Some sad news...

Hi peeps…

Sunday was not the greatest day for us; it was cold and just poured rain...

I had to take Gracie, my baby-cat, to the Vet, and put her down. She had had a UTI a few months ago, and never really recovered. She was not able to make it to the litter box at all and my dear Hubs had been cleaning up after her the last few weeks. We decided on Sunday that it was time. 

My Hubs is a soft-hearted soul and could not be in the room for the injections, but I stayed with her and petted her while the deed was done. She breathed her last and her little brave heart stopped beating while I rubbed and scratched her shoulders(she used to love that). Believe me when I tell you that tears are streaming down my cheeks as I type this. I just needed to share our pain...

By pure coincidence, our neighbour knocked on the back door with a freshly-caught crab for us! He had caught 15, but had to throw a few back as they were too small. It is so great to be living just an hour away from the Pacific Ocean!

Here is George, our other cat, surveying the still-live crab. He was a bit wary!

Needless to say, we are still a little down-in-the-dumps about losing Gracie, but she is now over the Rainbow Bridge with other pets.

I still feel like a murderer…

Huggs, you guys…

Jacqueline

Happy Mail and Some Sponsor News!

Hi peeps!

A few weeks ago, Craftsy had a free-shipping sale, and I was all over that, as shipping to Canada is surprisingly costly. So I got these two Fossil Fern 100-piece charm packs as I am planning to cut them up for hexies and make a large quilted tote bag. I have been checking out my books and cruising the internet, looking for that 'perfect' tote pattern! Does anyone have any ideas?

On payday, I headed on over to the Connecting Threads website, as I always have an open cart going! I had been hearing all about Amy Smart's book, Fabulously Fast Quilts all over blog-land, and since it was on sale, I bought it as well as two more copies of Katy Jones' 25 Quilt Blocks…to giveaway sometime soon!

I got 7 yards of this white-on-white print for my Impromptu quilt. I actually only need 6.5 yards, but as it was on sale for $3.56 a yard, I got extra. There is always a need for w-o-w prints here. Darn, as I think of it, I probably should have ordered more! I mean, how often do you see a w-o-w on sale?

Do you remember all the  4.5" squares I had started cutting with my Go Baby, for a paper bag quilt? I sort of stalled on it as I was kind of meh on having to cut a bunch of Kona-snow squares(I mean, how boring is that, anyway?). Then I got the Amy Smart book! The second pattern is this one(Fast Four Patch) and uses the same size squares, along with red and white strips, both of which I have on hand! Serendipity at it's best!

Lastly, I loaded up on the CT Essentials thread, which was on sale for $1.95 a spool. I use this for everyday sewing, machine piecing and English Paper Piecing. I never use my Aurifil thread for EPP shapes, as eventually, all the thread gets removed and thrown away.

As promised, here is a part picture of the purple Batik sheet I bought Saturday at the Caribbean Festival. You can see the Celtic cable border and hand-knotted fringe.

A close-up of the stencilled red turtles. I think they look happy!

My last bit of Happy Mail is from my sponsor, Paper Pieces. They sent me a small pack of hexagons and a small pack of tall triangles, as well as 2 mini charm packs, to be given away soon.  You can click the logo on my upper left border to go straight to their online store. Don't forget to use the savings code!

I have more happy sponsor news, but you will have to wait till next post to find out!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

A WIP, a Win, and the Caribbean Festival!

Hi Peeps!

It has been a long time..I KNOW…but the excessive heat we have been getting laid me low with an awful 5-day migraine…NOT fun! I did manage to get started on the HST's for the Jumbo Prism Pillow(link on the Cute Tute page), though.

Aren't those trimmings colourful?

These are the smaller HST's, all trimmed and ready for pressing. I have to finish up trimming the large triangles. They are a bit tricky, as I only have a long ruler that is wide enough. I better check on Massdrop to see if they have any there on sale!

I won this cute Yoko Saito pattern from a giveaway at see how we sew blog. You should check them out. If you go to the pattern page and scroll down, they have some free patterns too!

