Day 1

 COMMENTS CLOSED 

Welcome to my first day of give a-ways. Remember to come back and see the next 12 days!

Today's prize is Petunia the Sock Monkey. She is 22" tall and very cuddly.

Now for the rules.



1. Leave a comment and earn 1 entry.

2. Become a follower of this blog and earn 1 entry.

3. Grab my give a-way button and blog about it and get 1 entry (the button is over there on the right, way up top)




I will draw the winner on October  20th. The winner will have 3 days to send me their address. If I do not here from the winner within 3 days, another name will be drawn.


Leave a separate comment for each thing you do and I will use the random number thingy to find our winner.

Good Luck everyone!!


Don't forget to go over and see what the Ghoul's Guild is up to. They are having 1 days of give a-ways/sales also.


**Come back for the next 12 days of give a-ways**

**Day 13 will be the quilt you see in my blog header**

Passing on the quilting bug

My daughter Miranda (18) decided she wanted to try her hand at quilting. She has tried each of the crafts I have dabbled in over the years. When she was 8 she learned to knit and crochet. Along the way she learned plastic canvas, cross stitch, paint by number, and who knows what else lol.

She has a great eye for colors and design. She is my partner in crime on fabric shopping sprees. So when she decided she wanted to try quilting I very calmly said sure, I can teach you. Of course inside I was screaming lol. I sent her the link to Quilter's Cache and had her look through the blocks to find something that caught her eye. I tried to convince her to start out with a 9 patch, but nope...not her. She has to pick for herself or she won't stay interested.

She started with the A's and found something she liked right away. She decided on the Alabama block. A good block for an adventurous beginner. The next stop was to raid Mom's stash. OK, this part hurt. I don't like sharing my stash. I guess we need to go shopping for her soon.

Anywhooo....here is her first block:

This was her first time using the rotary cutter and her first time sewing pieces together. We knew it would be wonky after the 9 patch. I asked her if she wanted to re-cut her pieces but she wanted to follow through with what she had already cut. She learned a lot from this block. The next one will be much better I'm sure. She is a bit discouraged but I think she will feel better with the next block.  I actually like it wonky.

Since Miranda is getting the sewing bug, Daddy said I can go out and buy her a sewing machine for her room. We tried to use my old Singer but it was giving us fits. So, the girls get to go out and buy a new one. I think we will just start with a basic one for now. She will also need her own rotary cutter, ruler, and mat cuz Momma ain't gonna share all the time. lol

Open Studio Day

The good folks over at Quilting Arts/Cloth, Paper, Scissors are hosting an open studio event this  weekend. They want to celebrate the release of their current magazine by getting folks all over the  world  to open up their studios! Sounds like fun…what a great way to see alot of studios!

Come back on October 3rd to see MY little studio :)

Spooktacular blocks

Here are the blocks I received from Jane's Spooktacular block swap. I absolutely LOVE all the blocks! The length looks fine but I think I might add some sashing in between the columns to make it wider.

SigOrnament Swap

We are now up to 4 swappers for the SigOrnament Swap. Do we have any more takers? It's a real simple block and takes no time at all to make! Afterwards we will all have a wonderful keepsake of our online friends!

Follower winner

We have a winner for the trick or treat bag and coasters!

Congrats to Digital Misfit who said:

Those coasters are so adorable! I know my niece would love that Trick or Treat bag (she wants to be a pirate girl this year)


I sent you an email. Please send me your address and I will get them out to you :)

Don't forget to check back for the 13 days of give a-ways starting October 1st.



 These are the coasters that I'm giving away as part of the Ghoul's Guild 13 days of give a-ways:

Witchy finish

I finished my witchy table topper quilt along project. The pattern called for a pieced border that I chose not to add. It fit my table better without it. Plus with my color choices Hubby and I decided we liked it better this way.

I quilted it with glow in the dark thread in a wandering pattern. I threw in a loop or two here and there too.

