Let's Celebrate 2011 With A Giveaway!!

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.

 ~Oprah Winfrey

Tomorrow a new year will be here!  Are you ready to start writing 2011?  It was only in the last couple of months that I finally quit writing 2009 on everything - and now I have to start all over again.  I would like to welcome 2011 in with open arms but my eyes will be closed and will have to wait until the morning for a 'how-do-you-do' from me.  Another year gone - done, expired, slipped away - I hope I used it wisely.  This is the year I started blogging and made so many great new friends.  I hope you all have a stupendous 2011!!!

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Mabry Mill

This mill was built about 1910 by Edwin B. Mabry, a jack of all trades who had been a chairmaker, a miner, a coal company blacksmith, and a farmer.  He and his wife, Mintoria Lizzie Mabry, operated the mill until 1936, grinding corn and sawing lumber for their Meadows of Dan neighbors.  In 1945, the National Park Service restored and landscaped the mill.  Today, it is the most photographed feature on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  And my DH added to that statistic a couple of springs ago.

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I did get a little sewing done yesterday.  I am working on the reusable shopping bag for my hairdresser.  I didn't get as far along as I had hoped but will have a picture of it to share with you on Monday.

Instead of something I made, I will share what my wonderful DH gave me for Christmas.....

Exactly what I asked for on my Christmas list.  On the left is the Finishing Kit for the Designer Mystery BOM.  And on the right is the Backing set.  Both came from the Fat Quarter Shop (like you couldn't see the .  stickers - lol) So, after receiving all of the blocks (some time in May), I will be able to produce my very first Christmas quilt!  Something new for next Christmas.

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I recently signed up to participate in the Birdie Stitches BOM.  You can see the little button on my right sidebar.  This is being put on by Little Miss Shabby and will start tomorrow!  I can hardly wait. 

I decided to go with Urban Chicks Dream On for my stitchery to be based on for color.  I will use the Grass Moda for the sashing and the White Bleached Bella Solid for the block center where the stitchery will go.  The other fabric is for the border.  I have all but one of the colors of floss I need and hope to pick that up next time I'm out.

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300 FOLLOWERS AND MORE FOR 2011 - THANK YOU!! GIVEAWAY

I know....... you are thinking yada-yada-yada, gab-gab-gab.........GET ON WITH THE GIVEAWAY!  Are you sure you really want to know what I'm giving away?  But wait!  First you have to know why I'm having this giveaway.  I want to thank each and everyone of my followers for helping me reach over 300 followers.  This happened awhile back but I was in the middle of another giveaway and I wanted to have a special giveaway to celebrate.  Plus, I want to start of 2011 the RIGHT way!   You are going to help me destash by entering to win this...........

This is a full color pattern call Flying Colors designed by Georgette Dell'Orco.  Isn't it beautiful.  The finished quilt measures approximately 64" X 64".

BUT WAIT!

THERE'S MORE!

Along with the pattern you will also receive.........

25 fat quarters and 5/8 of a yard of black fabric.  That makes for a total of 7 1/8 yards of fabric (if my brain did the math correctly).  Each color bundle (green, yellow, blue, pink, and purple) contains 5 fat quarters in shades from light to dark.  Only the backing is not included which requires four yards.

Now how do you enter you ask.  First of all, you do not need to be a follower but it sure would be nice (and make me happy) since this is a thank you for reaching 300 followers.  Just follow the steps below:

1.  Leave me a comment telling me what hobbies you do besides quilting.

My comment would be - I crochet blankets for Project Linus, enjoy doing counted cross-stitch, read and am looking forward to renewing my love of embroidery.

2.  Blog about this giveaway - then come back and leave me another comment telling me you did so and make sure to include a link to your blog where you posted about it (I will be checking).  This must be a separate entry - if you combine #1 and #2 it will only count as one entry.

That's it.  Easy enough don't you think?  By the way, any one may enter - international welcome!  I will leave this giveaway open until Sunday, January 9, 2011, at 8:00 PM PST.  I will be using random.org to select the winner and make the big announcement in my post on the following Monday.  I will do my best to respond to each and every one of your comment/entries.  If I don't respond, please know that I have read and enjoyed each and every one of your comments.

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OTHER GIVEAWAYS

(I could only find one new one :(    )

The Pickledish Patch (previously Tozz's Corner) is having giveaway #3.  There is a whole assortment of great things to be won here.  You must enter by January 7, 2011.

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FINAL THOUGHT

As you rush off to celebrate the New Year, please take care - I want to see you back in 2011!  So many of you have become good friends to me, even if it is only through comments and emails.  It has been fun and I hope to continue sharing and complaining, wishing and hoping, creating and ripping with you all throughout the next year. 

