Giveaway, Giveaway, Giveaway!(…and a recipe too!!!)

Hi peeps! 

I'd like to extend a warm welcome my new sponsor, Connecting Threads.

Connecting Threads has graciously offered this 27-piece fat quarter bundle of their brand-new Luminescence fabric line as a giveaway to one of you!!! 

…and it's primarily purple…mmm! Wish I could enter this giveaway myself!

Here's a little bit about them:

Connecting Threads offers quality cotton fabric, designed specifically for quilters. Connecting Threads is an online and catalog retailer selling quilting fabrics from some of the industry’s most popular manufacturers like RJR Fabrics, Cotton + Steel, and more. Connecting Threads also sells our own exclusive fabrics, with limited-edition designs that you won’t see anywhere else. Each of our exclusive fabrics are created according to our exacting standards and finished with our top-secret formula to create a flawless and amazingly soft finish.

We are proud to offer our exclusive fabrics at a price that fits within most budgets without sacrificing quality one iota. How do we manage this? We go directly to the mill, taking the middleman out of the equation. By sourcing and selling our fabrics directly, we are able to offer our customers wholesale prices on fabrics that won’t be found anywhere else. We believe that convenience shouldn’t cost extra, so we never charge for cutting. This means that our charms, strips and other precut fabric bundles have the same per-yard cost as our normal yardage cuts. Because affordability is one of the core values at Connecting Threads, we also do our best to offer fabrics from outside manufacturers at the lowest prices possible.

I love, love that their in-house lines retail at $5.96(US$) a yard…and they have Cotton & Steele basics at only $9.96 a yard! They also have an amazing Clearance section with deep discounts on Fabric, Books, Tools and Patterns…so many deals to be had! 

Connecting Threads often has excellent sales with up to 40% off regular retail prices. For example, right now they are offering 30% off their EssentialPro polyester thread and 40% off specialty rulers and pressing tools! WOW!!!

They offer free shipping within the continental US with any order over $50. Shipping to Canada is only $7.99 with your $60+(US$) order. They also collect any duty and taxes owing so that we Canucks don't have to pay Canada Posts's onerous $5 "collection fee"..a personal pet peeve.

I have been shopping at Connecting Threads for YEARS, since before they had their beautiful website! As a matter of fact, I always have an open shopping cart and wish list to dream about!

To find out how to enter the giveaway…read on, McDuff!!!

Photo: Vancouver Sun website

Do you remember when I mentioned making vegetable stock(or broth) in this post? Well, there was a feature article and recipe in yesterday's Vancouver Sun about just that. They said there are studies where it's been shown that homemade broth has extremely good restorative properties and can help mitigate many medical conditions. Sports doctors regularly recommend drinking broth to help heal injuries faster and cut the length of the common cold and flu.

The young guys above have a shop which specializes in making/selling their homemade stock which they simmer for 4-5 days!!!

Photo: Vancouver Sun website

There are even "broth bars" popping up around Vancouver where you can buy a steaming cup of homemade broth to enjoy…watch out Starbucks!!!

I decided to give the Hubs a break from cooking and made a big pot of chili con carne yesterday. I can't give you a cost-per-meal on this one as I had everything in my pantry. I do know that the cans of beans were $0.99 each, the paste was $0.75, and the tomatoes were around $1.25…just can't remember what I paid for the juice. The lean hamburger meat was also on sale and I had the spices in-house.

When specific canned goods(like the ones above) go on sale, I grab the limit allowed to stock my pantry.

My 'secret ingredient' is Clammato juice, but we didn't have any and I wasn't going to head to the grocery store for one thing that was probably not on sale. So, I subbed in the V-Plus juice.

I browned 2 pounds of lean hamburger meat then placed the cooked meat on a paper-towel-lined plate to absorb the excess grease. Then I caramelized 2 medium, chopped onions in the same pan. While I was sautéing the onions I was dumping the contents of the canned goods into my large pot…making sure to rinse the goo off the beans in a colander beforehand. I added generous portions of cumin, chili powder, dry mustard and black pepper as well as 5 cloves of well-chopped garlic. I forgot to add red pepper flakes!!!

