** ~ O M G ! ! ~ **

A bit of an introduction first....when I made my first block with Annabelle, I thought, "wouldn't she make a cute little doll?"  After brewing in the back of my mind for a few weeks, I finally sat down and tried to make it happen.  AND...insert big "Squeeee!!" I did it!  I am over the moon with how cute she has turned out to be !  She is a little girl, only 8" tall.  The picture does not show her chubby, little belly or her tail.

Annabelle (Doll)

She is constructed entirely by hand using a blanket stitch.  She is made entirely of wool felt, with a touch of embroidery for her eyes and nose.  Her clothes have been done by machine.

I am sooo in love with this little girl....what more can I say??

If you feel so inclined, please take a minute to answer my poll question at the upper right-hand side of the page.  Thanks!

Something for a lazy, summer day

Ever make a daisy chain when you were small?  As I said once before, I grew up in the city.  Not many daisies there!
 A little side note...would you believe that there are actual how-to videos on You-Tube for daisy chains?
 Thanks to an idea from Anne Marieke (thank you!),  little Annabelle has created her own daisy chain.  Little Kittie has offered to 'help.'  

The little white daisies do show up much better in person.

Thanks for stopping by and joining Annabelle in her little escapades!

Wishing

Remember those summer days when a little dandelion fluff, or milkweed fluff, came floating by?  As a kid in our neighborhood in the city, it was rare to see one.  When one of us spotted one, we would all chase it to be the one to catch it.  Once caught, you made a wish and let it go floating back up in the sky, hoping that your wish would come true.

Here is Annabelle trying to catch her little 'wish' (as we called them as children), or has she already made hers and is letting it go?

Wishing

One word says it all....

"YUM!" 


Yum! 

Yep! Another little Annabelle. This time with a more summery feel...in her red, white and blue outfit, enjoying one of summer's goodies...a chocolate icecream cone! (She even has a chocolate smudge on her face!)


It's finally here!

I know it has taken me a while..., hopefully, it is worth the wait.  Here is my wallhanging-size Annabelle and her friends.  This wallhanging has four of the blocks.  This is only because I had a small amount of the blue dot fabric I used for the arches, and was unable to locate any more. 


Annabelle

I do plan to use some of the remaining blocks for other projects.  Plus...be on the lookout for a bit of Christmas with Annabelle!

Thank you to everyone for your encouraging words and compliments.  I am (still) working on how to distribute these patterns, but will be sure to let you know as soon as I am ready.  One of the most difficult parts to publish was to decide on a name.  However, after much thought and contributions from my family, I think I have one:

The Quirky Hare & Co.

I know, yes, a bit odd.  But let me explain.  First, the "Co."  will be all the additional little critters surrounding Annabelle.  The "Hare", of course, is Annabelle herself.  Now, "Quirky".  I decided to try and incorporate something from my family.  Yes, they are all a bit quirky, indeed!  However, this "quirk - y" pertains to my paternal grandmother.  Her maiden name was Quirk.  So, there you have it!

Let's see...

what do you think of this?  I have completely changed my mind about what I was going to do for Annabelle's border.  I removed the blue border, since I was not completely satisfied with it, for some reason.  It looked fine...but it was one of those things....just kept bugging me.  The white does show off the little flowers much better.  I am also going to make the binding out of the pink stripe fabric I used for the scalloped border, cutting it on the bias. (That green dot border is straight..I have this hanging with magnets on my refrigerator door...and it was sagging a bit here.   Hmmm...maybe I should ask for a design wall as a gift ;)   )

Annabelle's Border

The heart flower will have a button placed on top of the blue circle.  Those blue eraseable marker lines will be embroidered.  Oh, and all those little blue dots on the scalloped border will have small white buttons attached in the marked places.  Here's a shot of the corner...

Border Corner

...and another one to the left of the heart flower.  The heart flower will be repeated at the center of each side.

Annabelle's Corner

So...now you know where I've been!

Funny!

Every time I look at these two little guys, I have to smile!  They are just too tiny and too cute!  I have had the kits for these sitting around for a while.  I finally opened one and looked at the instructions.  Sewing on buttons was all it took!


Tommy Tweet-Heart & Charley Chick
(JABC Button Company)

Country Cottages

Here is the May block for Country Cottages, a free BOM from Shabby Fabrics.  It is the only BOM I have worked on since starting on my different Annabelle blocks.


Country Cottages - May

I used wool felt for the little pansy flowers.  Here is a close-up:


Country Cottages-May (pansies)

Another cute block to add to the collection!

Sneak Peek ;)

Sneak Peek

OK, here it is....just a small look at the progress I have made assembling a few of Annabelle's blocks.

There will be only four blocks for this, since I did not have enough of the blue dot fabric I used to make the arches around Annabelle to make any more.  However, I will probably make a second one with the remaining blocks. There is a second row of two more blocks with the flowers below this one, with a band of 4"x2" 'bricks below each set of two blocks. 

I am planning a bias vine scrolling on the borders.  I think I will try a few of those small pink and green flowers along the vine, as well as a few leaves.

There will be small buttons on each scallop, once I decide on a final border. 

So.....I know it is not a lot to go on, but opinions appreciated!

For those who have been waiting....

a new Annabelle block!  This one shows Annabelle all dressed up in her finery taking her little friend, Kittie, out for a 'promenade' (or walk).  Thank you to everyone who has taken such a liking to my little girl bunny.  I am working/trying to decide how best to handle any publication of her, for those who are interested.


Promenade

Here's little Kittie, all prim and proper under her flower umbrella!

Little Kittie

Annabelle's Hat

Annabelle with her pretty flowered hat.

Kittie's Stroller

*** ONE THOUSAND!! ***

Wow!  l,000 blog posts....A big milestone, considering I did not think I would ever continue blogging when I first started. :)

Anyway, where I have been the past few days?  Working away on the layout for my little Annabelle.  No pictures, as yet.  I want to have a little bit more put together first. ;)

But....look what I received as a present from Dianne at Hooven Sewing Center:


Rainbow of Colors

Absolutely glorious colors of wool felt...a rainbow!  All 100% wool felt!  Wasn't this a great present?  Diane told me she has had it around for a while and wanted to give it to someone who would use it to make something beautiful!  I was so surprised, and so thankful for such a nice gift. :)

Who is this?



Who is this?

Little Annabelle was playing with her carrot-handled jump rope, when she came across this little guy.


Who is this?

I am having waay too much fun with Annabelle.  She has certainly captured my heart, and there are still a few more adventures planned for her.:)

In the meantime, I want to introduce Annabelle's bestest friend ever, Sophie:


Sophie

Sophie brought along a little snack for her and Annabelle to enjoy!

Butterfly Kisses

This was the name that immediately came to mind, after I had thought about making this one:


Butterfly Kisses

Here's Annabelle offering her little friend a pretty flower.  Annabelle is once again wearing pink - a cool, summer dress.  She is also wearing a few buttons and bows.

I know that it is more fun to see an entire picture of a design. As I had said before, I am a little leery at this point to do so.  But, if (and when) all of Annabelle's 'adventures' are assembled into a quilt, there will be a 'total' picture.