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.
~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Resolutions and a Ramon Blanket

Many years ago I resolved never to bother with New Year's resolutions, and I've stuck with it ever since. 

~Dave Beard

How many of your are making one or more New Year's resolutions?  I have done like the quote above, and you know, it is the one and only resolution that I have never broken!  I found that trying to make promises to eat better, to lose weight, or any number of other things was something that just wasn't meant to be.  It was much easier if I just incorporated the things I would like to do into my life without announcing them to the world.  And, of course, then I didn't have to admit defeat to anyone but myself - and most of the time I forgave myself too.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Brinegar Cabin and Loom

A few years ago we took a trip through part of North Carolina and traveled along the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway.  There is so much history and interesting little stops along the way.  We came upon these two old cabins which are part of the National Parks System.  I try to imagine what life would have been like over 100 years ago for the people that lived there.  The sign outside of the bigger cabin read "The art of weaving on a four-poster hand loom, long lost to all but the mountain people, was carried on from 1885 to 1935 by a busy farmer's wife, Caroline Brinegar.  Her mother's century old loom is still in use".  I would love to see even one of the hand made articles created on that loom.

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Yesterday I was able to get some sewing done and cutting for tomorrow's project completed.  I made two blocks.  One for a swap and the other is for the Layer Cake Quilt Along.  Here is that block....

This is block 5 created by Cara Quilts Designs.  I stayed with the same line of fabric from Connecting Threads that I have used for the previous 4 blocks.  The darker green is really more of a deep turquoise than the picture shows.  I could tell that my cold was affecting me when I was trying to put this block together and I had cut a group of rectangles 1/8th of an inch too big.  I had to rip out four seams and recut.  Oh well, had to let my seam ripper know that I missed it over my Christmas break - lol!

The second block I made is for my swap partner in the  Christmas Quilting Block Swap for January.

Since I don't know if Sue reads my blog or not, I'm only going to give you a sneak peek until she receives the block in her hot little hands.

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Yesterday I also forgot to share a picture of my grandson, Nate, with his 'favorite blankey'. 

I made Nate a blanket before he was born.  This is the reason for the pastels as I didn't know if I was knitting a blanket for a boy or a girl.

After four years of loving hugs, washings, and being taken EVERY place with him - this is what is left.  My DD calls it his "Ramon" blanket and it has to be washed in a mesh bag.  Nothing much left but a whole bunch of strands of yarn.  Hopefully it will last just long enough until he is ready to give it up.

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A few weeks back I won a giveaway from Fabric ala Carte.  Kris was giving way 4 fat quarters of the winners choice from her Etsy shop.  Here are the four I selected......

I really like all of the fabrics.  I do wish that there had been a ruler next to the samples of fabrics shown so that I could have had some idea how large the print was.  I was hoping to be able to use them for my hexie flowers, but as you can see, the prints are too large for that - well, I will be able to use one of them that way.  This line of fabrics is June Song for The Alexander Henry Collection 2010.  Thank you, Kris!!

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GIVEAWAYS

I couldn't find a single new giveaway yesterday to share with you today.  But, if you come back tomorrow, I will have a brand new giveaway of my very own for you to enter.  I will tell you it involves 26 different colors of fabric.  Are you intrigued? 

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FINAL THOUGHT

Winter is once again arriving in the Central Valley of California.  It rained most of the night and now is quite blustery outside.  They say our high tomorrow should be in the mid 40's - quite a change from the 70 degree high on Christmas day.  We are even supposed to get below freezing for the next two nights and then  followed once again by a rainy weekend.  I love this time of year.  I always say you can add layers for warmth but you can only get so undressed when it is hot in the summer - well, unless you would like to risk an indecent exposure rap.  One of the things on my Christmas list was Toastie Toes - and I use them almost every day.  As long as my feet are warm, so is the rest of me.  What's the weather like where you are?

Winter is the season in which people try to keep the house as warm as it was in the summer, when they complained about the heat.

~Author Unknown

I'm off to create - have a terrific Thursday!!

Days and Blocks Shared

Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing old.

