Back from the Beach : :

Last week we headed South to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for our annual beach vacation. I had every intention of popping in to share a quick couple of blog posts that I had planned in advance, but it was much too beautiful to be on the computer at all, the weather was perfect, and we kept busy. Busy playing in the ocean and in the pool and in the sand. Busy eating lots of yummy food and making drinks all day long. Such fun, I tell you! It was a wonderful break that provided just what I needed -- a gathering of inspiration, some much-needed refueling, and a little bit of letting go.

Now that we're back home Kevin and I have a long list of house/yard things that need done before this Summer season ends, and I certainly have plenty of sewing projects I'd love to tackle, but our Summer fun to-do list is even longer and it's time to get serious! Before school starts, before the leaves fall, there's still plenty of time for more playing in the water and for picnics and for ice cream cones and for enjoying Summer's beauty.

I wish you all the best in the Summer days to come! ♡ Maureen

Back to School & Sewing : :

Wednesday morning, my children will all be back to school. Though it's bittersweet, certainly there's something both wonderful and refreshing about fresh starts and the beginning of a new school year. As the kids get older, our Summer routine shifts and shapes and changes constantly. I don't think we ever firmly fall into a schedule the way we do during the school year. We take it day by day and embrace the adventure. All that to say, by this time each Summer, we're all pretty ready and excited about the new school year!

I'll be honest with you here, this Summer was challenging for me. As far as creativity goes, my kids naturally gravitate towards making and I'm so grateful to share this with them. Having every available medium for them to mess around with in a casual unstructured way has been a huge benefit. I've come to rely on it for finding my own creative/work time. But in general, I work so much less in the Summer. Which means I always feel behind and often overwhelmed with trying to keep up. I'm really ready for that to end! Still, I know come Wednesday morning when it's quiet and I sit down behind the sewing machine, it will be these last three months, the times I did slow down, the intention to connect, and the value of our Summer adventures that will be on my mind and no doubt will be what inspires my sewing.

New rhythms, more time spent learning, growing, and discovering - all great things!

Ready, steady, GO! ♡ Maureen

From the Beach : :

This week I'm blogging from the Outer Banks! We're at a beautiful beach house in Duck, where we're spending the week with my family. It's our favorite week of the year!



Before we left I finished up the last of my Birthday Crown orders and closed up shop for at least this week. I snapped a few photos before sending them off. I love making these crowns, but they're a lot of work. I really needed and am enjoying the break!





Before leaving I also received a little happy mail from Fabric Spark, my latest Monthly Sparks bundle picks!



So many of my favorite fabric bundles begin with a beautiful floral print. For this one I was inspired by Leah Duncan's gorgeous Wispy Daybreak Morning Walk print!



I already started sketching out a plan for these. It will be so nice to return home to this beautiful bundle waiting for me with a solid plan!



Like last year, once again I brought along a newly finished quilt for a beach photoshoot. Here's a little reminder from last year!



Again it happens to be a quilt made in Pat Bravo fabrics! I finished the binding just minutes before we hit the road. Be sure to stop by Thursday to see!

♡ Maureen

With Love : :

The celebrations have begun, with lots of Christmastime crafting and family gatherings in the days ahead. This year, our home is looking more colorful & festive than ever before!







There isn't much snow on the ground, I'm sad to say, so we've been making our own!





Today, there is still much making and baking being done! I'm excited the kids are all healthy and ready to soak in all the goodness and beauty of this season!

I am really, really hoping to squeeze in just one more quilty project myself. If not the Christmas tree quilt I so wished to find the time to make these past few weeks, then at the very least a mini version turned wall-hanging or pillow!





I wish you all a magical holiday!

With love always,  Maureen

A Friendship Diamond Quilt : :

Each Summer, for one glorious week, my big, wonderful family rents a house right on the beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It's my most favorite week of the year, the only time I truly count down the days. It's always so special, but after the recent loss of our Father, we're enjoying every moment of this much-needed time together as a family.





And even though I vowed to spend my time this week at the beach, swimming, relaxing, being silly & carefree, I couldn't resist bringing along my most recently finished projects for picture taking!