Then I added the drained meat and cooked onions into the large pot and heated to a rolling boil, stirring constantly. I love how the above photo shows the steam rising!!! Then the hard part…turn the burner down to medium and keep stirring for at least a half an hour. Then I just leave it to cool on the stove.

About a half an hour before suppertime, I crank up the heat to rolling boil again and continue stirring for about 30 minutes…this allows the chili to thicken and the flavour also intensifies.

The end result…a steaming bowl of chili to knock away the winter chill! There is enough in the pot for 3 suppers for 3 people.

Now, for the giveaway!!!

-Leave me a comment telling me what you would make with this lovely 27-piece bundle of Luminescence!

-For a second entry, follow this blog and indicate how you follow(i.e.: by email or via Bloglovin'). The Follow windows are on the upper right sidebar of this blog. 

Please note: with the follow by email option, they(Feedburner) will send you a confirmation email…you have to click the link they give you in that message to become an actual follower who receives my blog posts in their inbox.

*Two entries per person please.*

*For Canadian and USA residents only.*

*Giveaway closes at NOON, MONDAY MARCH 9, 2015

Connecting Threads and Jacqueline Frances are not responsible for lost or stolen mail.

Feel Free to share with your friends, post to Facebook, pin to Pinterest and Tweet away!!! There are little grey sharing buttons in the box at the end of this post.

***GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED AND THE PRIZE HAS BEEN AWARDED***

Thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Quilty Huggs, 

Jacqueline 

Thrifty tips, happy mail, a new sponsor...and a GIVEAWAY!!!

Hi peeps!

I got some lovely Happy Mail this week! This is the 14-piece Sakura bundle, which was only $23(CA$) plus a modest shipping fee(under $5), from Massdrop. 

They are having this drop again, now as we speak, so you'll have to hurry on over to pick up yours before they are all gone. 

I just love how it is tied up so cutely…definitely keeping that chevron ribbon for a craft project!

The prints have a slightly muted tone and a beautiful soft, drapey feel to them. These two prints are my favourites, but honestly, it was tough to choose between the other prints included in this bundle.

This is one of the sturdy boxes my purchases came in. There were even some plastic packing balloons inside to keep my purchases from shifting during travel!

Here is the new Enchanted 10-piece bundle offered at Massdrop. We need only about 25 more people to "Commit to Buy" and then the price will drop down to $22.99(CA$). The great thing about "Commit to Buy" is that your credit card/Paypal account is only charged once the price goes down to the lowest and once the drop has ended.

Enchanted is the latest collection by Sarah Fielke…you may know her from her Little Quilts books(I got one for Christmas…yahoo)! 

This drop is limited to only 32 bundles, so you have to get in fast to get the deal! Here's the link.

I recently won these great reusable fabric shopping bags from Teresa of The Green Bag lady fame. She makes these shopping bags and gives them away for FREE!!! She believes we can all do our part and eliminate using plastic shopping bags during our everyday shopping trips. 

There is also a tutorial on how to make them, and if you would like to become a baguette(that's what she calls the makers of green bags for giving away), you can contact her through her blog! If you'd like to win one for yourself, here's the link to Green Bag Lady.

I thought I would share an upcycle I did recently. I love Baker's Twine, but it unravels and gets all messy once you have started using it. I had an a-ha moment when I saw the holes in the lid of a small parmesan cheese shaker.

I washed the empty plastic cheese shaker bottle(the 2-cup sized one), then let it air-dry for a couple of days. I then removed the label by wedging the tip if my kitchen scissors under the label and started cutting. After I had peeled the label off, I gave the outside of the bottle a little scrub to remove some of the adhesive left from sticking the label on. It doesn't matter if there is a little adhesive left over as you will be covering most of it with the label from the spool of twine. Carefully cut the label open then centre it on the clean bottle and tape it securely.

Pop your spool of Baker's Twine into the bottle and thread the tail end through one of the holes in the lid. Snap the lid in place and…VOILA you are done!

