Bloggers at HMQS, and a little blog anniversary

Last post I shared some of the quilts and now I will share some of the people that I was able to see at HMQS. When Gayle (The Middle Sister blog) and I met up a bit ago I forgot to get out my camera. Not so this time. We were able to have a brief rendezvous at HMQS and it was good to see her smiling face again.

Last year I had the opportunity to meet Sandra (Textile Time Travels blog). She was there again this year doing her quilt appraising. She had a full booth, but they exited quickly when I said the photo would be on my blog. Thank you, Sandra, for staying put. : )

Sandra also did a presentation on stage while I was there. Photos from a distance are tricky when it is too far for a flash to help, so here are some slightly blurred shots of a couple of her great "Birds and Blooms" quilts.

 If you'd like a closer, clearer look
at the quilt on the left, go to her blog here.




Robin (Solstice Studio blog) was another blogger I met for the first time at HMQS last year. Not long before my friend and I were going to leave this year, I had a chance encounter with Robin in an aisle of the vendor mall. So glad we made the connection again!

This next encounter was not with a blogger, but a pattern designer. Do you recall a long time ago when I posted this photo?

This is that great Eye Fooler quilt that so many of you asked about. Well, I met Krisanne, the pattern designer. She tells me they will be getting a website soon and she will notify me when that happens so that I can pass the word along. She has more patterns, too. I'm kicking myself for not getting a photo of the quilts in her booth. This was taken in front of the "Opportunity Quilt" where she was stationed when I finally found her.

My last encounter at HMQS of note, was not with a blogger, but with her quilts. I told you that a guild from Rupert, Idaho was featured. Well, Gail (Sewnsews blog) is a member of that guild. She quilted many of the quilts from her guild, but I will just show you her two "Bonnie" quilts on display, which she pieced and quilted.

Click on the photos to get a better view.

Okay, I am having a little giveaway in celebration of my approaching second anniversary of this blog. It has been quite a ride. I have met many wonderful people, both in person and online. I have tried things I would never have attempted without your encouragement, and I have been buoyed up by your comments, insight and prayers. To show my appreciation to all of you who have been a part of that, I will be having a drawing on Thursday, May 16, the day I began this blog two years ago. This is what you have a chance to win, by leaving a comment on this post--my skinny rail fence mini, a fat eighth bundle of neutrals, a bag of my herbal soap, and a little bumble bee magnetic pin keep.

I hope Mother's Day was pleasant for everyone, mother or not. I want to share my favorite present with you. The week before, when DD#1 was in town, we had all four of our children here. They are the best and it was a joy to have them all together again for a time.

Don't forget to leave a comment if you are interested in the giveaway--and make sure you leave your email if you are a "noreply-comment" blogger. (Judy H., your comment today came up with that setting).
Until Thursday--
Janet O.

Bloggerversary Giveaway!

Before November is over (just barely before) I want to take this opportunity to say I'm glad I've become acquainted with you all. November marks 6 months for me on Blogger and though I admit I was not prepared for the time this involves, I have thoroughly enjoyed making a slew of quilting friends who don't care if I am still in my jammies or if my dishes are done. I have learned so many things I would not otherwise have known and met wonderful people from around the world. I have laughed with many over silly things and cried with some when times were hard. I am strengthened by your examples of courage and touched by your generosity and goodness. To say "thank you" I am giving away the items pictured. There is the book "Country Threads Goes to Charm School." Many of you have been to Country Threads--I have not. But I was "charmed" by this book with its patterns for little quilts (which have recently captivated me) made from charm packs. The quilts are all named with "rules" of etiquette--some are familiar, some I've never heard of before. I have included a charm pack of a fabric line that has been catching my eye in the LQS, "Together" by Brannock and Patek. (Click here to see the fabrics). To round things out I threw in a 16" remnant piece of Kona Bone for some background. (The cutting tables were busy, so I dug through the remnants for something I thought would work. I was in a hurry! Besides, you know I can't go in the LQS without a dig through the remnants.)

Look at some of these fun quilts inside.
Sorry for the less than stellar photos. I was trying to hold the book open with one hand without cracking the spine while taking the photo with the other hand. Not so good. This is just a small sampling of the 19 little quilts.

