Hoffman Fabrics sponsors!!

The staff here at the Lilypad is hard at work, preparing for the August Pets on Quilts Show! We are lining up sponsors and making plans!

Well, that is, when we are not playing with fabrics and buttons and the like! (Grin)

The first sponsor to sign on is our fab friends at Hoffman Fabrics! Love, love, the beautiful fabrics that they create..... didya know that they design and produce over 800 screenprints and hand-dyed batiks every year! They truly have a passion for these products, and their made-in-Bali lovelies are just stunning, year after year, since 1924!

From one named after my favorite tea....

To a wide variety of colors and designs:

 


I hope you will take a peek at their process -- it's really interesting to see how these fabrics are created!



This year, Hoffman California Fabrics is marking their 90th year! And they are sponsoring an awesome prize for our show in August!

Hoffman will send two of our winners their very own fat-quarter bundles! Thirty three fabrics from the "All A-Twitter" line, by Kari Carr!!

So much fabric yumminess!
Check out the feature print! I'm warning you, you will fall in love....just gorgeous!

And just to get those inspirational juices flowing, here are some patterns that Kari designed for her fabrics:

Our winners may want to purchase these patterns to use with their prizes!

The talented team at Hoffman also took some of their most popular fabrics and made them 108 inches wide! Then they packaged these beauties into three yard cuts for us to grab for quilt backs and more!

How cool is that!

I hope that you are as excited as we are, here at the Lilypad, about our first sponsor-sign-up! Take a look at what Hoffman California Fabrics has to offer....

......you just might be our random winner in August!!

Journey over to their FB page and leave 'em some love, won't you? Let them know we appreciate their sponsorship! 
Hope you are snapping pictures of your pets on some quilts! It won't be long until the show!!

Love,

Memorial Day musings

This will be yet another Memorial Day in which I am unable to give my dad-in-law a bear hug, and tell him that I love him and appreciate his service. He passed away nine years ago, and was laid to rest with military honors.

He was one of the unsung heroes who put down what he was working on in 1942 and sailed across the sea on the Queen Mary, the ship that was stripped of her finery in order to hold as many fighting men as possible on their way to England. He lived almost three years in Polebrook, England, as part of the Mighty Eighth Air Corps.  

He did a little bit of everything, from serving as navigator in a huge B-17 Flying Fortress, to timing the take-offs of the 351st Bomber Group, from a tiny shack at the end of the runway. Filling in as a mechanic, picking up airmen off the runway when a bomber crashed, riding a bicycle in to town for a welcome respite, and writing, writing, writing love letters to his bride of less than two years, and their little son.....

What a life. What a sacrifice. And I know that his story is only one of so very many. He was blessed to make it home safely and continue building a family, a business, and a life.  Not all come home safely, though.

So, on Memorial Day, I'd like to say that I'm truly grateful to live in this, the greatest country of all, and that I'm grateful so many were willing to give that last measure of devotion. The freedoms I enjoy were purchased by them. 
And to those who serve today -- thank you, too. From the bottom of my heart.

Today, in the midst of festivities and feasts, find a veteran or someone who is serving today. Tell them thanks. Don't be ashamed to wave the flag. 

And have an awesome Memorial Day, y'all!

Love,

So cute! And they include free patterns!

I received word that one of our Lilypadquilting sponsors has released new products, and I wanted to show you!

I can see a lot of different projects from these Accuquilt dies!

That small square die would work really well for a postage stamp quilt, like an Around the World pattern!

Another deceptively simple die, the circle (on the far right of the photo) would make wool projects and quilts alike go very quickly!

And I can hear the gears turning as y'all check out the Northwoods and the musical dies, too!
I'm told that all of these dies will work on a GoBaby, like I have, or the larger cutter, as well!

I love my Accuquilt, as you can see from this post and this one. (Accuquilt also has limited edition dies, and an awesome Memorial Day sale going on now!

Check it out today!

Love,

Number three!

I wanted to show you the third dish towel finish . . .

And I realized I have been remiss in not telling you where I got my embroidery motifs! Wow! Can't believe I did that.

Y'all know that I love all things ME, right? (Mary Engelbreit) I recently snagged a copy of one of her books (+ patterns) on Etsy:

This has so many (fifty-three) cute projects!

They can all be done in several ways -- what's your pleasure? Want to create them in applique? Cool. Instructions included! Want to embellish with markers? That's in here, too! Just want to create some simple, vintage-look embroideries? Easy peasy with the full size patterns folded in the pocket of the book!

So, with that in mind, here is my latest creation:

I am enjoying the process on these..... using Presencia perle cotton size 8 for the embroideries. It's keeping me from feeling like I need to jump up and do something, and my foot is responding - the swelling is going down.

See y'all next time!

Love,

Still stitchin'

Another dish towel complete and ready for dish duty!

Thanks for all your kind words as I recuperate!

Love,