Make-A-List Monday - Pretty Good, Considering!

Hi, all!

It's Monday again - almost July - where has the year gone?  Summer is flying by too fast to catch!  Last week was way busier than I thought it would be, so I didn't get everything done, but I did make good start, considering! Let's see how it went...

1.  Finish the door prize quilt top.
Done!  I just love how this turned out - here are some pics!

Look at that texture!

And the back is made from some great
fabric I picked up at IKEA!

2.  Quilt at least two quilts for the high school mission team to take to Hurricane Sandy survivors.
Done!  The first was one sent for Hands2Help by Ann X from Latvia, and the second is a Rita orphan block special, I think!  Rita quilted the last one - another of her orphan block specials.  its deserves a big whoop whoop - she quilted about fifteen quilts on the mid-arm at church while I was on vacation!  

3.  Keep up with all ministry needs that arise.

Done!  This beautiful quilt went to a gentleman who had some pretty serious complications from gall bladder surgery.

Don't you just love my photography assistant?
She has such a sense of humor...

4.  Buy or order fabrics for the girls' annual quilts.
Sort of.  I have the focus fabric for both quilts, and I have a general idea of what I want to do for the rest of the fabrics, just have to find them!

5.  Make outfits for the girls using this pattern.

Isn't that adorable?  And it has sizes for both Emmy and Lilli!
Nope.  I have the fabric for both outfits, but haven't gone any further than that.  

6.  Score some storage items for the quilt room at church at IKEA!  We scored this great new storage for the quilt room - there's actually two sets like that, with one knee hole and three doored cabinets - and I need some storage bins to put in them to make them most useful.  We'd like to get rid of the scrap bins that sit on top, but need new storage that fits in the cabinets to hold those fabrics.

Done! I got a big pile of those wire baskets you can see in the left shelf area, and some big cardboard banker's boxes that fit in the cabinets below.  I've eliminated many of those tubs on the top already but there's plenty more organizing to do!!  No pictures yet, though…  I forgot!

So, not too bad for a week that disappeared on me!  And here's what I'm going to be working on this week…

1.  Work on a table topper for a special event.

2.  Work on those outfits for the girls!

3.  Quilt at least two more quilts for the high school mission team to take for Hurricane Sandy survivors.

4.  Keep up with any new quilt ministry needs.

5.  Do some cleaning and organizing in my sewing studio..

I'm going to stop there, because I think that may be all I can get accomplished this week - it's another weird week with the holiday and my husband off work for a couple of days.  So I'm going to try a more reasonable list.

And now the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Pick Your Price Sale at Craftsy!! Two Days Only!!

Hi, all!

It's time for another great sale at Craftsy!!

Craftsy's Pick Your Price Promotion!

Pick your price!  Choose from a tiered selection of popular online classes today and get better at what you love to do without breaking the bank!  Enroll today to enjoy learning anytime, anywhere, forever.  

Check out what's on sale here:  

Pick Your Price Sale at Craftsy

Hurry - this sale ends Monday, June 30th at 11:59 PM MT!

Hugs!

Sarah

*This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated

if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Thank you for helping to support this blog!!

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Little Gee's Bend Influence...

Hi, all!

Wow - time sure flies when you're having fun! It's hard to believe it's Friday again - and do you realize that as of this week, it is less than six months until Christmas?  Oh my - time to get to work on all those Christmas projects!  But for today - are you ready to get your whoop whoop on?  I sure hope so!

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It's been a short sewing week for me - I was in Atlanta until Tuesday evening, had the girls all day Wednesday, and then had our community group sewing this morning at church - but I did manage to get a quilt top pieced!  Here's what I put together today…

We were given a bag of scraps by a local sewing group who had received some stuff they weren't able to use - and the tiny solid scraps sewn together in long strips was among that.  I put the long strips together into a panel, then put some gorgeous Essex linen on either side.  I love the movement it has - it kind of reminds me of the Gee's Bend quilts.  It's on the frame right now and I'm planning to do straight line vertical quilting. The backing is a gorgeous piece of red fabric I got at IKEA - I can't wait to show you the finished quilt, hopefully on Monday.  

