If you remember, at the beginning of this year I made three goals for myself of things to work on in 2008. Although I haven’t been as successful with these goals as I had hoped, I certainly did better than I have done on past goals and it’s been fun to be able to look back at my goals to see how much I’ve accomplished through the years. So here’s a look back at how I did on my 2008 goals…

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I love purses. It’s really not the best collection to have since you can only use a purse at a time and you have to find a place to keep them all.. nonetheless I love purses and love getting new ones!

When I saw this pattern in the Quilts and More magazine, I knew I wanted to make it. My sewing skills are less than stellar, but thankfully my bff Bridgette agreed to make two with me (yes, two for Christmas gifts. I only made one, for myself.).

Overall it took us about 2 nights to make them. I think the hardest part was making sure we were cutting everything out correctly. I’d say it was a definite learning experience.

I was really happy with how mine turned out. I wish I had realized how small it was going to be, but it’s a good size when you don’t want to carry a lot.

Who would’ve thought that dots and stripes and plaids would work together? I love the fabrics though!

Filled with my junk at the time.

1. Michael Miller Quilt Finished, 2. baby quilt, 3. dog quilt, 4. Quilting, 5. approval, 6. Sock Monkey quilt by me, 7. Cupcake Quilt 1, 8. Bandana Quilt, 9. Apple Core Quilt Edge, 10. Yo Yo Quilt, 11. baby quilt, 12. Oscar’s racetrack quilt, 13. pink chocolate baby quilt, 14. Posh Tot Quilt, 15. Grant’s Mario Quilt, 16. finished quilt, 17. Lydia Baby Quilt, 18. bbl quilt 2, 19. quilting back, 20. Embroidered quilt front

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

I’ve gotten so much inspiration from quilts on Flickr. I could just look at them all day long.

It seems I’ve been bitten by the quilting bug. I’ve made a few blankets before, but never what I considered to be quilting. I’ve been buying some quilting magazines over the past year and stashing them in my “maybe someday” pile of project inspirations and patterns. I just keep coming back to that stash, no matter how much I keep telling myself that I really don’t need a new hobby, especially one that can get as pricey as quilting. Anywho, I’ve decided start testing the waters.

So with some of Hobby Lobby’s awesome 40% off coupons, I bought some basic supplies for my venture - a rotary cutter, cutting mat, and a ruler (of sorts). I’ve also bought the supplies for a bag that is in one of the magazines. Any tips for a (very) beginning quilter?

We’re leaving today on a road trip/mini vacation. I’ve been excited about it for weeks (well, months, but especially weeks) and a couple of weeks ago, I saw some awesome fabric (Alexander Henry’s This Land is Your Land) at Hobby Lobby that was just screaming to be made into a road trip blanket.

I decided to make a quillow (a blanket that folds into a pillow) because I have experience making one (sewing class in high school) and it’s really great for traveling because it folds into it’s nice, tidy pouch. This quillow turned out a lot bigger than my other one, which makes it a little harder to fold, but it will be great for using in the car.

The fabric is a little busy, but I love it.

Detail picture of the fabric. A great way to learn states and capitals while you travel!

The reverse side is a solid blue fabric, but I had to add a little something to it - representing my home state.

All nice and folded into the pillow. This was also my first real attempt at quilting something. It’s random, but I like it.