Happy Dance

i had to go to Spokane (100 miles away) today for some dr apts. my mom went with me because she had an apt as well. we left at 5:45am & it was snowing when we left. our plan was to make the trip there go to the apts & get home because of the snow storm.

this is in Colfax about 1/2 way there, still snowing & snow berms in the middle of the road. we made it to Spokane & the dr apts all went well. i don't have to go back for 3 months!!!! for me, that is a big deal because for awhile i was seeing them every 2 to 4 weeks. we grabbed some lunch at a drive-thru & headed for home.
we get to Colfax & this is what we see. not sure what was going on but we got detoured.

this is why we got detoured. a business on main street was on fire. major bummer for that business. once through Colfax i knew that the worse part of the drive was yet ahead of us.

the winds were blowing like crazy across the Palouse. this shot was taken between Pullman & Colton. more then likely they will close the road tonight because the the snow & wind.

lastly, i couldn't resist this pic. just outside of Uniontown we came upon a taxi going about 30mph & sometimes smack-dab in the middle of the road. my mom & i could not figure out what a taxi was doing out there & there was no passenger. my mom told me that my Great Auntie Grace use to call the taxi company & have them go to the liquor store for her & bring her purchase to her house. so, we thought maybe someone needed a liquor store run......

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last but not least its November 30th!!!!! i have been participating in NaBloPoMo which is National Blog Posting Month which means you do a blog post daily. i am happy to say i have been successful with this & i have posted every day in November.

HAPPY DANCE!!!!

crap

this evening i was down in my sewing cave working on some Christmas gifts & having a conversation with myself in my head. it went something like this -

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me - have i done a blog post for today?

my response - crap i can't remember

me - what did i blog about yesterday?

my response - crap i can't remember

me - i am pretty sure i haven't done one yet for today

my response - not a 100% sure but 85% sure that i haven't done one

me - what the heck am i going to post about

my response - crap i have no idea

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so, it was at that moment that i decided to post about what i am currently working on in the sewing cave. being Christmas gifts & all you get just a few pics of the gift in process.

amazing huh?????

i will show finished pics after Christmas of this gift. i think its so cool that i might just have to make me one as well.

oh, & with regards to me having conversations with myself..... that's just a normal thing around here.

Winner... Winner...

when Quiltmaker did their 100 Block issue blog hop a few weeks ago i hit almost every blog & signed up for a chance to win a copy of the magazine or whatever else they were giving away.

i ended up winning some fabric from Fabric Shoppe.
4 - 1/2 yard cuts of Far. Far Away II by Heather Ross.
i don't have any plans for it right now, but i am thinking maybe a bag for my niece.

i also won a copy of the magazine from Homestead Hearth.

Thanks to both for the great giveaways!!!!

this afternoon

this afternoon i decided to take a break from sewing to put up my Christmas tree. so i hauled everything upstairs & started un-boxing all of the Hallmark ornaments that i have. i have been collecting these since i was a baby so that means some of them are over 30 years old. most of them were given to me by my Grandmother who is no longer with us but Christmas was her favorite holiday so as i was putting them on the tree i was thinking of her - great memories.

so, in the middle of decorating my tree the power decides to go out & stay out. i call the power company who says it should be back on by 1am & its only 3:00 in the afternoon. so i pull out the flashlights & lite the candles & continue to decorate the tree. i found out that a book light clipped to the collar of my jacket worked real well. me being antsy called the power company again & they said 10pm now for getting power back. so i ate a pb&j sandwich & when i finished my dinner the power was back on so i could finish the tree with lights & do this blog post.

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another thing came to mind to share with you all while i was decorating the tree & that is my love of moose. yep, a little odd but i love moose. they are large animals that command respect & always beat to their own drum. pretty much nothing stands in their way except the occasional hunter but we won't go there. i have seen many in the wild & what amazing creatures they are. i have been collecting these from Lenox for 10 yrs now. not a good shot but i think i took it when the power was out.

another favorite of mine - i think my brother & sil gave me this one.
this one came from a friend in Spokane.
this was a package decoration one year.

this nativity set i keep out year round because i love it. my Dad found it in a gift shop one year in West Yellowstone, put it away for a Christmas gift & forgot about it. i got it for my birthday a couple of years later which is in July.

this one came from my Mom, she found it in an airport somewhere & hauled it home.

last but not least, remember i told you i had already gotten 1 Christmas gift. this calendar came from my good friend Barbara who every year gives me a moose calendar. it came in the mail earlier this week. Thanks Barbara!!!

i have a lot of other moose stuff that can be an entire post itself, however i do not collect just run of the mill moose stuff - it has to be unique & different.

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so, my tree is up & you now know that i love moose. sort of an odd post combo but hey that's me odd..........

p.s. - to those of you who helped support Modern Relief - THANK YOU!!!! they surpassed their goal.

2nd Gift & A Wish List

today is a 2 post day.

i got my 2nd Christmas present today. more on my 1st gift in another post. my cousin, Lynette a fellow RQ (renegade quilter) dropped these off to me at work. i normally don't open Christmas gifts until Christmas but she told me that i had to because she wanted me to enjoy them.

giant (5" across) lime green sparkly Christmas balls to use on my tree or hang in my front window at different lengths. you know me & my green thing. i LOVE them!!!!!

a HUGE THANK YOU LYNETTE!!!!!

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also, over at Above All Fabrics i have a wish list started. this is what i have on the list so far.

