Guess what's happening ....

.... on Saturday?

It's the Christmas Quiltalong and this month Cathi is hosting it.  Cathi will be trading at a show again, but thanks to the wonders of modern science, she will still be joining in, even though she won't be able to work on her Christmas projects.  Fingers crossed she has a great day selling lots as that will help take her mind off it!  She has the 3rd set of instructions for our Scatty Christmas Stars all ready to send to anyone who signs up on the Linky-thingy, and you will get them sometime on Saturday.  Cathi has already posted a picture on her blog of this star, and it looks great.

Now I have a confession to make.  I thought the Christmas Quiltalong was a week on Saturday, and I was going to miss it as I'll be on holiday then.  What a good job Cathi knows what I should be doing!

How do you know when ....

.... it's time to stop?

When you're doing more of this

than this.

Which is why I'm now writing this post instead of making my blocks.

I had 5 blocks, to sew together to make a row.  Simple eh?  Nope, not for me today.  There are 2 different blocks alternating in a row, but it still should be simple shouldn't it?  Sew blocks 1 and 2 together, sew blocks 3 and 4 together, sew the pairs together then sew block 5 on the end of the row.  Well, that's the theory.  I sewed them together in the wrong order.  I unsewed it. I sewed them together with a couple of the blocks upside down.  I unsewed it.  I finally got the row right, sewed it to the previous row, then realised it was upside down.  I unsewed it.  I sewed it together correctly, finally.  Pressed it and walked away for today.

And the winner is ....

.... Thank you everyone who entered the giveaway.  I wish I had a copy to give each one of you.  On thinking about it, I'm glad I haven't - the cost of postage would be horrendous.

Anyway, I think you're all wishing I'd just shut up and tell you that the winner, courtesy of Random-thingy is

number 73 who is Melissa of Happy Quilting.  I have just been to visit Melissa's blog and it's great.  She has tutorials on there, and has just run a quiltalong, which I'd have joined if I'd known about it in time, and the blog just seemed to me to live up to it's name.

Giveaway entries ...

 

 ... I have replied to every entry that I can for this giveaway, so, if you have not had a reply from me, it means that you are a no-reply blogger who did not leave me an email address either.  PLEASE leave another comment if you have not heard from me, otherwise I will have to re-draw if your name comes up.

The giveaway is open unti lmidnight tonight, so you still have time to enter here to try and win a copy of Schnibbles Times Two.  I will announce the winner tomorrow, so good luck everyone.

Cooee .... Giveaway here ...

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks to everyone who entered.  The winner can be found here.
... I'm still here, even though I've been quiet this week.  There's not been much any quilting going on in QuiltTimes-land  so to make up for it, I've been reading about quilting.  I've had a couple of quilt magazines to read, and this book:

This is such a clever book, as there are 12 quilt designs, and you could choose to make a small version with 5" sqares, or a larger one using 10" squares - just perfect for either charm packs or layer cakes. Here are my favourite quilts

When you open this book, you will immediately find that it is actually a very readable one.  The author, Carrie Nelson, has a great writing style and her sense of humour comes through on almost every page.  I would love to meet her some day, as she does not seem to take either life, or herself, too seriously.  As you read the book you will find yourself laughing over and over again as she tells you something about herself, or how she named a design and so on.  I will say that the instructions for each quilt are very clear with lots of great diagrams too, and the first chapter, which is called "Puzzles, Pests and other Probably Not-So-Important Stuff" is full of useful hints, tips and techniques.

Now I can offer one of you the chance to win a copy of this book, thanks to Martingale and Company.  All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post before midnight GMT on Thursday 31 March, and I will use the random-thingy to draw a winner on 1 April.  Please make sure though that I can get in touch with you if you win.  If you are set as a "no-reply" blogger, or if you do not have a blog, please make sure you put an email adress in your comment.

Look what I've found ......

Yep, MY BOOK.  It's now on Amazon, together with pictures of the projects and a great summary of the book.  It's also on Martingale's website, here. 

