Happy New Year!!!!!

Happy New Year
Quilty Bloggy Friends!!!

May your new year be
blessed with sharp needles,
full bobbins and lots of inspiration!!!!

Whirl Into Winter Give Away is here!!!!!

Whirl Into Winter Give Away is Closed
and the winners are announced!!!!!!

And, the winners are.....................
Prize number 1 goes to:

Quilt Pixie said...

what wonderful fabrics! Thanks for the opprotunity to win them :-)

Prize number 2 goes to:

GunnyMom said...

This is the perfect giveaway for an beginner stasher. I enjoy fabric so much, these are very comfortable fabrics. I would love to create something with them. checked out your profile, we are new caregivers also.
thanks, gunnymom86@yahoo.com

And since there were ALMOST 300 comments, I decided to draw a third winner!!!

Prize number 3 goes to:

Willow Lake Stitches said...

Wow it looks like you are breaking the records on comments !

Nice blog and thanks for the generous giveaways !

Beth in ND

Congrats to all three winners!!!! Now, winner two and three will not receive the exact same fabrics shown, but they will be very similar.

Please contact me with your snail mail addy. I will try to get these out to you on Tuesday, the 20th, but hopefully, sooner than that!

Thanks so much everyone for all the comments!!!

Welcome to the Whirl Into Winter Give Away!!!!!!!

The Fall Into Fall Give Away here at A Latte Quilts was unbelievable. There were 212 comments. So, I am expecting there to be the same amount of comments!!! Are you ready??? Read this entire post or you just might miss
something!!!!!

RULES: 1. Leave a comment to THIS post.......
be sure that I can reach you through
your blog or through
an e-mail account.
If your name is drawn
and you can't be reached,
I will draw another name.

The PRIZE: 6 Moda Fat Quarters --
Plaids and Stripes.......
One of these is a "twill" type fabric,
a bit thicker than the others, but nice!!!!

Drawing will be on January 16th!!!!!
So be sure and come back to see who the winners are!!!

NOW........If we reach 200 comments, I will add another set of Fat Quarters, very similar to these, to the drawing. And there will be 2 winners. If we reach 300 comments, there will be yet another set of Fat Quarters added to the drawing and there will be three winners, and so on!!!

And just so you know......I always add special bits to the drawing as time goes on. Chocolate is sure to make an appearance and who knows what else....maybe some scraps???? Hmmmm.....you just never know!!!!

So, leave your comment.....and Happy Quilting and Blog Hopping!!!!!!!

Be sure and click the Whirl Into Winter Give Away pic on my sidebar to find more blogs that are participating!!!!!!

Christmas Sewing

Here is a pic of Ellie the Elephant that I made for Dear Niece. She seems to love it. She was holding Ellie by both ears and toddling around with her, jibbering and jabbering. Too cute. Ellie wasn't hard, just time consuming and at times frustrating. So glad she's done. Now, just one more to make......one for Dear Younger Daughter and me! We'll share.....we're both too old for stuffed animals, but OH WELL!!!





And, here is an ornament table runner I started working on before Christmas. I thought maybe I'd add it to my personal Christmas decorations. But, since we didn't do decorations this year, I decided I would quilt it sometime this year and decorate with it next year. It needed to be ironed before I took the pic, but since it's going into the "tops closet", what would be the point??? LOL


And, I was going to post pics of the little doll that I helped Dear Younger Daughter make for her little cousin....but I didn't get a pic of it finished. Looks like little Annie doll will have to come back for a visit and a photo session.

Here is a pic of Dear Younger Daughter sewing...... and part of the doll....yes, she's on the computer. She had to check her e-mail. This pic is before clothes and hair bow. Since it was made for a toddler, we decided to skip the hair. Just one more thing to put in little cousin's mouth!!!! Dear Younger Daughter likes to take silly pics and this was the best of the bunch!! LOL

Hope your Christmas sewing went well.

Happy Quilting!!!!!!!!

