Can I get a Whoop-Whoop?? Time to Show Your Best...

Hi, all!


Well it's been a very quiet week here - no sewing going on for me!  But I thought, with it being the last Whoop Whoop Friday of the year, that we might do something a little different.  If, like me, you haven't been crafting much this week, why not show us your favorite accomplishment from the last year?  A little recap, so to speak...


And so, here's what I'll share...

The Charlie Brown quilt, front and back.  The front is made with some fabrics I won from Form and Fabric earlier in the year, combined with Kona Coal; the back is leftover patches from the front and a great word print from IKEA.  I'm very happy to say that my daughter absolutely fell in love with this quilt - something very unusual for her, as our tastes are very different - and so now it lives at her house!  I think she was surprised to find it under the Christmas tree with her name on it, but I think it was meant to be!  


So now, it's your turn - share something new that you created this week, or your favorite project from 2011!!  We all want to see.....


Hugs!


Sarah

Can I get a Whoop-Whoop?? We Have A Winner!!

Hi, all!

Well, I haven't accomplished much this week except managing to drive myself and my husband crazy trying to sit still and recuperate.....  but I did have a great time reading all of your Christmas memories!  Some were funny, some were touching, and all were interesting!  So today I got in touch with Little Miss Random so she could pick a winner for the 500 followers giveaway!  Little Miss Random came up with #40....

38 

Jennifer Gail said...

One Christmas I put a fake cricket under the food table.My Daddy had a thing about crickets. Hee hee he He keep looking and when he found it I think he knew it was me who put it there,

December 18, 2011 2:47 PM 

39 

Jennifer Gail said...

I follow:)

December 18, 2011 2:48 PM 

40 

Jennifer Gail said...

I did I did.

December 18, 2011 2:49 PM 

Jennifer Gail, who blogs over at Hoodies and Flipflops, is the winner!  Congratulations, Jennifer, and thanks for helping me get over that 500 mark!  Just a reminder, here's what I'll be sending you as soon as I receive your snail mail address....

I wish I had one of these to send each and every one of you - I appreciate you all so much and love the new friends I've made through blogging these past two years!  And I can't wait to get to know all you new followers too - please leave comments!! It's the best way to get to know each other - I always respond if there's an e-mail address attached to your profile!

*)(*)(*)(*

And now it's your turn!

Have you worked on anything this week...

That you can show without giving away a surprise?

Please share!!!  

Blogging is about all I can do for the next few days...

And I need the entertainment!!

Remember - you can link up until Saturday at midnight...

*)(*)(*)(*

And for your viewing pleasure, here's one of my favorite little Christmas video clips....

Have a wonderful Christmas!!

Sarah

What's Cookin' at The Sweatshop, Week #17 - The Year In Review

Hi, all!


Well, we don't have any new quilts to show this week, so I thought I'd show you just a few of the 115 quilts we made and distributed this year....

(this represents only about half of the quilts we made this year...)

Many many thanks to all the hands that participated in our quilt ministry this year - those who sorted, pieced, quilted, and delivered, and those who donated fabric, scraps, blocks, WIPs and UFOs.  This quilt ministry would not have touched nearly as many lives without each one of you!!  I can't wait to see what we accomplish in the coming year........

Hugs!


Sarah

Make-A-List Monday #76! Are you ready for Christmas?

Hi, all!


Well, it's the home stretch - only 6 more days until Christmas!!  Are you ready?  Or are you still working hard on those last minute projects?  For the first time in my life, I think, I can honestly say that there are no last-minute projects I am working on - but I wouldn't recommend my method of getting here!


Let's take a look at last week's list and see how I did...

1.  Pay all the bills through the end of the month. 

(Hubby hasn't done this for years - 

now is not a good time for him to start!)

Done!  (For which hubby is very grateful...)

2.  Clean up the house a little! (Really, just a little...

 I don't want to go off the deep end!)

Done!  I managed to clean up just enough, but not too much...

 Gotta leave something for the hubs to do to keep him 

occupied while I'm recuperating.... (lol)

3.  Finish up the stocking stuffer shopping! (Retail therapy...)

Also done - and even wrapped 

(yes, we wrap our stocking gifts!)

4.  Keep a good sense of humor!

I think I've done well with this - the folks at the hospital 

thought I was nuts!

5.  Surprise my doctor by how soon I get to go home!

It only took him five minutes to decide I could go home...

6.  Follow all the doctor's orders about restrictions - 

I'll get to sew again soon!

Hard, but I'm doing it!  I sure hope he lifts the restrictions 

soon, though - I'm getting bored!  

But I have been working on a little project....

...a stocking for my future granddaughter

Emmalyn Elise!

OK, so what's on the list for this week?  Not much, but I do have a few things....

1.  Behave myself and stay within my restrictions...

2.  Work on a cross-stitch Christmas stocking for my soon-to-be 2nd granddaughter (due in April!)

3.  Keep up-to-date on my blog reading!

So that's what I'll be working on this week, while planning my future sewing as soon as my restrictions are lifted!  