Do you want to know the funny side of this?  I didn't even know it was on either site until Tessie's Mum told me about Amazon and then Kim told me it was also on Martingale's site .....

Now, how does the song go? 

I'm so excited

And I just can't hide it .....

Help Japan - Win this quilt.

I am sure we have all been moved by the tragedies that have hit Japan in the past week.  Well, Mary is making a most generous offer to raise funds for the people suffering in Japan.  She is offering you the chance to win the gorgeous quilt above if you make a donation to the Red Cross (for relief efforts in Japan).

Please consider entering her giveaway, here, and you could soon be the lucky owner of the quilt she made.

Why DID we call it ....

.... Scatty Christmas Stars?

Well, are you sitting comfortably?  Good, then I'll tell you a little story.

Once upon a time there were two scatterbrained quilters called Sue and Cathi who decided it would be a good idea to design a quilt which could be made during their Christmas Quiltalong days.  So they got together, thanks to the wonders of modern science over the internet, and designed a quilt with stars scattered around on it.  Sue and Cathi really hoped that other quilters, who were scattered around the world, would like their design and want to join in and make their version.

As for the "Christmas" and "Stars", well, I don't think I need to explain them.

Since you were all partly right, but no-one was completely, I decided you all deserved to go into a draw, so I talked to Mr Random.org and asked him to choose a number between 1 and 17, and the number he chose was .......

and number 7 is ....  

Trudi. 

Trudi, I'm sure I have your address somewhere, but just to make sure, please could you email me again?  

Now I'd better go and decide what the prize is!

Thanks to everyone who entered, and to everyone who took part in this month's Christmas Quiltalong.  Don't forget, the next Christmas Quiltalong will be on the second Saturday in April, and will be hosted by Cathi.

Night, night ...

Post 7

It's now just about 10pm here, and I've been up since 5, so I'm signing off now.  I hope you all enjoy the rest of the party, but son't stay up to late, and don't have the music up too loud.

Thank you all for coming today, I'll come visiting you all tomorrow.

I i i i i t's ...

Post 6
... competition time.

 Not a quiz this time, something a bit different.

As you know,this is  the Quiltalong quilt, which is called  Scatty Christmas Stars.  So what I want to know is, why did we call it that?

Leave a comment on this post with your theories (serious or funny) as to how and why it got it's name, and I'll announce the winner on Monday morning.

There will be a small prize for the winner,  (Hmm, note to self:  decide what the prize is going to be.)  So good luck everyone.

What am I going to do now? ....

Post 5

First, I'm going to go and put the dinner on.  A yummy fish pie - not very Christmassy, but yummy all the same.  Then I must make a confession.  I have never actually sat and sewn down the binding on Chocolates for Christmas, or on Christmas Stars, so that's what I'm going to do next.  Together with a good dvd.

Would you believe I saw this film for the first time a couple of months ago?  I know, I know, I can hear you saying "where have you been?" but there we go.  I've seen it now and love it, and think it would be just the thing to watch while I'm binding. 

I'm seeing stars ....

Post 4

 .... no, not because I banged my head, but because I've just made this month's blocks.

Did you like how I staged them with a pretty poinsettia?  Aren't I the artistic one?

A little music ....

Post 3

Don't forget ....

Post 2
... to put your name in Linky-thingy on the Christmas QAL page if you want a copy of the next installment of the Scatty Christmas Stars pattern.

Good morning ....

Post 1

.... all Christmas Quiltalongers, and anyone else who happens to be reading this. Have you got your list of presents all written out for Santa?  No?  Me neither.  Still today we can hopefully help Santa out a little bit by working on our Christmas gifts.  I have put the Linky-thingy on the special Christmas Quiltalong page, so just click on the tab to go and put your name on the list so we can all have some fun visiting each other during the day.  Also I will send out the second part of the Scatty Christmas Stars pattern as soon as possible.

Now I must go and do a little dust-stirring around the house before I can start sewing, but I'll be back soon.

Guess what ....

