TRAVELING STASH WINNER!!!!!!!

Congratulations Roxanne(Scrapbook-ChickADoodle), you are the winner of the Traveling Stash Box #4!

Roxanne said:

Love the apples and the trees. Please add my name to your list! Thanks.

 I will be mailing the box to her over the weekend so check in soon to see what she chooses and what she adds to the box!!!! Thanks to all who came by to visit.

TRAVELING STASH Box 4

Yes, I was lucky enough to win another Traveling Stash box from Joy for Grace! Thank you Nancy. The box was packed to the brim with fabric but it was really wrinkled! So I decided to iron everything and tidy it up a bit!(and I really don't enjoy ironing...does anyone?) To see what was in the box click on the link above...I'm lazy and didn't want to take all of those photos when Nancy had done it so well!!!

Here is what I took out. Click to enlarge photos.

There is a one yard piece(the flowered piece second from the left on top) 2 half yard pieces (the dark piece top left and the trees in the middle). All the rest are fat quarters. Don't you just love the greens?

Since the box was a bit on the "dark" side, I chose some lighter colored fabric to add in.

All of these pieces are half yards. There is some Farmsdale...I love those apples! Some Botany by Moda and a piece of OOP Tula Pink Flutterby.  I am going to add a few notions but they will be a surprise!

All you have to do  to win this Stash is leave a comment on this post.  I will draw a winner on Thursday evening May 23.


Rules and Guidelines

• Be an active blogger -- post about receiving the box and the giveaway in a timely manner.
• Update the travel log in the box to let others know where the box has been.
• There is a list of rules and guidelines in the box -- be sure to follow these to keep the box full of quality items and the experience positive for everyone.
• You may take any items from the box just be sure that you are replacing them with quality and comparable items. (Guidelines for fabric below).
• Ship box to the next person timely -- and communicate tracking information with recipient.
• Shipping is within the US only.

Important Things to Remember

• Please ensure that items in the box are quality. If items in the box are poor quality they should be removed. Items that are being removed can be offered for optional inclusion to the next recipient. Poor quality items can be discarded but this should be done with discretion. 
• Only include items that you would be proud to own -- this is not a dumping ground for outdated or worn items.
• Items should be free of smoke, odors  and pet hair.
• You must replace all items that you take with items of equal value and replacing with more than you take is welcome.

It's For the Birds Winner!

Sorry it has taken me so long to post the winner but this has been a really weird week. Things were going wrong and then things started going right! Got the problems taken care of so the wrong was righted! And the going right? I won big on a scratch off ticket! $1000 is a god sent when you really need the money! Yes, I was that lucky! Now if I can win the $600 million on the Powerball....LOL!

Anyway my lucky winner of the Sudoku quilt kit is Jan of Sew Peace to Peace! Her comment was:

 "Holy smokes, you made a ton of projects. Love all of them, especially the penguins."

 Congratulations Jan and I will mail your kit off to you this weekend!

Thanks to all of your who visited  my blog during this hop! It was fun!!!!!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Winners....Yes, Winners

I want to thank everyone for visiting my blog and leaving such fun comments! I had such a good response(515 posts) that I decided to add 2 more smaller prizes!

The winner of the Moda Scrap Bag is Kathy from Just Quilt It . Congratulations! Your prize will be on the way on Monday!

 Winner # 2 is Felicia from the The Slow Quilter! She is the winner of a charm pack of Moda's Indigo Crossing! Congratulations and I will get your package off on Monday, also.

Winner #3 is Deb of A Simple Life Quilts. I am sending her a charm pack of Riley Blake's Scoot! I am still waiting to hear from her and as soon as I do, I will get her package off to her. Congratulations Deb!

I tried to answer each of your comments and if I missed you it was because you were a non-reply blogger. Just think, only 6 months and another Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day will be here!!! I can't wait.

It's For the Birds!!!! And a Giveaway!!!!!

Finally it is my day for the It's For the Birds Blog Hop! The minute it was announced I knew I had to join in because I had lots of birdie fabric! I decided that I wanted to use fabric in my stash so I looked around for some fun things to make plus I wanted to try some new techniques. So here is what I came up with.

First up were some cute little owls from Toad's Treasures. I had so much fun making these adorable owls. I made the first one but decided that I wanted to move the wings a bit so you can see that my second owl (the orange one has "high flying wings")  plus I added a little batting to give the wings some body! Aren't they cute? (Click on photos to enlarge!)

