Little Bits

Summer has set in with its usual severity. 
~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Summer is still here :(  Yes I know it's still August and that means summer.  But I keep reading about fellow bloggers feeling the coolness in the evenings and/or mornings back east.  Not here.  You walk outside here and it feels like a blast from a furnace.  It does cool down a bit at night but that is only very late at night or very early in the morning.   It's not even long enough to let the house air out.  Our house still smells like the Chinese stir fry I fixed on Wednesday night. YUCK!  Can you guess that I'm tired of summer?

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PHOTO FACT OF THE DAY

How about something different than a National Holiday?  I found some interesting little fun facts to share with you today:

* If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on the right side of your mouth.

*  To make half a kilo of honey, bees must collect nectar from over 2 million individual flowers.

* Tourists visiting Iceland should know that tipping at a restaurant is considered an insult!

*  Astronauts can't belch - there is no gravity to separate liquid from gas in their stomachs.

*  Google is actually the common name for a number with a million zeros

*  Your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is attached at only one end.

*  Kites were used in the American Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers

*  Peanut oil is used for cooking in submarines because it doesn't smoke unless it's heated above 450 degrees F.

*  The military salute is a motion that evolved from medieval times, when knights in armor raised their visors to reveal their identity.

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WINNINGS

Yesterday I received two squishy envelopes in the mail from two giveaways I had won...

Frances from One More Quilt had a giveaway earlier this month and I was the lucky winner!!  Aren't these great tractor fabrics?!?  And there are such large pieces here.  I will definitely be making a Loving Hands quilt or two from these this month.  Thank you so very much, Frances!!

And then Incomparable Buttons had another giveaway that I won.  Not only did I win a darling teddy bear fat quarter but I also won those adorable handmade teddy bear buttons!  This is such a wonderful company.  They provide much needed employment to women in South Africa.  You should definitely check out all of the different buttons available and at extremely reasonable prices too.  Their website is buttonmad.com.  Thank you so much, Incomparable Buttons. 

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ANOTHER LITTLE STITCHERY

A little while ago I finished another stitchery for A Gardener's Journal......

This little piece is called Dovecote.  It will end up measuring 3 1/2" X 9 1/2".  I am currently working on the center piece.  It is the biggest and will measure 8 1/2" X 9 1/2"

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ONLY ONE FMQ

I only have one FMQ practice to share with  you today.......

This practice is called Shoo Fly.  I think it looks more like demented rabbits - lol!  Maybe it's because I made the fly bodies more rounded than oval.

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COUNTED CROSS STITCH

Since I don't have much to share with you today, I thought I might share a counted cross stitch piece I did years ago.......

This was a gift to my BIL and SIL that we visited last weekend.  Ignore the glare in the lower left corner - it is not part of the picture.  This was just one of the several angels I did from the Lavender and Lace line.  This angel is called Angel of Grace and was stitched on linen (I think).

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TODAY'S GOAL

Today I will make a swap block or two

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GIVEAWAYS

Moosestash Quilting is having a giveaway.  Here is another chance to win a GO! Baby cutter and 3 dies of your choice.  This giveaway ends Friday, September 2.

Jo's Country Junction is having a sponsored giveaway.  You could win a Curio Jelly Roll from Fat Quarter Shop.  This giveaway ends Tuesday, August 30.

The Adventures of the Empress of the Universe is having a giveaway.  You could be one of five winners to win a 4 Citron/Gray FQs by Michael Miller.  This giveaway ends Sunday, August 28.

Annie's Ruby Slipperz is having a giveaway.   You could win 5 fat quarters in  your color choice.  A winner will be announced Monday, August 29.

Random Thoughts do or 'di' is having a giveaway.  You could win a sewing machine cover made by Di herself.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, August 31, at midnight PST.

Quilt Matters is having a giveaway.  You could win 3 fat quarters.  This giveaway ends Sunday, August 28, at 8:00 pm EST.

Quilt Hollow is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of Pick Four.  This giveaway ends Sunday, August 28.

Diary of a Quilter is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of Inspirational Projects by British Patchwork and Quilting.  This giveaway ends Saturday, August 27 at midnight.

Hawthorne Threads is having their weekly giveaway.  This week you could win a Notus daisies half yard bundle.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, August 31.

The Learning Curve is having a giveaway.  Here is yet another chance to win a GO! Baby cutter and your choice of 3 dies.  This giveaway ends Thursday, September 1, at midnight.

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FINAL THOUGHT

There was no sewing going on in my house yesterday.  I didn't even get in my FMQ practice.  It was a day of organizing the monthly swap partners for Block Swap Adventure and for preparing packages for mailing for two swaps.  Who knew that it would take most of the day.  I did get a little stitchery in while watching tv

I cannot count my day complete
'Til needle, thread and fabric meet.~Author Unknown