Hello 2012

Hello 2012,

Today is the last day of the year and I think I am ready!!

Last night I had my semi-annual sock matching party. In the past this was a New Year's eve tradition but I did it a day early. Yippee!

I have always had a hard time telling the boys clothes apart. Between hand me downs, stray clothes from random friends, 4 big boys and their dad, I really don't know whose stuff is whose, especially socks. ( I never had a problem with Jillian clothes) This has been a struggle my entire life. Now that my children are grown and this shouldn't be much of an issue, Right?  I guess this is where my lack of housekeeping skills also plays a part. I would rather quilt than clean!
Kids have moved in and out, taking only what they "needed" and the leftovers remained so I once again have orphan socks. One year I cleaned the entire house hunting for any lost socks so I could get ready for the upcoming sock matching party. Once I was sure they were none of those little devils hiding, I packaged up all the pairs and took them to Goodwill. I bought several pairs of one style sock, all the same size, that ALL the males in my household would wear.
Makes perfect sense.
Or so I thought, then one little pesky stray sock makes it way into the cycle and here we go again. All the kids were here for the holidays, they live local so it is no big deal if they do not take all of their belongings ---- More stray socks.
For years, Gary was in bed early for New Years Eve because he had to work at 3:00 in the morning. My big event was having a sock matching party, tricking some of the kids to help, setting all the clothes back an hour and ringing in the New Year.
You may wonder why I set the clocks back an hour?
I live in the central time zone  which gave me options on which channel to watch the festivities in Time Square. The ball would actually drop at 11:00 on one of the channels. I would let the kids stay up to watch the ball drop, blow their noisemakers, drink apple juice in plastic champagne glasses and GO TO BED.
This gave me a full hour of silence and reflection, not counting the I'm thirsty or Jarrod hit me interruptions.
An hour alone when you have 5 kids and a husband that works from home was sheer heaven.

TIP: Don't count the socks becasue the numbers could be overwhelming. I think about cutting quilt pieces for the newest project. If a quilt pattern requires 1,890 pieces, how eager are you to jump on in and tackle the project? I don't count, I just start cutting. (or folding if talking about socks.)

These are the remains of my sock matching party.  A dozen or so remain sport ankle socks tied with the one lone black sock. One more laundry cycle and if their mate doesn't magically appear these guys are gone!!

Closets are Cleaned

I guess once a girl scout always a girl scout.  Always be prepared was my motto in my closet as well.
Monthly bloating? better keep that bigger size of pants.
Laura Ashley dresses may come back in style, better keep it just in case.
Never know when you may need a pair of bowling shoes, or a pair of railroad coveralls for a Halloween costume?
Well that is all gone except I did keep the bowling shoes.
I tend to shop for clothes like I shop for fabric. I like plaids, florals, textures and patterned pieces which I have learned doesn't make for a very versatile wardrobe. You can use a beautiful floral print in several sewing projects, but the gals at work would certainly start to wonder if my washer was broken if I wore the same floral shirt too often.
So I de-cluttered the closet, bought all new thin coated hangers and even some little clothes divider tabs like they have in the dept store. You know the kind that separate the mediums from the larges?  Just write on the tab and hang it over your clothes rod to keep the short sleeve blue shirts separated from the long sleeve blue shirts. Yes, I  know I must be sick.
  This obsession will pass but I thought I strike while the iron was hot.
Wait there's more.... If you hang all your clothes with the hanger going backwards on the rod, once you wear them, hang them up in the right direction. The next time I am ready to purge, I can quickly see the garments I haven't not worn all year.
The clothes that the hanger is still backwards on the rod. I am trying it!!

Imagine trying to purge your fabric stash with this approach. The fabric you haven't used in a year, purge?!! Goodness NO! Fabric is better aged, it  will not go out of style like my high waisted pants or the Laura Ashley dress I  had since high school.
The dress did make it into my fabric stash. It was 100% cotton, imagine that!

TIP: Once your side of the closet is all pretty, you might as well go ahead and tidy up the hubby's side. I didn't organize his with dividers for long sleeve or short sleeve but it is color coordinated.

Outdoor flood lights (you know the ones too high to reach) all have a bright shiny new bulb in them. Tall kitchen cabinets cleaned. Thanks, Jarrod.
Christmas is all put away and I even have Valentine's towels in the guest bath.

