Lucky me

I have been very fortunate this past year. I have commented on various blogs and ended up a winner at several giveaways in the past couple of months.



I won an electronic copy of "Wee Folk" by Salley Mavor.




A pretzel pincushion and some great looking pins from Karen of Selvage Blog.

A seam ripper, an orphan block and some lovely layer cake fabrics from Deonn of Quiltscapes. This was as a result of a giveaway connected to a blog hop for Sew Sweet Simplicity, a BOM that was designed by Jacqueline Steves. Since Jacqueline of Sew Sweet Simplicity hosted the blog hop, I also won her e-book.


And, I also won some quilting stencils from Lori of Humble Quilts.

Just last month I won these wonderful batiks and this pattern from Marlene of KISSed Quilts.

This is Joy. She is the creation of Penny, of Art Journey, who was giving away one of her "Whisper" dolls every week in August and I was lucky enough to be one of the winners.

Here she is on my front door. I thought maybe the background and lighting were better to show her off. Just click on any of the photos to get a closer look at the beading on her legs and torso.

Just recently, I was also fortunate to win in a draw for a pattern of my choice from Dreamworthy Quilts. All I did was comment as a participant of the EQ Seasons Row A Long hosted by Marian of Seams to be Sew. They have some lovely, free patterns from various designers for you to make your own seasons row quilt.

Forgive me if I have forgotten to thank you Ann of The History Anorak. She was giving away books to readers who commented and I received the book, The Boy in the Smoke by Maureen Johnson, which both my husband and myself read and enjoyed. This was quite a while ago - so my apologies to Ann for my tardiness. Life just sometimes gets in the way.

All this just because on some blogs, all I did was leave a comment and Mr. Random Generator picked me. So, don't be afraid to comment - you just never know what's in store for you. And please check out the links to the various blogs which I have provided. You can find some very interesting things to see and read about.

Many, many thanks

I have been fortunate to receive some wonderful giveaways.

This came in the mail. Karen, of Selvage blog, had a giveaway last month and I won.

 Here it is. A little purse ornament and to decorate it up, Karen put some colourful scraps inside.

Thank you Karen.

Did any of you take the book tour last month for Stephanie's (Loft Creations) new book?

Well, I did and I won a copy of her electronic version from Margaret at A Sampler of Stitches.

Thank you Margaret and thank you Stephanie.

And now, a late thank you to Ulla of kotkarankki blog. In December I won a giveaway that she had on her blog to celebrate her 600th blog post.

I took this photo from her blog. There were so many things in the package that I felt it was an early Christmas present.
 There was authentic Finnish rye crisps, gingerbread (like my mom used to make) that were in a tin with Moomin characters on it, cloudberry chocolates and chewing gum. Ulla even included some Finnish Novita Nalle wool so I can begin making socks. The felted leaf has a bar of soap encased in it and just to the left of it is a small black tin of Vitalis cream for chapped lips and hands that has come in very handy this winter. There was also a CD with typical Finnish dance music that my mom has appreciated.

My belated thanks to you dear Ulla. I can only say that Christmas preparations overwhelmed me and then those little boys came to visit so my mind was preoccupied.

I have been very fortunate and very lucky.

Something new

I have been knitting. I am on a mission.

.

This is the first sock. Totally doable by me since it is knitted flat and then sewn up. I have an idea but I will let you in on it later. Here's the pattern. It's from Red Heart yarns. I am knitting more of them. The needles are new and are only 10 inches long. Since I knew I was going to make these, I splurged and bought new 5mm needles. My other, regular 5mm needles are currently being used on a new project.

I went to the Halton Hills Quilters' Guild quilt show on Saturday. It was at a great location. Beautiful grounds and lovely fall colours on the way. Anyway, I was totally surprised because you see, this fat quarter of batik was tucked in my program. It wasn't a door prize (that would have been a dot inside the program.) I think a lot, if not all, of the programs had one one of these. Or, maybe only the first 20 (I fit into this category), 50 or 100 visitors got one each day, I just don't know. I never thought to ask. 

This usually(if anything), is what you get once you pay your admission. It's sometimes called quilter's  candy - a 6 inch square. They were all in a basket and you could choose the colour you wanted. I didn't want a floral and this was neutral. Want to see what I bought?

There were a lot of vendors and two of them were selling fat quarters for $2.00.

Buy 3 and get one free? Not bad, so these 4 were only $6.00. Do you see a theme here? Turquoise maybe? I do have a lot of turquoise fabrics but since I was hoping for variety, and my project will be for a single bed, I need lots.