Followers give away (closed)

Today is the day to thank all of my followers! I have two prizes for one of my followers to win. This give away is only open to those who are public followers of this blog. If you aren't a follower yet...go over and sign up. It won't hurt, I promise :)

First prize is a set of 8 wonky Halloween coasters. These measure just under 4". 7 of them are backed with the purple fabric you see in the center. The 8th one is purple on both sides. They all have cotton batting inside of them.

side 1

side 2

The next prize is this trick or treat bag. I was playing around with some glow in the dark paint and stencils and this is what came out of it. The bag is made of new denim and is unlined. The handle has a ribbon embellishment and the top is embellished with orange thread to help control fraying. The bag is 9" tall and 8" across the top of the bag. There is a 4" gusset. This bag would be fun for a little one out trick or treating or to hand out candy at your house.

This give away is now closed.

There will be one winner who will receive both of these prizes. To enter, just leave a comment below and let me know you are a follower. I will draw a winner on Monday September 28th.  Good luck!

Trick or Treat 2009

TRICK or TREAT 2009

Presented by the Ghouls Guild

October 1 - 13

13 days of deals, prizes, and spooky fun

from Artfire's creative creatures of the night!

Please visit the Ghouls Guild blog for more information.

http://www.ghoulsguild.blogspot.com/

Featured Member Schedule

Check out the members of our guild below for lots of treats (yes, deals and sales)!

October 1 - Skelekitty | Surpreyes

October 2 - HuckleberryArts | 2 of Mind and Spirit

October 3 – Aquariann | 6060 |

October 4 – She’s Batty Designs | Rocker Chic

October 5 - Koti Beth Designs | Simply Smiss

October 6 – Rouxbee | Kaotic Ekko’s Curiosities |

October 7 – House Morbid | KitCameo

October 8 – Debvandet Designs | Liz Miera

October 9 – Rsisland Crafts | Morgaine-du-Mer | Virago Creations

October 10 – Amy’s Holiday Gifts | Diane Cipollo

October 11 – JenniferLynn Productions | My Magic Me

October 12 – 49Stocker | A and M Boutique

October 13 – Sisters of the Moon Designs | Bloodshred DIY

Stay tuned info on the Scavenger Hunt and Blog Giveaways!

DQS 7 rcvd.

I received my doll quilt from my partner for DQS7!. Isn't it adorable? This was sent by Holly. Sorry, but I don't know if she has a blog or not. If I find out, I will link back to it.  Not sure where it's going yet but I'm leaning toward using it as a sewing machine mat.

I love the colors! The pink adds a nice touch to it.  Thanks Holly!! 

My day

Nothing too exciting going on here today. I spent some time in the kitchen. I made a batch of sugar cookies. It was too easy to be called baking because I used a pack of premade cookies. It was the kind you  just pop apart and stick on the cookie sheet and bake. Nice and easy :)  I also made a batch of pancakes and waffles to put in the freezer. This makes mornings alot easier on me. The kids like the waffles and pancakes toasted from the freezer so it's a good thing. I prefer my waffles on the crispy crunchy side too. I pop a couple in the toaster oven on the medium setting and I have a nice warm breakfast. Something I don't have very often.  I also have a loaf of bread in the bread machine. Now that's an invention that is very welcome in this house! With my food allergies I have a very limited selection of store bought bread to eat. I always dreaded having to get out the big mixer and messing with the dough. Now there is no muss no fuss.  Pop everything into the machine and set it and forget it lol.

I haven't touched the sewing machine this weekend. I miss it. Must fix that tomorrow. I also need to go fabric shopping. I joined 2  I spy swaps! I think I need to cut 240 squares. I should probably go and check on that number.

Hope you are having a great weekend!

SigOrnament swap

I've decided it would be fun to host a SigOrnament Swap!  This is my first time hosting a swap so be gentle with me. If I am missing anything please let me know.


Rules for SigOrnament Swap 2009:

1. Since this is my first hosted swap there will be a 20 participant limit. Sign ups will be on this post.

2. Each participant will make 20 blocks based on the pattern provided here. The blocks will be 5" unfinished. The center square will be a light color (white, cream, light tan, etc.). The ornament color is your choice. Remember these will be part of a Christmas tree quilt so use appropriate colors. Not everyone will want lime green, neon pink, or jet black ornaments. The four corners will be an appropriate shade of green. Again, please no neon green. On each ornament all four green corners will be from the same fabric. You will be signing your name and city, state in the center square. All your blocks can be the same or they can all be different. The choice is up to you. Please use fabrics that you would like to receive. If you can see your hand through the fabric, then it is too thin.