String Blocks

So, I straightened up a bit, and pulled out this huge bucket of red strings.








I had already sewn 9 blocks and here are a few of those and 9 new ones I made today! Felt good to be at the machine.



So looks like I am making a red string quilt......didn't plan that one. Just needed some mindless sewing and strings are just the thing.

Rainy Day

What is it about rainy days that make you feel so lazy??? I was hoping to spend a few minutes this morning in the sewing room, but haven't yet. It's past noon and I'm still sitting here on the laptop, reading blogs, commenting and reading some articles I've had bookmarked.

Ok....this is it. Off to the sewing room for me. Let's see what I can get done. I really need to straighten up some before I start anything.

I'll post again in a bit and let you know what I got accomplished.

May the Christ of Christmas dwell in your heart.....

Merry Christmas

Christmas Shopping

I spent a few hours yesterday working on some more Christmas shopping. I just thought I was through!! LOL How does that happen???

And here is what I saw yesterday while out shopping.....







And, this.....(Both these pics are from the web.)

But, all's well that ends well. I got everything done but one last small gift to purchase. I know just what it is and where to get it...so that's not a big deal.

We made 10 dozen cookies on Thursday for mom's co-workers. I wrapped gifts yesterday.

While I was out, I picked up my new cell phone. We use Sprint and get free upgrades every two years...I don't care what kind I get, so long as it works and it's free. My phone is not a status symbol, like some may like, it's a workhorse.

Here is something funny about this phone. Remember, I like free or at least cheap....well, so does my mom, my sister, my BIL and my husband. We all have the same phone. YIKES! Dear Sister, BIL and mom had their phones first, we are copy cats. Oh well! So, now when they come over, no one can set their phone down. All of our "greetings" are different, so that will help us distinguish them from the others, but funny, nonetheless.

Not much quilty stuff happening this week...but this afternoon, Dear Younger Daughter and I are going to work on a project/gift for my little niece, her cousin. She's pretty excited. What kid doesn't like to use a sewing machine??? LOL

So.....Happy Quilting, or shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday!!

I can't believe I let the day pass yesterday without mentioning my daughter's birthday! I definitely remembered, after all I was there that day....but yesterday, I was gone most of the day, finishing up Christmas shopping.

So, to my sweet daughter.....Happy Birthday!!!! I'm so grateful for you. I'm grateful that the Lord gave you to our family 24 years ago. You've been a blessing and I can't wait to see how the Lord continues using you to benefit the lives of so many others!!!!

Not much sewing going on here...

....and that's just fine for now. I've been busy organizing my pantry and cabinets. I'm preparing for Christmas. Sounds silly, but when I realized how much we needed to purchase, I decided that I'd better get things organized!! So that's what I've been up to this week.

I cleaned out our rather small pantry and tried to organize all the boxed foods, flour, sugar, cereal and other baking supplies. I found crazy things like two opened salt boxes and two opened pepper boxes. How does that happen? I also found three or four bottles of corn syrup. Now, granted, we use more this time of year than any other, but why do I have 3 or 4, different sizes and different brands??



Since our house is a bit snug, I have shelves out in the garage where I store canned and paper goods. When organizing those, I found lots and lots of beans.....black beans and kidney beans mostly. I use those in soups. I have LOTS of soup recipes I fall back on for a hurry up meal and beans are a great source of fiber and protein. And, they're cheap and filling!!!

And, you can NEVER have too many canned tomatoes. I use them in EVERYTHING....literally, ok maybe not literally, but almost everything. My mom has a dear friend that lives nearby, and I frequently try to take a serving of food from our meals. The only problem is that she can't eat tomatoes of any kind. I didn't realize how many meals we have with tomatoes in them, until I started trying to share our meals with Mrs. Harriet.

I've added to my food storage by filling large jars with things like oats, some cereals, nuts, spaghetti, snack mixes and other dry goods so that they are easy to get to. It also helps to keep our pantry thinned out enough to be able to find things better....well, except for that salt and pepper and corn syrup!

