Monday, August 22, 2011

Sometimes in life.. you get lucky!

As you may know, we have a family dog. She's old, cranky and can't hear very well anymore.. but we love her all the same.

She is definitely "my dog". She follows me everywhere and we got her before our oldest was born. She was our first "baby".

My oldest son has been asking for a dog (that's not mine) ever since we moved. He even gave me this quote recently from the movie "Marley and Me"

"A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor,
educated or illiterate,
clever or dull.
Give him your heart and he wll give you his."

yeah.. he's a pro at getting his point across.

So anyway, we had no plans to add another dog to our family until after our old girl is gone... which could be a few more years. But that all changed when I was relaxing at the pool recently with a long time friend. She started telling me about a friend who needed to find a home for their dog. They recently had twins and they were overwhelmed.. understandably so. And they weren't able to give their 1 1/2 year old yellow lab the attention he deserved and needed. They had already said no to a few people who wanted him because they wanted to make sure he went to the right family.

So we went to their house and met him. It was love at first sight...


He's awesome! He's mellow, house broke, well behaved.. and loves our boys! We couldn't have asked for a better dog! And since we live in the boondocks.. he is free to run run run. We are surrounded by trees and he doesn't know what a leash is anymore.



Meet Diesel.. look at that smile! He's a ham for the camera. Pin It

Sunday, August 21, 2011

And the Winners are....

Before I tell you who the lucky winners are, Bobbi and I want to Thank all of you for making the Friday Night Sew-In's a big success!!

We started these 2 years ago.. just me and Bobbi, as a way to make the miles between us seem a little less painful. For those of you who don't know, we are cousins. We grew up just a few miles from each other.. spent every holiday together growing up and went to the same school.. and in adulthood, we have often joked that we were twins seperated at birth.

We love how quickly the FNSI grew. We know some of you have been with us from the beginning - and we always get first timers too. We appreciated all of you FNSI veterans and newbies!!  To show our appreciation we decided to each draw 2 winners this month. Yes - that's a total of 4 winners!! Whaaahooo!!!

One of my local quilt shops donated items for the giveaway this month. The owner gave me all the pattern books below and a charm pack. She's actually the author of the pattern books too. They are filled with some adorable patterns and very useful information. I added a box of Chocolate Chippers. They are chocolate covered potato chips made by a local candy store in the town where Bobbi and I grew up.

So - to get on with the good stuff..



Winner of Prize #1 is #1 Sandy R. from http://sandysshowtellquilts.blogspot.com/  And I know that hardly ever does #1 every win. So I had to do a screen shot just to show you it was real!! lol




And the winner of prize #2 is #100 - Lyn from http://stitchesfromthemainland.blogspot.com/

Send me your mailing address ladies and I will get these in the mail to you!

Now head on over to Bobbi's blog and see who her 2 winners are - She's got some awesome prizes!

Thank you for another successful FNSI!!! See you in September!

Pin It

Saturday, August 20, 2011

The Plan that never was...

So this is how my FNSI was supposed to go....

1. Stop on way home from work and buy groceries
2. Make a quick meal of sandwiches to feed family
3. Head to sewing room and work on my project that I had all layed out and ready
4. Wake up at 5 am Saturday so I could be on the road for a 4 1/2 hour trip to my Aunt and Uncles 50th Wedding Anniversary part Saturday afternoon/evening.

But instead.. it went something like this...

While finishing up my day at work, I received a phone call from an old friend who I haven't seen in 15 years. She was in town for the weekend and wanted to see me. How could I say no?

So my family joined her family out for dinner down on the shore of Lake Superior. The weather was beautiful, the food was good and the conversation was perfect. I hadn't seen her kids since they were tiny.. and she had never met my boys. It was an awesome evening.

By the time I got home.. I had no umph to sew anymore. :-(  I packed my suit case and went to bed. I was up bright and early, before the sun came up. And on the road as planned.

Now I'm at my parents house and ready to head out for an afternoon of laughs with my relatives. And when I say laughs.. I mean it. My family is a very fun and funny crowd. I will also get to see Bobbi's parents who flew in for the event. I haven't seen them in a year since I moved up here.

When I get back to my parents tonight - I plan to surf your blogs and see what you were up to last night. I hope you were all better at getting stuff done then I was.

And don't forget to come back tomorrow - Bobbi and I have A LOT to giveaway. This is our 2 year FNSI anniversary remember?! Pin It

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A Quilters Treasure Chest

Have you ever purchased fabric because you loved it.. not sure what you would eventually make with it. Then when you finally have the perfect idea, you realize you don't have enough fabric? And it's been a couple years and you figure that it's long gone by now?

Well, I have a possible solution. Way back last year when I moved to Minnesota from Arizona, the first local quilt store that I visited had me in awe. I told you about it in this post. They have walls of precut fabrics. I was giddy when I found a charm pack for a fabric line that I thought was long gone.




Look at all those charm packs.. and layer cakes.. oh my!!

Anyway - I wanted to let you in on a secret. They have an extensive online store! And right now, she's having a 40% off sale on some fabrics. What a great way to build your stash.

So, if you have been on the hunt for a charm pack or layer cake.. or jelly roll... or yardage you thought you'd never see again.. I suggest you take a look at the Hingeley Road Quilt Shop.

You just might find what you are looking for!

You're welcome! Pin It

Sunday, August 14, 2011

August Friday Night Sew-In Signup!!

Another month has FLOWN by!! Where has this summer gone? I guess all the new job activities on top of keeping my family happy, clean and fed has wiped me out! We also adopted a new doggie (more on him later). AND - I haven't told you, but I quit the first new job and accepted another one instead. It is a much better job working for someone I worked with in AZ for many years. And since it's based out of Arizona that means that I get to work out of my house!! Which will be great this winter and is great for my family. I started this 2nd new job last Monday.

Anyway - let's get to the sign-up for the next Friday Night Sew-In. It is right around the corner.. less than a week away. And I completely plan on sewing something fun this time.

If you need to know how the FNSI works.. click the link above. Otherwise just add your name to the list and start preparing for some F.U.N.


Pin It

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Heads Up!

I'm working on a new tutorial for you guys. It's for a zip pouch to carry your eReader anywhere you go.


And the best part.. it doesn't matter if you have a Nook or a Kindle.. it works for all of them! And could even be adapted to fit an ipad or one of the many tablets out there.

So stay tuned!!
Pin It