This quilt will be a door prize for a women's event we will be hosting at church the beginning of August - a chance for someone to get a quilt from the quilt ministry without having to get sick for it!  

I also did a lot of re-organizing in the quilt room at church today, but unfortunately didn't think to take any pictures.  

What it looked like before I went to IKEA...

But with the boxes and wire trays I picked up at IKEA this weekend, I've managed to store away the fabric that's in the tubs on top of the cabinet in the picture, in the cabinets underneath.  There's now countertop showing!   There's still a good bit to do, but it looks so much better in that room with the new cabinets.  They were originally in our preschool resource room, set up as a 4' x 8' island.  We didn't have room to move it up as an island, but by cutting it in half we were able to replace some re-purposed shelving (really nasty looking stuff) with something much nicer!

I've also started receiving envelopes with "a wish and a squish" in them for Nathanael's 100 Good Wishes quilt!  I think I'll start doing a weekly post with updates on the ones we've received.  If you want to participate (and I hope all my "quilt-y family" will join in) let me know in a comment and I'll send you some info.  I can't wait to see what it's going to look like!  Time to start researching and deciding on a pattern...

And between the quilts received as a result of the Hands2Help Challenge and the quilts we've finished and stashed away, we have 58 quilts already for the senior high school mission team to take to New York in October!   Woohoo!!!  

So that's what I'm doing the happy dance about today!!  Can I get a whoop whoop??

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And now it's your turn!  

What are you whooping about today?

What's got you doing a little happy dance?

Tell us - we want to dance along with you!

(Remember, it doesn't have to be a finish -

just what's making you happy!)

The linky party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday, and a HUGE Thank-you!!

Hi, all!

Did last week fly by for everyone, or is it just me?  Seems like I turned around, and it was Saturday!  Isn't it funny how summer seems to go so much faster than winter….

First of all, let's get to that HUGE thank you!  As I was helping Nancy pull together some necklaces I needed to deliver at church on Sunday, I saw all the envelopes she had ready to mail out with orders from her Etsy shop.  I recognized over half of the names in that stack as my quilt-blogging buddies and was bowled over by how many there were!  Thank you so so much for helping to support their efforts to adopt Nathanael!!  I wish you could see the enormous smile on my face as I think of how great you all are!!

But now it's time to see how I did on last week's list...

1.  Put borders on and make backings for two flimsies that were donated this week.

2.  Quilt at least two quilts for the high school mission team to take to Hurricane Sandy survivors.
Done!  I put the borders on those flimsies, made the backs, and put them on the frame to quilt!  They're both finished, although it seems I only took pictures of one of them (oops) but I'll get the other pics soon.  Here's the one I did finish!

3.  Pick fabrics for the granddaughters' annual quilts (yes, it's time to start working on those!)
I'm working on it.  Lilli picked a purple unicorn fabric for the focus fabric for her quilt, so now I have to pick some coordinating fabrics.  She's insistent that it only be purple and pink, although I told her that she only gets to pick the focus fabric (since she's six now!)  And I know what style of fabric I want to use for Emmy's quilt - boats!  Her favorite word right now is "boat" - and we have lots of pictures of boats in our house, so I hear it a lot.  The trouble is finding boats in girly colors!  More about that later in this post.  But I have picked a pattern that I'll use for both quilts!

4.  Start working on a quilt that will be a door prize for a women's event at church.
Started! I've got the center section done for a rather modern quilt and need to add the side panels.  Can't wait to get back to work on this one!

5. Keep up with all quilt ministry needs that arise.
Done!  We had one need arise last week, and I pulled this pretty quilt for a woman who just went through some pretty major surgery.

6.  Pull some more yard sale items for my daughter.

Done!  They had a quickie yard sale last Saturday, and made a bit of money to use towards the adoption, but it was so hot the traffic was low.  They'll probably try again in the fall, but for now I can take this one off my list!

