I am so blessed to have made some wonderful blog friends! I would love you to go and visit the blog of a really special lady. She sent me the goodies above! Wonderful coffee, yummy chocolate, luscious fall colored fat quarters...and best of all, a hand-quilted quilt! Please go see Paula at http://www.alattequilts.blogspot.com/. She has a wonderful blog, and a precious heart. Thank you Paula! She participated in the fall into fall giveaway!!

And please...you should not miss greeting Marilyn at http://www.marilynpiecebypiece.blogspot.com/! She sent me this pay it forward gift.. A wonderful card, pin cushion in just the right colors, and a hand-made fabric basket! (I must make some of these)! What a wonderful gift, and she is so thoughtful.

Speaking of pay it forward...when I signed up for this with Marilyn, I was quite new to blogging, and did not know really how it worked. So...now that I do, I would love to invite you to join me! I will send a hand-made gift to the first three people who tell me they would like to participate. Then you pay it forward! Within a year, you do the same thing...won't you join me? Only those who say they want to do it are on the hook, other comments are welcome too!

********************************WORK**************************************

The hospital is laying off people! It is so scary...I am so grateful for my job. Hope I get to keep it!

*****************************Health************************************************

OK, enough is enough! I refuse to go up a size in pants. Ridiculous! I must exercise more and eat less. Sound familiar? I deserve to be healthy! NOT indulgent...must stave off diabetes and heart disease that are on both sides of my family.

Hope everyone has a most wonderful day!!

Retail therapy

Good morning! Wheww, I am off work at last. A long stretch there...but I am so very glad to have a job! Many employees were laid off in my hospital this week. That is scary! These were experienced, highly educated and trained people...may I say again scary? The economic woes are seeping into even our little neck of the woods. So what is a girl to do? I went to the quilt shop! Doesn't make a lick of sense does it....Anyway! I got the above Kaffe prints. I don't know why, I have never been attracted to them before...but they were in the sale bin!

And a cake stand of Moda Christmas fabrics...they are so cute!

And this piece of pink, because it is pretty!!

Remember my great car wreck of December, 2007? I never got a car...just drove my husband's pickup...and waited and waited, and did not really want a car payment, and saved, and....guess what? I got a new car!! The above Rav 4 is the biggest contribution to the economy I will make for a long, long time...It is cute and pretty and gets great gas mileage,and will get me back and forth to work and the grocery, which is where I mostly go. How cool, huh? I found out that car dealerships are really hurting right now, and I got it for cost. They just have parking lots full of cars sitting there, not selling, due to the economy. So I helped them and me too!

Hope that everyone has a most wonderful day! It is cool here, in the 40's...nice!!

JulieK

And the winner is....

Good morning! I want to thank everyone for participating in the fall-into fall give-away! 141 responses! And some new friends made. We did a random draw...and the winner is...



Amelia!! Would you please send me your snail mail and I will mail this package out tonight? Congratulations!!!

JulieK

Time goes marching on...

And some progress is made! I have now made a total of 20 scribble-scrap blocks, above. I like the secondary pattern being formed. It has been such fun to play in the scraps strings! A glorious mess!

This is for an un-named person, who will be receiving this pink quilt soon. Hope the person likes it as much as I loved putting it together. This is every pink fabric that I own, at least one strip from each one. I will let you know who it is very soon!!

WORK: I am not there, but will be for the next few days. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing! I would love to go to the quilt show in Houston. Anyone else going?

House: All clean! Still some cluttery areas, but I think that is inevitable. But substantial progress was made this past few days.

Economy: I sure hope it rebounds all the way to where it was! The election is only 3 weeks away, so we shall see what impact this will have on it.

Health and exercise: My dear husband and myself rode 21 miles on our bikes! Fun, and a lovely day to do it. After we fell off the bikes, we tottered home...and my hips are pretty dang touchy sore! But I know it was good for us...My weight is the same, and will be until I make up my mind to stop the carb festival...

Grins!!

Julie

autumn is here!

Good morning! Above is a little Marigold that has really taken a liking to these cooler fall temperatures. It is just going crazy! Isn't it just the right color for fall??

Yard sale goodies...The above napkins were 50 cents. We can use them instead of napkins or paper towels...and just throw them in the wash with the other clothing. Maybe a little greener than using the paper kind.

And this pretty serving platter was also 50 cents. It has that old crackled patina of yesteryear I just love. I like it!! You know, my husband and I tease each other about buying things...we say it will all go the dump in a U-haul when we pass away! So, when we are about to buy something not necessary, we call out "U-Haul!!". It has become a fun joke for us. And a deterrent in buying just silly things. We are trying to streamline!!

Speaking of purchases, look at what I found at the local quilt shop! The bundle on the left are Jo Morton's Hocus Pocus fabrics. The one on the right is all civil war reproductions. Yummy!! Can't seem to streamline the quilt shop purchases, but I am quite sensible, really. hmmmm...

No finishes for this week, but I have been working behind the scenes. I got this quilt cut out and one block made. It is for ....well, I can't tell you yet, because she may read this blog!! I bet you recognize the pattern. Lots and lots of pink strips!!

Remember Bonnie from Quiltville's Strip X quilt? Well, I was making that...then got to tinkering with the pattern! What would happen if I put connector corners on the edges with the solid fabric? This is what happened! I like them! and of course thanks to Bonnie for another great idea...

It forms the secondary pattern with the light fabric. Fun playing with the scribble scraps, isn't it??!
I pray everyone has a most marvelous day! I have been fretting about the stock market all week, and have vowed to just relax and have a super good weekend and...guess what? I am off work for FOUR days in a row! How cool is that????

Julie

Giveaway!

I finally got a picture to load! Above is the book and charm squares up for grabs!! (Update 10/15/08) The drawing is done...and the winner is...Amelia! Please send me your snail mail...congratulations!!

I am joining Debi's fall giveaway. Please see her at fallintofallquilters.blogspot.com. It is so nice of her to organize all these giveaways!! I just could not resist adding to the fun! Unfortunately, I cannot make my pictures load this morning.

But...I am giving away the "Civil War Love Letters" quilting book! Also, two charm packs of Moda squares, Vintage Holiday. Please leave me a comment if you would like to added to the drawing. I will try to add pictures again later today!

Everyone have a wonderful day!

Ger-er-dun!

Ok, I have finished this little one above. Remember the little batic quilt I had pieced? Well, yesterday I got the wild notion that I needed to machine quilt it! I have been inspired by Elaine Adair's wonderful quilting she does on her domestic machine. I carefully layered and pinned well, and started out. And the back is one huge mess of tucks and wrinkles!! The front looks Ok, and I will be donating this quilt to the new owner...the little dog above! Yes, Rusty, you have another quilt for your bed. Yippee! (Rusty is inspecting for quality...he may not accept this).

It seemed the faster I went, the smoother it all went. And that was not smooth!

Here is a blurry shot of the whole thing. On the bright side, the binding is as perfect as any I have ever seen....Hee!! I had such fun doing it anyway...maybe next time I can try the fabric adhesive spray and really meld the layers together. Oh, by the way, my feed dogs do not lower...could that be the trouble??

Have to laugh at ourselves!!!! Have a super great day

JulieK