New Name, New Location

We've moved and we've changed names.

Check out Darlington Delights

 at our new site 

http://darlingtondelights.wordpress.com 

See you there! 

February Goals

It's February and that means it's time to set my goals for the month.  I'm keeping it simple again.

On the cutting table, you will find 36 one and a half inch squares.  By the end of the month they will be a lovely heart shaped pincushion.  I can't wait to finish it up and show you.  This month I am also participating in a zip pouch swap so I need to whip up a lovely pouch for my partner.  I've been stalking her pinterest page and I have a pretty good idea of what I will be making.  I just need to start cutting into some fabrics.  Last, but not least, this month I hope to get the 2012 Craftsy quilt top, basted and quilted.

That's it for this month's goals.  To recap, I'll be:

1. Creating a heart shaped pincushion;
2. Constructing a zip pouch; and
3. Basting & quilting the 2012 Craftsy BOM quilt top.  

I hope you will join me in setting your goals and sharing them at 

                                                   

January Goals? Completed!

At the beginning of January, I laid out my quilting goals for the month.  I set out to finish construction of the Craftsy 2012 BOM quilt top and a set of coasters.  Both projects are complete.

The quilt top is ready to be basted, quilted and bound and the coasters are ready to be handed to guests with their beverage of choice!  It feels good to define realistic and achievable goals for myself.  What's realistic and achievable for one, may not be the right goals for others.

For me, quilting is a leisure time activity.  I have a challenging day job that took me out of town for a week in January and another week was spent hosting and entertaining out of town family who were staying with us.  To maintain my love of quilting and the therapeutic leisurely effect it has on me, I need to keep a slow and steady pace.

I'm starting to think about February and there are several things I want to do, but the question is what is reasonable for me to aspire to complete.  I struggle to stay focused on me and my skills and abilities.  It is tempting to look at the prolific work of others and scold myself for not being and doing more.  Slowly, I'm learning that I can appreciate the talents of others without imposing their measures of success on myself.  After all....I bet most of you couldn't conduct statistical analysis using hierarchical linear modeling, now could you?  (LOL)

I look forward to appreciating your accomplishments this month.  Join me as we link up to A Lovely Year of Finishes.  More on my February Goals tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

Wow!  I can't believe it's already 2013.  Where did the time go?  2012 was an amazing year for my family.  We moved into a new home in a new community and (lucky me) our home has it's very own sewing room.  I've spent the last three months moving, packing and unpacking and working. Sadly, I've had little time for quilting lately, but that is about to change.

In looking at the year ahead, I have several quilt related goals.

1. I will complete five quilts in 2013.  (I know, some of you are rolling your eyes saying, "Five quilts, is that all?  I can do that in my sleep!"  Well, I can't.  For me, this is a perfectly reasonable and attainable goal.)
2. I will complete one non-quilt related sewing project each month in 2013.  I'm thinking coasters, placemats, wall hangings, bags, curtains, clothes, etc.  
3. I will enter one quilted item into a contest this year.
4. I will construct a design wall in my sewing room.
5. I will install proper lighting in my sewing room.

Those are my quilt related goals for the new year.  I hope to exceed these goals, but they are a perfect place to start.  

As for January... this month, I have two specific goals:

1. I will complete the 2012 Craftsy BOM quilt top.  I have four more blocks to complete and then I need to add sashing and borders; and
2. I will complete a set of coasters for the new home.  (Over the holidays, guests asked for coasters and all I had to offer was folded up paper towels.....I think I can do better than that!)

That's it for me.  What are your goals?  I'm linking up with the January Goal Setting Party part of A Lovely Year of Finishes over at Sew Bitter Sweet Designs.  Write up your goals and join us!

Seeing Spots?

Are you seeing spots and dots?  No need to call the doctor...just sit back and enjoy my stop on the Dots on Dots Blog Hop. 

For your viewing pleasure, I offer three blocks today.  The first was made especially for this blog hop.  It is a paper pieced lone star block.  Anna, who blogs at Six White Horses made this block look so beautiful and so effortless.  Look at her work here and tell me...are those not the most beautiful stars.  She even provides a template so you can make the block as well.  

After making this block, I have a love/hate relationship with it.  I love the dots. If you look closely, even the white background fabric has white dots!  I love the shape of the block, but....this was a tough block for me to piece together.  

For starters, I am not pleased with the way the center came together.  Since I plan on turning this into a pillow, I think I can easily hide the imperfections with a button.  It might not be the most cozy pillow, but it will be pretty.  The other issue I had with this block came when I started adding the white background pieces.  I like to skimp with the pins, but had I taken the time to pin the fabric down I think I could have avoided a lot of time with Jack (you know, the seam ripper).  I don't know if I will paper piece this beauty again....I think lone star and I definitely need some space for now.

The next two blocks are part of my quilt for the Vintage Holiday Quilt Along hosted by Heidi at Fabric Mutt.  The pattern is by Camille Roskelley and can be found here.  I love Christmas and I really enjoyed putting these blocks together.  I took a few liberties with some of the blocks to make them my own.  I will be posting pictures of the other blocks for you soon.  

 

A BIG thank you to Corrie at Quilt Taffy and Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt for organizing this event and allowing me to be a part of it.  Hop on over to the other stops on the tour today.  

Jane's Fabric & Quilts

The Learning Curve Quilts & Such

Quilting By Dawn

Moosestash Quilting

Quilty Doodads (YOU ARE HERE)

Hill Valley Quilter

Quilt Monster in My Closet

The Raspberry Rabbits

Regina Grewe

I hope you are inspired to start your own dots on dots quilt project.  What are you waiting for?

Until Next Time,

Happy Quilting.

And the winners are.....

Wow!  What an amazing response I received from the Blog Hop Party with Giveaways hosted by the Quilting Gallery.  I have been overwhelmed by your comments.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to reply individually to each comment, but I have read each one and I'm inspired by your ideas!

Without further ado, the winner of the Joy charm pack by Kate Spain for Moda is......Anita who said, 
How fun! I like making little things for Christmas...coasters...
zippered pouches, etc. That's a lovely charm pack set. And I'm a new follower. =)

The winner of the Blog Follower Appreciation gift certificate for $25 to the Fat Quarter Shop is .... Sh Rud.

For those of you who didn't win this time, I'll announce another Blog Follower Appreciation gift in the next couple of weeks to celebrate reaching 200 followers.  

Until Next Time
-Happy Quilting!

It's a PAR-TAY!

Love parties?  Love give-aways?  Then you are going to love this blog hop.  Each stop is an opportunity for you to WIN!  

Since the Think Christmas blog hop, I haven't been able to get Christmas off my mind.  I found one more Christmas themed charm pack in my stash - 42 pieces of Joy by Kate Spain for Moda.  To get your name in the drawing for this charm pack, leave a comment below.  Any comment will do, but if you prefer a prompt tell me what kind of quilty Christmas doodads you like to make.  On Monday, September 3 at 8pm (CST), one winner will be randomly selected from the comments received.  Limit one comment/entry per person.  I will ship internationally, so everyone is welcome to participate.

BUT.....that's not all.  I'm getting very close to my first 100 followers and I appreciate each and every one of you.  On Monday, September 3 at 8pm (CST), if I have 100 or more people following me through Google Friends Connect (GFC)...I will randomly select one follower to receive a 

$25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop

To be in the running for the gift certificate, all you need to do is follow my blog through GFC....no need to leave an additional comment.  

Good luck and don't forget to check out the other blogs on the Blog Hop Party with Give-Aways!

YOUR COMMENTS ARE STILL WELCOME, BUT THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.