~ 200th post....of course a GIVEAWAY ~

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....I've reached my 200th post much sooner than I expected. I love that there are so many talented crafters in the world and that you take time to read my little blog. So I am going to host a giveaway in celebration. I will draw some names (atleast 4) on September 2 after we return from a Labor Day visit with my parents. I may not be able to reply to all of your comments, I will try, but they will all be entered. PLUS if you link this post etc. to your own blog I will give you an extra entry. I want to see your blogs!! That's a lot to keep track of LOL. Now for the prizes......here's a sample...I may add to my gift 'stash' while I am shopping over labor day..... And IF you noticed I said I will draw some names...because I am never sure IF I will want to give 1 or 2 extra gifts out, so I'm leaving it open ended.......

2 more done....

Two more quilts arrived from my machine quilter. This cherry quilt is from the book "Quilting with my Sister" by Barbara Brandeburg and Terri Christopherson (sp.?). I used Pat Sloan fabircs from about 4 yars ago.
And the quilting is with a mauve colored thread that matches perfectly. The bindings made, now I just have to stitch it down and it's on my kitchen table. This quilt, my MIL made. She used some of her scraps and mine. Since there were so many different colors he used a varigated thread and a balloon design. It's a bit hard to capture with my cheap camera....
My girls love it....
Technically this is my 201st post...look for my giveaway post tomorrow.....

In a few short minutes...

There are BUNCH more giveaways out there.....Gina at Quilter's Buzz is having one to get back into blogging. Gundrun is celebrating her new quilt design for Minnesota Shop Hop. And Lurline's 100th post! Debbie is giving charm packs and a book..ooooo cool ....
And Last but certainly not least Kim is giving away a cool pattern on her blog

I finished my Peace of Earth Mystery BOM ....ah these fabrics are gorgeous. Plus I had time to put a binding on the 4th quilt from my machine quilter so....now I just have to hand stitch them to the back. Now I do believe that this is my 200th post! and so a giveaway from ME is coming up so check back soon...

It's kind of a new collection...

Not the greatest picture but I found these at Jo-Ann's and with a little handi-tak they are up....now I want more..with sewing/crafting theme....I'll be keeping a look out.

More giveaways to check out...

I started re-folding my 30's stash...pinks and yellows..and WOW, now I am thinking a strawberry lemonade quilt of some sort..we'll see.... Plus.....

A couple more giveaways check them out here and here!! Calamity Jane's Cottage is getting ready for fall with a cool purse giveaway.....Tell them I sent you!!!

Almost finished

Well here it is...my new ironing area. 2 cabinets and a topper I covered with batting, ironing fabric and Simplicity by Moda. My Tennessee friend did a dresser in a similar way but with pink floral fabric. Since I have totally copied her enough this week I didn't want to repeat her theme. Aqua/blue and green do mix well with the rest of my home decor. I love it though...it makes me want to iron! Is THAT possible? haha It's been another good week....I was able to get 2 more quilts from my machine quilter. My Smores quilt is back and I love it even more now that it is quilted.

Swirls with lime colored thread....it's perfect. This isn't the best picture but I didn't want to leave any of the hearts out.
And the detail of the heart meander quilting. Lovely....now to bind them...whew...4 to do now....and 3 more coming.

How did I miss these? and a giveaway..

Older line by Heather Mulder Peterson...Lakehouse Cottage...um it has jumped right into my stash....I think a quilt and a table topper....hmmm
About the giveaway...the lovely Heather and maker of this line is hosting a pattern giveaway. Leave her a comment here!

Odds and Ends...

I forgot to show this bracelet that my Tennessee friend made for me. It goes with just about everything.
I decided to change ironing table covers. WELL after discussing it with my husband he thought it would be better to make a new 'station'. At this moment it is being built...and this is where we started....a couple of cabinet from Lowe's. Oh I think it's going to be great. And this is a quilt I'm making using the Jelly Quilts Book and Kaffe Fabrics. I bought the lime in Knoxville and didn't wait but a few days to cut and piece the borders. It's off to the quilter already.
Here's more of a close up.
I hope to post the 2 quilts I picked from my quilter...but I realized I'm getting dangerously close to 200 hundred posts!! I think a giveaway is coming soon...now how will I conduct it is the question.....

