Kate n Libby ~ Design Divas: New Years Giveaway

Kate n Libby ~ Design Divas: New Years Giveaway
On the offchance that you have a moment ... check out these wonderfully generous ladies and their very nice blog. Very sweet giveaway opportunity :)
~hugs~

Be Mine Blog Tour

Vickie of Spun Sugar Quilts and a group of her blog buddies have gotten together to bring a fantastic group of projects to inspire us for this Valentine's Day! Beginning January 9th!

7 days, 7 bloggers, 7 projects and 7 giveaways!!!

Oh so looking forward to this!

~hugs~

Mommy Hugs

At this time of year, when so many of us think about new year resolutions and losing weight, for which I have never set myself goals but was determined to this coming new year, I want to share this funny, telling, moment with you.

As I was combing my hair tonight after showering, my shirt raised up and exposed my tummy .... my daughters laughed a bit and the following conversation commenced:

     Abbie ..."I see your belly"

     Me ... "yeah, probably so."

     Abbie  ..."it's kinda chubby."

     Me ... "Yeah, I know, that's why I need to lose some weight."

     Emily ...  "You can't do that."

     Me ... "What? Lose weight?  I need to."

    Emily ... "Well, you can't because then you can't give Mommy hugs."

Both girls then gave me warm squishy hugs ... how can a mom compete with that?

May your final week of the 2010 bring you many, many happy moments and good luck in setting, and achieving, goals for the new year!

~Hugs ~

Merry Christmas!

Love and appreciation to each and every one of you that visit with me and kindly leave comments!  I wish you all the happiness your heart can hold for Christmas!!

God Bless!

Cotton Way: Time for Celebration

Cotton Way: Time for Celebration -- What a wonderful way to end 2010 with Cotton Way ... head on over to Cotton Way's blog to discover a Blissful giveaway opportunity :)

Thank you Cotton Way!

Retro Mummy's Sweet Giveaway

Miss Corrie, over at the Retro Mummy blog, is offering this:

Look at all this beautiful fabric!!!  It's actually part of a giveaway ... 2 fat quarter packs of the lot.....that is 20 fat quarters of the gorgeous Flower Sugar range from Lecien as featured in this lovely picture.

Yummy... :o)

Would you believe ....

Merry Christmas from my two beauties!!

Long story short ... me, walking pneumonia, broncitus, ear infections .... four rounds antibiotics, lots of cough syrup and some other really good meds I can't and won't attempt to spell.  On road to recovery (finally!) and doing much better.  Thank you to each and every one of you for your get well wishes!!

Okay, lots has happend since last post. You don't want words, you want pictures.  Gotcha!  So, here goes:

Mantle with stockings and cover I made a few years ago ...

My Christmas card holder, which luckily, I made last year ....

Christmas Tree ... lucky to have gotten this much decoration on it! :-)

Beautifully stitched Christmas ornament from the very kind and generous Bronwyn of Cosy Cross Stitch which I received by participating in Bronny's Bits 2010 Blogger Ornament Exchange.  Delivered to me all the way from Australia!!  WOW!  Thank you so much Bronwyn, and I'm sorry the thank yous are over-due.  The gratitude is felt very deeply, I assure you!!  I also should state that Miss Bronwyn handcrafted the card with the beautiful picture and the other sweet item would be the very nice needle case Miss Bronwyn created and gifted me with.  Thank you. Thank you!

Who doesn't like pictures of our faithful, sewing companions? Couldn't resist adding this picture :-) 

This year's projects still in progress  ... HAHAHAHAHAHA ... like these'll get done this year :-)

 My contribution to Beth's neighborhood over at Love Laugh Quilt ... If you haven't checked out her friendly bloggy-hood giveaway yet, you should!!!  Still have a chance to enter before January 1st :)

Finally, today, I managed to create two very special Christmas gifts I hope to get in the mail and have delivered by Wednesday.  These recipients live in-state so my fingers are crossed! 

You will notice that these little gems are Koin Keepers from This n That patterns.  Easy breezy.  I just happened to strip piece some material from a honey bun for a different look.  We are talking teenage girls here :)

Not these girls .... lol ... these little darlings are making bird feeders out of half an orange, pulped out, peanut butter, raisins, craisins and oats.  That's all we had in the house tonight, or else who knows what else these poor birds would have ended up with.  Miss Em learned this in Kindergarten this morning and decided to instruct Miss Ab in the art of smearing peanut butter.  Gotta love em! 