 Some one please take my temperature!

I think I am ready for 2012. Let's make it a good one!



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good laugh



handmaderyangosling.tumbler.com

 You may have seen on my pinterest that I have started pinning these creative pictures featuring the heart throb Ryan Gosling. Whoever thought of this is brilliant. Go over and check them out for yourself.
Wouldn't these be great as posters for your craft/sewing room.
I wonder if he is getting handmade gifts under his tree.

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The Ugky Sweater Party

Today is the annual Moda Christmas party. Lots of fun and merriment will be had by all. No Christmas party would be complete without the UGLY Christmas sweater competition. Please remember that ugly is in the eye of the beholder. Do not take offense to an ugly sweater that may be your favorite pretty sweater.
I have my own version of the history of the ugly Christmas sweater but I turned to Google and searched....
History of the Ugly Christmas Sweater and found this article by Martha McCarthy .

'Twas the Night Before Finals: The History of The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party...


Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties originated like the Post-it note: by accident. No, a 3M scientist was not goofing around in a lab, but the birth of the legendary Ugly Xmas Party tradition was one big fat accident. It started with elementary education teachers. They began sporting the sweaters like it was their job. This had a trickle down effect...slowly but surely infecting soccer moms, soccer grandmoms, art and music teachers, retired people, volunteers, PTA-goers, thrift store shoppers and the racks of Kohl's department store. Ugly Christmas Sweater Fever (as it is clinically referred to) had reached epidemic proportions.


No one died, fortunately, but this huge mass of people were really really ridiculously confused. For some reason, they thought they looked good. Really good. Super stylish. Cute as a button. Hollidazzlin. But no, they were sadly mistaken.


They looked hideous. For a long time, the non-Ugly Xmas sweater wearers remained in the closet. No one wanted to make the first move to alert these sad souls of their super sad situation.


A flip switched somewhere around 2007. Many attribute it to white people*. White people and their undying thirst for theme parties. One college co-ed sported a said sweater to a regular Christmas party. Everyone loved "Ugly Sweater Guy." Next thing you know, people are calling their elementary education teachers, their soccer moms and their local thrift stores in search of a sweater to wear to the next party. They know they've seen em...now they must track them down.

uglyxmasparty.com

Well my story started about 2005. The day after Christmas my sons insisted on going to the mall for the after Christmas sales. This should have been my first clue that something was terribly wrong.

We always went to Dillard's to meet up with one of the ladies that worked in the school counselor's office. (Mrs. Neinhiser you never knew what an influence you had on this whole ugly sweater phenomenon.)

The boys rushed to find Mrs. Neinhiser because she knew where all the over sized , glittery, shiny, tacky Christmas sweaters were. The boys would very strategically go through racks of  bargain priced sweaters, planning their wardrobe for the following year.

This became such a trend that the dept stores no longer had any Ugly Christmas sweaters left. I guess the ugly stuff sold at full price. We spent many years hunting the thrift stores looking, looking and looking for UGLY. Imagine that we didn't find any Ugly!!

acrylic sweater for 75.00 from TheSweaterStore.com

Now my crew is quite the crafty bunch and they are not afraid of a hot glue gun, rotary cutter or even using one of their brothers cashmere sweaters to create their own version of ugly. These sweaters included ornaments, bells and even lights. I wish I had some pictures to share of their sweaters but....

they would not allow me to have evidence of all the things they used of mine that they shouldn't have messed with. Am I the only one with such "creative" or sneaky kids?

This trend has certain grown. It was even covered on the Today Show this morning.

Have no fear, my boys no longer have to scour the thrift stores. There are plenty of websites where they can buy brand new Ugly "tacky" Christmas Sweaters.

Look what one of my sons will be wearing this year.  I don't think I am going to borrow this sweater for the company party this year.

What's the next trend?

Ugly Christmas Ties?

DISCLAIMER: No Moda company sweaters were shown in this blog posting.

and this just in from my husband

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Life isn't fair, but it's still good

Written by a woman on her 90th birthday

This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!! Make sure you read to the end!!!!!!

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

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Quilting From Little Things Tour

I am honored to be included on this blog tour along with such a diverse and talented line

 up of fellow bloggers.

Thank you, Sarah for including me.

I have known Sarah and her family for many years. Her passion for quilting

and teaching has always been apparent in everything she touches.