~Mary H. Waldrip

We had such a wondrous, fun, and busy four days and now it seems like it happened a month ago.  With the grandsons in the house for Christmas it was like we were all children again.  So much happiness, surprise, and noise!  We all received a bundle of presents, ate too much food (many times over the four days) and shared our love with immediate family and extended family as well.  Our house emptied out yesterday morning and it was if I had suddenly gone deaf.  No noise.  Even the dogs ended up pouting because there was no one to throw the ball for them, scratch their bellies, and give them that extra hug - I was still home but it's just not the same as when a little boy does those things.  Then I spent the day doing mounds of wash, vacuuming pet hair, and cleaning sticky floors.  But I wouldn't trade it all in just to have a clean house.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Our gift from GS#1, Nate

This is the best gift my DH and I received - a hand drawn picture by our 4 year old grandson.  My DD#1 wrote down exactly what he said when he told her about the picture.  If you can't read it because the picture is small, the writing about the character on the left (in orange) says "grandma Linda with a happy face because she's happy to see me".  And the one on the right (in blue) says "Beba with blue glasses and hair".  Beba is what the boys call my DH.  This will hold a special spot in our living room!  I know it's not my typical kind of picture for this spot - but it's the picture that means a lot to me!

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Here's a little collage of our Christmas.......

Many memories were made!!

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It seems like I have been gone forever when in all reality I only missed two regular days of posting.  I tried to keep up with some of my reading but sadly fell behind in that department too.  Now I am at the point of what to share first.  Well, since today is Wednesday it is officially One Flower Wednesday.  Yesterday I created this little hexie.........

In celebration of the coming new year, I did a little stitchery for the center of the flower.  I'm not real happy with it but I do like the confetti look of the petals.

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In my mail today was an envelope from NSW, Australia.  Julie was my swap partner for the month of December for the Quilting Block Swaps Australia. 

Julie made this wonderful deep green Blazing Arrow block in combination with white on white.  She did a beautiful job.  She also included a very nice Christmas card with the block. 

I don't remember if I shared the block I made for Julie so here it is......

She had requested any block made in blue and yellow.

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GIVEAWAYS

Brown Paper Packages is giving away a Silhouette machine.  You must enter for this great little machine before midnight January 1, 2011 EST.

Qubee Quilts is having a birthday giveaway.  To help Charlie celebrate his birthday and a chance to win a Fandango layer cake you must enter this giveaway by Thursday, December 30th!

Vignette In Stitches Blog is giving away 10 copies of their new magazine.  Check this out before January 6th at 10:00 AM Qld time, Australia.

Dawn's Quilt Corner is having a super giveaway!!  She is giving away 7 yards of Dr Seuss fabric!!  Can you believe that?  You must enter by 6:00 PM on New Year's Day PST.

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FINAL THOUGHT

It's hard for me to believe that a new year is arriving in just 3 short days!  Where has the time gone.  It seems like it was just the big celebration of 2000 - and now that was over a decade ago.  Right now I feel as though I could sleep until the new year arrives but I also have so many things I would like to do/start that I don't think that would be very practical.  At least I'm not under the pressure that I put myself under during this last month.  How many of you have big plans for ringing in the new year?  Our big celebration will be having dinner delivered for just the two of us, a movie to watch, and in all likelihood, in bed way before midnight.  But then we will be up in time to watch the Rose Parade on TV.  I don't think that I've ever missed watching the parade live on TV since we were married.

Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to.
~Bill Vaughn

Have a wonderful, wacky and woven Wednesday!!!!

Merry Christmas!

May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,
The gladness of Christmas give you hope,

The warmth of Christmas grant you love.

~Author Unknown

My family is home!  We are enjoying each other and sharing our love.  I will be taking the next few days off from writing this blog and will return on December 29th. 

PHOTO OF THE DAY

These are just a few things bringing the Christmas spirit into my home.

I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.

~Harlan Miller

I would like to thank you all for following my blog.  Your friendship is my own personal Christmas present.

My wish for you is that the holidays find you healthy and joyous.  May you share your wonderful spirit with those around you.  I pray that you all have a very merry and wonderous Christmas!!

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.

~Author unknown, attributed to a 7-year-old named Bobby

 

May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through!

~Author Unknown

How To Make Smoke

Tradition: sit with husband in a room lit only by tree lights and remember that our blessings outnumber the lights. Happy Christmas to all.

~Betsy Cañas Garmon

That is something my DH and I used to do.  Usually on Christmas Eve, after all of the gifts were out and the stockings were stuffed.  I don't know why we stopped.  Perhaps after the girls moved out we no longer had to have a special night to share and count our blessings - we can now do that every night!  I think we should have done that last night as tonight our house will be filled with family, laughter and happy sounds.  No more quiet for a few days - days that will pass too quickly.  Only about 12 more hours and my DD#1 and her family will be here!  Please send your thoughts for safe travel as they will likely be encountering snowy conditions as they pass through Flagstaff, AZ. 

PHOTO OF THE DAY

12 Drummers drumming

With the twelfth day we have reached the end of the song and have arrived at the last day of Christmas known as Twelfth Night on which the partying and feasting continued. Twelfth Night is the night before Epiphany which is the day the three Wise Men, also known as the Three Kings or Magi, from the East arrived in Bethlehem bringing gifts to the Christ child. 

