Quilt Pattern - Crack A Lackin

Sound the Trumpets... my first quilt pattern is completed!

Crack A Lackin

Frank named the quilt (and thus the pattern).


As you can see...


...there's just *a touch* of excitement about it around here...


I've also opened a shop in etsy to sell the patterns. Tom has created (a very basic) web page for my new company, Suzy Qute, which you can find at www.suzyqute.com.


As a Grand Hurrah Special, I'll be offering the first ten patterns up at half price... so hurry over to my etsy shop and be one of the first to see what a wonderful job I've done!

[And I'm not at all pround of it either!]

The Home Depot Kids Club Workshops

Yesterday someone was telling me how much her son enjoys going to the Kids Club each month at the Home Depot. I remember seeing these long-ago, but not thinking about them for a while. Now though, my boys are the right age to enjoy them, maybe you have kids you know who would like them too.

Here's the blurb from The Home Depot on the Kids Workshops:

Designed for kids 5-12, these free workshops teach do-it-yourself skills and tool safety, while instilling a sense of accomplishment. Offered on the first Saturday of each month between 9 a.m. and noon all Home Depot^® stores.

I guess the kids get their own orange Home Depot Work Apron then each month they get a pin/button/patch to attach for the project they've done. Best of all, the whole thing is free! :D

If you peek at the website you'll even see what projects are being done.

Today is the day for this month's workshop. I'm going to start taking my boys, maybe I'll see you there!

Pay It Forward Challenge / Offer

Now that I have the Benevolent Birthday Bonus out of the way, here's the chance for those of you who didn't win to STILL get a little goody from me. It's called a Pay It Forward Challenge.I've made this offer before, without any takers. :P

What I need are people who would like to receive a little hand-made something from me.

The first three comments will be in, and then I'll do a random drawing on the rest of the comments for an extra fourth person. Leave your comment by 4:00 pm (PST) Friday August, 15th. I'll draw the random winner next weekend.

Then, you make a post on your blog, and within a year, you send out something you make to three more people.

Is there anyone who would like something fun made by your's truly?

Ready. Set. Go!

Benevolent Birthday Bonus

My best birthday's always seem to be the one's where lots of people calling or sending well wishes. Today has been full of surprise visits for me.

• My Mom drove up from Chandler, Arizona.
• My Father-In-Law flew up from Phoenix, Arizona.
• My neighbors have been stopping by.
• My Grandparents drove two hours from Lander, Wyoming.
• A big surprise, my cousin and his family stopped on their way through town from Portland, Oregon!
• I've also had phone calls from friends in Gilbert, Arizona and Amesbury, Massachusetts.

Oh! And I've been having fun wearing the crown (Crown Me Queen pattern from StoryQuilts.com) that my Mom made for me last night, along with my "Heart of The Ocean" from Tom last year!


And yes. I really dislike posing for pictures... especially one's I'm taking of myself! :P Maybe I'll have Frank take a better one in a little bit...

In honor of this being My Birthday AND my 222 Blog Post, I thought I'd follow the lead of SO MANY others and do a little gift giving. I recently dug out this little sample/teaching piece:


This is just a string quilt made to demo some techniques. It measures about 14 1/2" square. I'll probably throw some other things in with it, but I'd like to at least offer up this little quilt for you. If you'd like a chance at it, please leave a comment by 5:23 pm Mountain Time on August, 8th. The winner will be chosen by at random. In your comments, tell me what makes a birthday great for you!

Fun for Nothing Challenge

I was just reading a post on Waldeck Dry Goods about a new flickr group challenge created by Sew Liberated to encourage and share ideas on providing good "clean", cheap, free fun for our kids.

Since this is all about my line of thought these days, I thought I'd share with you...

Make New Friends, but Keep the Old.

One is Silver,
and the Other Gold.

That's a song we use to sing in the Girl Scouts.

Today I am SO EXCITED that I am LITERALLY jumping for joy!

