And The Winners Are!!

Look what just came in my mail today! My 100 blocks, Vol 4 commemorative mug! Yippee! I’ve now got a set of 3 of these….The big buttons make GREAT coasters too…got a set of 3 of these too! LOL!

I can’t tell you what fun I’ve had reading everyone’s comments and entering their names into the drawing!

I *DO* have to mention one that really gave me the giggles---one reader had written that she never ever wins ANYTHING no matter how often she tries, and doubts she will win this one….but what the heck, may as well enter and lose again, why break a running losing streak! LOL!

COME ON you guys --- not everyone can win all the time. If this one came with a soundtrack it would be from Hee Haw --- Gloom, Despair, and Agony on me!

Chin up, those who feel they are on a perpetual losing streak --- you just might win NEXT TIME!

And just in case you think that international entries never win either? The winner I drew last night was from Canada ---There are just MORE USA entries than those from abroad, so that raises the odds a bit, but I keep it fair as possible!

So let’s get on to our winners, shall we?!

Carrie wrote:

Hmm, most people wouldn't know about me is... I retired after 20 years in the USAF. I have a Purple Heart and an Air Force Commendation Medal with Valor for saving 6 lives during the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Dhahran Saudi Arabia.

Carrie Dobos

Carrie, I wish I had drawn this on Veteran’s Day! I’m humbled and honored --- thank you so much for all you have done for so many others!

Send me your snail mail address, and I’ll mail your autographed copy to you!

Our next winner is Andee in AZ!

She writes:

Wow you have a lot of comments! I am a sign language interpreter and my dream assignment would be interpreting one of your quilt classes! Not sure what else to tell you unexpected about me!

Andee, I had this same thing happen in New Mexico when I visited the Santa Fe guild! They have one deaf member, and TWO interpreters came to interpret the meeting for her. I was nervous at first! I usually talk pretty fast, trying to get it all in in the time that is allotted..but a funny thing happened…when I reached the end of my time, and was closing my presentation with my “How Many Quilts” poem….I slowed way down to be sure that the interpreters could get the full narrative to the deaf guild member, and I was mesmerized by how beautiful the hand signs are….I was nearly in tears by the time I was done!

Thanks for the special job that you do!

Your copy of 100 blocks will be coming directly from Quiltmaker Magazine in Golden Colorado!

Congrats to both of our winners! I’ve contacted them both by email, and am just awaiting addresses and their copies of 100 blocks by 100 designers vol 4 will be on their way!

Thank you so much for everyone who dared leave a comment….I really enjoyed reading through all of them, and I am so very inspired by the wonderful people you are!

Afternoon Edition–Free Kindle/Nook Cook Book!

This is just a quickie post! I’ve learned to send these on as soon as I find them, because even a few hours delay and they might NOT be free anymore! It doesn’t work to stack the blog up with these to release later, and I apologize if there were books that came through the queue while I was gone, and they were not free anymore when you clicked to get them. That’s the breaks, I guess!

You know I love these little Gooseberry Patch books, and here is another one for you, just in time for the HOLIDAZE!

Gingerbread Cookbook, another mini-cookbook from Gooseberry Patch, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

I'm really interested in the wafer thin Moravian Spice Crisps, living in the Winston Salem area, where they are so tied to our history here! You haven't lived until you've had real Moravian cookies!

Book Description

Get a taste of Gooseberry Patch in this collection of over 20 favorite gingerbread recipes! In Gooseberry Patch Gingerbread we've rounded up all kinds of cookie jar favorites, from Grandma's Gingersnaps to wafer-thin Moravian Spice Crisps to the Easiest-Ever Gingerbread Boys.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

And yes, the drawing for the 100 blocks by 100 designers is this evening too! Check back for the winners!

And they sailed from Baltimore!

I’m backing up in time! Clear all the way back to November 3rd when we headed out on a beautiful early autumn afternoon ----

Sadie was SO knowing we were going somewhere ----Dogs just KNOW don’t they? She was hunkered down in her bed all day, just giving me LOOKS. Yeah, that look --- You know the one!