By the Middle Ages the drum, which was probably introduced to Europe from the Middle East by knights returning from the Crusades, had become a common instrument. Among its other uses was to combine it with the trumpet to get people's attention when making a big announcement such as the arrival of the king or the reading of an important proclamation. In this case the drum was used to announce the serving of the next course of the feast.
The song and the twelve day celebration have now come to an end. But it is not the end of the season. For the day after Twelfth Night is the Feast of the Epiphany, another religious holiday associated with Christmas. While mainly just a religious observance in the U.S., Epiphany is also a day of both religious and secular celebrating in other countries.

I was able to get a little more sewing in today.  But, once again, I can't share it with you.  This time it is a block for Sue from the Christmas Quilting Block Swap Australia.  But here is a sneak peek......

Sue requested a ........... well, I just figured out that I made the wrong block.  I must have read the email too quickly as all I saw was a block made with traditional Christmas colors.  But now I see that she had a specific block requested too.  Well, guess I will be making her block after Christmas.  Now I have a block in reserve for some future swap.  So, since I have no idea who this will be going to I will share it with you now......

I really like how this block turned out even though a few of the points weren't perfect.  Now I have a block for someone and will have a month off from that swap.

I learned something yesterday!  Yes, I occasionally learn something - and not necessarily the easy way.  Yesterday I made fudge - a Christmas tradition in my house.  The recipe states "melt chocolate chips for 2 minutes on high in the microwave".  Well, after 2 minutes, the chocolate chips didn't look like they were melted.  So, I put them in for another two minutes.  About 1 minute and 45 seconds through I could smell burnt chocolate.  Uh oh!  Opened the microwave - yep, the chocolate was burnt.  And would you believe there was actually some smoke coming up from the chocolate.  And I'm not talking steam here.  Real smoke!  I wonder if I had gone a little longer if I would have had fire too!?!  Lesson learned.  Two minutes on high is plenty long to melt 3 cups of chocolate chips.  Luckily I had more chips so I could still make the fudge.  So now we have one batch instead of two.  Oh well, better for our hips I'm sure!!

GIVEAWAYS

Wow! From famine to feasting in the giveaway department.  Yesterday's blog - nothing!  Today's?  Well read on..........

I'm Just A Guy Who Quilts is hosting a fantastic giveaway.  He is giving away 3 sets of fat quarters by Pat Bravo of Art Gallery Fabrics:  an 18 fat quarter bundle of her fabric line Modern Affair in the Passionate colorway, a 10 fat quarter bundle of Oval Elements, and a 10 fat quarter bundle of Floral Elements.  The 3 winners will be drawn on Wednesday, December 29th!

Hand Quilting is having a December giveaway!  You have to hurry as this one ends tomorrow, December 24th at 11:59 PM CST and the winner will be announced on Christmas Day.

Bitty Bits & Pieces is have a 50th birthday celebration.  Kim is giving us chance at three different prize packages in her giveaway.   The deadline for entering this great giveaway is January 1, 2011.

Feisty Frugal and Fabulous is having a super giveaway.  She is giving away a Literati eReader.  If you are interested, you must enter by January 20, 2011 by 9:00 PM CST.............You can also enter to win a reader at Kindred Spirit Mommy by January 10, 2011 or.................you can enter again at Blommi.com by January 11, 2011 at 11:59 PM CST or...................you can enter of the eReader at Crazy Mommy Coupon by January 20, 2011.........and finally you can enter for another chance for an eReader at The Mom Reviews by January 2nd.

Fiskars is having the Ultimate Scissor Collection Giveaway!  So easy to enter as long as you do it before February 20, 2011.

Crazy Mom Quilts is having a winter solstice giveaway.  She is giving away two charm packs of Kona solids - one in Dusty and one in Dark.  You could be one of two lucky winners if you enter before draws on Christmas Eve.

FINAL THOUGHT

I'm ready now for family to arrive.  Well, almost.  Since I still have several hours I'll finish up in the sewing room and spare room where things need to be put up and away from little hands.  I've just about broken off all of my fingernails trying to open cupboards and drawers in the kitchen the last couple of days because we put the necessary kiddy locks on the 'dangerous' ones.  A lunch out with the BFF will fill another hour.  I must quit looking at the clock - it doesn't make the time go by any faster - lol!  And, hopefully there are a few of  you out there still writing your blogs so I can spend a few more hours enjoying  your lives with you.

Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given - when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes.

~Joan Winmill Brown

May your Thursday be merry and bright!!

Pipers, Flowers & Peeks

At Christmas, all roads lead home.

~Marjorie Holmes

I have been reading a lot of blogs where the writers talk about traveling to one place or another for Christmas.  And don't you know, 98 per cent of the time its to a home.  Sometimes it's to a grown child's home and sometimes it's to the homes of their parents.  My road on Christmas Eve will lead across town to my mother's home for lasagna and french bread for dinner and homemade cookies and sorbet for dessert.  But before that happens, all roads lead to my home - my two daughters and their families will be here to share in all of the Christmas festivities.  It will be a tight fit with 6 adults and two children in a small house with only one bathroom but we will make it work.  So, as in so many cases, all roads do lead home for Christmas.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Eleven Pipers Piping

At the big feasts held during the holiday celebrations the guests were often entertained by musicians, dancers, jugglers, etc. as well as singing and dancing themselves. Bagpipes and their younger cousins the musette (an instrument similar to a bagpipe but the air for the sound came from bellows rather than blowing into the instrument) were popular instruments for dance music.  The pipers referred to in the song would be the professional bagpipe musicians hired to entertain the guests with their music and provide music for dancing.

Today is Wednesday making it One Flower Wednesday!!  Today I have two flowers to share with you.

First, this is a flower made for me by Geniene from Holt Act, Australia.  She and I are members of the Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap.  Geniene made this flower as she was my swap partner for December.  My request was for a red, white and blue - or any combination there of  - hexie flower.  Isn't it cute?  I really like the white on white center.  Thank you Geniene!!

And this is the flower I made for myself.  I figured my GFG just had to have something to celebrate Christmas.  What better way than with snowmen and Santa!

Do you remember a few weeks back when I was asking for your help on figuring out where some fabric came from that had arrived in my mailbox?  I don't think I ever told you that I did figure it out.  (If I did tell you I apologize for being repetitive).  I was over at flickr.com checking out my groups and happened to run across Bee in Oz, a new group that is just starting out with their first month.  Guess where that fabric came from?  The person who had been assigned January sent out her fabric waaaaay early but failed to include instructions or a legible return address.  I don't think she reads my blog so I'm going to show you the block I made for her.

Since I had just made the Layer Cake Quilt Along block #4, I decided to use that same pattern for this block.  It was a little difficult working with the fabrics she sent as there wasn't a lot of variety in the fabric design except for the red piece.  I don't think she has received it yet but I hope she likes it.

Over the last two days I have also made 3 blocks for swap partners for the month of January.  These are for members of the Block Swap Adventure.  I think at least two of them read my blog so I can only give you a sneak peek at what I've been up to.

I will show you the completed blocks once they have been received by their new owners.

GIVEAWAYS

I could not find a single new giveaway out there in blogland to tell you about.  I will keep watching and will pass along any that I might find over the next day or so.  I'm sure that the giveaways will be back again once the holidays are over.

FINAL THOUGHT

One more day and we will have all of the explanations for the 12 Days of Christmas.  One more day and my DD#1 and family will be here!  Two more days and DD#2 and her husband and my granddoggy will be here!  Three more days and Christmas will be bringing in all the happiness and love it has been promising us.  I'm not one to wish days away, but this time I am.  Soon I will be counting hours for each special event to happen.  And then I would like time to stop, or at least pause on hold for a little while.  I want to enjoy and savor every minute I have with my family this Christmas and I wish it would never have to end.

Christmas is the day that holds all time together.

~Alexander Smith

Here's to a wonderful Wednesday!!!

Lordy, Lordy - Stockings & Trees!

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.
~Norman Vincent Peale

Our house finally has that Christmas look.  I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that we actually decorated over the weekend and got most of the gifts wrapped too!  That's two major things off of our to-do list - woohoo!!  The grandkids can come to the house now - lol! 

Here in California, we have had over three straight days of rain.  For parts of California, not is not an unusual occurrence.  But here in the central valley, it is extremely unusual that we have three days of rain, not to mention that it has rained all day and all night of each of those days!  We have received nearly 4 inches of rain over that time period.  Not much, you say?  Well, for an area that has an annual rainfall of just over 5" that is a tremendous amount of rain!!!!  Unfortunately there are areas with flooding and roads are closed.   The ground is very saturated, but the trees are all very, very  happy.  Hopefully this won't be all of our rain for the entire winter season.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

10 Lords A Leaping

The ten lords a-leaping most likely refers to leaping dancers (called morris dancers) who performed leaping dances between courses at feasts. This type of wild and strenuous dancing probably evolved from more ancient war and fertility dances and would have been a popular form of entertainment for this type of function. Unlike the nine ladies dancing in the previous stanza where the dancers appear to have been guests dancing for enjoyment, these were professional dancers brought in to entertain the guests while they dined. 

