hodgepodge . . .

Really I have just a strange collection of odds and ends from my life to share today. All of them are important to me in one way or another, so I just piled 'em up together. There's no wonder I don't have a design wall per se . . . I've been too busy buying fabrics and running the video on my camera . . .

First, a nod back to Knoxville and the AQS show. One of the most poignant exhibits there was the traveling Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative exhibit. Unfortunately, in order to preserve the quilts, no photography was allowed, but you can see photos of it HERE at their website and some HERE if you "like" them on facebook. (Photo from the website.)

I had actually had an opportunity earlier in the year to put the name of a dear friend and mentor on one of the squares. I was so excited and touched to find her name -- my handwriting -- on the exhibit (yes; that's the thing I had a part in that was hanging at the AQS show) . It's a very beautiful and moving display and would have been worth the AQS entrance fee if that had been all I'd seen. If you have the opportunity to see it, I highly recommend it.

Next? I got not one, but TWO happy packages in the mail! The first was this wonderful collection of books - and you can see, there are some great titles (and a cute little notepad which is perfect for list-making and/or doodling)!

This came from Peggy at The Simple Woman's Day Book.

The second package came from Karen over at Lisnaweary Quilts. She picked my names, "Cactus Kid & Bo" for her little guys on her Wild West Quilt.

Aren't these fun and pretty? Perfect for the little cowgirl in my life (and I do have one or two).

Saturday I got to spend a couple of hours with my favorite little man, Sawyer Graham. I cannot believe how busy and chatty he is!

Just bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!

See that frown? That's what happens when you try and read your books upside down!

Great profile shot, non?

Just so HAPPY!

I managed to whittle this little clip down from the eleven minute mini-movie it originally was. It's still entertaining to me -- and I've already watched it a dozen times!

Remind me to share why the pig says, "La la la!" I love being a grandmaaaaaa. :)

Then finally, from today, we have new visitors at the camp!

Mama Raccoon and her sweet little babies! They were the first raccoon babies I've ever seen. We saw the first fawn of the season up here last week -- but it was very timid and wouldn't come out for a camera shot. With the baby raccoons I had no such problems.

They were so cute -- and they didn't get too far from mama at first.

Todd commented how amazing it is that we're seeing them in the daylight like this.

Something startled them (another raccoon -- a big male -- came out to eat) and they went dashing up the tree!

After they'd been in the clearing for a while, they got a little braver and let mom get more than six feet away. But my favorite part of their visit I managed to catch on video . . .

Isn't that fun?!?!

All right, I've got a busy, busy (but fun) week in store. Tomorrow I'm off to a church finances seminar and then we've got Community Groups in the evening. I've got a dear, quilty friend coming for lunch and iced tea on Wednesday followed by an evening with the Ignite ladies at the movies (Winnie the Pooh), then Thursday I've got some book-keeping to do before I head off to my guild meeting. Friday I've got lunch at Emma's with a sweet young lady from church, and then a Friday evening ladies' conference at Lighthouse Baptist, and then Saturday morning is the Sulky Thread workshop. Whew! I'm out of breath just typing all that! Good thing the list Todd gave me for the week was such that I finished everything but one item today!

:)

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orange you glad . . .

Well, you *will* be glad if you hop on over to Katherine's Corner and check out her sweet little giveaway! Hurry, because it's ending today. You won't be sorry!

Click on the her icon for a direct link up!

:)

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surprise!

The trip Todd & I took to the post office box yesterday netted only one thing.

A box.

And it wasn't even the box we were expecting of Keurig coffee k-cups.

It was BETTER (in my estimation, anyway)!

In it was . . .

FABRIC!

I'd entered this giveaway on Nancy's Silly Stitching blog on June 14th (my anniversary). On the 20th, I got a lovely e-mail from her saying I'D WON! She gave me pick of the fabric and said she'd get it in the mail to me. Which she must have done pronto, because I have it already!

But the surprise?!? It wasn't just the two lovely fabrics above, it was a whole BOX of goodies! See for yourself . . .

The two pieces of yardage, which are great (I'm thinking I'd like to use the floral as a whole cloth top for a runner, and quilt the flowers), plus four fun fat quarters and a Mary Englebreight journal and sticky notes, plus a lovely handcrafted note from Nancy herself! I was so tickled. You ought to check out Nancy's blog for yourself!

I celebrated by cutting some wildflowers and making a sweet little arrangement to tide me over.

My July 4th arrangement is ready to take the stage, but I have to get the table topper done first!

