The Cats Out of the Bag

We had to wait until we told our family first before posting on here.  There's nothing like having your parents and family find out your big news from reading about it on your blog.  So we spilled the beans on till to let them know.................

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!!--Baby #4 is on the way.

We've known for several weeks now so that initial shock has come and gone.  I have never been one to keep my pregnancies to myself for very long. I know there are some folks out there that prefer to keep the news until they have passed the first tri-mester, but knowing myself, in the event that something like that something horrible was to happen, I would definitely need the support of my family to get me through a rough time.

So now my blogging friends you all know...YAY!!! It feels so good to let that out.

Pics instead of words.....

Busy, busy, busy......Happy Holidays to everyone!!

My Christmas Tree

Vickie requested a larger photo of my tree...I hope you meant my real one, not the fabric because....here's photos of my Christmas tree, the first night in all it's splendor:



it doesn't seem to shine as much during the day, but I had to change sides and what a mistake:



two children under the age of 3? and I still wanted to have my "elegant-no-touch" tree? yeah right, I've learned....see what they've done?



Poor Tree.

Let Me Correct Something......

I received this earlier this evening:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ahem(*cough*), snort, ahhhhh......:

" WOW! I was gone this past week and just looked in to see who the lucky giveaway winner was - and you didn't even follow through on your promise! What the heck? You said "The person with the most correct wins" - what happened? Just because you could barely count on one hand the persons who got more than 2 correct? I am sorry, but I just don't think that is right. I've seen alot of giveaways but never one that felt "enough" persons hadn't guessed correctly. I am disappointed. "

sam

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--My first initial reaction after reading this was anger, but then I realized, this person does not know me, because if they knew me well enough they would not have left such a comment or thought I would cancel a giveaway because of the lack of "correct answers"? I thought I explained myself correctly, but after going back and reading what I wrote, I can see where I can be mistaken. If there were others that felt the same as "annonymous" I apologize. What I meant to say and what I should have said--and this is really what I meant to say:

When I said that I could barely count on one hand those that gave more than 2 answers, I should have said that there were only 3 that actually provided me with answers. There were about 2 or 3 that said they only knew 1, but did not give me an answer. There were several emails without answers, only well wishers and stating the fact that they do not know designers and wouldn't win.....so according to my rules that does not automatically enter into my giveaway---

When I posted "on second thought" I was saying that I wanted to have my giveaway be one that is open to everyone and not single anyone out. So, I asked for other ideas for the same package to be given away. I DID NOT CANCEL THE GIVEAWAY ENTIRELY--my buddy Kat can stand for me, I was giving some thought to someone who posted about guessing the weight of the package as a new way of having someone to enter---My main goal was to have a 'different' giveaway, not one where you leave comments, but something that added a little more--you all know Dana from Old Red Barn who gave away 3 quilts recently well she has people making videos and posting on youtube---I didn't want all that, my giveaway wasn't anything big to have that, but it does contain a substantial amount that I wanted a lot of entries and to give more people the chance to enter.

I failed miserably in putting into words what my intent was in re-scheduling the giveaway. I planned to repeat it after the holidays--I myself am busy too, so I thought this too would also allow more to enter, if I posted it after all the hustle and bustle the holidays bring. As the annonymous person stated they were disappointed, and I apologize you felt that way, but what you wrote as the reason why I ended the giveaway was not correct and not how I am, and it has saddened me. I don't want others to think of me that way. I just wanted to allow more people to enter and what would be easier than typing in a number to guess the weight of a big box? I mean, my photo wasn't a great one either, my friend pointed that out to me that there were some that were cut off or hiding, so that also wasn't fair to those who maybe would have known the answers.

So I want to start from scratch--not until January though. The new and revised De-stash, Purge Giveaway. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

and because I don't like posting without pics. I leave with this:

That should make anyone smile right? Now have I made myself clear?

Ahem(*cough*), snort, ahhhhh......

My mailbox is 3 miles from my house one way...literally. So I'm jealous of you who have your mailbox within a few steps from your door, in your yard, and definitely even more jealous of those that have them attached to your door. Darnit.

Well it was sleeting, snowing, turning into mush and eventually freezing on the roads, so the mail had to wait. Thankfully my DH was home and he did our grocery and picked up the mail....and boy what a happy surprise awaited for me!

