Perfect for a Fall Day…

Here’s the view from my sewing room window…very bleak don’t you think…see the blanket of mist in the distance…that is where Satellite Sound is…and in the distance I should see Salt Spring Island……sigh…. Reminds me of a Fall day on the Coast…(please excuse the screen mesh ;o))

So because of that blanket of mist…I get to work on this little blanket …I am almost finished quilting it..and then I’ll need to pull out my stash to find some binding fabric..maybe in green?…or gold…or burgundy red?

Mmmmm…I’m loving these colours- very rich and…perfect for a FALL day!  Hard to believe that tomorrow is the first day of JUNE!!

Have a magical Monday and Happy Quilting!!

A Rainy, Miserable Saturday…

So yesterday I woke up to a rainy, miserable Saturday …Garage Saling was definitely not on my to-do list…BUT.. there was this ONE Garage Sale Ad in the Classifieds that was CALLING my name…WHY you ask?…because in their list of stuff for sale they mentioned Quilting Books and supplies. So off I hustled and arrived 10 minutes before the GS opened…the EARLY BIRD gets the worm has always been my motto.  In this case there were no worms to be had…when I asked the lady having the GS to point me to the Quilting Stuff she looked at me with this blank look…then pointed to a box of 30 year old musty, poly-cotton fabric and a couple of doll patterns.  Sometimes Garage Sales are like that…and other times you hit the Mother Lode…so with rain dripping down my neck I headed off…no win fall…no SCORE...no nothin’!

But all was not lost…I headed to the Local Library and took out these lovelies….

I also signed out three audio books so that I can ‘read’ and sew at the same time…bliss…my two favourite pastimes combined!!

And I also hit the Video store and rented “It’s Complicated”..with Meryl Strep and Steve Martin (Hey, has he had surgery??  Isn’t it distracting when all you can think about during the movie is whether they have been under the knife or not…and why do they do it??  Who do they think they are kidding…just get old…like the rest of us!  Seriously, I drive my husband crazy with comments like this..maybe because I made them throughout every scene that Steve was in..) The movie was a good rental…there was one laugh out loud moment for me …and I’ll let you figure out ‘which moment’ that was when you see it! 

All in all, considering it was a miserable, rainy Saturday, I had a great day…how about you?

Have a super Sunday and Happy Quilting!

Canadian Quilters Rock!

I am one proud Canadian!!  Did you hear the drums yesterday?  The quilting jungle was going nuts spreading the word that…Krista from Poppyprints and Marlene from Sipiweske Quilts are BOTH featured in the Summer Publication of Quilter’s Connection!!  I CAN’T WAIT to get my hands on this magazine…!!! 

This gorgeous red and white quilt, featured on the cover, was designed and made by Marlene…and I mean REALLY..EVERY true Canadian quilter should make a red and white quilt…so it might as well be this stunner!

Also in this magazine is an article written exclusively about Krista!!  We FINALLY get the dirt on Poppyprint!  AND…Yes…apparently she does grows poppies…and right in her very own backyard!!  Ponder that one…Oh..and there’s more…

So looks like I will be heading to Victoria to the nearest Chapters store to buy the Summer publication of Quilter’s Connection…but first I will also need to haul out all my red and white fabric.  I might even have to stop off at a Quilt Shop or…two or..three…

Sweet ‘P’ is so ‘P’roud of you two…! Oh…I almost forgot…Poppyprint is giving away a copy of Quilter’s Connection.  Hustle over and put your name in…you just might win!!

Have a Super Saturday and Happy Quilting!!

Yikes..it’s the Shower Lurker!!

The Shower Lurker strikes again!!  Yes, she caught me again…coming out of the shower!! 

Just kidding…Renee came for dinner and I couldn’t resist coming to the door in my robe and towel…just like old times!! 

We had a lovely evening…and yippee…REAL FOOD!!  My diet is was going great (I’ve lost 10 lbs!!) but bring on those mash potatoes and dessert!!  Ahhhhh…food…REAL FOOD! 

Seven months until we fly the coop…we are after all, Snowbirds ya’know!

On to some quilting NEWS~

I thought you might like to see what we are working on at Hand Quilting now. 

We put Laura’s Snail’s Tail on the frame…isn’t it gorgeous…

…so rich and scrappy… You can just barely see the lines where we will be quilting…do you see them? the circles and waves…every half inch or so…

…just wait until you see what Laura has planned for the hand quilting…YIKES- very intricate, elaborate but it’s going to be stunning! It’s going to take awhile to stitch but then again…it is a Snail’s Tail….