And I thought I'd share a picture of my company from Sunday morning - who sat with me and watched movies while hubby went to church....

Aren't they cute?

One last thing - be sure to check out my giveaway here if you haven't entered already - I'm celebrating 500 followers!!  

Have a wonderful week!

Hugs!

Sarah

It's Giveaway Time!!!

Hi, all!!


Well, as you can see from the picture above, Lilli is excited!  I'll leave it up to you to decide whether she's excited about being 4, or about Nana reaching 500 followers - but I'll tell you, I'm excited about both!


Lilli got all the giveaway items for her birthday, but I've got one to share with you to celebrate hitting 500 followers - and it's a goodie!  First, the story - my husband has a hard time leaving any items unpurchased on my Christmas wish list.  (Good hubby, right? ;-)  I sent him a couple of wish lists from different places, and one item was duplicated on two lists - and he bought it from both places!  When he realized what he had done, he suggested that I use the duplicate as a giveaway on my blog.  Great idea!  Here's what he bought......

A True Cut TrueSharp Electric Rotary Blade Sharpener!  Since mine is a Christmas present, I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but I know if you're like me you hang on to your old dull rotary blades "just in case" - so I've got a bunch to sharpen and re-use!  You can read a review of it and see more pictures of it here, on the I Have A Notion blogsite.  It sharpens 28mm, 45mm, and 60 mm rotary blades, which I find really handy, since my little "hand-powered" sharpener only sharpens the 45mm blades.  


So - - - do you want it?  Imagine the joy of having a freshly sharpened blade the next time you cut out a new quilt - without the expense of new blades! Here's what you do to enter...

1.  Leave a comment telling me 

your favorite funny Christmas memory.  

2.  If you're already a follower, or decide to become a new follower, leave another comment!

3.  If you helped spread the word to help reach the 500 follower mark, leave another comment!

4.  If you post to spread the news about the giveaway, 

leave another comment!

I'll pick a winner next Thursday, 12/22, and announce the winner on Can I Get A Whoop Whoop Friday, 12/23!  

And just to join in the fun, I'll share my favorite funny Christmas memory.  When I was a kid, we would always go to my great-grandmother's house in North Carolina for Christmas.  My great-aunt would make the eggnog from scratch, and it was locally famous.  I never really knew why until the year I helped her make it.  I was reading the recipe to her, and she was carefully measuring the ingredients in - - - until she got to the liquor.  I read out the amount in the recipe, but she just up-ended the bottle and poured until it made her happy!  Suddenly I understood the ritual of receiving a drinking straw in your stocking when you reached a certain age..... 

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I get a Whoop-Whoop?? A Gift For A Friend

Hi, all!


I hope everyone's had a good week!  Are you ready to share your accomplishments for the week?  Even if it's small, we want to hear about it!  So grab your camera, write a quick post, and show off a little!

%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

Today I want to share a special quilt with you, made for a special friend.  Cindy, a friend of mine at church and member of the quilt ministry, gave up her days off over four months to go with me to my chemo treatments.  Together we worked on binding ministry quilts while talking to the other people there receiving their chemo treatments.  She turned what could have been at the very least a boring time, and at the worst a frightening and unpleasant one, into a pleasurable few hours spent in the company of friends.  So I wanted to make a quilt for her to thank her for taking those hours that she could have used for much more pleasant purposes and spending them with me!

You may remember the Charlie Brown quilt I made a few weeks ago - this quilt is made by the same design.  There is a tutorial by AmandaJean (aka Crazy Quilt Mom) that you can see here.  It's super simple and easily adaptable for different sizes.  This one is made with 30 WOF strips in prints (3 of each print makes one row) and 30 WOF strips in the background solid.  It makes this quilt approximately 60" square, and even leaves a few blocks for the back of the quilt.

The fabrics in this quilt are some of the Denise Schmidt prints from Joann Fabrics and Kona White.  The binding is a Michael Miller print, I think called Confetti.  The colors blended very nicely with the Denise Schmidt prints, with a tiny pop of purple for spice!

I really had fun quilting this one - using the Juki on the quilting frame, I did strings of curlicues in each band of zig zags.  It kind of reminds me of a string of Christmas lights!  

I like the way it looks on the back, too.  It wasn't very hard to do, unless I started thinking about which direction the loop had to go, then I almost always messed it up!

And here's the back in all it's glory - simple but pretty!  Thanks for letting me share this special quilt with you!!

%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%*%

So now it's your chance!

Link up and share your accomplishments!

We all want to see and give a little 

Whoop Whoop!!

Hugs!

Sarah

PS - Remember that I'm going to have a really great giveaway when the followers counter hits 500 - only 6 more to go!!  My adorable husband bought one item on my Christmas wish list twice, and suggested that I use the duplicate for a giveaway - and it's a really great item!  So spread the word and be sure to join in when that number rolls up!!  

