Last blog post of the year.  Kinda sad the year is ending, but happy to start a new year, with real resolutions this time, and the opportunity to clean and refresh!  I love new beginnings and the opportunities that they bring!

I wanted to end this year with a shout out and photos of all the lovely things that I have won this year (and never got around to blogging about.)  Also included in this list are some of the lovely surprises I received this year from lovely friends, that I also never had the chance to show you guys.  Not all of the lovely gifts that I have received are in this post, but I promise, I will share those in the upcoming weeks because they deserve their very own blog post!

First up will be my lucky winnings!  The first Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway back mid-year, I entered quite a few and I won this lovely Jelly Roll book from Tammie over at Crafty Tammie.  She also included these lovely vintage sheet squares, that I will use in my vintage sheet quilt!  The book has a lot of great projects, all featuring jelly rolls, which is something I have yet to purchase or own!

The same Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway day also provided me with this stunning Echino handmade handbag from the lovely Sara over at Sew Sweetness.  It is a lovely bag, perfect size and weight, and I absolutely adore the fabric and lining fabric.  Sorry the pictures make it seem so wrinkly, it wasn't, I promise!

The lovely collection above wasn't so much winnings as being in the right place at the right time, or should I say purchasing at the right time!  The two handbag patterns and 6 fat quarters are from the super sweet Karen of Venezie Designs.  I was her 2000th customer, so along with my order, she included these fabulous goodies!  Lucky me!  If you ever need fabric, visit her shop, great selection and fabulous customer service!

This super cute rainbow onesie was made by the lovely Kelly over at Blue Bird Sews.  It was a giveaway in conjunction with the Stashtacular event.  Ironically, I won this not long after finding out I was pregnant, so she made me one in a size that I could use sooner than later!  Technically this was the first baby gift I received for my upcoming little one.  Can't wait to use!

This gorgeous set of slippers are handmade by the incredibly talented Aubrey over at Mauby's.  She had a great pattern review of these slippers, and offered to make a pair for the person who could guess the shoe sizes of everyone in her family.  Amazingly I guessed them all correctly and won these babies, which I wear every day now and just love!  So comfortable and cute!

Ironically this fabulous X-Acto knife set and perfect sized self healing cutting mat are from another win over at Crafty Tammie, the very same lady that I won the Jelly Roll book from!  This is a great, very useful set, and I love the hot pink color!

My last winning of the year, but certainly not the least, comes from the incredibly talented Debbie over at A Quilter's Table.  She made this Christmas Mini X quilt from her own tutorial and gave it away for the second Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day of the year.  I was lucky enough to win, and it currently sits atop the antique sewing machine I inherited from my husband's grandmother.  I have my handmade French Beaded mini Christmas tree displayed on top of a lovely quilt!  I just love this little scene it creates!

This adorable mug rug wasn't a winning, but rather a gift from the super sweet Stephanie of Spontaneous Threads.  She and I are in several online quilting bees, the first being a Christmas Fabric Bee that wrapped up a few months ago.  When it was her month, she requested that each member make a small 5" patchwork square, send it to her, and then she would turn it into something for us.  I sent her the 5" left hand upper corner simple block with the two birds, and then she created this lovely mug rug from it!  I just love it and have honestly used it for the past 5 months.  It is just perfect, and I love how she quilted it.  The fabric that she used for the backing and on the front is some of my favorite, so in all honesty, I'll probably use this baby year round!

The last lovely gift I have to share today is this super cute pin cushion handmade by the truly talented Eileen over at Blue Bird Luxe.  She and I are in the Quilting newBEES group together and after my month had come and gone, she sent me this beautiful pin cushion, in the same style as the block that I had requested from everyone.  Don't you just love the hand stitching and the handmade label for the back.  So awesome!  I currently have this lovely pin cushion on display amongst my sewing things, I love it!

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed New Year!

Let us pretend that I am a famous blogger, and I get to pick out a bundle of fabrics that will be sold at Fat Quarter Shop...go ahead imagine it.  Well here it is!  This is what I would pick, and this bundle is so opposite of my style, it isn't even funny, though I do love this bundle and would love all these fabrics, it just isn't me.  Why isn't it me?  Because If I picked a bundle it would be all rainbows and colorful and basically the vision of "It's a Small World!"  I think the majority of you would probably prefer to see a more practical palette, vs. glitter and rainbows galore!  I am really trying to broaden my horizons and try new things in the New Year, so I'm starting a bit early with this one.

