Cross Country Christmas Blog Hop Photo Contest

Welcome Blog Hoppers!   Today is the kick-off for the Cross Country Christmas Blog Hop.  We are starting off with a little contest and this is your chance to get to know the designers on the blog hop a little better.  Each of us will be showing a picture of one of the other bloggers from the hop.  If you would like to venture a guess, just leave me a comment.   Now we aren’t giving you a current picture - that would be way to easy!  We will be showing you our baby pictures.

 

Oooooh, Aaaaah.   Isn’t she a cutie?!? 

 Let me know who you think it is, but just in case you need a little extra enticement to venture a guess, I’m awarding a prize that will be chosen from among the winning guesses.  You have until Saturday to enter your guess and the winner will be announced on Sunday.  So, if you like these colors and you like fabric, you might want to comment. 

  

 Some of you who follow my blog regularly may recognize these fabrics.  They are from my collection Wildflowers, which will be in stored the end of December.  I just received this on Monday:

It’s my sample yardage!  Otherwise known as an early christmas present for me.  Now it’s just my sample yardage, so I only have a limited amount.  I am going to part with 8 of my favorite fat quarters for the lucky winner (the favorites being the ones in the first picture).

So, enter your guess, and then continue on to the rest of the stops along the blog hop.  They are:

November 9th:  Gudrun from GE Designs

Nov 10th:  Sandy from Pieces from my Heart

Nov 11th:  Terry from Atkinson Designs

Nov 12th: Pat from Pat Sloan and Co

Nov 13th:  ME!

Nov 14th:  Pam from Pam Kitty Morning

Nov 15th:  Kari from New Leaf Stitches

Nov 16th:  Terri from Whimsicals

Nov 17th:  Sherri from This and That Pattern Co

Nov 18th:  Carrie from Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co

Nov 19th:  Roseann from Rosebud’s Cottage

Nov 20th:  Linda Lum DeBono

(Please note that the dates listed are the days that each designer will feature a free pattern/design for you!)

 

{Yum!}

 

Announcing the Cross Country Blog Hop

Here in Minnesota, fall is just wrapping up.  I can’t believe it’s over already . . .  it seems the older I get, the faster it flies by.  I’m in my thirties now, so by the time I’m fifty, how fast will it fly by then?  More importantly, can anybody tell me why this happens? 

While you ponder that, I have some news that may brighten your day – another blog hop!!!  This past summer I participated in the Minnesota Blog Hop, organized by Gudrun Erla of GE Designs.  We had lots of fun and our readers really enjoyed it.  Gudrun has gotten another group of bloggers together for the Cross Country Christmas Blog Hop.  Half of the designers are from Minnesota, and the other half from around the country.  So, if you didn’t get to go on a vacation this year, here is your chance to visit several quilters around the country for a mini vacation. 

Here is the list of participating designers and the day they will be featured:

November 9th:  Gudrun from GE Designs

Nov 10th:  Sandy from Pieces from my Heart

Nov 11th:  Terry from Atkinson Designs

Nov 12th: Pat from Pat Sloan and Co

Nov 13th:  ME!

Nov 14th:  Pam from Pam Kitty Morning

Nov 15th:  Kari from New Leaf Stitches

Nov 16th:  Terri from Whimsicals

Nov 17th:  Sherri from This and That Pattern Co

Nov 18th:  Carrie from Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co

Nov 19th:  Roseann from Rosebud’s Cottage

Nov 20th:  Linda Lum DeBono

Each day a designer will be sharing a small christmas project for you to make, just in time for the holidays.  In addition to a free pattern, many designers will also be sharing a prize with their readers that day.  We will also have prizes for a few winners that comment on each blog on the day they are featuring their free pattern.  Each day will have a topic that we will share about, such as a favorite christmas gift or recipe.  It will be lots of fun for everyone, so spread the word! 

To kick off the blog hop, we will be having a contest!  Stop by each of the blogs this Wednesday to participate.  We will all be posting a baby picture of another designer.  You will have until Saturday to guess which picture goes with which designer!