And, speaking of giveaways, Vicki B Quilts is giving away a Baby Go cutter! Head on over to her blog and enter before July 3, by clicking HERE!

Happy Sunday!

:)

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Winners of the May Giveaway !

Thank you, everybody, for your wonderful comments ! You're a great group, and we are so fortunate to have you as our CFF's ! (That's internet talk for "cyber-friends forever"). We carefully wrote the name of each contestant on a square of paper, then folded it up and dropped it into the hat.

Greg, (the husband of Daryl), reached into the hat and drew out five names at random. Here they are, with our congratulations:

1. The winner of the "Luscious Lilacs" fat quarters is Julie Fukuda

2. The winner of the $ 10 Jo-Ann Gift Card is Mary

3. The winner of the "Color Blend Applique " book is Ros

4. The winner of the "Elements" fabric from Skydyes is Debbie

5. The winner of the "Quilt Mania" and "Quilt" Magazines is Linda E in AZ

Winners, please e-mail us your name and shipping address (which we will hold in confidence) to quiltinspiration@gmail.com . We'll ship out your prize, postage paid, as soon as possible.

All of your comments were so kind and thoughtful, that we really wish we could award a prize to each of you. However, we have the next best thing -- another Giveaway coming up soon. Please stay tuned to Quilt Inspiration !

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Welcome to the May Giveaway !

Wow ! Seems as if 2011 just started, but it's the month of May already !  We have five prizes in this Giveaway, instead of the usual four.  Please write us a brief comment below, and we will enter your name as a contestant in the Giveaway. If you win, we will mail out your prize to you free of charge.   All prizes come from a smoke-free, pet-free home and are in excellent condition, free of stains, rips, or tears. The contest ends at midnight on Saturday, May 7. We will draw the winners' names at random and announce them on Monday, May 9.

We'd love to hear from ALL of our readers !

"Luscious Lilacs" fat quarter fabrics from Hoffman California International and other top brands

Purple is one of our favorite colors, so our stash cupboard is overflowing with it ! Here are five fat quarters, for a total of approximately 1.25 yards of fabric. These are clear medium-value violets and grapes, some with touches of aqua green, blue, and metallic gold and silver. There is one batik, one tone-on-tone, and three interesting prints. The 5 fat quarters blend well together, and would look great in either a traditional or contemporary quilt pattern.

$ 10.00 Gift Card from Jo-Ann Crafts

If you love to quilt, you probably know that Jo-Ann is a big-box retailer who carries almost every sewing accessory, notion, and gadget known to mankind ( er... womankind ? ) Jo-Ann is a great source for name brand scissors, rulers, mats, and rotary cutters, among other helpful tools of our trade. If you're in the U.S.A., you can use the gift card for purchases in store, over the phone, or on the internet.

If your name is drawn as a prize winner, and you are outside the U.S.A, please let us know by e-mail.  We'll arrange for you to receive one of the other very cool gifts in this Giveaway.

Color Blend Applique by Jane Townswick

A well-known teacher and designer from Pennsylvania,  Jane Townswick has taught applique and quilt-making around the world, emphasizing new techniques that produce spectacular results. Her color blend concept involves combining many fabrics within a single applique shape to create rich visual depth in quilt blocks.

Color Blend Applique contains 125 pages of fascinating patterns, many full-page color photos, and very clear step-by-step instructions. The directions are easy to follow, and in no time, you'll be able to sew real show-stopper applique blocks. Here's another one of Jane's stunning floral patterns below:

 3 yards of The Elements fabric by Mickey Lawlor of Skydyes

True to her company's namesake, Mickey Lawlor of Skydyes  has created a  lovely handpainted fabric design that looks like a tropical sunrise over an exotic South Seas island.  Purple, golden yellow, magenta, and orange red create a gorgeous palette of contemporary colorways.  Three full yards of this 45 inch wide fabric means that there is enough for a quilt backing, a large border, or an entire quilt top when paired with a neutral background or other solid color.

2011 "Quilt Mania" and  "Quilt" Magazines

Hot off the press, here they are !  This June/July 2011 very latest issue of Quilt Magazine has just been published, featuring some very cute quilts made with the latest fabric designs.  And Quilt Mania , a favorite magazine from France ( written in English) has new and wonderful ideas for this year. All in all, these magazines contain over two dozen quilt patterns, pull-out pages for applique and templates,  plus the usual very helpful tips, tricks, and techniques.  These will provide hours of happy reading about gorgeous quilts, a great take along for a vacation or even a lunch break at work.

Now it's your turn !  Please leave us a comment below, as we are looking forward to hearing from each of you !

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