10 HOLIDAY EATING TIPS

A word to the wise:

1. Avoid Carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrot sticks on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas Spirit. If you see carrots leave immediately. Go next door they are serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much EGGNOG as you can. It is rare and can only be found at this time of year. Who cares if it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It is not as if you are going to turn into an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it!
3. If something comes with gravy. Use it!! Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the Volcano.
4. As for the mashed potatoes, always ask if they were made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. the whole point of going to a Christmas Party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. This is the time for long naps, which you will need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and a vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and do not budge. Have as many of them as you can. They are like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention Fruitcake? Granted, it is loaded with mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it all cost. I mean have SOME standards. (Basic Grey's next Christmas line is named Fruitcake- You can have as much of that one as you want. IN STORES JUNE2010)
10. Remember this motto to live by. " Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the attention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, totally worn out and screaming, "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Have a great holiday. I am sure the top 10 list of new years resolutions will de-bunk many of the above. I think this is called cause and effect. Go out and enjoy life!!

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10 reasons I have not blogged

10 REASONS I HAVE NOT BLOGGED

1. My computer has swine flu.

( thought it recovered but has had a relapse)

2.The lights went out on my "prelit" went out after 8 years of use

3. Added store bought lights

4. Tree fell over

( I might have willed this to happen- hated that tree)

5. New tree - up and decorated.

6 . Recieved the BHG 100 best cookies issue.

(too much drooling over the recipes to blog)

7. Due to # 6 have to join weight watchers.

8. Finishing up 2010 christmas for moda fabrics

(wish i could decorate my house for 2010 a year in advance)

9. Shopping for grown kids who already have everything

(Where is Santa when I need him?)

10. Stil overwhelmed with Thankfulness of how great life is!

Thanks for reading. Back to my randomness ....

VERY SHORT TALE

came from my husband's friend.....


Once upon a time, a guy asked a beautiful girl,


"Will you marry me"?


The girl Said no"!


And the guy lived happily ever after and rode motorcycles and went fishing and hunting and played alot of golf and drank beer and scotch and had tons of money in the bank and left the toliet seat up and "tooted" whenever he wanted.

Sent this e-mail to the girls in the office and this was the reply from Outlaw...

The gal lived by herself, drank wine and margaritas, left the toliet seat down, went shopping whenever she wanted and talked to someone who would listen- herself or her dog or cat. (I added.... turned the kitchen into a sewing room and doubled the space in her closet)

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Pay it Forward

Now that Friday the 13th has come and gone, I want to talk about the upcoming holidays.
When the kids were little, we all gathered to watch Charlie Brown's Christmas. Ya, I know kind of lame for teenagers but my husband still insists. Sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving I offer to cook (of course nothing entices grown boys to come see mama like a home cooked meal)and we all watch Pay it Forward. This movie is NOT for the little ones but it's meaning is.
If you have not seen this movie, here is some of the info from the web.

Like some other kids, 12 year old Trevor McKinney believed in the goodness

of human nature. Like many other kids, he was determined to change the world

for the better. Unlike other kids, he succeeded.

Sometimes the simplest idea can make the biggest difference.

This brings me to Quilter's!! YES! Who better pays it forward?

Quilter's are the best people in the world, Right? Any disagreements ?
Just look at how quick Cherri House was to respond to the injured soldier's at Ft. Hood. Quilter's quickly jumped on board making and sending quilts.

This is my favorite book of the season, Quilt for Peace. The message is wonderful. The author, Katherine Bell has great projects and wonderful charities to make and sew for. This pretty much sums up a quilter's heart and spirit.

What about Camille and the Kimberly at Fat Quarter Shop? Both of these people realized the power of "The Quilt" by raffling a quilt with all the money going to this sweet family.

Talk about a great project for a Stashbuster? Check out American Patchwork & Quilting's,

A MILLION PILLOWCASE CHALLENGE. Does a million sound like a lot? It does if you are talking $$, but did you know there are over 800,000 kids in foster care in America?