Finally, this is what started this post ....  Would you believe that this chair pillow started out as an ornament?

HAHAHAHAHA  that's what I thought you'd say!!  :-)  No really!  I had every intention of making an ornament for my daughter's Kindergarten teacher for Christmas, and once I got the reindeer cut out, wasn't happy with the look so, from my stash pulled more and more fabric out and came up with this number.  Could you tell from my earlier pictures in this post that I happen to have quite a bit of Nancy Halvorson fabrics lying around ????  LOL  Yeah, I do, luckily and so, I came up with this pillow.  What do you think?  Too much?  Well, no matter, it's done now and I'm off to bed.

Love and hugs and Merry Christmas wishes to each and every one of you!

Thank you for sticking with me this long!!  Whether you realize it or not, I've really come to depend on my bloggi-buddies... it's nice to know I'm not talking to myself all the time, and that maybe, just maybe, someone might gift me with a comment and let me know I might not be totally off my rocker :) ... oh wait, its 12:45 a.m., I'm recovering from sickness and I still have tons of Christmas stitching to do ....

What's up folks?!?!?!  Where are all of you wonderful supporters to tell me to get my hind end to bed?!?!

LOL LOL LOL

Nighty-night!

~hugs~

A Finish and Fun

A Finish!!

This is my finished commissioned baby quilt.  Started it Monday. Finished it Friday.

Yay Me!!!  :-)

When she requested pink and brown, I immediately thought of Bunny Hill Designs' Pink Lily & Will for Moda fabric.  Perfect!!  I was told this matched the nursery exactly.  How better than that can a girl get?!!?  I used the pattern, minus the outside border, that we used in the Charming Chatter's Girl Club quilt along.  Thank you Kelly!

Next is my fun sweetness from none other than Ms Kate Spain:

I was her 12 Day Stocking Stuffer giveaway winner for #6.  Notice the petit four of Central Park?  AWWE-SUMMMM! :) Take a look at the details drawn around my address on the envelope.  How cool is that?!?!  She included a 12 Days of Christmas panel with a pattern and a set of really cool Christmas cards that have her designs on them.  WOW!  The ornament is from her panel, which, I believe, she explains how to make on her blog.  Love her blog The Drawing Board.  Even more grateful for her generosity!!

Thank you so much Kate!! 

Well, I best be off to the another Christmas project I'm trying to get done. 

Maybe another finish before the weekend is over?

Possibly :)

Quiltastic day to you!!

A Penny Saved ....

Thank you to each and every one of you for your well wishes and support!  Every word left for me means sew very much ... sincerely!  Thank you!!

This is my penny-saving wreath. {smiles}  I'm actually quiet proud of it as normally, each year, I try to buy a real wreath and add a decoration or two so I can hang it on my door.  However, this year, in interest of saving a penny or two, I came up with this beauty from fabric. 

Years ago, when cruising the craft fairs, I noticed strip-tied garland for putting on Christmas trees.  Well, being the crafty-girl that I am, I went home and made one for myself, using 1 inch by roughly 8 inch long scraps of fabric and knotting them on a length of twine.  Years go by, no longer used it on my tree and of course, I don't throw it away.  In my search of my Christmas decoration has-beens, I also found an old grape-vine wreath that I had dismantled from days-gone-by, but saved.

A twist here, wrap there and I have a spiffy new wreath that didn't cost me a cent this year :o)  LOOVVE ITT!!  hahahahah .... I added a length of red fabric for the bow to spruce it up before hanging on my front door.  Okay, now that I'm done patting myself on my own back ... what'da'ya think ? LOL

Wreath making was late Friday evening.  This picture was from our family outing on Saturday.  Wasn't it gorgeous?!?!?  Little cold, but beautiful!  Husband is dragging the tree away to the truck and the darling daughters are helping with their contributions of what was left behind.  Now all that is left to do is decorate this baby after I cut a few more inches off so I can get the star atop the tree.  And see, by cutting this down by ourselves, it just meant the price of a permit and the gas to get to the forest. Another penny saved this week!  BO-NUSSSS!!  :o)

Okay, I best be getting back to my sewing now.  I'm working on a commissioned baby quilt that has been requested for a Christmas present ... this year :o) ... I'm using the Pink/Brown jelly roll of Lily & Will.  I'll snap some pictures soon to share.  I finally decided last night to use the same pattern we used for the Between Charming Friends Quilt Along, only with the jelly roll instead of charm packs.

