So Many Blessings!

This month has been filled with wonderful giveaways and I have been the lucky recipient of a few. I wanted to share my wonderful prizes with you and the wonderful people who have made the giveaways possible. Winning such great prizes allows me to enjoy quilting and eventually make charity quilts with the money I save, I have been stocking up on batting.

One book I have always loved was Jacquelynne Steve's book, Fruitful Hands. I fell in love with the pineapple quilt, a simple but fun piece and something that would look great as a wall quilt for my dining room. The book also has recipes and patterns for quilts and smaller items that would make wonderful gifts. You can visit her blog, The Noble Wife for inspiration and she also has some wonderful freebies.

This is on my to do list. The giveaway was sponsored by Henry Glass Fabrics. If you love quality fabrics and giveaways, be sure to sign up for their blog.

Another giveaway was hosted by See How We Sew. I won the book "Quilting 101", by Sue Rasmussen. It is a wonderful reference guide for quilting and it is definitely something I need lol. I am always forgetting the basics and what types of needles to use for projects, so now I have a reference that I can refer to, as I quilt and things I can learn to do better.

And today I received another fun prize, something I can make for myself and as gifts for my friends. I was able to choose any pattern from Cath's Pennies. I have always loved her designs and not only does she make wonderful patterns, but she gives directions with photos on her blog to help  you in creating your own pieces. 

It was a tough decision, I love all of her designs, but this one is perfect as a gift too and I have gingerbread buttons, so they will be perfect for this design. You can see this and many more at her website, Cath's Pennies Designs.

Surprises in the Mail!

I love entering contests and this month, I have been lucky enough to win a few.
This week has been mostly downs, but I keep plugging along and getting surprises in the mail, sure brightens my day.

One prize, I haven't gotten yet, but it is on it's way. I won a Rolling pin spice shelf from Carol of Firecracker Kid Primitives.
It also has a place for wooden spoons, I just love it and I picked out black. I do love the mustard though, but I decided since I have a lot of black pieces and never know what colors I might go with next, black will match anything. Carol has a lot of wonderful prim pieces that she and her husband make, I definitely have my eyes on a few things and they are always willing to customize items or make something to suit your needs.



Another wonderful prize was from Sharon of Moosecraft. I won this wonderful book. I have my eye for a couple of the quilts in the future. I really want to do some real quilting but my brain is still out in the fog;)



And a surprise from my friend Bren, who I originally met in a rug hooking group and is now a member of our PRIMUSA group on ebay. She said she had made this for me and never got a chance to send it, so decided now was a good time, to cheer me up. I love it and I am going to use it on my bench for fall, which isn't too far away. Summer sure is going by too fast. But while I am stuck at home, the generosity of friends and all of your well wishes, brighten my day.

This is the perfect size for my bench, and I can place items on it and still have the pumpkins showing. Bren who has been going through her own troubles, lately, still have time for others. I have also won some fabric and hope to make some charity quilts as soon as I am up to it. With winter coming, warm quilts are needed by shelters and Vicky has set up a wonderful blog where you can read about her cause and maybe donate a quilt to those in need.

Noisy Day and Giveaway Winner!

I decided to stay home and get some things done today, one being a new flag wall hanging, so I got the base sewed together and the main applique on. Then I finished off some little pieces that are now drying after I stained them, so I will show them next time.

Today it was air show day, it is noisy, they go right over the house and around the bay as they come in, towards the old base.



As if that is not bad enough, the dog has a thing about planes, he barks at them and runs around the yard like a goof, in a lame attempt to catch them. Tomorrow we are in for more of the same. We are planning on going out to the harbor again, that way we can paddle and see them better from the breakers.



I got a nice surprise in the mail today, a prize I won from Barbara of Cat Patches. I got my choice of book, and she sent me a wonderful kitty fabric, I love the kitties. I will have to make something special with it. The book has some wonderful patterns and tutorials for art pieces, so more new things I can make.



Now for the giveaway. The winner of a free epattern is Dawn of Quilts and Pieces!
Congratulations Dawn. Please send me an email with you choice of pattern from my ecrater site.

Goodies and Goofs

I am truly blessed with friends I have met on the internet and their generosity and talents.
Today I received two packages, I feel spoiled.

The first was from Bren, Hey Diddle Woolies. She belongs to our ebay group, USAPRIM and was a prize giver in one of our contests. She didn't just send a prize, she went through the trouble in making me a wonderful quilted piece, that I can enjoy in my home. I can't believe how thoughtful it was and was never expecting something some wonderful. And to top it off, she sent me beautiful wools from her stock. New wools are a treat for me and I will definitely use the wools in my next big rug. I want to make a large rug for my living room, so I have been keeping all the nice wools that people send me, along with some I bought, so this year I will design and work on it.



The second package was from my friend Kelley. She truly spoils me. Not only does she make me wonderful gifts, but she always sends me beautiful fabrics and books from her stash. I am really going to have a ball this year, making quilts with all of the fabrics she has sent me. I love the punch needle sheep, they look good on a shelf, standing against a prim box that I have. The punched pillow is now in my box shelf with some strawberries and a pear, that I made. I can't wait to start some patterns in the books and enjoy reading the copies of Mercantile Gatherings. This magazine is coauthored by TIffany, the same woman who makes the wonderful patterns, that I use in some of my punches.



Now the goof? Who else, buy Izzy. Izzy who does not seem to have a very good memory and didn't learn her lesson yesterday. My brother was visiting and had the door open while he said goodbye. Izzy with her one track mind flew out the door and into a deep snow drift. The poor girl was mortified when she landed and sunk into the snow. She was crying and struggling to get up and out of the snow. Will she ever learn?