2012 - A Year of Happy Little Cottage

What a year 2012 has been for Happy Little Cottage (and me). It was really fun looking back at my photos from this year, and seeing all the things that I made, and some of the wonderful things that have happened to Happy Little Cottage (the blog) and Happy Little Cottage (the shop).

I made my very first sale on Etsy in January. I was just getting a feel for how I wanted to "brand" my shop. Much thanks to Simone in Australia for that first purchase.

I made my very first cathedral window pincushion in January, and have made hundreds since. I love sewing and quilting, and working with lovely colors and fabrics almost every day makes my heart sing!

I never could have dreamed of being featured in two magazines in the course of a year. I am just a regular gal who works in an office, and dreamed of starting her own business. I sew in my son's empty nest room on a big folding table surrounded by rubbermaid tubs holding all my supplies. I cannot express how excited I was to see my blog and my shop in a magazine.

I also want to say THANK YOU to all of you who have been so supportive and kind and sweet. When I have "one of those days" I read your wonderful comments and am energized to keep on sewing and crafting and blogging. You are THE BEST!!

I am looking forward to 2013 and sharing some big changes that are happening in my life as well as the little projects that I love showing you.

Happy New Year!!!! xoxo Debbie

Merry Christmas

I am as ready as I am going to be. The presents are wrapped. The Hallmark channel is on almost 24/7. Christmas music is playing. A few cookies are baked. Chocolate covered goodies are almost all gone. This has been a week of small Christmas miracles. A FREE car repair, an unexpected bonus at work, fun and easy shopping and SNOW!!

I am looking forward to spending Christmas will all the people I love best and I am going to turn off the computer for the next week or so!!

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!!!

A December Evening

I am snuggled in my favorite chair with a quilt and a puppy on my lap. Christmas music is playing. I can see the lights on our trees. I can smell the gingerbread of the house that Becky is decorating. I love the simple joys of December.



Becky wanted me to add the following so that she can remember what she did for next year :) Beat 2 egg whites and add 2 cups powdered sugar for the frosting. The kit is from Ikea ♥

Ornaments

Did December arrive in a flash? Or is it just me? I LOVE this month! The twinkle lights, the trees, the music and the smell of yummy things baking!

I have been having fun in the sewing room making a few gifts and a few ornaments for the tree.

I love having ornaments that represent the interests and personalities of my family, so I decided that this year's tree needed to have one of the pincushions that have been so popular here and in my shop. This one is a miniature version, and I think I may actually make a few minis as actual pincushions. The fabric is The Simple Life, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Baker's twine.

This ornament was inspired by the wonderful Helen Philipps, and the pattern for the heart is from her super cute book. Ornaments are such fun projects to sew, and they are so FAST to make and a great way to use up cute fabric scraps. Both ornaments are hanging on the tree in my kitchen, and my kitchen is a super happy place to be during December.

Log Cabin

This is one of those projects that took me much longer than it should have. I have had six of the blocks done for months, as well as the pieces cut for the remaining blocks. Can I just say that I love making log cabins?? I am not sure what it is, but watching the strips combine to make perfect squares is hugely satisfying. Sometimes I wish I could make quilts all day long!

I really like the scrappy look of this quilt, and the binding was a snap to make thanks to the patchwork prints of Millie's Closet by the uber talented Lori Holt. I had fun with this fabric mixing up the cute prints and colors.

I quilted this with diagonal lines, and like the back almost as much as the front.  How cute is this fabric?

I have another quilt in the works for a customer, and she requested a Ruby patchwork with prarie points. I only have a tiny bit of Ruby left, so working with it for one last time will really be a pleasure. I also caught a glimpse of the newest Bonnie and Camille fabric, and cannot wait for it's release.  The name is perfect...Happy-Go-Lucky. Love it!