Halloween Countdown Calendars...in stock!

Happy Monday! I am happy to share that my Halloween Countdown Calendars are made, in-stock, and ready to be sent to a Halloween-loving home! These are by far my favorite Halloween Calendars I've made to date. I love the fabric and since I have a thing for banners, the little bunting banner just makes me happy. 

Check out all the details here in the listing. I only have four available and I won't be making any more this season. (I also have a sample for sale that was my trial run of this calendar. There are a few imperfections so I am offering it at a reduced price. See listing.) I also will have the Countdown Cards file available as a FREE download here on the blog in a couple of weeks. A printed set of the cards is included with the Countdown Calendar.

So there you go! Happy Halloween in August to you all. Maybe I should start thinking about costumes.... :/

Happy Monday,

LeAnne

Welcome Back Halloween Countdowns

One of the first items I ever made and sold in my shop were my Halloween Countdown Calendars. They became  pretty popular, even with my very poor photography, and there was no way humanly possible I could keep up with making them to sell. Even though everyone doesn't sew, I decided to come out with a pattern a couple of years ago to help with the requests. It has helped, but I still get asked to make my Halloween Countdowns.

While at Joann's about a month ago, after recovering from the sight of Halloween fabric already, I found this uber cute Halloween print. The minute I saw it I thought 'Halloween Countdowns'. However, I didn't get any because I wasn't sure if I was up to making some this year. A week or so passed and I couldn't get that fabric and the idea of using it for Countdowns out of my head. So lucky for me, not too many people buy Halloween fabric in July, there was still a full bolt of it at Joann's when I returned a couple of weeks later. Here is a peek at the finished version. They will go on sale in my shop on Monday, I missed my good light to properly photograph it so I could be ready today.

So there you go! A return of a favorite. I may want to keep one of these for myself!

Thanks for reading!

LeAnne

Once I Was a Bookworm

So did you know it was National Book Lover's Day? One of my favorite pastimes is reading. Growing up I remember reading and reading lots. At one point in my life I was always reading a book...or two...or three at a time. I also was against seeing a movie based on a book before reading it for myself. Sadly, I can't say that of myself at this point in time.

The other day I was in my sewing room and found myself straightening up my bookcase. I glanced at my well-loved books and so many memories came to mind. While I flipped through my tattered copy of Jane Eyre, I remembered my summer in England. Then I flipped through Ella Enchanted and I got giddy with anticipation at the thought of one day reading this beloved book with my girls. Then my stack of Harry Potter books. Oh fun memories there. The summer the Order of the Phoenix came out, I was at BYU and working like a crazy woman. Life just about stopped until I finished reading it. Then the book when to Hong Kong with one of my roommates. Then I came upon the first quilting book I purchased...

No surprise that it is Simplify by Camille Rosekelly. Yes, a quilting book isn't what most people think as a book to 'read'. However, when I got this I had a newborn and a two-year old. So needless to say my sit-down-and-enjoy-a-good-book-time was limited.  I loved looking at the pretty quilts that were so beautiful and that stayed done! (Other moms out there know what I mean.)  It took me awhile before I made a quilt from the book, because of my sweet newborn and two-year old, but it went everywhere with me and I had great plans for a few of the quilts.

After a few months, I began to sneak more quilting into my daily life and of course I went right to this book for my projects. To date, I've made three of the featured quilts, Little Man (made twice), Happy-Go-Lucky, and Coming Home, and I have plans to make Sugar Rush one day.

little man version 1

little man version 2

happy-go-lucky

coming home

I truly can say this is the book that made me love quilting. (It also taught me a loads, like how to properly add a border!) So while this book may not be the next book everyone is reading and talking about, for me it holds a lot of memories. It makes me remember being mom to my little misses and loving every minute of it, but also anticipating some mommy-time to make and do something that stayed done.

So it may be no surprise to you what my new favorite book is.

Yep. Simply Retro. Again, no projects from it yet but I've got big plans. My current fav from the book is the cute house quilt, dwell.

I am thinking appliqueing the state abbreviations for the eight states we've lived in on some of the houses. Just for fun.

What is your current favorite book? Do you have a favorite sewing or quilting book that you just love?

In honor of National Book Lover's day, head over to the Moda Cutting Table and read about other favorite quilting books. Plus, you have a chance to win six NEW quilting books.

Happy Book Lover's Day!