My slipper swap item from my partner came along with a generous gift from a fellow blogger.

What's the title all about?

----My cough came when I took a sip from the homemade hot cocoa mix from Sarah--not that it tasted bad, but it was just too gosh darn hot, I couldn't wait to take a sip.

----I literally snorted and choked on my hot cocoa when I saw what Susan Thomas sent me....have a look for yourself....

It just brought back that embarrassing, yet painful experience again, and you better believe I already gave it a whirl....Fantastic! I recommend these over those gloves anyday, but for my peace of mind, I'm using these and the gloves. Thank you Susan! What a surprise and so thoughtful and generous of you :) I tried to send you a message, but the blog address that was written on the package sent by the company mis-spelled something, I hope you are reading this. Thank you again, it was my laugh for the evening.

-----and ahhhhh....because I slipped on the cute little slippers Sarah from Sarah's Corner made for me and they just felt all nice and toasty lined with Chenille, and a very soft material on the outside, and you can't go wrong with green, my fav. color.

Funny, I was just getting on my husband's nerves just a few min. before he left for the store because I could not find my slippers, and bare feet in this cold weather along with having hardwood floors all through-out the house sucks without them. Perfect timing Sarah & well made!--Now the next part....don't get mad, I'm not at all poking fun of your sewing abilities, but there was a little discrepancy, one that worked out for the better :) Here goes another little info. about me that none of you know....one that may be considered TMI, but oh well, One foot of mine is a size 8 1/2 the other is a size 7 1/2, Sarah's slippers just happened to be off in size in one slipper and what a blessing, it fits me perfectly-- ahhh...such is the life when things just work out perfectly on their own.

Here are the slippers:

So I am one happy gal! I just love getting packages in the mail! Have a great day/evening everyone!

on second thought.......

The giveaway it seems, was too hard for many--I'm sorry. I'm going to hold-off right now and hold the giveaway until I can come up with something else...plus. I also placed more items in the box. Pics to come on the new giveaway. There were very little comments under my giveaway post--You should have seen my inbox of the number of people wishing others good luck and letting me know that they do not know the designer fabrics, and I could barely count on just ONE hand the number of people that actually came up with more than 2 answers....so the number of folks that wished they knew and wanted to enter far out-weighed those that had actually entered. Sorry folks, I want to make this open to everyone. Does anyone have any ideas other than to just leave a comment?

************On another note, I was VERY busy sewing this weekend, completing orders and trying to catch up on the swaps I entered. I won't be entering 14 different swaps at the same time anymore....no matter how fun they are :)--(Yeah we'll see how long that lasts) Also, Amy Butler's donation for my Quilting For A Cause arrived :) Yay....Good thing there was a note in the box, otherwise my husband would have had my head if he thought I ordered more fabric..lol. Here's what she sent me: THANK YOU AMY!

Nice of her right? Another gernerous donation from wonderful fabric designers.

So, on top of sewing all day Friday and Saturday, I also attended the daily Biz Market on the mountain making sales and extra money for the holidays. We also decided to put up the tree again this year, and I also managed to find more pdf's and patterns to purchase. So let me leave you with some photos from my busy sewing weekend and a sneak peak for my swap partners into what you could be getting :)

Wrist pincushions, doll quilts, travel tissue covers, and so much more I have left to complete. I am apologizing now to my swap partners for the delay in getting your items out to you. I only hope that when you do finally receive them, it will be well worth the wait.

De-Stash & Purge Giveaway!

Just a few days late from giveaway day, but well, better late than never right?

Let's start.......

How well do you know your fabric designers and their fabric line?

Why you ask? Well that's part of winning this giveaway. It's not going to be so easy this time, it's such a big jackpot I thought I would make you all work for it and use those brain cells this time. I've provided 16 different prints from 14 different designers....your job is to guess them corrrectly from left to right. The prize?

What you see is what you get....Scraps--Large scraps of what is pictured plus more. I've cleaned out a lot of my crafts, and gathered up a large box full of items, sure to please! You will find everything from Cross-stitch, embroidery, stamping, fabric--lots of fabric, and lots of yarn. --Oh and did I mention some quilting books? How large is this box full of contents? 30" x 18" x 12" to be exact.