... day it is on Saturday?  (My background might give you a clue)

Yesterday I was dyeing ...

... when I went to a workshop run by my friend QuiltHaze, from Cotton Cocktails.  Fabric dyeing is something I've always wanted to have a go at, but although  Hazel has run this workshop about 3 times before, she always managed to arrange them on days when I couldn't go.  (Hmm, I wonder if that was deliberate?).  There were 10 of us there, and it was great fun, if messy.

 But this:

 

Leads to this:

 and this:

 which leads to this:

  

(and this is what the colour catchers looked like after I washed the fabrics!)

 In the afternoon we all tried our hands at dyeing silk scarves, and here are some of the group modelling the results:

 and these are the 2 scarves I produced:

I came home very tired (well I had been using my brain, which is not something I'm used to), with very dirty hands, cos I kept forgetting to put my rubber gloves on, but very happy.  I love the results of the fabric dyeing, but I don't think it's something I'd want to do a lot of, but I will definitely do some more silk scarf dyeing.

You can always pop over to Cotton Cocktail's blog to read the story from the point of view of the teacher.

I've got a magic cupboard ....

... or that's what I was beginning to think.  Why?  Well, last week was half-term, which meant that my son and family were coming up to see us.  Before they arrived I thought I'd better tidy up my sewing room, aka the conservatory.  So I sorted, folded, and generally piled up all the bits of fabric I had around and put them all in the cupboard, where they should have been anyway.  Now, by a lot of people's standards, I don't have a large stash and I therefore don't have a large cupboard to keep it in, but as I kept putting more and more stuff away I did think I was getting a lot of extra fabric in, but I was happy about that and just thought the cupboard must have magical powers that meant it could just keep storing more and more..

It was only a couple of days later that I discovered it wasn't magic after all - the back had come off, and as I pushed stuff in the front, it was falling out the back onto the floor.

Now I'm off to order some storage thingies I've seen advertised that I can fold the fabric round and store them on end like books.

and the winner is .....

.... well, I'll tell you in just a minute.  First I want to thank everyone who visited me during this tour.  It has been loads of fun for me and I hope you have all enjoyed it too.  Secondly, thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway.  I am sorry that I could not reply to everyone's comments, but I was absolutely blown away by the number of entrants, and I'd still be sitting here this time next month trying to answer everyone!

Now you're probably thinking to yourself  "oh why doesn't she stop chattering and just tell us who won?"   OK then, I will.  Oh, just before I tell you, I want to say that I had to draw this three times, as the first two were anonymous commenters, which seems such a shame, as they missed out on the chance to have this book.  Third time lucky though, the winner, drawn, as usual, by Random.org, is

and no 214 is 

Henrietta 

from Henrietta's Other Hat

Congratulations Henrietta.  Please email me with your address so that Kim can get your autographed copy of Scrap-Basket Sensations off to you soon.

It's the last day ...

... of the Scrap-Basket Sensations blog tour.  Today's stop is at Brown Quilts where Carol seems to have the same problem as me, in other words, "which one shall I make?"  Leave a comment on Carol's post for the final chance to win one of the autographed copies of the book. 

You also still have a chance to win if you hurry over to Karen's blog and leave a comment here, and can also still enter on my blog by leaving a comment on my post yesterday.

I hope you've all enjoyed the tour as much as I have, and I want to thank Kim for making it possible.

Scrap-Basket Sensations Blog Tour - Day 9

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks to everyone who entered.  You can see the winner here

 

Hurray, it's my turn at last to talk about this book, by Kim Brackett.  First off, I must tell you that I do have a problem with it, which I'll come to in a minute.

When I got my copy I couldn't wait to get started on one quilt in particular.  The quilt in question is called Island Chain, and this is Kim's version:

I had just the fabrics for it too as I had been collecting Spice Trail and other Jo Morton fabrics for quite a while.  Now Kim's instructions tell you you will need a certain number of 2 1/2" strips cut across the width of the fabric, but I only had FQ's.  So I simply cut 4 strips from each one to make my version.  Of course this meant I had to be very careful to use the strips in the right order, otherwise my chains would not have linked up, so out came the sticky notes and pins.  Once I had all the blocks assembled, I spent a while crawling around on the floor laying them out.  (My knees did not thank me for this, so I must sweet-talk Mr Fixit into fixing me up a design wall of some sort.)