If you want in on a chance to win this please leave a comment on this post by noon Saturday MST.

Currently on my design wall is my red and green version of Bonnie's Smokey Mountain Stars. I had asked for advice earlier on whether to plan the layout or let the chips fall where they may. The latter option definitely won the vote, and I tried--I really did. I know I have this control issue and I ended up alternating the red and green star centers and I'm trying to let the star points fall where they may. Every now and then the dark green star points totally surround a red center. I tried to tell myself that it was okay for that star to be so defined, but it wasn't really, to me. I haven't had to move very many star points, though. : )

Yep, I see the square in the upper right corner that is turned wrong.
But I didn't see it before I took the photo. When I chose the khaki
tan shirts for the background I didn't realize how dark they would
make the overall appearance of the quilt, though I do think the
photo makes the whole thing look darker than it really is.. I hope
 I like the final effect. I'm not changing it now!

I am calling this one Rocky Mountain Christmas. I had originally been shooting for this Christmas to have it finished, but I want to machine quilt it myself. I definitely need more practice and time, so it looks like this will be part of next year's celebration.

Then on my design board is something that should look familiar, unless you have never been here before. That's right, I am in the process of making a duplicate table topper to the one I gave my sister as a hostess gift at Thanksgiving. The center pinwheels are finished and now I just need to cut the borders to length and sew them on. I have a much different quilting design in mind for the outer border and if it goes as planned I will be swapping this for the one I gave away.

That does it for now--don't forget to leave a comment if you'd like to participate in the giveaway.
(ETA--I've decided to throw in a gift bag of my handcrafted holiday soap to a second winner. Just so you know.)
Until next time, from the little mountain valley where the sagebrush is frozen,
Janet O.

New Book Giveaway!! WooHoo!!

Hey, all you scrap quilters, are you familiar with Lynn Roddy Brown? If not, here is your chance to get acquainted! She is an expert scrap quilter and just published her third book on the subject through Martingale & Company, "Patchwork-Play Quilts." I own both of her other books (and love them) and had reviewed her second book on Amazon. Earlier this year I decided to see if she had a website and to learn if she had any other books. There was word on her site that she would be coming out with her third book soon. I was so excited I emailed her to let her know I was looking forward to its release.


The result of all this was that she offered to send me a copy when it came out if I would review it on Amazon as well. I suggested the possibility of another copy being offered as a giveaway on my blog. They arrived in yesterday's mail--autographed!!

                                                



As soon as I saw the package I knew what it contained.

 I was in the middle of a project with a deadline and I had to leave them sitting on the counter, unopened, so that I didn't get distracted (which is easy for me to do!). When I could see that I had progressed far enough with my project to allow myself the time to open, I let myself browse for 5 whole minutes. I was so excited! But I had to get back to my project.

Finally, late at night, I was able to settle in and really give the book a good going over. This is a treat! What scrap quilter doesn't have a stash of leftover strips, HSTs, 9-patch and 4-patch blocks? In this book Lynn shares many ways to use up those bits, while breaking down some of the fabric stash as well. Take a look at some of these quilts from the book.

I love the way she uses value in this one. The different values of the 9-patch blocks create the illusion that some of them are glowing. Wonderful!

 This quilt was made entirely from leftover HSTs from another quilt--hence the name. Lynn shares how studying a vintage quilt helped her mix up the values within the pinwheels to accomplish that aged look.

Look at this scrappy gem! What a variety of fabrics have come together in this great quilt. And by reversing the value placement from one block to the next there is so much more visual interest!

Can you pick out the 4-patch and 9-patch blocks that create this wonderful argyle pattern?  By using the same orange fabric in the center of each 9-patch, Lynn was able to bring a unifying element to this scrappy mix.

 Can you believe this mind-boggling 9-patch? Lynn gives a schedule for making the blocks that is doable to have all of the elements ready over a year's time.

This is one for which Lynn doesn't give the pattern, but she shares it as encouragement for us to use up our leftover elements. She made it using the HSTs, 4-patch and 9-patch blocks that had been piling up from exchanges and quilt leftovers. She only had to make one 6" 4-patch to create this top.

Well, that gives you a good idea of the types of the 17 patterns within the pages of this book. I realize I didn't include some of the quilts she shares that are still scrappy, but with a more controlled color palette. If that is your style there are patterns to warm your quilter's heart as well.

