Two finishes!

I've been wanting to share this for over a week - I actually finished a BOM in the month it was published! This block is from the Snow Hearts BOM listed in my BOM list on the left. I love how it turned out and can't wait to see February's pattern.

I was also able to finish the boys' boot bags, though it was much more of a challenge than expected! I tried fusing cotton to fleece - to put the boys' names on their bags in big letters. The first bag was no problem. The second... well, let's just say it's well blessed! For some reason, I could NOT get the machine to zig-zag around the word 'boots'. I tried everything - including switching needles, threads, and even sewing machines. All either machine would do was skip stitches. I even tried straight stitches on the 't' and, by the 's', neither machine would sew even a straight stitch - so Cal's 's' in 'boots' is sewn on by hand with embroidery floss. Here's a shot I took when I first started having trouble - at the 'B' in 'Boots'.

I didn't take an 'after' shot - I was too upset at not being able to get ANYTHING to work. I know it has to do with my combination of materials, I just don't understand why I didn't have problems all along. What was different about Cal's bag - and just the second word?

The end result is that both boys love their bags - and Cal hasn't noticed that some of his letters are mutilated... *whew*...