You get several anxiety attacks and 23 gifts completed in 23 days! Yes, I am currently patting myself on the back pretty hard as I look back on the projects that were completed this month.  I was literally finishing gifts up to the last minutes before we opened presents.  It was a lot of work, but my precious kids seemed pretty excited with their handmade treasures.  I made 6 dish towels, 9 pot holders, 4 pin cushions, 10 pairs of PJs, 3 quilts, a sewing mat, and embroidery piece, a shower curtain, and a robe bag.  Shew!!  As I made a list of the things I completed, I realized that I forgot to get pictures of most of my projects.   I guess that just gives me another excuse to call and bug my kids!  Here are a few pictures I remembered to take.

In the midst of all the madness  we even started a new tradition; we all wore matching PJs on Christmas Eve!!!  No matter where my kids are as they establish their new adult lives, we will all go to bed on December 24th knowing that there is something soft and cozy that binds us together.  This year Honey and I went to bed with two of our little babes smuggled up under the same roof with us in Arkansas, we had two more in New York City, and one back in in Texas.  On Christmas morning I got the sweetest text messages that said Merry Christmas, and attached was a picture of them in their matching PJs.  I can’t tell you how that made me smile…knowing that miles separated us, but the simplest of gifts was binding us together.

Praying your New year is filled with many sweet blessings and lots of creative fun!!  Remember to enjoy the gifts you’ve been given.

Katherine

When I found out that my beautiful niece Pam and her sweet husband Alfredo would be having a baby,  I was thrilled for them… but then when I found out that the were having TWO BABIES…one boy and one girl…I found myself praising God for His faithfulness!!!  God blesses those that bless Him, and that’s never been more apparent to me with than it was with the birth of Alfie and Izzy on October 12, 2010.  The Twin Squares quilt project was conceived to celebrate all the joy and hope their birth brings to our family.

Soon after I learned that we were having twins, my quilty brain kicked into high gear!! I wanted to make them happy modern quilts, I wanted them to be the same but different.  No pastels, no fluffy bunnies, no abc’s & 123′s for my great-niece and great-nephew; they were cool cats and they needed cool quilts!!  There began the quest of trying to design something that worked for a boy and a girl; something that was individually theirs, but also the same…just like twins.

I headed out to the Cabbage Rose in search of something that would work, and the stars must have lined up just right because I ran head on into the Michael Miller section, and I promise I heard fireworks going off when I saw the new Zoology prints and the Ta Dots that matched!!!  I was able to use the same fabric for both quilts, and by pulling out the melon and aqua from the matching prints for the sashing, I was able to individualize the Twin Squares design.  When it came time to quilt, Iwanted to finish each quilt up with in a way that made them decidedly boyish and girly.  So Alfie got cool squares, and Izzy got cute loopy lines.

I’m proud of these quilts, but not nearly as proud as I am when I think about the special family that will receive them this week.  Pammy and Alfredo, you are an inspiration to Uncle Dale and me, and we are so thankful that God blessed you with Alfie and Izzy.  Happy {LATE} birthday precious ones!!!

Thankfully praising Him for the gift of life,

Katherine

My precious Bernie has a problem with her guts, and she’s been in the machine hospital for a week.  A WHOLE WEEK!!  It’s been a long and stressful week at the cube farm, and knowing my Bernie and I weren’t going to get any quality time for a few weeks was making me a sad girl.  You see, sewing helps me maintain my sanity, as I’m sure it does for may sewists.  However, I made a personal pledge to make all my Christmas gifts this year, so being without Bernie for a few weeks is simply out of the question!!

So, I did what any sewing freak would do, I convinced myself to buy a back-up machine.   Love how that worked out!!!  Seriously, we are at the point where having 2 machines just makes sense for us and the custom orders we have rolling in.  So while I patiently wait for my Bernina 640 to have her guts transplanted, today I played on my new Bernina 215, otherwise known as Bessie.  She sews like butta, and she’s going to be great for basic piecing and straight line quilting!!

Here is Bessie’s first project, it’s a pincushion from the Sewn Spaces Swap on Flickr. My partner likes geometric designs, snails and hand stitching, and she wanted a pincushion she could throw on the arm of her couch when she is working away from her machine. I used Amy’s tutorial from During Quiet Time as my inspiration. There are other goodies that will go in my partner’s box, so don’t think I spilled all the beans here!!!

Partner, I hope you enjoy you pincushion, and thanks so much for patiently waiting while I figured out a solution to my sewing machine crisis.

Have a wonderful week, friends!

Katherine

This luscious stack of quilts are screaming, “Bind me, PLEASE!!!”  My agenda this week consists mostly of quilt binding, but I reserve the right to change my mind at any point.  I love quilt binging, and it feels so go to have a few projects completed up to this point. I’m looking forward to to starting the week with things I can do on in the evenings after I get home from work.

I went back to work in early September, and when I did I found that my sewing was taking a backseat to my job.  Let’s face it; my job puts food on the table, not to mention supporting my NEED to purchase cute fabric, so my job it should be a priority!  All that being said, I was missing my sewing time terribly, so it became a goal of mine to find a way to include more creativity time into my daily life.  I tried doing some piecing and working on on projects after I got home from work, but I would usually end up terribly frustrated!! My brain was pretty fried by the time I would sit down to sew, so I would usually end up making more mistakes than I did progress.

I’ve discovered, however, that hand stitching is PERFECT for week nights!  This has made a big difference in how I unwind after a long day!  Creating and stitching is a great stress reliever for me, and knowing that I have that to come home to has made a big difference in how I manage my stress.  Most of my weekend sewing time is spent trying to get my projects to the point that I will have some hand stitching to do during the week.  So, until I’m able to stitch my days away full-time, I am blessed to have the opportunity to work on my little pretties a little bit every day.

  As I was snapping the picture of my quilts waiting for binding, my precious fur baby decided to hijack my picture.  He says” girl, put that camera down and get busy binding!!”  I hope each of you have a wonderful week and that you find some hidden pockets of time to create.

Be blessed,

Katherine

]]> http://www.honeyhilldesigns.com/2011/10/starting-the-week-with-quilt-binding/feed/ 1 http://www.honeyhilldesigns.com/2011/10/mayday-mayday-we-have-a-lost-blogger/ http://www.honeyhilldesigns.com/2011/10/mayday-mayday-we-have-a-lost-blogger/#comments Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:35:42 +0000 katherine http://www.honeyhilldesigns.com/?p=606 read more »]]> Holy what they heck happened to Kaki???  Here’s what happened:

I’ve been spending lots of time with my precious family

I was released to go back to work

I’m back to commuting 3 hours a day

I ran head on into the 4th quarter push at the cube farm

I’ve been spending lots of time ROCKIN the Bernina!!!!

I’ve been quite frustrated that I can’t manage to squeeze in more blogging time, but that frustration is softened by the fact that my heart is full of love for my husband and kids, AND I have a day job that puts food on the table and allows me to buy pretty fabric from Pink Castle Fabrics, AND I’ve completed over 20 projects in the last 8 weeks.  WHOOP!!!  Looking back over my list, I am so thankful that my blogging roadblocks are really blessings.

Angie at Stitching by Starlight is my hero!!!  This amazing lady somehow manages to work a day job, go to school for her 10th masters degree, take care of her beautiful family, create amazing sewing projects, post REGULARLY to her blog, create tutorials for her readers, AND crack me up on twitter.  I wonder when this creative genius sleeps.

I could really use some help trying to figure out how to become more consistent with my blogging.  I have 1,876 conversation with you in my head on a monthly basis, but I cant figure out how to squeeze blogging it into my day.  Does something else have to go?  Is blogging consistency a myth?  Are you disinterested in what I have to say if you don’t hear from me every day?

Please leave me some comments an tell me what you think.  I could also use any helpful hints you are willing to share.

I’m off to go enjoy this beautiful day and this beautiful life. I’ll leave you with peak at a few things I’ve completed.