So you want to enter now eh? Write down the names of designers you see and the name of their fabric that I have pictured, send it to me in email at simpelodyer@yahoo.com. Sounds easy enough right? I don't think I chose ones that were too hard, if you ask me, I think I made it too easy.

The person with the most correct wins--now, I leave it up to you to either email me or post a comment here--be aware that any answers left here can be seen by all and it just may be the answer they needed to top you....so send it to me in an email and leave a comment here to let me know you entered and you're good to go.

You all have until Dec. 15th to get your answers in, the winner will be announced later that day, and your item will be mailed out to you as soon as you respond. You have 48 hours to respond or else I will have to choose another winner.

Easy, Peasy! Well here's the stash, look carefully. Be sure to also stop by my etsy shop and check out my new additions!

You Know You're A Quilting & Sewing Junkie/-o-Holic When.....

--You visit a fabric shop more than 2 times a week, for nothing in particular

--You visit a quilt shop more than 2 times a week, for nothing in particular

--and because of the previous reasons, every store employee knows your name

--Your 2 year old can say the names and recognizes the buildings of your favorite stores when you arrive-- "Yo'Wans"-Joann's, Kankcok-Hancocks, "Wub-fwabwics"-Webfabrics

--Every time you look through your fabric stash it's like Christmas all over again, because there's many that you forgot you had

--Not one room in your house is without "something you made", a sewing notion, fabric, crafts etc.

--Your work area spills into the Dining table and your husband has to ask you politely if he can eat at the table because he knows better than to touch and move your stuff

--Your children automatically eat in the living room because they know Mommy's important sewing things are on the table

--You have 3 copies of 1 book because you fail to check your large stash of books already

--You have 2 copies of the same magazine issue because you once again failed to check your

large stash

--You fill 6 drawers full to the brim with thread because you think you'll use them all in this lifetime

--You hunt through your local thrift store and Goodwill shops for fabric and bedsheets to use for sewing, on a daily basis

--You scour etsy & search for all the sewing & quilting patterns in PDF Format that you can buy because you can't wait for it to arrive through snail mail

--You scour the blogs for any sewing or quilting tutorials

--You purchase ink, sheet protectors and copy paper once a week because your printer is working hard printing the tutorials

--and because of those previous reasons, you've got the "index finger syndrome"--from clicking your mouse, your down arrow or your select key too many times, for a long time, searching for patterns/tutorials

--and like your fabric stash, when you look through all your patterns it's like Christmas all over again

--Last, you eat, sleep, S**T sewing & quilting 24/7

*I can't think of anymore, but I know I'm missing things....this is where you all come in. Add to the list, make it fun. Some of these may not apply to you, or some of these may apply to you, but for me, they ALL surely do apply to me. I'm slowly trying to go through this list and make sure that by New Years I can say that none of these apply to me--I've already fixed the eating at the table part. We all can eat there now!--at least for now. Is there anything you can add to the list?

--Where and why did this list come about? I was re-organizing again and looking to see if I needed to purge once more. Well I completely forgot about the fabrics I had stowed away behind the drawers and behind the doors of my wall units, so while going through them I was amazed at all of the items that I found, that I thought I didn't have or that I just went to the store and purchased because I forgot I had it. It was truly the saying "Out of Sight, Out of mind"

What did I find you ask? Well, I found, yards and yards and piles of true vintage fabrics and feedsacks--I completely forgot about that. Even more kid themed fabrics, even more fleece, and even more odd and end fabrics. I even found really old quilt blocks that I was saving to turn into a quilt. It was an early Christmas present to me! Hooray! To those that can relate...doesn't it feel good to find this stuff??!! I LOVE IT! This is why I organize often....Just to look back and find old treasures that will be new once more.

I hate posting without pics so I leave you with photos from my find. Try not to drool. J/K, but do check back here later this week. I'll be hosting another giveaway, but this time for my purged items!--There is no junk here SISTA! Be sure not to miss it-- An early Christmas present from me to you :)

There's more than that, but I wanted to save them for a certain giveaway..... ;) Ta Ta for now.

