Winning Wednesday

Yes, today we find out who wins my First Ever Give-Away~

A Quilter’s Connection magazine and fabric to help you make the Partridge in a Pear Tree wall hanging! 

Drum Roll….I shake the cookie jar and then reach in and pull out a piece of paper with ……… name on it!   Barb-Corgi to Quilt By is the the winner!!  Please email me your address so that I can pop this stuff into the mail. 
Now if the  rest of you are feeling bad DON’T because I have a give-away for all of you! ( I hope you want it!) It is a copy of the pattern to the coneflower runner.  I’ve  had a few people ask about the pattern so here it is:  (if you don’t want it, read no further….you are excused from class early!)

Here’s a picture of the runner.  I made this runner up as I went so here are the instructions-

1.) Cut  21 4 inch squares and sew them into 3 rows of 7 squares each.  (I used flannels).

2.) Sew 2 rows together lengthwise.  Cut the third row in half lengthwise and sew one half of this  strip to each  side of the two rows –see the picture.  You have a 2 inch row, then two  4 inch rows and finally the last 2 inch row.  Press as you go.

3.) Now you are ready to appliqué the cornflowers onto this back ground.  Whenever I work with wool I always press double sided Heat and Bond onto the wool to stabilize it.  Plus I use it to trace the pattern of the flowers, leaves and birds onto the smooth side before pressing it onto the wool.

4.)Now that the heat and bond is stuck on, cut out the shapes and  place them on the background.   You can try to iron the pieces on but I find the actual ‘bonding’ doesn’t work very well with wool as it sometimes has too many fibers, so you may have to pin or baste. 

5.)  Stitch the shapes into place using blanket stitch and whip stitch (whatever you prefer to do).

6.) When finished with the appliqué, add a 1 1/2 inch sash before you quilt and bind it.  I hand quilted mine but you could easily machine quilt it.

If you have any problems with these instructions please contact me.  The coneflower/bird/leaves drawing for the appliqué  is HERE. (You will  probably have to expand this sheet to a larger size (150-200%).  Remember the wool I used was from old coats/blazers. It’s a good thing!

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday and Happy Quilting!

Shots Taken in Tombstone….

Last winter when we were in Tombstone, Arizona (yes, the wild west Tombstone) we were walking down the boardwalk, checking out the little shops and ….what did I spot?  Why, was that a quilt show? (My hubby swears that quilt shows and shops tend to follow me around….)I never thought in a million years that I would find a quilt show in Tombstone…but I did! I wanted to share one quilt from that show – one that I loved and it is perfect for this time of year.  

Isn’t it gorgeous?!  Love it and notice that it is all hand quilted with tiny leaves using a dark green thread.  Just lovely! So while the gunfighters were shooting up the streets of Tombstone I was in the Quilt Shop shooting  quilts! :o) A quilters got to do what a quilters got to do…..pilgrim…

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!

PS JUST A REMINDER-

Get your entry/entries in on my First Ever Give-Away as tomorrow I pick the winner!!  See Thursdays posting for the details…. :o)

I Spy….with my little cutter…..

Yesterday I cut up my I Spy fabric for the I Spy Fabric Swap which Karen from Sew Many Ways is hosting.  Forty bloggers will be sending her packages of 120  five inches squares.  I don’t envy Karen as she has to sort them out into groups of forty and mail them back to us.  What a lot of work….BUT we really appreciate it!   WE REALLY DO!  I can’t wait to see my 120 squares of different I Spy fabric!  What a great idea……Thanks, Karen!

Is it just me or are there lots of Give-Aways this month?  I am NOT complaining as I love a good Give-Away..FREE is a good thing!

Janice, one of my best blogging friends, is having a wonderful give-away in memory of her dear mother.  What a nice way to remember your mom.  You must go to her blog and find out more about Janice and her mom…it will touch your heart!

The Flannel Queen and  The Dizzy Daizy are two online fabric shops and they are both having fantastic grand opening give-aways!  Go over to their blogs and check it out….

My Cookie Jar is full of entries for my first ever Give-Away which closes on Wednesday (Sept 30th)….I have had so much fun meeting new people and visiting other blogs.  I just KNOW that I am going to have to do this again!  AND soon! (For details go to last Thursdays posting called “My first Give-Away!).

ALSO Firecracker Kid is also having a give-away (you’d think it was Christmas around here!!)  Their prize is a gorgeous Primitive One of a Kind Rolling Pin Dough Bowl Keep.  You have to see it to appreciate it- a work of art!