Material Obsession by Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke

.

Sarah's first two books, Material Obsession one and two,  hold treasured spots on my bookshelf

and I can't wait to add her newest, self published title, Quilting From Little Things.



 

Sarah's newest book, Quilting From Little Things, is a feast for the eyes with

brightly colored quilts, brilliant photography and

close-up detailed pictures.

Click here for a look.

You may wonder about the name of the book....Quilting From Little Things.

Sarah's passion for teaching continues in this book by clear detailed illustrations and instructions to make a "dolly quilt."

Sarah teaches a new technique, how to practice it and accomplish the technique

 by making a small doll quilt. Then move on to using the same technique

to make a larger version with your new skill set.

The techniques include projects from beginners to advanced including

 paper piecing,

 foundation piecing, set- in seams

 and more.

This quilt is my current obsession.

Feathered stars have always been on my to do list.

Funny Story:

I had a piece of paper hanging on the wall behind my sewing machine with all of my UFO's. On the top of the page, I had written, TO DO LIST.

Sometime, I am not quite sure when, my husband had added the words... in this lifetime. Do you have a to do list of quilts you want to make that is longer than any one lifetime?

This quilt has moved up my perpetual quilt...to do list.

I am actually waiting for a new Christmas 2012 fabric line to arrive any minute

 because this is the quilt I am going to make.

One more comment about Sarah and the quilts in this book.

Sarah's color sense and combination of fabrics is inspiring. There is an international flair

(after all she is from Australia) to the combination  of scale, color and design.

Ask for this book at your favorite independent quilt retailer.

Thank you for stopping by, now hop on over to see what the prolific Monica has to say...

The Happy Zombie http://thehappyzombie.com/blog/

Friday 2nd December:

Mrs Schmenkman Quilts http://mrsschmenkmanquilts.wordpress.com/

True Up http://www.trueup.net/

Saturday 3rd December:

Pink Chalk Fabrics http://pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/

Pam Kitty Morning http://www.pamkittymorning.com/

Sunday 4th December:

Sew Mama Sew http://sewmamasew.com/

Pat Sloan http://patsloan.com/

 

If you are just joining the blog tour, please visit my fellow bloggers that have posted earlier in the week.

Monday 28th November:

 Fat Quarterly http://www.fatquarterly.com/blog

Amy Ellis http://amyscreativeside.com/

Tuesday 29th November:

Thomas Knauer http://www.thomasknauersews.com/

Wednesday 30th November:

Camp Follower Bags http://campfollowerbags.com/

Ryan Walsh http://www.ryanwalshquilts.com/

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Quilting From Little Things blog tour begins today

Now that any remaining turkey is made into soup and the holiday shopping, decorating, cooking and caroling has begun, take a break and visit the following bloggers on the Quilting From Little Things blog tour, featuring the newest book from Sarah Fielke.

international book cover

Monday 28th November:

Fat Quarterly http://www.fatquarterly.com/blog

Amy Ellis http://amyscreativeside.com/

Tuesday 29th November:

Thomas Knauer http://www.thomasknauersews.com/

Wednesday 30th November:

Camp Follower Bags http://campfollowerbags.com/

Ryan Walsh http://www.ryanwalshquilts.com/

Thursday 1st December:

The Happy Zombie http://thehappyzombie.com/blog/

Moda Lissa http://modalissa.blogspot.com/

Friday 2nd December:

Mrs Schmenkman Quilts http://mrsschmenkmanquilts.wordpress.com/

True Up http://www.trueup.net/

Saturday 3rd December:

Pink Chalk Fabrics http://pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/
Pam Kitty Morning http://www.pamkittymorning.com/

Sunday 4th December:

Sew Mama Sew http://sewmamasew.com/

Pat Sloan http://patsloan.com/

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Happy Thanksgiving

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
Happy Thansgiving to YOU.............


- Posted using IPAD

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do you pin?

Do you Pin?

I have been trying to explain this obsession to some of my friends.

Some have caught on and curse me, I mean thank me for exposing them to my obsession called Pinterest.

thank you happy zombie and pat sloan for getting me hooked months ago.

Here is how it works and why you NEED it.

Have you ever found a cool picture on the www and then saved it to your computer only to come across it months later and not remember where you found the picture? I have.