Shirley brought this little quilt for sharing.  Her daughter made it for her…just incredible..little pebbles with a sheer netting over to give the illusion of a leaf floating in water..

 

See the leaf close up….

And closer yet…isn’t it amazing!!  Doesn’t it look REAL?

And look at the quilting…little ripples in the water!!   

Stunning!!

Isn’t it wonderful when you like the back just as much as the front!!  Lucky Shirley!

Have a fun Friday and Happy Quilting!!

We have a winner!!…

..to the GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER…contest!!  Poppyprint sent this comment in~

Oh!Oh! Oh!, pick me! It's the "shower lady" from the trailer park in California, right??? It must be her. Is she coming to dinner?

Yes, it is Renee the Shower Lurker…see this posting for more info on our ‘meeting’!

Here’s Renee working on her first ever Wool Project…NOW she is Wool Crazy ~ to the point where she is into dyeing her own stash!!

Krista, if you would send me your address, I can mail you your winnings…sure hope you like wool…?  Maybe we can get you started on your first project? ;o)

Take care!!  I better start rattling those pots and pans!

Queen of the Thrifting~

That is what I dubbed Leah yesterday after she hauled out the loot that she ‘found’ in her local Thrift shop!  ~ These lovely HAND STITCHED blocks!

There are seventeen of these beauties…

They are all different and beautifully done… not necessarily my colours but I couldn’t help but love and appreciate the workmanship and HOURS and HOURS that have gone into making these blocks!  AND all sewn by hand!!

So Leah was selling them for the price that she had paid…and when no one spoke up to claim them…I yelled out SOLD! (after I had wrestled two old ladies to the ground)…I graciously took them off her hands…for $5!!  SCORE!

Now what to do with them….??  Any ideas?

Leah’s other find was a Zip lock bag containing these little lovelies~  13 scrappy stars! 

Laura snapped these beauties up! She got no hassle from anyone else…hmmm wonder why?

They are scrappy,  machine stitched and beautifully done.

We wondered (over coffee and goodies)- why would anyone sell these blocks after putting in so much time and effort?  We finally came to the conclusion that the quilter must have died and the family has tossed them into the give away pile…

So if and when I finish my quilt, it will forever be known as ‘The Dead Lady’s Quilt”…I’m sure everyone will want to snuggle under it!! ;o)

Have a thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting!!  Hey, can you GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER TONIGHT!!  First one to guess correctly gets a prize!! 

My Addiction(s)…

It’s Hand Quilting Day…so before I head out the door, I thought I’d share a couple of shots of my newest Schnibble quilt… lil’ Rooibos…he is still in the infant stage…He WOULD have been an easy quilt to bang off but there is just too much on TV with all these season finales- Jack doesn’t die (24), the Biggest Loser ended up being the person who weighed the most (he looked fantastic!), and we still don’t know if Alicia will stand by her cheating husband or run off with Will (The Good Wife-love this show!!)  And it’s not over…American Idol’s on tonight…YIKES! Will it be Crystal or Lee…I love them both so I will celebrate regardless of who wins…So let me just clarify…I REALLY don’t watch a lot of TV…;o)

Back to my lil’ guy~ I have used two Butterfly Garden Charm Packs~ such lovely rich colours.  The side setting triangles go on next and they are a burgundy red colour…I’m hoping enough contrast to make this baby sing!

So there you have it…LOVE these little Schnibbles…if it wasn’t for TV I’d be working of my third Schnibbles quilt…yes, I am addicted…to Schnibbles that is…not TV!

Have a wonderful Wednesday and Happy Quilting!

Great give away!

To celebrate her daughter’s sixteenth birthday, Jenny of Elefantz is having a fantastic give away…go over and check it out!!  Make sure you tell Jenny that Paulette sent you!!  In this case, it’s OK to be a name dropper…(Read the give away rules to find out why…)

Have a wonderful birthday, Blossom!!

And to everyone out in blogland have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!!

OUCH!

I think I have been bitten by the Schnibbles bug…look at what I am going to make next-

Isn’t she adorable…

I bought the Butterfly Garden fabric at the Calico Horse in Redlands, California this Winter…ahhhh I loved that shop…. Thanks for the memories …of fabric and thread, patterns that we read…oh thank you so much!  ..Nuts!…now I have the song stuck in my head!

