A Flower For Wednesday

If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience.

~Robert Fulghum

While sewing yesterday I thought I had a problem.  After reading the above quote, I discovered I only had an inconvenience.  Sometimes I let things become more important than they are.  I have a habit of 'making a mountain out of a mole hill' as my Mother used to tell me.  It wasn't anything major, just a small thing.  But when it happened at the end of the day it just sort of took the wind out of my sails.  Made me think that I had wasted the day.  Maybe I will see things differently when I start again today.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Butternut Squash

My DH and I really like butternut squash.  Sliced in half and the seeds removed - baked for an hour in the oven with a little water.  Right before serving add butter and brown sugar and you might as well be eating dessert for dinner.  Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata), also known in Australia and New Zealand as Butternut pumpkin, is a type of winter squash. It has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. It has yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp. When ripe, it turns increasingly deep orange, and becomes sweeter and richer. It grows on a vine.  We have discovered that buying our butternut squash at the Farmer's Market makes for a much smoother squash meat.  I don't know where the grocery store buys there squash but it certainly is a much more mealy vegetable.  What a great way to get your Vitamin A.

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ONE FLOWER WEDNESDAY

I almost forgot today was Wednesday!  Luckily, I did make a new hexie flower the other night to share with you today for One Flower Wednesday.

This hexie flower is very bright and cheery.  I'm going to date myself here but it reminds me of the Flower Power era of the mid to late 60's.  The bright orange and deep bright pink were colors were very popular at that time.  For some reason when I took the picture, the plastic templates made the fabric look shiny and it's really not.

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PLACE MAT PROGRESS

Yesterday I spent all day making two of the four place mats that I had cut out on Monday. 

This is what I made.  I am not please with this at all.  I think the blue with the lighter accent fabric will probably look better but I didn't have enough of any of the fabric to make four matching place mats.  So I thought two each of coordinating fabric would work.  Not so much :(  I will probably make the other two today but maybe I just won't finish up the yellow ones.  Maybe I'll add them to the orphan pile.  Now you know my inconvenience (aka problem).

I did cut some 2 1/2" squares out of a few left overs from a charm pack I had.  I actually started working with leaders and enders.  Do you want to know a great way to make a lot of them in one day?  Make lots and lots of mistakes.  If you do that then you get to start with leaders more often.  I know because I made several mistakes (16 incorrect assembling of one block plus more) that I had to rip out.  But looking on the bright side, I certainly got use to doing leaders and enders :)

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TODAY'S GOAL

I was going to say I would work on the other two placemats but I think they need to be set aside for awhile.  I think I will finish a candle mat that I started back in December. 

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GIVEAWAYS

Make sure to come back and visit on Friday as that is when I have decided to have my next giveaway!!

Melissa over at Happy Quilting is celebrating her 300 followers with a giveaway.  There are three chances to win but you must enter before Monday night, January 24th.

Camille, author of Simplify, is celebrating being #6 on Amazon's best 2010 list - that's 3 spots above Martha!  She is giving away a copy of her book, some Bliss, patterns and a few more fabric/sewing treats.  Not sure when this one ends.

My friend, Leona over at Leona's Adventures is celebrating reaching 300 followers with a great giveaway!  She is giving away a $25 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop.  This giveaway will end Sunday, January 30, 2011 at midnight EST.

Jess over at Quilt Habit is having her very first giveaway.  To celebrate all of her recent winnings she has decided to giveaway a charm pack of Origins for Moda.  Jess will draw the winner sometime on Friday, January 28th.

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 FINAL THOUGHT

Last night we did one of my least favorite chores - grocery shopping.  I almost forgot to make the shopping list which is definitely not a good thing because I know I would have forgotten something.  Up and down the aisles searching for everything we needed.  Of course, there's the 10 minutes in the cereal aisle while DH picks out his selection of cereal for the next two weeks.  Half way through the store - uh oh, missed something on the list that's back at the beginning.  And why do they have to keep the whole store like you were in the frozen food section?  People parking carts in the middle of the aisle while they are down the way about 15 feet.  Come on people!  Finally home and have to put it all away.  And everything is eaten in two weeks and back to the store we go.  Oh boy!!  I can hardly wait!!

Anyone who believes the competitive spirit in America is dead has never been in a supermarket when the cashier opens another checkout line.
~Ann Landers

Wednesday is here - I hope yours is wonderful!!