Never fear, she was going to have more company that she would know what to do with. I’d scheduled a pet sitter and friends to come at various times during the day while we were gone, and we got reports that she was having a great time, hardly missing us at all. Hmmmphh!

I bound the mystery quilt and stitched down the hanging sleeve while DH drove! I was able to bind two quilts on this road trip, one on the way up, and one on the way back! But I must say it really puts a crimp in my binding time to have it get DARK so early now! :c(

We arrived in Baltimore around 9:30pm on Wednesday evening. I knew we were getting close when we saw the Washington Monument and the Capital building all lit up!

We had arrangements to stay in the Sleep Inn in downtown Baltimore, it’s a sweet deal, if you stay the night, they allow you to leave your car parked there and include a free shuttle to/from the port for your cruise. It’s a cheaper deal than what it costs to park AT the port --- so think about that if you cruise! We had a really nice room to rest up from our car journey ((It’s about 7.5 hours to Balitmore from where I live)) a breakfast in the morning, and a shuttle to the pier. NICE!

Here’s a funny! I needed to use the hotel computer to change an email setting…but there was someone at it ---I had to wait my turn. But never fear, they have provided an alternate means of communication in the next cubby hole! LOL! Somehow….this wouldn’t work for what I needed, but it sure brought back good memories!

Pat, Gregg, Dave and I were escorted on early so we could get everything underway for our quilters! We were the first on board the ship! And instantly I smelled something SO GOOD --- they were baking the waffle cones for the Ben & Jerry’s that is right there on board! I knew this was going to be a dangerous cruise, I just knew it!

This is a picture of the centrum….from the 1st floor at the bottom up to the 4th floor. There are 10 decks --- deck 10 has the running/walking track, the pool is at deck 9!

Downtown Baltimore on a sunny November day! It was weird heading out in cooler weather clothes, knowing we would be putting on shorts in about 24 hours or so!

SOME of us ((Hi, Karen L!!)) had been up since the early morning hours, catching a flight from Michigan ---to be there at the port in time! A sunny deck chair and an ipod full of tunes put Karen at complete relaxation level. We couldn’t get to our rooms until just before dinner time, so what else is there to do?

Hit the lunch buffet in the Windjammer, that’s what! I loved the fruit sculptures!

I loved this stained glass window/wall at the top of the stairs! Do you see quilty elements here? I see diamonds and triangles and all sorts of things…see the flying geese? WHoowhoo! Quilter’s eyes on, ya’ll!!

This was the carpet in the “Schooner Lounge” --- Our class room was right off of this lounge….do you see Square in a square surrounded by a blue border in here? I do!

We sailed at 4pm! And yes, that is me in a puffy down jacket! It was cold, even though it was sunny ----at 5pm we met in the Spotlight lounge, all of us! Nearly 60 quilters, several with hubbies in tow, for a quick run down of what would be going on during our 9 night adventure to Puerto Rico, St Thomas, Dominican Republic, and Haiti!

After our meeting? Time to get ourselves to the dining room and make some new friends!!

Eva and Maria were part of a foursome who came all the way from Sweden for our cruise! I’ve got more pictures to come later…

Karen and Paula knew each other when they both lived in Wisconsin --- You can SO not miss the Wisconsin accent, and being a Minnesota girl myself, it sounded like home to me! Karen now lives near San Francisco, and Paula came up from the Augusta, Georgia area!

Does it look like we are having a good time yet!? :cD

Sunset was fast approaching! I took this photo as we sailed out of the port of Baltimore and into the Chesapeake Bay, passing the spot where Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner. I was thinking back in time to that era, wondering if the sunset was as pretty then as it was this night ---

More to come! I took over 340 photos, and will share more as I can! As for me now? Well, cruising has it’s down side…..I’m off to the gym to work off all that yumminess I consumed while on the Enchantment of the Seas!

