One year.

Hi friends! I have missed you. It has been almost a month since I've written, and there has been so much going on! I promise to go into more details very very soon, but let me just tell you... I've been a busy girl. But that isn't what this post is about. More on that later.

I'm so happy to be celebrating the one year anniversary of my etsy shop, Raggedy Owl. I can hardly believe that one year ago today I had my first sale. Thanks to my amazing customers, I have been fortunate enough to reach close to 400 sales. So to my family, friends, and loyal customers, I hope you know how much I truly appreciate all of your support and encouragement.

To thank you for your support during this first year, I thought I'd have a giveaway! Here's what is up for grabs (click on photos for more info):

There will be TWO winners this time. The first winner gets to choose either the Juicy Apple Collection or the Bamboo Scrubbies. The second winner gets the leftover set. And BOTH winners will receive a jumbo bookmark or two. Does that work for you?

How to enter...

For one entry: Leave a comment on this post.

For two entries: Sign up as a follower to the Raggedy Owl blog (make sure you leave me a second comment so that you get that second entry. And if you already follow, just let me know!)

For three entries: Write about this giveaway on your blog (and like I said before, make sure you leave an extra comment so that you get that third entry!)

So there ya go! Last day to sign up for the giveaway will be December 30, 2009. Good luck!

xo, Angela

Happy Thanksgiving! Just a quick stop in to wish you and your families a wonderful day. Guests arrive in a few hours, so Doc and I are busily and happily working on last minute preparations.

And on a fun shopping note... Raggedy Owl is having a Thanksgiving weekend sale! To me, shopping from home is so much better than fighting the traffic and crowds, so make sure you swing over to the shop for details. The sale starts today (Thursday) and lasts through Monday, November 30. Shop handmade for the holidays! :)

Leaving you with my favorite quote for Thanksgiving...

"The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed...others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which ...is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God."

-A. Lincoln

Wordless Wednesday.

xo, Angela

Finished - Snowball Doll Quilt

I made a third and final doll quilt for Christmas yesterday. I decided to go on with a snowball quilt in shades of pale pink and blue. I haven't made this pattern in awhile, and I forgot how fun it is! It is a great way to display larger prints, like the starlings and wallflowers. I will definitely be making this again in a larger quilt very soon.

So next on the Christmas gifts agenda... I am thinking about attempting a clothesline quilt, which I have never done. We'll see how it goes. :)

Friday

I have been looking forward to this coming Friday for quite awhile now. I am a big Twilight fan, and at 3:00PM on Friday I will very happily be sitting in a movie theatre watching this:



Anyone else going to see New Moon on opening day? And isn't this preview amazing, by the way???

a table quilt for Thanksgiving

This is will be the 5th year in a row that Doc and I will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner in our home. It is my second favorite holiday (after Christmas, of course!) and I really love having our families over. A few days ago I was buying a few Arcadia (my latest fabric love) charm packs from an etsy seller when I ran across Moda's Gobble Gobble fabric. I knew it would make a beautiful table quilt for Thanksgiving.

I decided to make a value quilt (if you've never heard of this, make sure you check out this flickr group to see many more). It was a quick and easy quilt to make, and I am loving the finished product. Paired with some candles, I believe my Thanksgiving table is all set.

And of course I have to include a photo of my little Weston. He is definitely cuter than the quilt. He got a haircut, by the way. Can you tell the difference between this photo and the ones of him two posts ago? Love that boy. :)

Finished!

Doll Quilt #2 is complete! I finished it up a couple days ago, and I am very happy with it. I loved using bits of some of my favorite fabrics, like Amy Butler full moon dots, Lush Wood Grain, Heather Ross Matryoska Dolls, and Timeless Treasures Cursive Writing.

So the details... Each nine patch square is 6 inches, sashing is 2 inches, and border is 3 inches. I used the beautiful Alexander Henry lemon fabric for the backing and a dark green Kona cotton for the binding. It is quilted in a large and loopy meandering pattern. Now just two more doll quilts to go for Christmas!

Alright, now I am off to quilt the Thanksgiving table quilt I made today. I can't help starting new projects! Did I mention I started an Arcadia disappearing nine patch quilt yesterday? Yeah... My name is Angela, and I have a problem... :)

Doll Quilt #2

Here is are a couple photos of the second doll quilt for Christmas. It is a nine patch featuring the colors of the rainbow (well, minus the indigo plus brown and black), and also some of my favorite fabrics. I am loving the quilt top, and hopefully I'll get to finish it up tomorrow afternoon during the boys nap time.

Today was a bright and sunny fall day, so I asked my 3 (almost 4) year old son Weston to help me take pictures. After many wasted shots (thank God for digital cameras!) and much laughing, we ended up with a few cute ones that I wanted to share with you.

PS - My computer has been down for a few days, hence all of the blog updates. I have been busy sewing and had alot to show you! :)

Doll quilt #1

I made the first of four doll quilts for Christmas. They will be gifts for one cousin and 3 little friends of the family. This string quilt took not even two days to make, which felt wonderful since I've been working on larger quilts. Each square is 6", diagonal white sashing is 1", and the white border 2" (finished dimensions). Overall all, it is 26" x 26". Good thing I don't have a little girl, or I would be tempted to keep this for her. :)

Coin quilt completed!

I finished up my Heather Ross coin quilt this weekend. I had been [slowly] working on the binding, which I chose to sew by hand. Friday I suddenly had a lot more time on my hands, due to a nasty sore throat. Most of the day was spent sewing on the couch.

I chose to back the quilt in the same cotton/linen blend I used as the front sashing (Essex blend in linen) and the binding in a solid forest green Kona cotton that I had in my sash. I really wanted to keep the binding and sashing simple in order to highlight the HR fabrics.

Happy Halloween!

Hard to believe Halloween has come and gone already! We had a really great night. Weston dressed up as Mickey Mouse and Elijah was our little Yoda. We bundled up and sat on the front porch while Weston had a blast passing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Here are a few pictures of the little guys... it is amazing how difficult it is to get a good picture of the two of them together! Even though they aren't perfect, these photos are pretty cute.

Hope you all had a great Halloween, too. :)

Double hourglass

Doc was out of town this past weekend, so I had a couple late night sewing sessions. The result:

Now I just need to decide on a fabric for a border so that I can finish the top.

In my sewing machine.

I am almost finished quiliting my Heather Ross coin quilt. The plan is to be done by the weekend. Can't wait to curl up under it with a cup of coffee and a good book.

Happy Monday!

crochet cloths and pottery.

I sent out a large package of crochet cloths to my dear friend Karen of The Brick Kiln this week. I crocheted 25 cloths for her to use as Christmas gifts. Aren't they pretty?

I also received a large package from Karen this week. Inside were the six pieces of pottery that she and her daughter made for me. They will be used as Christmas gifts, and they are absolutely gorgeous (to say the least). As always, I'm blown away by the beauty of their art.

The little deer is my favorite.

Make sure you go check out their lovely shop!