Yesterday I made two new friends. Roxie I met at the laundromat, only to discover that she just moved into my apartment complex (in fact, I have her moving boxes from beside the dumpster!) She has two boys, ages 2 & 4.

Amy I met online yesterday and in person today. Her 5yo son is actually over playing with my boys. We hit it off SO WELL! AND... while giving her a private, 2-hour-tour of Rock Springs, she loved the houses for sale on our street. She took her hubby over, and, well, they are writing a contract with the developer in about two hours! I've actually called the developer and left a message... I'm going to ask him for a Referral / Finder's Fee... I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

It is just SO COOL to be making new friends! I now have four great lady friends here in Rock Springs with a total of eight kiddos (5 girls and 2 boys) to hang out with me and my 2 boys... hey, we've got a balance of genders now! I've also met several other ladies, but I can see that I'll be getting together with these ladies A LOT!!!

Oh yeah! Amy, who's buying a house just down the street, has been homeschooling her oldest for two years, and our 5yo's are both going to be in Kindergarten this year. We're already talking about sharing teaching responsibilities. I'm just SO EXCITED and I HAD TO SHARE it with you!

Also, I mailed off my Summer Sassy Apron Swap items today. So, that's a relief! I had fun making them and hope she enjoys them.

:D

I'm A Winner - Thank you Kind Ladies!

I have been VERY remiss is offering up thanks to several EXTREMELY generous ladies!

Way back in February, I told you that I was a winner of several give-aways. Well, then I went on a trip, and when I returned, I had a pile of boxes full of prizes. I snapped pictures of the contents, fully intending to post and thank the ladies, and I’m just now FINALLY getting around to it!

I’ve been participating in Lucy's Sassy Apron Swap this year. There are four swaps planned, one per season. You may join any or all of them. For the Spring Swap, I made these matching Mom and Daughter Aprons and sent them to Murray of Studio Domestique.

When I returned from my trip (in March) I had received my Spring Apron from a very kind lady, whose contact info I can't put my finger on. Also, I received both of the prizes from the One World – One Heart Giveaway. They were from Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist and from Teresa of Moonvalley Quilter.

I continue to enjoy the gifts, especially the bright and cheerful items from A Fanciful Twist. They bring a touch of cheer to a gloomy little galley kitchen.

Yesterday, I received my Summer Apron from Valerie of Yarni Gras! I just peeked at her site and I think I'm going to enjoy reading it. It looks like she has a lot of fun with life! She's also the only other person I know who has her own business cards with just her name, phone number, and email/blog address. Too fun!

Here is a picture of the apron I received on Monday:

Look at all the fun stuff she included! Cupcake wrappers (to match the theme), a hot-pad made of scraps, plant stakes, measuring spoons, several recipes on handmade cards (also to match the theme), and hand towels… all tied up with some ric rac. VERY fun to go through… and my boys have already claimed their SWAG from the bag! I really like the fact that the front is actually a SUPER-HUGE pocket!

I have the pattern for my Sassy Apron Swap recipient, and I’ve been trying to decide just what specific theme to do for her… she’s in another country, and so several of our Summer holidays I associate with are American, so, I’m thinking of some other themes (watermelon, picnic, ants, “cute” bugs, etc.)

Amazing Athletic Shoes

Tom says he's going to rename me "Funky Feet" because for some reason my current shoes aren't getting along, odorifically, with my feet. Today, I refused to wear my shoes because I'd decided I HAD to get a new pair.

I went out TWICE looking for shoes. First time I went to JCPenny's, but they only had a handful of New Balance and they just didn't fit or weren't a color I liked. So tonight I went to Famous Footwear. They had like fifteen pair of New Balance! I started a pile with a few New Balance, a pair of Naturalizer, a pair of Sketchers, and a pair I'd never heard of, but they were right next to the New Balance, Asics. The Asics are AMAZING!!! I wore them around the store for about 20 mintues and then went back to my Ariat Riding Boots (not that I "ride" horses, but I have them, just in case). An hour later, my feet are still feeling good from the Asics!