More sticky notes and pins brought into action now to make sure I kept things in the right order, then on to the fun.  Sewing the blocks into rows, and then the rows into a quilt top. Thanks to Kim's clear and easy to follow instructions the whole top went together like a dream.

Here is my version, which you may have noticed is also on my blog header now.  It's called Friendship Chain, and it is going to become my absolute favourite, even over Leaves Around the Cabins.  It doesn't have a border yet as I've got to buy some fabric for it, and the bank manager would really rather I waited until next month to do that.

I mentioned at the beginning that I have one problem with this book.  my problem is, shall I make this quilt next,

or this one,

or maybe I'll decide to make one of the other fabulous quilts in here?

What about you?  Which would you chose?

There are 18 fabulous patterns in the book and they all include easy to follow instructions and cutting instructions that will make both scrap quilters and the scrap-challenged (like me) happy.  The book is published by Martingale & Co and can be found on Amazon here, or at your local quilt shop but if you would like to win an autographed copy of it, just leave a comment on this post before Sunday 20 February, when I will use the random number generator to draw a winner.  (If you are a no-reply blogger, please make sure you leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.)
Edited to add that I have already had several entrants from people I have no way of getting in touch with if they win.  PLEASE, if you do not have a blog, put your email address in your comment, otherwise I will not be able to contact you should you be the lucky winner.

I did also have some questions I wanted to ask Kim, but I have wittered on for so long that I think I'd better just tell you that tomorrow is the final day of this blog tour and our hostess for the day is Carol at Brown Quilts so don't forget to call in there for the final chance to win one of the autographed copies of the book.

Today we're visiting ....

.... Karen at Nana Girl Quilts for Day 8 of the Scrap-Basket Sensations blog tour.  Karen made several quilts for this book, and her post shows them as they would look around her house.  Karen and Kim have been friends for many years, so she also tells us more about Kim, which is interesting. Don't forget to leave a comment there for another chance to win one of the autographed copies of the book.
While you're there, stay and have a look at some of Karen's other quilts as she makes some fantastic traditional quilts, but she also makes some which are wonderful "art" quilts.

Do come back here tomorrow though, as it's my turn to talk about the book and to give away a copy of it.  Then on Saturday, it is the last stop on the tour, and the hostess will be Carol at Brown Quilts.

Whoops ...

... I nearly forgot to tell you that today's stop on our#scrap-Basket Sensations blog tour is at a great blog called Quilting Daze, where Darlene shares a little bit of information about each of us who are hostesses on the tour.  Do stay a little while and enjoy Darlene's blog, where she shows us all the fabulous quilts she makes.  Darlene is also one of Kim's Stunt Quilters for her book Scrap-Basket Sensations. Oh, and don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win an autographed copy of the book.

Tomorrow we're heading off to Karen at Nana Girl Quilts followed by me on Friday and Carol at Brown Quilts on Saturday.

We're on tour again ....

... this time we're heading off to Sinta's super blog called Pink Pincushion.  Sinta has a great blog with loads of inspiration, so make a coffee before you head over there.  She is also today's stop on the tour and has done some fun short "interviews with the people who helped Kim make the quilts in her book.  Head on over there and leave a comment for another chance to win a copy of Scrap-Basket Sensations.  You still have a chance at Sister's Choice and at Millie's Quilting, but you'll have to be quick. After today our itinerary is as follows:
Darlene at Quilting Daze - February 16th
Karen at Nana Girl Quilts - February 17th
Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th. 
Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th

Remember my Drunkard's Path top that I was putting together on Saturday?  Well, despite not liking it, I finished the top today, and guess what?  I love it now.  I still need to put the borders on, and that means I need to buy some fabric, but, after the marathon spend I've been on lately, I think I might need to wait a week or so.  So here it is, and it's now called Tipsy Trail.  Why?  Well tipsy for the drunkards and Trail cos a lot of the fabrics I used came from a range called Spice Trail.  (Sorry I didn't smooth it out properly before taking the photo, but my knees don't like me doing things like that any more.)

