Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Winners Are Grateful

Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life. 
Northrup Christiane


Thanks to all who posted comments on the Giving Thanks Giveaway!  I will be tallying the results of what was suggested for the Linky Party soon.  I have a little grocery shopping and cooking to do today so blogging time is limited.  I'm sure many of you are doing the same.

I wanted to get the news out to the Winners before I got busy with other things.  So without further ado, the Winners are:


I follow by blog lovin and since I am a star member I cant win that. Thanks I think this is a neat giveaway

I like lets skirt the tree. I have had a great time looking all around your blog and bookmarked it for later. I like the quotes, the tutorials, and always look to see if there are pics of a studio. Thanks for a fun trip! I'm a new blogger too, 6 months for me.

Congrats to the both of you!  I will need your snail mail address Margaret to get your prize on its way to you.  LeeAnna your prize can be handled via email.

I hope that ALL MY READERS AND FOLLOWERS who celebrate it this week:

HAVE A HAPPY AND 
BLESSED THANKSGIVING!!!



Thursday, November 21, 2013

Giving Thanks Blog Hop Party

Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse. 
Henry Van Dyke


Welcome to the Party!!! A big thanks to Michelle for hosting a Great Giveaway Party once again.  It's just in time for the Holidays too!

If you haven't been to my blog before I do hope that you will take a look around while you are here.  You can find out more about me by looking at the Tabs at the top of the page and things that are in the Sidebar.

Blog Hop Party with Give-Aways
The theme of the Party this time is Giving Thanks.  I haven't been blogging regularly but about a year and a half and I am so thankful for all my readers and followers!  It is amazing to me that my little blog is read by people around the world!  It has been fun getting to know some of you better through your on blogs and comments on my posts. I hope to continue making NEW FRIENDS in the days to come.



I have a Linky Party coming up in December.  I ran one last year called The Christmas Stocking Hang Out and this year the focus will be on Christmas Tree Skirts.  The Linky Party will be open the week before Christmas, December 17 - 24.  If you have a Tree Skirt that you have made I do hope you will come back and join the fun!  I have been looking for some Tree Skirt Tutorials to share that week too.  If you have one or would like to post one please leave me a note in the comments.

Now what am I giving away today?  How about a couple of GREAT prizes!  I have been enjoying watching ALEX and RICKY on The Quilt Show for a while now.  I had watched all the FREE shows I could and then I won a membership last year.  Boy do they have a Great Show!  If you used to enjoy ALEX on the Simply Quilts on the HGTV channel you will love her and RICKY now!

Quilt Show Newsletter

I'm giving away a 6 MONTH STAR Membership to the show.  If you are already a STAR member I'm sorry but you can't win.  This membership must go to a NEW member. (Sorry, not my rule).

Since not everyone can win I don't want to leave anyone out so I have a neat SECOND SURPRIZE PACKAGE for another WINNER!  This package is worth over $55 and will contain the following:

  • 2 yards of Christmas fabric
  • 2 patterns, Acorn Wreath and Deer Hearts
  • 2 marking pencils, white and silver
  • Package of Schmetz Quilting needles
  • Skein of green Perle Cotton
  • 2 spools of Hand Quilting Metter thread, brown and burgundy
  • T-Shirt for Button Lover (XL)




How to WIN?  
1. Leave a comment below about what you think I should call my Christmas Tree Skirt Linky Party. I have a Poll in the Sidebar with a few suggestions but you can come up with something else.  I have been trying to make up my mind about it for a few weeks and still am undecided.  ALSO PLEASE let me know if you are already a STAR member of The Quilt Show.

2. My followers old or new can have a SECOND CHANCE to win.  Just tell me how you follow me and what types of posts you enjoy the most.

This GIVEAWAY HAS CLOSED



That's it!  Be sure to check out the other blogs participating over at The Quilting Gallery!

Monday, November 11, 2013

The Old and the New

To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science. 
Albert Einstein

Are you entering into the Holiday Rush?  I have so far bought one present and made plans to make a few simple pillows for several others.  If time allows I have several quilts I'd love to get quilted and bound.  Plans are in place for not one but TWO meals for family during Thanksgiving weekend.  That's about as far as I've got so far other than starting to get a few housekeeping chores underway. Are you making any progress?

I know my blogging has been limited lately but I haven't been creating anything in the studio.  I have been quilting on the longarm for other people and I am still trying to organize things.  I know I've been at it a while but you have no idea how much there is to go through and I AM making progress.  I have found a few bags of things to donate, I don't think I will ever need any floral tapestry upholstery fabric in the future, and my Dear Husband helped move the large 33 gallon size and smaller bins around in the large storage closet.  I think he was sore for a couple of days after that.  I am going through some of them and trying to sort out some of the contents.  Yesterday I was trying to decided if I will ever get around to making bears or Santas and use the yards of fur and Sherpa fabrics I have.  I don't have to many pieces but it is SO BULKY!  I do have several large Santa patterns that I have wanted to make for years. They are one of the things I collect (I guess that means Santas and patterns LOL).  I have made a few dolls in my life.  Do you remember the Cabbage Patch dolls? I made a few for my girls.  The boys had fun kicking them around I think.  Ahh... the 80s I remember them and a house filled with four growing busy kids.  The good news is we all survived them.