Back Later! Remember this evening I’m drawing for the winners of the 100 blocks by 100 designers, volume 4! There is still time to get your entry in! Click HERE to enter, and leave a comment at the bottom of the post! Remember to leave your name and your email address if you comment under anonymous ----

Toodles!

Drawing Time!!

I’m still unpacking! Somewhere, I’ve lost that Mp3 player again….it WAS connected to the headphones…but this morning, I could ONLY find the headphones…

And I have no idea WHY they were in the box of Cheese Nips crackers!!??! That’s the kind of “clean the car” episode we had last night upon returning home. It’s weird to have it dark so early……and easy to lose things in the dark!

I’ve just drawn TWO winners for the Patchwork Gilde Deutschland Magazine containing my “Zuckerwatte” ((Cotton Candy)) Quilt!

Are you ready?

Our first winner!

susan said...

Your blog is brand new to me. My friend Jeri L posted this on my wall, and so here I am. I hope you are having a marvelous time! Your quilt DOES look like cotton candy. Those scallops are beautiful! Thanks for the tutorial!

Welcome to Quiltville’s Quips & Snips, Susan! I’ve sent you an email and I’m just awaiting your snail mail address and will mail the magazine right out to you. I hope you’ll follow along in the future! Great things are coming up……including our Orca Bay mystery that starts on FRIDAY!!

((Funny funny --- someone was leaving a comment and must have been typing by phone because the auto-correct changed it to OKRA bay..heheheh!!!))

And our second winner!

Brenda said...

Bonnie, you make everything seem easy!!
I was scared (uh, still am!!!) That this will be on the new mystery!!! Oh well, feel the fear and do it anyway!! With you behind my back, watching over me, I know I could do this if it was going to be the end of the new project!!!

But saying that - THAT QUILT IS GORGEOUS!!!!!!
Love that!! The colours, the beauty, you have outdone yourself!!!
Question: what happens to the quilt after a magazine has used it?? So, you sent it off to Germany for it's photo shoot, now what happens to it??? just woundering....
I hope you have a very relaxing time on deck with your books and enjoy the cruise!!!

I've emailed Brenda and am just waiting for her snail mail address --- and HER copy will be off on its way to her too!

In answer to Brenda’s questions….After a quilt has been in a magazine, the copyright reverts back to me after a time and I am free to do with it what I want --- put it in a book, or upload it to the blog for everyone --- Each magazine has their own stipulations on how long they keep the rights on it before it returns to me, and that can be anywhere from 3 months after publication to a year, depending on the magazine.

As to the Zuckerwatte Quilt --- it’s going to appear in my next book, due out in July, 10 months after it was released in the Magazine.

As to the cruise! WOOOT! I’ve got so many pictures to go through and upload…so be looking for posts on that this week.

As for how things are here at home after the cruise?? Dear DH asked first thing this morning..”Is the dining room open for breakfast yet??” Man, I’m going to MISS that food service!!!

One more catch up ---- I’m drawing for the winners of 100 blocks by 100 designers volume 4 TOMORROW on my “Evening Edition” post! If you haven’t signed up to enter for your free copy…click HERE and leave a comment on that post ((NOT THIS ONE!!))

Good luck to everyone who entered, and be watching for that post tomorrow!

Come to Bali with Me!

Bali Trip, 2012!

We arrived home from our Caribbean Adventure last evening! I have so much to share with you, but it's going to take a day or so to get my bags unpacked and get to feeling "normal" again....so I'm leaving this in the queue for you---

Have you been feeling left out of our traveling adventure fun?? There is no better time than now to plan for NEXT AUGUST!

Come to Bali with me! You know we are going to have a trip of a life time!
August 21 - 30, 2012

For info, click HERE!

And if you are one of my Australia/New Zealand friends, the cost may even be better for you! Check with Sew Many Places at info@sewmanyplaces.com to find out!