I'm a copy cat...

My Tennessee friend Carol (no blog)...has been thrifting ALL things pink....and what isn't pink...she spray paints it...well within reason. So I picked up my favorite colors at Wal-mart and they had these glass jars on clearance...and well the rest is history. I can't wait to show the finished results..but here's the start......we'll see....my vacation ended so...with work and all it might be evening before they are done.

She's in the PINK...

I took some shots of Tennessee Carol's cute pink stuff....she's thrifted it all...those 5 containers cost her about $1.25..I kid you not. Oh and she had this....
And a lil' sewing machine decor.
She's just getting organized in her new house.

Vacation "finishes" and such...

I had a great time in Tennessee. Carol and I shopped til we dropped on that saturday and had a few self created detours. We were gone from 9am to 9pm! It was worth it. Anyhow, we sewed almost all day on sunday. This is what we worked on. Sandy Gervais christmas line Merry and Bright and this pattern. I just have to embroider the ornament hooks. I made a pincushion from an old jello mold Carol thrifted....it is soo cute. We couldn't find her stuffing so we cut up a hypo-allergenic ventilation filter that she thrifted a while back. It worked perfectly and it's hypo-allergenic! LOL

Have you had these? I could eat the whole box....and I'm not an M &M lover...these are really good though...try em' Oh and I made binding for some quilts that will be or are done so I am getting prepared...

I did work on a few other projects like Lynnette Anderson's Noah's Ark BOM and I have 2 of the months stitched but I don't have the borders on yet...that's for a future post. I worked on a Buck a Block BOM and stitched and cut the thangles on 10 of the 12 blocks. I started a quilt from the book Big Blocks Big Quilts...with a April Cornell Portugal layer cake...but it's not done yet....so I won't post it yet...but I was productive.

Berea KY...who knew?

While on my way home from Tennessee I made a pit-stop in Berea. I had read there was a quilt shop so I googled it with my Blackberry and found these shops. The quilt shop wasn't much but they a small amount of fabric and lots of already made quilts. I think the store fronts look cool.
While I walked around I spotted the Appalachian Fireside Gallery's window. A display of miniature 1930's style quilts...I was in awe. I LOVE 30's and these quilts were adorable.
My favorite was this one below which they just happened to have a poster made with this quilt...so the poster jumped into my hands...but it was only $3.

It was such eye candy for me. It made it a worthwhile stop.

A short vacation for ME!!!!

I visited 7 quilt shops during my mini vacation. I stopped first at the Fabric Shack in Waynesville, Ohio. I spent a bit there...on some civil war fat quarters and a few 1/2 yard pieces. Then Saturday my friend Carol (no blog) and I went to the Knitting Nest..I'll show what I got there in another post. Second we stopped at Mammaw's Thimble in Knoxville, Tennessee. Wow what a shop...the front window is but a taste of the interesting folk you meet inside.



Here are my treasures from Mammaw's ....it's quite a mix because they each have a special purpose. There are 9 yards of Kaffe for a backing and border to 2 quilts. A bit of civil war prints....and some older Fig Tree quilt lines for a Kim Diehl quilt I want to make...Oh! and the lime green is for sashing a borders on the Kaffe quilt too...and boy is it ever cool looking. I have already cut the border pieces!
Believe it or not 2 of the quilt shops I bought nothing...zip...zero. I swear. I did buy a bit at Loose Threads in Harriman (sp?) Tennessee. That is a wonderful shop. Just my style. We also made it to Crossville due to a slight navigation error that ended with us heading west instead of east. I think it was meant to be. Again I didn't buy much there...2 patterns that's it. We did go to another quilt shop on sunday and I made it to 2 more driving home. All in all it was a dream of a vacation.