WE HAVE A WINNER!

Asked to pick a number between 1 and 28, my daughter Stacy picked NUMBER 27...the winner is Jodi! I'll be sending your Scrabble Tile pendant soon! Thanks to everyone for helping me celebrate 300 posts! Now to do 300 more!!!

...In The Garden of Life

"Friends are the flowers in the garden of life" ??? Lately my garden of life has been full of some weeds! Many things going on but I'm hanging in there. This is my busy season as a machine quilter, after all!

(I quickly snapped these photos just before this quilt left my house. I had folded it up, so sorry the photos aren't the best...a darling Mary Engelbreit quilt...for your viewing enjoyment!)

I have so many stories and quilts to share with you! I have vowed to get back to my blog. I feel, at times, it is much like a journal and it helps to reflect and ponder on things going on in the garden of my life. It also helps me to "pull the weeds" from the garden of my life too!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is my 300th post! Woo hoo! That's right! 300 posts of stories/randomness/and quilts!!! To celebrate, I'm having a little 300th post celebration giveaway. You can win this lovely scrabble tile pendant/necklace I purchased from HomeStudio. Please go visit their etsy shop soon. These make great Christmas gifts. -->HomeStudio.

Yes, that's right! Leave a comment below and tell me why you love to quilt, sew, or tell stories. Deadline is Wed., Nov. 11th, 9pm PDT. (that's my bedtime!) Best of luck and thanks for visiting my blog! Tell your friends!

Facebook Fan Page Giveaway! Hurry!

Facebook Fan Page fleece blanket giveaway today! Become a fan of the Quilts With Love fan page, leave a comment and you could win this pretty fleece blanket. It measures approx 57 x 68. One side is bright pink and the other is black with bright colored flowers and dragonflies. (to enter, you must already have a facebook acct.) Become a fan and leave a comment today!

Giveaway ends tonight 9/4/09 10pm PDT. Click here to get to the Quilts With Love fan page--> Fan Page

Congratulations!

Thanks to all of you for participating in my last give-away. Congratulations to Jennifer! You'll be receiving you Scrabble Tile pendant soon!

I've been busy with many, many projects and not just quilt projects. But I thought I'd share pics of this lovely quilt I finished for The Calico House recently. I'm sure this fabric will fly off the shelves. I love it! Very 'summer-y'. Is that even a word? Enjoy!

Now get back to work, Vivian!

PS. My sister has written some really good articles about epidemic/pandemic emergency prepartions. Visit her blog, won't you? This link: http://preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com/

Give Away And A Good Cause

Several times a year, Southern Cross Humanitarian takes groups to Peru, Ecuador and Colombia to perform humanitarian service. Southern Cross Humanitarian helps over 40 million street children. Last summer my husband and son spent 10 days in Peru, working at the Sunflower Orphanage, one of the projects of Southern Cross Humanitarian. It was a wonderful, life-changing experience. Read about it here: My Adventure-Seeking BabyBoy. They were able to help orphans and street children by serving them with hygiene and building projects, as well as giving love and friendship. My husband said it was "a life changing experience to bless lives, lift others and learn about yourself & others."

This July, my husband will return again to continue working on projects started last year. Accompanying him will be Daughter #2 (StaciJayne) and her Sweetheart (Nathan). They are looking forward to working hard and helping the children in Peru.

As a fundraiser for this worthy cause, the talented artists of the ever-popular Etsy shop, HomeStudio, have created these beautiful Scrabble Tile Pendants. Each of the limited edition Scrabble Tile Pendants you see below, include the pendant and an 18" snake chain.

All of the proceeds of these limited edition Scrabble Tile pendant/chain will be donated to Southern Cross Humanitarian. If you would like to donate more, you can purchase ANY items in HomeStudio's Etsy shop and 10% of the proceeds of those items will go towards the fundraiser. IMPORTANT: Be sure to put "Southern Cross" in the message-to-seller note area during your checkout, so they know you wish to donate.

********************************

Now, while you're making your donation by purchasing a Scabble Tile pendant at HomeStudio's Etsy shop, leave a comment on my blog post TODAY to win your choice of one of these limited edition Scrabble Tile pendants! It's my gift to you!

CONTEST RULES: Tell me the farthest you've ever traveled. Perhaps, it's Peru! Perhaps it's Spain (that would be me!) Perhaps you've spent time on the International Space Station! And tell me which of the four limited edition Scrabble Tile pendants pictured you would like!

Contest is open to EVERYONE! Deadline Mon. 4/27/09 10pm Orange County time. (that would be PDT!)

Good luck and don't forget to shop over at HomeStudio's Etsy shop!

Note: If you have any questions about how to shop on Etsy, please email at- quiltswithlove@sbcglobal.net and I will be happy to help you.

How Do You Do That, Vivian? Vol. 3

Before I get to my little tutorial, please hop over to Daughter #2's blog for her give-away. Click here: Check out Scentsy. I love, love it! I'll soon have a warmer for every room in my house! It's a scent system that is wickless, meaning that they do not use flames, wicks, or smoke. Much safer than candles in a quilt studio! And the scents are awesome! Check it out today!

***************************

Now, I got an email requesting how I do this swirly, curly thing I do on many of my quilts. Here's how I did it on the Dazzling Dogs quilt I just finished. I hope this helps! It's super easy. First you make a little curl, going one direction. Below I curled in toward the left.

Once your curl is made, then go the opposite direction. This one I curled in towards the right.You continue doing this making lots of curls and swirls. I kept the size of these curls pretty consistant. On some quilts I go a little crazy and make large and small, alternating the sizes.

This is a simple, yet pretty, design that can be used on many quilts. I quilted it in a 'sky' once, and a friend said it looked like the Santa Ana Winds. (hot, strong winds we get from time to time here in Orange County. They caused the fires we had here last November!)

Tip : This design looks awesome in variegated thread, too!

****************************

I also receive emails asking me what kind of machine I use. It's a Gammill Classic I purchased from Cranberry Quiltworks in 2000. It's a basic model, without all the bells and whistles, but I love it! I've been quilting with it, probably daily, for 8 years! Newer models have stitch regulators, and even computers! So mine's practically an antique now. But I love the feel of this machine, so why change?

Hey what's on the TV, there?

I usually quilt with the TV on, with movies and shows that I don't have to really concentrate on.

Hey, isn't that Napolean Dynamite?

Please excuse this photo of my messy quilt studio.

Hey, is that a picture of Sting on the wall?

Of course! A quilter needs a little eye candy to look at now and then!

Now back to work, Vivian!

Holiday Give-Away

In my last blog post I mentioned a favorite Holiday movie: The Family Stone. What's your favorite Holiday movie? Leave a comment on this post (include your email) and tell me your favorite Holiday movie. I will draw on Christmas Eve 11pm PDT. (contest open to everyone! everywhere!)

If you win, you will receive TWO of my favorite items....this lovely Scrabble tile necklace from my brother and sister-in-law's Etsy shop, "Home Studio." (they are the #1 jewelry shop on Etsy!)
And a "Scentsy" Car Candle in Ocean scent. Scentsy fragrances are fantastic! You'll want to take them everywhere. You can hang this "car candle" in your closet, hotel room, or wherever you want a hint of Scentsy Fragrance. Daughter #2 sells Scentsy. I love it and have a Scentsy warmer in practically every room in my house.

So, get busy and post your favorite Holiday movie! I'm still quilting away and need some more Holiday movies to keep me company!

C'mon and tell your blogging friends too! You only have a few days until Christmas Eve!