 

 

The weekend and week have just flown by.   I mentioned in my last post that I was going to my Mom’s to make some homemade goodies with apples.  My sister and her daughter and my sister-in-law and her kids joined us for the day.  We ended up making 50 pies, 14 small apple crisps and 14 containers of apple sauce.  I went pretty good, even with the 3 little ones.  This is just a little bit of what we did.

This little gal was distracted with color crayons (tolor tans)

This little guy was distracted with Thomas and Rosie the trains (though we did find a few pies with little finger holes)

 

This little guy played in his whatchamadohicky (I can’t remember what it’s called!)

 

And this little gal helped all day long!  She was such a trooper.  She’s wearing her apron that Grandma made her and using the small rolling-pin that Grandma got her for the occasion.

 

And this little piggie cried wee,wee,wee all the way home.

Oops.  Wrong story. 

 

We ended up with apple juice, apple pie filling, and flour on everything.  I had to scrub the floor 3 times just to dissolve all the apple sticky.  But, it will all be worth it later this winter when I can pull a pie out of the freezer and have a good dessert with no work!

 

I have spent the rest of the week working on a new bag pattern and a new book, both to be released in a few months.  I also cleaned out my studio.  It’s been a year since I’ve reorganized and picked up the piles of fabric everywhere.  I’m having a retreat next weekend and I wanted to have this done by then (more on the retreat later). 

 

The other fun thing that I have been working on is a new fabric line.  I’ve teamed up with my Mom again, to work on a line due out next spring.  The last line we did together was Rebel Roses, and we enjoyed working together (at least I did).  It’s always great to have someone to bounce ideas off of.   I can’t show you too much yet, but here is a sneak peek at the fun, spring colors we are using.  We haven’t named the fabric line yet, but we are always open to suggestions!  It’s going to be mostly florals, with a fresh, playful feel.

(By the way, this picture is before I cleaned my studio!)

 

This is part of the main floral print.  I love how this angle shows the textures.

I’ll share more about the line as soon as I can, so I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going. 

 

While working on this line, I discovered a new favorite thing – small paint samples!

I used to use paints from the art department, but the colors were never very good.  I would end up spending hours mixing colors to come up with something that you would actually use in your home.  Now places like Home Depo and Sherwin Williams are selling small containers of paint, allowing you to buy just enough to paint a sample on your wall to test out the color.  I found they worked great for painting this fabric line.  I found lots of decorator colors, in just the amount I needed.  I think this may be the next thing I start collecting.  I’m sure no one else is going to get as excited as me over this – but I just had to share!

 

Yeah – It fits!

Well, I’m back and hopefully in a better mood than my last post!  It was funny to read all of your comments – Either people totally understood me being mad about the snow, or they thought I was totally lucky to get snow!  I really do enjoy all of the seasons here in Minnesota, I just prefer winter to start in December, not October.  It makes a long winter that much longer.  The snow passed and was replaced with a week of rain and gloomy weather.  Today is looking up though, as it’s supposed to be sixty and sunny.  I can hardly wait!  All that gloomy weather put me in the mood to knit and I finished the sweater that I was working on in my last post.

 

I was happily surprised that it fit so well.  So often I spend so much time on a project that I find out later doesn’t fit that well.  Then the question is to rip it out and alter it, or just wear it as it.  I have to say, I love the fact that my quilting doesn’t have to fit anybody.  It makes things so much easier!   In this case, I altered the pattern a bit ahead of time, in an effort to try to get it to fit me better.  The pattern is supposed to increase for the bust line and have 10 leaf repeats around the neck.  I ended up with 9 repeats and the gamble paid off – it fits in the hips and bust!

(Please disregard my expression in this picture – Joel wasn’t home to help take the pictures, so I had my camera perched precariously on top of a stack of books and used my remote control switch-thingy to snap the pictures.)

 

I just love the neck line of this sweater.  It’s really quite easy to do.  I was a little leery of all the bobbles though.  I usually avoid bobbles, as they have kind of a  . . . . well . . . . how shall I say this . . . . nippular look to them  - especially when there is just one here and there.  I think having a cluster of them together helped.

