"The Wedding Quilt" Giveaway

Hello again... I don't normally do 2 posts in one day... but there is always a first time especially when there is a good reason for a 2nd post!

Over the last few months I have been reading some fabulous novels by Jennifer Chiaverini - the Elm Creek Quilts novels.

All devotees of these fabulous books have been hanging out and waiting for the new release - The Wedding Quilt.

This book has now been released in the US, and one of the bloggers that I follow - Loris from Lucky Pup Quilter - has been given the wonderful job of reading, reviewing and then having a giveaway for some lucky person to also get the chance to read the new book!

Now if you haven't read the books I recommend you do... the characters are rich and believable, and the history that is wrapped up in the stories with the backdrop of the US Civil War period are fascinating.  The stories that are set in today's time make me so want to go on a Quilt Camp and be part of this wonderful life!  Reading these books re-ignited my dream of creating a quilt... although I haven't had the courage to start one yet.... I leave the quilts to Hubby while I cross-stitch - but a girl can still dream can't she?!?

So how do you get in on the action?  Simple, just drop in to Loris' blog, say hi and sign up for the Wedding Quilt giveaway. 

Til next time, happy stitching and happy reading!

 

A little stitch here and a little stitch there!

Last weekend I did not do a stitch in any of my cross stitch pieces, but I did stitch!

Many, many moons ago I got bitten by a different type of stitching bug - the patchwork and quilting bug.  Unfortunately I argued with the sewing machine (and my ex-husband) and didn't do many blocks.  You see my ex-husband was not as supportive of my stitching as my dearest darling husband of today is.  My motto is 'Stitching Forever, Housework Whenever', but that did not go down well with the ex!  Think that was probably one of the reasons I finally saw the light... but that is another story!

As I was saying, once upon a time I did try to teach myself to quilt.  I bought some templates and made some very simple blocks, which I found again only recently hidden away in a box with what was the beginning of my stash.  All the blocks were machine pieced and made using one set of templates.

Can't remember the name of this one

Card Trick

Ohio Star

Friendship Star

Can't remember the name of this one either

When I found my old blocks I also discovered a long misplaced piece of stitching.  This Pierrot was one of the first things I ever stitched.  Now that I have found it again I will have to finally do something with it.  I might turn it into a cushion... or not!  I actually have another kit that is the partner to this so maybe I should stitch that as well and then do something with the two of them... oh boy, my stitching list is long enough as it is!!

Pierrot - stitched way back in the 1980's sometime....

So that was then and this is now....

Since I started reading the "Elm Creek Quilts" series of books by Jennifer Chiaverini I have started to get this feeling that I want to start making these beautiful 9 patch blocks again.  The descriptions of the quilts in the books have fired up my imagination and for the last couple of months I have even dreamt about quilt blocks.... very strange!

So last weekend, I gave into the feelings and started to look around the internet to see what quilting blogs and info I could find to give me the hints and tips to start off again.  Dear Hubby has lots of quilting stuff that he has started accumulating over that last couple of months, but we don't have a lot of info relating to the traditional hand piecing and quilting that I want to have a go at.

On Sunday I pulled out my old templates and the material in my original stash and decided to have a go!  And this is the result.  The block is all hand pieced.  As you can see the seams aren't exactly the straightest, but overall the block turned out ok.  Nothing went particulary wrong, and lots of practice will make the block look better.

Hand pieced... in 2011

While I have been bitten by the "Quilting Bug" I am still going to be doing my cross stitch.  Cross Stitch is my first love and quilting will be just something else that I want to do when (if) I have the time.  For the next couple of weeks I will be cross stitching as I have a few pieces to finish off, and then I would like to have a go at playing with some 9 patch blocks for awhile.

Wish me luck!

Til next time, happy stitching no matter what type of stitching you might do...

It's Hump Day.... Happy Wednesday!



Hello dear friends!  Happy Wednesday.... finally hump day has arrived....  I hope that everyone has survived the week so far.  It's all downhill to the weekend now!

Giveaway Shout Out Updates

Goodness gracious me, I have won the wonderful Nia's blogoversary giveaway.  Happy Dance.... thank you Nia, I look forward to seeing the parcel from Portgual dropping into the post box.  Will post a pic once it arrives.

So while I am smiling and patting myself on the back for winning Nia's box of lovelies, I thought I'd let you know who won the other giveaways that I have recently mentioned:

Measi's Musings (Ramblings of a Geeky Witch) - being drawn today so will check back in the next day or so to see who is the lucky winner of that one.