I cleaned out both refrigerators and organized the stuff in them and threw some things away. Someone gave us some canned figs and I did try them....but they must have been REALLY old, cause they were nasty. Yuck.

Here's a kind tip....please, if you have old preserves and don't want to throw them out, don't, just keep them....forever.....but please....please....don't give them to others. If they are old, do the right thing and throw them away yourself. Ok...tip over.

And, if you've been married for a while, you may have discovered as I have, that things have to be replaced. Last month, mom and I purchased new dinner ware. We bought three sets. This is my third set in 25 years. I used Corelle for the first 15 years, purchased stone wear next and now I have this lovely set from Sam's. I love them!

Then this week, mom and I also replaced our cookware. Our non stick pans were sticking and looking awful, so we picked up two large skillets. And, we also purchased this set of cookware by Paula Deen. By the way, they are cheaper in the store. I think our set was $59. I would love to replace everything I own with stainless. Looks like I've just about done it, because I really think this set of cookware combined with my other large stainless pots will be enough.

Mom and I went to Walmart yesterday and did all our Christmas meal and candy/cookie making shopping. A huge task! I'm so glad mom and I were able to do this together. It sure made it much easier on both of us. So, now all we have to do is wait for the Christmas meal prep to start....we're all set. And, man, I'm glad to have these jobs out of the way!!

I'm waiting for a package from an online quilt shop. Once I get it, I'll be able to start on those sweet Melly and Me patterns. Maybe I'll get them done by Christmas. I read the pattern and it looks pretty easy. Can't wait to get started!

If you've read this far, please, give yourself a gold star!

Happy Quilting!!!!!!

# 4 Challenge

My bloggy friend, Karen over at Living Life at LeeHaven, tagged me for a challenge.

It's called the #4 Challenge. Here are the rules:



*Go to the fourth photo file on your computer
*Choose the fourth picture in that file
*post it and explain
*tag four people to do the same

So.....here is my pic!

I think this rather coincidental, don't you??? My fourth photo folder was my Christmas decoration folder from last Christmas. And here is the fourth picture.

This is an ornament that was given to one of my children in the late 80's, early 90's by my MIL. If I had the actual ornament in my hand, I could read the bottom of it. It has the child's name and the year written on it.

So, like the ornament says, "Joy to the World"!!!!

Thanks Karen, for tagging me. And here are the four blogs/quilters I am tagging....chosen from those who commented on my last post!

Marilyn from Piece by Piece....

Whitestone from Wanna Walk Along?.....

Marcie from Patchalot More....

JenClair from Bayou Quilts.....



Happy Quilting!!!!!!!!!

Fabric......sweet fabric!

Yesterday I drove to my sister's house to spend some time with her and the baby. We decided that it would be a great day to visit a new (to me) Quilt Shop in Texas City. It's called Cactus Quilts. The owner was a very nice and helpful lady, and the quilt shop was good even if it was a tad small. She had lots to look at and I seemed to have no trouble picking out some stuff I really liked and needed!!

I found these five indigo fat quarters in a discount basket. They were 40% off.



And, here are two pieces of LOUD fabric for a Melly and Me project for Dear Little Niece. Dear Sister loved these fabrics and let Dear Niece pick whether she wanted the green background or pink. She went with green, you see.

Two more pieces of cutesy fabric for a Melly and Me project for Dear Younger Daughter (actually for me.....but I'm sharing). I LOVE this pink print!!! And who doesn't like brown with pink polka dots???

More on those two projects later.

And the deal of the day......2 yards of this little cowboy fabric at 75% off. Yep, two yards for $4. I'm thinking my niece needs a top made out of this for Go Texans Day in February. Go Texans Day kickoff day for the Rodeo every year and all over Houston people dress up in their cowboy finery. Crossing fingers that I get it done. I know, a one year old doesn't need two yards for a top, but I'm a quilter.....it will get used!!! LOL

Happy Quilting!!!!!!

SNOW

For those of you who see snow all the time, this will seem ridiculous. Even as an adult, I'm tickled...so excited!! It's snowing!!!!!! The last time we had snow like this was in the 70's, when I was a young child!!!

It's beautiful AND messy!!

We live in Houston, Texas and we have SNOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!!!!!












BTW, notice all the tropical plants covered in snow???? Rather funny!!!

Ok, I'm done now. I really needed to post pics so my kids who aren't home can see! LOL

Suggestions Needed

Dear Hubby, (bless his heart if he lives) woke me up this morning around 3:00 a.m. Usually, this isn't a big deal. I just grope around in the darkness, adjust him in bed and feel my way around back into my bed. The problem this morning?? Remember, I said yesterday that I slept 13 hours? Well, unless I'm totally exhausted, like I usually am, I can't go back to sleep. So I've been up a while.

It has all worked out fine. My mother in law is coming by today to cut Dear Hubby's hair, and I really wanted to get the sewing room straightened. So, that's what I've been up to this morning....very dark and early morning.....LOL.

Hence, the need for suggestions. While cleaning up I rediscovered (uncovered) this sweet little stitchery made for me last Christmas (???I think????) by my Dear Friend M. Finding the fabric you see on the borders on the table too, it just seemed logical to put them together. I even pieced a backing and got the sweet little thing basted. (I'm using those scraps from the Hopscotch Quilt....yes, from back in October, the scraps were still sitting on the sewing table.)

Now, here is where I need your opinion. This little quilt measures 11x13. I'm going to hand quilt it. How should I quilt it? When you quilt a stitchery, do you quilt around the stitches? Do you slide that needle and thread under the stitches or just quilt right on top of them? (yuck???) Do you ignore the middle section and just quilt the borders?

I'm at a standstill.....so start opinionating here!!!! Let's hear some ideas....please.


Happy Quilting!!!!!!

What I do with down time.....

So, I haven't been posting on my quilting blog a lot. At least that's the rumor I'm hearing. LOL I have been trying to sleep as much as possible. My issue is that I go and go until I fall down. Sounds like most women we know. Last night, I went to sleep at 10:00 p.m. and didn't wake until 9:00 a.m. I woke up feeling better than I have in weeks.

I've been busy this week, taking it easy...and finding creative ways to keep myself occupied while I rest.

Since I haven't been posting here are some things I've been doing....

I visited the Dr. Pepper website and downloaded this pic. I just like it. Other than putting it in this post, I don't know what I'll do with it.

I've played lots of games of MSN Backgammon.

I've played some Spades.

I've played a game called Mental Blocks from the ESPN website. Dear Younger Son introduced me to it.

I've written some on my other blog, the one about caregiving.

I got a pedicure.

I've been to the Post Office and mailed off the Blog Give Away gifts. One to Australia and the other to Pennsylvania.

I found my house on Google Maps and seen the satellite photo of it.

I drove an hour away to have Dear Younger Daughter's Jr. Bridesmaid dress fitting done and watch the alteration lady work some magic with straight pins.

I started watching the DVDs of 24 Season 1 and have started Season 2....again. Dear Sister and BIL own them and we borrowed them.

I've watched most of the movies Dear Younger Son has been buying on eBay, regardless of whether they are my favorite genre or not.

I've grocery shopped.

I've played with red strings.

And here's an admission.....I've been stealing quilt pictures off the web. Now, before anyone prosecutes me, I don't put them on my blogs. I don't print them. I don't give them to others. What do I do with them? I put them in a folder and use them as a screen saver. Or I view them as a slideshow. I just LOVE looking a quilts. I may have stolen your pics......just to look at for inspiration, I promise.

So, because I've gotten all these photos off the net, I have to organize them into folders. That's what I've been doing.

I've been reading blogs and searching for new ones!

A rather pathetic little life......oh, and I take care of my husband.

Blog Give Away.....
just visit Em's Scrapbag
to enter the drawing!
Cute stuff!!!!