Pinterest is a digital filling cabinet saving the image and the source in your own little folder or as they call it on pinterest, Board. I guess a better description may be a digital bulletin board  that you can share with the world. They can share back.

My sister in law is a fantastic cook, so I follow her boards for recipes.

I found this yummy recipe for apple cake with brown sugar glaze from http://lickthebowlgood.blogspot.com/2010/09/caramelly-appley-delicious.html from Stephanie's Boards.

I saved (RE-pinned) this picture into my recipe folder (Boards) and I not only have an enticing picture but also have the recipe and the source of the recipe. You can also follow this recipe site  just as

if you would "LIKE" someone on Facebook.

I have a board that is titled Decorating things.http://pinterest.com/modalissa/decorating-things/

You can create as many boards as you can dream up.

Endless possibilites.

http://www.craftynest.com/2009/07/old-dresser-rolling-tool-cabinet/

This saves the picture along with the tutorial of how to make it from Craftynest.com

It is time for that NEW haircut but you didn't save the latest picture of Jennifer Aniston?

 Pin it into your Haircut folder.

Did you read about some fancy wine you just have to try?

Pin it and you will remember it!

Hey I like that slogan. If anyone is reading this from Pinterest feel free to borrow it.

There are so many things to discover that have already been pinned on Pinterest, but don't let that limit you.u. A picture from any website can be pinned and saved. Install the Pin It icon to your favorites tool bar to quickly pin an item from the web without being on Pinterest at the time. You will love how convenient this is.

Your pin can be shared on facebook and twitter.

Another great feature of Pinterest is that you follow people or just follow one of their boards that your are interested in. An example is my new adorable daughter in law. Yes, she is an avid pinner! When Ii was making their wedding quilt I made the quilt reversible by looking on her pinterest and finding

designs she liked.

As soon as she saw the back of the quilt, she said, "I saved that on Pinterest!"

Yes she did! (I will show this in a future post.)

And of course I have my little folder where I am saving Modalissa  MONA LISA pictures.

From topcultured.com

And to substantiate my fetish here is an excerpt from The Boston Globe.
The current toast of the web is Pinterest, the visual pinboard for collecting and sharing content online. The “pinning” phenomena is spreading from its modest beginnings to appearing in national media outlets. There are over 2.5m monthly active Pinterest users on Facebook. A co-founder of the site has over 500,000 followers on Pinterest. Ron Conway (an investor in the site) remarked that Pinterest’s user growth rate is what Facebook’s was five years ago. Earlier in 2011, it was valued through venture financing at $40m and, most recently, just a few months later, at around $200m.

Pinterest is an entire community with so much to discover.

I hope to meet you there. Follow me at modalissa. Let me know if you are on Pinterest and

 I will check it out.



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When Harry Met Sally

Have you ever worked on a quilt project that you just couldn't sleep? You were so excited to see it all come together that you would sneak off to your sewing machine for hours at a time?

I make alot of quilts but I must say that this happens to me a couple of times a year.  I even dream about sewing the quilt when I do sleep. I know this may seem extremely odd to some of you, but for those that have caught the fever they will know exactly what I am talking about.

My quilt is featured in the current issue of American Patchwork and Quilting.

While I was making this quilt, I thought I should name it When Harry Met Sally. You all know the hiliarious movie starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal?

If you read my blog often you know that I like to mix different moda designers lines to challenge myself on fabric combinations. I choose two totally opposite groups, Little Gatherings by Primitive Gatherings and paired it with Etchings by 3 sisters. Just like the movie where two total strangers meet, these two fabric lines seem strange to include in the same project.

But I love it!

As I sewed the dark browns, blacks, tans, blues and greys on one side and then mixed the soft romantic floral on the other side, I couldn't help but think of this movie and the power of opposites attracting whether in a chick flick, real life or a patchwork quilt. Throwing in some medium fabrics on both sides for the "Clash Factor" helps make it all interesting.

The Log Cabin block is one of my all time favorites. I made larger blocks for a graphic look. The color and layout options are endless. You can find all the instructions on how to make this quilt in American Patchwork & Quilting, but I have taken those same blocks and given you several layout options below.

I didn't name it When Harry met Sally for the magazine but will probably always refer to it as that.