Quiltastic day to ya! 

~love and hugs~

Assistance needed ... Quick & Simple Dinner ideas?

Back story here ... my husband is the second of nine children.  One of his brothers recently turned 21 years old in August and is a junior at our local University here in Montana studying microbiology.  My brother-in-law is an awesome guy... wonderful, actually.  He works summers at our Camp Mak-a-Dream for children with cancer.  The kids, and staff, all love him, too. This summer he was invited to shadow some doctors at St. Jude Children's Medical Hospital.  He thinks he may now switch his major.  He's just that cool.

Well, this past year, he's been having some medical issues which have perplexed our local doctors and have resulted in a few trips to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix.  He and his parents returned this weekend from another said trip.  This time, the doctors believe they have the diagnosis correct. ... youth-onset ALS. Lou Gehrig's Disease.  The research on this is ugly.  Jack though, all he cared about after this trip was getting back to school in time to study more for his exams.  The family is doing what can be done, where Jack will let us, and my husband and I are providing a few meals a week to this very hungry college "boy."  He never seems to stop eating, as one of the staffers at the summer camp said he could recommend in a letter for him ... :-).

So, my request to you, is for some very simple, basic ingredient-type casserole recipes that you think I could cook for my brother-in-law.  We're talking beef, chicken, potatoes and pasta, vegetables type here.  Simple. :-)  We just want him to be able to reheat these meals in the dorm and serve.  What do you fine bloggy-buddies think?  Think you could help me?  I would so appreciate anything you think is good, solid comfort food.

Thanks and many blessings to each and every one of you!

Quiltastic day to ya!

Wendy

A Few Things ....

Here I am.  I've been putting this off for a bit of time now, so figured I better get back on the ol' blogging horse and post.  I have people to thank and swap pictures to show, but first, I need to get this said.... please jump ahead if you'd rather.

You see, my very dear friend and neighbor, Carol, who most of you read about in earlier posts, lost her battle with the monster last week.  A week ago Tuesday, actually. Went to her 'celebration of her life' on Saturday. There was so much about my friend I wish I knew before her passing. She was one of those amazing people that just oozed friendliness and happiness everywhere she went.  What a spirit!  Can't wait to meet up with her again one day.  Love you and miss you, Carol!

Sew, my heart hasn't really been into my blog, but with Christmas coming and the spirit of joy along with it, I am reminded that it is time to share the smiles again.  I do need to thank Ms. Kari Ramsay of Fresh Cut Quilts for:

How cool is this stuff?!?!    I actually won an autographed copy of the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks magazine {sweet!!} along with a pattern Kari also autographed for me.  She very kindly included a beautiful charm square pack of Robert Kaufman's solids.  Gorgeous!!  And cannot forget the way-cool clover pin!!  I've somehow started to collect these little pins ... they seem so innocuous being so little and all, but they can be addicting! lol  (Ever been by the PinPeddlers? A.DOOR.A.BULL!!! just saying.)

Thank you Kari!!

I'm also very, very happy to report that I actually accomplished my ornament exchange before December 1st, though sadly disappointed that I failed to get a picture before I sent it over seas.  Cannot believe I did this!!  Truly hoping my swap partner posts a pic and maybe I can show you all then.  Pretty proud of my little felt and cross stitch ornament :)  Thank you Bronny!!

Sew ... next up is my Charming Chatter: Secret Santa Swap which Joan of Ouvrages Dune Acadienne so very graciously hosted. Wow!! Super job Joan and so very appreciated!!  You all were privy in an earlier post to my very special gift from Polly of Aunt Polly's Porch (check it out ... she even did a tutorial on my gift!!)  Thank you, again, Polly!

 Well ... not saying who is receiving this, but here it is:

Fabric, Kate Spain's 12 Days of Christmas.  Pattern, by the marvelously talented Vickie Eapen of Spun Sugar Quilts.  Even more fantastic is the fact that the pattern, Simple Abundance, is provided in Quiltmaker's Sept/Oct 2010 issue.  Vickie is absolutely awesome!  If you haven't already stopped by and visited her blog ... you should :-)   The picture is the best I could provide in our freezing, cloudy temps here in Montana.  At least the pavement was clear of snow this day. lol

And with the current craze Madame Samm of Stash Manicure and Sew I Quilt has so kindly shared with all of us, of course, I had to include one of these:

Mug rug. Design mine. Fabric, Sandy Gervais' Crazy 8 honey bun. Labels, Sweetwater Labels. Quilting ... hate to admit it, mine.  DO NOT LOOK TOO CLOSE!! 

