And the winner is............

Time to announce the winner of my 

Eleanor Burns

and
 30s reproduction fabric fat quarters

Giveaway

and the lucky winner is :

CAROL
from
JUST LET ME QUILT

Carol.....
I sent you an email.
Please reply asap
or I will have to choose another winner

Looking forward to the next blog hop !

for the love of scraps ( SOS # 101 )

Last week I made a quilt. One of the things I do when I make a quilt is fiddle around with the scraps. But this time I didn't have time for fiddling. I was up against a deadline.  But when I was finished those scraps were calling my name.    I played around with them thinking I would make a mug rug or a small purse. I couldn't decide so I set them aside .....I did not put them away.....I just set them aside.

Then an idea came to me in the form of one of my favorite challenges. The gals at "Shopping our Stash" asked us to make something using scraps.
                            Were they reading my mind?   
                                                             
                                              How did they know?
 
So I was off and running with my decision to make a card with my scraps.

The Salvage edge of quilt fabric always has the name of the line atnd he designer etc...on it.
So of course I wanted to use the "love lives here" words on my card.

Lots of layering and fussy cutting

and

lots of fabric glue too.

And those who know me know that I usually carry the design to the inside of my cards too.

I am going to have to make a matching envelope too. This card measures 8"x 6".

I saved a flower and a few snippets for an envelope.

I had a lot of fun playing with Shopping our Stash

If you have time you can run by for a visit.

WOYWW #206

Once again it is time for a spin around the world all in the name of sharing and snooping. Julia herself has said we are crazy. A few other participants have said we are crazy. The Lifeguard certainly thinks we are crazy.   So we all agree.....

Good.

Welcome to my dining room table. Last week I made a quilt for a huge blog hop and this week I am trying to play with the girls from "Shopping Our Stash". The theme this week is "Scraps"  
I have scraps.   I am sure they mean paper....but I have fabric scraps so I will make a card using them.

This is no where near finished ....but it's a start.  The "love lives here" sentiment is actually the name of the fabric line printed on the selvage edge. I thought it would be perfect on this card.  I will work on it  after my pottery class and hopefully be able to post a finished card soon.


For all of my new followers....
If you want to know what this link up is all about
.... go visit Julia at The Stamping Ground  for the rules and to see the list of crazy players. And perhaps you might feel crazy enough to join us.   It really is a lot of fun. Just take a photo of whatever you are working on..... post it.....and link..... and be prepared to meet some wonderful creative bloggers.

yes sir yes sir three bags full

Last weekend I was able to sneak off to see the 40th annual Sheep and Wool Festival which is held at the Howard County Fair Grounds only 20 minutes away from my home. I have lived in MD for over 25 years and this is the first time I have been able to attend this event.


So before it becomes old news I'd like to share some photos with you.


There were beautiful blue skies and the smell of french fries. Of course I had to have some old fashioned root beer while I listened to the bluegrass bands. 

 The shuttle to and from the parking fields was a tractor and wagon......so sweet.

There were these wild and crazy 4 horned sheep called Jacob sheep.

I grew up in rural PA and never ever saw a sheep like this.

They have two sets of horns and the gentleman tending to them said they can grow up to four sets.

I had a chat with these sheep. They were very friendly.

There were so many different varieties of sheep I stopped taking pictures. I was amazed at how friendly they were and saddened because I learned the difference between sheep for wool, leather and food.  um.....I was talking to sheep that could actually end up as someones dinner.

somehow  I had forgotten this fact. It put a small damper on my day.

 My spirits were lifted when I watched the Border Collies perform their magic. I love how they take charge. It was like a waltz. back and forth , around and around .....a gentle dance. 

Then there were the tables of wool.

So many different varieties and textures.

a little boy was looking at the bags full of soft and stinky fluff and he was singing 

Yes Sir Yes Sir ... Three bags full.

I had to smile

As I walked through the barns and  buildings my smile grew.

There were

miles and miles of yarn

in every color you could imagine.

I was so smart to leave my credit cards at home.

Then I saw this

and I had no money to buy it.

sad

She had several other pieces but she asked me to not take too many photos.

So I just took this one.

You can see more of her work on her website

Kathy Dinsmore

I am truely blessed to be able to enjoy a pleasant music filled day 

surrounded by beautiful fiber and yarn,

 sweet and gentle sheep, good food and of course the Border Collies.

I will definitely be going back to the Sheep and Wool Festival next year.