And now for this week's list…

1.  Finish the door prize quilt top.

2.  Quilt at least two quilts for the high school mission team to take to Hurricane Sandy survivors.

3.  Keep up with all ministry needs that arise.

4.  Buy or order fabrics for the girls' annual quilts.

5.  Make outfits for the girls using this pattern.

Isn't that adorable?  And it has sizes for both Emmy and Lilli!

6.  Score some storage items for the quilt room at church at IKEA!  We scored this great new storage for the quilt room - there's actually two sets like that, with one knee hole and three doored cabinets - and I need some storage bins to put in them to make them most useful.  We'd like to get rid of the scrap bins that sit on top, but need new storage that fits in the cabinets to hold those fabrics.

That last item may tell you where I am today - ATLANTA!  With a whole day to myself while DH is working at a convention, I'm planning to spend some quality time at IKEA, and maybe get over to Intown Quilters in Decatur this afternoon or tomorrow morning before we head home.  I'm after storage items and fabric at IKEA, plus a long list of things my daughter gave me to pick up, and hopefully I can find the fabrics for the annual quilts at Intown Quilters.  I know I can find the fabrics I want on-line, but there's something about seeing the fabrics together when you're trying to pull from multiple lines that makes it more fun!

Once again, thanks so much for your support!  And if you're just now finding out about the necklaces, you can see Nancy's stuff in her Etsy shop by clicking here.

And now, the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A little more Celtic Solstice...

Hi, all!

It's Friday again, and time to get your whoop whoop on!  Are you ready?  I'm still feeling my way back into my normal routine, but I've got a little something to whoop about - and then a bigger something!  So let's go!

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When I returned home from vacation last week, all these lovely packages were waiting for me.  One of them contained two lovely quilt tops from Laura in Richmond - and one of them was a Celtic Solstice!  

Oh, I love this quilt pattern!  And not having the patience or time to work through a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, I love that we sometimes get them in our donations.  This particular mystery makes me smile every time I see it!

I took the center part that Laura sent and added the bright yellow stop border and a blue print outer border to bring this quilt up to 60" square.  For right now, it's in the stack we are holding for the senior high mission team to take to New York for Hurricane Sandy victims in October, although it may find a home sooner than that if a need arises.  It was a beautiful top to work with and a joy to quilt!  Thanks, Laura, for sending it!

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And my second whoop involves my daughter and her family!  Their home study is complete and winging its way to the U.S. State Department, and they can now turn in applications for grants that will allow people to make tax deductible donations to help them finance the adoption of little Nathanael!  Whoop Whoop!!  You can see their adoption fundraising site by clicking here…

I've also started receiving some "squish and a wish" envelopes for Nathanael's 100 Good Wishes quilt - it's so exciting to see them arriving, knowing what a wonderful quilt will come of them someday soon!  If you'd also like to join in the fun, let me know in a comment and I'll send you more info.  PS Please be sure you're not a no-reply blogger - I had one person who wanted to send one, but she was a no-reply blogger and I have no way to contact her.  So if you have left a comment but I haven't responded, please email me directly at salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com!

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And now it's your turn!

What's making you dance the happy dance this week?

Share with us - we want to dance along with you!

Remember - it doesn't have to be a finish -

Just whatever's making you happy!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight -

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Craftsy's Supplies Flash Sale! Save Up to 65%!!

Hi, all!

Race the clock!  Craftsy is having a huge Supplies Flash Sale!  Get up to 65% off select yarn, fabric and kits.  But hurry - this offer expires Friday, June 20th at 11:59 PM MT 2014.  This sale will be over in a jiffy, so don't miss out on your chance to save up to 65% off quilting supplies during Craftsy's Supplies Flash Sale!

Hugs!

Sarah

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated 

if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.  

Thank you for helping to support this blog!

Make-A-List Monday - Getting Back to "Normal"!

Hi, all!

