Giveaway WINNER!!! + Mini Quilts for Sale!!!

Hello!  :)

I hope you had lots of fun hopping around putting your name in for lots of awesome prizes. I know I did!  :)

I would like to thank everyone for visiting me and entering to win the mini quilt. I would also like to thank all my loyal followers and new followers as well for choosing to hang out with me! I love having you here!  :)

Now it's time to announce the lucky winner!  ;)  With the help of the random number generator the winner of the Mini Christmas Quilt is . . .

#41 Rhonda D. who said . . .

Rhonda D. said... 41

I love your tree quilt. Thanks for the chance to win.

Congrats Rhonda!  :)  You are the winner of the Mini Christmas Quilt!

I have sent Rhonda an email. As soon as you send me your mailing address I'll get your mini quilt out to you. :)

I happen to have two more of these mini quilts. If anyone in the US is interested they are $25 each plus $5 shipping via USPS priority mail. Just send me an email (with 'mini quilt' in the subject line) and let me know you'd like one.

Until next time . . .

It's time for the Blog Hop Party with Give-Aways!

The giveaway has closed. Thank you for entering!

Merry Christmas!  :)

Hello!  :)

Michelle at Quilting Gallery is celebrating her blog's 5th Birthday with a Quilter's Blog Hop Party! I'm one of the lucky participants. You can be one of the lucky winner's of some great goodies!  :)

The official Blog Hop Party begins on Monday, December 10th shortly after midnight. At that time you can go to the official party page to see all the participants and enter to win lots of goodies!  :)

I'm giving away an adorable Mini Christmas Quilt that I made.

Would you like to have this piece for your home? Here's what you need to do . . .

• Leave me a comment. Any comment will do. Something to make me smile would be wonderful!  ;)
• For a Bonus Entry follow my blog. Be sure to tell me whether you're a new or current follower in a separate post for an extra chance to win. (This is not mandatory.) 

This giveaway is open internationally. It will remain open until midnight, Saturday, December 15th. I will choose a winner on Sunday, December 16th, with the help of the random number generator. I will email the winner and post it on my blog. If you are a no-reply blogger please post your email in your comment or you will be disqualified.

Thank you so much for visiting and participating in Quilting Gallery's 5th Birthday Celebration with me! I'm glad you stopped by!  ;)

Until next time . . .

Time to GIVEAWAY the PRIZES!!!

Hello!  :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. I had a very relaxing one.  :)

I would like to thank everyone who entered my drawing for the

I would also like to thank those of you who loved the kitty kat pincushion!

You made me happy!  :)  Would anyone be interested in purchasing one if I whip up a few more? I've been meaning to open up my Etsy store for a while now and this would be the perfect reason to do so. Please let me know.  :)

Now on to the main attraction! Mr. Random.org random number generator picked the winners for the two prizes.

The Quilters/Sewers prize package 

will be going to #235 Mom C who said . . .

Mom C said... 235

I would love the quilter's bundle. Thanks.

The Cross Stitchers prize package

will be going to #336 Nanbon44 who said . . .

Nanbon44 said... 36

I am a follower either prize would be great for me as I belong to a charity cross stitch group and I am also one of the quilters for the group

Congrats to both of you! I have sent you both an email. Please send me your mailing address so I can get your goodies out to you!

Have a Happy Day!  :)

Until next time .  . .

It's Giveaway Time!!! :)

Hello!  :)

Welcome to sewingly along!  :)

Today's the day!  WooHoo!!!  :)  Please join me for a

Organized by Michelle at Quilting Gallery. Thanks Michelle!  :)  The official blog hop starts Sunday morning, August 26th, shortly after midnight, eastern time. There are LOTS of bloggers participating with each having their own giveaway! There will be LOTS of great stuff to win!  :)  Go to the official Blog Hop Party page to check out the list of all the bloggers participating after midnight tonight!

We will also be celebrating my 1 year Blogiversary!!!  :)  In honor of my 1st blogiversary I'll be giving away TWO prize packages! Yes I said  two! These prize packages are provided by me (I have no sponsors).