And on the GIVE AWAY FRONT~ I WON!  I WON!  I got an email from Emma at Sampaguita Quilts announcing that I WON!  I WON! this lovely Seasonal Trees pattern.  Thank you so much Emma!!  Can’t wait to savour see it in real life!

Have a special Sunday and Happy Quilting!

Blogger’s Quilt Festival…

There is ALWAYS something happening in Blogland…now it’s the Blogger’s Quilt Festival sponsored by Amy’s Creative Side…I LOVE this festival!!  I am praying for rain this weekend so that I can justify sitting in front of the computer for HOURS ohhhhing and ahhhhhing all the quilts in the show. 

I had no problems picking the quilt that I want to enter…it’s the quilt currently on my Blog Header.  I just finished it last week and mailed it off to baby Isobel.  It is such a happy quilt and I loved the fact that I used scraps of fabric from my stash!! 

The secret to making a quilt that makes you smile…is to pick happy fabrics to make your happy blocks… ..and you are guaranteed to get a happy quilt!!      This was such a fun quilt to make!  I used a variety of fabrics cut into 1”-2” wide strips which I paper pieced onto 8 inch squares of paper.   If you are visiting my blog for the first time make sure you leave a comment…I always love to hear from new folks!

To see other quilts in the Blogger's Quilt Festival hop on over to Amy’s Creative Side and start clicking on the links. The quilt photos and stories will keep you tied to your computer for hours!

Have a Super Saturday and Happy Quilting!!

What’s red, white and tanned all over?

It’s MADELINE!!    I’m mad about Madeline! Meet Madeline Schnibble…I know you’ve probably met her clone before or have seen her around on other blogs.. but my Madeline is different…-she’s not as perfect as the other Madeline’s of the world but she is all MINE and she’s going to be spending a lot of time hanging around my home…. 

She is small and adorable and I love her red Rouenneries body.  Madeline was such a fun little quilt to make…I might just have to make her a little sister! ;o)

So that’s one more finish for my May OPAM challenge!! 

Well the party is over…the Sew Mama Sew Give Away Prize is wrapped and waiting to be mailed…and as happens when all great parties come to an end there is always a mess…yikes…looks like a bomb has gone off around here!!  So you guessed it…housecleaning day!!  So as I sweep up the confetti and streamers and wash up all the wine glasses I want to once again thank Sew Mama Sew for one heck of a Give Away.  I didn’t win anything but that doesn’t matter…I sure had fun- I read some great comments, met some wonderful new quilters and even made a few new blogging friends…and I have added tons of NEW blogs to my side bar.  I love my morning visits!  So come on…pull up a chair and let me get you a coffee…and tell me all about what’s happening on your side of the world…take your time…the vacuuming can wait! ;o)

Have a Fun Friday and Happy Quilting!

And the Winner Is…

Well I fired up the old random generator (my husband) and picked the winner of my first ever Sew Mama Sew Annual Give Away.  What a ride this was!!  I feel like I have partied for three straight days…yeah…I know, I don’t get out much!!  But still it was FUN!  Took forever to read through all the comments (over 400 of them!) and I must admit the winner’s comment was just right…not too sucky..but sincere and to the point as she needed to hustle off to the next blog. I really wish I could send you all a bundle of wool but alas…I’m on a fix income…(hey it works for the kids!)  Anyways I’m sending this off to~

… CMEH Candace Henderson!!  Congratulations..you are about to become WOOL CRAZY!!  Please send me your snail’s mail address so that I can put this in the mail!  Again thanks everyone for entering…let’s do it again sometimes SOON!

Have a thrilling Thursday and Happy Quilting!!

Sew Mama Sew is Sew Smart!..(say that three times..fast!)

 

The Sew Mama Sew May Give Away is SEW GOOD and SEW HUGE…I feel like I sat down to a huge meal and I ate the whole thing!!  And it was delicious…every single crumb! 