So with any quilt I make I have a few scraps left over. It isn't enough to make the quilt but it will get you started and I am giving it away here along with a copy of the magazine.

Leave a comment and tell me your favorite quilt block.

I will pick a winner Saturday night the 5th of November.

Make sure you have an e-mail address that I can contact you.



my beautiful scraps

this isn't a great picture but I had to introduce Bo's new puppy, Cassie. A black lab with huge feet just like my boys!



Thank you for stopping by. Good Luck and Happy Quilting.

COMMETNS FOR THE GIVEAWAY CLOSED.

The Winner is

charlotte said...

I love the idea of mixing two such different lines. How clever of you to have come up with that. It never would have occurred to me. I love the log cabin. I also love the simple 9 patch.


November 3, 2011 6:31 PM

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MARKET

Tomorrow we hop a short plane ride to Houston Texas. 2 crazy days of setting up booths, sales meetings and seeing old friends. I always have intentions of remote blogging, but there is not enough time in the day. So I thought I would post a few links here for you to enjoy some sneak peeks to anything moda.

Alicia - one of our machine quilters have a few peeks on her blog.

Kate Spain talks about her Good Fortune.

Aneela Hoey from across the pond shares her adventures and projects.

Bunny Hill's Ohh La La is just that. She continues to amaze us with her sophisticated baby lines.

Cosmo Cricket has posts about her newest line of fabric but I enjoyed this post more. Fried Mac & Cheese. Oh I am so hungry!

Jan Patek is on the road!

Malka will be at Market for a meet and greet!

me and my sister are in an auriful booth hop. I wish I could win a big package of auriful thread!

Polly and Laurie will be there.

Sweetwater is ready to roll!

You can follow all of the moda designers from the moda webpage. including any updates and new designers.

Thank you to all the sewers, binders, designers, painters, packers, builders that work behind the scenes to help put the moda show together.
Susan, Chelair, Lorinda, Mariza, Eladia, Sophie, Aida, Kathy,Victor, Ted, Isla, Alicia, Alison,  Sue, Valerie, Jan, Sherron, Sara, Maggi, Holly,Outlaw, Ducky, Barb, Sherri, Diane, Crystal, Nancy, Barb, Rachel, Sherri, Gerri,
Yosten, Emily, Dennis, Herbert, Juan and of course the "other" Lisa.
If there is something you would like to hear about that goes on at market, leave me a comment and I will see what I can do.

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Winner of the last book giveaway

And the winner of stitches from a one room schoolhouse is
MahSistersQuiltTrunk
Everybody loves Renee' and everything she does. For thoses who do not know her she is a true person inside and out. A dear friend. Congrats to the winner.

Thank you for following along on my week of book reviews and giveaways.
This next week begins the week of quilt market and the next weekend is quilt festival in Houston. If you have never had the chance to go to Festival, put it on your bucket list. The show is really quite incredible.
I will be going to festival on Friday so I will take lots of pictures to wet your appetite for future projects!

Modalissa

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Stitches from the Schoolhouse book review

Hello all, this is Jillian. I am moda lissa's daughter. I have drawn the winners for the past two days. My mom, baby brother and I have been on the road moving me to my new place in Florida. I am a little late on posting the winner. I let my mom sleep in after driving a uhaul and towing a car for the past 18 hours. So for today's winner i have choosen, Glenda From Florida. Her comment was, The winner of the yesterday's sweet water book is.
This looks like a great book--I love to make little things for the house, and for gifts. Thanks for the chance to win.

Leave a comment to have a chance at winning the next book. I will try and draw the winner on time tomorrow.

STITCHES FROM THE CLASSROOM
Projects Inspired by Classrooms of the Past
By Renee Plains
Published by Kansas City Star

This is a charming book based on the concept of the one room schoolhouse. I was drawn to this book because like Renee, the author,I collect turn of the century class photos. Each child in the pictures tells a story. The quilts in this book also tell a story creating heirlooms for tomorrow.

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Swetwater's Simple Home book review

and the winner of yesterday's book is:

Dirt Road Quilter:I would love to cook up the recipes in this book. I've got a stash of precuts that would certainly appreciate being let out of the closet! And after cooking for a crew of cowboys for 2 weeks, it would be nice to cook something that doesn't require me to be in the kitchen! Thank you so very much for your generous gift-away! :)

Today's feature is the wonderful new book by the talented gals at Sweetwater.