 

I highly recommend this pattern to anyone.  It’s really quick and easy, and has some fun details.  I found it in the Debbie Bliss knitting magazine - spring/summer ’09 issue.  The pattern is called Yoke Detail pullover and the yarn is used is called Birch, Loop-d-Lopp by Tahki Charles.  It’s a combination of cotton and silk and has a slightly tweedy look to it.  It blocked beautifully and got rid of any unevenness in my knitting.

 

Well, I’m off to go out and enjoy the nice weather we are supposed to have for today.  As I said, Joel is gone for the weekend hunting, so I am going to do a few girl things – I might go shopping for some new shoes, then I’m going to head over to Mom’s to make some yummy things with apples, followed by a movie and games with my nieces and nephews.  Sounds like way too much fun for one day, so I better get going.  Hope you enjoy your weekend too! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snow . . .Already?

Can you believe it? 

 

It’s snowing in MN already.  So while my designer colleagues are in Houston, melting away in the heat at quilt market, I am at home in Minnesota with the snow.  I really miss seeing everyone and all of the beautiful things.  I’ve been checking the blogs every few hours to see if there are any updates.  What I miss the most is probably Sample Spree at the Moda table.  I feel like I’m missing out on all the new lines that are coming out.  After Sample Spree, I love going back to the hotel, opening up all my packs of fabrics, and imagining what I  am going to do with them.  Gosh, I feel like I’m so behind already!  Instead, I am sitting here on the couch with my knitting and my feet up.

 

It’s not all bad, I tell myself.  I’ve been gone traveling so much for work lately, that it’s great to have a Sunday to sit and rest.  But, I keep glaring out the window.  Glaring because it’s too early for snow.  I still have our outdoor furniture outside because I’m still hoping it will be nice enough outside to use it.

 

I’m eyeing the shoreline of the lake warily.  I’m watching for signs of ice. 

 

I just hate when the lake freezes over and it’s way to early for that.   

I’ll be out there with a whole arsenal or hair dryers if I have to, but the lake is not freezing over yet.

 

By later in the day, the lake looks like this – and the snow is accumulating on the deck. 

 

I could be enjoying the beauty of the first snowfall, the way the snow clings to the branches and leaves, but I’m too busy being mad.  Can you tell?  It’s just too stinkin’ early for snow.  I was still waiting for fall.  The leaves were just beginning to turn and the weather changed.  In fact, there are leaves on the ground, but most of them are green.  They got blown off the trees before they even had a chance to change color.  These flowers were all blooming yesterday.

Yes, I’m mad at winter for stealing falls thunder.

 Sorry about all the ranting and raving.  I’ll try to be in a better mood next time you stop by!  I’m sure any fellow Minnesotans understand.  The rest of you can just feel sorry for us, maybe send over a few very sympathetic comments.  Mostly, just wish us some warm weather to melt the snow.

Stolen Show-and-Tell

I didn’t steal the actual shown-and-tell. 

I’m just going to show someone else’s show-and-tell.  I have been too busy to finish my own things and anything I have been finishing can’t be shown quite yet, so that’s my justification for stealing someone else’s show-and-tell.  That someone is my sister, so I’m pretty sure she won’t mind.  She’s been on a mission to finish a few things.  She has a deadline, with her second baby due within the next month.

That means little Addi is moving to her big girl bed and needed a new quilt for her bed. 

My sister chose to make the Sunday Picnic quilt from my book Livin’ Large.   (The book came out last fall)

Here’s the original -

 

Lindsey chose to use the fabric Objects of Desire by Sandy Gervais.

 

The fabric is very bright and cheerful, and if you look closely, you will find little high-heeled shoes.  I quilted it with lots of flowers and I let the brown pop so it would stand out.

 

Addi tested the quilt out, but prefered to use the lattice as a road for Thomas and Rosie.  (Trains are the current toy of choice at Grandma’s house right now)

 

Even though we all think she looks great, I didn’t think my sister would want a current, very pregnant picture of her on the web so this is one of my favorite shots of her and Addi.  I took the picture last summer – and wow has Addi changed!