Oh, and there was a point in doing this fun little exercise...there is a competition going on over at Quokka Quilts, so if you would like to see some other great palettes, head over there and check them out!

P.S.  On a personal note, no baby yet, feeling great and glad to have made it through Christmas without a trip to the hospital!  I am currently 36 weeks! Yippee!

Happy Holidays everyone!  It has been a while since I have blogged, but I am still here, still pregnant (34 weeks) and still huge!  But that is OK, I am used to the double takes when we go out in public now.  Amazingly, I have done a TON of sewing and hope to show you guys soon!  What I have accomplished in sewing I have been lacking in the cooking department, but I did want to show off a new desert I made this past weekend for my husband to bring to his family's Christmas party.  At the beginning of December Dana over at MADE started posting a treat recipe a day, and the very first days recipe caught my eye and I knew I wanted to make it!  It takes about 15 minutes total, is super easy and quick and was a big hit at the party.  I forgot to take a before shot, but this is the amount that returned back home to me!  Just enough to get a picture of the remaining 4 slices.  I also decided to photograph the leftovers on the mini quilt that I just won on Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day and received from Debbie herself, the lovely lady who hosts Tuesday at my Table every week!  So pretty and festive!

Recipe and step-by-step directions can be found at MADE, click HERE for original recipe.  Below is my slightly modified version!

Ingredients:
1 (10.5 oz.) package of mini marshmallows
5.5 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup Reese's peanut butter chips

Directions:
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper, and then generously spray with non-stick cooking spray. 
In a separate large bowl, microwave for 2 minutes (stirring half way) the marshmallows, butter and peanut butter.  Add in the Rice Krispies and stir until well mixed, just like you are making normal Rice Krispie treats.  Spread mixture onto cookie sheet, spray non-stick cooking spray onto your hands and press/spread mixture evenly onto entire cookie sheet making sure it is even and flat.
In a separate medium bowl, microwave in 20 second intervals the dark chocolate chips and the Reese's peanut butter chips.  Stirring after each interval.  Heat until just melted, don't overheat otherwise the chocolate will burn/scorch.  Once melted, pour chocolate mixture over the Rice Krispies and spread out evenly into a thin layer.  Starting at one end of the pan, lift the way paper and carefully start rolling into a log.  Use the wax paper to help in the rolling process.  Once you have your rolled log, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  I refrigerated mine overnight.  When ready to serve, remove from refrigerator and cut log into 1/2" rounds.  Eat either cold or room temperature, both ways are delicious!

_Linking up to Tuesday at the Table over at A Quilter's Table.  Hop on over and visit the others and their great recipes!

Last minute project.  I have had this on my "to do" list for two months now, but nothing like waiting until the very last minute to actually get it it done.  Pathetic.  I stitched this baby up yesterday, and it was nice to actually start and finish a project.  Seems lately I tend to not finish very much at all, without starting something new.  Today was the deadline to get it in the mail, and I am happy to say that I met the deadline!

The basic pattern can be found over at Purple Panda Quilts (click on the button below) and was super easy to make, though I did put the hanging loop in the wrong spot, it still works, so I left it alone.  This stocking is going to a foster child so that they can have their own stocking that they can keep themselves, even though they may move around year after year.  I thought it was a super sweet idea, and knew I could contribute since I have an insane amount of Christmas fabric!  I certainly hope that whatever child receives this, loves it because I certainly made it with love.  Awww....so cheesy.

I used the Merry and Bright collection by Sandy Gervais and used fusible fleece on both the front and the back.  I stuck with simple machine quilting on both the front and the back, and I just love this collection of fabrics together.  This stocking is lined with the same fabric that I used for the cuff and it is a nice large size for filling up with lots of goodies!  Now that I have started on my holiday projects, hopefully I can keep my momentum going!  How are your holiday projects coming along?  The countdown begins today folks!