Home again, home again....

Hi, all!


The title says it all - I'm home again! Got to come home last night - hooray!!!  My bed may not be as fancy as the hospital bed, but it's a lot quieter.....  


So since all I'm allowed to do for the next week or so is stuff with my hands in my lap, I'll be checking in on everyone's blogs that I've been remiss in reading for the past couple of weeks!  Yipee! I can't wait to see what you all have been up to....


And don't forget - when I hit 500 followers (only 14 more needed!) I've got a great giveaway planned!  My hubby overindulged me and bought one item on my Christmas gift list twice - then suggested that I use it for a giveaway - great idea!!  So spread the word to your friends - I'd love to do this before the end of the year!!  (There's an extra entry in the giveaway for you if you spread the word beforehand to get that number up!!)


And just because I need a pic for this post, here's two of my favorite faces - my beautiful daughter and lovely granddaughter!

Oh, and one last thing - if you are in need of some retail therapy to get you through the stress of the holidays, Hawthorne Threads just got a restock of Joel Dewberry's Heirloom in all three colorways!!  Woohoo!!


Hugs!


Sarah

What's Cookin' at The Sweatshop, Week #16

Hi, all!


I can't believe it's been so long since I posted for The Sweatshop - the last post was on Thanksgiving, and that was a repeat post of how our ministry started!  Well, it's time to do some catching up!  


Here's what we've been working on since the last post....

This beauty, pieced by Sharon, was given to a man recently diagnosed with prostate cancer...

This pretty quilt was made by ministry member Cindy for her mother, who suffered a serious broken ankle. Cindy had to go spend time with her in Texas, and made her quilt while she was visiting!  Cindy named this one "My Favorite Square" because of one of the squares she put on the back...

This lovely scrap quilt, pieced by Sharon, was taken to church to be available if needed for the monthly prayer meeting...

This pretty pink quilt, also pieced by Sharon, was given to a woman battling cancer....

This cute pair of baby quilts were made by Debora, a ministry member, and are going to a set of twin boys who were born early and have to spend the next three weeks in the hospital.....

And this adorable quilt, made by Joanna, a ministry member, is going to a newborn baby boy in our church!

Those are the quilts we've made lately.  We're also working on several others right now - one for a 3-year old boy with eye cancer, another for a young woman with cervical cancer, and one for a 14-year old boy recently diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma.  So it's still staying busy at The Sweatshop!  Many many thanks to those of you who send donations of fabric, blocks or flimsies - they are much appreciated, well used and well loved as they are passed on to their eventual owners!

Hugs!

Sarah

alive and kicking

Hi all! Just wanted to let you all know that I made it through surgery with flying colors. Will update more later.

Hugs, Sarah

Make-A-List Monday #75! In the home stretch...

Hi, all!


Well, we had a big weekend here - Lilli celebrated her fourth birthday with a birthday breakfast on Saturday!  It's hard to believe that it's been that long - but she's bright and funny and absolutely adorable!  (Of course, she's also opinionated and bossy, but I can't imagine where she got those traits from.....  ;-)

Lilli, Day 1

Lilli Now!

On the sewing front, let's take a look at my list from last week...

1.  Quilt my friend's quilt top.

I didn't get to this one, unfortunately....

2.  Make a quilt for a gift.

I did do this, and will share pictures and story on Friday!

3.  Finish up the Christmas shopping.

Almost done!  I've got a few stocking stuffers to pick up, and a few more things to order on-line, and then I'm done. Whew!

4.  Sew up the dress for Lilli.

Done!  This one's for Christmas...

5.  Sew up the upholstery pieces for my friend.

I haven't gotten around to sewing these up yet, but I did pick up the zippers this weekend!

6.  Wrap all the Christmas presents.

Done!  Woohoo!!!  One less thing to do before Christmas!

As some of you already know, my surgery is scheduled for this Tuesday, so I don't think I'll have much time to work on a list this week.  But it seems odd not to have one at all, so here's my list for the week....

1.  Pay all the bills through the end of the month. (Hubby hasn't done this for years - now is not a good time for him to start!)

2.  Clean up the house a little! (Really, just a little... I don't want to go off the deep end!)

3.  Finish up the stocking stuffer shopping! (Retail therapy...)

4.  Keep a good sense of humor!

5.  Surprise my doctor by how soon I get to go home!

6.  Follow all the doctor's orders about restrictions - I'll get to sew again soon!

So that's what I'm working on this week!  What are you working on?

Hugs!

Sarah

PS - One other thing - see the Followers count on the left side of my blog?  Notice how close it is to 500?  Well, there'll be a giveaway when it hits 500 - and it's a really good one!  I'm not telling what the giveaway will be yet, but you can thank my hubby for it, because he ordered an item on my wish list twice - and then suggested that I give the second one away on my blog!  So stay tuned, and keep an eye on that Follower count!