Quilting For A Cause Part II

My quilt giveaway for Brenda's quilt was a wonderful success. I found many new blogs, and made many new friends because of it. Brenda's gift of sharing her bone marrow was really inspiring to me. I wanted to share her story with the world or at least to the few that read my blog. A wonderful story and a gift that I may not be able to ever give--it takes a much stronger person than myself and one less selfish to do what Brenda did. I didn't want to leave it at just the quilt giveaway, but rather continue to keep on giving to those charities that are not so much in the spotlight.

My current project? I will be creating quilts for Brain Tumor patients, along with those children suffering from Leukemia and cancer at the St. Judes Children's Hospital.

My goal: 15 quilts, 5 for each center that will be auctioned off to raise money for research for these three foundations. This of course would require a lot more fabric. An idea that would require more help. I thought to ask some of my favorite designers to perhaps donate some fabric to help in my goal. I figured if they were to send me a little bit of fabric, I could then create a quilt and return it to the designers to sign, and turn it into the foundations hoping it will generate a lot of bids--It was a long shot. I was a bit intimidated to ask but the request was received with much kindness and generosity from the designers.

I have already received fabric from Valori Wells, she provided me with a quilt kit for the Olivia Rose quilt complete with backing & binding fabric--wow! Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts sent me over 20 yards of fabric, amazing & so far last but certainly not least Anna Maria Horner who sent me several yards of fabric from her Garden Party line. I did also ask Heather Bailey and Amy Butler of whom I have yet to receive their wonderful donation.

Of course it would be easier and I could have just donated money, but with the economy as it is and how short we are sometimes on money, I thought of another way to be able to donate. Who wouldn't want to recieve a quilt? I could also use a little help, I am asking if there maybe someone else out there that may want to help create quilts? This would of course be in addition to my personal goal of 15 so anyone with at least some quilting experience is required as these will be for auctions, deadlines for a majority of these quilts will be in March 2009 and others I have to still wait to hear from their Human Resources Dept. The quilts will be in Crib and Lap quilt sizes. If you are interested in helping and making a quilt donation, please send me an email at simpelodyer@yahoo.com. I could use any help :)

So I leave you with photos of some of the wonderful fabrics donated by Valori Wells, Joanna Figueroa, and Anna Maria Horner. Thank you to these wonderful, and generous designers.

For more information or if you would like to donate money please visit:

www.curebraintumors.org/
www.stjude.org/waystohelp
http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/

Quilting & Sewing Therapy

There hadn't been too much sewing done for the past several days due to the rotary cutter accident with my little finger, but it actually forced me to get out my quilting frame and force myself to finish quilting by hand the quilt I made for my mother-in-law and her husband. I used the fabrics that belonged to my M.I.L.'s husbands mother that was given to me by my sister-in-law. I've always wanted to make a Wedding Ring Quilt so I found acrylic templates for a Double Wedding Ring Quilt from Joann's. You can purchase them here. I did a little altering and used muslin to create a flower bouquet effect.....it's nearly complete....the stitches aren't as small as I normally would make them and definitely not as I like, but I was able to accomplish more, nearly half of the quilt done, and I will be using a scalloped edge.

A close-up of my quilting---don't laugh--I promise....I really don't quilt that big... :)

This quilt has taken over 5 months to get to this point.....it took a backseat while I finished orders, but my goal is to have this done by Christmas. Earlier today was my chance to try something different and actually get back into sewing & using the rotary cutter again.....SCARY! But I had my gloves on--I don't know if they really work, but I really wasn't about the sit there and run the rotary cutter across the glove...no thank you, I'll leave it to someone out there stupid enough or maybe daring enough to test it out for me & let me know the result!

But here are the boots that I made out of Linen and my special ordered Grip Dot soles--a matching Linen dress will be following...I'm working on that right now and will definitely post a pic. If you want to give it a shot, you can purchase these at etsy--under username: ithinksewdotcom, she's having a sale right now and you better scoop it up at that price...I didn't get the sale price so I'm a bit upset, but it's a cute dress and a really cute UGG boot like pattern. If you decide to make it, let me know, I'd love to see how yours turns out.

So that's it as far as current projects that I can take pictures of, I've pretty much got a ton of projects half finished or that I just started cutting that I've got to get back to. I may not be around much this week as I will be busy sewing for the craft fair this Saturday--Wish me many sales! Have a great day and rest of the week!