Mindless Sewing

So, what do you do when you aren't feeling 100%?? How about some mindless sewing and a bitty project??

Here is what I've been working on......just for fun.



Some red string blocks. They are 6 1/2 inches.


I have no idea what these will become. A quilt, a table runner, or perhaps a Christmas tree skirt? I don't know, I'm still toying with the idea.







And then I made myself this little bitty mini. It measures 8x5 inches. I purposefully cut the tree crooked. Love it. It has ragged edge applique, also known as "I was too lazy to look for my fusible web" applique.














I also ordered three patterns and they came in the mail yesterday. LOVE Melly and Me...don't you??? I ordered these patterns for my niece (actually for me because I love them and want them, but I'm pretending that I ordered them for her). I know she is (we are) going to love them. I am going to make them sometime after the first of the year. I was thinking she needed them for Christmas, but decided she will have too much to deal with at Christmas, so I'm going to save them for her first birthday. She'll be older then (in two months) and will appreciate them more!

I have a thing for handmade stuffed items, and it's my Granny's fault. She made me a upside down doll when I was a tiny child. I can't believe I don't still have it and I almost cry when I think about it. I don't even know what happened to her, so I have no one to be mad at. Here is the pic of one, and I think I may have to make one.....for my niece??? Perhaps, but definitely for myself.





My Granny also made my oldest brother a little puppy. I LOVE IT!! I have it and I'm taking care of it for my brother. I'm not sure he knows I have it, but if he ever asks for it, I'll be sure and give it to him!!!! LOL Please don't tell him!!!







And then, when I was young, my dad (yeah, that's right), my dad made me this giraffe. It was from a panel where you cut it out on the lines and sew it on the lines. I love it too. He looks very worn, because I carried him everywhere. One ear is ripped. But, my older three kids played with him when they were little. I let Younger Daughter hold him several times....but he is too worn to love too much. He's my own little Velveteen Rabbit.

Happy Quilting!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited to add: What's the deal with all the empty space???? And, I forgot to resize the last two pics. So glad there is no dust on the fake plant behind the doggie or I'd have to redo it!!! LOL

Slightly Derailed

I really had planned on getting some sewing done, but life has a way of setting your schedule sometimes. I've had a bit of health issue. Nothing big, just not feeling well and needing a few naps here and there. Dear Hubby is slowly recovering. I haven't been sleeping well and it makes it difficult to get things done when you're exhausted. Things like this ebb and flow, so I know it will get better....soon, I hope!!

And, no this isn't me....I only WISH I looked this good when awake or asleep!!!

I haven't gotten the labels on the two give away quilts, so they haven't been mailed yet. So sorry bloggy friends. I will try to get them done this week.

I did get to take Dear Younger Daughter to try on her bridesmaid dress today. That was fun...really. She's small and they ordered a size 0 for her. She's just 12, but even a 0 was too big. It looks as if the alteration shop will be able to fix it for her. Then we had lunch with the ladies in my future DIL's family. It was a special time together.

I was able to get a bit of a nap today, so maybe I'll be able to get some things done this weekend.
Happy Quilting!!!

Winners!!!!

Winner of the One Year Blogversary Drawing is:

Kerry (From Forever Friday) said...

What fun, two of my favourite things, quilts and lattes. I would love to included in the draw, it would be a pleasure to own one of your lovely little quilts.

Kerry, you have won the Bear Paw Mini Quilt!!!! Congratulations!!


Winner of the 200th Post Drawing is:

kutiekare (From Quilting With Grace) said...

I love those little quilts!
Thanks for the give away!

Kutiekare, you have won the Basket Block Mini!!! Congratulations!!!!!

I will be contacting the winners by e-mail ASAP!!! Pictures of the finished quilts will be posted....as soon as the binding is done on the last one!! LOL

Thanks so much everyone! It's been such fun.

The next drawing will be the Whirl Into Winter Blog Give Away, so there WILL BE more chances to win!!! Stay tuned!!

Happy Quilting!!!!