Monday, September 26, 2011

Winners & More Celebrating


It's been a crazy couple of weeks around here.  Last week we went to Las Vegas to visit Camille and her family. The boys are growing up way to fast.


 It was a whirlwind 2 days. So much fun,so much work and not much sleeping.  And did I mention, we worked on our new fabric proposal (that was the working and not much sleeping part).  Monday our proposal was submitted and we are pretty excited!

As you all know, Tuesday was my day for the Moda Country Fair Blog Hop...




...and then on Saturday we had my Mom's 85th Birthday Party in my yard.  Thank goodness the weather was good because there were 79 of us to cook burgers for and we got to enjoy a wonderful BBQ outside! 

My Mom is an amazing woman and I hope to be like her someday! 
She has aged with such grace and is a great example to all of us.


THANKS to all of you for your kind and creative comments! 
And THANKS for taking the time to stop in for the Moda Blog Hop. 

I am not sure what color was the winner for favorite, but
For the Ruby Fabric and Moda goodies...
...Our Winners are...

Erma Reed  who said "I really love gray lately, mixes well with so many colors!  Especially the red and aqua in Ruby, which happens to be one of my favorite lines!"
 
and Tamara who said " I loved all of your fair pictures, especially when you were a little girl on the cow, it was great. Next time I'm at the fair I'll have to try the funnel cake, they looked yummy. The colors of fabric I'm usually looking for lately are the fall colors, orange, greens, and browns, but I love all the bright fun colors that look so happy. I especially loved your christmas quilts. The colors were fantastic and the quilts turned out beautiful. I loved seeing all your pictures, thanks for sharing them with everyone. I also loved your ruby slippers, cute idea.
 

I am also giving three more winners my 4 new patterns and some RUBY mini charm packs! 
 
They go to:
 
Sharon, who said: "I love your push pin tutorial! I'll have to make some of these! Thank you, also, for a chance to win Ruby! Red is one of my favorites that I like to have on hand and is what my eyes tend to search for. Red is such a happy and cheerful color! Although, I love all colors."
 
lesliequilt who said:  "RED!!!! I have been wanting to do a red quilt for my bed and just haven't found the collection that makes my heart beat faster - RUBY is it! I can't wait to get me some... "


GWEN who said : "Usually, the color that I tend to buy is blue-- but I also LOVE crimson red! And I would LOVE to be the winner of your Ruby prize!! My Grandmother's name was Ruby, so that would make winning even MORE special! :-) Thanks for sharing-- those slippers are adorable and would make the perfect Christmas "extra"! :-) "


Congratulations to the winners!  Please e-mail me your addresses so I can send out your goodies.

Make sure you check out  Julie from Cosmo Crickets  blog today and keep on hoppin.

Bonnie

Monday, September 19, 2011

Moda Country Fair Blog Hop 2011


(photo shamelessly stolen from my daughter Camille)

Welcome to my day on the Moda Country Fair Blog Hop!
This is totally giving my age away, but oh well. When Lissa told us we were doing a blog hop with a Country Fair theme, this is the first picture I thought of.



  I grew up on a farm and my two older brothers always had 4-H cows they entered in the fair. 
This was my lucky day, I got to be in the newspaper AND it was actually published on my birthday!

NO, I don't have cows now!
Milking cows growing up was not all that fun, although I do appreciate learning the value of hard work. 
Yes, we do have two horses we ride occasionally.

My husband also grew up on a farm and they raise horses.  They have big draft horses.  So once a year I dress up in my cowgirl duds and go to our State Fair to help his family show their horses.  
My job is to take pictures. 


Sunny and Sam



My niece got a blue ribbon for competing in the wagon driving.


Another niece and nephew also got ribbons for driving the horses. 



We had a great day looking at all the animals and displays, but the best part is always the food.

That brings me to the first question Lissa asked us to answer...


What is your favorite fair food?


Mine is Funnel Cake.  Sooooo gooood!  Wish I had one right now.

Next question:  What is your guilty pleasure?
Chocolate!
M and M's, fudge, chocolate cream pie, brownies, chocolate pecan carmel apples...



...anything CHOCOLATE!

I could have had a Caramel Apple at the fair too, it was a tough choice,
but the funnel cake was plenty of sugar for one day.

Next question:  What is on your bucket list?

I have never been on a cruise before, so when I was asked to teach a class on the Moda Cruise, of course I had to say yes!  I wasn't sure a cruise would ever be crossed off my bucket list.



Come join us, it's not to late!

I have two Country Fair projects.  This is the project that I talked about on the video.  It is a pattern you can purchase on our website
 These rice bags are what every quilter needs.  You can heat them in the microwave or put them in the freezer to sooth all those aching neck muscles you get from sitting at the sewing machine to long. 
Great gift for all your quilting friends.

 

For my free project, I made Yo-Yo Push Pins.
They are so fast and easy.


You will need:
3 1/4" fabric circle
1 1/4" circle of cardboard
thumb tack - large or small
needle and thread
button for center
hot glue


 Mark center of fabric circle with a pen. 
Fold raw edge of circle under 1/4" to wrong side.  Hand gather around the edge.