3. Please place your blocks in a plastic baggie and mail them out to me. I will send you my address when you sign up. Also include a pre-stamped/addressed  envelope. Make sure you use stamps and not metered. Whatever the cost to ship the blocks to me should be the amount of stamps you place on your return envelope.

4. Sign ups will end when we hit 20 swappers or October 15th. Whichever comes first.

5. Blocks are DUE to me by November 15th. I will swap the blocks out and send them back to you around November 23rd. If I receive all the blocks earlier than I will swap them out and send them earlier. Send 19 and keep one for yourself.

Ok, that should be it. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I missed something.




Here is a button for you to use on your blog:

 This is what I plan on doing with my blocks.

SigOrnament swap block

This is the pattern we will be using for the SigOrnament Block Swap 2009.

Your blocks will be 5" unfinished. This block is scrap friendly.

The center square will be a light color (white, cream, light tan, etc.). The ornament color is your choice. Remember these will be part of a Christmas tree quilt so use appropriate colors. Not everyone will want lime green, neon pink, or jet black ornaments. The four corners will be an appropriate shade of green. Again, please no neon green. On each ornament all four green corners will be from the same fabric. You will be signing your name and city, state in the center square. All your blocks can be the same or they can all be different. The choice is up to you. Please use fabrics you would like to receive. If you can see your hand through the fabric it is too thin.

Your pieces will measure as follows:

1 - cream rectangle  1.5" X 3"
2 - red rectangles 2.5" X 5"
2 - red squares 1.5" X 1.5"
4 - green squares 2" X 2"

basic layout

Sew one small red square to each side of the cream rectangle. Press seams to the red squares.

Sew one red rectangle to the top and bottom of signature line. Press to the red side.

Draw a line from corner to corner on the wrong side of the 4 green squares. This will be the line you sew on. Sewing one square at a time, sew the 4 green squares to the four corners of the ornament. You are basically making a snowball block at this point.

Trim the corners leaving a 1/4" seam allowance. Press from the right side so the seams are pressed to the green side.

Give the block a good press and trim to 5" if necessary.

Repeat 19 more times and you are done!

Here is what I do when I sew the four corners on:

I sew a second seam about a 1/2" from the first seam. This second seam is sewn on the side that you would normally cut off. Cut between the two lines of stitching. Try to have at least a scant 1/4" seam allowance for each block.

Press the small half square triangle pieces and you will have these. I save these up in a container for later use. You could make coasters, use them as fillers in placemats or wall hangings. I'm planning on saving bunches and eventually making a quilt from them.

Swap ???

I worked on the signature ornament block yesterday. My first block was a big bigger than I wanted (around 6"). My second one measured in at 5" unfinished. I skipped the gold hanger on the top that was on the paper pieced version. I can resize it down to 4.5" unfinished but the only thing that concerns me would be the red blocks on the sides. Right now they measure 1.5" square. To make it smaller, they would need to be 1" X 1.5". That's a bit fiddlier than I like but it could be done if necessary.

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in doing a swap with these? I can post a tutorial for the block.  If anyone is interested we could do as few as 5, 20 or up to 40 swappers (if there was that much interest lol).

If you are interested do you like the block, and would you like to swap 10 or 20 ornaments?



Either way, I will make a few more blocks and get a tutorial up in the next day or two.

Fun block

While searching the web for some paper pieced Christmas ornament patterns I came across a swap from 2000. It was the sigornamentswap.       They used a simple looking paper pieced pattern for the ornament. In the center there is a spot to sign your name.

 

After you swap a few ornaments, you can put them together to make this:

If you have lots of people swapping, you could make this:

That must have been a fun swap! I might play around with it and see if I can make a fun little wall hanging. I think it would be fun to add my families names and birthdate's in the signature line. Then it would be a family heirloom that can have names added for the new members.

Curb Alert Lisa

My sister Lisa LOVES to check out Craig's List for curb alerts! I was surprised when she called the other day to tell me she found fabric at a curb alert. Wasn't too sure what she would bring me lol.

She found this large piece of faux leather type material. It is very soft and flexible. I think this would work well for purses or parts of stuffies (jackets or hats maybe).

 

Then there is the piece of upholstery type material. It looks like something you would have covered your couch with back in the day. For us, it will be throw pillows. We love to have fluffy pillows for the couch and for the kids to toss on the floor. I think I will either buy or make inserts so that the covers can be washed.