LOL .... Why is it most of us quilters are so very picky about our own work but gracious about everyone elses??  A very dear friend of mine reminded me of this as I tried to decide if my gifts were good enough to actually give to my swap partner.   Is this where we insert "its the thought that counts?"  lol .... okay.  I made these.  I like them.  I hope they give my swap buddy a smile, or two, or three (heck, it's Christmastime, a girl can wish, can't she?!?!?  lol)  Hey, at least I did get it in the mail yesterday!!!!  Kudos for me! HA! lol

Okay, sew now I best be getting back to my projects at hand.  Remember that I mentioned that I'm making a house block for Beth from Love Laugh Quilt's "block" party.  I guess I best be getting on that!  Can't wait to see what she gets for the bloggi-hood.

Until we read again, take care, remember to slow down and enjoy your "every day" moments when you can, and happy everything!  Thank you to each and every one of you for visiting me.  I sure do appreciate you!! Quiltastic day to ya!

Got a Minute? How about a little fun?

I sincerely hope everyone had a wonderful Thankful Day!  I found this and thought it would be a little lighthearted and fun .... and very informative for us bloggy neighbors :)

Pokey, of PokeyDotQuilting, posted this mid-November ... and yes, it took me this long to find it :) ... who posted it via her friend, Sue of Bits & Pieces, This & That. heeheeheehee ... what fun!  Anyway, would this be interesting information to know about your blogging buddies in the neighborhood?  So, without further adieu:

Copy and paste, and then answer the questions, and tell me you did so I can learn about you, too!

1.  Sweet or Savoury?
2.  Dresses or Jeans?
3.  House or Apartment?
4.  Shop Online or Offline?
5.  DVDs or Downloads?
6.  Cocktails or Juice?
7.  Chocolate or Strawberry?
8.  Laptop or PC?
9.  Magazines or Newspapers?
10.  Facebook or Twitter?
11.  CDs or MP3s?
12.  Kids or Pets?
13.  Cookies or Cupcakes?
14.  Walk or Run?
15.  Breakfast in Bed or Breakfast Out?
16.  Market or Supermarket?
17.  Sourdough or Grainy?
18.  Heels or Flats?
19.  Late nights or Not?
20.  Coffee or Tea?

Here are my answers:

1. Sweet or Savoury?  Both!  Love sweet with a touch of savoury.
2. Dresses or Jeans?  Jeans
3. House or Apartment?  House
4. Shop Online or Offline?  Online ... easier, no lines, until there are "no lines" and the internet is down.
5. DVDs or Downloads?  DVDs
6. Cocktails or Juice?  Juice
7. Chocolate or Strawberry?  Chocolate ... really, is this even a real question! lol 
8. Laptop or PC?  Both ... PC for office work, laptop for play.
9. Magazines or Newspapers? ... both ... refer to question 15
10. Facebook or Twitter? a little bit of neither :) ... a smidge of facebook and a newbie to twitter
11. CDs or MP3s? CDs if internet radio is down.
12. Kids or Pets?  Commit me here ... both.
13. Cookies or Cupcakes?  COOKIES!
14. Walk or Run? Walk, unless there's cookies, then get outta my way or I'll run over you!
15. Breakfast in Bed or Breakfast Out? Out of bed as its hard to juggle breakfasts and the morning newspaper without a table. :)
16. Market or Supermarket?  Supermarket
17. Sourdough or Grainy?  Grainy ... getting up there in age where every grain helps me "out" (pun intended...LOL)
18. Heels or Flats?   Flats, feet can't handle heels anymore.
19. Late nights or Not?  Of course late nights, when else can I get anything done ?!!?
20. Coffee or Tea?  Both, coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon and coffee for the late nights :)

Okay, so that's a bit about me.  Can you tell by my answers that I live in rural Montana?  If I can't get it via the internet, guess I don't need it.  How about you?  You up for this bit of fun?  If so, would you come back here to comment to let me know so I can see your answers too :)  Pretty please ... with sugar on top .... :o)

It's a Neighborhood Block Party!