SIMPLE HOME

sew something handmade for every room- 35 projects

I want to make them all but I would really like to do this for my office. I don't know that I could keep it so neat but at least the organizers would make it pretty!

Love it!

 

The rules are:

You must have a way for me to contact you via e-mail. This will be short and sweet. I will draw the name by 6:00 am tomorrow morning. (Thursday) A 24 hour giveaway.! Go for it and thanks for stopping by.

I am going to break my record for most daily blog posts. Of course this number is not very high to be able to break the record.

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Fresh Fabric Treats Book Review

Another good book. I saw this book on a shop hop last week, but, I was being good, and only getting stuff that was already on my list. I read lots of things about WWII. Both my grandfathers were in WWII, but they were both 'old men' by the time they served (one had even been in WWI). Was the comment left by cheryl2quilting who won yesterday's MINICK and simpson book.

I love flipping through the pages of this book. It is not the newest book but it certainly has a lot of projects that are prefect for the upcoming gift-giving season. Yes Gift Giving and I am giving one away today.

 Fresh Fabric Treats published by Stash books and features 16 different "recipes" (That is code word for projects so the men in the household think we will be in the kitchen. Instead we are in the sewing room!)

 from a few of the talented "chefs" featured on the Moda Bake Shop.

This project is made by Kimberly Walus. I love the organizer tote that has bags inside made from fabric and clear vinyl to keep all your things in plain sight.

 

I said it was the beginning of gift giving season so go ahead, leave a comment, By now you know the drill. I must be able to reach you via e-mail and you must leave a comment before 6:00 in the morning. (Friday) A 24 hour gift- away.! Lack of sleep makes me think I am funny by making up new words. 

Good Luck!










 

The best part of this is that I am going to give this book away to some who leaves a random comment. You must have a way for me to contact you. This will be short and sweet. I will draw the name by 6:00 am tomorrow morning. (Friday) A 24 hour giveaway.! Go for it and thanks for stopping by.

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Victory Girls Book Review

Stitched with prayer is the winner of the carrie Nelson book from yesterday's post.

Hey it's me and I am making 2 posts in a row. Imagine that! Today I am sharing a brand new book published by Kansas City Star. The authors are good friends of mine and happen to be moda designers. Their style is classic and timeless. I think they are the female version of Ralph Lauren.

Victory Girls by Polly Minick and Laurie Simpson

Patriotic quilt and hooked rugs from the WWII era.

An exerpt from the dedication page of this book.

Victory Girls is intended to serve as a testimonal to the women who supported World War II on the homefront through sacrifice, service and selfless dedication to the war effort.

-Incredible!

This is a giveaway for the Polly and Laurie Fan club. You know who you are.  

Tell me why you must have this book.

The rules are:

You must have a way for me to contact you via e-mail. This will be short and sweet. I will draw the name by 6:00 am tomorrow morning. (Thursday) A 24 hour giveaway.! Go for it and thanks for stopping by.

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Another bite of schnibbles book review

The greatest thing about my job is that I get to work on projects in advance of their release date to the world. The bad thing about that is sometimes I don't have much to blog about. Of course, this is no excuse for my lack of posts. I am also lucky because I happen to have a neighbor across the hall from me that is kind enough to show me all the new books and patterns streaming in. So to win back my loyal readers and anyone else that is bored to death,  I am going to do a book review for the next several days starting with Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's. Carrie's newest book from That Patchwork Place has hit the stands. Carrie is such a talented wordsmith. Every project has a creative name and an entire story to go along with it. The wealth of information this one woman retains in her brain is amazing.  Maybe she can come up with another word for amazing so all the dancers on dancing with the stars will have something else to say.
I would certainly want to be on her team during Trivia night.

Ruby by Bonnie and Camille  is shipping to stores now so I thought I would show you the quilt made from a previous line of their fabrics. This quilt was made by an associate of mine Debbie Outlaw. (remember the chocolate cake in my birthday post?)

 Not to brag but I also have a quilt in the book. (THANK YOU CARRIE!)
And I need to mention that Alicia Keys from Heirloom quilting did a super job quilting mine. Check out her work if you are looking for a machine quilter.
The best part of this is that I am going to give this book away to some who leaves a random comment. You must have a way for me to contact you. This will be short and sweet. I will draw the name by 6:00 am tomorrow morning. (Wednesday) A 24 hour giveaway.! Go for it and thanks for stopping by.

