Quilt Happy, Quilt Often

Seriously...

I'm back from a jam packed fun week of sewing, eating, teaching, eating, shopping, eating, sewing, and eating with my friends back home in Washington state. I was going to take lots of pictures of all that eating, shopping, and sewing, but SERIOUSLY, I canNOT get in the habit of carrying my camera around with me!

At least 100 times I said "I forgot my camera, AGAIN!" sheesh. Some blogger am I.

I did manage to remember my camera ONE time, and took ONE picture, when a bunch of us met at the Spaghetti factory for dinner. Me, Mary Jo, Mary, Jo, Mari, Mary Ann, Laraine. (No, that's not a typo, we really do have that many "Mary's".) Thanks girls for the great evening!!!

 

I had a great time, but I am happy to be home! I came home with a nasty cold, so now I'm going back to bed and snuggle with my puppies! Later I'll post pictures of some of my fun "finds". And some polk-a-dots!

Happy Day!

Paula

I'm so excited!

Tomorrow I hop on a plane and head to the Pacific Northwest (home!) to visit with my friends who I haven't seen for about 100 years! Okay, 1-1/2 years, but it FEELS like 100! I get to stay with my dear friend Mary Ann (hi Mary Ann!) in her ultra cute guest room in her ultra fabulous house with the ultra amazing view of the Columbia river.

When I took photos for my first book "3 Color Crazy", Mary Ann and Fred were gracious enough to let us come in and take over their home for a day. And boy, did we. We managed to rearrange every room in their lovely home! This picture is the centerfold of the "3 Color Crazy" book. Her home and view are so wonderful, you could almost be jealous and hate her, but we don't. We love her. 

 

So, I'm off to finish my list of things to do before I go. I'll check in, of course, and share all the fun things of the week!

If anybody happens to talk to my honey and kids while I'm gone, remind them to give my puppies some lovin'. Thanks.

 

Thank you for playing!

   

What fun this was! Between the comments and the emails, I was so excited that so many participated! And, boy, does everybody love chocolate! :) You guys are great sports!!

And the winners are:

Asiyah for guessing the closest number of kisses! Boy, Asiyah, you were close! There were 307 kisses, and you guessed 300! Good job!

Paula Ivey for listing a whopping 609 words! Holy French Toast! (as my youngest says). If I ever go on a game show, I'm taking you along!

So, if both of you will email me at: paula@pacificpatchwork.com I will pop your prizes in the mail!

Hope you all have a great week this week!

Quilt Happy! Paula

Remember this game?

Did you guess how many kisses there are on my cake plate? If you haven't yet, go here to guess!

I remember, as a kid, spending hours and hours in the car driving to grandma's house. We always took little books with crossword puzzles and word games. Do you remember this one?

 

Spell as many words as you can from these letters. Two letter words count too!

Leave a comment, just telling me how many words you found. On Sunday evening (6 central) if you have the highest number, I'll ask you to email me with your list. If you have the most words, you win ten fat quarters from the new Mary Engelbreit "Basket of Flowers" line! 

   

Thanks for playing!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Let's have a little fun!

     

I just want to thank everybody who has supported me in this new blogging adventure! I've been able to keep in touch with friends, make some new friends, and share the fun in the blogging world! I really appreciate that!

So, on to the fun stuff! This may be kind of silly, but I want to play a few games! I would LOVE for all you to join me!

First of all, what's a party without chocolate? And of course, with Valentines Day tomorrow, we all need a few kisses. So - for the first "game" - can you guess how many hershey kisses there are?

   

This is a regular sized cake stand, with regular sized hershey kisses. yum.

So, leave a comment with your best guess, and the guesser who guesses the best guess gets this prize!!

   

It's a "Hooked on Charms Two!" book, with 2 charm packs from the brand new Mary Engelbreit "Baskets of Flowers" line!

We'll play this game till Sunday night, 6pm central. I'll randomly draw a name from those who left comments and tell you the winner! Please don't be shy! The more the merrier!

That's all for now. I'm off to have lunch with my very own sweetheart. I'll be back later today for another game and more prizes!

Hugs and kisses, Paula

I HEART Buggy Barn Quilts!

Have you ever had the chance to make a Buggy Barn quilt? I think every quilter should make one (or four) during their quilting life. If you've never made a buggy barn quilt, this is how it generally goes: You stack your fat quarters, iron a traced block that you've traced on freezer paper, cut it all apart, shuffle the pieces, and sew it all back together again!

I get to teach a bunch of buggy barn quilt classes at my favorite LQS, the Rabbit's Lair, starting next month, and I must say, I am almost giddy with excitement! Watching my students go from "there is NO way this will work, are you kidding me?" to "Oh my gosh, this really works! How cool! I want to make another one!" never ceases to entertain me!

