Halloween Cuteness! Free Witch Pattern!

How perfect is this?

I was sent a free paper pieced witch pattern by a friend, and I’m here to pass it on to you!

I can see this witch made with a slightly pea green face, with some cute eyes and other facial details embroidered on!

It wouldn’t take hardly any bit of fabric at all,

It makes a 4” block! I’m going to have to make me some of these when I get home from New Mexico!

Click HERE for the free pdf file and enjoy!

There are some times in life when I’m just feeling a bit, well---- witchy! Yesterday was one of them….how would YOU react if you got a condescending email like this:

Bonnie, dear, In the second paragraph of "About Bonnie" you use the possessive pronoun "its". Please take the apostrophe out of it because 'it's' means "it is".

V J, founder and director of The Association for the Encouragement of Correct Punctuation, Spelling and Usage in Public Communications.

First off…..typos happen, right? And I do my best to correct them. But the fact that someone would send such a high fallootin’ email over ONE apostrophe just really stuck in my craw.

I spend hours a day writing and re writing….but sometimes even spell check won’t catch things. An apostrophe. REALLY!?

And because I’m feeling a bit witchy…..I think I’ll leave the apostrophe there just on principle a while longer!

I plan on leaving it there to keep me humble, to remind me that I am not perfect, that no one is perfect, and I quite like myself that way.

A Day in Santa Fe!

Yesterday was my “busy” day.

Susan picked me up at my hotel in Albuquerque, and we drove North to Santa Fe, about an hours' drive for a morning guild meeting that started at 9:30am.

We were there in plenty of time…and I’d rather be early than late as a general rule, mostly because I’d rather get all of the setting up done and out of the way and look cool as a cucumber when people start showing up and milling around. It sure beats the alternative of them coming in, and me arriving LATE, and looking like a frazzled chicken rushing around trying to get things sorted, set up, laid out and hung…..all while they are standing in line waiting for books to be signed, etc. I live by the “earlier is better” rule much of the time in life because I hate falling short!

The meeting was a lot of fun, and after everything was packed back up and re-loaded into the back of Susan’s car, we headed off down to the Plaza area of Santa Fe for a bit of touristy time and some lunch!

I can’t POSSIBLY post ALL of the pictures from my day in this blog post…it’s already past 10pm at night as I write this, and I have to be up at 6am to head BACK to Santa Fe for another workshop…in fact, if you are reading this past 7am Mountain time on Tuesday morning…..we are already in the car on our way!

((Yes, I’m writing this ahead of time after the Monday NIGHT guild meeting back in Albuquerque to set it to post live in the morning! Are you confused yet?))

Things I loved!

The view of St Francis Cathedral at the end of the street! I love this southwestern architecture!!

Awesome tile designs are EVERYWHERE!! This one is of a water fountain inside La Fonda ---yes, there are more pictures of cool tiles to come!

Chiles and MORE Chiles!

The color and pattern of hand woven textiles!

The whimsical faces of hand painted pottery suns!

The shiny climbing motion of hand painted lizards and frogs!

The rustic feel of skulls bleached by sun, sand and wind--

((No, I am not bringing one of these home!!))

Vibrant jewel tones of scarves, blankets, skirts and bags to catch the eye of passers by --

The call of wonderful aromas from the Blue Corn Café & Brewery where we stopped for lunch!

The chile corn soup is to DIE FOR – Thick and creamy and hot enough to make your nose run and break you out a full facial sweat --- BLISS!

The blue corn chips and fire roasted salsa can’t be beat and MUST be enjoyed!

And where Enchiladas come “Christmas Style” meaning both red AND green chile ---LOVE IT!

Seriously, the food here is nearly a sacred experience!

Santa Fe, where the sun shines more than 330 days a year…..where squinting into the sun is a natural unavoidable reflex, and pictures just go squinty! I loved this bronze burro…..fun, huh?

Definitely need to spend more time here…I’m thinking….LOTS would be nice!

Monday Evening Edition! Free Kindle Cook Book!

Holidays ’round the corner!

Do you do cookie swaps with your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc?

I get tired of the same ole same ole. Chocolate chip. Oatmeal Raisin – let’s shake it up a bit!

I just came across another Gooseberry Patch freebie and downloaded it..Cookie Swap!

Product Description:

Everything you need to know to host a cookie exchange!

You'll find easy-to-follow how-to's with a handy checklist to make swapping a cinch, clever invitations and a recipe card to copy and color, tried & true recipes plus nifty ideas for packaging and presenting cookies.

Try nutty butterscotch squares, chocolate-vanilla swirl cookies, magical creme wafers, chocolate peanut butter secrets and more, including recipes for fudge, caramels and hard tack candy too!

Besides, the cover image just looks darn appealing, doesn’t it!?

As always, check before clicking to order as what was free earlier may not be now.

No affiliation, just a happy kindle reader sharing the bliss!

Workshop Day in Albuquerque!

Of course I had to spell out Albuquerque just because I love spelling that word!'

Yesterday was our Oklahoma Backroads workshop with the New Mexico Quilting Association ---and we had a full class!

It was a full day of digging in the scraps, playing with value and color placement and trying new things. Push the color boundaries, go for the clash, enlarge the comfort zone, and dare to admit what the ugliest piece in your scraps is…..hold it up….and tell us what it is from, and why it is still IN your stash! And then SEW it into something!

It was amazing to see how one person’s ugly was NOT deemed ugly by the person sitting next to them, and the stories of the fabrics were so varied.

One quilter was gifted a scrap bag of mostly tropical/island type fabrics and batiks by a friend and was being challenged to use them.

Another quilter was making a commissioned quilt for a friend who had lost her husband….the quilt was being made from his clothes and included everything from denim to plaid to stripes, and even solids. A true memory maker!

Some quilters found that what they THOUGHT they liked as their palette just paled in comparison when they left the more “clashy” fabrics out, and they were bound and determined to go back to the stash when they got home and throw some more wild things back IN to their quilts to give them more life!

There was something to learn for everyone….even me! It was great to get to know these ladies, who they are, how long they’ve lived here, how long they’ve been quilting, what they do for a living, and how they have made New Mexico their home.

Our room was great, though we were close quarters, everyone had ample space and we had terrific daylight from the bank of windows in the back. I kinda liked the semi-circle set up, it made me feel like I could get around to everyone as needed!

I took pictures from both ends of the room hoping to get everyone in here at some point!

Take a stroll through the pictures in the slide show below. You can’t really see the color and detail just by the thumbnail photos alone!

		OK Backroads, Albuquerque, NM 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I’m off to spend the day in Santa Fe, but I”ll be back in Albuquerque by evening for an evening lecture/trunkshow here…..I hope to get LOTS Of pics!!