The 1st prize package is for the Quilters/Sewers ~

This package includes a charm pack of Moda's "little apples" by Aneela Hoey, a package of long pearlized pins, a package of sewing themed buttons and a kitty cat pin cushion made by me!  :)


The 2nd prize package is for the Cross Stitchers ~

This package includes a "With thy Needle & Thread" pattern- "May Word Play", a 9" x 11" piece of 28ct Quaker Cloth, a skein of DMC White floss, a package of DMC Tapestry needles (size 28), 3 brass charms (butterfly, bee, dragonfly), and a kitty cat pin cushion made by me!  :)


Here's a close up of the kitty cat pin cushion . . .

and the back . . . 

The pin cushion was made by me from a portion of the Lizzie Kate Halloween Mystery Sampler, part two bonus design. It's stitched on 28ct light orange spice evenweave, with a black/orange backing with a hint of purple. It's filled with crushed walnut shells to keep your pins & needles sharp and clean.  :)

So are you ready to win one of these party packages?!!! 

Here's what you need to do . . .

• Leave me a comment telling me which package (Quilters or Cross Stitching) that you'd like to win! That's all you have to do!  :)
• For a Bonus Entry follow my blog and tell me you do in a separate comment! I love my followers! :)

These two giveaways are open internationally. They will remain open until midnight, pacific time, Monday, September 3rd. I will choose a winner on Tuesday, September 4th, with the help of the help of the random number generator. I will email the winner and post it on my blog. If you are a no-reply blogger please post your email in your comment or you will be disqualified. 


Thank you so much for visiting and celebrating my Blogiversary with me! I love having you here!  :)

Lots of luck to you! Please come back soon!  :)

Until next time . . .

A Friday Night Sew-In Celebrating the Red White & Blue!

Hello!  :)

Welcome to day 14 of the "Celebrate Red White and Blue Blog Hop"! There are only a couple more days left. Have you been hopping around and looking at all the fabulous blocks? I have. They're awesome!  :)  You can go here to find the entire schedule and links to the hop so you can start at the beginning. Don't miss out!

Here's Today's Hopping Schedule . . .

Diann C

Quilt Monster in my Closet

daisy and jack

sewingly along . . . You are here!  :)

MoomMist

Susie's World

Thanks so much for stopping by today to view my blocks. At first I thought I'd come up with 3 blocks and then put a table runner together in the end to tie them all together. Then I thought that I'd just make a bunch of blocks. Then I was thinking about what patterns I should use. After looking through some ideas I decided to just wing it. I hope you won't be disappointed. I actually came up with six 12-1/2" blocks. I took pictures of all of them outside and inside so there will be 2 pictures of each block. I hope you will like what you see!  :)

My first block came about by chance. I've been doing a lot of cross stitch lately. I actually made this one design for a swap. I liked it so much I made another for me. I used a different fabric then normal so it turned out bigger than I wanted. I decided to put it aside and made a third one for myself. I looked at the discarded piece and thought what should I do with this? Then it hit me. I'll use it in one of my Red, White and Blue blocks! Yes! That's it! Here it is . . .

Cross stitch and quilting combined! I echoed the cross stitch piece with fabrics from my stash. I think they accent it nicely! Here's another look . . .

A funny thing happened while I was working on this block. (Actually it wasn't quite so funny at the time.) I figured out the measurements for the stripes and began sewing strips together. Then I realized I'd forgotten to account for the 1/4" seam on both sides. Uggghhh! (This is something I do quite often.) So frustrated but eager to keep going I put it aside and cut new strips and started over. Then when I got to the center stripes I mismeasured again and sewed too many stripes together. Instead of picking it apart I sat it aside again, cut more strips and continued on. This time I got it right! Third time's a charm!  :)

What did I do with the all those strips I had already sewn together? I made two other blocks with them.  :)  Waste not, want not I always say!  ;)  (Plus I hate ripping out seams!) With the first of the two mistake strip blocks I appliqued some blue stars. I decided to blanket stitch around them in a golden yellow perle cotton thread. Another block finished.

Yea! Simple but sweet. The closer photo isn't really a good one (sorry).

Here's the other block I made with the mistake strip blocks.

