The winner is . . .

Well, really, though I can’t just post the winning number until I have a chance to say thank you to everyone who stopped by and left me a comment and also for those that posted about my 200th giveaway on their own blogs.

A simple little thank you sounds so “little”, so I would like to say a HUGE, BIG THANK YOU to each and everyone of you!

I have found gals out there that have the exact!  same taste in fabrics and books as I do . . . I have found wonderful new and intriguing techniques that I will be going back to learn more about . . . I have found some blogs that just made me laugh out loud . . . I have found new patterns that I just MUST have and most of all I have found some wonderful new friends out there!

OK, so you’ve had enough about the thank you’s . . . so now I will get down to the business side of this post . . .

I used the Random Number Generator and punched in my total number of comments that I have been printing off randomly and numbering throughout the week, and the lucky number was 89, who just happens to be . . .

Annette

from Sunshine Yellow Creative Stitching.

Congratulations Annette!

THANKS to everyone for helping me celebrate and to say thank you, my next task is to try and create a tutorial or at least a pattern for this design so that you can grab up some Fig Tree fabric and make your own wall hanging .  My other next task is to get back and visit all your blogs in greater depth than time allowed this past week . . . so watch out because I’ll be lurking around out there!

‘til next time,

M.

ONE MORE DAY!

Friday the 14th – sometime in the evening – I’ll make the big draw.  Do you have your name in yet?

This is so much fun!

All these new blogs that I’m finding are fantastic . . . and I’m trying to get to each one of them.  Even if it is just a brief visit the first time, I will be going back to spend more time looking around in the next week or two.  So many new things to see!I also wanted to show you some photos that my nephew took this past weekend while he was out visiting.He really enjoys getting out in my garden with his big, fancy, way-over-my-head-to-understand, camera.  These photos are soooooooooo much clearer than the ones that I take – I’m floored by the clarity!   Carter also had fun trying to keep this monkey in his focus . . . Mysty was on a grass eating mission and we were trying to keep her from doing that.  She does look a little ticked off, don’t you think?

Anyway, I’ll be back tomorrow night sometime to post the winner of the wall hanging, so I’ll see you then!

‘til next time,

M.

Weekend Happenings . . .

First off I would like to say how thrilled I am to have met all you ladies who have stopped by and entered my 200th Post Giveaway!  It’s not too late yet for anyone who comes for a visit . . . you have until the 14th – this coming Friday.

This has been so exciting . . . seeing just where everyone is from and what your interests are.  Visiting everyone’s blog and having a tour there has taken up a few of my spare moments over the last couple of days.

I have found the fabric that I want for the binding for this little wall hanging and will now wait impatiently for it to arrive so that I can put the finishing touches to this gift for some lucky person out there.

So here are the rules again if you haven’t already entered:

Leave me a comment (could be anything like "WOW!  I have just the spot for that!" or "Gotta have it!" - really anything goes (within reason, of course!)

• If you want a second entry link to my post with this picture on your blog, then come back and let me know you linked it.

• Make sure there's a link back to your blog (or an email address) so if you win I have some way of contacting you! (I notice that there are a couple of people that I will not be able to contact if their name gets drawn – so double check that you don’t have the “no-reply” thingy happening).
• Check back here next Friday the 14th to see if you’re the lucky winner.

Other weekend happenings included:

Headed to Home Depot and ordered our new windows for the front of the house and checked out the tile section to see what was new.  Those are some pretty funky lookin’ tiles there . . . but the light green is very, very close to the paint chip that matches my tub in our upstairs bathroom that will eventually be undergoing a huge makeover.  If I use the 3” narrow strip of either the stripe or circle tile (not both!) and the rest gets redone in the white tile, it might work – still a little more “hip” than I was thinking of.  It’s an option I guess.

The lilies in the garden have been mass producing blooms for the past few weeks and I’ve been out there cutting bunches for my table top display.  This one is probably my least favorite shaped one, (the petals are narrower than all my other ones – it looks too skinny!) but has this brilliant color, dark speckles and little slippers on the stamens . . . very cute!

My daughter was out from Winnipeg for the weekend (my son has settled in with us once more!), to celebrate my husband and my 10th wedding anniversary.  We celebrated with a fancy, dancy supper at Remington’s in Brandon and returned home to watch an interesting movie with a totally unrelated ending, kind of movie.  Not sure if I will recommend “Knowing”  with Nicholas Cage as a great movie, but I guess it was better than some I’ve seen.

This wonderful, “interesting” bottle of wine was given to us by my husband’s brother and SIL.  It was a very good wine after we got past the “does it smell like cat pee” phase!  Weird name for a wine, but worth a chuckle and a taste.

I’ll be back on the 14th sometime to post the winner of the 200th post giveaway . . . see you then!

‘til next time,

M.

200th Post Giveaway!

OK folks!  Here it is.

Instead of weeding the garden or chasing the dust bunnies under beds, I have been working on my 200th post giveaway.  I felt so bad that my 100th post went by without so much as a hiccup, that I just had to make the effort to make something for one lucky person.