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I was actually able to work in my sewing room today (sewing not computering)!  That's a good thing.  I finished my SIL counted cross stitch Christmas Stocking.  It only needed the backing put on it.  The kit came with white felt which I thought was a poor choice as it would show every bit of dirt and dog hair that came in contact with it.  So, over the weekend we bought some dark green felt for me to use instead.

The picture makes it look like it has piping but that is really just a shadow.

Now it hangs with the rest of the family's stockings.  The three dog stockings will have to come down once DD#1 and family arrive because we only have 8 stocking holders.  As you can tell, we don't have a fireplace, so our stockings are hung by the sofa with care - lol!  The big Santa stocking belongs to my DH - and it always ends up full!

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I had held out some fabric to make another set of wonky trees for Block Lotto.  You had to use a jewel tone fabric with black or black on black.

They are too wonky but then I have trouble doing wonky.  This makes three sets that I made for the month of December.

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As you may recall, Lana over at It Seams To Be Sew, has been having a 12 Days of Christmas giveaway where she has drawn a name each night to win a little special something.  I was the winner of Day #4!  In Saturday's mail came a beautiful, shiny green padded envelope that I couldn't wait to open.....

Look what's peaking out!  I see Santa!!!

In this fantastic padded bag was Santa, a yard of beautiful green and white fabric from the Sweet line by Urban Chiks for moda,  a darling Claire Handbag pattern by Lazy Girl Designs and a wonderful Christmas postcard with pictures of Lana, her husband Bill, and Little Cotton, their darling little bunny.  Thank you so very much for the wonderful winnings Lana!!!!  You made me a very  happy camper!

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GIVEAWAYS

Crazy Quilting is giving away an autographed copy of Melinda Evaul's newly release book, Grow Old With Me.  This sounds like a wonderful book that I would like to read and maybe you would too.  The winner of this giveaway will be selected on January 3rd.

Retro Mummy is have a fantastic giveaway of two fat quarter packs of Flower Sugar from Lecien.  This is some beautiful fabric!!  The winner will be selected on New Years Eve.

Fabrics N Quilts is having a giveaway!  One winner will be drawn for a Hideaway charm pack.  Another winner will be selected for a chartreuse colorway fat quarter bundle from Sugar Pop.  She is also giving away 2 copies of the Sugar Pop pattern.  This winners will be drawn on Dec. 24th at noon CST.

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FINAL THOUGHT

I'm through with shopping, including the massive grocery shopping we did last night.  We have everything wrapped.  Some cookies were made over the weekend with another batch to made, and some fudge too.  The stockings are hung, the tree is decorated, and the house is in its full holiday attire.  I think I might be ready for the kids to hit the house and for Santa's visit too.  Uh oh, forgot one thing.  The spare bedroom and the sewing room/office are a disaster!!!  Guess I know what will be on my schedule for the next couple of days.

There are three stages of a man's life: He believes in Santa Claus, he doesn't believe in Santa Claus, he is Santa Claus.
 ~Author Unknown

Toodles and toy soldiers for Tuesday!  See you tomorrow!!

Packages & A Little About Me

Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.
~Oren Arnold

Sounds like the best gift list of all.  And none of it costs a thing monetarily.  Some of it might be a little work like the forgiveness and tolerance.  But wouldn't the results be worth it?  These are gifts that can and should be given all year long.  Some are very easy to give:  Your heart to a friend and a good example to a child.  Probably one of the hardest of these gifts is the one to yourself - respect.  I think we all have a tendency to be lacking in that area.  Which one of these gifts do you think you think you would have the hardest time giving?

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Nine Ladies Dancing

The nine ladies dancing evokes images of music and dancing which were a big part of the celebrations at this period of history in England.  The term ladies probably refers to noble ladies as in a Lord and his Lady or a lady in waiting (high born ladies who waited on the queen at court – not servant women).  In this case ladies would be women dancing socially and not professional entertainers. For the most part women were not entertainers in this era so it is unlikely that this refers to a troupe of dancing women.  Again, the emphasis is on celebrating and having fun during this nearly two weeks of non-stop nightly partying. 

At least this description didn't alter my thinking like 8 Maids A Milking - lol!

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On Friday, I only was able to view my sewing machine in passing.  The needle stood idle and no thread was touched.  Instead, I prepared my January Let's Bee Together packages.  First I had to select enough fabric to be sent to 22 different people.  Yes, 22!  I am a member of both groups of 12 resulting in my having 22 members to send to.

Here's what I came up with.  All of the colored print fabric is from the line, Amelia's Garden for Benartex.  Each cut of fabric is 1/2 yard as are each of the white on white fabrics.