Let's get a pillow case in each of their hands!

How are you going to Pay it Forward?

The holidays are upon us and it is probably best not to send out cards such as these.
I am working now on Moda's Christmas collections for 2010 so just in case I am snowed under,(Ha! Ha!) I am wishing you a Happy Holiday now a reminder that it is not to late to finish up those new year's resolutions from 2009!

One last bit of info and kind of a tutorial:
Seems like everyone I know is having twins. This is my fourth set of twin quilts in the past year! All BOYS!! I am kind of liking making 2 at the same time. Deb Strain is the proud grandma of 2 little boys, Graham and Finnegan. I won't post a tutorial on COIN QUILTS, because there are lots of good ones already out there. What I will post is my tip on being ready. Any of my leftover strips I keep adding to a running length of "Coins". I have a couple of different ones hanging on my bulletin board and add to them constantly. I make good use of some of the fabrics I may have thrown in the trash. Instead I just keep adding them to the strips. I keep a bright fun kid one going along with what some may call a dark and dingy one.
I am ready at a minutes notice. All I have to do is choose the color of fabric to go in between my rows and how long I want to make the project.

The area in between is the perfect place to quilt the names, date of birth etc. I tell my quilter Maggie that I am just lazy and do not want to make a label so she is so kind to quilt it in for me.

Maggie also isn't afraid to quilt with the moda snuggles. Makes a great backing!

Kuddos to all you quilters out there for spreading the love!!

Covering the world one quilt at a time!

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November's Fabricmatcher Challenge

Have you ever been to Fabricmatcher powered by Moda? Are you not quite sure of what fabrics you want to use for which pattern? Go to Fabricmatcher and play around. Choose from from designers such as

Anka's Treasures, American Jane, Calico Carriage Quilt Designs, Country Threads, Fig Tree, Kansas Troubles Quilters, Me and My Sister, Pieces from my Heart,

Quilt Soup, The Pattern Basket and more.

Mix and match from any of the hundreds of moda fabrics and viola! create your own variation of the original. Fabricmatcher will even print off the yardage requirements for you to be able to make the quilt. This is super easy to take to your favorite store, get the fabrics and pattern to start your project.

OR IF YOU WANT TO JUST START PLAYING, ENTER

November 2009 Contest:
The Fabricmatcher contest for November 2009 will be featuring

Pattern Designer, Cozy Quilt Designs.

The rules for the contest are as follows:
1 - You may use any Moda fabrics on your project.
2 – You must use a pattern designed by Cozy Quilt Designs that is available on our Moda Fabricmatcher website. Simply select Cozy Quilt Designs as the Designer under Find Patterns.
3 – Your project must be named Cozy Quilt in order to be eligible. You may enter as many projects as you wish, however they must have Cozy Quilt as the project name. Simply number them with a 1, 2, 3, etc. after the name.
4 – The November Contest will end on November 30, 2009 at midnight.
REMEMBER: You must have your Stash including your Projects available for the Public to view. You can change this in your profile settings.
The Moda Fabricmatcher judges and Daniela Stout of Cozy Quilt will select and announce the winning project in the month of December 2009. The winner of this contest will win a Fat Quarter Bundle from the Designer of their choice and a collection of autographed patterns by Cozy Quilt Designs. The winner will also be posted on our Moda Fabricmatcher website.

NOT SURE?

You can also shop for creativity by viewing some of the other quilts on Fabricmatcher.
Go to the Show & Tell area, choose a designer, click on the project tab. You will find
hundreds of digitally created options from other fabricmatcher members.

Enjoy!

Your Moda Fabricmatcher Team

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quilt market and festival

I am back from Quilt Market and a day of Festival. Wow! What a great time! Everyone I met was such a delight! Lots of shopping, visiting and fellowship amongst the quilters!

