The fun begins on Sunday!

Get some red, white, and blue fabrics from your stash . . . 

Clean and oil your machine . . . 

Why? Because on Sunday, the hopping begins! The Red, White, and Blue blog hop, that is!

It's going to be a magical time, full of wonderful quilt blocks and mega doses of inspiration! Be sure to check out Jane's blog for the full schedule!

And hop over here on Monday to see what Padsworth and I have for you!!

Love,

Online shops that are sponsoring . . .

You've heard me mention that there are some fabulous online fabric shops that are assisting us with the Pets on Quilts show --- I thought you might like to know more about 'em, and maybe visit. Some will be familiar, but some may be new treasures!

The Fat Quarter Shop is one of our Lilypadquilting sponsors, and they are widely known for the incredible selection of fabric lines and designers that they stock for us quilters. And they have more than fat quarters there, too --- check out the layer cakes, jelly rolls, charm packs, and eighths, too! 

(Is it just me, or are you getting hungry, too? Just me? OK.)

With same day shipping and more designers' lines than you can shake a stick at, the Fat Quarter Shop is the place to go for patterns, kits and fabrics. 

The super staff at Fat Quarter Shop is providing one of our winners with a $100 gift certificate to shop online!  Whooooo hoooo! Thank you, Kimberly and all the folks there!

I hope you will check them out. 

Another shop that has provided a generous prize is Abbi May's Quilt Shop. You can click here to go and check out the great selection of fabrics, specialty cuts and kits. They have an incredible deal listed there --- twenty (yes, you heard me right, twenty) fat quarters for $25.00.  What a great way to build your stash!


I like the fact that Linda at Abbi May's offers pillow case kits, too. If you are participating in the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge, you can get cotton or flannel kits with a great variety of fabrics, and the instructions are included. One last highlight you should go and look at: Abbi May's 5 yard bundles with pattern included --- click here and check it out!


Linda at Abbi May's is offering a $50 gift certificate to use in the store, to one of our lucky prize winners! Yay! Thanks, Linda!

Don'tcha just LOVE bunnies? I do! And I love the Cotton Patch shop, too, because they are another one of our fabulous sponsors! The folks at Cotton Patch offer the best of both worlds . . . if you are in or near Florida, you can visit their brick and mortar store. If not, you can shop online! Remember what your grandma used to say about the "five and dime" that she loved? "You can find just about anything there!" Well, the Cotton Patch is just like that -- you can find Block of the Month programs, and Sale fabrics, and Notions, and patterns, and, well, lots more!

I'm warning ya! You'd better have your cuppa in hand, because you'll want to sit a spell and browse through all of the wonderful things you'll find there!

Hoppy froggies!! The Cotton Patch is sponsoring a $50 gift certificate to shop with in their store! Will you be the lucky winner? 


We're so happy to have these three stores (and more, too) partnering with us to bring you the amazing Pets on Quilts show. I sure hope you are quilting and snapping photos! (We'll be shining the spotlight on some of our other sponsors, soon!)


Love,

 

If you can't make it better . . .

 . . . you can laugh at it. 

Erma Bombeck said it first. 

I said it after looking at my sewing table.

If I look carefully, I can count six  (no, seven) different projects there. Whoooooeeeee!  Somebody needs to clean up and organize, and I think it's me!

Linking up with the "messy" Amy Ellis over at Amy's Creative Side just for fun!

What do you think? Should I just laugh at it, or should I clean it up? (Wink)

Love,

PS -- Don't forget the sale going on at Quilt Kit Market....30% off plus a giveaway!!

It's so Padsworth!

Have you seen the newest die for the Accuquilt cutters? It's so Padsworth!!

Look at this adorable quilt! (You receive the pattern with the die!)

Now they just need to make one to fit my Go Baby, and I'm all set!

Love,

Yikes! I've been hacked!

Update: I've changed some settings and my password, so I believe I have stopped the hacker in his tracks.....

Just a quick note to let you know that I've gotten word that my email account for this blog has been hacked . . . 

I'm working on resolving the problems, and hope that no one has gotten a nasty virus from it!

