3rd Times A Charm!

This is the 3rd time that it has snowed in December this year and this time it is coming DOWN! It is beautiful!

Pincusion Swap and a Giveaway!

Queen of the Unfinished Projects  won Santa!!  And I am going to have the pleasure of meeting her face to face to present him to her!


Thanks to everyone who helped make this first blog swap of mine a success!  All of the pincushions sent in were top quality and that made me very happy! I am hoping you will share photos of the one(s) you get back on your blog and come back and comment again to let us know you did so everyone can see what you received.  :)


I have checked delivery confirmation numbers and this is how we stand...


Needledmom - delivered on 16th at 2:11 pm
Nickilee - delivered on 17th at 10:37 pm
Ruby - delivered on 15th at 3:08 pm
Gerry - Delivery attempted Dec 18th - Notice left
Tonya - Delivered on Dec 18th at 2:32 pm
Carin - Your item left the United States from ISC MIAMI FL (USPS) at 1:58 pm on December 18, 2010
Marie - picked up her pincushions on 17th
Stephanie - Meeting to deliver her pincushions and Santa! 
Me - got mine. :)

I have hosted many swaps on the HGTV Quilting and Needlework Forum over the past 7 years (forum nickname Quiltaholic) and I want to take the plunge and host my first ever blog swap!

I would love to host a PINCUSHION SWAP!

 Due date:  Pincushions should be to me no later than December 9th! This date is FIRM as I will swap that evening and mail everyone's new pincushions back to them on Friday, December 10th!

Rules:  You can make anywhere from 1 to 6  pincushions to swap and you will receive the same number of pincushions back in return.  Please use good quality fabrics in your creations.  You can use any design and any type fabrics (cottons, wools, fancy fabrics etc...) as you wish.  You can piece them, cross stitch them, use applique, make wool pincushions..the choice is yours!  Please be considerate in creating your pincushions and only send in pincushions that you would want to receive from each participant yourself.  If you send in sloppy made pincushions, they will be returned back to you.

This is a centralized swap..... You will send your completed pincushions to me and I will swap them all out sending you back pincushions made by different ladies.  This ensures that everyone receives their pincushions.

Sign up by replying to this post.  You MUST have a way for me to contact you so I can give you my mailing address in order to be in the swap. Postage rules will be included in my reply email when I send you back my mailing address!

Also:  After you sign up, please grab the Pincushion Swap button on my left sidebar and place it on your blog so others can know about the swap.  I would love to see at least 20 participants for my first swap!  Please help spread the word! :)

If you need to use Paypal to send me your return postage fees, that is absolutely fine with me.

International friends are welcome to play too!!

The GIVEAWAY!!

Everyone who completes the swap by sending in their pincushions will each get their name in a hat to have a chance to win this awesome Santa!!!  He will come to the winner along with their new pincushions!!

Please help me have a successful first time blog swap by signing up and telling your friends to come and play too!  If you send a friend to play, have them tell me you sent them and your name will go in the hat for Santa an extra time for each friend you send to play that finishes the swap! The more the merrier! :)

So!! Who wants to play?

Quilt Presentation to the Central Children's Home!

Quilters have hearts as big as Texas!!! :D

Marie was sick so my husband went with me tonight to present the quilts that came in from my The Big 5-0, Birthday Wishes and Charity Quilts quilt collection!

I received 24 quilts but as of tonight their enrollment had dropped to 13 so Butch and I measured all of the quilts and took the longest ones because these children are 13 - 21 years of age.

We gave quilts to 5 boys and 6 girls tonight.  3 of the girls are not in the photo because they asked not to be.

You should have seen their smiles!!  I wish I could post the photo of their faces with the quilts but the privacy laws prevent that. It is for the safety of the children.

But I can show you this photo and you can all envision what a big smile would look like behind those quilts because that is exactly what is going on!

They just kept saying thank you!  I had pinned the name of the quilt maker to each quilt and asked the children to say a prayer for each of them tonight!   :D

I want to say a HUGE thank you to each quilter who made this presentation possible!!  We should always show our children that they are loved and what better way to do that, than with a quilt!

Secret Santa Stocking Swap

I joined a swap on the HGTV Quilting and Needlework Forum and have my things ready to send out tomorrow to my friend *****!!  Can't say her name just yet because we aren't supposed to know who got our name until we receive!

I sure hope she likes what I made for her.  The rules of the swap were to make a handmade stocking for your intended!  I downloaded a free pattern online.  I then loaded a backing, batting and the stocking fabric on my longarm.  I drew around the pattern shape with chalk and then quilted feathers up both sides.  I cut it out leaving a good 1/4 inch allowance so that when I sewed front to back that my quilting would not be cut off.  I clipped all of the curves and then turned it right side out.

I then sewed a lining together and slipped it inside.  I made it longer at the top so I could fold it over and whipstitch it to the quilted piece.  I then added a hanger using gold ribbon tape.

