What's Going on in the Studio Today

There's still time to enter the Truly Tremendous Giveaway (I just love alliteration- don't ask me why....) Click here to enter.

As you can see, Maddie has been very busy "helping" in the studio today..... By the way, she has decided that my chair is her favorite chair, so I have spent the past couple of weeks standing at my work station. That's right- the cat spends the day sleeping on my chair, and I stand to work. Why? I don't know- it seems the pets tend to run the house.... I'm sure many of you can relate!
Today, I am working on a baby quilt. My husband's cousin, who lives in the U.K., is expecting her second baby at the end of this month. So I am working feverishly to get this done so I can ship it so they'll have it for Christmas. I am calling it "For Ella's Sister," since I know the baby is a girl but don't know her name yet. And Ella (now only about 20 months old) will be welcoming a new baby sister.

I love the fabrics in this- I started with the ginger/orange fabric from the Figtree Quilts Folklorique Collection (Moda). I wanted to avoid making this just pastels, and I thought the orange was an interesting choice. Then I went this weekend and picked up a yellow paisley from the April Cornell Paisley Collection (Moda), which I just LOVE.

I am planning on posting this quilt as a FREE PATTERN when I get it done, so make sure you check back. I think it's going to come out really great.

Some Quilts

CLICK HERE to enter the SUPER STUPENDOUS BLOG GIVEAWAY.

This fall, I will be teaching some classes at a local quilt shop, Needles and Pins, run by my fun friend Marie. I will be teaching 3 of my own designs, Ladybug Garden, Happy Harvest Wall Hanging and Pillow (shown on the cover of The Country Register/NJ this month), and SunBlossom Tote. If you live in the southern New Jersey/Delaware Valley area, come visit the shop and maybe sign up for a class or 2 and meet some wonderful fellow quilters. All of the patterns are available on my website, along with some free patterns and recipes.

We Promise to Never Forget.....

"American Banner" by Michael Belden

Old Glory you wave o'er the Land of the Free,
Home of the Brave
Sweet Liberty.
Old Glory you stand for the whole world to see
The price we will pay
For Democracy.

Old Ribbon transcending the mortal design
Your standard the stalwart to which we attain,
Our Allegiance inviolate, our legacy divine
Reliant in battle, defiant in flame
American Banner, the red, white and blue.

Old Ribbon unfolding against every wind's sweep;
Your bountiful, beautiful banner yet waves;
The crack of your furl in the voice that you speak
The resolute accord of our inalienable brave.

There are moments in time our nation cries;
Mourning together our great sacrifice
For our fallen in battle
For our terrorized skies
Paid for forever by the blood of their lives.

There are those whose salute you laid down to rest,
Sown out of beauty, reaping the wind
Stolen in glory in tyranny's quest
God Bless America, freedom manifest.

And the stars in your heaven united they sing
Exalted, ennobled, in grandeur they ring;
Emblazoned in Gallantry, arrayed in love,
Defined by the fire, made whole by the blood.

And the shining light that your stars refine,
And your stripes united in defining line,
And your colors brilliant beyond all time,
Resplendent, ascending, sublime.

From the ocean deeps to star light years,
From the reaches of space to the wall of tears,
From the rages of war to a lasting peace,
Glory, Oh Glory, may you long increase.

Oh Liberty sweet, forlorn and alone,
We honor and defend you abroad and home;
In war's raging fury we will strike down our foe,
That our peace be healed and our love made whole.

And your Stars forge lightning against the sky
And your Stripes in union peal a thunder bay
And your might and your valor
With the last words to say
God Bless America; God Bless the USA.

Giveaway Update

I had so much fun today, shopping for some goodies for the giveaway! As far as I'm concerned, it's never too early to start thinking about Christmas and the winter holidays- so here is a little something to get you started (if you haven't started thinking about it already.) The giveaway includes:

Gooseberry Patch Christmas Book
Gooseberry Patch Tote Bag
Book of Recipes for Gift Mixes
Package of 8 Santa Teddy Christmas Cards
Package of 8 Bunny Holiday Cards
Christmas CD
4 Fat Quarters
2 Packages of Christmas Buttons (so cute!)
Spool of Green Grosgrain Ribbon
Spool of Red Grosgrain Ribbon


The retail value of this giveaway is almost $60.00, so don't miss out! (So sorry if I sound like a TV infomercial- I'm just so excited about this....)
Here are the "rules"-

1) leave a comment on this post or click here to comment on the previous post and get 1 entry into the giveaway
2) sign up to be a Fellow Artsy Folk (right side bar) to get 1 entry
3) mention it on your blog and link back here to get 1 entry (email me or comment here to let me know that you have done so)

....So, you can enter up to 3 times, enter by midnight EDT Sept. 18.