Anyway, I just wanted to share my exciting new find. Basically, I find a brand and shoe that works for me and stick with it for a long-while, but every so often I'll try something else and then be delighted with what I've found. Today was one of those days.

Some Sort of a Record...

This is the first time I've typed on a computer today! I did sit down to log on once before, but my laptop was turned off and I didn't have time to wait for it to boot-up, so, I just skipped it!

I do have a growing list of things to do on the PC, but I also have been enjoying my productivity with it closed and or turned off more.

This morning I went to the gym (on my off day) and walked. I'd been walking around the Ice Rink while Frank skated, but classes ended last month, and I haven't been fiting it in. So, yesterday I thought I'd go in the morning, since I've got that routine down anyway three days a week, for my walking too. It worked well.

I've been feeling more invigorated and alive since I started working out about a month ago. Tom and I have also noticed that I'm MUCH more calm and patient... with others and myself! These are all good things... actually, I can't think of anything bad that's come from working out!

I’m A Winner! (Happy Heart Day to Me)

Teresa of Moonvalley Quilter told me it “Looks like this is your lucky day!” She was right! Today I “won” at least FIVE THINGS!

1. FOUR HOURS extra sleep (compliments of my hubby and boys).

2. One World – One Heart Giveaway from Vanessa of A Fanciful Twist

3. Warm Fuzzy Heart from Trisha of easily amused, hard to offend

4. Miraculously Avoided an Automobile Accident

5. One World – One Heart Giveaway from Teresa of Moonvalley Quilter

Today I received a “Oh-so-sweet” envelope in the mail… that I thought at first was junk mail, because, who else sends out dark colored envelopes with white writing? Trisha, that’s who! She HAND STAMPED and used a white-gel-pen to write me a note and envelope that we’re just darling. Inside was my first choice from her “warm fuzzy hearts”.

I am so tickled with it! It actually arrived yesterday, but I forgot to get my mail, so, when I went down this morning, there it was to wish me a Happy Valentine’s Day. I wore it around all day, and truly enjoyed it! THANK YOU TRISHA!!!


[Postscript: Sorry for the fuzzy picture - you try taking a picture of your own chest and see how it comes out!!! :P]

It really is my lucky day! As you know, I am new to living in the snow. I’d been getting pretty confident about driving in the inclement weather, but today I was a little shook up. It was probably because I nearly wiped someone out, as I slid (out of control) down a 25' hill out of a parking lot (leaving the grocery store) into moving traffic. I watched a SUV drive right.in.front of my van (which also had my two young sons and my hubby with a broken leg in it) and somehow, miraculously, all that happened was I was shook up for an hour. The guy RIGHT BEFORE ME, slid down the same hill... so, I was going REALLY slow, just creeping with my foot on and off the break pedal, and then WOOSH! Down I went! Right after that, I saw two other people who had just slid off the road. After that, I kept loosing (and seeing people loose) traction all over town. I don't know how I avoided hitting the SUV... it was right in front of me! Such a miracle!!!

About my success with The Prizes today. I posted about the OWOH Giveaway last week, but until (bedtime) last night, I hadn’t entered any. I spent about an hour randomly opening links and entering only for the prizes I liked (about 20). I won two of them! Pretty good odds, I think. Thank you, Trisha, Vanessa, and Teresa (notice all the “a’s” at the end of these names? I notice things like that, thank you very much!) for your generous gifts via the One World – One Heart Giveaway! I look forward to playing with my new goodies; you are too kind!

As a bonus, I’ve had four SIX ladies email me that they plan to come to the “Mom’s Time Playgroup” I host every Friday morning. It’s been just me and another lady for about a month now, and I just found that she has to move within the next two weeks. I’m very sad to see her go (even though we’ve only known each other a few months), but I’m VERY HAPPY that so many other ladies are coming to visit while their kiddos play!