This Friendship Diamond quilt is made with Pat Bravo's newest collection NouvElle, along with lots of pretty, coordinating Pure Element solids. I'm loving the ripple of pinks framed by these watery blues, and I'm so glad I added in the diamonds!





My quilt design was inspired by the friendship bracelet diamond pattern I attempted to make as a child, and is something I plan to continue to work on to offer eventually!



Once my quilt top was complete, I sent it out to Melissa Sew Shabby Quilting, and decided on an overall, feminine floral quilting pattern and I love the way it turned out! You can really see in my sunny photos how densely this one is quilted!



Now that it's finished & photographed, I've been enjoying using it here at the beach house!



And, now that it's blogged I'm heading back to the beach!



♥ Maureen

Finished : :

Tonight is a very special night for me! I'll be handing out eleven of the quilts I've made this year to each of my children, nieces, and nephews. To say I'm excited doesn't even begin to describe it! Creating each of these quilts in a theme, color scheme, or pattern that fits each child and offering them as my way of showing how important they are to my life has been a huge honor. I hope they become something each of them will cherish for a lifetime!





I'll be back soon with the last two quilts I've yet to share here and I hope to take lots of photos to share tonight, as well! 

Wishing you all the very best until then!  ♥  Maureen 

For the Road : :

I'm thrilled to say that the last of my Birthday Crown orders are all packaged up and ready to be shipped out today! I had closed my Esty shop a couple of weeks ago, and it might stay that way for the rest of the Summer? I'm going to see how I feel after our family vacation. I don't share these crowns too often, but believe me folks -- there are alot of them being made each day!


Recently I was invited to be a guest on American Patchwork & Quilting Radio with Pat Sloan. I had such a great time chatting with Pat! It's not very often that I get to share my passion for sewing with spoken words, and although I was nervous, it was so exciting for me!  Did you happen to listen?

Well, yesterday I received a very sweet email from Pat letting me know that I was included in her Top Ten "can't miss em"  interviews. As you can imagine, I was surprised and so appreciative of her kindness, thank you Pat! You can see her top 10 post here on Sew, Mama, Sew! and, have a listen here!

I had mentioned that the photo of Haila running with her new Nordika Zig Zag quilt was one of my very favorites from our photo shoot. As I looked through the comments left under that post I read that it was a favorite of so many of yours, as well. Thanks! I thought I'd share all the ones I took of her running through the grass with her new quilt that day, just for fun! I have to share that one of my very favorite parts of making a quilt is the opportunity for the fun photo shoot that follows. I never saw myself as a skilled photographer before and still don't. But I can tell I'm slowly improving and that there is definitely a passion there!



Okay, now I need some advice! Tomorrow we leave for a 9-10 hr. road trip from Pa to Va and I need to pack some travel projects up today. I bought these four skeins of yarn on my recent trip to Philly, so they'll definitely be coming along.



They're all wound and ready, I just need to decide on what they should become? I was thinking a Summer scarf or cowl, maybe? Something easy and pretty!





I would also love to bring along a needlework project or two in my cute new project bag. Do you have any ideas? Maybe a project you've made, seen, or even pinned recently that you thought would make a great beach/pool side project?! I'm up for anything!!

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!  ♥,  Maureen 

Surprised : :

Meet Penelope!

Penelope Rose Cracknell 

March 13th, 2013 

On Saturday my family surprised me with a new puppy, I am still in complete shock! Since we bought our house back in November, the kids have been asking for a puppy almost weekly. In the beginning I was completely against it, but slowly I have been coming around a little more. For about a month now we have been looking at cute puppy pics online, just for fun, and in these last few weeks anytime Holly would share a photo of her Morkie on Instagram I would gush to everyone! Still, I never thought for a second my husband and kids would surprise me with a Morkie for Mother's Day!

So far it's been going great! Minus that it's snowing here this morning in our part of Pennsylvania, another surprise!

My husband and I are a little tired today, we're crate training newbies. So if you have any tips, we'd appreciate it!

Lily is coming around. She has stayed in the same room as Penelope at all times, always keeping her distance, but I'm taking that as a good sign. 

We are all so thrilled! I couldn't wait to introduce Penelope, Penny for short, to all of you today!!

Happy Monday, everyone!  ♥,  Maureen