A FEW QUILT MARKET PICS

Kelli Trimble and Melody Busch at Sample Spree

The next Moda BakeShop Sampler box was a big hit at Market. It is the cutest box of 12 different fabric collections - (40 - 2 1/2" squares of each fabric from the collection) Also included in the box is a charm pattern booklet with an assortment of templates and the history of charm quilts from Barbara Brackman. Everyone here wants to buy 2, 1 to open and 1 to keep unopened. Run to your store (late November) and tell them you must have one.A picture of my latest quilt, Martinque by 3 sisters. I Love it and I think a
magazine is picking it up for a future publication! Yeah!

Six Degrees of Separation
You've probably heard of the Six Degrees of Separation concept. Any one person is connected to any other person through six or fewer relationships, because it's a small world. There is a movie and a game devoted to this concept. The Kevin Bacon Game. ( for hours of mindless fun go here and test your movie trivia)

Due to the power of the Internet and social medias, the saying is quickly turning to 3 degrees of separation. Knowing someone is not actually ever meeting them in person, right?!

Well I wanted to introduce you to some of my 3 degrees of separations that I can now say I have met instead of just knowing them through the world wide web.Elise and Carry from our distributor in the Netherlands. They came to visit us between Market and Festival. I took them to visit Ft. Worth to see some "Texas Cowboy Stuff". We couldn't resist stopping by Cabbage Rose Quilt shop. I just had to take their picture
in front of the Texas flag door!

Karen and Rachel from Home ala Mode were busy having a great time at their first booth at Festival! Did you know there were moda home items? Apparently there were alot of people that didn't and their booth was swarmed by anxious buyers. Crazy busy having fun!


I have had the pleasure of meeting Larisa and Rimma about a year ago, but was excited to see them again.

Larissa and Rimma along with several other Russian quilter's put on a wonderful exhibit at Quilt Festival. This still applies to my 3 degrees theory because I did meet other friends of theirs from Russia. Beautiful exhibit. Great job! Read all about the Festival going Global.


Doug Leko from Silver Lane Quilting

I could go on and on about this young man. He is actually standing in front of the quilt he made for us. He is amazing! Remember his name because you will seeing it often in the future.
Also I have to mention his mother, Elaine. Good job, ma'am.

3 of the authors from the Moda Bake Shop came with their quilt shop.
Vicki from Mid-Ohio Knitter, Rachel from P.S. I Quilt, Julie from JaybirdQuilts
Lauren & Jessi Jung standing in front of their introductory collection, Botany.

And as my girl scout training taught me,

Make new friends but the keep the old.

I had to snap a picture of some of the moda crew enjoying a beautiful day at Festival.

and for my random picture........
Just like every quilt shop has a holding area for the guys, we had a holding area for

Pep , Bruce and Hassen to watch all the activity.

Until next time.....

Lisssa

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Houston Quilt Market

Hello to everyone from the moda team! wish you were here!

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Houston Quilt Market-Sample Spree

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Houston Quilt Market-Thursday Set-up

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To Market To Market to buy a fat.... quarter

That Monica is a genius!! and so is Pam KittyMorning! This is so much fun!
By the way we are setting up a photography area in the moda booth so come on over with your buddies and snap a few pics! Of course you have to supply your own camera and poparotsy!!


Want another sneek peek about Market stuff? Read Lynne Hagmeier's new blog!http://kansastroublesquilters-lynne.blogspot.com/

I can't believe Market is almsot here. It is kind of like giving birth stretch marks included!
Thanks to all, see you there!

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and the winner is.......

I had my very own random generator, pick a winner. Her name is Susan Stiff, so blame her if you didn't win, hug her if you did. She drew 2 names from the hopper.



The winner is ..........................opps I mean the winners are John from Cary,North Carolina and
She Sews and Scraps. Send me your shiping addresses. Thanks!Enjoy!








I will be at QUILT MARKET very soon. I will Tweet, blog, facebook and have a wonderful time. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.



Just in case you have not checked them out, read sandy gervais's blog for a behind the scenes look at her getting the quilts done for Market.



And check out what all is happening over at Sweetwater.