• Origins Fat Quarter set
• Parisville Fat Quarter Bundle - Pomegranate
• Parisville Fat Quarter Bundle - Mist
• Parisville Fat Quarter Bundle - Sprout
• Yardage of Mezzanine Tapestry - Lime

do you see a theme here with Parisville - its all i want for Christmas. i also love Origins as well as the Mezzanine line & i can always use some more lime green fabric.

Progress

i got all of the blocks sewin together yesterday & the quilt top laid out. rather then doing all pieced blocks i thought i would add in a few solid blocks just to make it my own. the blocks themselves came from Fat Quarterly's quilt along that they did.

i have stacked my rows from left to right & the used blue painters tape to write the row number on each stack.
my plan is..... tonight after work to get the rows sewin together & then then the top put together. i know... a lot of sewing but wish me luck.

I am thankful for.......

i am thankful for my family on this Thanksgiving day. for me family includes my closest friends as well, i consider them family by choice not by blood. these are the friends that no matter where i am or what i need they would be there for me without question or judgement. i have been truly blessed with the friends in my life & they live all over the US & sometime in other countries. so, not only am i Thankful for them i am Grateful for them as well.

therefore, in order to keep in touch with my family/friends i am also Thankful for my laptop & cell phone & whoever came up with this technology. without these i would not have the capability to communicate with them on a moments notice. it is a two way street with me - i as well would be there for them at a moments notice.

lastly, i am Thankful for my ipod because it takes me out of the normal grind of daily life & back to center which i have needed a lot of lately. i think i would be lost without music & its something i listen to daily.

notice that my laptop, cell phone and ipod all have something in common? yep i am a green freak, but that is a whole other post.

happy turkey day wherever you may be.

started last night

this is what i started working on last night. i had it all cut & ready for quilt camp but never got to it. woolies flannel..... what a dream to sew with.

if all goes according to plan (but when does that ever happen) i should have something to show you on tomorrows post. i will also be digging through my stuff for a giveaway.

for those of you prepping for turkey day - i hope all goes well for you.

{Modern} Relief

have you heard about this yet?????

if not here it is.

a group of quilters has gotten together & donated 20 quilts to be raffled off.

the proceeds from this raffle will go to help support World Vision which is an organization that is trying to end hunger.

please visit these amazing quilters at their blogs & see what they have given to this raffle. it is truly amazing what people can do to help others when they put their minds to it.

Julie from Jaybird Quilts

Heather from { House } of A La Mode

Amy from Amy's Creative Side

Elizabeth from Oh, Fransson!

Nettie from a quilt is nice

Aneela from Comfortstitching

Brioni from Flossyblossy

John from Quilt Dad

Kate from One Flew Over

Ashley from Film in the Fridge

Katy from i'm a ginger monkey

Tacha from Hanies

Amanda from Sasikirana Handmade

Jennifer & Jessica from Twin Fibers

Nova from a cuppa and a catch up

Ryan from I'm Just A Guy Who Quilts

Jacquie from Tallgrass Prairie Studio

Alissa from Handmade by Alissa

click on any of the links above to view the quilts & purchase a raffle ticket or tickets, you can buy as many as you want. please support our fellow quilters in their amazing effort to raise money for a great organization. the tickets are $10 each & the winners will be chosen by a random generator on Dec 1st.

again, PLEASE support this AMAZING cause!!!!!!

My tickets.....

my tickets for the Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds shows in Seattle were delivered by the FedEx gal today. so, 2 weeks from tonight i will be in downtown Seattle with 2,900 other fans attending an amazing concert & not just Monday's concert but i have tickets to Tuesday's as well.

it will be a great time hanging out with my BFF & her little guy as well as doing some shopping quilt stores or otherwise. needless to say i feel very blessed to have gotten tickets for both shows & i think its a great way to kick off the Christmas season. as i have shared in this post here all of the money from the tickets sales is being donated to various charities that are picked by us the concert-goers. Dave has fronted the cost for everything else.

i also realized as i started this post that this is my 100th post. Wow!!!!

i think i will have to do a give-away of some sort here in the next few days. i am coming out of my quilt camp hang over...... however i have a lot to do between now & Christmas so its off to the sewing cave for me.

Quilt Camp..... The End

quilt camp came to an end this afternoon while it was snowing outside. i am back home & everything is back down in the sewing cave. not unpacked but at least its down there.

quilt top made by Nancy who also is part owner in a quilt shop called Material Girls in Orofino, ID. they closed down the shop for camp & brought some inventory with them. its very nice to have a mini quilt shop with you at camp. Thanks gals!!!
quilt top i did with French General fabrics.

AMAZING quilt top by Joyce.

Saturday night was a pin cushion exchange. lots of crazy rules again but a whole lot of fun. below are just a few of the pin cushions - remember there was over 35 of us at camp.

wall hanging made by Andy.

a beautifule leaf made by Andy.

a couple bags made by Lynette. the one on the right is in process.

a great bag made by Nancy.

a quilt made by Denise.

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this camp was great. so many women so many different styles of quilting & sewing. its a great group to be able to spend 5 days with doing what you love. we will be back there the 1st weekend of March for another camp. for me, i am off to bed. its only 5:00 but the one thing with quilt camp is you may get a lot done but you don't get much sleep.

Quilt Camp Day 4

last night there was a sock exchange here at camp. lots of crazy rules. lots of crazy fun.

i was up at 3:45 this morning & this is what the room looked like.

holiday quilt

Bridgette's table runner

quilted by Denise

2 quilts i got quilted

beautiful feather quilting from the back side done by Joyce.

quilt top by Barb.

another bag that i made.

tumble block quilt by Bridgette

quilt top by me.

i love the boarder fabric with the dragon flies.

Denise is feather quilting.

up close shot.

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tomorrow is the final day...........