But . . . now I’m thinkin’ that I really like this one too much to giveaway – I LOVE these colors!  Really, though, I will give this wall hanging away to someone.  This is my thank you to everyone out there who has stopped by and had a visit with me at some point over the past 200 posts.

But I will be making another one for myself really soon . . . there are still lots of prints to choose from in my Scrap Bag.  Maybe the second time around I’ll make up a pattern and tutorial for a future post.

Remember my MODA Scrap Bag that I got a couple of months back?  I discovered many of the prints are from Fig Tree's Patisserie collection and they worked up into this beautiful muted toned wall hanging.  The colors in this fabric line are gorgeous and I’m telling you that this looks pretty awesome hanging on my wall right now.  So if you’d like to see this hanging on your wall really soon, keep reading to the end of this post.

      I designed this pattern to use the raw-edge appliqué technique that I have so admired from Kellie’s Don't Look Now! blog and have used in a number of other projects.  This technique is quick, fun and very rewarding – if you haven’t given this a try yet, head over to Kellie’s blog to find a couple of free patterns to give it a go.  You won’t be sorry!

 

I love these little covered buttons that I used for the tabs . . . they really add that final little touch to a lot of my projects lately – can’t get enough of them!  They are so quick and easy to use, and make such a big difference.

 

So here are the rules:

• Leave me a comment (could be anything like "WOW!  I have just the spot for that!" or "Gotta have it!" - really anything goes (within reason, of course!)
• If you want a second entry link to my post with this picture on your blog, then come back and let me know you linked it.

• Make sure there's a link back to your blog (or an email address) so if you win i have some way of contacting you!
• Check back here next Friday the 14th to see if you’re the lucky winner.

While you gals are all busy posting, I’m going to track down some fabric to make the binding for this little lovely!

‘til next time,

M.

199

Yes, this is post number 199.

Am I excited about this? No . . . I am very frustrated! I didn’t get creative with my 100th post last year and now I’m lacking anything creative for this upcoming looming milestone.

I’m in a super busy, funky/bad mood lately and it’s hard to get motivated about much of anything. See this little piece of quilting? It’s been stuck on my dining room table for over a week now without being touched . . . of course the cat has sat on it a couple of times . . . but I haven’t even turned on the machine. Very sad state of affairs in this house!

I’m even pulling photos from last year to post. I was out walking the other day and saw these foxtails waving in the wind and I remembered that I had great photos tucked away in a file somewhere. I like the simplicity of this photo – total opposite to the millions of plants blowing in the wind.

And then there was this one from last year also – the black background just sets it off perfectly. I wonder if the green in those two photos is close to the same color as my green bathtub that I’m trying to design a new room around? Could make some nice wall art – blow the photos up and have them mounted – might work!

Well I’m off to the “big city” again this weekend (was there last weekend also), to pick up my son. Life will be changing around this house for a while . . . all my quilting stuff laying around and all his art stuff mingled in . . . we’ll never be able to find anything. So do you think my mood will be improving anytime soon?

I’ll try and think of something for the 200th post during my trek to the city and back. Check back next week.

‘til next time,

M.

Window Shopping

Well . . . it seems that my postings have become only a once-a-week happening! So I guess this will be my mid-July weekly report . . .

I know I planted this little cutie last year, but do you think I can remember what it is called. They stand on nice tall stems with the flowers spaced along very nicely. That white centre thingy looks like the beaters on my mixer . . . interesting how intricate these little blooms can get.

This shows how far I have come with the Bunny Hill BOM . . . not at all! I was stumped for a while as to whether I would use something other than wool for the little sheep but decided in the end that I REALLY wanted wool, so had to locate a little shop to send me a little piece (and a couple of other things as well!). Then something about the block started to niggle at me . . . it was all those stars. Would work well if I lived in the U.S., but maybe not so well here in Canada . . . so I've been thinkin' about changes . . .

This shows the pathetic little bit of quilting (and I'm using that term loosely!) that I got done this past weekend. We were busy shifting our empty-nester house around to make room for a "return-to-the-nest" person - none too happy about the situation either (him - not me!) Life has it's constants changes, doesn't it?

Last month's shipment from the Fat Quarter Shop was from the "Kansas Winter" line by Kansas Troubles. I've been so busy with other things that yesterday was the first opportunity I had to get these ironed and folded into their neat little stacks. I have a couple of patterns that I think would look great in these colors . . . one of them was posted recently on the Moda Bake Shop site. Christmas Table Topper by Rachel at P.S. I Quilt is a very striking quilt and looks pretty quick and painless (I say that about all of them and then they drag on and on!)

Of course the pattern posted today on the Moda Bake Shop site Christmas Table Topper Ensemble by Jodi at Simply This That and The Other could also be adapted to work with fat quarters - would need to sit down with the old calculator and pencil to see how many triangles I could get, but it could be done. Never a shortage of ideas! Make sure you stop over at Jodi's to get your name in for her giveaway . . . the table topper, table runner and pillow are all up for grabs!

And this month's shipment is from the Glace collection by 3 Sisters - one of my very favorite designers. No plans for this stack just yet . . . it's going to sit there on the cutting table for a while. Gotta live with some of these special things to get a feel for them.