Bec's Cross Stitch Creations - winner is Rachael from Stitchabilities.  Well done Rachel!

Lady of the Floss - winner is Carissa from My Musings.  Well done Carissa!

Now speaking of giveaways..... I have heard that there are some more happening around blogland so why not drop in on these lovely people and say hello and join in the fun.

Giveaway Number 1:

Nicola at Stitchworks is having a lovely Christmas inspired giveaway.   Lots of lovely stash enhancing bits including some DMC bead and cross stitch designs, emblishments, threads and more.... So why not pop into Nicola's blog and say hi before 15th August 2011.  Winner will be drawn on 18th August 2011.

Giveaway Number 2:

Julie at Julie's and Yes Dear's Ravings is having a giveaway to celebrate reaching 100 followers.  Fabulous reason to have a giveaway.  Her gift to the lucky winner is "winners choice" of a HAED chart (or 2 if they're cheap!) or a $20 giftcard at 123stitch.com.  Very nice.....  Julie is closing her giveaway on Saturday 6th August so you'd better get your skates on and drop in to Julie's blog and sign up!

Ok, so that's it for the giveaways for the time being.... how about a crafty update!

Over the weekend I did do some stitching, but I also got itchy painting fingers... haven't opened up the paint pots for many years.... (and I do mean years!).  And yes, while some of them were a bit thick... they do all still work - except for my crackle stuff!

I won't tell you what I have made, or show you the final result yet, as it is a secret and needs to go for a ride in a bubbly post bag before I can show you what I did.  Below is a taster just to whet your appetites...

Front side... crackle didn't work too well... but the final result looks good!
The points at the top aren't horns - they are to stop the holes filling up with paint!

Rear side - painted in Antique Gold

Finally, the last of my Elm Creek Quilt books have arrived!  Woo hoo!! Can't wait to start the "Master Quilter".  I have nearly finished the "Fall of Giants" by Ken Follett so it won't be long before I get my nose back into an Elm Creek Quilts book.

Last of the Elm Creek Quilts order finally arrived!

Well, my little lovelies, it is time for me to go.... must get back to work as lunch break is over and work is beckoning!

Will see you all again soon, so til next time happy stitching!

A different kind of stash!

Ooh aah!  Stash.... well sort of!

This is stash for the bookcase...... and chicken soup for the soul!

I recently started reading Jennifer Chiaverini's "Elm Creek" novels, and yes, you guessed it, I'm addicted.  I had read somewhere that once you start reading these novels you can't stop, and it is so true!  So far I have read 5 of the books but was struggling to find any more in the bookshops in Perth.

So what did I do - had a look on Amazon and ordered the whole lot!  I did get the first 3 novels (A Quilt Sampler) from Amazon and managed to find the next two in bookshops around Perth, but rather than keep searching bookshops here, I took the easy path...  As with all stash addiction - I wanted it and I wanted it now!

The first 2 boxes arrived today and the third one should arrive in the next couple of days.


Can't wait to start reading these!
Unfortunately the next one in the series is in the box that I am still waiting on!!

 While we were on Amazon we also bought the other couple of quilt pattern books that go with the Elm Creek novels.  So now hubby will have them in his book stash and I will have the novels in my book stash.  All very fair I thought!  We had already bought the first quilt pattern book when I bought the first 3 novels to see what it is like.  Definitely worth getting if you are a quilter; I have also found it good to look at it after reading the novels as I can then imagine the finished quilts better.

These might be hubby's but I will probably spend as much time "pawing" through them as he will!!

The Elm Creek novels are fantastic.  I have so enjoyed reading them, and even though I am not a quilter it doesn't matter as quilting is only part of the story, but it is the glue that binds all these characters together.  The characters almost become your friends, and when you finish one book you can't wait to pick up the next one to see what they are doing next.  If you haven't read these books, you really should try to find them - they are so worth it!  I so want to go on a quilting retreat!!

The author, Jennifer Chiaverini, also has a website and a blog "Elm Creek Quilts" which has all sorts of interesting info on it about her books and events.  She also designs fabric for a company called "Red Rooster Fabrics".  One very talented lady!

Well, that's enough from me for the time being - I had better get onto finishing my current read - Ken Follett's "Fall of Giants" - so that I can start on my next Elm Creek novel!

Til next time, happy stitching and happy reading!