I love some of Lynn's homespun, scrap quilting wisdom. She talks about mental-health sewing, when she can just sew up some scrap units without a specific project in mind, saying, "Touching my fabric and hearing the hum of my sewing machine is very therapeutic for me." When sewing units this way, or for swaps, there is the added benefit of sewing without the stress of having to "agonize over fabric choices." She puts the units aside for later use and DOESN'T consider them a UFO. She says that fabric started in her stash, it is still in her stash--it has just changed form. (Love it!) According to her, "if you already own the fabric, you might as well enjoy playing with it."  

Lynn also includes the story of her journey as a scrap quilter, plus a wonderful section of the role value plays in the look of scrap quilts (if you couldn't already tell from the comments on the quilts above, it is a big factor!), and a great 13 page section with full color illustrations sharing some of her favorite techniques in quilt making. Is your mouth watering yet?

How can you win your own signed, spine-never-cracked copy of this great book? Just leave a comment here saying you are interested. Also, I don't usually do this on giveaways, but I want Lynn's book to be seen by as many as possible, so if you have a blog and will post a link there to this giveaway and say you have done so, I will put your name in a second time. I will ship the book wherever you live, so don't worry if you are an international reader. I will take comments on this until midnight, Monday the 26th. I will post the winner on Tuesday, the 27th.

And just in case you are not familiar with them, here is a look at her two previous books.

They are both excellent books for scrap quilters, and as I said in my Amazon review of the "Block-Swap" book, you don't have to participate in swaps to use this book. I have never done a swap, but I have used the book to make a wonderful scrap quilt seen here.

Okay, there you have it! Leave your comment and you are in, link to this and say so and you are in twice. Good Luck!

Until next time, from the little mountain valley where the sagebrush grows--and is very high on the pollen count right now (you can tell I have allergies),
Janet O.

A Giveaway, Cobblestones, and Recipes

I love this little quilt. It is on display, finished and framed, at the LQS. The pattern for this is from one of the two sets I just got in the mail on Monday. I haven't had much sewing time but I have managed to get everything cut for this quilt and ready to sew. I don't plan on framing mine--just quilting and binding.

So now for the giveaway. You are maybe thinking, "What, again already?" I know that went through my head. After all, since I had missed the 50 follower giveaway opportunity, and went with 75--it wasn't so long ago. In fact, the soap for those winners is still curing. Well, when I got home from a long day at the fairgrounds and a visit to my grandchildren Tuesday night, this is what I found when I did my blog check.

Woo-Hoo! The big 100 follower mark! I needed to celebrate that somehow. I have really enjoyed the exchanges I have had with so many of you. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my blog. I have met so many gracious, kind, creative, inspiring, funny and giving quilters. This is how I want to say "Thanks!" Part one of the giveaway is the Lori Smith pattern set shown here. It includes the little quilt featured at the beginning of this post.
The other part of the giveaway is thanks to a link on Kathie Holland's blog "Inspired By Antique Quilts." She posted the link to a new line of fabric from the Collection For a Cause, named Comfort. I fell for it. Take a look at these fabrics!

So along with the pattern set, there goes a  charm pack of this fabric collection. Show how good a "follower" you are by following these directions to have a chance to win--just leave a comment on this post by midnight Monday and on Tuesday I will post a winner and runner-up. The runner-up will also receive a charm pack (but no pattern).

Can you just feel the cobblestones underfoot? No, huh?

Though, as I said earlier, it has been a busy week and I haven't been able to do very much sewing, I have put together a few of the cobblestone blocks for the Tree of Life quilt.

I'm not sure if these will surround the whole quilt, or just the sides and bottom, or if they will end up in the corners with something else filling the spaces between. I'm still trying to figure out how to keep this quilt from being square. I did decide that there needed to be another blue border between the Ocean Waves and the Cobblestones. Who knows where it will go from here?