If I am not responsive for the next day or so, please chalk it up to my working to resolve the problems, please! (I tried to reply to someone and it would not go through, because of the suspicious activity. Grrrr)

Love,

New Sponsors for Pet Show

Most of you know that the Pets on Quilts Show has been hosted by our dear friend, SewCalGal for a couple of years now.  We are happy that some of the sponsors from previous years have signed on once again, to help support our show.

We are doing something new this year, though. We've enlisted the help of several fabulous Etsy shops, that cater to our furry friends and to us --- and they have some seriously fun prizes that they are providing!


Let me show you what I'm talking about!

PupsEtc. is an Etsy store that specializes in handcrafted, unique, one-of-a-kind beds and toys for your pets. Each item is made one at a time, double seamed for durability, and hand stuffed. And Cathy includes a BONUS - a cute braided toy shipped with every bed sold.   Check out these cute items! 

 

PupsEtc will be providing one lucky winner a selection of pet toys for the Pets on Quilts Show!

Another new sponsor is RonikaLee, an Etsy shop that includes plush kitty beds, cat forager boxes, and more in the lineup:

One lucky feline will be having sweet dreams on a bed like this, after the Pets On Quilts Show! You'll have to enter the show to win, though!  My studio cat thinks that is purrrrfectly dreamy!  (He can't win, though, since Padsworth and I are running the show; it just wouldn't be right!)

We found another way-cool Etsy shop, called Diggity Dog, and Gina is sponsoring two winners! Check out the cute things in her shop. You might be one of the winners of a placemat for your pet! Look at these samples:

The Wooden Giraffe Etsy shop will be sponsoring a winner, and Karen tells us that lucky person can choose a wooden animal puzzle from the shop! 

Aren't they adorable? There are a lot of designs to choose from, so one lucky winner will have quite a dilemma! (Grin)

Our last recruit is PopDoggie etsy shop, and Kari has a huge collection of magnets -- I think she must have one for every kind of dog and cat there is! Just look at these, or click the link to her shop:

Kari has funny ones and lovable ones, and our winner will be allowed to choose any magnet they prefer!


I sure hope that you will take a moment to click and go to these shops. If you see something you like, place an order. Please be sure to let them know you stopped by -- "like" or "favorite" them if you are an Etsy member.  If you are not, leave a comment below to let them know how much their sponsorship is appreciated!


We'll be turning the spotlight on all of our sponsors, one by one, in the coming days.  We have some super prizes lined up!


If you would like to sponsor a winner for this year's Pets on Quilts show, please leave me a comment and I'll email you with details!


Love,

I admit it! I stole it!

In the interest of complete transparency and accountability (where have I heard those terms before?) I am 'fessing up, er, coming clean, er, telling the truth about where I got the idea for the project I'm about to show you!

It was from the brilliant Barb, over at Bejeweled Quilts! I've been following her long enough for her to swear out a warrant on me, but she is very tolerant . . .

She does wonderful things with her collection of scraps, and she showed a table topper on this post that inspired me.  Go ahead and click there, and check out the first photo. (Tapping foot) Well, go on . . . you need to see it so you will know why I made mine!

Back already? OK, here we go. She had flowers on her topper, easily cut with her Accuquilt cutter. Do I have a Go Baby? Yes. Do I have the circles die? No. Did that stop me? Nope.

Her flowers were ever so cute. But being the odd, er, eccentric, er, delightfully quirky person that I am, I started seeing turtles.

TURTLES????

Uh-huh.

See?

 

This is just a bird's eye view of my tablerunner I'm making . . . and it is all Barb's fault. I scrounged around and found these cute, bright fat quarters:

Then I struggled to get some nice circles cut out, in three different sizes (oh, you better believe that the circles die is on my wish list now!) and placed them like so:

I think I will call it Turtle Parade. I'm sure that there are lots of people all over everywhere that have had this idea before, but this is my first time trying it, and I thought it was cute!

I believe that after I stitch these little guys and gals down, I'll decorate them with eyes (eyelashes for the ladies) and noses, and give them tails, too. 

I'll show you when I have made some progress, OK?

Have a happy day and include some sewing!!

Love,

Just had to share

With our Pets on Quilts show coming up in August, I hope that you are working on a pet-themed quilt, or on getting your pet to pose for you on a quilt.

I saw a commercial yesterday that had me giggling, and thought I would share it with all of you . . .