Visit Denspar - Princess Mirah's Batik Factory - Batuan - Mas - Bali Bird Park - Ubud - Elephant Safari Park - Coffee & Clove Plantation - Palace of Puri Karangasem

Package Includes:Round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, deluxe hotel accommodations at the Melia Bali Resort & Spa, all transfers & taxes, most meals, private motorcoach & personal guide, Sew Many Places gifts, special hands-on batiking class, a visit to Princess Mirah's Batik Factory, lunch at Princess Mirah's Palace, sightseeing as listed in the itinerary, and personally escorted by ME! ((And the DH too, I'm dragging him along as well ;c))

Itinerary:

Tuesday, August 21st
Very early this morning (1am) we will fly from the Los Angeles International Airport to BALI.

Wednesday, August 22nd
This morning a breakfast snack will be served onboard the plane before we arrive at the Taipei Airport early in the morning. We will transfer to another plane for our connecting flight onto BALI. A lunch snack will be served onboard the plane. Upon our arrival at the Denpasar Airport, we will collect our luggage, pass through customs and secure our visas. We will meet our guide, Mawa and our bus driver who will take us to our beautiful deluxe hotel, the MELIA BALI RESORT & SPA. Here we will check into our rooms and settle in. This will be our home for the next eight nights. A special “welcome dinner,” hosted by our tour guide, Bonnie Hunter, ((That's me again!!)) will close our day.

Thursday, August 23rd
This morning, following a delicious buffet breakfast, we will depart for a tour of the Princess Mirah's Batik Factory. This will be an opportunity to see batik weavers and artists up close and learn more of how batik fabric is made. Lunch will be on your own. This afternoon we will visit the town of TOHPATI, where we will have plenty of time for shopping in the local market, before returning to our hotel in the afternoon. The remainder of the evening is at your leisure.

Friday, August 24th
This morning, following breakfast, we will visit the town of BATUAN and the town of MAS, where we will see some of the greatest woodcarvers and artists in the entire world. These are master carvers, so be sure to bring your cameras along to capture these incredible sculptures. We will return back to our hotel in the afternoon where the remainder of the day is at your leisure. I will be on hand tonight to meet anyone who would like to join her for a special dinner.

Saturday, August 25th
Following breakfast this morning, we will drive through picturesque landscapes of rice paddies tripping down hillsides, travel through a dense tropical jungle, and pass through quiet little villages until we arrive at the Bali Bird Park. Here we will enjoy a delicious lunch and have an opportunity to look around the park. Again, you do not want to forget your cameras! We will return back to our hotel later in the afternoon.

Sunday, August 26th
This morning after a hearty breakfast, we will drive to the town of UBUD, famous for fantastic shopping. Upon our arrival, we will visit the famous Monkey Forest. We will see the lush tropical rain forest and enjoy the spontaneity of the local monkeys who inhabit this area. (Be careful you are not walking through this forest with any valuables. The monkeys have a tendency to grab things and scurry up the tree with them. Take special care!) There will be time to browse the local craft shops in the town and bargain for anything from paintings to batik fabric. We will spend all morning here and depart in the afternoon for our hotel.

Monday, August 27th
Today, for those who have signed up for our optional tour, we will visit the Elephant Safari Park in the northern part of the island. Along the way, we’ll pass extraordinary scenery and have some great photograph opportunities. This is certainly going to be a fun experience, and one you will remember as a highlight of the trip. We will drive back to the hotel in the afternoon, where the remainder of your day is at your leisure. Lunch at the Elephant Park

Tuesday, August 28th
Following breakfast this morning, we will travel to a Coffee and Clove Plantation, where we will learn more about how these products are grown and produced. There will be an opportunity to purchase cloves, which make a terrific souvenir for friends back home. In the afternoon, we will go to a Batik factory, where we will learn to make batiks ourselves! Master batik artists will teach us how to draw on the fabric, apply wax, dye the fabric and rinse. It will be a very special afternoon and a day you will remember for a long time! We will return back to our hotel in the late afternoon.