Love Laugh Quilt: friendly neighborhood

What a really wonderful idea ... Beth from Love Laugh Quilt is hosting a "block" party :) Head on over and check out this post and I bet you too would like to add your house to her neighborhood. I am and I can't wait! If you want to join the party, leave a comment on her friendly neighborhood post ... do it soon, though, the more friends in our neighborhood, the more fun for everyone!!

Where to start .... how about LUCKY ME!!

Okay ... first of all, I got another project done:

This mug wrap and mug rug is a birthday gift I made for my dad (put in the mail today!) which I made from Sweetwater's Pure line for Moda.  Love the fabric!!  The labels are also from Sweetwater .... the house pattern is from Sweetwater's Label Crew which provides a monthly project, including labels.  I just skewed the pattern a bit to turn it into a mug rug ... hope they don't mind (sheepish grin).  Did I mention I love Sweetwater? lol  check out their blog here ... Sweetwater.  I just ordered some custom labels for my sewing projects ... ultra-cool and very affordable!!  Check them out, you won't regret it ... an no, they do not sponsor me :)  they probably wish I'd go away some times as I'm probably becoming "stalkerish" in my adoration of them !!!  LOL

Next .... I got the sweetest SURPRISE in yesterday's mailbox:

Dear Ms. Leah, of Quilted Delights, so very graciously surprised me with this B. E. A. UT. IFUL. postcard. Now who wouldn't just do the happy dance when they see this?  Not me!  Hopefully the neighbors weren't watching ;-).   Thank you, thank you Ms. Leah!!!

And .... as if that wasn't enough .... hold on here ....

This beauty was sent to my by my Charming Chatter Secret Santa, Ms. Polly, of Aunt Polly’s Porch blog.  Holy moly ... wasn't ready for that!  Love, love, love it!!!! Ms. Polly even did a really cool tutorial on her blog describing how she did this marvelous piece of art.  If you haven't visited her, you definitely should!  Thank you so very much Aunt Polly!!!

You still with me?  Well, I've been blog hopping as you read in my last post and ....

and , I received this message from Mary Jo Blohm:  

"Congratulations Wendy! You have won a prize in our 1000th fan contest! We chose one additional winner and it was you!! Please contact me with your address info so I can send out your fabric bundle!!"

Isn't this package wonderful!  If you haven't visited The Quilt Bear, I truly recommend a visit.  Very sweet and helpful and enjoyable site!

Okay, okay, yes, but I did say, LUCKY ME!

Thank you for visiting me.  I'm working on my own Charming Chatter Secret Santa gift today.  Hope to finish it this weekend and get it in the mail.  I'm very inspired now that I have my own gift hanging on the wall.  Thank you to every one of you who encourages me.  Thank you to every one of you who supports me.  And most of all, thank you to every one of you out there who shares yourself, shares your experience and shares your humor.  I derive great pleasure just from knowing I'm a part of your blogging community.

Until next time .... quiltastic day to you!!!

Sewing and blog hopping ... what have you been up to?

Well, since last Thursday I emptied three bedrooms for the carpet cleaners on Friday and then Saturday spent refilling same rooms and on Sunday spent planting eleven blue spruce trees, I feel pretty darn fortunate to have completed this:

Minus the ric-rac, which I'm waiting for the postman to deliver, I finished this little lovely today.  I used a portion of Whimsical's Pumpkin and Spice panel and the pattern from the book titled the same to create this wallhanging which is about 30 by 19 inches.  Since I don't have time to make a Thanksgiving tablerunner for dinner next week, this may be my table decoration :o)  What say you?

I am now off to read a few more blogs, make a couple more comments ... have you all been visiting the Mistletoe Make & Bake blog hop this week?  SEW totally worth the effort!!!!  There's a grand prize at the end of the week, but just for visiting each blog, you get delicious recipes and each day has a different designer which generously provides a free pattern.  Gotta go take a look!  (see the button on the righthand column of my blog)

OH ... and last week's 100 Blocks, Vol. 2 blog tour ... what a kick!  I actually won a copy of the magazine and a pattern from Vickie at Spun Sugar Quilts.  How cool is that ?!?!?!    All that just for commenting and reading.  Truly blessed is what I am :o)

Well, I best be getting my blessed butt moving ... I have Secret Santa present to get moving on, a birthday present to put together and a really cool Christmas ornament exchange I need to get in the mail before December 1st.  Did I mention Chirstmas presents for my family .... hahahahahaha  ... how many days before Christmas :o) ....  I am quilter, hear me stitch!

 Quiltastic wishes and warm squishy hugs!!