Check Out My New Bikini!

First of all, congratulations to Kristen of Milo and Molly who is the winner of my SMS Giveaway Day prize: a set of nine fat quarters of Angela Walters' Textures fabrics. Hope she enjoys the early Christmas present! On a side note, I peaked around her shop - tell me this little heart is not SO adorable! And she has lots of colorful infinity scarfs to covet, too....

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Second of all, thank you so much to everyone who visited my site this week! I'm pretty new to blogging, so it was a wonderful boost to pull up my site and see hundreds of comments, and also to welcome new followers! I only had time to respond to a few of the great responses that were left, but I most certainly read them all. It was neat to hear what you were all looking forward to this holiday season - from kicking your feet up to flying halfway around the world to be with family. I hope everyone enjoys the downtime and delights they have in store : )

And finally, I gotta brag just a teensy bit - I'm thrilled to say I won something myself! Hopping all over Blog Land checking out the gorgeous selection of prizes and seeing so many wonderful websites that were new to me was exciting, but somewhat of a part-time job this past week - there were over 400 participants in the giveaway! I paced myself and I'm glad I did because one of the last blogs I visited yielded a great quilt I immediately pinned (I love color!) and as it turns out, I won that giveaway! I'm the proud new owner of a copy of the Polka Dot Bikini pattern by Sharon of Color Girl Quilts. I love the bright bold colors she's used and since I want to try my hand at piecing curves (the description boasts "it's much easier to piece than it looks!"), this is a great chance for me to get my feet wet. Sharon mentioned a quilt along for it next year, so look for me to post when I join up! In the meantime, if you'd like a new bikini for yourself ; ) you can find it right here on Craftsy.

Ok, now back to my machine... so many Christmas gifts underway and the clock is ticking! Here's a peak at what I'm finishing up today - training placemats for my niece. I'll post a few more shots when they're all done! (Hmm, only now that I have this pic uploaded next to the pattern above am I seeing the shape and color echoes - no wonder I love that bikini quilt, and what a weird coincidence - I picked out the placemat fabrics months ago!)

one of a set of six - more pics next week!