I was at Walmart this week and picked up a plastic bin(pink as there were no purple ones…how shocking???), some fat quarters, paper clips and bulldog clips(clearance $1…bonus!) and some very large knitting needles. I had seen tutorial on knitting your old and ugly stash into rugs…how cool is that? 

I will try to find that tutorial again and will share it with you!

I got the pink bin to store my charm packs in. The wicker basket(above) I have been using doesn't hold all of my charm packs, and I wanted them to all be in the same place.

Here's the contents of the bin now…I'll have to find my other charm packs to fill it up!

I then re-filled the basket with my special(hoarded!) fat quarter bundles. There is my Cotton and Steel collection, some Amy Butler Glow and Free Spirit solids.

There is a 'good' dollar store in the Walmart mall, so of course I had to go! I got a glittery pocket portfolio so I can store my notes, ideas etc. for blog posts, some post-flags, a clear box with lid and handle, some plastic bins to decorate(tutorial coming soon), and 2 covered ice cube trays.

I read an article in the paper about herbs that get thrown out after they go bad. Now this really struck a chord with me as fresh herbs are expensive here at this time of the year and they are always going bad before we can use them up.

What you do is: while the herbs are fresh you cut them up with scissors and place in an ice cube tray. Fill the cubes with water, cover, then pop in the freezer, making sure that the tray is level. When you need some herbs, pop a herb cube into your cooking pan. The heat from cooking will melt the water and you will have the benefit of fresh herbs all year long.

You can do this with garlic cloves too. That's why I bought 2 trays…I didn't want the garlic smell to overpower the herbs. I will make both trays with a Sharpie, so as to not get them mixed up.

I have been wanting a box dedicated to storing my precious Aurifil thread. As you can see, the spools have room to stand up straight and there is room to add more as I get them…on sale, of course!!!

I'd like to welcome Sew Sister's Quilt Shop to the QSH! family.

Here's a little about them:

Sew Sisters Quilt Shop is a Canadian Quilt Store dedicated to all things quilting. Whether shopping online or in person at our store in Toronto our goal is to provide you with great service and offer top quality products at the lowest possible price. We have a large selection of quilting fabric, patterns, books and notions - everything you need to complete your unique quilts! Be sure to check out our very large Sale Section with over 400 bolts of fabric for only $7.99/metre!

At Sew Sisters we believe you should buy fabric, not postage – so we offer great rates on shipping.

Orders over a $100 ship for free within Canada!

Shipping Charges

Order Total	Canada	USA	International*
$0 - $19.99	$4.99	$12.99	Actual Postage
$20.00 - $100	$8.99	$12.99	Actual Postage
Over $100	Free	$12.99	Actual Postage

Really, you should check out their sale section...lots of goodies there(and only $7.99 CA$ per meter). I even found some hard-to-find Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt there recently! 

The everyday prices for even designer quilting fabrics averages about $12.99(CA$) a meter…which is an awesome price…and no currency exchange to worry about for Canadians!

The Bargain Lover’s Club

Price: $18.99 per month

If there is one thing we love more than any other at Sew Sisters it is a great bargain! Join our Bargain Lover's Club and we will send you 8 fat quarters every month for only $18.99. The postage is included for Canadians - others please enquire about shipping rates. All fat quarters will be great quality quilters cottons handpicked from our sale collections. You may cancel your membership at any time. The lovely ladies at Sew Sister's have generously offered to give away an 8-piece fat quarter bundle from their wildly popular Bargain Lover's Club.  Please note this giveaway is for Canadian and USA addresses only. To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment describing your latest upcycle!  I will pick a winner at noon(PST) on Monday, February 23, 2015. EDITED TO ADD: -It is not a requirement of this giveaway to follow me, but it sure would be nice if you did!!! -Sew Sister's Quilt Shop and myself are not responsible for lost or stolen mail from this giveaway. **Giveaway is closed and prize has been awarded. Thanks for participating!** Thanks for reading and have a great day! Quilty Huggs, Jacqueline