sewtakeahike

Ringing it in with a grateful heart

Happy Happy New Year!

 

 

I always thought my parents were so fuddy duddy when they would say this, but where has the time gone?  It really does seem to move quicker now than when I was 10. 

 

 

2012 was full of many things; joy, sadness, inspiration, brokenheartedness, and elation.  Just when I was feeling drab, something or someone would inspire me.  When I was feeling down in the dumps, someone would encourage me.  And when I was heartbroken, friends came along side me and cried with me and hugged me. 

Through it all, I am so thankful for 2012.  After all, it brought

• the most wonderful dream of a partnership with Kerry in Sew-Ichigo.
• a renewed sense of where I fit in the quilting world when I was asked to teach at QuiltCon (which is coming up in a few short weeks!)
• reminders of what's really important in life
• time with L-man doing the things we love
• closer bonds of friendship
• Instagram! :)
• a deepening desire to improve and make a difference

 

 

And then, just a few days ago, I received a note from Lisa at the Moda Bakeshop telling me that my Isosceles Picnic quilt was one of the top 10 viewed projects at the Moda Bakeshop in 2012!  Get.out!!!

 

So to each and every one of you that take your precious time to visit sewtakeahike, leave comments and touch my heart, thank you.  Thank you for a wonderful 2012!

And to thank you from the bottom of my heart, Ben at Saral Paper and Kimberly and the gang at the Fat Quarter Shop for being long time sponsors. 

Here's to a super 2013!

 

xo,

Penny

weekend in photos

 

 

 

 

xo,

Penny

Camping, hiking, scouting and clamshells

Well hello!  I hope you had a great weekend? 

Lenny and I were able to get out and do some camping, hiking, scouting, (Lenny will be going hunting in a few weeks), sightseeing, and I got some hand sewing done.  We also slept a lot!  It was a goooooood weekend! 

Here are some photos of the weekend.  The leaves are changing a bit early this year and it appears we have great timing:

 

 

a bridge in Grand Lake:

 

L-man in his hunter orange

 

Pine tree homage:

 

and of course, no matter where I go, there's an iced latte happening.

 

And lastly, some hand sewing.  I started out using Molly Flander's clamshell tutorial and added a few other details and steps.  I'll be doing a tutorial soon for those interested!

 

 

Happy Monday!

xo,

Penny

Latte to Go

Happy Monday to you!  Did you all have a good weekend?

L-man and I had a really fun and productive weekend.  Saturday we spent the day on the river and I photographed him and a few friends kayaking a Class V section of the Poudre river called the Narrows.  It was a really fun day!

And then today, we did some clean-up stuff around the house which included clearing some dead trees off our land.  Boy I'm tired.

On Friday, Kerry and I got a couple of new patterns up on Sew-Ichigo.  My Latte to Go

And Kerry's Strawberry Ichigo

We have them listed on Sew-Ichigo and craftsy.

Both these patterns are super simple and great for beginning paper piecers!

Make sure you check Sew-Ichigo on Wednesday for a brief tutorial/how-to make this Latte to Go mug rug and gift certificate sleeve

 

And just a bit more eye candy, here's what I'm working on for Elizabeth's quilt in the Traveling Quilts bee.

She sent along neon fabrics and her quilt is coming along so nicely!

I hope you all have a great week and see you on Wednesday at Sew-Ichigo!

hugs,

Penny

 

 

Thank you's and "first" winner

First of all, thank you to everyone for your prayers for my mom.  I didn't go into much detail, but she was diagnosed with leukemia last month and has been in the hospital going through chemo.  Good news though, she had a bone marrow draw a few days ago and the sample came back devoid of cancer cells!  Your prayers have made an impact!

A few weeks ago, Emily contacted me to let me know she was going to be in the area, so we were able to get together for coffee and a little fabric shopping.  We were also excited to be able to meet up with Patti and Christine at Mama Said Sew!  Thanks Em for getting me hooked on Trader Joe's dark chocolate almonds, they're awesome!

Then a few days later, she sent me this awesome package in the mail:

There are some really great fabrics in there, but I'm really loving that Nancy Drew fabric!  Isn't it awesome??

 

And then, a surprise package from Ayumi arrived!  She included the sweetest note saying that she wanted to send something to cheer me up.   

She hand carved the cutest stamp for me with my intial, do you see it there at the bottom?  That went straight to the heart of me and it's something I will always treasure!!

Then a couple of days ago, I received a wonderful surprise package from Leila with the sweetest note that she was thinking of me.

She made the spool from Kerry's Sew-Ichigo pattern and also included a leaf potholder (pattern here!  Just enlarge to make the potholder instead of key fob!) that I had favorited on flickr a while back!  What a sweet, sweet thoughtful package!  I feel so blessed to have such thoughtful friends!

 

Now, on to the "first" kit winner.  Thank you to each and every one of you for your sweet comments about "first".  The winner is:

#75, Mama Spark!  Please email me at {sewtakeahike at gmail dot com} and I'll forward your info onto the folks at Connecting Threads.

It's giveaway central here at sewtakeahike, so make sure and stop by tomorrow for another giveaway!