Happy Quilts! Happy Friend!!

Hello all! Well, it seems that winter, which had been snoozing for a while giving us a rather pleasant autumn, has been nudged awake here on top of our 'hill'. It is grey, overcast, cold and I've just lit the fire to stop my toesies from freezing. :0) It's the perfect weather to curl up with a cuppa under my blankie and enjoy something exciting that arrived in my mailbox last week.

For the last two years (what a lot of time to invest! I hope everyone appreciates that!!) my blogging buddy and fellow pattern designer, Toni Alexander of The Red Boot Quilt Co. has been working her little butt off on a VERY exciting venture ... her very first book! WOO! HOO! Well, after much hard work, sketching, stitching, angst, worry, burning the midnight oil, editing, re-editing, hair-pulling and nail-chewing ... IT'S HERE!! :0)

"HAPPY QUILTS!" And what a perfect description of Toni's work this is. Toni has a wonderful talent for making quilts and softies that just make you SMILE!! She combines simple piecing techniques with raw edge and blanket stitched applique to create cheerful, quirky, unique quilts that are guaranteed to brighten up the room ...

... and she sent me my very own copy - WOO! HOO!! Toni has designed 10 GORGEOUS kids' quilts (though frankly, I'm thinking that I need a couple of these for my very own self!!) and each is accompanied by matching softies. There are projects suitable for beginner sewers, as well as some that provide a bit more of a challenge for more experienced stitchers and quilters.

There's even a DVD to go with the book ... how cool is that!

There's Toni!! Smiling out at us! :0) And in the acknowledgements column ...

... a lovely mention for our Quilting Fairy, the Fabulous Fiona and yours truly. AAAAAAWWWW SHUCKS!! :0)

This is one of my fave quilts in the book ... those puppies are just so goofy and adorable! :0)

And I'm sure you can guess why I love this one ... One can never have too many teddy bears in one's life! Tee! Hee! Hee! 

Huge CONGRATULATIONS to Toni for creating a GORGEOUS quilting book that is DEFINITELY great value for money. I am so very proud of my clever clogs blogging buddy for all her hard work and creativity! You can purchase a copy HERE and if you pop over to visit Toni's blog HERE, you'll find out a little bit more about her, as well as how you might win some fab prizes to celebrate the launch of "HAPPY QUILTS!"

Right ... kettle's on, book's beside me, blankie is over my lap to keep the toesies warm ... I'm set for the rest of the afternoon! :0) 

OPAM gals ... Sweet Peg and I will be doing our blog hopping in the next day or so, so you'd better make like a frog and get hopping to update your sidebar lists and email your tally of finishes to us. But right now ... "HAPPY QUILTS!" is calling me. :0) Til next time ...

HAPPY BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS