Monday, November 30, 2009

Chickens for Christmas?

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I had quite a few bloggers asking for the name of this pattern (from November’s Cloth Castle Club Sew and Tell).  I stumbled over it at Country Quilts online shop. It is called “Chickens at My Window” and above “Chickens Under the Stars”.  Nothing says Merry Christmas like these adorable Chickens….check it out….Oh and did I mention Country Quilts is having a huge sale…now this got your attention!  Hurry over….

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Imagine That….

Imagine That is the name of a local artisan shop where they sell all sorts of wonderful arts and crafts.  I was walking by this shop the other day and look at what was in their window…. a wonderful display of gorgeous quilts!  (I go NO WHERE without my camera!)P1030902 P1030904 P1030905 P1030906 P1030907

This is one of my favourites!  It’s too bad that they hung this quilt by one corner as you can’t really see how beautiful it is.  The stars are on the back of the quilt and there are blue and yellow Dresden plate flowers on the front!  I would LOVE a closer look at this quilt.   P1030908 P1030909 I’m sure these stars were made from old striped shirts….P1030910 I’m going to start collecting blue cotton striped shirts again. The more I looked at this quilt the more I  LOVE IT! P1030912 P1030913 P1030914

Lots of sweet little quilts…perfect for a table or to hang on a wall…

P1030915A fan quilt made with Asian prints.  Lovely! 

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This Christmas village quilt (above and below) is perfect for a Christmas display window…Isn’t it cute?

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Do you think anyone would notice if I crawled into this window for a better look at this black crazy patch…gorgeous hand embroidery on it and done in such lovely colours.  On the black background the stitches just popped!  Love this one! P1030921

What a wonderful display of quilts!  (I’m sorry about the glare on some of the windows but it was a fairly sunny day…Yikes, did I just apologizing for having a sunny day!!  YES, the sun was out!!)  This display was sponsored by the Cowichan Valley Heritage Quilters.  We have a lot of talented quilters in our Valley.  Well done ladies, you out did yourselves!

Have a marvelous Monday and Happy Quilting!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Belly up to the bar….the side bar that is!

Do you ever worry that your side bar of Favourite Blogs is so full that it is going to explode if you should add just one more blogger to the list?  Mine is now so long that when I find a new site ‘that I just have to have” I hold my breath when entering it for fear that the cyber police will say “Sorry- Full!”  BUT so far so good….whew….My newest entry is Bronwyn Hayes’ blog.  If you check out her new blog be prepared to add her to YOUR list of favourites!  Lots of delicious eye candy…and I do like candy! The good news about blog candy…it’s not fattening but I’m afraid…just as addictive!  It worth going over to her blog just to see her Header…

I started my Christmas shopping yesterday!  What a mad house!  In years past, I have always enjoyed Christmas shopping but then I always had my daughters with me for help, so it was a breeze.  This year I am an my own :o( ….and it’s just not the same.  I look at things through my eyes and go…”Oh I like that”… then I stop and think…Nah….she’ll hate it….and the sad news is I know I am right!  I now have a new respect for gift certificates….

I have to show you pictures of The Old Farm Market’s Garden Centre…I LOVE THIS SHOP! 

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Lots and lots of eye candy!  I like to give friends and family a little Christmas ornament with my name and year on it as a gift for Christmas.  I found all of them here this year.  They have such lovely things and I am partial to birds…

Plus look at what I found at the Cloth Castle yesterday when I flew through on my way home… wool felt!  It is the last of their 40% off sale so I bought a metre of each colour and 2 metres of the black.  I washed and dried it so now it is all soft and wrinkled…just the way I like it!  Merry Christmas to ME!

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So I made a serious dent in my Christmas shopping and it’s not even December yet!!  Yahoooo!

So it’s back to the sweat shop for me….I have three more of these little guys to make….P1040009 Don’t you just love Christmas?

GIVE-AWAY SPOTTED!!

Marie Madeline Studio is giving away a quilt!  Yes a lovely scrappy finished quilt (your choice between two).  I have my eye on that cute pastel pink quilt…Hurry over and check it out….which quilt are you going to pick if you should win?

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Good luck!!

Have a super Sunday and Happy Quilting!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Guess what I’m making….

Can you guess what I am making out of these wool felt circles…

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Does this help…?

P1030882 American Patchwork and Quilting has a ton of free patterns on their website.  I found the pattern for these adorable snowman ornaments…aren’t they sweet….and did I mention that they’re FREE!  And they are very easy to make, although time consuming~ but well worth the effort! Wouldn’t you just love to receive one of these tied to your present?

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They really are sweet all stitched up!P1030880

Check out their website….lots of good things happening…

Have a super Saturday and Happy Quilting!

Friday, November 27, 2009

FREE BOM!!