Solid Improv Quilt Block and baby hoop

Custom Market Bags

Misfits Embroidery Hoop

Snails Trial Quilt Block

Be creative and be blessed,

Katherine

my tweety friend @jmmaxman, otherwise know as Jacqueline won the princely Prince Charming Pincushion!!!!  Yay!!!!

my new Facebook friend, Tammy Bowser, won the Prince Charming scrap bundle.  Yay!!!!

my Flickr friend, Wendi, won the $25 dollar gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop.  Yay!!!!

congratulations, ladies!  be sure and email me your address so i can get your goodies in the mail to you.

This giveaway was tons of fun for me, and i’ve enjoyed the opportunity to meet some new sewing friends. thanks so much for playing along! i’d like to give a special shout out to my friend, Sha, at Craizee Corner for giving me this opportunity to share with all of you.

be creative and be blessed,

katherine

]]> http://www.honeyhilldesigns.com/2011/09/we-have-3-prince-charming-winners/feed/ 2 http://www.honeyhilldesigns.com/2011/09/are-you-ready-for-some-giveaways/ http://www.honeyhilldesigns.com/2011/09/are-you-ready-for-some-giveaways/#comments Mon, 05 Sep 2011 14:16:03 +0000 katherine http://www.honeyhilldesigns.com/?p=595 in just 8 short hours i will be picking three winners for my Tula Pink giveaway!!!!

have you entered?

are you ready?

get excited folks, and get your buns over to the original post and enter!

tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock….

be blessed,

katherine

]]> http://www.honeyhilldesigns.com/2011/09/are-you-ready-for-some-giveaways/feed/ 0 http://www.honeyhilldesigns.com/2011/08/fancypants-friday-vintage-sewing-treasures/ http://www.honeyhilldesigns.com/2011/08/fancypants-friday-vintage-sewing-treasures/#comments Fri, 26 Aug 2011 23:52:25 +0000 katherine http://www.honeyhilldesigns.com/?p=544 read more »]]> happy fancypants friday, friends!

a few weeks ago honey and i escaped the blazing Texas heat and headed to beautiful Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  if you’ve never been to this little slice of paradise in the Ozark Mountains, you need to get there ASAP!  Eureka Sprigs is perfect for visitors that like vintage shops, art galleries, yummy food and scenic views.  we rented a charming little…and by little i mean 400 square foot…rustic cabin on Lake Lucerne.  check this site out and tell me you don’t want to be there right this very minute!

 being the task driven person i am, i came on this trip with a few goals in mind;  rest, laugh, eat, stitch, and SHOP…and maybe not in that order.    i’m happy to say that my goals were met, however one of the highlights of the trip has to be the vintage sew treasures that we found at almost every turn.  the very first shop we went to, The Old Sale Barn, has to be one of the best antique stores we’ve ever been to.  i was able to add to my collection of vintage sewing treasures in a big way.  are you sitting down? do you have a tissue?  what i’m about to show you is going to knock your socks off and make your mouth water.

i stumbled upon a bag of what i thought was a hexie quilt top.  thrilled with the prospect of having a vintage hexie quilt top that someone had hand sewn, i snatched it up like nobody’s business when i saw the price was $9.  Yep, NINE dollars.  Imagine my surprise later that night day when I opened the bag and found a batch of about 100 flower petals made out of vintage fabric!!!  holy smokes…and there were scraps to make more petals!!!  i love the hexies, but finding these in the bag was like hitting gold.  nine dollars, peeps.

honey, being the play along guy he is, was on the prowl from vintage sewing treasures of his own. Check out the old clothes pins, buttons and measuring sticks he found.  way to go, honey!  he especially likes the wooden one with the brass slide, he found the previous owners name on there when he was playing with it.  which leads me to one question; how in the world did the guy write his name in that tiny space?!?!?  how about the red flower buttons, aren’t they darling!?

so, what do you think i should do with the hexie quilt top and the vintage flower petals?  i look at these and i am so intimidated.  i’d love to use them to make something but i’m not sure where to start.  please, please, please share your ideas and thoughts with me!!!  help a sewing sister out, y’all.

have a fancypants friday and be blessed,

katherine

ME:  TULA PINK, really?  You mean the Tula Pink that I adore?!?!  The one who designs fabrics that are magical, whimsical, and fun?!?!  The one who is witty and personable?  The one who calls her fabric fans “Tula Troops”?  The one that recently released the Prince Charming line that I can’t stop looking at?  The one that somehow speaks to my heart with her hidden design treasures?

