Winner and Wins

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.  

~Franklin D. Roosevelt

What a whirlwind weekend we had.  Friday was a visit to the Kern County Fair and errand day.  Not much of a day off for my poor DH.  Saturday morning involved a quick run to the local Farmer's Market with a stop at the library to pick up a book on CD's.  Then a quick throw together of clothes for a trip down to Oceanside to help a niece celebrate her 40th birthday with 40 other family members and friends.  Going south close to the beach you automatically think of cool weather and soft breezes.  Not this last weekend!  I had on shorts and was still sweating (not just ladylike perspiring - lol) at 8:00 at night.  The same hot temps were around for Sunday and it felt like a sauna when we left just before noon.  After a four hour drive home we were greeted by 102 degrees and a broken tree limb on the front walk.  I'm glad the weekend is over!  Hopefully I will get a bit more sewing in this week than I did last week.  What are your plans for the week?

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LITTLE FACT OF THE DAY

Flies

Yes, I know.  Gross!!!  Flies are everywhere.  It seems like every time the door opens we end up with a fly in the house.  Poor Weasley hates flies and will track their movement for long periods of time.  We sometimes get flies that never seem to land.  Other times the fly seems to be moving in slow motion.  And then there are those that circle constantly.  Here are some interesting facts of these pesky little insects:

* There are over 300,000 species of different flies.

* The average house fly has a lifespan of about 30 days (not if they end up in my house - haha!)

* Within those 30 days, a fly can lay up to 3,000 eggs. Each one of these eggs will turn into a maggot, which will then turn into an adult fly.

* During flight, a fly’s wings will beat up to 200 times per second. As soon as the fly’s feet hit solid ground, its wings will stop immediately

* Flies only have two eyes, but each eye has over 4,000 lenses.

* Despite how highly equipped the fly’s eyes are, they still can barely see. However, they are especially adept at detecting movement. Because of this, you’ll be most effective at killing a fly if you swat at it, starting slowly, and then building up to forcefully smacking it.

* When a fly is ready to take off for flight it first jumps up, then backwards, then forward.

* Fly DNA is 75% similar to human DNA

* Some male flies sing to female flies

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AND THE WINNER IS.......

First I would like to thank Fat Quarter Shop for sponsoring my giveaway!  And, secondly, I would like to thank everyone who stopped by and entered the giveaway.  Did you all find some fabrics that you've added to your wish list?  I know I did.  Okay, okay, okay!  I will now announce the lucky winner.....

Kasey is the lucky winner!  

Kasey said:

"First of all, I love foxes! And then, how perfect that one of the Coming Soon bundles is Air Force- A Military Salute! I've been making a quilt commemorating all my runs this year, and just finished my first full marathon, which just happened to be the Air Force Marathon! I NEED that B2 Bomber that I can see in the fabric picture (it was this year's featured plane, and so is on our shirts and medals). 
Thanks for the chance to win! And, thanks for keeping your blog so fun and informative- I don't always comment, but know that I often laugh or have a who knew moment reading it!"

Congratulations, Kasey!  I have contacted her by email and she will be receiving her $25 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop shortly.

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I WAS A WINNER, TOO!

And speaking of winning, I was a winner three times over during the Blog Hop hosted by Michele over at the  Quilting Gallery.  I previously shared one of those winnings, I also won...

These amazing batiks from Barbara over at Barbara Bieraugel Designs.  These are a wonderful addition to my growing batik collection.  Thank you, Barbara!

and

These two great blue and white fat quarters from Beth over at Words & Stitches.  You can never have enough blue fabrics as far as I'm concerned.  Thank you, Beth!

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FINAL THOUGHT

It's GIVEAWAY Time!

If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.  

~Thomas Alva Edison

I'm sooooooooo tired of the heat!  102 degrees on Friday.  100 degrees on Saturday and Sunday!  Maybe today it will be a bit cooler.  This as should come as no surprise to me as we normally heat up for the opening of the Kern County Fair but usually not to 100.  I am trying to think cool and stay cool.  Ceiling fans are working day and night right along with the poor air conditioner.  I feel so sorry for those that have to work outside in the furnace we call the Central Valley.  I'll be staying inside doing some sewing and stitching this week.  What are your plans?

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LITTLE FACT OF THE DAY

Fox

Do you remember when fox coats were popular?  These are beautiful creatures.  I think I've only seen one in the wild.  Here are some interesting facts about foxes:

* Foxes are solitary animals that do not really prefer to live in packs. The fox belongs to the medium-sized canid group.

* This animal is found in almost every kind of habitat. They also show an ability to adapt to the presence of humans.

* The Fennec fox is the smallest fox seen amongst all the species. This tiny animal weighs a mere 3.5 pounds.

* Foxes use various sounds and pitches to communicate between each other. 

* Although foxes belong to the Canidae family along with dogs, they also display behavior patterns similar to cats. The vertically slit eyes are on similar lines of the feline cats, besides, they also have retractable claws.

* Foxes feed on rodents, worms, insects, birds and all types of relatively smaller sized animals. They also store their food so that it can be consumed later on during the day.

* Foxes are basically nocturnal animals and prefer to hunt at night.

* The fox is an excellent tree climber

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CROSS COUNTRY DOLL QUILTS

Kim and I were Doll Quilt Swap partners for September.  We live just about as far apart as you get and still be in the continental US.  Kim lives in New York and I live in California.  The theme for September was Harvest but we both pretty much just went with a fall theme.

Kim made this beautiful quilt for me.  She created this little quilt using 1.5" sample pieces sent to her with an order from Keepsake Quilting.  Kim selected the perfect background fabric and then anchored the little squares with the quilting stitches.  This looks so nice out on my living room table.  Thank you so very much, Kim!

This is the quilt I made for Kim.  The browns are much richer than the photo depicts.  I had fun making the paper pieced maple leaves using some of the batiks I had plus another fall print.  It ended up measuring about 15.75" square.  I just might have to make one for myself.

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FAT QUARTER SHOP GIFT CERTIFICATE

Are you ready for a giveaway?  One of my all time favorite places to shop online is sponsoring this giveaway - Fat Quarter Shop!  How would you like to win a $25 gift certificate to spend any way you would like at their wonderful online store?  

I bet I have your interest now!  How can you enter?  Well, let's see.......

1.  Go to Fat Quarter Shop and look at their Coming Soon section.  Then in your comment tell me what you are going to be adding to your wish list for a future purchase.  For me?  I'm looking forward to the release of Backwood Batiks by Hoffman Fabrics due out the end of October.

2.  Spread the word of this giveaway by including it in a post on your blog.  Make sure you include a link back to this page.  (I will be checking!).  Include a link to the page where you posted it in your comment.

Easy enough, isn't it?  So you can have two chances to win the Fat Quarter Shop $25 gift certificate.

Fine Print:

- only two entries per person

- open to everyone, everywhere! Yes, Fat Quarter Shop ships everywhere!

- if you are a no-reply blogger, you must include an email address where I can contact you in your comment.  If I can't reach you, you CAN'T win!

This giveaway ends Monday, September 24, 2012, at 5:00 pm PDT.  I will announce the winner in my post on Tuesday, September 25, 2012.

Thank you, Fat Quarter Shop, for sponsoring this great giveaway!  I wish that I could be the winner.

GOOD LUCK, EVERYONE!

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FINAL THOUGHT