Giveaway Winner

The Winner of a Lucky Stars pattern by Atkinson Designs, $25. gift certificate to an online quilt shop and a surprise or two is #4! Joanna of Needle. Thread, Happiness. 

Joanna, I have sent you an e-mail to get your snail mail address.
True Random Number Generator Min: 1 Max: 23 Result: 4 Powered by RANDOM.ORG (I gave us trying to get a picture image of the Random thing....this was the best I could get.)

Thanks to all who entered. I much enjoyed reading your comments.

No sewing happened around my place in almost a week although I did get a bit of pinning done. I'm dealing with a summer cold. After a day at the office, I am exhausted and know not to attempt sewing. I have had some disastrous experiences in my past using a machine when feeling under the weather!

One year ago today I wrote my first blog post. Seems like yesterday.

HAPPY QUILTING TO ALL

My scripture reading for the day: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32 (KJV)

The HEAT Made Me STRIP!

Run! Hide your eyes! What you are about to risk seeing could be dangerous. I could not help myself. The HEAT Made Me STRIP!

And strip I did. I sewed a massive pile of 3.5 x 8 inch strips together using the chain stitch method Terry of Atkinson Designs illustrated in her Lucky Stars pattern. These strips are waiting on the ironing board along with the final star points for some extensive ironing in the morning.

My day was rather productive and I even managed a cat nap. Speaking of cat naps, I watched Cha Cha spend 10 minutes arranging the bed covers - she patted and smoothed, walked in circles and patted some more - for her morning nap. She had just settled down for a long sleep when someone knocked on the door. Fearing for her life she had to quickly relocate under the bed. Cha Cha does not cotton to visitors. The amusing part of this story is the knock was on the door on the other side of our duplex! Poor kitty.

HAPPY QUILTING TO ALL!

Go here to leave a comment on my giveaway coming up July 25, 2011.

  

Scripture for my day: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18 (KJV)

Carol's Santa Sack Swap 2

Go to Carol's Crafty Creations and check out the Santa Sack Swap 2 Carol is sponsoring. There is time to sign up ... Carol will assign swap partners July 30, 2011. I've returned my questionnaire and am excitedly awaiting the name of my swap partner so I can start snooping and stalking. Go here to sign up. It could be you I will be stalking! I love Christmas!

I've gotten no piecing done -Yet! - today. I spend all morning pinning the 3.5 x 8 strips for My Lucky Stars quilt. Less pinning would have probably worked for these rectangles. I, however like lots and lots of pins and find the procedure to be relaxing!

HAPPY QUILTING TO ALL!

Scripture for my day: "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will JOY in the God of my salvation." Habakkuk 3:18

Snail Mail

Backing, Binding & The Cutest Park Avenue Fat Quarter!

The USPS is so slow, has a tracking system you can laugh or cry about and is generally as annoying as a billy goat. Should you not be country folk and know about billy goats, I had one for a pet for four years as a child. His name was Billy. My mother bought massive amounts of sheets during the yearly white sales. The sheets were to replace the ones Billy ate off the neighbor's clotheslines. Billy only ate white sheets!

I got a bit off track! The above goodies were in my mailbox yesterday - the backing and binding material for My Lucky Stars quilt. There was, also, the cutest free fat quarter in the package - Park Avenue by Three Sisters. I love the backing. It it beautiful - even wrinkled from shipment.

Scripture for my day: "For ye have need of PATIENCE, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." Hebrews 10:36 (KJV)

New Kitchen Appliance - "The Shrimp Box"

Last week I had leftover steamed shrimp from Cato's. Cha Cha enjoyed shrimp for a few days. Her goodies were safely kept in the refrigerator "Shrimp Box." She ate all the shrimp and I have no immediate plans for replenishing her supply. Cha Cha disapproves! I get within 5 feet of the refrigerator "Shrimp Box" and she breaks the sound bearer, defies gravity, risks my her life performing acrobatic maneuvers to be parked in front of the "Shrimp Box" before I get there. Ms Cat KNOWS there is shrimp and I, being BAD, am withholding her shrimp.

Cha Cha has developed an attitude but nothing like the attitude of Mr. Peanut Cat, who lives on the other side of the duplex. Last night I heard loud, angry cat howls. Mr. Peanut has had a passion for shredding shower curtain linerS. Caught in the act, he got WET when his human roomy turned on the shower. Oops! Owner reports Mr. Peanut is avoiding the torture chamber bathroom.