This time I didn't have as many stripes to work with so I added a blue field and two appliqued stars with a patriotic eagle print fabric. I blanket stitched around these in a golden yellow perle cotton thread as well.

There are the first three blocks! All similar but different. Made by accident or was it fate? Hummmm . . . ;)

The next block is my favorite.

I had some beautiful vintage inspired fabric. I didn't want to distract from it's beauty so I just accented it with some stars and stripes. It needed a little something more. Hummmm.... I found some cool ribbon I had in my stash. It was perfect! Very simple and sweet!  :)

4 down . . . 2 more to show.  ;)  The next block is a basic log cabin with a historical fabric as the centerpiece.

I used lots of patriotic fabrics from my stash to complete this block.

Last but not least . . .

I'm not sure what this block is called. Is it a pinwheel? Is it a star? It's definitely red, white, blue and patriotic!  :)  The center fabric is my favorite find this year. It reminds me of the peace and love of the '60s. The other fabrics are favorites as well.

Well that's it! 6 red, white, blue patriotic blocks. What am I going to do with them? I'm going to make up a few more and combine them all into a throw quilt for me and the hunky dude. I'd eventually love to have one for every holiday and/or season. 

Thank you so much for visiting me and viewing my blocks! I hope you liked them!  :)  Thanks Jane and Madame Samm for hosting! It's been fun! Don't forget to check out all the other wonderful blocks!  :)

Also before you go . . . since I finished these up on Friday these blocks will be my submission for the Friday Night Sew-In.

Heidi and her cousin Bobbi host this monthly event. It's always fun to get together online with women from all over the world and sew on the same night of the month.  :)

Until next time . . .

A Week in Review

Hello!  :)

Hope you're having a nice week!  :)  Mine's been sad. A good friend of mine lost her battle with cancer this past weekend. She was only 46. She was always a happy, cheerful person. She always brightened my life. I am missing her terribly and am very sad.  :(  I will always remember her fondly and smile when I think of her.

This past week I was able to make some progress on the Autumn Sampler I've been working on. Here's where I left off last week . . .

And this is where I am at today . . .

I haven't done all the detail backstitches yet but I have done the main ones to keep up with the design. I will work on the detail ones when it's all finished. I am happy with my progress so far after 3 weeks. Tonight I'll be starting on the center sections. I really love all the different sections and details of this design. It really helps it to flow and makes it easier to work on.

I have also finished stitching a couple of other pieces this week as well. They are both Lizzie Kate designs. The first is "Think Autumn" . . .

The second one is a "Halloween" Flip-It . . .

I'm not quite sure how or when I'm going to finish them yet. Can you tell I can't wait for Fall to get here?! I hate summer and the heat love fall!  :)  For now they are put aside while I work on the Autumn Sampler some more. I'm sure I'll start some other small project this week as well since it's a nice break from the large project.  :)

This week I have also been planning some red, white and blue quilt blocks for the Celebrate Red White and Blue Blog Hop that's been going on.

Have you been checking out all the other wonderful blocks? There are lots of great ideas out there! :)  My day is coming up this Saturday so stay tuned!  :)  That's what I have going on how about you? What have you been working on?

Before I go I'd like to talk about one more thing. Don't you just hate it when you go to leave a comment on someones blog and you have to verify the words (and now numbers) in the box? I know I do. That's why it bothers me to say that I had to turn on the word verification for comments left here on my blog. I wish I didn't but those bad people out there in cyberspace kept sending spam via comments to this blog. Why don't these people do good with their talents instead of harming bothering others? I just don't understand it. The world would be such a better place without having to protect ourselves from all those bad people out there. So please still leave me comments. I really do enjoy reading them and try to respond to everyone. While you're typing those silly words and numbers in those word verification boxes and cursing me please remember that I'm there with you. I don't like it either but it's one of those necessary things. Sigh.................

Until next time . . .

What I've Been Working On...

Hello!  :)


I've been pretty quiet here but busy behind the scenes. The last time we talked I had started the Autumn Sampler. This was my progress then . . . 

After working on it all week I've gotten a little farther along . . .

I'm still enjoying working on it. I finish one section and then I get to decide where to go next. It keeps it fresh and fun.  :)

Over the past couple of weeks I've managed to work on a few patriotic pieces for myself too. Here are glimpses of them . . .