Wednesday, August 29th
Today is our final full day in Bali. Following breakfast, we will board our motorcoach and visit the Bat Cave Temple of Goa Lawah, dedicated to the Ocean God Varuna. Our next stop on our tour is a visit to the Palace of Puri Karangasem. Upon arrival at the palace our gracious hostess, Princess Mirah, will provide a very special lunch for our group-the favorite dishes of her grandfather the last king of Bali. We will also enjoy some very special entertainment, which will be followed by a short tour of the palace. We will depart the palace and drive to the Tirtta Gangga Water Palace for a tour of the grounds. Tonight, a special“farewell dinner” awaits, as we bring our exotic Batiking in Bali Expedition to a close.

Thursday, August 30th
Today we will pack our suitcases and begin our journey home. We’ll check in at the Denpasar Airport for our flight to Taipei.We will change planes and continue on until we arrive at the Los Angeles International Airport in the evening.

Spaces are limited....so sign up today!! And just so you know where to come back and find the info…I’ve added this to a tab at the top of the page…look up there where it says Bali Trip, 2012!

Come ride an elephant with me! It will be a blast, of that I promise you!

Name This Gadget!

Have you ever wondered what some of these really strange contraptions could be?

If you are a vintage machine lover, then perhaps you know……but some of these? I’d never seen before!

Just what IS this thing?! It has moving parts and little notches with numbers….if you know? Leave a reply below!

My love of vintage machines started early on..and along with every treadle or vintage machine came a box of wonder-things…some of them fairly interesting! The dealie-bopper you at the left came with someone’s featherweight machine and we were examining and speculating on what these could be!

How about this one? It's a BIG thing!!

At first I thought it was a ruffler, but no…a ruffler has a dial thing, and this doesn’t. Look at the front of it:

A pin tucker maybe? What do you think? The little arm does go over the needle bar, so….that’s all I can think of!

This one is the ruffler. I’ve used these before. I made scads and scads and scads of ruffles when I was doing bunny and doll dresses back in the “day” --- the froo froo country decorating of the early 1990s! Can you imagine that little featherweight going to town making flounces for little girl Easter dresses?

This one has to be some sort of edging application foot. If you slide one fabric in one groove, and another in another groove, they’ll over-lap and you can stitch them together with ease…maybe lace? Who knows?

I had to come home and dig….I have this sewing machine attachment puzzle box from an early early machine and I remembered it having some Frankenstein type attachments in it too!

Ooops…looks like most everything has fallen out into the bottom drawer!

Egad! How do I get this stuff to fit back into that little box! And what the heck ARE these things?! Look at that farthest one on the left!

It almost looks painful, doesn’t it? Just what do you think THIS one is?!

This one was used to put on some kind of bias binding I think…..the fabric would be fed through that tube….

You know, for being fairly early machines, these vintage babies sure came with some high-tech equipment didn’t they?!

Evening Stroll through Santa Fe!

More Santa Fe?

Yes, more Santa Fe!

But first, I need to wish a very, very happy wedding to my little brother Scott, and his sweetheart Alicia who are being wed today on 11/11/11 at 11:11am! I can't be there in person, but I am there in spirit! I wish you guys the happiest of lifetimes, and can't wait to see you as soon as I can!

*SIGH* If only I could be two places at once, but the cruise was sold out and contracted before they announced their wedding plans, and I couldn't change it, and they understand that. All of my family is in Boise, Idaho right now, except for me! All 7 siblings and all their spouses and nieces and nephews and extended family. I MISS YOU ALL!

I really didn’t have extra time in Albuquerque to see anything --- and I would have posted LOTS if I had time to be taken to see it! So next time, I’m planning an extra day just to be able to see things that I missed.

For instance, I would have LOVED to be there on one of the balloon Fiesta weekends! I missed it by a week ;c) That’s okay --- NEXT TIME!

On my last evening, I was dropped off to my hotel about 5pm, and it was still very light out, and I took the shuttle down to the Plaza area one last time.

There is something very special about evening light in New Mexico. It just has this “other worldly” quality to it that turns the fading sunlight in to rosy pink hues.

