The Winner Is......

Thank you to all of you who entered my Giveaway for the Blog Hop Party with Giveaways.  I must apologize for the hurried responses I sent out yesterday.  I did manage to answer all comments before the end of the giveaway but just barely.  It ended up that I did a lot of cut and pasting to be able to answer your comments without a lot of fuss.  I normally take a lot more time in responding.  If you did not receive a response from me you were probably a No Reply blogger.  My plan at this time is to add a page to my blog that lists those who I was not able to respond to, but that will be coming later next week.

 I was blown away to see that I had over 230 people enter my little giveaway.  THANK YOU!!  And welcome to the new followers.  I hope you will stick around and continue to enjoy my future ramblings.  So without further ado...

Happy Cottage Quilter!
She said  "My favorite color is Pink. And why do I love pink?? Well, it's because it's PINK :-) Thanks for the giveaway."


Congratulations!!

I have sent you an email for your snail mail info so that I can send you your two charm packs!

Have a great one!!

A New Day and A New Week

Springtime is the land awakening.  The March winds are the morning yawn.  
~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard inKathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You 

Friday did not turn out as planned.  Thursday night, our little furry love, Weasley, had another night of focal seizures - over two hours of on and off again seizures.  We took him into the emergency vet around 12:15 am.  Luckily there was no one else there and we didn't have to wait long.  They dosed Weasley with Valium and that did the trick.  They did keep him there until morning but he came home back to normal.  Our own vet gave us a couple doses of Valium for any further seizures so at least we will be able to avoid the emergency vet, hopefully (not to mention the $$$).  As a result I ended up with about 3 hours of sleep.  I didn't attend the scheduled workshop and it's a good thing I didn't.  My brain just didn't want to work all day!  I attempted to cut fabric for two simple Loving Hands quilts and I can't tell you how many wrong cuts I made.  I should have spent the day sitting on my hands doing nothing - lol!  But today is a new day and a new week and I'm ready to go!  How was your weekend?

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LITTLE FACT OF THE DAY

Raccoon

Isn't the raccoon just one of the cutest creatures there are?  We used to do a lot of camping and having these little guys visit our campsite was always a highlight.  Here is what I found out about the raccoon:

* The word "raccoon" comes from the Algonquin Indians and means "he scratches with his hands".

* If you give a raccoon a sugar cube, it will first try to clean it (as raccoons clean all their food before eating it). It will wash it and wash it until the sugar cube finally dissolves to nothing

* The record life span for a captive raccoon is 21 years

* Raccoons are very clean and use a common latrine in the wild

* Raccoons never den more than 1,200 feet from a permanent water source

*  When walking, they arch the back, walking from heel to toe with non-retractable claws.  The front and back feet have five toes, making it easy to grasp and hold things.

* Most people are surprised to find out that raccoons are not only good swimmers but they actually love spending time in the water.

* The raccoon's scientific name, Procyon lotor, means "washer dog" although it is a closer relative to the bear family.

* Raccoons have a large array of vocalizations. They purr, whistle, growl, hiss, scream and even whinny.

* A raccoon's hands are so nimble they can unlace a shoe, unlatch a cage and deftly retrieve coins as thin as dimes from your shirt pocket

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LOVING HANDS FOR MARCH

Last week I finished up and turned in the two little quilts I made for my guild's Loving Hands....

This first little one is definitely for a baby boy.  I think I should have arranged the blocks just a bit different but I couldn't figure out whether to have the same sashing colors match up against each other (green to green and blue to blue) or to do like I did.  This was made using the 16" block pattern, Philadelphia Pavements.  By the way, the quilt really is square but the breeze kept messing with it as I was trying to take a picture.

Once again the breeze just would not stop for picture time!  I was very happy with the way this little quilt turned out.  Definitely pink and girly!  This quilt was made using the 16" block pattern, Crossed Roads.  I will probably use this pattern again to create a Loving Hands Quilt.

I learned something making this quilt.  My original idea was to make a one block quilt.  The quilt is supposed to measure 32" square.  So wouldn't you figure that you could use a 16" square pattern and then just doubling the size of the blocks used?  I tried that and the quilt was going to end up being 35".  I was totally amazed at that.  Guess I will have to do some sort of math problem to figure it out.  Does anybody have any hints to make this an easy process?

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FEBRUARY'S BEE BLOCK

No, I'm not late on sending the block out, I just have gotten behind on sharing some of the swap and bee blocks I've been making lately.  

Christina sent out some great black and white fabrics, along with one red, to work with for February's Let's Bee Together.  She requested that we make a Disappearing 9 Patch block with those great fabrics.  It's always fun to see how a simple 9 patch can be transformed.

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TODAY'S GOAL

I'm going to start sewing next month's Loving Hands quilts so I don't feel so pressured next month.

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GIVEAWAYS

Fabulous Frogger is having a giveaway.  You could win one of two Little House Needleworks charts.  This giveaway ends  Thursday, March 22.

From Blank Pages is having a giveaway.  Diane is ready to send the Traveling Stash on its way to a new home for a visit.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, March 21, at 6:00 pm MST.

Hawthorne Threads is having a giveaway.  You could win a Rosalie Quinlan Folk Heart fat quarter bundle.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, March 21.


Don't forget about my giveaway!  You can go HERE to enter.


And you can also access so many giveaways by visiting Blog Hop Party with Giveaways.

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FINAL THOUGHT

Just in case you haven't seen this already......