It's hard to believe that it's been three weeks since my last Make-A-List post - and in that time we've finished the Hands2Help Challenge (72 participants and 147 quilts!), taken a tour of the US with the American Made Brand blog tour, learned about adoption and childhood deafness and in the process, helped my daughter raise almost $3,000 towards their adoption!  I've been to Richmond and Baltimore and home again and mailed thirty-two H2H goodie packages - and I'm ready for things to get back to normal!  So let's see what's on my list for this week…

1.  Put borders on and make backings for two flimsies that were donated this week.

2.  Quilt at least two quilts for the high school mission team to take to Hurricane Sandy survivors.

3.  Pick fabrics for the granddaughters' annual quilts (yes, it's time to start working on those!)

4.  Start working on a quilt that will be a door prize for a women's event at church.

5. Keep up with all quilt ministry needs that arise.

6.  Pull some more yard sale items for my daughter.

It's been so long since I made a list on Monday, I think I've forgotten what I want to do!  This afternoon was the first chance I had to sew since June 5th - I don't do well without using my sewing machine!!  And poor Jolene is gasping in the corner, wondering when I'll get back to her.  Hopefully this week!

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Something wonderful arrived in my mail today - the very first "squish and a wish" for Nathanael's 100 Good Wishes quilt!  Thanks so much to Michele for sending the first one! I'd love for each my "quilt-y family members" to participate if you'd like to - if you want to send a fabric square and a wish for Nathanael, let me know in a comment and I'll send you more information.  And if a 100 Good Wishes quilt is something new to you, you can read more about the tradition here.

And since I don't have any quilt-y pictures to show off today, how about pictures of all my princesses?

Emmy and my daughter Nancy sharing some ice cream…

And Lilli hard at work at her sewing machine, making a stuffed Power Ranger for her brother!  Sorry for the "back view" - if she had known I was taking it, she would have told me no!  Notice her short hair cut?  Nana was NOT happy - but Lilli loves it, so I'll learn to live with it!  And it is cute….

So that's what I'm working on this week!  Something tells me that other things will come up, too - they always do - and I feel like I've forgotten something, so I'm sure it will hit me soon.  But in the meantime, I'll just quilt what I can!

And now the question is - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Unusual Stuff...

Hi, all!

Wow - I was just sitting here on the sofa thinking about going to bed, when I realized that I still hadn't written my Whoop Whoop Friday post!  Oops - it's been a weird week and Friday just kind of snuck up on me!

We were out of town until Wednesday night - and our flight was one of the last to make it out of Baltimore before they cancelled all of the others due to weather.  We had friends who were supposed to leave on a flight fifteen minutes after ours who made it home at 4:30 Thursday morning!  So we're whooping about getting home, more or less on time.

We delivered the Swoon quilt to my niece and her future husband, and they loved it!  Another whoop!

Saw this really cool sign on the side of a building in Baltimore - it stands about 30 feet tall, and all of the different sections are made of growing things - grass, ivy, things like that.  AND it reminded me of a quilt!

When I got home, I found all these on the table waiting for me - boxes full of quilts for Hurricane Sandy survivors!  Whoop whoop!

And thanks to some of you and many others, my daughter came within $200 of her goal with the "150 in 5" fundraising campaign! Amy Lankheit won the giveaway - you can read Nancy's post about the results here.

And now I'm busily packaging H2H winnings to send off to some of the 71 participants who made 146 quilts to donate to Quilts of Compassion, Happy Chemo, or Hurricane Sandy survivors!  I'm definitely whooping about those results - you guys are amazing!!

And - I'm starting to hear from people who want to send a "squish and a wish" for Nathanael's 100 Good Wishes quilt!  I'm expecting the first one to arrive any day now.  If you'd like to read more about 100 Good Wishes quilts and what I'm hoping to do for Nathanael, click here.  If you want to send "a squish and a wish", tell me in a comment below and I'll send you the guidelines!

Next week things should be back to normal around here, and hopefully I'll have some quilt-y sewing to share!

But for today, these are what I'm whooping about!

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you dancing the happy dance today?

Share - we want to dance right along with you!

Remember - it doesn't have to be a finish - 

just what's making you happy!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight -

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Hands2Help - The Giveaway Winners!

"What does love look like?

It has the hands to help others.

It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy.

It has eyes to see misery and want.

It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men.

That is what love looks like."

Hi, all!

You guys are amazing!  After totaling up the final numbers, this year we ended up with seventy active participants, who made a total of one hundred forty-five quilts!!!  