Have a marvelous Monday (wow, it’s Monday already….guess we had a weekend!) and Happy Quilting!

I’m sticking with quilting…..

 

So yesterday morning I picked up Maggie, (my daughter) at the ferry terminal and we proceeded to have a lovely day together….we shopped, talked, had lunch, talked, shopped, talked, shopped some more and then it was time for me to drop her off…..time went by too quickly.  Her boyfriend, Toby was already in Victoria as he was in a hockey tournament….but not your usual hockey tournament….Toby plays…..

UNDERWATER HOCKEY!!  They all have little 8 inch sticks, wear flippers and little team coloured bathing hats  and they go under water and push the puck around….this is what the spectators see….a lot of splashing.  (Come to think of it, we were the only two in the stands!)  Kind of reminded me of sharks going after their prey….At the end of the game the two teams line up and slap wet hands ….very civilized!   Great fun….but don’t think that  I am  trading in my needle and thimble for fins and stick….no siree sir!  Makes quilting look very tame and VERY enjoyable, don’t ‘cha think? I’m sticking with quilting….how about you?

IT’S A GOOD THING~

Of course I stopped at a few Garage Sales on my way to the ferry….it’s NOT me, it’s my car!  It just automatically stops!  What can I do?  So my BIG find today was this big bag of velvets- lots of different, lovely colours.

Oh, I am SO going to make a crazy quilt now!!  Did you see the sticker on the bag- $3.00!  (happy dance down the driveway!) It’s a good thing!!

Give-Away Spotted!!  The Old Farmhouse Gatherings is having an awesome Halloween give-away – a huge basket full of Halloween goodies- too much stuff to list!!  You will have to go over and have a peak for yourself!   Sure wish this huge basket was coming to my house….

Have a super sunny Sunday and Happy Quilting!!

Bluebird, bluebird on my…coneflower!

I am off to the Ferry this morning to pick up my middle daughter. She moved to Vancouver this spring after she received her Law Degree. We are planning on spending the day together, have a little lunch…..maybe take in a shop or two….do a little mother/daughter bonding…ahhhh life is good!

On the quilting front, I have been busy finishing off this little runner.  It took me longer than I thought it would (they always do!)….AND of course it would help if I could leave the computer alone!!  I swear, I am addicted!  But I am pleased with the runner….very cute and fallish but I think I will be able to keep it out year round.  I accidentally used Warm and Natural for batting which isn’t great for hand quilting as the needle has a hard time gliding through.  Therefore my stitches are a little bigger than normal but I’ll just tell people that is the effect that I wanted to achieve…ha ha.  All in all, not bad for being made out of old coats and blazers!

Rylie seems to like the bluebirds….What do you think?

Oh, and I should mention that my husband made this table!!  Isn’t it nice!  He took up woodworking after he retired!  So while I am upstairs cutting up fabric, he’s downstairs in his shop cutting up wood….aahhhh….a marriage made in heaven! :o)

It’s a good thing~ Pat at Silver Thimble is having a fantastic Give-Away.  Hurry over and check it out!

 

Have a super Saturday and happy Quilting!

Here’s to Give-aways and new friends…

Now I know why bloggers have Give-Aways!  I had so much fun yesterday after my posting about my First Give-Away (see yesterday for details). I met so many wonderful new bloggers, made some new blogging BFFs and visited a lot of fantastic new blogs….many of which are now on my Blogs to Follow side bar!  One that stood out was  Barb  from A Corgi to Quilt By.  She is a brand new blogger, a school teacher and quilter.  When I went over to her blog for a visit I discovered a fantastic, informative blog!  Plus Barb also has the cutest Corgi (hence the name of the blog)….lots of lovely quilts and works in progress…..BUT what I don’t understand is that Barb, who has only been blogging a couple of weeks,  has already won TWO Give-Aways!!  I mean how lucky is that….maybe it’s just beginner’s luck… I think we’re going to have to keep our eyes on this girl! :o)

Lyn from Bluebird Quilts is having a give-away in honour of 29 years of wedded bliss.  Check out this Give-Away – lovely fabric and cookie cutters.  I think it’s time I won something….AND I am feeling lucky….AND it’s my turn….isn’t it?

Also check out Sewn for some gorgeous FREE patterns!  Got to love that!