 

I love this shot of them too, taken a month or so ago.

Little does Addi know that it won’t just be her and mom anymore . . . .   Things are about to change in a big way!

 

Sorry, I’m getting off the subject of this post. 

 

I have one more of my Sister’s quilts for show-and-tell.

It’s Square Dance, again from the book Livin’ Large.  Here’s the original -

 

My Sister’s version uses the last line that I designed with my Mom, called Rebel Roses.

 

The large squares in this pattern are perfect for showing off the large-scale rose prints

 

and some machine quilting!

 

I think Addi approves!

 

Either that or she just really likes Peet-a-Boo

(also known as Peek-a-Boo)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boys Will Be Boys

So what do boys do on a Saturday afternoon for fun?

Knock down trees.

Doesn’t sound like much fun to me.  In fact, I’m a huge chicken when it comes to things like this.   My begging and pleading couldn’t stop these boys.  My DH and his friend Mr. B said it had to be done. 

 

Here’s Mr. B. putting on his special tree climbing equipment.

 

The shoes have 5″ long spikes on the bottom and the get-up includes a belt/harness type thing for looping around the tree trunk.  I suppose this is to help keep the climber from falling.  That belt isn’t enough reassurance to get me to try it.

 

Joel maintains a safe distance.  I’m an even safer distance away. 

The object is to get high enough to tie a large cable around the trunk so you can control where the tree falls.  See that 500 gallon gas tank behind Joel?  Yeah.  We don’t want it falling on that.

 

Have I mentioned I’m afraid of heights too?  Mr. B must not be.

 

Now that the cable is around the tree, Joel can start cutting.  I have now hidden behind the house.  The house will protect me from the falling tree.

 

Down it comes!   What you can’t really see is the large cable hooked around the falling tree, then across the yard around another tree, then to the back of red truck in the driveway.    After Joel cut the notch in the trunk of the tree, Mr. B would hop into the red truck and begin pulling on the tree until it cracked and started to fall.

 

The tree was so dead that it shattered into a million pieces when it hit the ground.  You should see Joel’s face in this shot – he is tickled pink.  He and his buddy are exclaiming  –Awesome!, Cool!, etc.  They seem to have turned back into teenagers.   I’m waiting for them to take out the gas can and start the wood on fire.  There’s nothing that Joel loves better than to light things on fire.  By the way, I’m also a chicken when it comes to fires. 

 

Luckily, they pass on the fire and start consulting about how to take down the next tree.

 

Joel begins cutting again.  This time I move inside the house and shoot the photos from the safety of my studio window.

 

I can’t help zooming in on this. 

I think Joel needs help holding his pants up.  I can certainly help him with this!  I have the yin to his yang in this department

 

Here’s comes the second tree, and much to my relief, it falls without hitting anything.

 

 

 

All the trees are down and I can now rest peacefully.  No more loud cracking sounds, followed by a large crash.  Maybe this is why I am a quilter.  I can sit safely in the house, with both feet planted on the ground, and no large falling object anywhere near me.  In fact, I think the four accidents that can happen to a quilter, have already happen to me. 

1.  Pin buried in the bottom of my foot – No big deal right?  I mean this is practically a daily occurence at our house!

2.  Needle buried in my finger – Mainly a hazard when sewing binding.

3.  Hit finger with industrial quilting machine, while sewing at a high speed.  The needle broke off in my finger and was easily pulled out with a tweezers.  It all happened so fast, I hardly felt it.  Until later that night, when laying in bed.  Let the throbbing begin!

4.  Buried rotary cutter in the tip of my pinky.  Resulted in a trip to Urgent Care and 7 stitches.  Pinky and fingernail saved.

 

Of course, I survived all four incidents without too much drama.  In fact, I don’t need any more drama, which is why I am going to stick to quilting, and not knocking over trees.

 

So, I’ve shared my quilting accidents -

What are yours?