I Won! I Won! I Won! I Won! I Won!

I wrote about a great Giveaway in my last post, here. More than thirty days of great gifts (and also great posts) from 'I Have a Notion (IHAN)'. The amount of work that went in to organise this event is mind-boggling ... But would you believe it - I won a prize!!! ME!! I WON!! I never win anything, so I am really excited!! I do love rulers, so I am going to have great fun using this. I would like to thank Kelly from IHAN for celebrating her one year celebration of her business in such a fun way, and also Simplicity Studio for being so generous with their great prizes. I had a ball!

I will be off island tomorrow for one day, as my grandchildren are returning home. We have had so much fun with them this holiday, and I will tell you about it next time.

tich

Unbelievable Giveaway!!

Oh, it really is unbelievable!! For 30 days - yes! - 30 days, I Have A Notion is celebrating, as it turns a year old, by giving away different goodies, and what goodies!! The choice is amazing. What to choose?? You can sign up to have the choice to win any of the goodies, by scrolling back to see all the different products and also wonderful ideas on how these products can be used. That in itself is worth viewing. There are just so many cute things from which to choose. Look at these pins -

- and I also really fancy one of these -

- but the jewel in the crown, as far as I am concerned is this -

Yes - don't rub your eyes! It is an AccuQuilt Go Fabric Cutter! Bet you thought I put the picture of the AccuQuilt Go Fabric Cutter at the beginning of this post, just to make you read on. It worked, didn't it? Can you imagine winning one of them? I would love one, but I never win anything. No!! Positive thinking!! To (when I) win, I must include a link to the IHAN blog and Store, so here goes

Blog Link - http://www.ihaveanotion.blogspot.com

Website Link - http://ihavea-notion.com/store/

I have been typing this with my fingers crossed. It is really difficult!! Go and sign up, but if you win, remember who told you about the Giveaway.

Good Luck!

tich

Mini Quilt Swap

I have just found these swap details on Quilting Gallery (check link down the page). Isn't this pattern adorable? Lenna Green from the Stitching Cow has created this super cute embroidery pattern for this swap. You can stitch it in redwork, like Lenna’s sample, or with coloured embroidery floss. You can bet I have registered for this swap. This is the first time have ever done a swap, but the pattern was so cute!! My granddaughters are here at the moment, so no sewing being done, but they want to sew a daisy as well. They have done a bit of sewing each time they come, so hopefully, they will enjoy this. I definitely am going to love this.

Enjoy!

tich

New Buys

If you have been reading my blog recently, you will know I am on a 'mini' drive (no pun meant) just now. I bought this little ruler to help me. It is so cute. It is 2 1/2 inches square. I got it from Creative Grids Their service is really good, and they have a lot of new videos on their site, showing how to use their rulers. You also get a 10% discount card, if you spend over £30 (I think).
I also bought this plastic container from Ikea. I broke my Bernina Accessory box, not long after I bought my Artista 630E. It fell off the table, and I was so upset. It seems I am not the only one that this has happened to. I read the Bernina Yahoo Groups, and a few members have said that the boxes have broken. I bought the above box to hold all the Bernina feet and bobbins. It is great. I also have room for the thread I am using, scissors, pencils, rulers etc. It also bounces!!

Thankful Thoughts

We went over to Kirkwall on Monday, to pick up our granddaughters. It was a dreadful day, and the journey was awful on the ferry. I am not a good sailor, but usually I do not turn a hair on the local ferry. This time even the locals were lying down. That is the trick. If you are feeling sick, lie down. Fortunately there is loads of room, so I got there without mishap. Thank goodness. It is a glorious day, so we may go over the bay to have a walk, later.

Till next time.

tich

Easter Egg Tutorial

Warning - photo heavy.

I know I am a little late posting this, but perhaps it can be filed for next year.

I usually send my teenage grandsons some money for Easter. If they want to buy a chocolate egg, they can, but if they want something else, at least they will have something to put towards it. I was a little late in getting down to the shop, to get an Easter card. They were all gone, so I came home and made cracked eggs to hold the notes. Here is how to do it.

1. Find a nice picture of an egg on the Net, and print it out.

2. Cut it out roughly and paste it onto card.

3. When dry, cut it out to make a template.

4. Pick out some pretty card for your eggs. (This is Laura Ashley card I got at the Glasgow Exhibition).

5. Fold the card in two, and draw round your template.

6. Cut the eggs out, glue round the inside edge and paste them together, right sides out.

7. From a scrap of the left over card and using the template, draw the top of the egg and some cracks. Use a ruler to help you do this. Cut this out and use as a template to draw on your egg.

8. Cut the egg in two, on the crack. Make a small hole using a punch and hammer in a brad. (my brads were so tough, I had to use pliers. They are a bit squidged as a result.)

9. Join the two parts of the egg with ribbon, through the holes of the brad. Add the money or note. Enjoy!

Happy Easter to Everyone!!

tich

Mini Update

Well, here it is, finished at last! It is a wee bit wonky, but so am I, so it fits in fine! I really enjoyed making it, as I said in yesterday's post. I hope it will be the first of many. Below is a picture of some of the washers my husband picked up, for both of us. When he saw me taking a picture of them, he said, "I wondered where they went. I was looking for them yesterday!"
Thankful Thoughts

The snow (in Scotland) is starting to melt, so hopefully, my granddaughters will get up to see us for Easter.

Till next time.

tich

I'm in Love!!

I said in a previous post, that I had bought this book. It is WONDERFUL! I love it. I have been having great fun with it, and Terrie Sandelin is so nice!! I emailed her to tell her I was going to talk about the book, and she emailed me some tips! I have never had service like that before. What a great person!

I decided to try Trip Around the World. The instructions were good, and I actually enjoyed sewing the tiny patches together. Usually I worry like mad about sewing all the tiny patches together, and getting the corners to meet, but look at below -

My borders were a bit wonky. (Notice the material behind the mini. It is a nice cotton from Ikea.) Back to the mini. I took one of the borders off again, as it was a bit tight, so it looks marginally better, but still a bit wonky.

I marked the mini using a large washer. I sandwiched the mini, and then machine-quilted the centre, 'Trip Around the World'. I then hand-quilted the semi-circles, but when I was finished, I decided I needed a smaller circle within the bigger one. I used a smaller washer. To make all the semi-circles the same size, I mark the washers with black pen and then line them up. (you can see the lines in the picture)

I will show you the finished quilt tomorrow.

Thankful Thoughts

This is the fourth day of British Summertime. Yesterday, Scotland had gales, blizzards and huge amounts of snow. Thousands of homes were without power, and roads were closed, with hundreds of motorists stranded. I am sitting here, nice and cosy, with a cup of tea. The rain, which has been on most of the day, has stopped, and tomorrow it is supposed to be nice. Thank goodness we live here!

Till next time,

tich