Thursday, January 27, 2011

Emma's Pick Of The Week - Take Me To Paris!!!

Hey there! It's me, Emma Jane! I've had a really rough week! I got surgery on Monday and I've been sleeping most of the week and dreaming about taking a trip to Paris when I feel better. I wasn't up for posing for a fancy picture with some fabric.....so this picture of me passed out on my Daddy's jacket surrounded by my "get well" presents will have to do. And since I won't be going to Paris anytime soon the Penelope Collection by Lakehouse Dry Goods will have to satisfy my craving for all things French......
And I know I shouldn't play favorites.......but could anything be better than this Bebe Tea Dainties fabric? It's pink and covered in French pastries.....it can't get any better than that!
And it looks adorable with the Bebe Confisserie Stripe....
And these delicate Parchment Roses.....
And we're planning on using the Penelope fabrics to make "A Girl In Paris" by Fig Tree Quilts.....
Hopefully we'll be able to show you some progress on that in the coming months. But right now, I'm going to go put on a sassy beret, sip some champagne, eat some pastries and pretend I'm in Paris!

XOXO,
Emma Jane

P.S. If you're wondering what kind of surgery I had.....well......it's kind of un-lady like and icky. So, if you want to know.....if you're really curious.....if you have dogs.....and if you're not eating anything right now.....you can take a peek at this link describing the surgery I had. And don't say I didn't warn you!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Emma's Pick Of The Week - Hopping Down The Bunny Trail


Hey there, it's me Emma Jane! If you're completely sick of all the cold and snow I have the perfect thing to cheer you up and remind you that spring is coming soon! It's the new Easter Wishes pattern by the Vintage Spool....
The Vintage Spool makes the most amazingly detailed and beautiful applique quilt patterns! And of course this Easter one is full of adorable bunnies....
And chicks.....
If you have a lot of pastels in your fabric stash this quilt is a great way to use them. Or you could take a peek at some of the fabrics from the Doll Dresses 1 or Dolly Dresses 2 Collections. There's even some Robin Baby Bunny fabric in the Doll Dresses Collection.....
But I'm going to be VERY patient and wait for the arrival of Annie's Farm Stand by Lakehouse Dry Goods...
It should be here this spring and I think this fabric will make a perfect Easter Wishes Quilt. And that gives me a few months to get all of my applique templates ready!
And did you know my BFF is a bunny? Bella definitely gives this Pick Of The Week her seal of approval!

XOXO,
Emma Jane

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Henrietta Whiskers - Block One

I'd like to introduce you to the oh so adorable HenriettaWhiskers! She's a sweet little squirrel created by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs and is part of her 2011 Mystery Block Of The Month.
This year, it's an autumn themed quilt and oh by the way....did I mention that it's a FREE download on Anne's blog??? A new block will be available on the 5th of every month. You can download the first block here.
Well, I fell in love with little Henrietta the moment I saw her. But I usually work in pastels or brights. I don't have a lot of dark or muted or autumny fabrics in my stash. Soooo.....my version of an autumn quilt includes lots of lavender, celery & moss green, soft pumpkin, butter yellow, aqua and of course a little pink.....
I had my layout done and my pieces cut.....ohhhh....about an hour after I saw Anne's big reveal of Henrietta....
And Block One of Henrietta is now done.
That's actually supposed to be a bouquet of autumn leaves that Henrietta is holding. But in my Henrietta's world the autumn leaves turn pink!

Now that Block One of Henrietta Whiskers is done I'm getting back to my pink and green Hooterville Quilt. Hopefully, I'll be able to show you some preppy pink and green owls very soon!

Happy Sewing,
Jenny

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Emma's Pick Of The Week - Party! Party! Party!

Hey there, it's me Emma Jane! And it's party time! It's Mommy's birthday tomorrow and we are going to celebrate! She's off making a cake right now.....she said something about vanilla cake with raspberry filling and buttercream frosting....and maybe a little coconut on top. Soooo.....I was inspired to pick the Sweet Shop Fat Quarter Bundle as my pick of the week....
This bundle just oozes sweet, sugary goodness. And this sweet Pink Tiny Ticking is making me think of the pink and white layers in that vanilla raspberry cake being made in the kitchen right now.....
I'm gonna go see if Mommy needs any help licking cake batter out of the bowls. See ya next week!

XOXO,
Emma Jane

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Emma's Pick Of The Week - Love Is In The Air

Hey there, it's me Emma Jane! Valentine's Day is approaching fast and that means I'm giving out lots of puppy smooches! It also means that it's time to start making cute little projects with pink and red fabrics. This Sugar & Spice Fat Quarter Bundle is perfect for Valentine's Day.....
Wouldn't it look adorable in the "Something Sweet" quilt???
And if you need something to wear for a hot date on Valentine's Day (or any night for that matter) this Proper Attire skirt is just right....
It's classy and feminine but flirty and fun at the same time. I think it would be perfect in Red Damask.....
Or maybe Fire Mod Blooms......
Or Petal Flora would be great too....
And now, will someone Puh-leaze take that ridiculous bow off my head?! It's messing up my fur!