Next I  had to cut the fabric and make 22 different piles.  Each member will receive over 2 fat quarters of fabric to create a 12" block of their choice.  I had to lay these out on the floor since there is not enough table top space for 22 stacks - lol!

Here are the envelopes all ready for the mailman to pick up today.  I have blurred the addresses in the picture for confidential purposes - I didn't want  you to think that I hadn't already addressed the envelopes.

To get all 22 packages ready took around 3 1/2 hours.  Then in the afternoon I worked on preparing emails to be sent out to the Block Swap Adventure members for the partner assignments for January.  By the way, if you would like to joint the block swap group, we are still accepting members!!

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Since I didn't do any crafting, how about something a little different today? 

Who Are You & Who Am I


KQ Sue posted this fun little Q&A a while back and I thought it would be fun to participate:
Copy and paste, and then answer the questions, and tell me you did so I can learn about you, too!

1. Sweet or Salty?  Definitely salty.  I could sit down and eat a whole bag of potato chips all by myself.

2. Dresses or Jeans?  JEANS.  I haven't worn a dress in over a year!  And then only because I absolutely had to.

3. House or Apartment?  House.  However, there are times I have thought that an apartment or condo might be sort of nice so you don't have to worry about any of the upkeep.

4. Shop Online or Offline?  I did 99% of my Christmas shopping online - thank goodness for Amazon.com.  I usually buy most of my fabric and supplies online too.

5. DVDs or Downloads?  DVDs.  We are able to download through Netflix but the selection isn't always current.  Of course, it would help if we weren't four years behind in our movie watching.

6. Cocktails or Juice? Most definitely juice and then either apple or orange.  I haven't had a cocktail since about 1982 (now I'm showing my age).  I'm not against drinking in moderation, I just didn't like the way it made me feel.  My DH has a 'medicinal' glass of wine every night with dinner.

7. Chocolate or Strawberry?  Now this one is harder.  Depends on my mood.  How about together?  I really like chocolate covered strawberries.

8. Laptop or PC?  Depends on which room of the house I'm in or if we are traveling.  If I'm having lunch and reading blogs, then I'm on the laptop.  If I'm in the office/sewing room then I'm on the PC.

9. Magazines or Newspapers?  Both.  I read the paper every morning.  I am getting fewer and fewer magazines - I think many of them are getting too pricey.  We have been getting Reader's Digest for over 35 years.  I do receive a couple of quilting magazines but I have even cut way back on those.

10. Facebook or Twitter?  Facebook.  I can't figure out the Twitter thing (there I go showing my age again)

11. CDs or MP3s?  CD's.  It's another age thing I think.

12. Kids or Pets? Currently pets.  We raised two daughters and I do love my two grandsons.  But I can't imagine my life without two or more little fuzzy bodies in my life at all times.

13. Cookies or Cupcakes?  There is that 'it depends on my mood' thing.  Usually cookies though.  Trouble is, it is way too easy to eat several of them in one sitting and then come back for more.  Plus you can eat them one handed while I don't do that very well with cupcakes.

14. Walk or Run?  Walk!  I can't remember the last time I ran.  However, I am pretty speedy in my power chair.

15. Breakfast in Bed or Breakfast Out?  Breakfast out.  I think I have only had breakfast in bed maybe four times in my life and two of those were when I was in the hospital after the birth of each of my daughters - lol!

16. Market or Supermarket?  Does the Farmer's Market count?  I wish we had a nice neighborhood market that I could shop at but we have to go to the supermarket for everything but our produce.

17. Sourdough or Grainy?  Sourdough.  I do like the new thin whole grain hamburger and hot dot buns though.

18. Heels or Flats?  Flats.  That's another one of those things that I can't remember  - when was the last time I wore heels?

19. Late nights or Not?  Definitely not.  Late night for me is 10:00.  We are usually in bed before 9:00 reading and soon sleeping.

20. Coffee or Tea?  Coffee.  Full strength in the morning and then decaf for the rest of the day.  I really don't drink that much coffee but I do have a can of diet 7-UP with me most of the time.

Well, do you think you might know me a little better now?  How about you?  Will you share your choices with us?

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GIVEAWAYS

Susan Brubaker Knapp over at Blue Moon River is giving away a copy of Confetti Naturescapes.  You must enter by noon EST on Wednesday, December 22.

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FINAL THOUGHT

No pearls of wisdom from me today, just one of my favorite lines from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.......

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.
 ~Dr Seuss

Monday means only 5 more days until Christmas.....are you ready?

AND THE WINNER IS.................

Before I announce the winner I would like to thank you all for participating in the Giveaway Day that was organized by Sew, Mama, Sew.  I enjoyed reading and responding to each and every comment.  And to those of you who are new followers - welcome and thank to all of you for taking the time to read my blog.