Hey, is it Friendly Friday…already?!  Have a good one, and Happy Quilting!

My First Give-Away!

I have been blogging for just over three months and feel it’s time I gave something back.  I know how excited I get when I read about Give-Aways on other blogs so I think it’s high time I had one!  So remember I said I bought two Quilter’s Connections….one for me and one for a friend…well….guess what?  You might just be that friend!  The Quilter’s Connection is a brand new Canadian Magazine – this is the first issue.  Don’t you just love the Partridge in a Pear Tree wall-hanging on the cover designed by a fellow blogger, Laurraine Yuyama (Patchwork Pottery) …yes, she is Canadian and lives near Vancouver, BC (we’re practically neighbours!)  I am including several pieces of fabric to help you make this wall hanging!  I have tried to keep the colours as similar to the picture as possible. Check out the pictures~ 

So you might win one of these Quilter’s Connection magazines……

Along with all this fabric to make the Partridge in a Pear Tree wall hanging!

Here are some close-ups of the fabrics~ some of my favourites!  Hope you like!

You probably know the Give-Away drill just as well as I do.  Leave me a comment for one entry , become a follower for another entry and write about the Give Away on your blog for another entry.  Please let me know what you have done so that I can put 1, 2, or 3 tickets with your name on it in the cookie jar.  The Give- Away ends on the last day of September (September 30 – less than a week away at 12 noon West Coast time).   Good luck and I look forward to ‘meeting’ you all!

FINALLY -Remember this beauty from my First Day of Fall posting (Sept. 22).

I had taken pictures of this gorgeous wall hanging at a Fall Fair on the weekend.  I had tried to find the artist, Vicky but she couldn’t be found.  Would you believe she found me….via internet!  Don’t you just love computers!  Anyways, to make a long story short, Vicky was thrilled to see her wall hanging flashed around the world and she answered all my questions about it.  Let her tell it in her own words….”When I was making this wall hanging, I did not like my work and I suppose we all criticize ourselves because we never feel like we are doing a good job. I know that others see things differently than we do. Yes, I dyed the fabric for the sunflower petals, leaves, fence, and flower stems. We then cut out the shapes of the petals, leaves and centres of sunflowers freehand. I cut out the shapes of the leaves holding 2 pieces of fabric, I quilted the veins on the leaves and attached them to make them look like falling leaves in Fall.”

Vicky even sent a full picture of this masterpiece.  Don’t you just love the part where she said she didn’t like her work….why do we do that to ourselves?  We are our own worse enemy-I know I do it all the time….is this because we visualize something totally different in our minds as we create and it take us a little longer to accept the final out come (which may even be BETTER than what we visualized?) hmmm food for thought!  So the moral behind all this is – Don’t judge your project until it is finished and then rejoice in it’s splendor!

Well done, Vicky!!  This wall hanging is something I would treasure for a long, long time!  Isn’t it spectacular!  And Vicky, I hope you join the blogging community as we would all love to get to know you and see more of your creations! (Vicky is thinking about blogging….! )

Have a thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting!

I Spy…..a Canadian Swamp?…..

I have signed up for Karen’s(Sew Many Ways)  I Spy Swap so yesterday I went to three different quilt shops looking for the perfect I Spy fabric.  I really wanted something Canadian…so what did I end up with?   Why swamp fabric, of course!  I couldn’t find ANYTHING Canadian….but these dragonflies caught my eye!  I was in the last and final quilt shop and I do love dragonflies so I thought what the heck…the frogs are adorable too.  I am sure glad that I signed up for this swap as it is REALLY hard to find I SPY fabric….just try!  Who knew….?

These are Canadian swamps, after all….

It’s a good thing…I hope! This is Canada’s newest Quilting Magazine called the Quilter’s Connection!  I finally found it at the Satin Moon Quilt Shop! The first issue is hot off the press….I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet but I DO enjoy the cover wall-hanging…. I bought two copies, one for me and one for a friend!  Hope she likes it!

Also Fiona from Mother’s Cupboard is having a Jelly Roll Give-Away and a Fabric Sale….hop on over for a look.  Very nice stuff!

Have a wonderful Wednesday and Happy Quilting!

First day of Fall…..

I’ve been saving this wall hanging for the first day of Fall!  Isn’t it the perfect quilt for just such an occasion…nothing like sunflowers, crows and fall leaves!  I would LOVE to say that I made this one but alas…no….This wall hanging was on display  at the Fall Fair.  It was stunning.  I  couldn’t take a full picture of the hanging as the quilt was tucked in a corner….in fact I almost missed it!  So I could only take close up shots.  Isn’t it gorgeous?