And this one I already showed you . . .

This one is part of my twelve month collection, which I already showed you.

I'm planning on getting these patriotic pieces finished in the next couple days. Then I'll show you the finished pieces. Some of them are already half way done.  :)

With all the patriotic inspiration flowing . . . Have you heard about the "Celebrate the Red White and Blue" Blog Hop?

It started Sunday, July 1st. Participants were to create and share 10-1/2" or 12-1/2" quilt blocks. There have already been some wonderful blocks shared. The blog hop goes through July 16th with 6 participants each day and some hosting giveaways too! You can find the schedule here. I will be participating on July 14th. To be honest I haven't even started any blocks yet, but I will have them ready to go on the 14th. Afterall I am a procrastinator extraordinare!  ;)

Until next time . . .

Quilt Blocks & Cross Stitch to Share

Hello!  :)

Do you remember when I made this block . . .

It was for the month of March of the monthly quilt block swap I participate in at Mary Jane's Farm. I just realized that I never shared the blocks I received from my swap partners.

The first one was from Lorrie . . .

Isn't it gorgeous! I absolutely love it! She did a great job! Thanks Lorrie!  :)

The second block for March was from Barbara . . .

Kind of reminds me of mine.  ;)  Thanks Barbara! You did a wonderful job!  :)

Here's the block I made for my two partners for April . . .

A stair step block with an embroidery in the center. It's a free embroidery pattern I found online from Red Brolly. Here's a closer view of it . . . 

I fell in love with it the moment I first saw it! Isn't it adorable?!!!  :)

Here is the first block I received from Joan . . .

I've seen this Easter fabric before! It's sooooo cute! I love all the bright colors! It totally reminds me of Spring! Great job Joan! Thanks so much!  :)

The second block was made by Rebecca . . .

I love the bunny fabric! I've never seen it before. It's adorable! I also love the bright springy colors in this one as well! Thanks so much Rebecca! You did a wonderful job as usual!  :)

I'm hoping to sit down this weekend and work on my two blocks for May. The theme is flowers. I already know what I want to do for this one.  :)

Moving on to another subject . . . One of my favorite bloggers, Karen from Sew Much 2 Luv has been doing a lot of cross stitch lately. You can view some of her recent finishes here and here. They're fabulous!  :)

I've always loved cross stitch! There's nothing I like better than sitting down with an embroidery or cross stitch project and watching tv or a movie. It's so relaxing and rewarding!  :)  I haven't done any cross stitch for quite a while but always missed it. When I saw Karen working on all her projects she really got me wanting to get back into it too! (Bad, bad girl!)  ;)  Then she mentioned that she joined a cross stitch exchange over at Stitched With Love Exchanges. I had to check it out. Of course I loved the idea and signed up too! Now I've got my partner and I'm stitching her gift and gathering goodies to go with it. I won't be able to share any of it with you until after the exchange is completed sometime in June. For now I'll show you some of my favorite finishes from the past. The first three are Christmas ornaments . . .

I've always loved how they turned out!  :)  The next one is a sampler I did for my parents on their wedding anniversary . . .

I included the original date they got married and the date they reaffirmed their vows. I've always loved this piece! Of course it has a lot of pink and aqua so that doesn't hurt.  ;)

The last piece I'll share with you is a Paula Vaughan bouquet. I love her designs!  :)

This piece is unfinished. I just can't decide what I want to do with it. Any ideas?

The past couple of weeks I've been doing some cyber shopping for cross stitch patterns. I guess you can say it's something I've been doing for myself as part of the May for Me Celebration going on at Marcia's Crafty Sewing & Quilting blog.

I definitely deserve them, right???  ;)   They've been arriving this past week. I can't wait to get started on them and share them with you. Don't worry I'll still be quilting as well. I have too many WIP projects and new ones I want to start . . . lol!  ;)

By the way . . . I've decided to hold off on my combo 100th post and 400th follower giveaway until May 21st. I will include it as part of the Giveaway Day blog hop hosted by Sew Mama Sew.

Will you be joining me? I hope so!  :)

Until next time . . .