Thanks Lisa!

Embroidery

I've been working on my Snowman BOMs.

 

I have no idea what months I did...

 

...but here they are.

Halloween "box of goodies" give a-way

Hudson's Holidays is having a give a-way!! Go on over and take a looksie :)

shopping update

 

We managed to get lots of shopping done on Sunday. We filled the upright plus the two fridge freezers.  We did get a few fun treats but mostly lots of meat. It is so much cheaper here to buy in bulk from BJ's versus Walmart or Publix. I can get 3 times the amount of meat at BJ's than the other stores. I don't mind buying in bulk either. Just takes a few minutes to divide into meal size packets. My family LOVES the freezie pops that come in the plastic tube. At BJ's I can buy a box of 250 for just under $7.00. Our family of 5 usually goes through around a 100 in a week or so. 

My kids really, really, really, LOVES gummy bears too. 

Before BJ's we hit JoAnn's. Hubby picked out the blue fleece for the back of his Giant's quilt. I will work on that later in the week I think. The motorcross bikes and the dogs and fire hydrants were in the remnants bin. I like to grab these little bits for I spy type quilts. The dinosaurs looked like they would be great for some little guy quilts. The solids are for another quilt that's in progress. The green is for the back of the jungle quilts. Hubby picked that out for me and I really think he did a great job. The other piece is a Florida Santa piece. It has Santa in his Hawaiian type shirt and flamingos and other cute stuff. Hubby picked that out just as I was going to the cutting station. Don't know what I will make with it yet. I think there needs to at least be a purse made from it. Then maybe a stocking or two.

 

I also picked up some sewing machine needles, a new seam ripper, and another felt kit. I've seen this Santa in an airplane in catalogs but didn't want to spend the $25.00 for it. Clearance is right up my alley though :)  The thread is for the Giant's quilt.

Shopping Day

 

We have had a chest freezer for about 7 years. I really didn't care for it. We picked it up used for $35 so I couldn't really complain. The motor area was always so hot. It was located in the front of the freezer so when you leaned up against it to reach something on the bottom, your legs would hit the hot spot. Not very good for the kids (or me). 

Hubby knew I have always wanted an upright freezer. Recently we had the opportunity to purchase a new freezer from Lowe's. I was hesitant to spend the money but Hubby wisely forced me too. I picked out the average size and priced upright so at least I saved a bit of money. When Lowe's delivered it they caused some damage to the handle and the sides of the freezer. The handle was bent in and left an opening where a finger could get caught. We could either keep the freezer and receive a $100 discount or return it for another one. Hubby always thinks about the safety of any upcoming Grandkids and didn't want any small fingers to get caught so we decided to get a new one. Of course they didn't have any more of that style. Hubby got a bit loud on the phone (very normal for him lol) and the manager ended up upgrading us to the bigger size! 

 

Now that we have this big ole thing it needs to be filled up! Hubby and I will be going to BJ's for a meat shopping spree! I love the idea of buying a month's worth of meat in one day. The only problem is when we get home, I will have to package all the meat up into meal size portions. This will take awhile. I like to make all our hamburger patties ahead of time. I make a few dozen patties and lay them out on cookie sheets. Then they go in the freezer. (the new bad boy has a flash freeze option too) Once they are frozen, I wrap them by twos in tin foil. We cook our patties while they are still frozen. It keeps flare ups on the grill to a minimum. Plus, if we ( I ) forget to take out dinner to thaw, we can always have burgers.

Hubby doesn't go out shopping with me often so I plan to make the most of it today. I'm dragging him to JoAnn's to pick out his fabric for the back of his Giant's quilt. He doesn't want a regular quilt with batting so I think I'm going to steer him towards a flannel backing. It will still be warm enough but not too warm. He doesn't like to have anything heavy on when he sleeps. 

If some other fabric happens to come home with me I can't be to blame. Hubby can't expect me to go to JoAnn's and not buy anything for me can he??? Actually, I need some green for the back of 2 baby quilts and I want/need to pick up some more pastel fabric to finish off the baby blocks quilt. It's surprising but Hubby actually likes to shop for fabric. He has a pretty good eye for novelty type fabric. 

I'm just waiting for sleepy head to wake up so we can get going. What are you doing today? I hope you can get out and enjoy some sunshine. We've been cloudy and rainy for a couple days because of the tropical weather coming through Florida lately.

