Thankful Thursday

I have had an idea that's been rolling around my brain for a couple of weeks and I decided that today I will put it into action. I need to be more aware of the blessings in my life and the good things that God gives me. I want to regularly remember them, so I decided to make Thankful Thursday. Every Thursday, I will write a blog post about things that I am thankful for. There may be repeats each week, but I will try to be more aware of things during the week that are something I am thankful for. If you want to join me in this endeavor, let me know, and I can create links to those who make Thankful Thursday posts. If nobody else joins me, that's ok too, I'm doing it for my own spiritual health.

So, today, some things I am thankful for:

• having a job where people want to work together as a team and where I feel like a contributing member
• my wonderful husband who helps wash dishes and is just sweet in general
• being part of a home group that cares for and challenges each other
• having enough money to order pizza once in awhile
• being able to have a creative outlet in quilting
• having enough money and time to be able to share both with others
• my family - we all get along most of the time and can talk and do fun activities together
• my friends - you are all unique and bring something special into my life
• that God loves me and wants to have a relationship with me - really, everything else is just icing on the cake!

Thank you Lord for all the good things you have blessed me with. Apart from you, I have no good thing. My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. (Psalm 16)

I hope you can think of lots of things to be thankful for today too!

xo Nicole

Polyphonic Purple

I made this quilt for my sister, Leanne, back in 2007. It was my second quilt that I've made. I really enjoyed shopping for the fabrics and making it have a scrappy look.
The binding is just leftover pieces joined together. Love it!
It was also my first attempt at free motion quilting. I stippled in the white sashing and made up a leafy design diagonally throughout the nine-patch blocks.
Oh the crinkly goodness of quilts! It was for her birthday, although I completed it a couple months late. At least she loves it!!!
And I called it Polyphonic Purple because she loves big words and music, and, of course, it's purple! I hope Leanne will enjoy it for many years to come. Its a lap quilt and it lives on her couch in her new home. Yay!

Hope you enjoyed my quilt showcased for the quilt blogger's festival. Check back to Amy's site to see lots of other wonderful quilts.






xo Nicole

Floral Fusion

Here is the quilt that I made for my mom's birthday in September. I was only about a week late in finishing it, and then another week went by while I waited for a day to photograph it.
I gave you a sneak peak of it earlier, but here it is in all it's glory! I think it measures about 60" x 72". At least it did before quilting and washing.
I used a wide variety of pink, cream, blue and green florals. Mostly large roses, but other flowers too and a cupcake print. It was just too cute to resist. I bound it with a diagonal stripe that had pink, cream, blue and green in it. How perfect.
My inspiration was from a patchwork tablecloth in Kaffe Fasset's Glorious Color. I added a different border for a challenge. I try to learn something new for each quilt that I make. This time I made diagonal pieced squares and triangles.

My mom loves the quilt! I am so happy with the end results and am glad that she loves it too. She said the fabrics remind her of her granny and the quilts she used to make. What a fabulous compliment.

Now, on to current projects... I just finished a quilt last week (pictures to come soon), and I have to make 4 more before Christmas! Yikes, what have I gotten myself into? Its all self-imposed though. I just can't help it. I guess I better get off the computer and get sewing!!!!

xo Nicole