How DID Mama coordinate this thing?… THINK ABOUT IT…BY Monday morning Mama had organized (and PUT into categorizes!!) hundreds of Blog Give Aways with links back to these blogs!!!  I mean what a feat!!  Some of us didn’t post till the last minute and they are still posted and linked…I have enough problems doing one or two links per posting and here we are talking hundreds…boggles this small peanut brain!!  So THANK YOU, SEW MAMA SEW!!  You are SEW awesome!!  These are from us to YOU~

 

I LOVE a good Give Away but this is RIDICULOUS!!  I am exhausted!  It’s hard work going from blog to blog..first reading the blog, understanding what’s in the give away (not always in the picture!), getting the rules sorted out, writing comments that apply to this particular give away, jumping through hoops, being nice…you know…sucky but NOT TOO sucky and then posting the comments…AND then you lose your place…YIKES!!  Wow!!  I’m having a ball!!  Seriously it’s a lot of fun…sort of like going to a neighbourhood Garage Sale…or like Trick or Treating…but after awhile it becomes hard work…instead of writing a whole paragraph about how wonderful the give away is you write “I’m in!  Thanks!” and you’re off to the next house yelling “Trick or Treat”! blog! 

So tonight I have to sit down and read the Give Away comments left on my own blog…all 320 of them (so far)…wonder if there will be any…you know…sucky but not TOO sucky comments or will they be “I’m in, thanks”!!  Not to worry…I understand…boy do I understand!!  Besides…it’s a random draw!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday and Happy Quilting (IF you have time…today is the last day for the give aways!)!

Nothing like the real thing…

I finally got my hot, sweaty hands on the latest Quilt Sampler’s Magazine!  I have been waiting for this magazine ever since I shopped at Quilter’s Haven in Bounty, (Salt Lake City) Utah in April!! 

      

While I was chit chatting with Joni, the owner of the shop, it came up that Quilt Sampler was going to be doing a feature article on them and in this issue!

So here it is~Tadah~

Now IN REAL LIFE this shop is WAY nicer!!  The pictures do not do it justice…which must mean that all the shops featured in the magazine are even better than the pictures indicate!!  Don’t get me wrong…the pictures are fantastic…BUT the shop is OUT OF THIS WORLD!! 

Check out this picture of Hollyhill Quilt Shoppe in West Linn, Oregon…they have a WOOL section…see the quilt in the left hand corner…the pattern for this lovely little quilt is in my give away (check yesterday’s post).  Hmmm, West Linn, Oregon…we will be driving through Oregon next winter when we start our Snowbirding trek down south…I must get a map out…I think a detour is in order…don’t you?

I think it’s time I met Jan and Brian Hill…owners of Hollyhill Quilt Shoppe. 

I do love this magazine…it’s like visiting the shops all over again…OMG… I see the Stitchin’ Post!!  I loved visiting the Stitchin’ Post…(twice)…think I’ll need to pour another coffee as I ponder our next trip south…hmmmm…Livermore, California (In Between Stitches)?…Livermore..has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?!

Speaking of visiting~ Did you have fun yesterday visiting all the Give Away Blogs?  A little overwhelming, wasn’t it?!  Some of the comments were well into the hundreds!  Yikes!

To those people who entered my Give Away I am sorry I didn’t send a comment back… but I was/am too busy visiting everyone else’s blogs!!  Hope you understand…I’m sure you’re doing the same!  Good thing we have a few days to enter…so what are we waiting for~ let’s get those running shoes on and get back at it.. AND good luck!

Have a terrific Tuesday and Happy Quilting!! 

It’s Give Away Day!!!

It’s May 17th GIVE AWAY DAY!!  You know what that means...today’s the day… SOOO this is what I am giving away~(do you hear the drum roll….)

Lovely hand dyed wool~

Some close-ups of the pinks

and the greens….

..blues, cream and yellow (yes it is a lovely soft yellow..?)…

…orange and browns…perfect for…

…baskets…

 

So the give away is this stack of lovely hand dyed wool and a Pattern called Flower Baskets by Wooden Spool Designs.

 

  This is a nice and easy pattern for a beginner and done up-it is spectacular!  I bought the pattern at the Road to California ~they had it made up and on display…LOVED IT and so will you…! You know the drill… if you would like to win this gorgeous wool and pattern then~

1. Leave a comment for one entry.

2. Become a follower or if you are a follower already then tell me for a second entry.

3. Blog about it for a third entry!!

I will randomly select the winner on Thursday morning (6 am Pacific Time Zone).  I will ship internationally so everyone can enter!

Good luck…now I am off to visit other participating blogs…oh…for a list of those blogs go HERE!!  Thanks Sew Mama Sews for sponsoring this fun event…got to run!!  There are blogs to visit and prizes to win!!

Have a magical Monday and Happy Quilting!!