I tried to find Vicky, the lady who made this hanging as I had all kinds of questions for her….like…did you hand dye the fabric?  But she was no where to be found.  Each sunflower leaf was a different shade of yellow.  Each leaf a different shade of green and brown and they weren’t fully stitched down for the 3D look.  The stitching was beautiful!

Vicky sewed little circles for the seeds as well as stitched on a large cluster of seed beads…a lovely touch!

After looking at the sunflowers, the crows all of a sudden popped out at you.  Very subtle but beautifully done.

A masterpiece- the sewing machine was the paint brush,  and the fabric was the paint and canvas. 

Have a wonderful Fall!

It’s a good thing~ Make sure you check out Karen’s Tool Time Tuesday …..she continues to amaze me!!  As you know, my husband and I are ‘snowbirds’ so every January we head to Arizona and Southern California.  While my husband drives, I sew… Karen has come up with some ‘tools’ to make my sewing easier in the truck!  I am SO going to be checking out the doughnuts, cream puffs, cookie containers….last year I had such a hard time keeping my sewing ‘stuff’ contained.  I used zip-lock bags but I was forever losing my thread, scissors, needle…..AND the hexagon holder- I LOVE it!  I was finding hexagons all over the 5th wheel. And the cup with the lid-I’m going to put my thread in there with the thread coming out and I’m also going to stick my scissors in the hole when I’m not using them.   Thank you, Karen!!  You MUST pay Karen a visit and see these ‘tools’ for yourself!

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!

Fall Fair Fun!

On Saturday I went to the Fall Fair at the local Anglican Church.  I have been going to this Fair since my daughters were little and it is even bigger and better now. (the Fair not the girls!…although the girls are bigger and better…hmmmm). They have a Garage Sale section and of course I found some bargooons.  In the clothing section I found a few wool jackets for felting (whoopee- orange ones for making pumpkins!) and other miscellaneous items (I mean it WAS fill a bag for $4.00 so I just HAD to fill it!  Sheeesh…)

I bumped into some of the hand-quilters from my Wednesday group and they pointed me to the Arts and Crafts section (church) and I found many of the quilts that we quilted and some we didn’t.  Here is Anthea- she made this Irish Chain quilt and hand quilted it at home-just lovely and very Irish, don’t you thing?

Signey shocked me.  I was admiring these hooked rugs (I think that is what they are) I just love them.  My photos do not do them justice!  They are gorgeous- very vibrant and striking colours.  Then I see that they were made by Signey, a fellow quilter….who knew?  Good for you, Signey!  Beautiful job!

This pillow was very lush, vibrant and rich.  Definitely my favourite….in fact it would look fantastic on my green couch…..

Kathleen crocheted this lovely cream coloured afghan.  Lovely….again, who knew that she crocheted!  All these hidden talents…

Marion made this quilt before I joined the group.  It was lovingly hand quilted by the group and I am told it took months and months to finish.    I can see my two dogs stretched out on this pristine  white quilt….in their dreams…!  YIKES!  You know how dogs are….they’re dogs!

Finally this quilt looks like the artist painted (using wax resist would be my guess?) every fish.  Each square was a work of art.  Just gorgeous!

So I had a lovely day –oh I almost forgot the best part-  I met up with some of the ladies and we went to the dessert and coffee tent!  Desserts to (almost) die for! The cemetery was in full view…so you had to watch what you said! I think they positioned this tent here on purpose….so that you would look at the headstones and then the desserts and think …. to heck with the diet- I could die tomorrow!  Hey, it worked for me! Delish!

It’s a good thing-

Jenny of Elefantz has ANOTHER  give-away!  Would you believe she is celebrating having 500 followers!  Wow, I would be nervous writing for 500 quilters!  Yikes…after all what do I know and why would they want to read me?Jenny on the other hand, has a wonderful blog.  Her designs are lovely but it’s not just that…you can tell that she is kind, thoughtful and she has a great sense of humour and it all works together…oh did I mention that she is a great quilter, does beautiful work and has an eye for colour.  The woman is perfect in my books!  Oh…AND did I mention that she has FANTASTIC GIVE-AWAYS!!  Go and check it out! 

Have a marvelous Monday and Happy Quilting!