It's for the Birds! / and a giveaway for you

 Today I am participating in a huge blog hop hosted by   Sew We Quilt.

Hello Hoppers !

Welcome to RuffHaven!

This is the first
"So We Quilt" blog hop I have ever joined.
 I am so happy to be a part of it.

I know you have a lot of blogs to get to so I will try to keep it short.




I had a beautiful bird fabric from the fabric line called "Love Lives Here"

and a few other coordinating fabric from "Flower Power" 
 and quite a few more from my stash.
From that one fabric I was inspired to make a huge applique birdie..
I liked the shape of the bird so I drew it on the paper side of some Softee Fuse
and the rest just grew from there.

The flowers were cut out of the flower fabric.

I never plan my projects they just grow as I go along.

There is a lot of fusible applique and
raw edge applique on this quilt.

And what did we do before Spray basting???
I couldn't have finished this in time if I had to pin baste.

Then when it came time to take her outside to get a few photos I had to hurry because there was a storm coming.
I finished just in time.


And to make things worse...

We lost power.

So here it is
10:00pm and I am finishing up my post.
Cutting it close.
I am the reason why Madame Samm has all those rules.
I don't even know the woman and she scares the bajeebers outta me.
There is no way I am going to be late posting.
No Way.

I was going to give this sweet bird legs and add a worm or two...

but then I decided to give her a nest instead.

legs would have been easier....and quicker too.

but no....she needed a nest.
The nest is made from snippets of scraps and a lot of free motion zig zags.
I really could have gotten carried away with this project....but there was a deadline.


I used the inspiration fabric as the backing.

I would like to thank  Madame Samm and our head cheerleader Mary. Without them this hop would not have happened. The amount of work they put into these hops is amazing.
I will certainly want to join another hop soon. 


Before you go I'd like to offer this gift to one lucky visitor.

Eleanor Burns "El's Kitchen" , 18 fat quarters, 5 spools of thread, and 5 crocheted flowers

Dontcha just love huge giveaways?
I do
I had as much fun filling a box as I did making the quilt.
And I am so excited to offer this gift to one lucky winner.

 All visitors who comment on this post will be entered in the drawing.
If you do not want to enter....please let me know and I won't add your name.


I will close the comments on Saturday May 18th at 8:00pm EST.
this will give everyone plenty of time to enter.
I will post the winner here in a new post on May 18th and do everything I can to contact you
Please make sure you are not a no-reply blogger
If I can't contact you I will be forced to draw another name.
Yes this giveaway is international.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I hope you enjoyed your visit and I do hope you come back again when
 all the dust settles and the feathers stop flying.
 

If you are hopping in order your next stop is Thearica 's Blog.... but don't forget to leave a comment before you go.

 

Here is the list for today:

Marcia - http://englating.se/wp

Laura - http://lauraluvsloons.blogspot.com

Marjorie - http://marjoriesbusycorner.blotspot.ca
You are Here

Thearica - www.pigtalesandquilts.com

Debby - http://debbykratovilquilts.blogspot.com

Wendy - http://why-knot-kwilt.blogspot.com

Bea - http://beaquilter.com

Gwen - http://gwenbru.blogspot.com

Patty - http://pccrafty.blogspot.com

Jane - www.janesfabrics.blogspot.com

Suze - http://suze-gahouse.blogspot.com

Valerie - http://pumpkinpatchquilter.blogspot.com

Sherry - http://sherry-blessingsfromoutnest.blogspot.com

Lavona - http://zellerwear.blogspot.com

 http://crafting365days.blogspot.com.au

Charlotte - http://charlottescreationsanew.blogspot.com

Jane - http://Janesquilting.blogspot.com

Robin - http://Ipiece2-Mary.blogspot.com  

to see the complete list go here

Comments are now CLOSED

WOYWW #205

Just popping in for a quick weekly update. It's Wednesday and time for another jaunt around the web visiting bloggers to snoop on their work-desks. If you want to join in pop on over to Julia's  to add your link to the list.
On my "work-desk" aka dining room table, this week is the project I am making on for   "For the Birds" blog hop with the gang at Sew We Quilt. I had to throw scraps on top of the project because It is not to be seen until tomorrow. Yes it will be finished.  I hope I hope I hope.

 

It's halfway finished ....... but I have to be finished and ready to share.
The fact that today is Pottery Class day doesn't help.  I need to learn to procrastinate around other commitments.

