Blog Hop Day 3 (My Turn!!!)

Are you still with me? Are you LOVING the projects on this parade? I know I am...

Today, it is MY turn to share with you, and I am so happy to be paired up with Jill Finley from Jillily Studio. Make sure you stop by her blog and see her great project, and pick up your special holiday word so you can enter the SUPER DUPER Grand Prize Giveaway. I am also having a great giveaway of my own, but you'll have to read to the end of my post (aren't I sneaky...)

Jill Finley

Jillily Studio

For those of you who are new to my blog, my name is Jacquelynne Steves, and I am a quilter, watercolorist, and recovering perfectionist (more about that last part later....)

I have been painting with watercolors for about 13 years, and quilting for 10 years. Designing fabric is the perfect way for me to combine those two things that I love to do! My first fabric line with Henry Glass Fabrics just hit the stores about 6 weeks ago, it's called Sewing Room Social. Find it at your local quilt shop, or online at Cindy's Quilt Shop (type Sewing Room Social in the search box). A little peek:

My next line, called Joy, Love, Peace, Noel, will be in stores in May 2011:

I am also working (furiously!) on a book for Kansas City Star, due out July 2011. I am really excited about this, because I am doing a lot of watercolor illustrations for the book.  I am working on the main quilt this week, I have some embroidery still to do but I hope to get it done soon:

Also, I stay pretty busy making handmade wool pins, which I sell at craft shows and on my website. The profits for the pins are donated to buy sheep for poor families, so they can start a business and support their families. Fun, right???? We are now up to 65 sheep donated- that's 65 families helped!

Oh, and before I forget- My special holiday word (which you will need to enter the Grand Prize Giveaway) is:
Santa Claus
Ho Ho Ho!

My free project is a Wonky Whimsical Christmas Tree Pin Cushion. Click HERE for the project sheet that you can download and print out.

 I went through several prototypes in making this project. I had an idea in my head of how I wanted it to look, and I made a whole forest full of trees. I tried pastels:

I tried decorating the trees with ribbon:

I tried wool:

And then there was this one:

Now, maybe you are thinking- that's not so bad, it looks like a Hershey's Kiss. What's wrong with a nice fat Christmas tree? Well, nothing... except that this one happened to be roughly the size of my head (PS I do not have a small head... I have a hard time finding hats that fit... but that's a story for another day). Back to the drawing board...

My final version didn't come out anything like the way I had first envisioned it in my head. It came out wonky, tilt-y, and uneven. But I love it! It reminds me of a Dr. Seuss tree, with a bunch of Who's from Whoville singing around it. I think it is better than I had originally imagined, even though it is nothing like I had originally planned it.

Isn't that the way life goes sometimes? We imagine things, plan for them, envision exactly how everything is going to go, and then they just don't turn out the way we expected.

At this time of year, some of us are particularly in perfectionism overdrive. Our heads are swimming with ideas for the handmade gifts we want to give and the perfect parties we plan to throw and the ideal gifts that we are going to buy (on sale of course!). And then maybe around December 22, we realize that probably our perfect plans aren't going to come to fruition and we feel defeated. But just remember, sometimes the wonky imperfect things in our lives are way better than the perfect ones. I for one have come to a point in my life where I am quite happy to invite friends over for pizza and not feel obligated to make a full meal. This year, I have decided to make only 2 kinds of cookies, instead of the 8 or 10 different kinds that I have made every year for the last 20 years. We will make something easy and simple, like Chocolate Chip or Raspberry Bars. The other kind that we will most definitely be making is our favorite decorated Sugar Cookie recipe:

 They are labor intensive, but everyone gets to be an artist! Last year, the kids had some friends over for a cookie decorating party, and everyone took home a couple dozen beautifully decorated and really delicious cookies.

This year, I am throwing perfectionism out the window and planning on having a Christmas that is wonky, tilt-y and uneven. But for me, spending time with my family and friends, celebrating the birth of the Savior, it will be perfect.

TO ENTER my giveaway, leave a comment about whether you are a perfectionist (aka Martha Stewart), a recovering perfectionist (like me), or someone who started letting everything slide a long time ago (remember Peg Bundy from the show Married with Children?? sometimes I wish I could be like her.)
ALSO, if you sign up as a Follower of my blog, you will get another chance to win (let me know if you are already a Follower- that still counts!)
ALSO, if you link to my blog from your blog, you will get another chance to win.
(In case you are bad at math like I am, that means you get up to 3 chances to win.) Just let me know in your comment if you have also signed on to be a Follower (or already were one) and if you linked from your blog.

You must comment by midnight EST tomorrow December 4. Please make sure I can contact you, either through your Blogger account or make sure I have your email address.

I will choose TWO winners at random.
Oh, are you wondering what the prize is? The first winner will receive a pattern and fabric kit to make my "Spring Fling" quilt (retail value $56.00!!!)

The second winner will receive this adorable book for making little dresses, by Mary Abreu. This is near and dear to my heart- I used to love making clothes for my 2 girls when they were little. Now that they are 15 and 20, though, they will not have it! Many years ago, I even made little boutique dresses out of quilting cottons and sold them. That was way back in the early 90's, before it was all the rage, as it is now.

OK, that's it. Thanks for sticking with me through this long post.

Good Luck and Happy Hopping!!!