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Isn’t this antique quilt stunning!! The good news is ~ now we can make this very same quilt as Sentimental Stitches is offering this quilt pattern as a “Block of the Month” free! It’s a reproduction and it’s called Beyond the Cherry Tree. Each block will be available free for one month so make sure you download each block in the month that it is offered because after that it will be put on sale in their online store. The blocks will be posted by the 10th of each month.  Download today as the first two blocks are still being offered free! Hurry!

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More shots of this quilt- incredible!

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I absolutely LOVE this quilt!   And you’ve got to love the price!  FREE!

Now if you are like me and love FREE, then you need to see this – a list of their  favourite FREE quilt patterns that are offered on various sites and  compiled by Sentimental Stitches….seeing is believing so check this out!!  Grab a coffee first and make sure you have a few hours as there is a lot to look at!!  And did I mention that everything is FREE!  (What did we ever do before the Internet?…..Quilted! :o))

Have a fun Friday and Happy Quilting!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

You’re going to love this story….

So does everyone remember Krista from Poppyprint blog?  I won her give away – the lovely thread catcher (which I took to Hand Quilting today for sharing….but that’s another story….)  Anyways, lucky Krista is holidaying in the Bahamas.  So the story is…she  is laying around the pool and spots a lady carrying a charm pack quilted bag…EUREKA she thinks! A fellow quilter! So Krista does what most quilters would do ~ starts up a conversation with this quilty lady.

After some chit chat she discovers that the lady lives in Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island (West Coast of Canada)…which is where I live.  So Krista thinks…hey,you never know…so she asks the lady if her name is Paulette… the lady looks at her funny and says “No, but I have a sister and her name is Paulette and she lives in Cobble Hill”…YES! ME!  How weird is that!!  The lady with the quilted bag is my sister, Em!! 

Now what are the odds of that happening! But wouldn’t it have made an even better story if it HAD been ME!  Now that would have been freaky!!  Actually I could go for some of that sunshine and heat that Krista was complaining about….Monsoon rains here ALL day!  Blah…Too bad Krista…if it had been me, we could have hung out by the pool  in our charm pack bikinis, sipping a fruity drink, and talked quilting all day long…..sigh….oh well….maybe next year…

Krista tells this story WAY better than I just did….check it out on her yesterday’s posting….

ON THE CRAFT FRONT ~ I have belonged to Beta Sigma Phi for about 29 years now (yes, I was 12 when I joined!)Tonight it was my turn to have the group over and we made Christmas Wreaths…here are some snaps of the fun! IMG_3327

Here I am pretending to be Martha Stewart…giving a demonstration on what to do.  And just like in a classroom you have those who listen and those who don’t….if you know what I mean….sheeeesh….;o)

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It was a miserable night so only 13 women showed up, which was perfect as I had 13 spots all ready to go…It’s a good thing I have a big kitchen!

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This is Mary Kae… she is a good listener and got an A+!  Isn’t her wreath lovely….

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There’s one in every room….the class clown…Hey wait….isn’t that the teacher?

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The end….would you believe a fir tree exploded in my kitchen!  YIKES!  I know what I’m doing today!

GIVE-AWAY SPOTTED~ And not just any give-away, this one is a doozy! 12 fat quarters of Grandma’s Flower Garden..Just lovely!  Hurry over to Retromummy’s Blog for a look see…you won’t be sorry! 

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Isn’t it the prettiest fabric…..yes, some lucky blogger is going to be making something pretty spectacular with this fabric….it’s almost too pretty to cut up (~there’s that hoarder speaking again!! I really must get rid of her!)

AND….over at Spun Sugar Quilting they are giving away all kinds of goodies like this lovely Jelly Roll for one….Check it out!

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I wish I could send some of this rain to my friends in Australia…It sounds so hot and dry there right now.

And to all my  blogging buddies celebrating Thanksgiving have a wonderful day filled with good food, family and fun….and make sure you eat an extra piece of pumpkin pie for me…

Have a Thrilling (Thanksgiving) Thursday and Happy Quilting!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

It’s SOOO Me!

I know it was a Give-Away and it could have gone to ANYONE but it was made for Me!  I just know it!  

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I couldn’t believe my eyes when I unwrapped this lovely little quilt….it doesn’t look anything like the Give Away quilt from Mary’s on Quilt Hollow.  It MUCH nicer!! Why do quilts ALWAYS look better in ‘real life’? 

How did Mary from Quilt Hollow know that my living room is done in all the colours in this table topper?  Don’t believe me?…..Well then check this out-

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The green in the quilt is the exact same green as the couch!  How did she know?  And see how the quilt looks purple well it’s not- it’s the same burgundy as the area rugs!  See-P1030899

It even looks good on the floor!  But don’t worry that’s not where it’s going…

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It looks great in the dinning room too…same colours in the area rug here too! Decisions, decisions…

So I know this was a Give Away and it could have gone to anyone…but I think it was meant for me!!  How did Mary know??    I think it has come home!  Thanks so much Mary!  I LOVE it!

Have a wonderful Wednesday and Happy Hand Quilting!