 It's hard to take process photos while playing with clay. So a photo every once in a while is going to have to satisfy your curiosity. This is a shot of a bowl centered upside down in preparation to "clean the butt" and trim the foot.   I didn't get a shot of the completed task. Like I said it is hard to take pictures when your hands are oooey and goooey with slippery smooth clay.
 ( cue Patrick Swayze (sadly missed)   and the theme song from Ghost ) 

So that's it for today.  If you sew or are thinking about sewing....come back tomorrow for loads of fun and a giveaway....here.....on my blog.  

Thanks for stopping by!
Marianne
Typos are provided for your entertainment. Enjoy !

Tribute to a Classic Car

Remember the Chevron quilt I made for my ex,"The Carpenter" ?

I gave it to him in February, but we just now were able to pull his El Camino out of the garage to take a few photos. He has had that car since 1987. It was the last year Chevrolet produced them....so he had to have one. I never quite understood the attraction,

 but who am I to judge. 

The custom tarp was made by a gentleman in Pennsylvania. It snaps on and off.

 It is the first and possibly only El Camino tarp made with a Chevy"BowTie" Logo cutout. 

The cut out was precisely placed so the driver had visibility via the rear view mirror. 

I was told that this took a long time to figure out exactly how to do that.

When he first had the new tarp made, he was pulled over by the police several times because they were sure it blocked his visibility and was illegal.

 Eventually all the cops in the area knew the car and he stopped being pulled over.  

"The Carpenter" is quite proud of his car.

So you see why I had to make the quilt when I saw the fabric back in 2010.

I am so happy it is finished and he likes it enough to allow me to post these pics on my blog. 

*disclaimer..... If you are muttering "red neck" under your breath, I understand. But remember the car belongs to my ex...not me.


 
I am linking this post to Mosaic Monday 

SOS #99 - All About Numbers

 The Shopping our Stash assignment this week is to use numbers in our art. I have been lax in my effort to use my paper crafting supplies lately so I decided Shopping Our Stash would be the perfect way to get my butt in gear.   I used  one of my favorite  quotes and I chose it because Kathleen, one of the wonderful women I met at the library mentioned it last night while we were knitting. I used SU numbers on my collage so it would qualify for this challenge. I thought today's date, would be perfect numbers for this piece.   I am not quite sure this collage is finished. It might be one of those pieces I set aside for now and go back to it in a few weeks. I love the lizard don't you?

paper collage, and a few stamps

stamped on rice paper

torn apart

the varnish makes the rice paper transparent

in progress

all the rice paper has been varnished

almost finished

The woman who works with her hands is a laborer

the woman who works with her hands and head is a craftswoman

the woman who works with her hands her head and her heart

is an 

ARTIST

St. Francis of Assisi

WOYWW #204

Happy WOYWW !   Time to hop skip and jump around the globe to visit our friends and snoop around on their workdesks.  This is what my "workspace" looked like this morning.
                      I needed to sort my yarn stash and my dining room table was just the right size.

  These weeks are flying by so fast. It's hard to believe we are in May!
Here's an update on last week's scarves.
The purple one (above) in the bowl and still in progress.
The green one has a home with my daughter. It took a week for me to track her down so I could get this photo.
The pink one is ready to go to the pink scarf project.



 RecentlyI  was introduced to a group of wonderful women who knit at a local library once a month. I enjoy their company very much and look forward to our time together. I am usually a solitary type and it feels great connecting with other crafty women. This is somewhat of a challenge for me. I normally like to spend time alone.
 But this year has me reaching out for "in real life" friends.
I think I found a few in this group.

moving on to the pottery......
Yes you read that right. As if I don't have enough hobbies. But I can explain.

See that bowl up there in that first photo? The one with the purple scarf in it.
 It is pretty and functional but. ....
 I have been searching for yarn bowls and I haven't found one I like yet.

All that yarn needs a place to live in my craft room and I love the way yarn looks in bowls. So I decided to make my own.This meant I had to find a place where I could make them.  There is a Pottery Studio in easy driving distance so I enrolled in a beginners course.     
 I had thrown pottery before.....
a long long long time ago.
It seems the skills have memory and in no time at all I was able to make these  

So on Wednesday Mornings this will be my workspace for the rest of the summer.




For my new readers :
WOYWW is a link party where participants let each other know what they are working on each week. It started four years ago and beleive it or not it is still going strong. It is one of my favorite link ups.
Now run along and visit Julia to find the list of participants this week.
Click on this link and have a great "nosey" as some of the irls say.
                                        WOYWW #204





Thanks for stopping by!
Marianne