Dry Yet Shrimpless, Ms Cha Cha

My giveaway is here. Leave comments on that post.
 
Scripture for my day: "PEACE I leave with you, my PEACE I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:26 (KJV)

Look What I Ordered

Hot off the press - "Pick Four" by Sue Aubrey of Quilt Times. I have been waiting for this one. Amazon, where I found the best online price is still showing as not in stock; however, I ordered. I can't wait for the e-mail telling me my book is on the way. Better yet would be to have the book in my grubby hands!

Scripture for the day: "And there was great JOY in that city." Acts 8:8 (KJV)

Second "Quilty" Weekend!

I have had two wonderful "Quilty" weekends in a row! Yeah! Four of the star sets are ready for squaring up. The star points are starting to appear on the other two sets. This is such wonderful fun!

My Favorite for The Moment! Love the Rose!

I took a break while a friend borrowed my oven to bake brownies. Her expensive, new (and I mean mere weeks) stove from Sears died. She set the oven to preheat, mixed up her brownies, put them in a pan and discovered a COLD oven. The broiler won't come on either. The contract from Sears states "Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed," however, Sears did not seem interested when she called. The earliest appointment is July 20th. Sears probably does not care but they have one very dissatisfied customer in Panama City, FL.

I am feeling almost (but not quite) guilty for having a wonderful weekend when my friend's was lousy. Almost forgot her other "fun" - one of her dogs ate the middle seat cushion on her couch yesterday! When it rains if pours!

Cha Cha had a great weekend, also. She did have a bit of "terror." She is anti-social - hates company - and had to hide under the bed while my friend baked brownies. Otherwise, she slept, lounged, bird watched, ate and slept some more - a Cha Cha kind of weekend.

My giveaway is here. Make sure you comment on that post.

Scripture verse for today: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of GRACE, that we may obtain mercy, and find GRACE to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16 (KJV)

HAPPY QUILTING TO ALL!

Sweet and Innocent???

Isn't the kitty sweet? So adorable and cute. Does anyone notice the curtain hanging at a strange angle behind the lovely, so innocent Ms Cha Cha? I get the WHO done it. The WHY eludes me ... perhaps the Cat version of Decorating 101?

I was very busy yesterday. Here is my chain stitching for this morning all lined up and ready to go. For someone who refuses to wear clothing unless it comes out of the dryer wrinkle free, I have been giving my iron quite a workout the past couple of weeks. I still refuse to iron clothing!

And I broke down and ordered the backing fabric for this quilt. The line includes 108" wide fabric and it is just as beautiful. My original plan was muslin or wait for a sale (hoping the fabric would last until sale time), but it kept nagging at me so I ordered. Sometimes I have to do what I have to do!

My scripture for the day - "For by GRACE are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, least any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)

If you are looking for my giveaway go here and comment on that post. Best of Luck in the drawing!

HAPPY QUILTING TO ALL!

Grace and My Belief

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand..." Romans 5:1-2 (KJV)

My quilting journey with the lovely fabric - Grace by Three Sisters - is leading me upon a spiritual quest and affirmation of faith. I believe grace is a free gift from God. I believe Jesus Christ came to the earth to die for my sins. I believe Jesus Christ arose from the dead and through Him I have been granted salvation. I BELIEVE.

This is where I am in the star making process. This is becoming a rewarding quilt in more ways than one. A time of reflection and affirmation is very good for me.

Should you be looking for my giveaway go here.

Kaleidoscope

KALEIDOSCOPE

Check out this video. The effect is Many, Many beautiful quilts in the making! It is awesome.
Click here: http://inoyan.narod.ru/kaleidoskop.swf

To comment for a chance at my first giveaway go here. 

My First Giveaway!

I am joining the Giveaway bloggers. This giveaway is open to all. I will ship internationally. The rules are simple - leave me one - only one - comment telling me something amusing. I want to LAUGH! Below is my example ----

I once had a beautiful skein of Christmas red yarn and a 20 lb. Persian housemate. Arriving home from work I found no Mr. Cat to greet me; nor would he come or answer my calls. The yarn basket was overturned. I was wondering if the police would consider taking a missing person report for a beloved cat when I discovered my very embarrassed, unusually silent cat hanging upside down, in the air, between my twin beds. He was "tied" very tightly in red yarn, which was wrapped elaborately between the beds. Scissors were required to free Mr. Cat. And it is an unsolved mystery to this day. Was this crime committed TO or BY the cat?