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Tutorial

For those of you that do not know this, quilt Market is 2 weeks earlier this year. In the long run this will be a good thing but in the meantime I think it is STRESSING out a few people. I have been reading designers blogs who are designing, writing, sewing, stressing. Seriously, there is not enough Chocolate or Pizza to go around this time of year. Don't believe me, just read Sandy Gervais blog. This time of year is like Christmas, you can't change the date. It is coming no matter what. The only thing that is stopping it is the deadline. If Market was later, we would all try and do more and more and more. Look at it this way... now there will be more time between Market, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Opps didn't mean to stress you out more !)

The girls are going to kill me but I have done this any way. DISCLAIMER: It is Saturday here, No makeup and they did not know what I was going to do with these pictures. I think they will be tooooooo busy to sign on to the computer until after Market.
Here is the tutorial: When you read this you MUST follow along and do it.!

STEP 1: RAISE YOUR RIGHT ARM STRAIGHT UP IN THE AIR

Mariza and Esperanna- Sample DeptCarolyn- Queen of everything

STEP 2: BEND YOUR ARM BACK AND

TOUCH YOUR LEFT SHOULDER.

Eladia and Outlaw-Sampling and book and pattern buyer

STEP 3: PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK!

GREAT JOB EVERYONE!

(are you following along? Stand up and pat your self on the back. This is a tutorial you can do right now. Do it!)Sorry Outlaw but I had to use this picture. Outlaw always shuts her eyes in pictures so I clicked the camera quick to try and get her. PRICELESS!Pat someone else on the back, then laugh and have some fun!

Okay back to work!!

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Giveaway

Giveaway?

Did that catch your eye?

I just recieved a copy of the new Holiday Issue of McCall's quilting December 2009 issue. I was excited to see my quilt made the cover, AGAIN... folded and stacked with designers such as Chloe and Colleen from Toadusew, Sarah and Delores from Homestead Hearth and a dear friend, Gerri Robinson from Planted Seed Designs. And of course much more inside.

Rounneries by French General for moda fabrics!!

I do not know if you know of the MANQUILTER, but he is who quilted this quilt so I thought I would give him a shout out also. Isn't that a great word, Manquilter? Of course you have to say it in a deep voice for the full effect.

Yes I said giveaway... keep reading.

The gals at McCall's are so clever. They did a quilt option using the same pattern but did it in 30's fabrics and used embroidered tea towels as the centers. Just that idea alone is worth running to the store to pick up your own copy. (pg 64)

Also there is an ad on page 49 from moda about something new available in stores late October. Clue- Fanfare Gift Wrap. Check it out.

Here's the deal. Thanks for reading to the end.

The giveaway is for a magazine and my scraps from this collection. Scraps?! I have good scraps and after all it is a free giveaway. Rounneries will be in stores soon, so once you win my scraps you can order all kinds of yardage from your favorite shop.

I mean run to the stores this group is going to go fast!

Just make a nice comment and you will be entered. Drawing will be September 30th.

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MADE IN NEW YORK

Okay, did you forget about me?

Quilt Market is less than a month to go.

24 quilts and counting.

No I don't make them all but lots of organizing, cutting, planning, etc.

Just so you would know that I am alive I thought I just at least post something about where I wish I could go. The following is a note from Dale at The City Quilter.

If you are in the New York area or going there, check it out.

The City Quilter's soon-to-open "MADE IN NEW YORK: City Quilting" exhibition showcases 61 outstanding quilts, representing a wide variety of styles. Quilts are underrepresented as an art form in New York, and we believe this exhibit will help bring a bit more attention to quilting--hopefully aided by your editorial interest.The show opens on Tuesday, September 22, at the Williams Club, which is located at 24 East 39th Street. The quilts will be available for viewing from 8 am until 8 pm, seven days a week, through November 14, 2009. Quilts must have been made while the quilter was living or working in the New York metro area. The quilts were juried, the 61 selected from the more than 200 entered. As part of the show, there is a special exhibition of ten Dear Jane quilts to commemorate the 10 years of DJ classes at The City Quilter that have resulted in the growth of a considerable "Janiac" community with an urban flavor.

