Emma's Pick Of The Week - Big Birdies!

Hey There, it's me Emma Jane! This week I chose the Birdie Big Blocks Quilt Pattern as my pick of the week. And oh boy, do I ever have a good reason for picking it! We saw a Red Tailed Hawk hanging out right outside our house over the weekend! And let me tell you something - it was a big birdie! So, in honor of Mr. Red Tailed Hawk I picked this pattern.
It's a simple quilt done with fusible applique. You could probably even finish it in a weekend. Imagine how cute it would look in the Par Avion fabric from the Flights of Fancy Collection....
Or in this colorway.....
Or in this one.....
I love the way the circles and bird motifs in the fabric would match the circles and birds in the quilt. I also think this quilt would look really cute in fabrics from the Darla Collection....
I hope you like my pick this week! See ya next week!

XOXO,
Emma Jane

Emma's Pick Of The Week - Bitsy Button!

Hey There, it's me Emma Jane! My Pick Of The Week is the Bitsy Button & Friends Quilt Pattern by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs. Ummm.....do I really need to explain why I picked this quilt? It's pretty obvious, isn't it?
I love seeing all my little doggy friends walking across this quilt in their adorable collars of rick rack and buttons and bows. And some of the doggies even have REAL doggy name tags on them! How cute!

Another great thing about this quilt is that it will look great in any color combination and fabric style. I think I'm going to make mine in the Doll Dresses Collection......
Or maybe in the Little Lady Collection.....
Or I could use the soft and elegant colors of the Patisserie Collection.....
Or maybe I should make one of each. It's not possible to have too many doggy quilts, is it? I better get going.....I have a lot of sewing to do.

XOXO,
Emma Jane

Calgon.....Take Me Away!

Hmmmm.....I don't even know where to begin. If you've been following along you know that in the first week of November (November 2 to be exact) we found out that Max had a very dangerous tumor in his abdomen. He had to have a major surgery on Nov 4 and was recovering well for about a week. I had to close the shop for a few days to take care of him and drive him back and forth to the specialist one and a half hours away in Pensacola, FL. I'm laughing at myself now because at the time I thought it was such a horrible week. Silly girl! I had no idea what was coming next.

Last week (November 11 to be exact) he began having some complications. Very serious complications. He was in really bad shape. I won't go into all the details but he ended up having a second surgery. A much scarier surgery. Five hours away in New Orleans. It was one of those "knock me over with a feather moments." A friend of mine took the day off work to go with me. We left at 5:00 a.m. and didn't get back until 8:00 p.m. Ouch!

He had to stay in the hospital for several days. And then on Monday (Nov 16) it was back to New Orleans to get him. We're sooooo glad he's back home now. It's been a rough two weeks for my sweet boy. And Emma has been trying to help nurse him back to health....And steal the food that he drops when that stupid cone gets in the way.
Anyway, I'm trying to get to the point here. I want to say I'm sorry for totally neglecting the shop and the blog and everything else lately. I'm getting all caught up and hopefully things will be back to "normal" soon. I'm looking forward to getting back to talking about fabric and patterns and sewing and baking and all the good stuff in life.

I also want to take a moment to mention how wonderful my friends and family have been. Everyone has been so incredibly supportive and helpful! I'm so lucky to know so many kind and generous people!

Thank you to everyone!
Jenny

Emma's Pick Of The Week - Feelin Funky

Hey There, it's me Emma Jane. And I'm feeling muuuucccchhhh better now. But geez, medication for back pain sure does make you feel funky. That's why I picked the Funked Out Peasant Blouse Pattern by Lila Tueller as my pick of the week. I also picked it because it's one of Mommy's WIP's (Work In Progress) and I want to tease her for not having it done yet! Here are the pieces she cut out for her blouse using fabric from the Soiree Collection (also by Lila Tueller)....
And here's the close up picture of the pattern...
It's a great pattern - it's comfy and cute and would look great in a million different fabric combinations. You can do it in all one fabric or in four different fabrics like you see in the picture. We live in Florida so the pink and green color combination is pretty normal year round. But you could try some fabric collections that have some autumn-y browns and reds like Andalucia by Patty Young......

or Amy Butler's new collection, Love with all those beautiful shades of blue and green and tangerine....

Or the Santorini Collection (another Lila Tueller Collection). Yup, I'm back on pink and green again.

Well.....I hope that blouse will be finished soon so we can show you the finished product. I think it'll be really cute! See ya next week.

XOXO,
Emma Jane

Emma's Pick - Sick As A Dog

Well......I debated whether or not I should do a post about this. But I have to explain why Emma's Pick Of The Week is canceled this week (but it will be back next week). And why I basically closed the shop for a few days this week. And since I don't think I've ever met a sewer/crafter who isn't also a pet lover I know you will understand.

On Halloween, Emma slipped a disc in her neck. I know - my poor baby! Emma was seen at the vet on Monday and is now blissfully enjoying her pain pills. She's slowly improving but it will take a few weeks before she's 100%. So, she wasn't in the mood to do a photo shoot and a blog post.
It was also time for Max to have some routine "senior dog" tests so we did that on Monday as well. The test results were shocking.....especially considering the fact that Max is acting completely healthy. But they showed that he has an extremely large (almost the size of a football!) and very dangerous tumor in his abdomen. So, the next thing I know I'm rushing him over to a specialty surgery and emergency center an hour and a half away. He was admitted to the ICU and got surgery today. There were no complications and he should be able to come home soon.

Yup. My week has been kind of a blur. And I now fully understand the expression "sick as a dog."

I'll keep you updated,
Jenny

November Giveaway - Flights of Fancy

Happy November! This month we're giving away an Ocean Flights Of Fancy Fat Quarter Bundle. This collection was inspired by the designer month long vacation in Hawaii. You can see more of this gorgeous collection by Paula Prass here.

Just send us an e-mail with the word Ocean in the subject or text and you'll be entered to win. We'll also sign you up for our Newsletter (if you're not already on it) unless you write No Newsletter in your e-mail. The last day to enter is November 30! The winner will be chosen on December 1, 2009.

Good Luck and Happy Sewing,
Jenny

December 1 Update: The winner is Amy L. of Venice, Florida. Congratulations Amy!

P.S. You can read about last months Giveaway here. Thank you to everyone who entered - I love reading all your comments and stories! Linda T. of Virginia won last months Giveaway. She was so excited to win the Spanish inspired fabric as she lived in Spain for a while! Congratulations Linda!