A Winner & The 4 letter word I like the most.....

You know it- SALE!!

Yippee- spring is finally here! In celebration, all quilt patterns and kits on my website are 15% off.

Even the brand spankin' new releases are on sale. Here is a peek:

This one is called Merry-Go-Round and the pattern has directions for both colorways- primary and pastel. I really love this one- it's so much fun!

 This is called Chamomile Afternoon. My next post will have something very special and fun for you, so make sure to stop back in a couple of days.

Finally, a new pin pattern, the Scrappy Quilt-y Flower Pin. Use up your scraps make piles of pins for yourself and gift giving (don't forget Mother's Day is right around the corner- all of the ladies in your life would love to receive one of these hand made by you.)


BTW we also have a winner for the "Good Egg" Giveaway. Thanks to everyone who participated! (Hint, if you like giveaways, you will want to stop back here soon.....)
Overwhelmingly, the person who inspired us most is dear old MOM, followed closely by GRANDMOM. (Remember that- Mother's Day is quickly approaching!)
Many of us also found FELLOW BLOGGERS and QUILTING BUDDIES inspirational.
The winner of the giveaway was Bev from Kainga Happenings down in Australia- congratulations, Bev!

A Good Egg Giveaway

Sandi over at A Legacy of Stitches is REALLY a "good egg"! She has organized a HUGE giveaway opportunity for you!

Hop on over to this special blog called Hoppin' Good Eggs she has set up and you will find links to all of the giveaway participants. There are 30 participants- THAT'S 30 GIVEAWAYS FOR YOU TO ENTER!!!!!!!

I will be giving away this collection of 10 gorgeous fat-eighths from the Floral Collection by Lecien. So romantic and antique-ish, they are perfect for any spring project you can dream up.

The winner will also receive a pin with a spring basket design, hand-painted with water colors by yours truly.

To enter, leave a comment here and tell me the name of someone who has inspired or encouraged you. Maybe it was a parent or teacher, or a fellow blogger, or even someone whom you've never met but whose courage or values have inspired you. I will ship internationally, so everyone is welcome to enter. PLEASE make sure I can contact you through a blogger account, or leave your email address in the comment! Comments must be posted by midnight Eastern time on March 28.

Let me tell you about a few "good eggs" that I know......

Sandi, who is sponsoring this giveaway blog hop, featured me as her very first blogger of the week, way back when. If you will go to Sandi's blog, you will find her generosity astounding. She always has free patterns and goodies to give away, she organizes retreats, and she volunteers at women's prisons. She is one busy lady! But very very kind and she has a big heart.

Brenda, at Acorn Quilt and Gift Company, has also been very generous to me with her time, advice, and wisdom. When I first started out in the quilt designing business, Brenda took me under her wing and gave me tons and tons of invaluable advice. I love her kind heart. I look forward to seeing her in Minneapolis in May for International Quilt Market!

Finally, Robin, at The Robin's Nest, a wonderful friend. We met through our blogs (I can't remember who found who's first or how, but somehow we managed to find each other!) and though we live on opposite sides of the country (she in Washington, me in New Jersey) we have managed to become "soul sistas".  You will love her fun craft ideas and fabulous photography.

OK that's it for this post. Good luck on the giveaway, and make sure to check out all of the great blogs I have mentioned here.

New Free Pattern

Here is the latest Free Pattern on the website. Click here to find it.  Enjoy!

First Day of Spring!

The year's at the spring

And day's at the morn;

Morning's at seven;

The hillside's dew-pearled;

The lark's on the wing;

The snail's on the thorn;

God's in His heaven -

All's right with the world!

~Robert Browning

 Spring is here at last! Enjoy today!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Here is a quote and a prayer attributed to St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland.

Born between 387 and 390 in Scotland, died March 17, c. 461 in Ireland.

I came to the Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure the taunts of unbelievers, putting up with reproaches about my earthly pilgrimage, suffering many persecutions, even bondage, and losing my birthright of freedom for the benefit of others. If I am worthy, I am ready also to give up my life, without hesitation and most willingly, for Christ’s name. I want to spend myself for that country, even in death, if the Lord should grant me this favor. It is among that people that I want to wait for the promise made by him, who assuredly never tells a lie. He makes this promise in the Gospel: “They shall come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” This is our faith: believers are to come from the whole world.