Scrap-Basket Sensations, and other things ...

... Today is day 4 of the blog tour for this fabulous book by Kim Brackett.  (Kim has a great blog by the way, here).  Today's stop is at Sister's Choice Quilts, where Nicole is showing her version of one of the quilts in the book which she has made already.  Pop along there and leave a comment on her post about the book for a chance to win an autographed copy. 

Because I was busy with Christmas all day yesterday, I did not get time to tell you about the host for the day,  who was Stephanie at Loft Creations.  Stephanie shows quite a few of the patterns that are in the book and I reckon anyone and everyone will find at least one pattern they absolutely MUST make.  You still have time to go there and leave a comment for another chance to win a copy of the book, but hurry, as she will be closing the draw and announcing the winner tomorrow.You still have time to enter at Quilt Hollow too, as Mary will be closing her draw this afternoon.

I haven't done any sewing today, but I had a super day yesterday at the Christmas Quiltalong, and was very happy with how much I got done.  Thanks so much Cathi for hosting it.

Christmas Quiltalong progress

It's evening here now, and I've stopped for dinner.  I should have had roast turkey and Christmas pud I guess, but we had Spaghetti Carbonnara which was yummy. 

I've sewn half the rows for my on my quilt and have started to sew those rows together. 

 I've made the second of my star blocks too. 

Now I think I'm going to work on bindings.

Christmas Quiltalong progress

So far I have sewn 3 rows together for my Drunkard's Path quilt.  Although it's not christmassy, it is most likely going to be a Christmas present for someone who doesn't read my blog, so it's OK to show my progress.

Now I'm off to visit everyone else.  See you all later.

Oh noooooo....

Uhh ohh, what on earth's up with her now, you're wondering.

Well I'll tell you.  Postie has just been and did not bring me the fabrics I wanted for today's Christmas Quiltalong!

Now, what am I going to do?

Well, I'm going to finish binding something that is intended as a Christmas present this evening in front of the TV so today I shall carry on with my Drunkard's Path quilt.

See you all later, when I hope to have a photo or two of my progress.

Jingle bells, jingle ......

...WHAT????

  Well, Christmas is coming you know, so tomorrow don't forget that the Christmas Quiltalong starts.  All the fun and games is being hosted by Cathi at Shakerwood Quilts this month, so grab your tinsel and your chocolate (oh and don't forget your fabrics) and let's all hurry over to Cathi's to join the party.

We're off again ...

... today's stop on the Scrap-Basket Sensations blog tour, is Quilt Hollow, here.  Don't forget to leave a comment on Mary's blog to win the copy of the book which she is giving away.  Make yourself a coffee and sit down to spend some time visiting Mary.  Her blog is great and she has wonderful photos of  her longarm quilting.

Now, I'm off to finish piecing some Drunkard's Path blocks.  I've only got about 5 to do, then I'll have to decide how to lay them out.  I've only got about eleventy-seven different ideas stored in EQ7!

Let's go touring ....

.... to today's stop on the Scrap-Basket Sensations blog tour, which is A Quilting Life.  Sherri gives us the opportunity to learn a little more about Kim Brackett, the author of this book (and of Scrap-Basket Surprises) and she also shows us the quilt she has already started making from Kim's new book.  Don't forget to leave a comment on Sherri's blog for the chance to win your own copy of this book.

Would you like to win ....

... one of these books?

Well, starting tomorrow, you could do just that. 