The Hubs and I went to the Caribbean Festival in Maple Ridge this past Saturday. It is an annual event, and we do try to go every year. We didn't have the teenager with us(out sunning on the beach with his friends), so were able to catch some shade in the beer garden while eating our (expensive) Jamaican Jerk chicken. It was really good, a treat I look forward to every year! It was smoking' hot and by the time we headed home, we were done. 

I did buy a large Batik sheet(purple, of course, with stencilled red turtles all over it). We will use it as a top sheet during the summer months. Show-and-tell next post!

I finally figured out how to rotate and crop my pics! YAY! The Hubs took this picture of a brave couple dancing in the street on a hot summer day. The young lady looked very warm in that pretty costume.

I have some Happy Mail to show next post and I received a surprise package from one of my sponsors…I think a giveaway is coming soon!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

Saturday Showcase and Giveaway winners!!!

Hi Peeps!

Clover Wonder Clips...

Have you tried these yet? 

They are one of the hottest new notions around! Use them instead of pins when you are sewing on bindings, or sewing up bags, or anything that is a bit thick for you pins to go through without bending them. 

I stumbled upon this website that gets like-minded people together to mass-purchase certain items from the manufacturer at a huge discount. If you were to buy this 100-count package of Clover Wonder Clips, it would cost you close to $60!!! But they are only $23.99 plus reasonable shipping!!!I have included a link for you, for if I were to get 5 or more people to purchase them, Massdrop will send me a gift box worth $50…and that means more giveaways for you!

Awesome! 

So, please tell your friends!

Clover Wonder Clips, 100-pack, almost HALF PRICE!!!
Follow the link here: https://www.massdrop.com/r/Q2XSMW

…and now for the Aurifil & Extras Giveaway winners…drumroll please…

The three winners are: Carla P., Lorette C. and Monica H. 

I have already heard back from Carla and Lorette. Monica H. could you please get back to me? Thanks. Winnings will go out on Monday.

Tomorrow is  Mr. Quilt, sew Happy's birthday and we are having a bunch of family over for a BBQ. Yumm! Gotta go tidy the house now...

I will leave you with this lovely pile of fabric with hopes that you have lovely piles of fabric to play with too!!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

NEW SPONSOR and an AURIFIL GIVEAWAY!

Hi Peeps!

I would like to welcome Paper Pieces on board the blog today. This is where I purchased my (almost) 4,000 papers for the first and second giant hexie quilts. They have generously offered 20% off your order, using the code: qsh20. They have high quality card-stock papers to sew your fabric on, in a multitude of shapes. Head on over to their website and have a look around! They also have various books and notions to help you on your way. 

Coupon code expires: July 1, 2015.

How about that weather! It was close to 100* yesterday for Canada Day!

We didn't go to any of the festivities as I don't do crowds much, but we did head into town for some lovely air-conditioned shopping. Got some much-needed things and found an awesome tripod for my camera(alas, not purple!), and it was on sale! Yay!

I rummaged through my latest box of scraps from L in Arizona and found most of the fabrics needed for my Prism Jumbo pillow. Got them all trimmed up and drew the diagonal lines on for piecing the HSTs. I figured that since I was cutting all the fabrics needed for one pillow, I might as well make 2! You can follow along if you like! The tutorial is on my Cute Tute Links page.

 ...and now for the Giveaway!!!

There will be three, yes three, winners of my giveaway today. Each winner will receive a large and small spool of Aurifil thread(care of Alex Veronelli-Aurifil Brand Jedi!!). The thread is in various neutral colours and weights. Also in your little grab bag will be: a book of John James needles, a fat quarter of unicorn/castle print(gotta spread the purple love!), and a zipped nylon sewing bag(or you could use it for cosmetics). I had the bags printed by CowCow.com. The needles, fatties and bags are from me!

Now here's the rulezzz…

1. You must follow me by email. That includes all my Facebook, Bloglovin and Google Plus friends. 

-Just enter your email in the Follow Me By Email window in my right-hand border. 

-You will get a pop-up window that will ask you to type in a code, then hit enter. 

-Lastly, you will receive an email confirming that you want to follow this blog. Click on that and you are done! It actually takes more time to type out this explanation than it does to follow me! I ask that you do stay following me for at least a month or two. I do not share emails.