Betting my grandkids will love having stuffed owls!

Then I decided that because I missed the mug rug blog hop, I needed to catch up and make some for me! I found The Patchsmith at Craftsy and fell in love with her patterns. I have to tell you she is one of the nicest folks I have met on the internet so check out her blog! I looked around and chose more owls and my other favorite, the penguin! This is the first time I have done applique and I had a ball. It is amazing to see little pieces of fabric become something so cute!

Note I used the same "night time" fabric for both rug mugs. It was just perfect!

I had so much fun picking out just the right scrap to make each creature come to life! I was amazed that I had the perfect branch in my scraps plus I love how the owls turned out!

Next I found the cutest penguins(can you see a pattern occurring?) at The Purl Bee. The minute I saw them, I knew I had to make my own. Finding the perfect black and white fabric was fun and I actually had to buy some extra...not enough variety in my stash. So without further ado, I would like you to meet my little guys!

I had to dress them up since they were standing on snow and needed their scarves to keep them warm.

I have plans to make more of them and have my own penguin farm. I just love the cute little guys in tuxedos!


After I finished these projects, I decided that my grandchildren really need some new pillowcases. I had some really neat owl fabric(told you there was a pattern appearing!) but had to find some coordinating fabric that was appropriate for both a boy and a girl. I used the fun tube pattern I found at Michigan Star Easy Tube pillowcase. If you have never made a pillowcase in this fashion, you must try! It is quick and easy and your pillowcase turns out so perfect!

I love using the bright green cuff with the contrasting chocolate polka dot trim. Great for a boy or a girl!

Next up in my sewing were some cute little pincushions. I used my favorite bird fabric that I noticed must be a favorite of Kathy from Kwilty Pleasures. I have made a coin purse from it as well, and am down to almost none of the fabric left....insert sad face.I added some lace to make this pincushion special.  I also used some cute little rooster fabric for two more pincushions.

I filled my pincushions with crushed walnut shells...and that was an adventure! Everywhere I read to go to a pet store and look in pet bedding for the crushed shells.  Well, it took several different pet stores and some questioning looks when I told them I wanted the shells for stuffing pin cushions.They kept telling me it was lizard bedding. No lizards for me!  Guess that is what makes life so much fun; different strokes for different folks.

Hope you aren't getting tired of my birdie experience because I have a few more items I made. I had so much fun doing all of this! My next projects were some kindle covers...of course I couldn't just make one...I had to do three(and I only have one kindle but heck, I can change them when I change my mood!)

A cute little appliqued  robin, some blue birds and of course, more owls!

It was fun looking for just the perfect button for each one. Luckily when Joann's had their buttons on sale for 50% off, I bought 5 little jars of buttons in different colors, each filled with all sizes, shapes and shades. I am set for life with buttons by the way!!!!

Next I tackled clutches! The first one I made was one that I just stitched together as I went along. You will recognize the cute little owls one more time! I decided on a matching key fob. After finishing these, I found a wonderful pattern from Michelle's Patterns (although I don't see it listed anymore)

My little design and matching key fob

Michellepatterns insert clutch

I lined the clutches with the deep chocolate polka dotted fabric that I used on my pillowcases.

 I thought I was through with clutches when I found yet another owl fabric I had saved for the Birdie hop....this time a really pretty Japanese pattern.

I really love this clutch because I love the fabric!

OK. I am almost through. Again I turned to Michelle's patterns for her Reusable grocery bag. This is a really easy pattern to make and you end up with a cute shopping bag. You are being "green" and stylish at the same time.

I love this chicken fabric and I had the perfect matching blossom fabric for the lining and handles.

 OK, I am finally finished showing off all of my sewing.  Have I forgotten anything????...YES! I have a Giveaway for you(unless you are tired of giveaways after all the fun we have had at SewMamaSews Giveaway Day!) I think I found a really fun thing for everyone....a Moda Sudoku Quilt Blocks in Oasis by Three Sisters!

Box contains 9 5x5 squares of 9 different fabrics(81) charm squares total from one collection, plus a project sheet (yes you have to solve a sudoku!)  Fabric for sashing , border and binding is not included. All you need to do is make a comment on this post about your favorite game or puzzle. (For me, it is crossword puzzles or any similar word game.) For a second chance follow me on Bloglovin! Make sure I have a way to get in contact with you if you win. Giveaway will end on May 15th at 8 PM EDT.