There is a blog book tour, with ten stops and at each stop a different blogger will tell you a bit about projects in the book and will give you the chance to win a copy for yourself.  Here is the tour itinerary:

Sherri at A Quilting Life - February 10th
Mary at Quilt Hollow - February 11th
Stephanie at Loft Creations - February 12th
Nicole at Sister's Choice Quilts - February 13th
Millie at Millie's Quilting - February 14th
Sinta at Pink Pincushion - February 15th
Darlene at Quilting Daze - February 16th
Karen at Nana Girl Quilts - February 17th
Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th.  Hey, that's me, everybody.
Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th

So, come on everyone, let's go touring!

Just look ....

... at what the postie brought me today.

A week or so ago Debbie  held her first ever giveaway on her blog.  The prize was a lovely charm necklace made by her daughter-in-law.  Well I was the lucky winner, and the postie delivered it today.  When I opened the package, I found that  Debbie had wrapped the necklace box in some great fabric to protect it.  (I already have a use for some of that fabric as it goes beautifully with the civil war fabrics I am using at the moment.)

I tried to take a close up photo of the charm, but couldn't get it in focus, so I have taken the one that Debbie had on her blog instead.  Isn't it great?

If you go to www.etsy.com/shop/treasuredcharms, you can see all the other great things that Debbie's daughter-in-law makes.

Thank you Debbie so much for your generosity.

Guess what? ....

So, you know what that means?  Yes the Christmas Quiltalong is starting up again on Saturday.

If you go to Cathi's blog, here, you'll find that she is hosting the first Quiltalong day of 2011.  If you sign up to have fun with us, as Cathi says, you will get the instructions for the first block of Scatty Christmas Stars.  I've already made my block, and so has Cathi.  I've used a dark background, Cathi's used a light, and we're both really looking forward to seeing everyone else's blocks.

Who won?

Well, it is that time again.

What time? 

Time for coffee?

Time to go and sew?

Nope, it's time to announce the winner of Scrap Basket Surprises.

As you know, I love this book, and have made quite a few things from it.  I am sure the lucky winner will also love it.

I used Random.org to draw the winning number, and it chose no. 64,

So who is no. 64?  It is Sunny, who said... "I'd love to have this book. Thanks for the chance to win."

Sunny, please send me your snail mail address so I can get this out to you.

I'm celebrating ....

.... the fact that my mojo has come back, so I thought this calls for a giveaway celebration.

Remember these quilts?

Or these table runners, which were based on quilt patterns

Well, they were all made from patterns in this book:

This is a book full of gorgeous patterns.  Kim uses clever piecing techniques so you will hardly ever make a half-square triangle and you will find that the patterns are all jelly-roll friendly too as they all use 2 1/2" strips.  I love this book, and so I have got together with Martingale & Company to give you a chance to win a copy of it for yourself.  Of course, Scrap basket Surprises has been out for a while now, so it is possible that you already have a copy on your bookshelf, and if so, why not enter and give the book to a friend if you win?

It's simple to enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post.  If you are a follower and leave me a separate comment to tell me that then you will be given another entry.  The giveaway is open to everyone, wherever you live, and will close at midnight GMT on Saturday so I will ask Random.org to select the winner and I will announce who that is on Sunday.

Just a little hint here, Kim has just had her second book published, called Scrap Basket Sensations, which is full of Sensational patterns, and you might like to keep an eye on my blog for some Sensational news about it soon!

I think it's back ....

 .... my missing mojo has returned.  So today I have spent a lot of time cutting.  I've cut all the pieces for a Drunkard's Path kit, which was a doddle thanks to my Go! cutter, and I've cut all the pieces for a gorgeous quilt from Kim brackett's new book called Scrap Basket Sensations. 

So where did it go, and why has it suddenly returned?  Well I haven't a clue where or why it went, but I think I know why it's returned.  I recently placed an order with Connecting Threads for loads of fabric and also for two kits.  I hoped they might get my quiltivation going again and it worked.  It's thanks to barb that I was able to buy these things as Connecting Threads don't ship overseas, so Barb volunteered to be my go-between. 

 When she forwarded things to me, Barb also put a little giftie in each package, and just look at what she has given me.  Some gorgeous tropical Samoan fabrics and a lovely pen.  Thank you so much Barb.