A New Obsession!

Hello Everyone! I'm back from my little blogging break. I've been lurking and keeping up with all of your blogs, just not posting on mine or commenting much.

So let me show you some of what I've been up to! On someone's blog I saw a link for an Annie Swap over at AuntPittyPat's blog. I used to make cloth dolls YEARS ago so it intrigued me. I also remembered some free Annie patterns I had downloaded awhile ago and never made so I found them, went to the website I got them from and wound up buying a few more, including a cute little bunny pattern to make for Easter. Now, today I just found out that website is having a free pattern giveway and a contest for a doll right now! Go here for details.

So right now my desk is filled with doll body parts waiting to be assembled but I did finish one doll for a co-worker who just had back surgery - here she is:


Here is a pic of the covers of two of the patterns I bought - the doll above and the bunny. Aren't they adorable?

In other exciting news, my friend Cheryl who does longarm quilting had a quilt accepted to the Quilt Fest of NJ which was the beginning of March. Her quilt won not only Best Machine Workmanship but the even greater honor of Viewer's Choice! Of course now we are all afraid she will decide to raise her prices for longarming!!! Seriously though, we are all so proud of her! Here is a picture of her quilt hanging at the show:

I've been doing a little shopping at the bookstore while I took my blogging break too - I bought these last week - the ME book has some really cute projects in it and I've always wanted to do silk ribbon embroidery and this book was the best I've ever seen on the subject.

I also have 2 books coming from Amazon tomorrow on cloth doll making - not the Annie type, the "artsy" type - like the title of the post says - a new obsession! LOL! I think I was in a rut because for the longest time it seems I would get no sewing done when I got home from work. But once I started with the journals and then the dolls all of a sudden I was excited with what I was doing and had the energy at night to work on them. I guess every now and then we all need a new project or a new artform to recharge our creative batteries.

I am working on a couple of quilts but they are both gifts so I can't show them yet. I missed my blogaversary while on my break and I haven't forgotten about a giveaway for that - just deciding how and what to do.

Have a pieceful day!