  

 I want to thank  Madam Samm for all of her hard work on all the wonderful hops she thinks up. Special thanks to our head cheerleader Mary who worked so hard to keep us all in line and working on our projects! Don't forget to visit everyone else who has birds to show you today, May 10th:

http://ssparrowinflight.blogspot.com

http://Hillvalleyquilter.blogspot.se

http://mcsqrd.blogspot.com

http://loveitsewit.blogspot.com

http://piecepeacenc.blogspot.com

http://grammieq.blogspot.com

http://meadowbrook-Kristen.blogspot.com

http://scrapbook-ChickADoodle.blogspot.com

www.craftyshenanigans.blogspot.co.uk

http://Stitchingbythebeach.blogspot.com

www.thebusybeequiltshop.blogspot.com

http://morestarsincomanche.blogspot.com

http://lesquilts.blogspot.ca

http://suebeesworld.blogspot.com

http://mtnmommy2.blogspot.com

www.thatlookslikeitneedsstitches.blogspot.com

http://www.freshcutquilts.com

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

I love Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. It is so much fun to visit new blogs! It is a great way to make new friends and also a chance to win great giveaways. I keep thinking I will blog more but I am so busy reading other folk's blogs that I forget to post on my own. This week though has been a posting fest for me! So look around and see the little things I have been doing!

 I finally decide what my giveaway would be this spring...a Moda Scrap Bag! Never seen one? They are great. Here is the description from Moda:

These bags contain the leftovers from Modas production of layer cakes. Near the print plant, they were being discarded, until Moda swooped in and came up with a great way to save a scrap!
Each bag contains 1/2 pound or more of fabric in strips that vary from 2 to 4 in width. Each piece is 32 long. Each bag includes ONE beautifully color coordinated Fabric collection. Who Can resist

All fabric is 100% cotton

All you need to do to win is leave me a comment about what you will use these strips for.  I have had so much fun with the ones I have had, it will be interesting to see how others will use them!!!! If you want an extra chance, you can friend me or if you already are, tell me so in a second post.  I will ship internationally.

Don't forget to check out all the other great giveaways  from Sew Mama Sew. The giveaways start on Monday May 6th  and end on Friday May10th. Come on and join the fun!!!!

I will end my giveaway Friday night May 10th at 8 PM and randomly draw a winner at 9 PM. I will notify the winner by email so be sure that I have a way to reach you!

My son's trip to Russia

Would you believe 3 posts in one day? From me, the person who always means to blog but somehow never quite does it regularly! But I had to add another post when I saw this headline....MSU historian awarded Fulbright Fellowship to Russia!!!! I, of course, knew about the fellowship but it wonderful seeing this in print!

My son Chris(OK, he goes by Stephen now but he will always be Chris to me!!!)

Here is the link to the article about his Fulbright and all it entails:

Fulbright Fellowship to Russia  I am so proud of him. He has worked hard to be where he is and so deserves this honor.

Easter with the Grandkids

I am going to set a record for me and post again! Right after I finished my grandson's storage buckets, it was time to start work on Easter Baskets. For these I used Noodlehead's divided basket pattern. These were so much fun to make. I used glittery Easter fabric for both baskets, but lined my granddaughter's in pink & white fabric and my grandson's in bright orange. I filled both with all kinds of cute little Easter toys(and I snuck in a little bit of candy, too!) They had no problems telling who's was whose...Teddy in his cute little 3 year old voice told me his was orange....NOT pink!

Here they are with all the eggs they found at the Easter Egg Hunt at the University where their father teaches.

Maddie discovering eggs in her own front yard!

Look! I found a bright blue egg!

I had fun making the baskets and the kids had fun filling them! The baskets are quite sturdy and can be used for lots of fun things!

Happy Birthday Teddy!

Well, like usual it has been forever since I have posted! I have good intentions but you know what good intentions get you! Anyway, I was busy the middle of March making some wonderful round bottomed storage buckets for my grandson's birthday. I found the tutorial on Film In The Fridge by Ashley. I had so much fun making them but of course, I failed to take photos. Actually this was probably a good thing since I had my daughter-in-law take some for me so I have pix of Teddy with his buckets. His Mom says he loves filling and emptying them. Glad to hear he likes filling them and hope he keeps on doing it!

Here are all 5 of them lined up.

Here is Teddy selecting a toy.

I was really lucky finding some great "little boy" fabric! All primary colors with dinosaurs and space ships! Who could ask for more?