OK, now I have one thing to say about the overwhelming choice of cheesecake as a favorite dessert - YUCK!!  Now don't get me wrong, I love cheese, it just doesn't belong in a dessert.  I don't care how you smother it with fruits it just isn't good!  I didn't let your poor selection of a dessert influence my selecting a winner as I let random.org to that for me.

So, now for the drum roll please...................

The winner is #8

Hillbilly Handiworks said...

Cookies. Hands down. LOVE them!! A good chocolate cake with yummy sugar (not that new whipped stuff) comes in as a close second!

I have sent an email off to Hillbilly Handiworks for her snail mail info.

Congratulations!!

Keep checking back for my next giveaway - to be held after Christmas!!

I Made a Turkey of a Turkey

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

 ~Thomas Edison

The above quote is quite fitting for how my day went yesterday.  But more on that later.  I'm a little better in the mood department today.  I think it helped that I had my normal Thursday out to lunch date.  And to even sweeten the lunch, my DH was able to join my BF and I.  We chatted, debated, and ate.  Great food and even better company.  Nothing can brighten a day like sharing a meal with your BFF (my DH) and my BF (Garry).  We made our Walmart/Costco run last night and it really wasn't bad.  The crowds were lighter than we expected and we made it home in good time.  So, all in all, yesterday was a pretty good day!

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Eight Maids A Milking

The maids, of course, refer to the women who would milk the cows to obtain the milk. In times past, milking of cows or goats was typically a job for women. However, the term maid is also the shortened form of maiden which is a young, unmarried, woman. By combining the images of maiden and milk (which can also bring to mind a woman's breasts), it is easy to get the idea that this particular gift has more to do with sex and romance than with cows.  Further evidence of the sexual connotations of this stanza is the fact that during this time period in England the term to go a-milking had strong romantic and sexual connotations. It was a term that men used when they wanted to ask a woman to marry them or to have a simple sexual encounter. 

OK, this really changes things for me about this song!

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On Wednesday, I cut out several small pieces to make my fall quilt block for the gift I've been working on.  This was what my work produced......

A bunch of little pieces that had to be labeled so that I could match them to the pattern layout. 

Yesterday morning I sewed them all together.  Sometimes this was a challenge as the pattern came from my EQ5 and didn't give assembly instructions.  I was very disappointed with how it turned out....

This little turkey turned out to be a real turkey.  The left hand side seemed to be bigger than the right hand side.  No matter how much I pressed it (with a little pulling involved) I could not get it to square up.  All of the pieces went together just fine but obviously some how it just didn't work :(

So, in the afternoon, I decided to go extremely simple.....

Here is the Maple Leaf I made instead.  I used some scraps of Shades of Autumn by Kansas Troubles for Moda that I had left over from a table runner I made a couple of years ago.  I like the colors but I think the block is a little plain.  It will just have to do for now.

Here is the back.  Nothing spectacular but the colors certainly say autumn.  Perhaps I will make a different fall block some time next year and give it to the recipient as a replacement.

So now you see why I thought the opening quote was such a good fit for my day - lol!

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GIVEAWAYS

Honey Bee Buzz is having a giveaway with two chances to win.  There are two different bundles of fabric to go to two lucky winners.  This giveaway ends Saturday morning, December 18th.

And over at her other blog, Pinks Sweet Treats, you win a different bundle of very cute fabric.  This giveaway also ends Saturday morning.

There is a 100th Post Celebration giveaway over at Creative Confessions.  She is giving away Australian Homespun Magazine, a pair of holiday themed fat quarters, white ink fabric pen for dark colours, Schmetz universal 80/12 sewing machine needles, 45mm rotary cutter blade (Clover brand), charm chain scissor point protector, spool of Presentia thread, and a set of 4 pink "Bobbin Buddies".  You have a while to enter as it doesn't close until December 26th.

There is still a couple of hours left to enter my giveaway for the 5 fat quarters of Christmas batik fabric.  Just click HERE and enter before 9:00 PST tonight.  I will announce the winner tomorrow!

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FINAL THOUGHT

I know this posting was a little shorter than normal but with so much yet to do before Christmas I just didn't have the time to spend at the computer.  I hope you will forgive me, at least for today.  How many of you still have Christmas gift projects yet to complete?  I'm done with gift making (except for one to make after Christmas) but have a few more tasks to tackle before the big clean up next week.  I still have gifts to wrap, the house to decorate, and some fudge that needs to be made.  I could use more hours in a day - maybe make the next 5 days 28 hours long?

It's a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up.
~J.K. Rowling, "The Hungarian Horntail," Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2000

I'm off to make more messes!!  Have a fun Friday and a super weekend!!!