And . . . yes . . . we really did go window shopping this weekend. Just like everything in life - there are so many choices! I like this style - what do you think? Not in green though, that would not work on our house - white it will have to be.

But the shutters can be a different color . . . remember our front door? It's about that color of red there - might look good? We'll wait and see. Windows are planned for sometime in September and shutters - who knows? This year or next.

Have a great week people . . . enjoy your days wherever you are!

'til next time,
M.

Pink, White and Yellow – YUM!

Another wonderful weekend!  Weather was good and I had no interruptions to work on my newest project.

Who could ask for more?

 

Pink, white and yellow, plus some green of course . . . my new favorite colors.

Yellow has always been a favorite of mine but it never seems to show up in too many of my quilts.

  The quilting is done on my latest project and the binding is even sewn on – (this picture was taken prior to that).  Had some trouble with the thread frazzling and breaking all the time, so after much frustration and darning lots of thread ends in, I decided to try a new needle (a brand name) and threw out the (no-name) brand one.  Never had frazzled thread again.  Live and learn!

Another quick trip to the garden provided me with some new blooms for my kitchen table.  Look at the yellow!  I think that shade is somewhere in the quilt also.

This yellow is much more subdued than the daisy up above . . . I think I prefer this softer shade – don’t you?

 

The next step is to get the instructions written in a format for my pattern tester and get that shipped off to her.

I LOVE THIS QUILT!!!

 

‘til next time,

M.

Weekend Flowers, Sewing and Other Stuff . . .

This is a wonderful time of the year!  Just to think that these flowers are right outside my back door and ready for the picking is just so satisfying! Anytime I want fresh flowers all I have to do is open the door, run like He-- to avoid getting eaten by a kazillion mosquitoes, cut flowers as quickly as possible and race for home. Until I reach the safety of the kitchen sink I really have no idea what condition the blooms that have just picked are in. This batch is gorgeous! And just look how nicely they match my new quilt . . . see it there . . . in the background? It has some flowers also.

So now that I have my flowers all picked, it was then time to surf the internet and browse around. On this particular day I veered away from the quilting sites and headed towards some of the remodeling/home decorating sites. This is where I found a few new favorites to add to my list, and I thought I would share some of the ideas with you. Rare and Beautiful Treasures and Urban Farmhouse and also Shabby Chic.

Wouldn't it be nice to have furniture and rooms that were straight out of a magazine? This is a "after" photo from one of the sites I visited and please forgive me, but I don't remember where I was or what the site address was. When I start flipping around, I forget to mark these things down.

Looks like a bit of work . . . but what's life without a little bit of effort? What a difference a bit of elbow grease and some white paint make!

I have two of these tables that were purchased at a yard sale quite a few years ago - I hate the finish on them. How would they look done up in a fresh coat of distressed white?

This night stand is in one of our spare bedrooms . . . it belonged to my grandmother, but my mom had painted/stained it this awful color about 30 years ago. Imagine living with something like that for all these years! I'm thinking more white paint . . .

Here's another sample from one of the sites I was on . . .

. . . and here is the after picture.

I don't like the color or fabric that they recovered the seat with, but the paint color on the wall is almost the same as in our newly renovated guest bedroom. That doesn't have any furniture yet!

 

This is a picture of one of my stools that needs refinished. Can you see it painted white with a beautiful floral pattern in the same shades as my new quilt?

 

And here is the stool that matches that hideous bedside table shown above. Still the original fabric on the seat - time for a change do you think?

I think I need someone to host a refinishing party weekend . . . that would be the only hope that I will have in getting any of these projects started and completed. Any good party hostesses out there?  Or even some good hints on products to use to remove the old finish would be much appreciated!

'til next time,

M.

New Tools . . .

Yes, the mid-week holiday found us at my daughter’s house in the big City. Every summer there is a new project that needs to be attended to, and this year it was the backyard fence (so far!).

So these were my new tools for the two days I was there . . . Randy is still there until Sunday doing even more projects . . . I came home to work (and hopefully get in some quilting before he gets home!).

Really the tools are quite similar to quilting – wood instead of fabric; tape measure instead of Omnigrid ruler; pencils never go out of style. Marking is always the most important job – at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

As the official marker, go-getter and haul any-thing-er person, it turned out to be quite the busy two days. This photo shows what she used to have to look at across her back lane through the old chain link fence . . . which was gobbled up by a next door neighbor in about 15 minutes flat after it was torn down.

And here is what was accomplished before dark last night . . . gate is even on! Still a few narrower boards need cut and put up, but basically done. It looks like a big empty room doesn’t it? Landscaping just may be in my future plans for this yard.

This hosta just had to come home from the nursery with her . . . of course I told her it couldn’t go back by the new fence because it is too sunny back there . . . it still came home though. So I got that planted for her before I headed home . . .

I think I deserve some quilting time this weekend . . . made a bit of a start on my appliqué pieces this morning before work, so hope to get right back to that when I get home.

Hope everyone in Canada had a great Canada Day and that our neighbors to the South have a wonderful day on Saturday! Enjoy your weekend wherever you are.

‘til next time,

M.