70 participants!!!

145 quilts!!!

WOW!!!

You donated 52 quilts to Quilts of Compassion, 48 quilts to Happy Chemo, and 33 quilts to Hurricane Sandy Survivors.  Four quilts went to various international charities, donated by our participants living in Canada.  And eight quilts were linked up without a designation as to which charity they went to, so you can mentally add them to whichever charity makes you happiest!  Wherever these quilts go, they are going to do a marvelous job of bringing love, hope, comfort and cheer to people who are in need of a great big quilt-y hug.  

You. Done. Good!!

And now, even though I know none of you do this for the giveaway, I'm very happy to say that we have giveaway items for everyone who participated (and linked up!) this year!!  (A few folks didn't link up, and I have to assume that life happened and they were unable to complete a quilt for the Challenge - but if that's incorrect, be sure to contact me directly at salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com and let me know!)

So now let's see who won what!!

The Fat Quarter Shop is contributing three $25 gift certificates to the cause!

Winners:  Lisa E., Linda S., and Jennifer L.!

Shannon at FabricsNQuilts is giving a $35 gift certificate for the final giveaway!

Winner:  Leanne P.!

Kathy over at Pink Chalk Fabrics is providing three $25 gift certificates to her lovely shop!

Winners:  Selina K., Terri J., and Ann X.!

Julie at The Intrepid Thread is also providing a $25 gift certificate, which you can use to indulge yourself from her exciting selection of fabrics.

Winner:  Melissa G.!

Judi Madsen at Green Fairy Quilts is offering a $30 gift certificate to her lovely shop!  Judi just started offering free shipping this year - how awesome is that?

Winner:  Kim D.!

The wonderful folks over at Quilt Dots have chipped in with four sets of their wonderful magnets, and a necklace base for each set! 

Winner:  Rhonda R.!

Winner:  Aldis L.!

Winner:  Maxine S.!

Winner:  Lindsey J.!

Craftsy is generously offering five gift certificates for a free on-line class!  Have you tried Craftsy yet?  It's awesome!

Winners:  Sharon V., Kathy D.,  Nita C., Christa H., and Irene V.!

Fabricworm has sent some lovely fabric bundles from their amazing stock of addict-worthy fabric!

Winners:  Jasmine S., Joanna P., and Jamie E.!

GenerationQ Magazine is offering some great back-issue bundles of their magazine. If you haven't seen this magazine, you should check it out - great articles, wonderful photography and awesome patterns!  They're also providing a copy of their new book, Stitch 'N Swap!

Winners of the library sets:
Anita S. and Shannon W.!

Winner: Kacey W.!

Pam Nagle, who sells lots of great stuff through Instagram as @auntiepami, is offering eight spools of wonderful Aurifil thread.  This thread will spoil you rotten!

Winner:  Beth H.!

Kate Spain has sent some of her lovely fabrics, some of them out of print, in four fat quarter bundles.  She also sent some great Kate Spain goodies!!

Winners:  Charmaine T., Karen Gr.,  Shauna T., and Sue D.!

Winners:  Kate R. and Mina K.!

Amy Smart, who blogs at Diary of a Quilter, has sent a lovely bundle of giveaway items, too.

Winner:  Pauline F.! 

Winner: Sandy!

Winners:  Julie R. and Susan N.!

Winner:  Joanne H.!

And now, books and patterns…

Emily Bailey, who blogs over at Em's Scrap Bag, is donating some of her fabulous patterns!

Winners:  April M. and Karen Go.!

Karrie Lyne Winters, of Freckled Whimsy fame, has started her own line of patterns, and is donating two sets of the winner's choice of five patterns!

Winners:  Belinda S. and Carolyn B.!

Megan Dougherty, who blogs at The Bitchy Stitcher, is donating a signed copy of her new book, Quilting Isn't Funny.   I so want a copy of this for myself - just haven't ordered one yet!  Megan always makes me laugh….

Winner: Kathy S.!

Christina Cameli, from A Few Scraps, is donating a signed copy of her new book, First Steps To Free Motion Quilting.  I can testify that this is a fabulous book - great at teaching free motion quilting using small and useful projects!!

