I won a blog award!! Woohoo!! My very first and it's from Robyn at Daisy Quilts. You must go for a visit... her blog is great and so is she. Thanks so much Robyn, I really do appreciate the award.
I also have a couple questions and was wondering if someone could help me out.
The first question is about comments:
once I type a comment on someone's blog, is there a place on my dashboard (or anywhere else) where all the comments that I've type are saved? or is it that once you send something to a blog post, you can't keep track of what or where you've commented?
The second question is about gmail:
I received 94 giveaway comments sent to my gmail account. Most were listed on a single line in the inbox, but there were a few that were all bunched up in one. It had one name and a number. The largest was 28!! You click on the single name and all 28 are there, but don't show up as separate emails. Why does it do that and can I fix it? oh my gosh...am I making any sense on this question??? If not, ignore this one, lol.
Third and final question is about random number generator:
as you can see by the last post, for the giveaway I printed 15 pages of posts and cut them up. How does the random number thingy work? cause you know I love doing giveaways now!!!
Thanks in advance to anyone who helps me out. Have a great rest of the weekend, ~Karen!
I love doing giveaways! 94 entries. This won't be my last. I have met so many wonderful people during this process. I won't keep you waiting any longer....
Drum roll please....
The winner is
Ferne!!!!
Congratulations Ferne. Send me an email with your snail mail address and I'll send off your package.
I want to thank everyone for leaving a comment on the giveaway post and all my other post too. You've really welcomed me into the world of blogging. I'm a winner in this giveaway too.
94 entries!!!
Hubby's hand picking the winner!!! Ferne, sorry it's so blurry
Thanks everyone and have a great night! Look for a hexagon tutorial coming soon! I had so many email requests, I thought I would give it a try. Maybe another giveaway too!!
Here are the 2 pictures I promised of the paper pieced pin cushion for the giveaway. I used different fabrics for the front and back. Not sure why my computer switched the way I can download pictures from my camera, but I finally figured it out. If you are new to this blog, go to this post and sign up for the giveaway for both the pin cushion and the heart table runner/wall hanging. I'll be picking the winner on Saturday.
Since we're talking about Grandmother's Flower Garden and paper piecing, thought I would show you the quilt I have been paper piecing for years...and I mean years. It's one of those quilts!!! I keep little baggies of flowers everywhere: in each car, in every purse, by the bed and near the couch. If I can steal a moment somewhere, I take a few stitches.
I started this quilt in, I think 2000. I told my husband it would be a gift to him for our 50th wedding anniversary. This summer we will be celebrating 22 wonderful years of marriage. Get the picture here...no pressure to sew this one. I have 28 more years to finish!!! lol I'll probably still be blogging, so I'll post a picture when it's done!! Hope you can stick around with me.
Grandmother's Flower Garden is meaningful to me, because that's how I started blogging. I met 2 friends, Jodi and Vanessa, by helping them out with their paper piecing flower gardens. They welcomed me into the world of blogging and the rest is history. Thanks ladies!!
Well, I'm off to bed. I have to catch a train to Boston at 6:15 am to go to a conference. Don't make me go...it's so cold and it just snowed here in New England all day, then changed to freezing rain. Yuck!!
Hi everyone and welcome to my very first giveaway!!!
I had mentioned in a previous post, a little Moda-vation, that I would have the giveaway start Sunday. Well, it's Sunday night at 10:30...had a little issue with downloading the last picture from my camera to the computer (better late than never). Instead of three pictures, we have two...you will have to trust me on the cuteness of the second part of the giveaway!!! I will update as soon as I figure things out...Onto the giveaway:
I wanted to thank everyone who has welcomed me into the world of blogging. My gift to one lucky winner is this quilt kit, which includes the finished quilt top pictured below, batting, backing and binding. As I mentioned in a previous post, I love to make quilt tops, so I thought I would share one with you. The winner can quilt it as she pleases, whether by hand or machine.
The quilt top is made with fabric from 3 Sisters Sanctuary by Moda and it measures 25x49. The colors and heart design are just in time for Valentine's Day. The second picture shows the true color of the fabrics.
The second part of the giveaway (not pictured...arrgh) is a matching pincushion that I hand stitched using the English paper piecing method. It is stitched with hexagons in the shape of a grandmother's flower garden...cute, cute.
Just leave a comment on this post and I will draw a winner Saturday, January 31st!!!!