Now to share something OLD.  Have you found that people give you fabric, notions and other sewing/quilting things because they have them and don't know what to do with them or how to use them?  My Mother always said not to turn down anything that someone offered to give you.  Now that I'm older I understand that it is a Blessing to Give as well as to Receive. If you never accept things from others you are depriving them of the Blessings that come from Giving.  You can always pass it on to someone else if you don't need it.  I had one friend that said she was a funnel to channel things In and Out to/from others.
Anyway a couple of months ago my DH came in a asked if I wanted some sewing stuff that his bookkeeper had.  Her Mother had died and she doesn't sew so she has been trying to clear out her Mother's belongings.  I said sure but had no clue what would show up.  A few days later he came home with a box full of things.  There was a new quilt batt still in it's package from a chain store that closed and then became Target.  A variety of notions, thread, zippers, snaps (does anybody use them anymore?) needles etc.  There were a couple of unique notions that I will share with you later.  Then there was a stack of these: there are 62 Grandmother's Flower Garden Hexie Blocks.
Fabrics seem to be from the 30s - 50s to me.

I don't recall seeing RED centers before.

Some are well planned out and others are scrappy.

I love looking at the prints.  Some are so bold and modern.

A few are made with solids.

This purple looks a lot like a reproduction print I've seen.

Same print but in yellow.  A few prints are feed sacks but not many.

Some are dainty. 
Some are WILD and BOLD!

They are overall in good shape.  They have been washed and starched, sigh, so a few have frayed edges.  There are no papers so I don't think they were done with English Paper Piecing.  They just have hand stitched seams. What would you do with them?

Now for something NEW!  Back on my birthday my DH gave me a card saying he would buy me a gift when I decided what I wanted.  (He hates to shop! Can you tell?)  So I found something on sell that I had been thinking of getting for several years and after showing it to him and thinking about it some more for a few days he said to order it.  It has arrived and now has a home in the studio (thanks to more rearranging).  
 
Accuquilt Studio Cutter

The Accuquilt Studio Die Cutter makes cutting out quilts much faster!  I have been able to use one at the Charity Quilt group that I belong to.  I plan to use it to make up some kits for charity quilts.  So begins another collection for me: Cutting Dies.  Maybe I should open an Etsy shop and sell a few kits too.  What do you think?

A Big Thanks to ALL who have Served
 to defend Our Freedom!!!

Spend some time GIVING THANKS for those who have made it possible for us to enjoy our MANY BLESSINGS and FREEDOM in this country!  There is no way to repay them for their service and sacrifices!

Monday, November 4, 2013

Looking Ahead

The imagination is literally the workshop wherein are fashioned all plans created by man. 
Napoleon Hill


I have been busy with quilting and reorganizing my studio work spaces.  It takes a bit of thought and energy to figure out the best place to put things.  I now have better access to my large fabric storage bins and I plan to go through them and cull some of the less useful fabrics over the next few months.  I still haven't had much time with my new machine.  I did manage to put a zipper in a pillow back for what will be a Christmas gift.  It is the quietest machine I've ever used and I really love the bright lights on it.  

I wrote a blog post last week that disappeared when I hit publish.  Grrr...  (Note to self, if you have left the compose screen open for too long, hit refresh BEFORE you start writing again.) So I have been thinking of you I just haven't had a lot the share.  I need to start keeping a list of things I can write SHORT posts about.

HELP OR IDEAS NEEDED!!!

It is now November and the Holidays are approaching at lightening speed.  If you will take a minute and VOTE in the POLL to the right about what you think would be a good name for my Christmas Tree Skirt Linky Party I would appreciate it.  If you have a better suggestion for a name PLEASE SHARE it in the comments.  I also need a Clip Art Picture or something to use for a Linky Button to share.  I have been so focused on my quilting and organizing that the creative ideas for this project just aren't flowing.  Any bright or helpful ideas would be appreciated.  I would even give a small prize to anyone that has an idea or name that I use.


WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE A TUTORIAL ON MAKING A TREE SKIRT?

I would like to feature some fellow bloggers during the linky party.  If you would like to share a tutorial on how you make a Tree Skirt or maybe on how you like to make the ties, closures or binding for one please let me know ASAP so I can get a schedule organized.  You can find my tutorial that I made in July HERE.

How to Make a Hexagonal Tree Skirt

I thought I would share some pictures of the textured quilting I did on the the quilt I finished a few weeks ago.  There were three areas to quilt sky, a tree and snow.  These pictures are from the back side because the threads matched and did not show up well on the front.

Sky texture - wavy lines and swirls

Tree branch texture

Snow

Not too exciting to look at but the flowers in the print are smaller than a quarter and the quilt was more than 80" in both directions.  It was a lot of quilting!  No pictures of the front as it isn't my quilt.

I was looking for some batting on Joann.com today a happened to notice they have a really good deal on EQ7 and some other EQ products today.  I know many of you were interested in it when I ran the giveaway.  If it is on your Christmas List Now would be the time to get it.  I don't know how long the sale price will be good.

I also learned about a Giveaway the Keepsake Quilting is running.  You can enter daily to win 52 yards of fabric a year.  Sounds like a dream come true to me! 


That's my news for the day.  I'll be back soon to share something new and old that came to my studio recently.

Linking with:  Linky Tuesday
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