2. You must leave me a comment letting me know that you are following me by email, and within the same comment I would like you to tell me which kinds of tutorials you would like me to do. I do have a few thoughts, but it never hurts to get input from other peeps.

That's it, easy-peasy! 

Just follow me by email, comment that you have, and tell me about tutorials you would like! 

One comment per person only, please.

I will draw three names on Saturday, July 5 and will contact the winners shortly after that. Please make sure I can email you for your snail-mail addy. If you are a no-reply blogger, please make sure to give me your email address.

This giveaway is open to international addresses(I am in Canada), with the exemption of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East-due to the high frequency of lost/stolen mail.

Sorry, I am not responsible for lost or stolen mail.

Giveaway has been awarded. Thanks for participating!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

Saturday Showcase

Hi Peeps!

It's been a while, I KNOW, but life keeps on getting in the way!!!

I finished another table runner. This one is for my Mother in Law, for her birthday tomorrow. We will all see her tonight as we are going to supper at a fancy Italian restaurant. Yumm!

Here's the back. This is another remnant that has been hiding in my stash for years!!! Use it up, I say!

This is my next scrap project. This is the Jumbo Prism Pillow Tutorial by Lee at Freshly Pieced. Have a look at all the great things on her blog. I have lots and lots of scraps and plan to use some of my bolt of Kona-Snow for the solid.

Here are my vintage china tea cups. The green one is my favourite, it is made by Ainsley. I have been slowly collecting these from garage sales and thrift stores, though the thrifts stores around here charge a mint for them.

Post-war vintage platter, inherited from my dear Granny. She was a war bride from England. Her father said "on no certain terms was she allowed to date one of those hick prairie Canadians"!!! So, she married him!!!

Another treasure from my Granny. I think this one is from the 50's. The rooster comes off and there is a depression for putting chopped green onions or crumbled bacon in. I chipped it within a week of gaining possession…grrr...

The latest box of scraps from my dear friend L in Arizona. As you can see, I had a lot of fun digging through it! Aren't those little owls cute? I am still cutting pieces for my son's hexie quilt, though I don't have that many more to baste. I will take a break from basting hexies in the evening after this. I am planning to work on a EPP 6-bladed star quilt. I have cut the kit for it already.

This is on one of the walls in our 'dining room'. It is not actually a room, just more an extension of the kitchen, and the balcony sliding doors are just to the right. My kitchen is decorated in a loose Mexican style. I have been collecting Mexican painted pottery for years and years.

Canada Day is coming up next week…and the Aurifil thread giveaway is coming soon!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

A finish and some extra special Happy Mail!

Hi peeps!

I finally managed to finish the table runner I was making for my Dad's birthday. We are having him over for supper on Sunday, though his birthday is actually today. Link to the tutorial is on my Cute Tute Links page.

Here's a close-up of the quilting. I did 'in the ditch' for the side pieces and a continuous decreasing square in the center. 

I just love those cavorting chicks and chickens! Aren't they cute???

I backed it with an piece of Debbie Mumm fabric. I have been hoarding this scrap piece for ages, I think it was from one of her first lines! 

I had JUST enough, with a strip left over for my 'string' box…will make a string quilt one of these days...

Got some Happy Mail from Connecting Threads. They had a rare pattern sale, so I stocked up, and the 2 books were Clearance. 

I really need to make that Sit & Stitch pincushion. The arms of my easy chair are getting a real beating from all the pins and needles I stick into it!

More from Connecting Threads…I rarely buy kits as they tend to sit around and get lost in my sewing room. I really wanted this pattern(Wedges), and of course, the blue-green batiks were a must! The thread was on sale for $1.95 a spool, so I stocked up on some favourite colours. The lime and orange are being discontinued!

Spoiler alert: I wrote their customer service to complain about the many thread colours that sold out too fast for me to purchase…they got back to me to tell me they will give out a special coupon code(on this coming Monday) to all their customers who lost out, and the code will make the thread @$1.95 again. Not sure if they will give this code to everyone as I only got notification for it because I complained.