Good Luck!

Giveaway For My Henchmen

My pal Suzanne at Painter of the Past has introduced me to a new blogspot feature called "Followers." (There is a link on the right sidebar.) To set this thing up, you have to give it a title- I'm not sure I like the term "followers," it does kind of remind me of a cult, or at least a band of marauding misguided youth. I looked up the term "follower" in the thesaurus, and this is what I found in the way of possible labels for you folks who may want to sign on:

Disciple

Fan

Adherent

Apostle

Partisan

Pupil

Devotee

Member

Proponent

Patron

Proselyte

Henchman

Oooooohhh, Henchman, I kind of like that, but I'm not sure that that is completely appropriate.
So, I have decided to go with "Fellow Artsy Folks," because I figure that if you're reading this blog, you probably have a propensity (boy, I am full of big words today) toward creativity, even if you don't consider yourself an artist per se. And being creative makes you an artist. And if the word artist intimidates you, at least consider yourself to be artsy. So there it is- a really long explanation for the title that I have chosen for this little tiny bit of my blog. I am drained. Being so detail oriented and obsessive compulsive (narcissistic????) can be exhausting, at times....

So anyway, in an attempt to build up my number of followers, I mean, Fellow Artsy Folks, I am going to do a give away for anyone who signs on as a Fellow Artsy Folk between now and midnight EDT September 18th. (It has come to my attention that you can only be a follower/cult member/fellow artsy folk if you have a Blogger account, so if you don't, and you'd still like to be entered in the giveaway, leave a comment here.)

That's right- basically I am trying to buy friends!!! But I promise to make it really FABULOUS and worth your while. Once I figure out what I am giving away, you will be the FIRST to know......

UPDATE: I have decided on the theme for my giveaway- I am still hunting/gathering, I will probably have a photo of the goods up tomorrow, so check back. Here is a (big) hint-

IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY......

A Little Color

There is still some color in the garden, as captured here by this little arrangement my daughter put together and my husband photographed (I pretty much don't have much to do with this blog anymore.....)

Eewwwwww!

The dog was incessantly barking outside this morning, and I thought she was just being annoying (she does that sometimes, just barks at imaginary adversaries, I think because maybe she is bored and is looking for something to do.) I looked out the window to see what she was barking at, but saw nothing, and told her to quiet down. But she kept barking, so I looked out a different window and saw that she had cornered a black snake against the back step (good dog!) In the 30 seconds it took me to bring the dog in and grab the camera, the snake had slithered off, but left me this little beauty......

And now on to a much more pleasant subject, we will be driving up to pick up Sam at college this afternoon, go out to dinner, and then celebrate her 18th birthday here tomorrow. Can't wait!

Lots of Pins

Today I am making pins- lots and lots of pins. I tried to take some photos, but they weren't coming out, so I asked my 13 year old daughter, who happens to be very handy with the camera to give it a try. She got right to it and soon came back with these, and she has put me to shame......

These are all her photos, I didn't bother to put mine up because mine are actually pretty stinky. Thank goodness I have her around. I am thinking she should just skip school and come work for me. I can't afford to pay her in cash, but I could give her room and board (hey wait a minute, I already do that....) Well anyway, she is worth every penny that I cannot afford to pay her.With her dad's encouragement, she has started her own photoblog. She has a great eye and I can't wait to see how her artistic talents develop in the next few years.

Today was her first day of school and now she gets to "rule the school"(her school goes K-8th grade.) However, after 13 of years of having the bus stop in front of our house, they have moved the bus stop to about 1/2 mile down the road. There is no side walk (actually, not even a shoulder, since we live in a fairly rural area), so I now have to drive to the bus stop twice a day. Not so bad when the weather is decent, but when it is raining or snowing, I tend to stay in the house as much as possible. I have been so spoiled. Also, the intersection where the bus stop is doesn't really seem to be a safe place for a bus stop (this morning a car passed the bus while it was stopped there to pick her up), so we'll have to see how this goes.

Even though I miss her and my college co-ed daughter while they are at school, I must admit it is kind of nice to get back into a routine. This summer I did way too much sleeping in and slacking off. I actually enjoyed being up and showered and dressed by 7 am today (we will see how long this lasts..........)