Wanna See What I Got?

I've had a busy week, kids. I'm sewing a few bags for the bridesmaids in my cousin's friend's wedding, and the fabric does not lend itself well to such an endeavor. I'll show you when I've got them all done so you can see what I mean. But for now I wanted to show you a few of the things I received for my birthday.

First up--check this out:

These matryoshka dolls each have a different fairy tale scene painted on their bellies. I have no idea WHICH fairy tale and I think they may be from Russian folklore....my mumsy found these on Etsy. They also have little sparkly bits in that halo of white dotty flowers around their faces. They've joined their cousins in my nesting doll line-up.

My sister made me this:

Pink-and-green and red-and-white are constantly fighting it out as my favorite color combo. This is so delightfully twinkly :)  And she's only been making jewelry for a few weeks. I think she needs an Etsy shop.

She also gave me a wee stack of fat quarters:

LOOK at that pale green floral--soooo pretty. And I have nothing like that teal in my stash so I'm happy to add it. I've got an idea for it already...

My other sister gave me the prettiest jelly roll on the face of the earth:

I can't decide if I want to make a jelly roll quilt like Kris did, or if I want to do a quilt as you go strip quilt so I have more control over the colors...I could just stare at this and be happy enough :)

She also gave me a gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop. I already know what I want. It may have something to do with...this!!

I have been in love with this collection ever since I first saw it (especially the girl on the swing print like in the little card above). I didn't want yardage because I don't think I'll use it to its fullest potential, and I do love pre-cuts (though I also think Moda laughs itself all the way to the bank on these). I cannot WAIT to dig into these fabrics from my lovely mumsy.

And then she also gave me this:

Have you seen this book in your online travels? Usually I hesitate to buy things like this because I MIGHT have a habit of letting my craft books be ignored on the shelf too long. But THIS--this is a beauty. the cover is fabulous, but inside there is so much information and so many pretty pictures it really is a delight.

I got a few other things, but those are for me :) I took Friday off and did some shopping and some sewing. One of my stops was Barnes and Noble. I convinced myself this was a birthday gift to myself (though that's what I said when I bought a purse kit and few other goodies last week) but let's be real--this was coming home with me no matter what.

I am fully aware that the gnome on the cover is laughing at me :) It covers all aspects of gnome "culture" and history--it even includes a geographical map of population density. I couldn't resist--I love gnomes. 

When I went to the cafe to get my lemon-raspberry bar and iced tea (because book shopping really takes it out of me) I paid for this at the same time. The girl at the counter did a double take and was looking at it like she couldn't believe someone was buying this. I just said "I know, I know..." and she laughed and said "I like when people buy weird things." I was amused by this comment.

I'm off to finish those bags. And I found something I made about 20 years ago that I'll show you tomorrow. I can't believe my mom saved it all these years. Well...yes I can...if you know my mom you know that it would be odd if she hadn't saved it. Ta for now!