By the way, at the county fair my pear pie won a blue ribbon. Let me know if you'd like the recipe and I will email it to you. I received it in a class taught by the executive pastry chef at the Deer Valley ski resort near Park City, Utah. It quickly became my new favorite pie. I had another entry in the baking department--Smurtles. This is a scrumptious bar cookie developed by Christine Boren of Provo, Utah. The link takes you to the recipe on the Nestle website. This cookie has an oatmeal crust on top and bottom with a layer of caramel and a layer of chocolate in between. Easy to make and sooooo good!  The Smurtles got a blue ribbon, too--and several recipe requests. Also, my Mom's quilt got a blue ribbon! I had planned on photographing some of the quilts, but they are all displayed in glass cases and I'd forgotten how hard it is to get good photos. Just know that the sweepstakes winning quilt was a beautifully made, machine quilted Dear Jane quilt in the traditional style. Very deserving.

So, don't forget to leave your comment, and until next time, from the little mountain valley where the county fair is in full swing,
Janet Olsen

Giveaway! (Delayed & Instant Gratification)

This week I hit 75 followers and it is time to have fun (well, I guess we have been having fun--we are just going to have more)! I've made some good friends among you and I appreciate the time you take to visit and comment. I know that many of you first found my blog when I sent some handcrafted soap as a "thank-you" to Bonnie Hunter and she then showed it and posted a link to my blog. I mentioned then that I would give some away when I had enough followers. I had planned on doing it at 50, but I didn't get on it fast enough when that number came up. Then before I knew it there were 75 and that seemed like a good number to celebrate.

A giveaway of the Eye Fooler pattern, Tri/Recs rulers
 and some handcrafted herbal soap.

The delayed gratification will be the soap. I will email the winner a list of the scent options and make the soap fresh for them. Since it takes 3-4 weeks for soap to cure, I will send it on when it is ready to use.
The instant gratification part of the giveaway is the Eye Fooler pattern. When I posted about this quilt before it generated so much interest, I decided that pattern would make a good giveaway. And since you need the Tri/Recs rulers to make it, I've thrown those in as well (if you already have the rulers you can gift them to someone else).
There you have it!

Here is what you need to do, just be sure you are a follower and leave a comment on this post before midnight (12:00 a.m.) MST on Tuesday, July 26. On Wednesday evening I will randomly draw the winner and post the results! I will even choose a "runner-up" to receive some soap.

Just to ease the minds of any who may have less than fond memories of great-grandma's not-real-pleasant-smelling homemade soap, this soap is made with pure vegetable oils (coconut, olive and cocoa butter). There are no animal fats to smell rancid, and the essential oils make it very enticing. The colorants are all herbs and spices--no artificial colors. I started making this stuff because I have sensitive skin. After trying some my BIL made 15 years ago, it made such a difference to my skin, I jumped on board and have been making it ever since.

While we're on the subject of Eye Fooler, in spite of my forsaking this quilt for another, I have made a good-sized dent in the Eye Fooler, strictly as a leader/ender. All of the HST are finished, as are the 4-patch blocks. I'm over halfway through the Tri/Recs units and then I have an excessive amount of flying geese units to make. They aren't my favorites, so I have been avoiding them. I should have just got them over with first. It is sitting on the sidelines now, waiting for me to finish Floribunda.

Progress on my Tree of Life has been slow.
This is my second Tree of Life quilt. I finished up the first one a few years ago.

I hand quilted this one--took me about 10 months to get it finished!

These are memory quilts for my sons who have served as missionaries in South America. I try to make the blocks represent something to do with the names of the areas in which they served or the experiences they had. It was easy to find blocks that were connected to names and places in California, where my oldest daughter served, but when my first son went to Argentina things got much more complicated. Even in Barbara Brackman's "Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns" (which I poured over for hours) there are no designs related to South America that I could see. I ended up using the tree of life pattern from "Biblical Blocks" by Rosemary Makhan, along with another religious themed block and a simple "sun" block (if I'd known how to make a Mariner's Compass when I did this, I would have produced a better looking sun) to represent the sun on the Argentinian flag. Put "Spanish Squares" blocks in the corners, for the language he spoke, and called it good!
The next son went to Brazil, and that is the one I am currently stumped on. I need to stop this frustrating habit of design-as-you-go quilting. It would save me a lot of grief.

So again, I thank you for following along. Don't forget to leave your comment by midnight Tuesday. Good Luck! I'm already excited for whoever wins!

Until next time, from the little mountain valley where the sagebrush grows,
Janet O.