And now, more new stuff. I was so lucky to win some fat quarters on Amy's blog.

The UPS guy just dropped this box off and when I opened it, this is what I found. I was expecting an envelope with a few fat quarters BUT...

I won the whole collection of Mix It Up Neutrals and Mix It Up Brights.

Pop on over to Connecting Threads here to view the new line-up of fabrics. They really have great service and wonderful fabrics at affordable prices. I have ordered from them in the past so that's how I know. Thank you to both Amy and Connecting Threads. My stash now has an infusion of new fabrics to play with.

So, that's what is new around here. I will be back shortly to show you the quilts at the show.

Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered the Sew Sisters Giveaway. Don't forget September 17th is the big sale at Sew Sisters so pop on over to see some great bargains!

Since I haven't got a clue as to how to show the Random Number Generator widget, you will just have to trust me that the winning number was 23, bluenines, who said: "sew sisters are a great fabric source , I like the fabrics they have given you, very pretty." Congratulations!

I have contacted her via email to get her mailing address so that this bundle of fat quarters can be delivered to her door. 

This weekend is the Christmas Quilt Along and Challenge so come on back to see how far I've gotten with my sewing.

Sew Sisters Giveaway

In advance of their biggest sale of the year, which is happening on one day only, September 17th, I have been asked by Carol, of Sew Sisters Quilt Shop, to host a giveaway.

This gorgeous set of fat quarters is what Sew Sisters will be giving to one lucky commenter. It's the Fusions Collections from Robert Kaufman.

Sew Sisters Quilt Shop is a Canadian quilt store that celebrates all things quilting. They have a large selection of fabric, notions, books, patterns and kits. Whether you’re shopping online at sew-sisters.com, or in the store in Toronto, you will receive the best in products and service. At Sew Sisters they believe you should Buy Fabric, Not Postage! and so they have the most reasonable rates on shipping in Canada. Visit their website to find out more!

This giveaway is open from now until midnight Friday, September 13th EST (Eastern Standard Time.) I will draw a name on Saturday and this giveaway is open to everyone. They will ship internationally. Please just one comment per person and let me know what your plans would be for the fabric if you were to win OR just tell me what you are working on at the moment.

NOTE: if you are on Wordpress or Google + or Typepad, you may come up as a 'no reply' commenter so PLEASE leave your email with your comment. If in doubt, please leave your email address. I would hate to have to pick another winner if the first one is a 'no reply' and I have no means of contacting you.
Good luck to you all.

A winner has been chosen. Comments are now closed.

Christmas quilt and gifts

On the frame.

No turns made yet but the quilt is being worked on.

 

I received a gift.

This is the bag. Inside was ...

this gorgeous piece of fabric.

The name is blueberry land.

My eldest son and his wife just happened to be in Helsinki a couple of weeks ago and picked this up for me. It's so pretty and about 60" wide. I have no idea what I'm going to make with it but it has to be something special.

Thank you Mark and Kate.

I have been remiss. A couple of months ago I won a giveaway over at Mixed Media Artist.

It was this cute book. I'm hoping my daughter will come over when she has time so we can make some of these guys.

Thank you Cyndi.

New

I was lucky enough to win a giveaway on Maggie's blog.

Isn't it stunning?

 

Hand beaded by Maggie herself.

 

Returning home, I also found another package from my good friend V. at The "Bearister" Bookcase.

 

Fabric. Yeah!!

 

And here's what I just finished.

 

No, no, not the whole thing - I just added one block to this. It was quick. Just cut two 5 inch squares of one colour and sub-cut into 2.5 inch squares. Then cut two more 5 inch squares in a lighter or darker colour and sub-cut those into 2.5 inch squares. Sew them together alternating light and dark. Voila, you have an 8.5 inch 16-patch block. This will be for a single bed so I still have lots of blocks to cut and sew. It's a slow process.

 I have other things that I am working on but since I can't show them yet, this addition to my 16-patch will have to do.

 

 

Mail came

I was very fortunate this morning. The mailman delivered goodies to me.

This little Polish snowman with the smile, Iwo, is a creation of Agnieska. Here's her Flikr site and her Etsy site. I was introduced to this wonderful felter, who creates such cute little creatures, by Bumblevee, a western Canadian blogger who, herself, makes cute little felted creatures and also more human looking friends.

And then, there are these.

Little puffs by Karen Ruane, better known as the Contemporary Embroiderer. I won these little puffs and chose to have printed fabric in them.