 Hot glue thumb tack to center of cardboard as photo shows above.  Poke tack point into wrong side of fabric at center dot.  Pull gathering thread tight pulling fabric over cardboard circle. Knot.



Hot glue a button in the center of your yo-yo.


Make some yo-yo push pins for all your friends!


You could also use them on hand bags, on hair bows, as magnets, on gift tags,
on handmade cards, as a pin on your sweater or even glued on a frame (minus the tack in some instances). 
The possibilities are endless. 
You might even want to use them to embellish some


This is one of our new patterns hot off the press!
Check out all of our NEW Patterns here or on our website.  We also have them as PDF downloads here.
They are all available as of today.


Oh, and I have some RUBY fabric and Moda goodies to give a way!   
(Thank you Moda)
Ruby will be coming to a store near you any day now. 


To enter, leave a comment telling me what color of fabric you can't leave the store without.
As you might already know, I am a little partial to RED, Ruby Red.
I will announce the winners on September 26th.


Hope you are having a great time on the MODA Cowwwnty Fair Blog Hop!
(Cheesy I know, but I couldn't resist using this picture)


This is my husband at the Fair - now that is a big cow, I'll bet her name is Princess.

Don't forget to hop on over to  Cabagges and Roses tomorrow to see what goodies they have in store! 

Happy Country Fair to you all.
Bonnie

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Celebrating Ruby and New Patterns!

It's just about that time again...
our new Fabric Line, RUBY, will be in the stores soon!



I just couldn't resist making a few more things from this line to celebrate it's arrival. 
 It is so much fun to sew with! So cheerful and fresh.
As I promised last week, I would share the rest of my summer projects I have been working on.

I have 4 new patterns...


If you love making flying geese, this is the pattern for you! 
 It can be made with Charm Squares or scraps from your stash.



Our new Vintage Pot Holders are all based on traditional blocks, some pieced and some appliqued.  The binding is pre-made bias tape for a quick finish.  I hand quilted each one for a more retro look. 
Great for Christmas gifts.



Speaking of Christmas,
I have always wanted to make a red and green quilt, so for this Christmas quilt I used Fat Eights from both the Bliss and Ruby fabric collections.  They work great together.
Now that the kids are back in school and the days are getting cooler, in Idaho anyway, it's the perfect time to start a Christmas project and have it finished just in time for the Holidays.


And last but not least, Ruby Red Slippers.  I couldn't resist making these cozy toddler slippers from our Ruby line and Snuggles. Of course, they all had to be red.  You might be wondering if Livvy from my last post was our little model, and yes she is. 
These would be the perfect gift for those kissable little toes for Christmas.

Our New Patterns will be on our web site  available for shipment on Tuesday, September 20.   Don't forget, they will also be available as PDF downloadable patterns as well.

Edit:  All patterns are now available!

Hope you get to meet Ruby real soon!
Bonnie

PS - Hope you are all enjoying the Moda Blog Hop, see you on September 20 (my day).

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Projects


Summer time is not usually the time when I do many indoor sewing projects, but my daughter, Emily, and her family stayed with us for a few weeks this summer and we worked on lots and lots of projects. 
Some of the projects were for my grand daughter Livvy's room. 

The first project was ...



... a little childs chair and ottoman Emily's in laws had and were ready to get rid of.  She stripped off all the old fabric and recovered the whole thing in new batting ... at this point we were both wondering if we were a little crazy...


... then we started the process of stapling the cute black and white houndstooth fabric we found at the Home Decorator store to the bottom and sides.


We used black piping for the arms and covered buttons to cover the screws that held the arm covers in place.

After lots and lots and lots of staples...

I think it turned out amazing!  What a transformation.  Livvy loves it and it's just her size.


(look at those cute little feet!)


Emily also made this cute mini pillow from an Amy Butler pattern...
(I love the large houndstooth covered button in the center!)


... and these cute owls to go in her room. 

And last but not least we made this duvet cover for her new big girl bed.


It also has black and white houndstooth covered buttons stitched between the squares.


And as you can tell, Livvy loves it too!


We had so much fun working on projects together.
It's always fun to see the creativeness that comes out of my girls.  They amaze and inspire me!
As a mom, it really is sweet.

I made a few other projects this summer too, which I can't quite show you yet,
but next week, I promise!

And did you know, Tuesday, Sept 6th is the first day of the Moda Blog Hop? 
You won't want to miss it.

Lots of fun projects and give a ways,
fun stories and questions we have to answer (oh those questions)!

September 6th Sandy Gervais of Pieces from My Heart
September 11th Basic Grey 
September 13th Sandy Klop from American Jane (Post will be featured on Moda's blog)
September 14th Liesl from Oliver + S
September 20th Bonnie from Cotton Way
September 22nd Deb Strain
September 26th Julie from Cosmo Cricket
September 27th Kate Spain
and the fun continues into October
October 2nd Liz from Liz Scott Designs


As you can see, my day is Sept. 20th and you won't want to miss the picture I pulled out of the vault.  A little incriminating, by non the less, the things Lissa makes us do.

...as for Livvy, she had to go back home and we were both a little sad.


Hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend and enjoy the last bit of the summer.
See you next week,
Bonnie