It's not her birthday, it's not Mother's Day and it's not the anniversary of her passing...it's just a day like every day...a day that I miss her. She was everything. She sewed to perfection, she cooked everything, she raised 5 children while moving 18 times in 18 years, traveling around the world with my dad in the army. She was the best Granny and Nana. Her house was a home to everyone. She taught us that we are all the same no matter our race or religion. She loved tulips, iris and the color purple. She loved going to yard sales and thrift stores. She loved teakwood and anything made in Germany or Denmark...her favorite places on earth. My mom lived with us the last three years of her life...she was taken too soon, but is no longer in pain and suffering from the effects of Parkinson's disease. I want to share with you something my sister wrote and read at my mother's funeral. For some reason, writing this out helps me just a little.
Irises and Tulips
I won't tell you now of the sweet memories of our mother...
of irises and tulips...and dad's sweet scented roses.
I won't speak of teakwood and crystal...laughter and giggles...
of knitting needles, Hummels...Denmark...and the color purple.
of her quick-witted humor...her ladylike style...organized lists...
a hot cup of tea...and the word "Honey".
Her intense need to be loved...and to love in return.
I won't speak of baking...and good food...and the detailed perfection
of our beloved family home...
where heartfelt conversation 'round the kitchen table...and all our intimate
stories of joy and pain...were only validated upon her hearing them.
I won't speak of her exquisite prism of love and pride the enveloped
each child...each in-law...each grandchild...
each one reveling in the fact that they were indeed...
the most important being on this good earth.
I won't speak of soft...pale...gentle hands...
hands that we have held a thousand times...or secretly observed.
Hands that epitomized hard work...tender care and worry...
perfect sewing...the very essence of her love...
as a wife...a mother...a sister... a friend.
I won't speak of a keen intellect...the sound of her voice...
her familiar quick footstep...each one unbearably silenced these last few years.
Rather...what I will speak of now...
is the love of one man...
a love so strong and enduring, that it broke through the fog
and ravages of this insidious disease.
a love that daily surfaced up to greet his eager heart...
these last few months...
in tiny and imperceptible ways...
a nod of the head in response to his whispers... a softening of the eyes
when he spoke...a lifting up of her lips when he asked for
the many kissed that they shared.
What I will tell you now, is the enduring love of one man
for his good wife...
a man whose hidden tears and love's lament...
were distilled down into the very purest form...
a man who saw only his sweet Roberta as she was once before.
What I will speak of now...was at the amazing and holy hour of our mother's death...
we were witness to quiet strength...and dignity...elegance...and peace.
Just wanted to share a little boxing tip. Not boxing, the fighting, but boxing the organizing. I moved all of my craft and sewing supplies down to the basement. It is unfinished, but we painted the walls white to brighten it up. All the extra room to spread out is worth the lack of natural light. Well, sometimes...but there is alot of room. To store everything over the years, I have purchased the cardboard boxes from office supply stores that you assemble yourself. Some are blue, some are flowered and some have the store name on them. My boxing tip to make your storage or craft room look not so crazy busy, is to assemble the boxes inside out. You just have to unglue the seam on the side, fold it inside out and re-hot glue it. Seems like alot of work, but I just do it as I buy a couple of boxes at a time. Only takes a second to do and it's worth the look for this insane organizer. If I had a ton of money, you know all those boxes would be cute fabric boxes from Pottery Barn or Ikea!!
Because all boxes are brown cardboard color on the inside, it makes it look a little more uniform when you have so much crap everywhere. Don't tell my husband I called it crap, because if he knew I called it crap, he would say "if it's crap why are we keeping it". Am I right ladies??? They just don't understand that we "might" need it someday. Actually, my husband totally gets me and all my stuff..poor thing. He even knows what Moda and 3 Sisters means. He's a saint...especially when I'm in a fabric store.
And now for a little "MODA"vation. The fabrics pictured below are Sanctuary by 3 Sisters. Boy do I love 3 Sisters. These beauties have been in my stash waiting for the perfect project. Well, that project is my first GIVE-AWAY!!! So come back on Sunday for the details...well come back everyday for a visit...but definitely Sunday!!
Thought I would show you a few corners of our home:
Our masters bathroom. I love toile, but this is the only room I have it in. It's nothing fancy: no great tile work in the tub, or steam showers, or expensive sinks, just a simple bathroom. One thing I did do was not add a closet...instead I used 2 different parts of a hutch: the bottom of one hutch and the top of another and painted it black. The little tiny drawers in the middle are actually cd holders I bought at Staples office supply. They fit perfectly in that space. I labeled (of course I labeled, I label everything) each drawer: q-tips, nail polish, deodorant, medicine, hair clips etc. There is another black corner cabinet that holds towels and such. The little folding screen is for the cat's litter box. I know... an unmentionable, but I'm keeping it real as they say on other blogs. I don't know about you, but it's easier to keep it in there because it always gets scooped and it's not in the main part of the house. Ok, enough about that. The little opening is the door for her to go through, and I made it out of toile, what could be better.
