Flowers and Happiness

If a man had as many ideas during the day as he does when he has insomnia, he'd make a fortune.

~Griff Niblack

I think I have been practicing too many different FMQ designs.  Monday night I woke up thinking about FMQ.  I had had a devil of a time with the practice the previous day and it really must have been haunting me.  For over an hour, every time I shut my eyes I kept seeing the silly design.  My fingers kept trying to come up with the proper direction to go.  Over and over that design came up.  Maybe I should have gotten up and just tried it once again.  I know that you can sometimes solve problems with dreams but this was ridiculous.  I would love a dreamless night - or at least a night where I don't remember the dreams I'm having.  Maybe if the weather would ever cool down I could get a good night's sleep.

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PHOTO FACT OF THE DAY

S'mores

Today is S'mores day!!  Doesn't that picture just make your mouth water?  When you go camping there's a lot of things you need s'more of: s'more bug spray, s'more blankets for cold nights in the tent, and s'more batteries in the flashlight before you go trudging through the woods to the bathroom after one of your friends insisted on telling s'more ghost stories. But the fantastic sandwiches of graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows are the one thing you will be happy to want s'more of.

The name of the treat comes from the two words "some more," clearly combined because people often wanted to have at least a second serving after having one s'more. The treat was developed by campers in the early part of the 20th century, making use of the fairly new mass-produced marshmallows. Marshmallows were easy to transport, as were candy bars and graham crackers, and the marshmallows could be warmed easily over a fire to make a delicious treat in a situation where other types of sweets would have been difficult to come by.

The true origin of the snack is unknown, as camping recipes tended to be passed from person to person and family to family - often over the campfire itself. The first recipe for s'mores was published in 1927 in the Girl Scout Handbook and the event marked the official introduction of the s'more into popular culture.

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LITTLE FLOWERS

Over the weekend I made two more hexagon flowers for my Aunt Sarah quilt.

This is one of the background flowers.  The dots you see are not on the fabric but are center holes in the hexagon templates.

Here is my second actual flower for the some-day-to-be quilt.  It seems so strange working in muted colors when making these flowers.

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FMQ - DAYS 20 and 21

This was the cause of my lack of sleep on Monday night.  I could go one direction with absolutely no problem.  But to go back the opposite way just caused me all sorts of trouble.  You can tell by just looking at my practice.  Jeesh.....who knew such a simple design could wreck havoc with my brain.  This pattern is called Curvy Key.

These don't really look too much like flames.  You would think with all of the Nascar stuff I watch with DH that flames would come naturally.  Mine look more like the Swiss Alps.  Oh well.  My stitches were more consistent at least.  This practice is called Flame Key.

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TWO FLOWERS FOR WEDNESDAY

Over the weekend I made two more flowers for my GFG and for One Flower Wednesday. 

This flower reminded me of camping.  Aren't the raccoon and opossum cute?  I remember watching the raccoons raid the trash cans outside the cabins we would rent up above Yosemite. 

This flower just said Summer to me.  I know it has hearts and should remind me of Valentine's day but it doesn't.  It made me think of shells at the beach.  Yes, I have a weird mind - lol!

To see more wonderful and creative hexagon flowers, Karen has provided a linky tool where you can pop in to see more.  And drop a thank you to Karen while  you are there for keeping us all motivated and organized!

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I AM SO LUCKY!!!

Yesterday I received a large squishy in the mail.  I saw where it was from and gave a little yelp of glee!

Look at this stack of fat quarters!  23 to be exact.

Our Busy Little Bunch had a giveaway last month that I won!!  A complete set of Hoo's in the Forest by Doohikey Designs for Riley Blake Designs.  Do you realize this is the first time I have ever had a complete set of any line of fabric?  I felt like it was my birthday or Christmas!  I'm having so much fun just looking at all of the gorgeous pieces but don't have the faintest idea what I will be making with it yet.  Thank you so very much, Rebecca!!

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TODAY'S GOAL

Today I will quilt and bind the table runner I am making for my swap partner.

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GIVEAWAYS

As Sweet As Cinnamon is having a Happy Day giveaway.  Dawn's giveaway is a surprise but she does let us know that it is a craft-y, fabric-y sort of Happy Surprise.  This giveaway ends Sunday, August 15, at 8:00 pm South Australia time.

A Quilting Life is having a sponsored giveaway.  You could win a $50 gift certificate or one of two $25 gift certificates to Shabby Fabrics.  This giveaway ends Friday night, August 12.

Pots and Pins is having a giveaway.  You could win a darling sewing machine clock.  This giveaway ends tonight, Wednesday, August 10, at 9:00 pm.

My and My Sister's Design is having a giveaway.  You could win a fat eighth bundle of “Amelia”.  This giveaway ends Thursday, August 11.

Jolly Jabber is having a giveaway.  You could win a Me & My Sister Designs’ Designer Select Fat Quarter Bundle.  This giveaway ends Monday, August 15.

Pigtales and Quilts is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of Stupid Is As Stupid Does or a copy of Cooking With Character, both by Bill Griffin.  This giveaway ends Sunday, April 14, at 2:00 pm EST.

Fabric Worm is having their weekly giveaway.  This week you could win Diana Kappa Bonjour in 8 Fat Quarters.  The giveaway ends Monday, August 15, at 8:30 am PST.

Bitty Bits and Pieces is having a giveaway.  You could win a beautiful Quilt Lover's Heart necklace.  This giveaway ends Tuesday, August 16, at midnight.

Love Affair With My Brother is having a giveaway.  You could win a GO! Baby cutter and your choice of 3 dies.  This giveaway ends Thursday, August 18.

And then there's this Blogiversary Giveaway that you still have time to enter.  My giveaway will end Sunday, August 14, at 8:00 pm PST.

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FINAL THOUGHT

I did it again.  I bought another pattern to try out another type of quilt making.  I'm going to try some foundation paper piecing.  I blame this all on Tonya over at Hillbilly Handiworks.  She put the bug in my ear and it just kept buzzing around.  After a couple of days searching on the net, I finally found a pattern I just couldn't pass up.  It's a mountain landscape that just said "buy me!" - and, of course, I did.  It's not here yet but should arrive within the week.  Do any of you have a good source for landscape paper piecing patterns?  Can you recommend a book that might have good patterns?  I'm not talented enough to take a picture of my own and create a pattern from it.  And don't tell me it's easy, because I just don't have an artistic thread in my brain.  I follow patterns with no trouble but as you know from previous posts, I am unable to just wing it.  I can't wait to start something new :)

Optimist: someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster, it's a cha-cha. 
~Robert Brault