Of course, another way to end the boredom is to be preparing those stupendous photos for our show! 

Mark your calendars for August 1-10!!

Love,

Working with colors . . .

Now, here is a random thought for you rookie quilters --- are you ever hesitant about what colors to put together?  Does the idea of choosing really different shades give you cause for alarm? How about using your scraps -- which ones play together happily?

Well, to be honest with you, it bothers me a lot! I second-guess myself all over the place! At first, I would only put fabrics together if they came in a bundle by the same designer! 

I wanted to let you know of a way that I found to help with this problem: a color palette generator.  There are several good ones on the web, and you may already use one, and you may have a favorite one.  If you're not familiar with this, read on!!

We use Adobe a lot around here, and I particularly like "Kuler" as a palette help. It's quick and easy to sign up for, and they don't ask for a lot of intrusive information. Once you are signed up, you can click on "Create" and then choose "From an Image" to upload a photo.

Check through your files for a photo that you really like - something that appeals to you. Upload it, and see what Kuler suggests. You'll have your choice of a bright, muted, colorful, or deep palette, and you can switch with just a mouse click. You may be surprised at how much you like the colors and combinations that it shows you --- but why not? It's from a photo that you like, so it should be a good match!

I chose a photo that I like; it shows a brick wall and some lovely irises in front of it. Here is the photo:

And here is the color palette that it generated for me:

Here is another example from a photograph:

And here is one of the color ranges that Kuler chose:

Here's another way to use this: You can easily take a quick photo of two pieces of fabric that you love, upload the photo, and come up with colors that play together nicely with your choices!

Play with it and see what you think!

I'm linking up today with Katherine's Corner and the Thursday Favorite Things hop....because playing with color and fabric is definitely one of my favorite things!!  Katherine's co-host this week is Paula, so stop by and see her, too!

Love,

The winner of the book!

(My sincere apologies for being late to the party . . . sometimes life does get in the way and there are things that we must take care of, and that we must give top priority. Today was one of those days. Many of you will identify with the issues that "pop" up when loving and caring for older family members. . . )

Let's get right down to business and announce the winner of the gorgeous book from Martingale: Natures' Beauty in Applique.

Mr. Random Number Generator is always such a cooperative fellow --- he got right to work and chose Kate Brown, from Little Bits blog!!

Congratulations Kate!!  Looks like Kate is fairly new to blogging, so why not click on the link and go to visit her!!

You will be contacted by email, Kate, and when we have your shipping info we'll make sure you receive your book! Hope you will show us when you make some of the projects in it!

Here's what Kate said her favorite breakfast was:

I agree, Kate, and I'm looking forward to harvesting from our blueberry bushes --- won't be long now!!

I think the winner amongst the breakfast foods was french toast! Looks like lots of us enjoy that for breakfast. (Grin)

Hope you'll stop back by the Lilypad soon --- there are a lot of things happening here!

Love,

How about another giveaway?

Thank you for your interest, but this giveaway is closed now!

One of our wonderful sponsors is the fabulous printer of quilting and crafting books, Martingale!! I am grateful that they sent me a copy of  Nature's Beauty in Applique to review and give away.

This is a gorgeous book. Seriously. The projects and the photos in here are sumptuous and inspiring to behold. It's yet another home run from Susan Taylor Propst.

Take a look at a couple of these:

What I really love, is that it's not just about breath-taking applique. Even though that is an incredible part of this book. It's about practical items that you can truly use. Who wouldn't LOVE to carry that tote bag? Or how about this?

 

How elegant would you feel, if you were pulling out this gorgeous case to don your eyeglasses?

Or if you carried this on your next trip?

I believe the most stunning project in the book is this one:

When I grow up, I wanna be able to do applique like that! (Wink)

What I find especially wonderful about the Martingale books is the patterns (full size for the smaller projects) and super-clear instructions. I enjoyed reading the author's section about choosing fabrics, too. She gave some great insights as to how she created these beautiful pieces of art.

If you would like to have your very own copy of this book, just leave me a comment telling me what your favorite breakfast food is . . . the food that cranks your tractor and gets you through the morning!

We'll leave this one open till midnight on Tuesday (June 19th), and announce the winner sometime on Wednesday (if Padsworth oversleeps our announcement will be delayed). 

Good luck!

Love,