Do you think she will like it??

I also proceeded to make her something extra special!  I have met this sweet lady in person and I really like her a lot!  So, making her something special was a piece of cake!

This was a fun little Christmas wallhanging!  It was supposed to have snowmen appliqued in the blocks but I wanted to quilt words pertaining to the holidays so that is what I did!  I hope she likes it!

Pincushion Swap Update!

Look what's ready to go to the post office tomorrow morning!  I was to mail on Friday but our Netherlands friend mailed back in November and it took her box until yesterday to get here.  I hated to swap without her since she made the effort to mail so early to make sure they came in time.  The postal service can be quite slow sometimes.  I am so glad her package came and she is too! :)

I made one pincushion for the swap and this is the one that I got back!  Isn't he just adorable!  he has crushed walnut hulls in his lower base for sharpening your needles!

You all will really like what you are getting back too!  Thank you so much for joining my first ever blog swap!  It was on the small side but I am hoping that next time I host that you will play again and bring a friend along for the ride. :)

2 Giveaways You Can't Miss!

Janet is having an awesome give away!!  I found her blog because of InStitches Holly Jolly Blog Bingo!!  Please head on over there and see what it takes to sign up for these awesome prizes!  and if you would be so kind, please tell her that I sent you over! :)

These are the prizes up for grabs!  Your choice of...

For her home decor readers, how about a nice item from http://www.funkybabymine.blogspot.com

Or... A selection of twelve (12) fat quarters in your choice of either assorted quilt shop quality 19th century repro fabric or Depression Feedsack style cuties. Sorry, I tend not to go for the retro 50's and brights, so they won't be featured.

Or: a Benartex Holice Turnbow wholecloth quilt kit called "Anchors Aweigh" this quilt kit contains backing, top and binding material - just add a batt and some thread! Size 40x54, wouldn't that look great in your beach-themed room?

Or... A complete cross stitch kit - floss, pattern material - let me select a good sized one from my collection of quilt themed or landscape and seascape patterns.

Or!!...  a wool applique project kit, everything included - penny rug anyone?

Janet also has a sister site and has a fabulous giveaway going on over there as well!! Click on the link and it will take you to her FunkyBabyMine site for the second giveaway!!


Good luck everyone!!!

Mr. Pig Has Company!

Several days ago I posted about a gift my friend Lisa from NY sent me.  It was a watering can in the shape of a pig.

Well, today's mail brought a surprise package from LA from my friend Ellen!!  Now Mr. Pig has company!!!

They were made for each other!  I love it!!!

There is a story linked to the tablerunner that is hidden beneath the pigs.  Watch for that post over the weekend. :)

Sweet Winnings From Friends!

I won a giveaway on Judy's blog! This is the sweetest handkerchief doll I have seen!!  She will grace my guest bedroom! :)

Thank you so much Judy!!  She is beautiful!

Even More Quilts In The House!!

2 more quilts made it to my house for The Big 5-0, Birthday Wishes and Charity Quilts challenge that I have had going since November! I know of one more that is being mailed today and we will look at taking them to the children next week!

This was sent in by Dee...

 This one was sent in by Donna....

Thank you so much ladies!!

An Early Christmas Present!

We woke to snow this morning!!  Not enough of it but I will take what I can get!! :)

Holly Jolly Bingo 2010!!

Ladies and gents!!  If you want to have a ot of fun during the month of December then hop on over to In Stitches where you will find Holly Jolly Bingo 2010! Daily prizes and an awesome grand prize are just waiting for you!!

More Quilts In The House!!

WOW!!  The response to my The Big 5-0, Birthday Wishes & Charity Quilts! post has been tremendous and I really am very thankful to have such awesome quilters helping make my birthday wish come true!  To date 19 of the 25 promised quilts have been delivered and I know of one other one that is finished and will be hand delivered to my house in the next few days!  I also have to quilt the one I will be taking as well so I know 21 of the quilts will be here for the presentation for sure!

The following quilts have come in over the past few days!  Please visit back through my blog to see the ones that have already been shown. :)

Aren't quilters hearts awesome!!

The Love Of Friends!

My friend Kathleen has a heart as big as Texas!!

Butch and I were sitting on the couch yesterday when we heard a thud on the front porch.  We looked out and saw the UPS man driving off.  Butch asked me what did I order and I told him nothing that I could think of.  He brought the box in and it was from LLBean.  When we opened it up there was a most beautiful surprise inside from Kathleen!

She had sent us this beautiful Christmas wreath for our front door!!  And the ocean theme is "perfect" for Butch and I as Sanibel Island is our favorite vacation destination!  Just give us the beach so we can look for seashells and we are as happy as any pig in the mud.  :D

I couldn't not show this to all of you.  It really put a huge smile on my face!

Thank you so very much Kathleen!!