(Sorry the pics are so dark. The light in the garage doesn't always work.)

New fabric in the mail

I placed an order with JoAnn's online awhile back. I never thought it would take a couple weeks for it to show up at my house. I don't think I will be doing that again anytime soon. Plus, the colors are different in person than on my screen. I have had no problems buying from Etsy or ArtFire...go figure. I think I will stick with the little guys who have much  better service.

Anywho...I needed a bunch of grey for sashing on an in progress quilt. I got a bunch of grey, but not cotton. It has the feeling of those nylon gym shorts the kids wear on one side and a fuzzy soft something on the other side. This won't work for my quilt. I think it might be good with the fuzzy side out on scarves though. I will have to make a test run to see how it washes up. Maybe on a coaster first.

 

I loved this fabric. I thought I might be able to use this as a full panel quilt. Or it would make a good backing on a little guy quilt.

  

I also ordered a world map quilt and a U.S. (not pictured)  I think I can make 2 baby/lap quilts out of each piece since tha patterned repeated twice.

 

Suzi likes to check all fabric that comes into the house. She is my crafty dog. She loves to smell fabric and yarn. lol

Suzi approves of the pink fabric :)  She wanted to keep it as a pillow. Sorry Suzi...you shed way too much.

Stitch a Witch Table Topper quilt a-long

Don't think I posted this quilt a-long yet. Here is week one from Quilting Companions. This is the center where the 4 witches hat intertwine. I guess this is the snail's tail quilting block ?. Whatever it is called, it was fun and easy. Looks more complicated than it was. There was only one tricky spot. One of the seams was only half sewn. Then you finished it after you added another piece. I have never done a half sewn seam before. It took me 2 tries to get it right.

 

Here is week 2. This is where we appliques the hair on. The pattern called for needle turn applique or we could use whatever method we prefer. Since I don't do needle turn (nor do I have the patience for it right now) I went with raw edge applique. I just sewed around the edge about an 1/8th of inch in or so. This way the hair will fringe a bit. I'm planning on keeping this for my living room table. Maybe if there is a table topper on it the kids won't pile all their stuff on the table. Wishful thinking huh?

Finished!

 

My September Schnibbles is complete! 

 

It is made entirely from my stash. The purple back is once again from a set of white sheets I dyed. The binding is from more white sheets that I dyed, this time pink.

 

I did half of the binding waiting at the doctor's office. the rest I finished after dinner. That's why the pics aren't the brightest.

Has anyone else started their quilts? I love to look at how everyone interprets the same pattern. Simple changes like color can make a world of difference. I like to do scrappy quilts since I'm not very good at mixing and matching colors.

Give a-way quilt

OK, here is the quilt for the 13 Days Of Give a-ways in October. It measures 40" square. The top was all hand pieced (not by me). This is the quilt top I won over at Barb's. She picked it up at a garage sale in Texas I believe way back when.  I did the quilting and put on the binding. Yippee! This little one took longer to quilt than I expected. Granted it was only 3 hours, but I thought I could get it done in half that time. I guess I didn't take into account that I was quilting it to within a few inches of it's life lol. This is the tightest quilting I've done so far. I was surprised that this little beauty took almost 4 bobbins to quilt.

 

I went with a simple white sheet for the back. I tried a few other fabrics but didn't like the way the colors looked. So, I went with the basics again. Clean and simple.

The binding is from another white sheet that I dyed awhile back. I think it brings the pink out of the front of the quilt nicely.  When I first received this quilt top, Hubby say he didn't care for the look of it. Now that it is all quilted....he loves it and wants to keep it. I told him NO! This baby is going to part of my give a-way. Plus, it really doesn't match any of us in the house. Since I won it in a give a-way, I thought it would be the perfect quilt to pass on.   I was a little worried when I first sandwiched it all together though. It felt a little "stiff". Now that it is done and had a trip through the washer and dryer, it feels all soft and crinkly. I tried to explain "crinkly" to Hubby before but he just couldn't grasp what I was describing. He made all these awful faces and said he wouldn't want a "crinkly" quilt. Now that he could see and feel what I was so bad at describing, he loves it. It's so nice and soft. This will make a great baby quilt or a lap quilt for someone.