Now for the extra special Happy Mail!!! Soon after I started this blog, I contacted Mr. Alex Veronelli of Aurifil threads to see if I could get some samples to try and some to give away as well. The man is a sweetie and did not disappoint! Look at what he sent me!!! Those colour cards are a $30 value!!! The local UPS guy was impressed that we got something from far-away Italy!

I received 12 spools and I have chosen the spools I'd like to keep. I have 8 spools to give away! I will be having a giveaway soon…for 4 different people! Each person will receive a large spool, a small spool(curtosy of Aurifil of Italy) and a package of John James needles(curtosy of little old me!).

I am giving you a heads up, so you can get organized!!! I will have 2 conditions for this giveaway; you must follow me by email(that includes my Google+ and Bloglovin people!), and; you must comment and let me know what kinds of tutorials you would like me to show you. But not yet!!!

I will let you know when the giveaway is to start(hint: Maple Leaf) and you will have a few days in which to register. I am giving you time to put on your thinking caps, let your creative thoughts flow and think up tutorials...

I did do a tutorial recently, but am having a hard time attaching it to this blog! grrr…

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline

Gone garage saling!!!!

Hi peeps!

I was so happy that I found the pattern and link(on the Cute Tutes page) for my citrus table runner, that I whipped up another one! It just hast to be quilted and bound! I love the centre fabric-it has cute country chickens all over it. The picture doesn't do it justice at all! Terrible lighting today.

Today was our complex-wide garage sale, but since it is raining(typical!), only half of the people who signed up participated. They just used patio umbrellas and opened up their garages. I got the above treasures for $1-$2 each, plus an awesome zip-up hoodie from Old Navy for only $2.00! What a steal! It is in the wash right now. That crock pot cookbook is actually a 3 in 1, so tons of yummy recipes to try. I love, love using my crock pot and am always on the lookout for new recipes.

Speaking of recipes, I have add a Yummy Recipes page. There are only 2 recipes(tried and true!) there at the moment, but more are on the way. I keep on forgetting to take pics when the hubs makes a favourite one I'd like to share.

I also managed to get these kitchen towels finished. I did the embroidery on them last month and trimmed the bottom edge today. They are for my dad for Father's day. I will be doing up a tutorial for them soon, stay tuned!!!

I just HAD to show you this pic I took of Gracie. She looks pretty ticked off, doesn't she? ha ha ha 

I used the flash on this photo because the light is terrible in our dining room today.

Thanks so much for reading and have a great weekend!

Jacqueline

Bella Clutch, aka camera bag!

Howdy folks!

So, here is my modified Bella clutch all ready for my camera. I lined it with soft baby flannel, in pale yellow. I didn't have the metal hardware needed for the handle, so just inserted the handle strip into the side seam as is. 

Please note that my bag is much deeper than the original pattern. I needed it that way so it could hold my camera and a few necessities.

Thanks so much to Clover and Violet, for having this great tutorial. I will have a link on my Cute Tute page soon. Have a look round their blog, it is packed with lots of tutes and other great ideas!

I made this table runner a few years ago. I will try to find the tutorial for it…might be lost in the Forbidden Room, aka; my sewing room!

Here's a close-up. You can see I did a bit of simple hand quilting in the white border. I used to do a lot of hand quilting, but since I had Carpal Tunnel surgery on BOTH wrists I don't have full range of movement anymore.

Got some Happy Mail from Christa's yesterday! Just love, love that juicy gumdrop print! I had been eyeing that cube of Double Wedding Ring sticky notes for ages. She is having a close-out sale and I got the last on at half price!

Also fron Christa's, these cuts of Kona cotton. This is; Azure, Sand, Robin's Egg Blue and Lipstick Red. I got 3 yds of Sand and 2 yds each of the other three. I should have got more of the red. It is my favourite shade of red…but it is so hard to tell on a computer. She is all sold out of Kona now.

Last, but not least, I got this Cheese and Crackers boy quilt kit. It was $60, but I got the last one for $30! Such a smokin' great deal; an Atkinson pattern, 10 fatties, half yard of the blue and yardage of Kona-white.

That's all for me today, the hubs needs the computer…grrr..I can't complain though, his need is directly tied to getting a paycheque!!!

Another hexie shot! Can't get enough of these little, happy bits of scrappiness!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Jacqueline