 The winner will receive .....

Lucky Stars pattern by Atkinson Designs AND a $25.00 gift certificate from the online quilt shop of their choice. There could be more goodies - little surprises - added!

Please make sure I can contact you via e-mail otherwise your name, regretfully, will be eliminated. The drawing will July 25, 2011 using the random generator. I will contact the winner via e-mail to get the name of your selected online quilt shop and your mailing details. There are links to several of my favorite online quilt shops on my sidebar, which you can select or give me another.

Best of luck to all! For the record, the adorable Ms Cha Cha (my current house cat) would never "steal" yarn. She is much too well behaved or so she would like you and me to believe.

HAPPY QUILTING TO ALL!

7 out of 8

Chain stitching! Looks like a pile of scraps. In reality there are quite a few wannabe Stars in the pile. The bright green is either the lead in or end scrap (a REAL scrap!) to keep the stitching smooth.

7 out of 8 - statistically speaking is rather good odds! Wrong! Or at least in my case, wrong is the appropriate word. When I attached the bottom rows of the 8 blocks from yesterday, I managed to flip a back seam in 7 out of 8. Same seam, same flip. The little evil voice deep within me cranked into gear - Nobody will know! Never fear - the seam ripper and I triumphed! All 7 flips were re-sewn. I have 8 out of 8 neat seams like this ...

Additionally, I have 8 blocks, one of the red fabrics, on the way to becoming Stars! I enjoyed my weekend. Hope all of you did the same.

HAPPY QUILTING TO ALL!

Independence Day! and Seeing Stars!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

JULY 4, 2011

 

May you all enjoy a safe and happy July 4th.

I spent the day pinning, ironing and sewing. The day was most enjoyable. I don't get a whole day all to myself with no chores, commitments or frantic dashing here and there very often. I sang along to the radio (be glad you were not here - I am tone deaf!) and had wonderful fun working on My Lucky Stars! The result is I have 8 of these ...

No, the bottom row is not attached yet and the blocks need some serious ironing/squaring up but I have 8 of these. The day was quite productive and oh so much FUN! I am grateful for today!

HAPPY QUILTING TO ALL!

Humpty Dumpty!

HUMPTY DUMPTY!

Grace by Three Sisters is cut and neatly stacked - 978 plus 102 extra pieces. I was admiring the beautiful fabric when this came to mind ... 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses
And all the King's men
Couldn't  put Humpty together again!

 I can put these together again! I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!

I know I can, thanks to my Lucky Stars pattern by Atkinson Designs. 

The 978 pieces quilt has a name thanks to Quilt Sue, Quilt Times. In response to my Freaked Out post of yesterday, Quilt Sue suggested I name this quilt "My Lucky Stars!" Thanks, Sue. Assembly of "My Lucky Stars" will begin once someone - any volunteers? - draws diagonal lines on ALL 336 of the 2.5 x 2.5 star points to be.

Back to Humpty Dumpty ....

 Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
Threescore men and threescore more,
Can't place Humpty Dumpty as he was before.

 This fabric will never be as it was before!  We will all have to wait and see what it will become. Please stay tuned.

HAPPY QUILTING TO ALL!

FREAK OUT!!!! Sigh...All is Good!

All week I have cut on my Grace for the Lucky Stars quilt. Every morning before work and every evening after work - Iron, spray starch, measure, cut, stack and iron, spray starch, measure, cut, stack and so forth. The pieces for the stars and background were stacked neatly. Tonight I started one of the 6 fabrics which border the stars - iron, spray starch, measure, cut! Bedtime is coming fast. I am going to finish this fabric and then curl up with a good book.

FREAK OUT! Much to my horror I am short fabric for two 3.5 x 8 cuts. I will be that short on all 6 fabrics! Drat! I was disgusted, frustrated, and ready to SCREAM!

Wait...take a deep breath. Oh, a sigh of relief. I remember now - I had had enough star/background fabric to cut 6 additional blocks to be used in something else. Those can be finished differently. ALL IS GOOD!!! Below is my progress so far.

5 more fabrics to cut into 3.5 x 8 and 3.5 x 9.5 strips and I will be ready to SEW! Yeah!

ALL IS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY QUILTING TO ALL!