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Gingham dog baby quilt

baby quilt in progress.... It looks like it is finished but we are just waiting for the little boy to be born so I can add his name, date of birth, etc in the big empty grey area.

When I learned that Holly was having a boy and doing her nursery in dogs, I  thought of the patchwork dog pillows that you see in antique stores.

I knew I couldn't tackle the box type pillow and all those set in seams, so I decided to make the quilt above.

This is a perfect project to make using any of your 2 1/2" jelly roll scraps.

Block measures 14" finished. Each print square is 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" cut. This block uses white as the background.

This block uses Grey as the background since Holly's nursery is grey.

(grey dot is from Aneela's group debuting at quilt market- in stores Feb.)

 If you are a grey junkie, you will want an entire bolt for yourself. I promise.

If you are interested in making some dog blocks, the above diagram shows the basic cutting and piecing directions for one block. All print blocks are cut 2 1/2" square.

Here is a diagram of 3 blocks across, 4 blocks down with 2" finished sashings.This diagram makes a quilt that is 50" x 66".
 hope you enjoyed this quick project!

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50 and NOT COUNTING

As if I could turn back the hands of time, I am posting backwards. I turned 50 before my son's wedding but I couldn't wait to post about the wedding..... SO the week before Grant and Misty's big day, I had a big day as well. My 50th birthday..

I wanted to share a few pics from this momentous occasion!! I have the reputation at work not to show up on my birthday because I hate for anyone to make a fuss.(There is a long story about this I will save for another time) So they did a super whammy trick on me and had a party on a different day. The girls here were clever in creating a theme for my party. It had to be 50 of something.....

Chelair gave me a red and white crocheted doily her mother made. Inside it was 50 pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. Of course this came in handy because the next week I was headed to Vegas. I am sad to report that I no longer have any of the coins, but will always treasure the red and white doily. Dollars, confetti, ribbons and "50 sucks" suckers were thrown in by some of my other "friends" here.

Susan, who had the brilliant idea of 50 of something, gave me 50 fat quarters from her stash all neatly pressed, folded and displayed in a paper trunk. She even found this treasure from a 1997 Deb Strain Christmas collection. Susan's birthday is coming up. I will have to see if I can create something from these fat quarters and Re-Gift her.

 Cheryl and I share the love of Salsa and everything spicy. I received a colorful bowl full of enough ingredients to make salsa for the week. Delicious!!

 Outlaw snuck in 50 fortune cookies. I start each morning with a fortune cookie and a cup of coffee.

The first fortune I received said, "Treat yourself to something of quality. You deserve it." I was so excited I ripped the fortune in half so I don't think it counts. Did you know that you are supposed to add the words... IN BED to the end of your fortune. Read the above fortune and add In Bed. It makes every

fortune pretty funny.

And regardless of the fact that I was on my "Shedding for the Wedding diet", Outlaw made one of her wonderful cakes. She has been so kind to let me share the recipe here. I gained 10 lbs.

Mississippi Mud/ Fudge Cake

4 eggs

1 c. butter(original says oleo)

2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 c. pecans - chopped

1/3 c. cocoa

1 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

Melt butter & cocoa, add to other ingredients. Bake 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes in a floured and

greased pan. Time will depend on size of pan.

Spread 1 jar of marshmallow whip over cake while hot and top with icing.

Icing-

1/2 stick butter

1/3 c. cocoa

1/3 c. or more of milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 box powdered sugar

Melt butter. Add other ingredients. Have icing warm enough to pour over cake.

AND AS IF THAT WASN"T ENOUGH......

My tricky husband and family threw a small impromptu surprise party at our favorite burger joint. I thought we were headed there to watch the Dallas Cowboys opening day.

My husband thought I might have figured it out, but he said, " I knew when you came downstairs dressed like that, that you didn't know about the party." And he let me go any way. After all I was in my lucky Emmit Smith t-shirt. My daughter and now daughter in law helped him pull off a wonderful evening. They even had everyone take their picture holding a "BIG 50". Here are a few of the pics!

I will move forward with my blog posts now, thanks for letting me share the pics and catch up on a few of my posts. Thank you to all my family and friends for making me feel so special.

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