Winner:  Jean K.!

Annie Toy, well known for Annie's Ruby Slipperz, is donating some quilting books, too!  They'll be drop-shipped to the winners directly from Amazon.

Winner:  Carla H.!

Winner:  Shelli L.!

Winner:  Michele K.!

Winner:  Harriett B.!

Winner:  Sherry B.!

And here's what your fellow participants have donated!

Kathy Schwabeland, who blogs over at Lime Green Is A Neutral Color, is donating a copy of Quilt Lovers Favorites from Better Homes & Gardens, a Trim The Tree II paper piecing pattern, and a Stained Glass quilt pattern.

Winner: Amy W.!

Selina Kidney, who blogs at Selina Quilts, is donating charm packs of Little Black Dress, Juggling Summer, and Breezy Batiks.

Winners:  Little Black Dress Charm Pack, Pat P.!

Juggling Summer Charm Pack, Joanne H.!

Breezy Batiks Charm Pack, Carol E.!

Sharon Vrooman, who blogs at Vroomans Quilts, is donating jelly rolls of Wallflowers by Wyndham Fabrics and Enchanted by Free Spirit Fabric.

Winners: Wallflowers Jelly Roll, Adele D.!

Enchanted Jelly Roll, Ann S.!

The fabulous P., who entertains us from her blog, The Way I Sew It, is donating a copy of her pattern, Thoroughly Modern Lily and a $25 gift certificate to Fabric.com.

Winner:  Myra J.!

Susan McAdams, who blogs at suemacseeds, is donating a $25 gift certificate to Fabricworm.

Winner:  Beth S.!

Karen Green is donating 100 I-spy charms, a spool of thread, and a flying geese ruler in a fabric basket that she made!

Winner:  Katie Q.!

Kathleen Gansert, a/k/a KatieQ, who blogs at Katie's Salt Marsh Path, is  donating a jelly roll of Oink A Doodle Moo!

Winner:  Valerie R.!

And the following items come from some donors who wished to remain anonymous...

Winner:  Carol S.!

Winner:  Kathy S.!

Winner:  Tanya F.!

Winner:  Paulette H.!

Winner:  Sheila N.!

Two sets of an Aurifil sampler and pair of small sewing scissors on a retractable lanyard…

Winners:  Susan M. and Cecilia Y.!

Mettler thread samplers…

Winners:  Terri B., Barbara N., Mickey W.

…but wait - - - there's more!

Marilyn Lewis, who blogs at North Hills Quilter, is donating long arm quilting services.

Winner:  Karen P.!

Sue Daurio, who blogs at Sue Daurio's Quilting Adventures, is donating long arm quilting on up to a queen size quilt, choosing from a variety of quilting designs.

Winner:  Julianne K.!

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I'll be e-mailing all the participants and hooking them up with the sponsors (if needed) or verifying addresses over the next few days.  It's a big job - bear with me while I get to everyone!  And if, in all of this craziness, I missed your link-up or quilt picture, please please please contact me directly (salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com). It was not intentional and I don't want to miss anyone!

Thanks once again to everyone who helped sponsor the Challenge this year - I love being able to see that everyone who participates receives a little bit of a thank you for all their hard work!  

I've been by and visited everyone's link to see your wonderful quilts - and it's a lot of inspiration!  If you haven't already, I hope you'll each visit the other links and leave comments - this is your time to pat each other on the backs!!  You've done awesome work and I can't wait to see you again next year!!

And speaking of next year, I had the idea of maybe doing a quilt-along next year, a nice simple but interesting quilt that could be taught and completed within the time span of the Challenge.  What do you think?  I'd love to know!  And if you have any other suggestions to make the Challenge even better next year, please let me know….

Hugs!

Sarah

PS For those of you who were following the 150 in 5 event on my blog last week, I want to let you know that between necklace sales and generous donations, my daughter came within $300 of her goal by Friday midnight.  Thanks so much to all of you who bought a necklace, made a donation, or helped spread the word!!  I can't wait for the day when I can introduce Nathanael to you!!