Just smile

Okay, first up:  here is the square for January for the VS quilting bee.  Jodie at Sew Handmade asked for houses.  She also said we could add some landscaping, and as soon as I read that I thought of a hexagon tree.  I've been diggin' hexagons lately so thought that might be fun.  I have to say that the sizing was a little tricky for me.  She wanted a finished size of 12.5" and each time I would cut out a house piece it seemed like it would be way too big.  But, in the end I had a lot more room than I thought I did.  Overall a fun block, I'd like to try more with regular fabric.

So last weekend I worked on this mini quilt.  I've been loving the mini quilts I've seen all over on Flickr and wanted to try one.  I also love the look of the banners I've seen on pillows (like this and this and this) and such.  I also wanted to try the whole drawing with the sewing machine thing.  Sort of tricky.  I realized while sewing the bunting that there was NO way I'd be able to do a little girl with my machine.  Nope.  So did embroidery instead.  Not sure I love that either.  But, overall I think it's okay.  I really like the binding :)
And, in case you can't make it out on the pic above, a sweet little surprise:
I took this in to work to show the girls because I'm always talking about what I work on and it was so fun when they found the "sweet"!
Okay and I also started a table runner like last week and finished it last night.  I, um, decided to try the free motion again (and no, I haven't ordered the darning foot yet) I think it went okay???  Not tragically terrible, but not the tight curly stitching that might be possible with the right equipment.  Also, my pinwheel middles don't match up but I must admit that I'm just lazy and kind of didn't care to take them apart and be fussy about it.  eh.
Love the hedgehog print, it's one that I bought at the quilt store in Chico with my Mom when we got back from Florida.  The pink, turquoise, and the pretzel print are all fabrics from my BF Jeannette.  Awhile back her Grandma passed away and she is just starting to part with a bunch of her things.  She had a tote of fabric that she just couldn't bring herself to sell at a yard sale, she wanted it to go to someone else she loves who would love to use it.  Aren't I lucky to have such a friend to think of me???  Anyways, I wanted to put them to use right away and I will always think of both of them when I look at it.  The back fabric is something that I have had in my stash for a few years now.  I bought it at Joann's on super clearance not having any clue what I'd use it for but I loved it.

Finally, I'll leave you with a smile - a Rocky smile, that is!  He mimicks a human smile and it's the funniest thing you've ever seen.  So, no he's not growling - he's smiling :)