XOXO,
Emma Jane

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Happy New Year 2011!

Happy New Year Everybody! I know it's just another date on the calendar but I love the idea of a clean slate and a fresh start. And after such a.....shall we say "odd" year last year I'm looking forward to starting anew!

But I better tell you about the cupcakes before I start rambling on about New Years stuff! I made those on New Year's Eve so we'd have a yummy treat to go with our champagne. And if you're wondering......we just stay home for New Year's Eve, make a nice dinner and have some champagne. Simple. Easy. Relaxed.

The directions for the cupcakes are in the awesome book "Hello, Cupcake." But for some reason I was the only one who ate a cupcake! Everyone else said "Too cute, can't do it!" Come on.....just look at that face......he wants you to nibble on his sweet, sugary little coconut covered face....
Oh well.....that just means there are more cupcakes for me!

Anyway, how was your year last year? Mine was interesting. It started like a sledge hammer to my life and ended like a nice, warm cozy hug. Here's what I did in 2010......

-Awesome 10 day ski trip to Telluride for my birthday on January 14. So. Much. Fun. (Obviously that wasn't part of the sledge hammer).

-Got a kidney stone on January 24. Yes, that's where the sledge hammer comes in. OUCH.

-Max went to Doggy Heaven on February 28. He would have turned 9 years old on March 1.

-Sammy came into our life exactly one month later. She was more of a tornado and less of a sledge hammer!

-John got a 6 month very hard, very time consuming job assignment and I barely saw him from April through September.

-John was able to escape for 1 week in June and we went to the Bahamas. Ahhhh....a whole week of boats, beaches, bikinis and tropical drinks!
-John had his Fini-Flight in the F-15 at Tyndall. He still gets to fly on occasion but the F-15's have all left Tyndall - boo hoo!
-John had some work trips to Washington, DC and Tucson, AZ in the fall and I tagged along. And I went to Quilt Market in Houston and John tagged along.

-I moved to Tyndall in November so John and I could actually spend some time together.

-We had a relaxing end to the year with lots of time off, lots of relaxing, lots of good food, lots of fun holidays and a lot less stress!

And now here we are ready to start a new year. My main goal for the year is to SEW MORE! And yes I also have all the usual goals/resolutions of lose the holiday weight (while continuing to eat cupcakes), fix up the house, get more organized, etc. But right now all I want to do is plan lots of sewing projects for 2011!

First up is Hooterville. I've been dying to make a Hooterville Quilt since it first came out.
And I keep looking at this bucket full of Lakehouse fabrics that I've been hoarding for years and years and I keep thinking that a bright, preppy, pink & green Hooterville Quilt just might be the cutest thing ever.
Then I want to make something with Penelope once it arrives later this month! I've been waiting for this fabric since I first saw it at Quilt Market in May!!!
And the second Penelope arrives I'm going to start making a pink and black Girl In Paris Quilt. I think that fabric and this pattern are perfect together!
I've also been wanting to make a State Fair Quilt.....
Using my Tickled Pink & Aqua Fat Quarter Bundle.....
And I'd love to finish some of the zillions of projects that I've already started that are in various stages of completion!

Oh, and do you remember how last year I said I wanted to make a new kit for the shop once a month.....ummm......yeah.....that didn't go as planned. So, hopefully this year I'll reach that goal!

That's what I've got planned so far. What are your plans for the New Year???

Happy New Year and Happy Sewing,
Jenny

January 2011 Giveaway - Isabella

We Have A Winner!!!
The winner is thegoose who said "I gave up on resolutions years ago, so I can't tell you that, but I can tell you that with this lovely material I would make a quilt." Thegoose also earned extra entries because she e-mailed her friends about the Giveaway! Congratulations!
Happy January! This month we're giving away a 9 piece Pink Isabella Fat Quarter Bundle by Lila Tueller. This seems like the perfect fabric collection to chase away any winter blahs!

Here's how to enter:

-Leave a blog comment about your New Year's resolution or what you want to make with Isabella or whatever thought crosses your mind for one entry
-Tweet about this Giveaway for another entry
-Mention this Giveaway on Facebook for another entry
-Mention this Giveaway on your Blog for another entry
-And I know not everyone has their own Blog or Twitter or Facebook account.....So, you can receive an extra entry if you let me know that you e-mailed at least 3 friends and told them about this.

Soooo.....you can "earn" up to FIVE chances to win this bundle!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please be sure to leave a blog comment for every additional entry you do. For example....Leave your first blog comment about whatever crosses your mind for your first entry. But be sure to leave another comment saying "I tweeted this" or "I Facebooked this," etc. so I know that you get extra chances to win.

And you may notice the handy dandy little grey buttons at the bottom of each blog post for Twitter, Facebook, etc. It's just a simple way to spread the word!

The Giveaway ends on January 31, 2011. The winner will be chosen on February 1, 2011.

Good Luck and Happy Sewing,
Jenny