Hot streak, cold weather, warm heart

I've had a run of luck the last few weeks.

I won an e-book copy of Modern Mix on Amy's Creative Side.  Can't wait to have the time to try some of the patterns, though right now, I'll have to content myself with the gorgeous photographs.

Then I won a book of poetry, Today's Special Dish by Nina Lindsay, at Both Fires...  It hasn't arrived yet but I delight in knowing that I will soon have a feast of words in my hands..

And then I won a paper-piecing pattern by Very Kerry Berry, on Live a Colorful Life.  I'd have posted about this earlier but I wanted to wait until I'd tried it. I've wanted to give this technique a whirl for ages but hadn't gotten around to it.  No excuses left this time!  For a first project, I'm thrilled with the results! The precision in the piecing amazed me, especially the teeny tiny parts. I still have a ton to learn but for now, I have a cute Winter Woolies set.

Clearly, I finished it in the nick of time because this is what I woke up to:

And now, I must depart the sewing machine and get back to marking.  The last night of the school play was Friday and, after all the rehearsals at lunch, after school and weekends  I treated myself to a lazy Saturday, thinking about what those talented kids accomplished on that stage.

For some reason, the gratitude of young people never fails to move me.

Lucky mail

I enter giveaways on the blogs of people I read, even those for whom I rarely leave comments, but only for things I would like to win and could use.  For example, I've seen some absolutely beautiful quilts in giveaways but as much as I appreciate the artistry, if I think it'll simply languish in a closet somewhere, then it belongs in better hands than mine and so I don't enter those ones.  I'd hate to waste the day I'm lucky with an item that would be special and treasured by someone else. It's just how I roll.

And THEN there are the things I DO want to win.  Like thread!

This delightful sample pack arrived in the mail today from my friend Cindy at Live a Colorful Life.  The Random Number Generator chose me and there was much rejoicing.  Thanks for the giveaway, Cindy! I'm thrilled to pieces (which I can now sew together with very pretty thread...)!

Now if anyone can find the giveaway where I can win the spare time to actually play around with my new thread, please let me know.  :-)

Lucky = Thank yous

I made a wish.
I've had a little run of luck lately.

Some generous people have pulled me (my name) from the heaps and me reaps the benefits.

Scraps, beautiful scraps, from Kate of One Flew Over - oh, my little spiderweb quilt will be so much richer!!

And one I forgot to post about (how could I have done something so thoughtless...) is this pattern from Emily at Carolina Patchworks (If only all Pink Floyd allusions were as pretty...) via a giveaway through Dana of MADE. Not only are these three women generous but the amount of inspiration I've found in their blogs incredible.

Anyway - I owe them a HUGE THANK YOU. I will also owe my sewing machine a tune-up but it's a little busy right now...

Warmth from Wonderful People

It might look bleak and cold.

But you might come home to something you've won in a fabulous giveaway.

It's warm and the stitches are immaculate.

Thank you, Jess! I love it and it could NOT have been more timely!

Happy breeds Happy so Strike a Pose

I received word this morning from Whitney at Whisker Graphics that her mittens had arrived. So now I can share...

I asked Whitney for some of her favourite colours and wasn't particularly surprised by her list - if you read her blog, you would not have been surprised by it either. Graphic designers have such an eye for colour!

You can read about the arrival and Whitney's reaction HERE. The fact that my mittens inspired modeling a la Madonna pleases me to no end! She is happy which makes me happy: it is contagious and infectious so I hope they never develop a vaccine for THAT. (although, knowing Glaxo and all those other pharmaceutical giants that make a fortune off of antidepressants, I'm sure at some point, they'll try. After all, they're halfway there with their commercials - who can watch one of those without getting bummed out?? Melancholy chords and grayed out images of deeply sad people usurp your screen and then they ask if you experience any symptoms of depression....Sheesh.)

If to vogue would make you happy today, by all means, do it. Strike a Pose!! (Fight the corporate system - heehee)

In other news that would make me happy, I hope to have the CitricSugar etsy shop open by the end of the week.... :-)

Pulling the Rabbit - Giveaway Winner!!

There are technological devices designed to do pick a winner. I prefer the old-fashioned way...

Scribe a little number for each comment.

Throw them in a hat. (Secretly wish you had a top hat for such occasions but as it is, a newsboy cap works just as well and is far more flattering to my face...)

Pull out a rabbit, a jug of milk, or a mitten-loving winner!

Congratulations to Whitney of WhiskerGraphics! It seems fitting that the first giveaway would be won by the first commenter on the post... There's a delightful harmony to it, don't you think?

Thank you to everyone who entered! There were some great comments and guesses... and I appreciate them all.

My Pumpkin was the Werewolf. (Mother did the Punk Princess - yeah, I know....??, Father did Senor Mustache - we all agreed it resembled him, Sister did Obama - she laughed when she discovered it was an option and then just couldn't get it out of her head, and Brother carved the Zombie - he's our resident expert on all things zombie.)

He's sad. He didn't win.

Pumpkin Mayhem.... and Free Mittens (giveaway)!!

My brother (in-law) had a birthday yesterday. Family lunch took place today and we were told that there would be "mandatory activites." If you just raised an eyebrow, you did the same as I.

They showed up with these....

Brother is big into Hallowe'en. In fact, I gave him a book on creative carving last year. But he does do some research on his own which led him to this site. We each had to pick a stencil and go to town.

And, oh sweet lord, did we ever have fun! Waxing nostalgic, cracking every kind of joke, visiting away and sharing secrets, tools and techniques... Guts and pumpkin shavings were flying through the air! Sister had some in her hair but asked that the photo not appear here.... :-)

Every few seconds, she'd stop, raise her head and try to figure out where a particular piece of pumpkin flesh had landed... I got beaned in the eye a couple times (My enthusiasm sometimes gets the better of me...) There were also some interesting turns of phrase to express one's frustration when a pumpkin failed to cooperate. :-)

My niece-dog - quite accustomed to getting the bulk of attention - wanted to know exactly what about a pumpkin was more special than she, the giant puppy (31" high at the shoulder. Yeah. Don't let the picture fool you - she's HUGE!)

Hours later...

Here's how they turned out:

That's Barack, a Werewolf, A Punk Princess Skull, Senor Mustache, and a Zombie.

And here's where the free mittens come in: Leave me a comment letting me know which jack-o-lantern you believe to be mine by midnight PST on Saturday the 24th and I'll do a random draw next Sunday, the 25th. The winner will receive a hand-knit pair of mittens made by yours truly!

Hint: It's not the one you think it is. :-{

UPDATE: Giveaway is now closed - thank you to all who entered!

Next post - toque for the birthday brat.