“Wildlife“ by Ellen Highsmith Silver

Amy Ronis' "Kitschin' Jane".

More posts to come, I promise.

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September 11

Just recieved this e-mail from Polly Minick.
LETS DO THIS......

We have a little less than one month and counting to get the word out all across this great land and into every community in the United States of America.

If you forward this email to least 11 people and each of those people do the same ... you get the idea.

THE PROGRAM:
On Friday, September 11th, 2009, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States . Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this eighth anniversary of one of our country's worst tragedies. We do this to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.
In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country.

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Give Away

Mosey on over to American Quilter's Society to find out about a huge giveaway.
http://www.americanquilter.com/shows_contests/desmoines/2009/giveaway/
Contest runs July 15th thru September 1st.

Not tempted? Just another giveaway?

Well How about this Prize Gallery?

Grand Prize
One (1) winner will receive the
Ultimate Quilting Studio package from HandiQuilter®, Tracey’s Tables and Moda to include:
One (1) HandiQuilter® Machine Quilting System to include:
HQ Sixteen™ with Table and Frame ARV including shipping $9,000.00 (US)
Training retreat provided by HandiQuilter® ARV $750.00 (US)
Estimated ARV $9,750.00 (US)
Quilting and cutting tables from Tracey's Tables:
Estimated ARV with shipping $3,071.00 (US)
One (1) trip to the American Quilter’s Society 2009 Quilt Expo-Des Moines,
October 28 to 31, 2009,
Estimated ARV $1,000.00 (US)
See their site for exact details of the trip.
Fabric collection from a variety of Moda designers
Estimated ARV $3,000.00 (US)


Okay are you tempted to enter now? I wish I could but I can't.. some legal mumbo jumbo about working for moda. But I hope one of you win, so go ahead and enter! Good Luck!

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my own Washington Oregon Shop Hop

Last week I had the privilege of traveling with 2 of the moda sales reps that cover parts of Washington and Oregon. Diane and Bob Toycen


Bob had made Diane license plate holders with fun sayings. This one says check out moda at Moda Bake Shop.com. The car was loaded up and we started on our way to see some of the local "color". I rode along to just a few of the stores. Man oh Man, I am so jealous after seeing the variety of stores in this area.

We stopped at Fibers & Stitches in St. Helen's, Oregon. Just the outside of the building was enough to make you have to stop and see what is inside.

Quiltworks MW in Bellevue was a feast. Where Materials meet Inspiration.....

Full of the unusual and different. I couldn't help but love their Moda Bake shop display table. The sign read, All you DESIRE self-serve dessert table. Too cute!

They also stock a FULL range of beads and buttons. Too far for me to take some jewelry classes but I would if I could.

Another stop along the drive was The Quilting Loft, a fabric boutique. Cute shop in a very

trendy area. Apparel, kids things and a great variety or fabrics and patterns. Angie also has machine quilting services and is very involved in charitable events.

I found out that right down the street from here is where the boats from

The Deadliest Catch dock.

(this is one of my husband's favorite shows so I felt it was my duty to stop for some pics)

Stopped here for a drink and a T-shirt.

Found a boat for my husband or just a funny picture.

I had a coffee from the Starbucks headquarters. Saw the Amazon building also.

Sisters Fabric in Chehalis, Washington was one of our stops. They were excited that

the UPS man delivered moda's William Morris collection during our visit.

A huge fan of Fig Tree fabrics as the front window proudly displayed several

quilts featuring Joanna's fabrics. And yes all you fig tree fans she does mail order!

Momma Made It is a delightful shop specializing in reproduction fabrics in Longview, WA.

If they do not have the reproduction fabric you are looking for it probably does not exist.Recognize Edyta's (Laundry Basket) quilt in the background?

( thanks Diane for being such a trooper and letting me take so many pics of you!)

Thanks to all the stores for making me feel at home and letting me shop!

Tough, I know but someone had to do it.

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