A Day Well Spent

Opportunity is often difficult to recognize; we usually expect it to beckon us with beepers and billboards.

~William Arthur Ward

I didn't complete my goal yesterday.  Life got in the way.  I had a wonderful visit with my daughter as she dropped off our 'granddog' so that we could doggy sit for a few days while they take care of family matters.  While she was here she was able to join me in going out to lunch with friends.  My DH was able to join us too so there was even some father/daughter time involved.  Then my wonderful DD took me to the LQS where they were having a 50% off all fabric and patterns sale (more on that later).  Actually, I did manage to get a little bit done before her arrival.  I do not consider this a wasted day, just a day with different opportunities.

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PHOTO FACT OF THE DAY

I was popping around cyberspace the other day and ran across some facts of little use.  Some I thought were fun and others hard to believe - you decide......

*The average driving/car-bus riding person spends about 3 months of their life at a red light.

*Peanuts are one of the ingredients in dynamite.

*There are more chickens than people in the world.

*On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament Building is an American flag.
I have since learned since posting that the $2 Canadian bill is no longer produced.  It has been replaced with the 'toonie'.  Guess I should have done more research

*An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

*The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life."

*Mr. Rogers is an ordained minister.

*In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.

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BARN DOOR SWAP

Yesterday I assembled two more blocks for the Barn Door Swap for March.  This time they are 12.5" blocks.  My partner does not have a blog so I had no way to contact her and don't know if she had any preferences (none were listed).

It's a little hard to see but the block on the left has little tiny red apples on the navy blue.  I thought these two blocks covered both the traditional and the more modern version of the Hole In The Barn Door block.  I hope my swap partner will like her blocks.

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I WON AGAIN

I have been on a winning streak lately that I'm sure will break since I mentioned it here.  Yesterday I received  my winnings from Connecting Threads.

I won this Freemotion Quilting book and spool of Essential Pro thread in natural.  I won this by simply following Connecting Thread on Facebook.  How lucky am I?

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WHAT A DEAL!!

As I mentioned above, I went shopping at our LQS yesterday.  Every piece of fabric was 50% off if you bought a yard or more.  How could I pass that up?  Well, I couldn't.  I walked out of there spending just under my self imposed limit so I was very proud of myself.  I had 29 cents left to spend - lol!

I had noticed that my stash of bright reds was sorely lacking so I picked up a yard of each of those.  And you can never have enough white on white - bought two yards of each of those.  And the green little print was just too cute to pass up.

Brights!  This floral fabric by Keri Schneider for Blank Quilting paired up perfectly with the turquoise by Heidi Pridemore & The Whimsical Workshop for Blank Quilting.

And I couldn't resist this line of Cosmopolitan designed for Exclusively Quilters

There were a couple more coordinated pieces of Hab-i-tat by Michele D'Amore for Benartex that I had to pass up but I loved these three pieces together.

And finally these fun and whimsical pieces of Frolic by Wendy Slotboom for In the Beginning fabrics.  Aren't the little animals just too cute?

So, as you can see, I was all over the board in my fabric selection.  The most I paid was $5.25 a yard and that was only for one or two pieces.  I have no idea what I will be creating with these one yard cuts but they certainly give me lots of options.  It was a fun afternoon!

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TODAY'S GOAL

Today I WILL finish hand stitching the binding on my mini quilt. 

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GIVEAWAYS

Nutmeg Nanny is having a CSN giveaway!  This time you could win a $75 gift certificate to that great online store!  This giveaway will end on Sunday, February 20, and she will announce the winner on Monday.

Passages to the Past if also having a CSN giveaway!  How would you like to win a $100 gift certificate?  Then you better enter quickly because this giveaway ends on February 22nd.

Hawthorne Treads is having their weekly giveaway.  This week you could win a fat quarter bundle of Nature Walk.  The winner will be announced on Wednesday, February 23rd.

Stitched In Color is having a book giveaway.  You could be the winner of Quilting Line + Color just for leaving a comment.  A winner will be drawn on Sunday, February 27th.

The Project Girl is having a giveaway to celebrate the release of her first fabric line.  She is giving away up to 4 fat quarter bundles of Quite Contrary from Riley Blake.  This giveaway will end Friday, February 25, at 12 pm PST.

The Fresh Cut Blog is having a Cutting Edge giveaway!  But before you enter the giveaway, make sure to read Kari's review on why this new ruler is so great.  You could be the happy winner of one of the rulers or a quilt kit.  This giveaway ends Monday, February 21, at 9 pm MST.

If you are looking for another CSN giveaway, then you must visit An Island Life.  This giveaway is for a $75 gift certificate.  You must enter this giveaway before midnight on March 3rd.

Have you entered?   THINK SPRING GIVEAWAY!

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FINAL THOUGHT

The long weekend is but a few hours away.  We have a major storm coming in and fortunately will not be on the road traveling anywhere.  We will be dog sitting as mention before but that is easy as Samson (a corgi) is a sweetheart and loves being with our two pups.  The only time I would like to ship them all off is when they decide to bark in the house - the sound just sort of bounces off the walls and hardwood floors.  The DH is actually working 1/2 day on Monday as his shop will be working the full day.  He likes to be around in case there are any questions that might arise.  So, life will be pretty much normal for us over this holiday weekend.  Will you be traveling or have big plans for this Presidents' Day weekend?

There is little chance that meteorologists can solve the mysteries of weather until they gain an understanding of the mutual attraction of rain and weekends.
 ~Arnot Sheppard

Have a fantastic Friday and weekend!