Options : :

Yesterday morning, just after I finished up blogging and the day's Esty orders, I grabbed my stack of NouvElle Friendship Diamond Quilt blocks from my wip table and laid them out onto the floor.



Is there another quilter in all of Blogland more in need of a quilt wall than me?!



It was getting dark, about to storm, so I snapped a few quick photos, then the phone rang, it was the school nurse telling me that Jacob had come down with the flu. The bad flu. The kind that required me to stay right by his side, watching an American Pickers marathon, interrupted only by trips to the bathroom, popsicles, and little naps. He's still in bed this morning as I write this, I'm hoping after some rest he'll be on the mend today! Having all those little chances to glance into my sewing room, at the floor, to look at this quilt wip ended up being a good thing, as I'm quite liking all the pink happening in the center now!



I had originally planned & shared that I would be doing some chopping at this point, adding in diamonds of the NouvElle blues to break up all the pink.



But, now I'm not sure? After sleeping on it, I'm loving the ripple of pinks framed by the watery blues again this morning! Here's another, brighter photo that I recently shared on my Instagram.



Penny's clearly bored with my indecision!

What do you think?

Penelope Quilt Love : :

This weekend I finished up two quilts, my Rock 'n Romance Diamond Strings & my Herringbone QAYG! Today, I'm taking them both with me on a little road trip, along with some hope that the sun might shine for pretty picture taking. Wish me luck!!

Throughout the making of my Herringbone quilt I was careful to take lots of pictures for my tutorial, and Penelope was right there with me. Looking through my pictures this morning, they were too cute not to share just a few of them!







She's a little shaggy & ready for a new haircut, but isn't she sweet?! She seems to love this quilt and Lily definitely loves the cozy, Folksy flannel I used for it's backing. Hopefully they'll learn to share!

Well, in addition to my etsy makings and all the quilty goodness I've been sharing here recently, I've also been working on more publication work. This was another goal of mine for this Fall and it's all very exciting for me! So when my friends at Future asked if I wanted to share a special subscription offer to their new magazine Love, Patchwork & Quilting with all of you, I jumped!!

I have a special UK subscription offer of 3 issues for £5 to share, along with special US launch rates for my domestic friends right HERE! All subscription orders placed by the 27th of September will start with issue 1 of the magazine, where you'll get to see one of my favorite projects in print!

Be sure to stop back tomorrow to see a new finished quilt!!  

Happy Monday, friends!  ♥  Maureen

Settling In : :

It's a little hard to type and sew with a sweet face puppy on my lap, but I did manage to get fifteen of the thirty blocks I'll need for my new quilt finished!







Ah, to have such problems....! 

I should warn you all now, if week two with Penelope is anything like week one has been, my space here could quickly turn into a puppy blog!

I wish you all a beautiful weekend! Don't forget to stop back tomorrow for a new Fabric Friday Giveaway!!   ♥,  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