I've been working on a quilt for one of the classes, made with the newest line of Mary Engelbreit fabrics, Basket of Flowers. What a great line! I love it when I'm sewing, and keep catching myself smiling because I love the fabrics so much! This quilt is called "Heather", from the book, "Gone Crazy" .

Here's some of the blocks:

   

 

Tomorrow I'll have the whole quilt done to show you! If you're anywhere near Rogers, AR, and want to have some buggy barn fun, or just need some of this yummy fabric, call The Rabbit's Lair! I'll be teaching a class a month, starting in March. I'd LOVE to see you there!! (And I bring chocolate)

  

De' Bunny

Well, looks like we're looking some storms this week. Lots of rain and thunderstorms. I don't mind that too much, except when i have to go out in it. It's a good excuse to hunker in with my family and puppies and do some stitching. (Not than I need an excuse!)

Speaking of stitching, I'd like you to meet De' Bunny:

  

This cute little guy is made of wool, stitched onto regular cotton fabric, and it measures 18" square. I used a charm pack of Posh by Chez Moi and I LOVE him! As I finish each project, I declare it's my favorite, but THIS is really my favorite!

I think you need to make this bunny, don't you? Yeah. I think you do! "De' Bunny" is a free pattern from the Block Party Club, available in the "D" newsletter.  He'll join the ranks of the other FREE! projects:

Aunt Mary's Flowers

   

Brasstown Flag:

     

And the "Happily" table topper:

 

Speaking of the the Block Party Club, I'm planning an online party right here on this blog on Friday! Stay tuned for details!

Happy stitching! 

Quilting Bostons

I have two quilting boston terriers. Well, they don't actually quilt. They actually don't even pretend to quilt. But they are really good at supporting me every step of the way for every single quilting project I work on, so that makes them about as close to quilting as a dog could get!

They are here in the studio every day with me, at my feet, on my lap, on the chair next to my lap, on the futon next to the chair next to my lap, and everywhere in between. Oreo keeps such a close eye on me, that if I even get up out of my chair and walk across the room he's there. Some days it almost makes me twitchy. But I wouldn't have it any other way!

Those who know me, know that I collect Boston Terrier greeting cards. It's bad. My kids even enjoy the thrill of the hunt. I've trained them well. Priorities, ya know.

Since we've moved, I haven't figured out the best way to display them here in my studio so that I can see them. When I had them out the other day, I counted them, and I have almost 60. 60! But they are so stinkin' cute, I don't think I'll stop! In fact, I thought I'd share some of my favorites (not that I have favorites...)

 

 

 

Go ahead and say it - aaaaawwwww!

But don't you worry. Much as I love the cuteness of these cards, my dogs are cuter. They ARE.

Back to regularly scheduled quilting tomorrow. I have a new project just about ready to show you. And oh my, if I do say so myself, you'll have to make it. You'll just have to. I just know it. Happy weekend!

Feed Your Soul

This post really isn't about quilting, except that it kind of is. I ran across a new blog, Superhero Journal, that I just love. She says "you can be your very own superhero". I love that!

As I've travelled around, speaking and teaching at guilds, I tell my story of how I got into quilting, and why I am so passionate about it. When my kids were small, and I had been quilting for a little while, I was diagnosed with MS. That time was pretty tough, doing everything was a challenge. I spent lots of time resting, reading books, doing puzzles, and watching movies with my kids on my bed.

I realized, during this time, that there were lots of things in life that can keep us busy, but there are very few things in life that can feed our souls. Taking care of my family, spending time with friends and loved ones, and quilting, feed my soul. The process of quilting - dreaming, creating, sharing, giving- feed my soul. As I also sometimes struggle with depression, if I'm feeling crummy, if I can at least get myself to do some stitiching, it can be a good day.

I think that we, quilters, artists, crafters, are so lucky, because we have found something that feeds our souls. And to be able to share that with other people is even better! We need to take care of ourselves and believe in ourselves, and in doing so we can be our very own superhero!

On her Superhero  blog she shares a poem, that she gave me permission to share here:

YOU ARE LOVED

really

truly

just as you are.

And you don't need to look outside yourself

for validation anymore...

you are held and known and treasured

for ALL that you are

not just the good parts.

Let that truth

remind you to be compassionate

with your own heart.

to extend to yourself, the

compassion you give to others.

There is nothing to fix.

Because who you are

however human

is always enough

to be loved

right now.

Isn't that beautiful?

She also creates beautiful jewelry:

 

And I LOVE this - a bullseye on the front, and "superhero" engraved on the back. Yep, I think I need one of these!

 

  

So, I hope you can make time today to quilt happy, quilt LOTS, and feed your soul!!

Now I'm going to play with my polk a dots!

It has come to my attention...

That I have an addiction.

 

How does one break a polk-a-dot addiction?

And, while we're on the subject of addiction, how does one break an ice cream addiction when one's daughter works at Braums Ice Cream store?