Blog Hop Party Giveaway + A Little Of The Green

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
~Irish Blessing

It's Friday!  I'm amazed at how quickly the week has flown by.  I did some sewing and finished up the last swap of the for this month.  Grocery shopping was attended to and the normal chores and making of meals.  Somehow the hours are never long enough, even with the added daylight at the end of the day.  Today I'm off to a workshop being presented by our guild.  It will be a day of learning and fun.  This weekend they are forecasting a winter type storm to move into our area.  Hopefully it will add to our meager rainfall total for the year.  We will be attending a 70th birthday party Saturday that is to be held on the patio.  I sure hope they have lots of heaters!  What will your weekend be like?

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LITTLE FACT OF THE DAY

St. Patrick's Day

Tomorrow, March 17, is St. Patrick's Day.  Whether you believe in the luck of the Irish or not, it's fun to have another day to celebrate.  And since green is my favorite color, it has to be one of my favorite days.  Here are a few facts concerning all things St. Patrick's and luck:

* St. Patrick’s Day is observed on March 17 because that is the feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is believed that he died on March 17 in the year 461 AD. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history. St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland, and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

* The actual color of St. Patrick is blue. Green became associated with St. Patrick's Day during the 19th century. Green, in Irish legends, was worn by fairies and immortals, and also by people to encourage their crops to grow.

* The very first St. Patrick's Day parade was not in Ireland. It was in Boston in 1737.

* The phrase, "Drowning The Shamrock" is from the custom of floating the shamrock on the top of whiskey before drinking it. The Irish believe that if you keep the custom, then you will have a prosperous year.

* Legend says that each leaf of the clover means something: the first is for hope, the second for faith, the third for love and the fourth for luck.

* The name “ leprechaun” has several origins. It could be from the Irish Gaelic word “leipreachan,” which means “a kind of aqueous sprite.” Or, it could be from “leath bhrogan,” which means “shoemaker.”

* The very first St. Patrick's Day parade was not in Ireland. It was in Boston in 1737.

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THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

CELEBRATE ST PATRICK'S DAY

(aka Blog Hop Party with Giveaways)

What's better than celebrating St Patrick's Day with a giveaway?  How about having a blog hop with lots of giveaways!  It's Blog Hop Party with Giveaways time!!

I'm joining in the fun being coordinated by Michele over at the Quilting Gallery.  Last year there were over 240 participants.  Everyone who is participating has to make a post today.  Starting tomorrow (or late tonight) Michele will post a list of all the participants.  All you have to do is click HERE for the long list of giveaways.

And you may be asking what I'm giving away?  How about......

Two (2) charm packs of Prayer Flag by April Cornell for moda to one lucky winner.  

This giveaway is open to everyone.  Yes, I will ship overseas.  This giveaway will remain open until Friday, March 23, at 5:00 pm PST.  The winner will be announced in a brief post on Saturday, March 24 by noon.

How can you win these two charm packs?  Just leave me a comment telling me your favorite color - and if you have a reason for a certain color then include that if you wish.  

My answer would be:

"My favorite color is green.  Green reminds me of nature and I love seeing everything growing out in my yard".

Fine Print

1.  You must have a way for me to reach you.  If you are a 'no reply blogger' then you must include your email in your comment.  If I can't reach you, you can't win!!  If you aren't sure if you are a 'no reply blogger' take a look at my left sidebar.

2.  Only one comment per person. All others will be excluded.

3.  If you do not tell me your favorite color - your comment will be eliminated from the giveaway.

4.  You do not have to be a follower of my blog, but if you enjoy my ramblings, I would love it if you would become a regular follower.

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STITCHERY UPDATE

I've continued to work on my Summer Sampler counted cross stitch.....

This is how much I had done two weeks ago (3-2-12).

This is how much I had completed last Friday (3-9-12).

And this is where I am today.  I didn't have as much time to stitch this week as I would have liked to.  I feel like they are making floss skeins smaller than they used to.  I had to buy some more skeins of a couple of the colors to be able to continue working on it.

Design: Summer Sampler

Designer: Sandy Orton for Kooler Design Studio

Fabric: 18 count cream Aida cloth

Fiber: 2 strands over 1 - DMC floss

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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Sarah, over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, is organizing this year's Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Challenge.  And here are this year's guidelines!  You will be signing up to make a quilt or quilts for one or both of two charitable causes.  First up is something I'm calling The NOLA Project.  Quilts will be distributed to grade-school children in St. Bernard Parish in New Orleans.  St. Bernard Parish was hit incredibly hard by Hurricane Katrina.  The second charity this year is an ongoing project of Emily of Em's Scrapbag.  You can choose to make quilts for Happy Chemo, an organization that provides quilts and comfort for chemo patients.  With two charities to choose from this year, you can choose a wide variety of sizes and styles of quilts - something for everyone!   Sign-ups will be Sunday March 18th through Saturday, March 24th.  There are even prizes to be won.  For all of the details on this great event, just click on the link above or on the button above.  I hope you will consider participating in this worthy quilt challenge.

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TODAY'S GOAL

To learn something new at a workshop I am attending.

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GIVEAWAYS

The Barn Hollow is having a giveaway.  You could win a darling 6" bunny.  This giveaway ends Saturday, March 31.

Quiltville's Quips and Snips is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of Quilts from Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks.  This giveaway ends Sunday, March 25.

Lavender Quilts is having a giveaway.  You could win 6 quilt shop quality fat quarters.  This giveaway ends Tuesday, March 20.

Quilting Gallery is having a giveaway.  You could win a Moda fat quarter bundle of your choice from the Fat Quarter Shop.  This giveaway ends Wednesday, March 21.

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FINAL THOUGHT