lucky penny + pincushion kit giveaway

Do you have a lucky penny? I do! And she blogs over at sewtakeahike! If you were around this summer you got to read several of her guest posts as she helped me out when I was birthing and moving. Oh yeah, that sounds way more glamorous than it really was.

She was part of A Notion or Two quilting bee with me last year.

Backtrack. I wanted to tell you one of the things I figured out while I was 'away' was that I need to not over-commit. It's not fair to the people that are constantly waiting for me to make good on my end of the deal. And it's not fair to me not enjoy making something because I of the worries that comes with it - guilt for being late, nervous if they will like it, making things because I HAVE to not because I want to. I'm not saying that I didn't want to be a part of such a fun group, but with my life getting so crazy this last year, I couldn't in good conscience continue with the bee and I dropped out. It was a fun group for 2 years. It turns out a lot of us had run our course and it's practically a new group. And I'm a little bit sad that I'm not still in it, because I recognized a lot of sew & tellers in the new group and how fun would it be to quilt with you!! So I've been playing catch-up on bee blocks the last few weeks and have 5 to show you and one more to make.

Okay, back to Penny! I just got the bee blocks she made for my month. I had wanted to make Rachel's Pinwheel Sampler quilt but couldn't do the quilt along, so I decided to have my group make some of the blocks! And they all turned out so cute!

Penny designed this asterisk block for the pinwheel quilt and I love it!  She is a pro at paper-piecing and this just makes me happy! I know it was made from her heart.  That is one important lesson I've learned from Penny.  If it's truly made from your heart it will be perfect and creative and unique!

#1

#2

And if that weren't enough she also included a sweet flannel blanket for babylouwho.

She knows how to rock a crochet hook that's for sure!

She's so sweet she also gave me one of her footstool pincushion patterns to giveaway!

Actual kit will mostly likely differ from the photo.  But knowing Penny, it will be equally awesome!

Isn't it adorable?!

Just leave me a comment and tell me about a blogging friend you've made.  I'll leave the giveaway open until, oh, I don't know, Wednesday 22 February?  Remember Sew & Tell will be back next Friday! (24 Feb)

I ♥ all of you, my dear blogging buddies!

*fine print - no compensation was received for doing this giveaway.  Penny's just nice and wanted to share!

crochet anyone?

Are you tired of taking mismatched store bought reusable totes to the store? Do you want to make your own that could look as cute as this?

Penny at sewtakeahike has come out with her first pattern!

She is giving away 5 pdf files of the pattern and the tote you see up top! Just go to her site to see the 3 ways you can enter! Really it's so easy!

and if I may quote her:
But really, everyone is a winner. Because during the giveaway, I'm offering the pattern up for only $3.50. Just through the giveaway time. It will go to it's normal price of $5 next Sunday June 12th at 8pm MST. (If you purchase the pattern during the giveaway and win a copy, I will reimburse you.)

what have you got to lose? Even if you don't win the bag or pattern, you will have met one of the nicest crafty bloggers on the planet.

If you will excuse me now, I need to go buy some yarn.

a recovery group for procrastinators anonymous

I was glad to hear that I'm not the only one who tends to put things off!

I was heartened to see Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio inspire us to finish up some of those unfinished projects!! Thanks for the motivation! You can go to her blog and grab her button.

I already finished a couple of unfinished projects this month. One of them being this scarf. (which I can't seem to take a decent picture of...)

I first saw it on Penny's blog late last summer. I purchased MKCarrol's pattern and took it with me on my trip in September. Then I realized I had taken the wrong hook - so the pattern was too big. So I had to take it apart and start over.

Then I made another huge mistake and had to take it out and start again. I had put it down for a while because I was frustrated with it. I picked it back up again in October when my mom came to visit. We were looking at the pattern and we realized that I had been using US stitches with a UK pattern. So again the size was off. But I had just finished off my first skein of yarn and wasn't about to do it all over. Again.

So it's sat sad a lonely all winter instead of keeping my neck warm. It's still been cold here so I decided I needed to finish it so I could still wear it this season. So, if you are still reading you will see how good a procrastinator/rationalizer I really am!


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Amy at Park City Girl is hosting a Bloggers Quilt Festival. Post your favorite quilt through a Mr. Linky on her blog starting this Friday! Fabric shops are lined up for some giveaways as well!

Maybe I'll host a giveaway too. . .

that's right!

I was at a wedding in California! It was the antithesis of the road trip I took with my kids. I went WITHOUT them. Woah! I kept thinking I'd forgotten something. I told my husband that on the phone while I was gone, and he said "yes, you did. And his name is Andrew."

That last top ten list was fun, so I thought I would do another one. This time:

The Top 10 Things I learned Going On a Trip Without My Kids

10. The preparation and anticipation of being away from the kids is MUCH worse than the actual being gone.

9. Getting up at 3 AM to catch an EARLY flight is worth it when you have a whole row to yourself.

8. Being gone is sufficient motivation for your 7 month old to start saying 'Momma'. But only in a complaining way. (It's still super-cute though!)

7. Not having to tell anyone what to do, or answer any repetitive questions for nearly 3 days is restful all on it's own.

6. Having GPS navigation in a rental car in an unfamiliar area is GENIUS.

5. Crocheting and reading are really fun when you aren't interrupted every ten seconds.

4. Being gone gives Daddy a great opportunity to bond with the kids without me overseeing every little thing.

3. Being gone gives Daddy a whole new appreciation for what my day-to-day is really like (he even said so himself - "They are really time-consuming!" and "These guys are a lot of work." As if I were sitting around all day doing nothing. Pshaw!)

2. I felt the need to let anyone know who would listen that I had two small children - I felt like a fraud running about without them. They are so much of who I am right now.

1. The three faces at home were the best thing to see after an exhausting, but fun, weekend away.


Congratulations and Best Wishes to my dear friend Carolee who was married on Saturday. She was radiant, he was beaming, all is right in the world. I am so happy for them, so happy they are so obviously in love and right for each other. Thanks for letting me be a part of such an incredible day!

Beautiful Bride

A Sparkling Send-off

The Giddy Couple

Great Friends
(p.s. yes that is my new haircut - but I wasn't really happy with it in the dry CA heat - it didn't work like it does here in humidity central.)


Airplane Activities