Christ shield me this day:

Christ with me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every person who thinks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in the ear that hears me.

 It is said that St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain Christianity to the Irish, with the three leaves representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Youngest daughter loves Irish potatoes, they look like little potatoes and taste delicious. She made them from light cream cheese, so I can eat as many as I want, right???

Here is the recipe:

4 oz. cream cheese

2 tbsp. butter

1 lb. confectioner's sugar

1/2 c. coconut

Cinnamon & sugar mix

Mix cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add coconut and confectioner's sugar. Knead until well blended. Roll dough into balls. Roll balls in the cinnamon- sugar mix.

You know what they say- Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day!

Have you been to Pier 1 Imports lately??

I don't know about the rest of you (but, OK- I can probably guess) but I am ready for warm weather.... Daughter and I stopped into Pier 1 the other day and found some things that really put us in the summer mood (i.e. outdoor relaxation, sipping cold blender beverage of choice from gorgeous, colorful stemware while wearing flip flops and maybe eating a burger or 2 hot off the grill- heaven). Here are some of our finds.....
 
Colorful pillows, perfect for inside to brighten up a room, or how about on a deck or sunporch.... 

 Lovely flower napkin rings - notice how the orange one matches Vanna's Daughter's fingernail polish....

And then there are the dishes... *sigh*... I am a sucker for plates and bowls and platters, and I just want everything I see in the store, every shape and size.... I come by it honestly, though... my mom and grandmother have been collecting for years.... don't you just love all of the colors!?!

I must admit to serious infatuation with this platter....

And finally, just 2 words....

POLKA DOTS!!!!!!

Weekend Happenings

We spent the weekend down at the beach house, working on the next room to be remodeled. It is a large bedroom, we had to scrap one layer of paint and 2 layers of ancient wallpaper (at least 50 years old!) It took the 4 of us a whole weekend to get the walls cleaned up (this is the family bonding that we do on our kids' Spring Break- they really appreciate that....). Hubby and eldest daughter then painted on the primer, so we are now ready to paint. I just have to decide on a color- blue or green?

While we were scraping, younger daughter thought that the area that she was working on looked like South America. I'm not sure what happened next, but I think that eldest daughter then challenged her to create something more, how shall we say, intriguing? Next thing we knew, we had this on the wall:

Holy appearance? No. Unique artistry on the part of a 15 year old girl? Yes, I think so.

Younger daughter and I drove home Sunday night so she could go to school on Monday, while hubby and eldest daughter stayed behind. We got home to find out that we had run out of oil- no heat, no hot water. I tried to restart the furnace, but it groaned and smoked, so I hit the kill switch. Thank goodness for electric blankets. Then tonight, right before dinner, we heard a strange noise coming from the basement- apparently the freezer is dying a slow miserable death. I moved everything upstairs and crammed it into the kitchen freezer, then pulled the plug and put it out of its misery. I guess we will be shopping for a new one this week (which is nothing compared to trying to get the old one out of the basement- maybe we will just leave it there- a nice "gift" for the new owners 20 or 30 years from now).

How was your weekend?

So It's Not a Baby Hedgehog....

It is still C-U-T-E!!

(I don't know if they are stinkers yet at this tender age- my guess is that if they're anything like human babies, they become stinkers as teenagers.)

(Original photo found here.)

Original photo and cute story here.

And a HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HUBBY TODAY! (I won't tell you how old he is, but you can sneak over to his blog to find out.)

In the Studio Today

A few things I'm working on-
I just love this block- it is my new favorite. The quilt is coming along. Remember last week I said I hoped to have it done by Monday (yesterday) to take to the quilter? HA! Sometimes I just make MYSELF laugh!

Working on wool flowers for pins-

And THIS is taunting me every time I walk past it-

BTW, stop by my friend Brenda's blog and wish her a happy birthday today!