Here's a close-up of Karen's work. The tails are on there so that I can attach them onto something. I have a feeling I should make something special just for these little beauties. Go check out Karen's blog if you don't know about it already and perhaps sign up for one of her wonderful classes. I took her button class and learned so much.

World travel and being blessed

My son and his wife are off to tour China today. On Thursday, my youngest daughter comes home from London, England for 10 days. Then my brother, who lives in British Columbia and who turns 60 today, arrived on Sunday and is visiting with his daughters - two of whom gave birth not long ago.

I am truly blessed and have received some wonderful things in the mail lately.

My friend over at Magpie's Mumblings is de-cluttering in preparation to moving and all I had to do is be the first one to say I wanted this and also to make a donation to an animal shelter. It is an embroidered cushion cover but I plan on framing it because...

I have this one and to me, it feels like I now have a positive and a negative which I will hang side by side when I frame the black one. This one was embroidered by my mother's uncle's second wife (his first wife was my mom's aunt.) I loved this as soon as I saw it and my mom framed it one year and gave it to me either at Christmas or my birthday. It has been hanging on one wall or another ever since.

I won this book Inspired by Tradition by Kay Mackenzie (with a CD that gives you the blocks in various sizes so you don't have to make a trip to a photocopier) from Chatterbox Quilts Chit Chat while I was making the rounds of the blog book tour. It's full of wonderful applique patterns and explanations on various applique techniques.

 And these cute little penguin buttons were a giveaway win from Button Mad all the way from South Africa.

This gorgeous bag with a needlebook came from Norway. They are so well made by Laila at Stofftausa and I was so surprised when I opened the package. I signed up for her Pay It Foward last year and now it's my turn to make something for those who signed up. Thank you Laila. I have started on a couple of things but since baby stuff is taking over my time right now, it will be a little while before I get back to finishing.

And lastly, this is what I was presented with last night. I have wanted to go see this musical even before it arrived in Toronto. With a little hint to the family on a suggestion for an early Mother's Day gift and voila, they listened. It's tonight and it's early - 7:00 p.m. so I have to get stuff done before I go.

I am very blessed. I hope you all have a great day and a great week.

Baby gifts and other goodies

So, now I can reveal some of the baby things that have been made.

This is the rag quilt that I made. It is big but will be useful for several years. One side is blue and the other pink. The parents of the as yet unborn little one chose the fabrics from my stash of flannels when they were here at Christmas.

The half-circle cushion cover that my daughter Laila requested. Unstuffed, of course, since it would have taken up way too much room in the box - the other side of the cushion is a solid purple flannel. And then there was  the crocheted little pram blanket that my mother made for Laila when she was a baby - my mother's first grandchild.

These absolutely gorgeous sweater sets came from Midge over at Soggibottom. Since I don't knit well, and since we don't know if it's a boy or a girl, Midge covered both bases. And she even made a bear blankie.

For those of you who don't know, Midge makes bears. I absolutely love these outfits and the bear. They have now been delivered. Many, many thanks Midge.

 And lastly, I won three Eclectic charm packs from Riel. She was having a Blog-O-Versary Giveaway. Thank you so much Riel - now all I have to do is find a suitable pattern to use these gorgeous fabrics.

Mail goodies and other things

I was fortunate to win a couple of things in the One World One Heart blog tour recently.

I won these five wonderful patterns from Jill at Jillily Studio. The waves are 3-D prairie points on the Ahoy! pattern.

 I was also very fortunate to win these mini journals. I had my choice of papers and cover colours. I requested watercolour paper inside and I left the cover colours to Sophie of the Art of Being Miss Kool Aid. What a cute blog title.

These are linkable note books. I plan on using them for creative ideas.

That's one of the reasons I requested watercolour paper - so I can use my watercolour pencil crayons.

Please excuse the sideways photo but blogger wasn't letting me turn it.

Here's my amaryllis. It was on sale about a month ago. I guess they wanted to get rid of the ones they had and so they were already planted. All I did was bring it home and water it.

One day.

The next day.

The day after that.

Today. Just a little bit of colour in my kitchen. A change from tulips and daffodils.

Working on some secret projects. I will post the finished item once it has been received. These are some Dilly Dally charm squares with some of my own fabrics mixed in. I didn't like the blacks that were in the charm square package and so I took them out.

I don't know why the colours don't come out the way they should. This is a soft green colour. It's a surprise and so I can't show it yet. Once it's complete and received, I will show the whole thing. I amazed myself by knitting this. I am not as dumb as I thought. Maybe one day I will be knitting socks...