As I'm looking at this picture, wow, once you take down all the Christmas decorations, I need to put back some color in there.
This little bucket of tulips is in a little corner of our bathroom next to the sink, but on the floor. I change out the flowers for each season. I know...silk...but they serve a very important purpose and have to be fake. In that bucket is my hair dryer that is always plugged in. I hide the dryer and the cord so it's always ready when I need it, but not out in the open for all to see. I just lift out the flowers, dry my hair and when I'm done plunk the flowers back on top!
That little night stand in our bedroom was my grandfathers. It was actually in his workshop. He was a cabinet maker and he kept his tools in there!! The patina is just great...all the scratches and dings.
This is a jar of sea glass that sits on the night stand beside the bed. We live on the east coast about 10 minutes from the beach. This jar is a collection of bits and pieces from different spots over many, many years. The kids still love finding it!
This is a corner in a master bedroom...looks like a good place to read, but I don't use it much. My husband reads the newspaper on Sunday while watching football. Maybe I should start doing my hand sewing there. The light is good there and my eye sight is getting worse. I'm up +2.25 on the glasses you buy in the store. Yikes. I'm too young for that, well not really, but still. (that was off topic) back to the room.
The second picture below is a close up of the ottoman uncovered. The chair and the ottoman are from a 1990's couch set. The couches are long gone, but I loved the shape of the chair, so my sister made me a slip cover. That's one thing I'll never attempt...slipcovers. I love my sister for doing that.
I'm sure people have seen these before, but thought I would share my favorite things that are always next to my sewing machine. These tees keep the bobbin with it's matching spool of thread and keeps my sewing table looking cheery all year long. They are so easy to make: just take your favorite silk flower off the stem and hot glue it to a golf tee (I use the longer tees to help with taller spools of thread).
Thought I would also share another tea with you. I LOVE tea and drink it pretty much all day long. I received this tea as a hostess gift over the holidays. It is from Tea Forte and is spectacular!!! The little pyramid with the "f" on it is the package it comes in and the one on the far right is the silken tea bag. These are just too cute for words. I haven't used the last three that I have, because I just keep them on the counter as a little decoration where I make my tea. I've even saved the wrapping as a template to make the pyramid gift boxes in different sizes. I'll use them for small gifts, candy, fudge or truffles . Wouldn't they be cute made with all the great paper that's out there now? Oh well, add that to my "to do" list.
Hope you enjoyed the tea or was it tee...either way have a great night. ~Karen~
Ok, I know what you are doing right now: you are humming or singing that Christmas song and you are thinking I have lost my mind talking about a Christmas tree in January. I am back to talk about organizing again. In November, my husband and I decided that our 15 year old, 10 foot Christmas tree had seen better days. We invested in a new 12 foot slender tree and we love it. However, I hated to part with our old tree. It had 12 rows with each row having 6 branches, plus the topper. I found several uses for all the branches: tucked them in baskets, made swags out of them, used them on the mantel, in hutches and on the chandelier. You name it, I found a place for them. The only thing I had left was the metal tree trunk and the 32" base. Well, I found the perfect renew, reuse and recycle...it is my gift wrap center!!!
I unwound all the greenery off the shorter branches (lengths varied 12"-18" inches) to bare wire (see first picture)
I only used 2 parts of the trunk secured in the base (total height, just under 6')
then I place only 3 branches in each row, instead of 6, skipping every other hole.
I use the shorter wires for all my ribbons
one row has tape and scissors
the bottom rows have all my gift bags
I was thinking about using the longer branches that I have and slip a roll of wrapping paper on there.
I have recently moved my sewing room into our basement. I have so much more room, but no natural light. It was worth the move, because now I have all my crafting/sewing/wrapping needs in one place. The area is large enough to handle the gift tree.
Maybe if you have an older tree or find one in a second hand shop, you may look at it differently. The pictures aren't that great, but remember it's in the basement.
I'm off to go sew, but the song "O Christmas Tree" is stuck in my head!!