Even the pictures I had taken mid-day the day before paled in comparison to these when touched by just that bit of evening sunlight. So I walked. And I clicked. I think I’m going to have to get me a “big girl” camera some day, but dang it – traveling and shooting with my phone is so easy and accessible!

The picture you see above of the courtyard is one area I just LOVED! There is so much to see…

And aren’t those burros just the cutest things ever? Click the pic to biggie size it. How many burros ARE there? THREE! Can you see the light reflected in the shop windows? And I love that blue color of the door and the window panes! Mixed with that terracotta of the building itself…it’s magic!

Everywhere I walked there were mesquite fences. They are just simply wired together, pole by pole…

See the wire? These just “Might” be able to keep the coyotes at bay….and they sure add a rustic touch to the down town Plaza areas! I wound myself around just taking in the size and shape and style of the buildings. When I walked past here the day before, the town was busy and bustling with people, with vendors selling their wares:

the turquoise and silver was just beautiful! And people sat there, every inch of the floor in the marketplace covered with jewelry displayed on blankets and tables…

But at night, past 5pm? Everyone had gone home and the Plaza took on a different feel ---

The streets were mostly empty, all the vendors were gone, leaving behind lonely buildings-

This just looks like something out of the “OLD” southwest, doesn’t it?

More of that fabulous turquoise paint! I think this could “almost” replace Cheddar in my favorite colors department!

The sun dipped its head to touch the tops of buildings and I was snapping pictures furiously before it got too dark to do so. I love the look of adobe buildings with the ends of wood beams sticking through!

Heavy, chunky wooden doors with almost a patchwork log appearance! GREAT texture! And yes, more turquoise window frame paint! I’m sold!

Even the plants just shout color, don’t they? Tumble weed sage brush and other desert plants line a low adobe wall ---

Even modern buildings are built in such a way that you KNOW they are ALL Santa Fe!

This was my favorite of all…just look at that stucco trim at the top, resembling a Spanish lady’s Mantilla. Uhhuh…..turquoise sky, need I say more about this color?

Window shopping when crowds have thinned can be very relaxing too! I was encouraged to relax even MORE by the pose of this statue just reclining in front of a shop window! Some how this looks more Egyptian than Spanish or Native American, but rest is good for everyone! LOL!

And yes, even lucky elephants can be found in Santa Fe….it is the land of Enchantment, after all!

Shop windows are full of interesting artifacts! This window had a bit of everything from Native handcrafts, to some Dia de los Muertos going on….

And I’m not a big jewelry wearer. I don’t hardly ever change my earrings, necklace or rings – they stay pretty much the same, basic, go with everything stuff --- but this display of turquoise and silver turned my head!

((This is where I confess to you that in a previous life, I worked as a floral designer in a flower shop, and it was my job to do the window displays! They always catch my eye, and I really appreciate well done interesting windows!))

In the evening light, the patterns and colors of the woven Navajo rugs looked even richer!

Lots of inspiration for quilt designs here, don’t you agree??

Darkness was gathering quickly, and it was also threatening to rain, so I hastened the 1.5 miles on foot back to my hotel…passing this wall of artwork—we’ve got a rattle snake facing off with what looks like to be a mountain lion or some cat-like creature….but look at those native plants! It was just a wonderful display on a street corner away from the Plaza area.

And now THIS I thought was tongue-in-cheek funny-----The hotel was right next to Whole Foods ((Great!! Love Whole Foods!)) As I walked over to Whole Foods I saw a whole bunch of tents in the park across the street! All kinds of tents, some with BBQs going, people milling about, looked like they were having a GREAT time ---

And then I saw the sign “Occupy Santa Fe” :c/

I didn’t go over there, but it struck me as rather “convenient” that they would rough it in a park right across the street from corporate Whole Foods.

No political affiliation what-so-ever --- it just seemed funny to me!

Oh, I loved Santa Fe, and I can’t wait to go back!