SHA:  *with a stunned look on her face*  Yes, that’s the one.

ME:  Oh, I love Tula Pink…I think Sha rolled her eyes at me. 

 all kidding aside, when i first saw the Prince Charming line it took my breath away.  i could somehow relate to these designs in a way i’ve never related to fabric before.  i didn’t just love the colors and the graphics, it seemed to tell me a story.  i look at it and I’m taken back to my childhood dreams, taken back to a time when life was full of wonder and expectation.  Tula has always given us hidden treasures in her designs, but Prince Charming was somehow different for me.  those hidden treasures leaped right off the fabric and into my heart.

i knew this new line would be part of my fabric collection, possible forever, so i did what any smart girl would do.  i purchased my fat quarter bundle from the Fat Quarter shop the day it was available.  imagine my surprise when i received it the very next day!!  i hobbled to the front door, as i was still recovering from surgery at that time, and ripped open my package like a fat girl rips open a candy bar!!!  let’s just say, I looked a little crazy for a moment, but  i was also a little star struck.  how in the world would i ever be able to cut those precious babies up? not happening in my lifetime.

enter Sha and her guest blogger series!  inviting me to join her series gave me the push i needed to actually use my stash of Prince Charming.  i whipped up this cute little pincushion caddy using a pattern by Abbey Lane Quilts.  it was super easy to put together and it only took me a few hours to complete.

i love it so much i decided to do a giveaway.  yep, my very first giveaway!  to sweeten the deal i will be giving away 3 prizes; my pincushion caddy, my Tula Pink Prince Charming scraps, and a $25 gift certificate.

Entering is easy:

1. follow my blog and leave me a comment, 2. like my Facebook page and leave me a comment, 3. follow me on twitter and tweet me a “hello”.  the contest will end at 5pm on 9-5, with winners announced shortly thereafter after.

so, i’m going to let you in on a little secret.  i love Tula’s designs so much that i will now have one with me forever…

yep, that’s Tula’s Turtle Bay design on my back!  the first time i saw it i know it would be my next tattoo.  it reminds me to always me to always enjoy life and to remain childlike in Spirit, no matter how old or jaded I become.

Now, who wants free stuff??? GO ENTER TO WIN!!!

be creative and be blessed,

katherine

well, get your buns over to Craizee Corners and check out Sha’s giveaway for this month’s Designer of Month Series.  Sha will give you the full details on her site, and entering is a breeze!  She participates in Fat Quarter Shop’s Designer Select Fat Quarter Club, and each month she will be giving away fabric by the featured designer, along with patterns and other goodies. this month Tula Pink is featured and Sha is giving away some great prizes.  did I mention, I LOVE TULA?!?  click on the button below to get the giveaway quickly.  you better hurry though, the deadline for entering is August 29.  oh, did i mention that there will be four lucky winners???  talk about generous!

in addition to the giveaway, she will also be introducing you to other quilters by featuring guest bloggers.   she has already featured some fantastic guest bloggers, and i’ve enjoyed getting to know them and see their work.  on August 25, i will have the honor of sharing with you why i adore Tula Pink’s designs, and i  am beyond thrilled!!!  did i mention, I LOVE TULA?!?!  i will also be hosting a giveaway of my very own!  yep, me and Prince Charming had a little rendezvous, and one lucky person will have the opportunity to win a darling pin cushion.

go register at Craizee Corners for all of the wonderful prizes Sha has, and stay tuned for details on my giveaway. come back and see me on thursday, and i promise to give you a simple and fun way to win a pin cushion that will make you smile.  did i mention, I LOVE TULA?!?!

until then, i’m off to see my Prince Charming.

be creative and be blessed,

katherine