DQS8 Received!

DQS8 Received!
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

I was so thrilled to receive my DQS8 today! This was my first Doll Quilt Swap and I am thrilled with the quilt that I received - all of the way from the East Coast! I really appreciate the hand quilting and the colour combo is perfect. She also sent along some great Heather Ross fabrics too!

Thanks again partner, you made my day! :)

The Year of the Tiger

Yesterday we went to San Francisco for the Chinese New Year Parade! My husband cannot stand crowds so I considered it a coup that he went with us :) The Boy just loved the sights and sounds of Chinatown, the crowds and excitement were so unlike what we are used to in our sleepy coastal town.

The Chinese Lion and Dragon dancers are my favourite. The colours and movements of the dancers are joyous,if you ever have a chance to attend Chinese New Year festivities I highly recommend going!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

DQS8 All Finished!

I have finally finished my doll quilt for DQS8! Although it did not turn out exactly like my original sketch, I have enjoyed making and handquilting it. The few chages that I made definitely made it better. I really hope that my swap partner enjoys it and the little goodies (snail eraser, Chinese New Year decoration, lavender sachet and FQ) that I have included. Now I can watch my mailbox to see what comes for me!

Look who's here................

My guy has been fighting a cold for a few days now and this morning I put my foot down and decided to keep him at home. He was less than pleased with my announcement and has decided not to talk to me for a while. With secret Valentines at school and this being a Handwork day I can understand his disappointment. It's so hard to know when you should and shouldn't send your child to school. I know the health guidelines but beyond that when do you make the call? The last thing I want is for him to get worse because his little body is too exhausted to fight the bug! Oh well, for now, it's the silent treatment..................

On another note, I am finally making real progress on the DQS8 quilt that I've been working on. My hope was to try machine quilting on this project but it was not to be. My Bernina and I are not getting along and the quilting was just not turning out as I had hoped. Alas, I turned to good old hand quilting and I'm pleased how it looks. Outlining the mushrooms with hand embroidery was also a good choice and I may spruce up the quilt with a little more! Not sure about the binding yet, but I'm thinking orange?

Like the mushrooms?

A picture of the back and front of the quilt, see the back side with embroidered mushrooms?

yum

I am loving this Orla Kiely mug. My grandma sent it to me from the UK. It holds the perfect amount of Ovaltine. The colours speak to me, yummy. :)

Another crafter in the family

I am not the only crafty one in the family. Actually, my son is an avid crafter and we recently pulled my husband into the crafting realm also. Max attends a local public Waldorf School where we have an incredibly talented Handwork Teacher. Of all subjects Handwork is one of his favourites and with Ms. Ahart, he has blossomed into an amazing self-directed crafter. I am not a knitter or crocheter (yet) so when he crafts at home, he is on his own. Any mistakes that he makes, he has to figure out on his own. I am constantly amazed by the wonderful projects that he work on at home. Wouldn't you rather your son crochet on a four hour long car trip than play on a handheld video game?

Max made this knitted doll named Oscar at school, isn't he great?
He made the hat for Oscar at home.

This little drawstring bag was crocheted by Max yesterday. Amazing right? He tells me that it's a fishnet bag. A girl at school was making one for a project, he watched what she was doing, came home and made one all by himself.

Cruising around Joann Fabrics before Christmas I saw these looms called Knifty Knitters. They seemed interesting so I bought a set for Max. He opened the set on Christmas Day and lo and behold the first person to make a hat was - my HUSBAND! He slaved over that Knifty Knitter for hours and this (below) is his first hat. Then he made another and another. He wears the hat that he made for himself all of the time. I know that technically it's cheating but hey, they come out great and they're handmade. I even made one for a friend's daughter in Tahoe. My husband is constantly busy, it was great for him to just sit quietly for a while and work with is hands. I think that after hat #3 he realized how crafting can be a bit addicting for me! :)

Here's a pic of my husbands first hat and the knift knitter loom.

In awe of my family,