Are you a topper?? I love to make quilt tops and then make more quilt tops and so on and so on. My favorite parts of the quilting process are picking out the fabric, finding the perfect pattern and then piecing the top. The making of the quilt sandwich and the quilting part...hmmm, not so much. Don't get me wrong, I have done my fair share of quilting, especially for gifts. To help ease this topping addiction, I started selling just quilt tops on ebay about 3 years ago. I haven't done it for a long time now, but what a fun process. I sewed my heart out and made a little extra money to buy more fabric!!! Thought I would show you some pictures of tops I've made in the past. Sorry for the quality of the photos...if I only knew I would be blogging in the future!!
This is a Moda Kitty quilt top:
Another Moda:
Thimbleberries Table runner:
Thimbleberries Checker Board, I covered buttons for the playing pieces:
Thimbleberries Fall Wall Hanging:
3D patriotic pinwheel table runner
Thimbleberrries Table Runner:
Christmas Table Runner with real ribbon on each gift package:
Quilt by the month:
Thimbleberries pillow to match a little doll quilt (not paper pieced...I don't recommend it)
Hope you enjoyed the show and have a great weekend...
Even though I'm not quilting at the moment, thought I would show you a few pictures of quilts that I've made in the past. I have sewn most of my life...clothes for the girls when they were younger, curtains, pillows. You know, all the usual things, but I started quilting in 1998. I took my first class and made this quilt. It is a small lap quilt made with homespuns. Yikes! not a good fabric to learn to quilt with...that stuff stretches. This is my one and only hand tied quilt.
This next one is a scrappy zig zag.
This red, white and blue quilt is my first using setting triangles and a quilting technique on my machine that looks like hand quilting. You use white thread on the top and clear thread in the bobbin.
This next one is very sentimental in many ways. I made it for my mom. She was the seamstress in the family...a perfectionist. She sewed everything, she even made my wedding dress and hand sewed on every bead and pearl. She never ventured into quilting though. I made this quilt with the spools of thread pattern made with all different colors of purple...her favorite color. I was piecing this quilt on the Tuesday morning of 9/11 while watching The Today Show. We all know where we were and what we were doing on that dreadful day. This quilt was the first and only one so far that I have hand quilted. My mom loved this quilt...she passed away the summer of 2007 from a very long battle with Parkinson's Disease. I miss her so much.
This last quilt I'll show today is a wall hanging I made for my sister after we lost our mom. I made up this pattern and used all my favorite fabrics from 3 Sisters by Moda. The center of the quilt has fabric frames where I placed sepia toned pictures of my mom and sister when she was little. I sewed some of my mom's favorite sewing tools, rulers and even a little personalized label my mom always sewed into everything she made. There are also little fabric envelopes where my sister can tuck in little memories of our mom. (sorry for the not so great pictures. The last one seems to be the true colors of the quilt.) I borrowed this quilt from my sister recently to take pictures of it for the heading of this blog. Keeps mom in little places all over.
Hope you all have a wonderful day and kiss the ones you love!!
Although quilting is my #1 hobby, organizing is right up there at #2. I haven't quilted since before Christmas, so I have nothing to show you right now (soon though...I have a gift certificate to my favorite quilt shop to buy fabric. Yay!!) Thought I would show you some of my favorite organizing must haves from the office supply. They are business cards, name badge holders and clear protective sheets.
I use the clear protective sheets for patterns, magazine clippings, recipes etc. They're great because you can clip them in a three ring binder. I use Microsoft word for the business cards to print hang tags for gifts, gift bags and gift baskets. When the girls were younger, I would write encouraging words and slip it in their lunch bags. I also use the cards with the name badge holders. The holders already have holes in them to tie onto baskets or boxes with a cute little ribbon. You can easily change out the card in the holder when you change the contents of the baskets. The picture below shows the baskets in our medicine closet, labeled so everyone can find what they need. The baskets on the stairs are called "crap" baskets. I know, not a great name, but when I find everyone's crap (hairbrushes, nail polish, shoes, jewelry, gloves, scarves, etc) all over the house, I pick it up and put it in the basket on the stairs. When anyone is on their way up the stairs, they grab the basket to unload in their rooms. Don't ask how long it takes them to put their stuff away once they unload it, that's a whole different story!!
I'm new to posting, so I wanted to try and link again. Jodi really helped me out with this. Oh look, yay, it worked. Thanks Jodi...you're the best.
More organizing to come and hopefully some sewing!!
I won a blog award!! Woohoo!! My very first and it's from Robyn at Daisy Quilts. You must go for a visit... her blog is great and so is she. Thanks so much Robyn, I really do appreciate the award. 
Hope you enjoyed the tea or was it tee...either way have a great night.
