Bag Winner

I was really excited to see all the interesting accomplishments that you all wrote about. It was interesting to see that knitting is a common accomplishment for many. I am at the point in knitting myself that I'm trying to move away from straight and onto using a pattern. I know that if I can figure it out, I will consider that a great accomplishment as well!

Raising polite children was another popular accompishment. As a teacher, I believe that is a GREAT accomplishment!

I have little by little been visiting all of your blogs and having fun doing it! I love to find great new places to spend my time.

I used a random integer called Joan (my mother-in-law) and asked her to pick a number between 1 and 81. She picked the number 7, which, adding in the extra entries for those who blogged about the giveaway was:

Jaclyn!

(Hee hee hee.....I'll bring the bag to church tomorrow! She really did pick that number!)

Thanks for celebrating with me!

Happy Blogiversary!

Today is my blogiversary! One year ago, I started this blog as a New Year's resolution. I can honestly say that I have been very blessed by this blog. I have made lots of new friends and gleaned lots of inspiration from others. I've learned a lot about myself, my tendancies, and what I want to do in the future. It has been fun to meet other people from around the globe who have similar interests.


Here's my first post: January 17, 2008

Favorite post(s) : Content - This is Punishment
Pictures - The Craft Room





In honor of the blessings many of you have given me, I'm having a giveaway of one of my bags. It is made from Anna Maria Horner fabric with a *very* large floral print.

There are polka dots on the inside with one interior pocket.
The bag could be a large purse or a small tote.

I wanted to make something cheerful, since the weather here in New England is so dreary and cold right now. Brrrrrrr!

SO! Leave a comment about something you've done that you consider an accomplishment (doesn't have to be your greatest, just an accomplishment!). If you want to get three extra entries, write about this giveaway on YOUR blog. Then make sure you let me know that you did so. I will pick a winner on Friday, January 23rd by random.

Thanks for reading!

Sweet Giveaways

I think the creative world has recovered from Christmas and is now ready for the new year! There are lots of great blog giveaways going right now.

Lanie Jane has a fat quarter bundle and pendant giveaway right now from the Andalucia line by Patty Young. Check out Jane's blog. It is so cute!

Hillary at The Gleam of Rose Tea has a flower belt giveaway going as well. I had planned on spotlighting Hillary's new etsy store anyway. Check out all the glamorous vintage clothing and shoes she has, as well as her own handmade belts, jewelry, and hair pieces. Her items are so classic and current at the same time! Then check out Hillary's flickr and realize that you need to do more shopping!

Etsy shop: The Gleam of Rose Tea

Blog with giveaway: The Gleam of Rose Tea

Hannah at Honey and Jam is giving away her totally cool cup covers. Check out Hannah's blog for her amazing and enlightening photography.

Etsy shop: Honey and Jam

Blog with giveaway: Honey and Jam

Completely unrelated, but I'm having my own giveaway for my first blogiversary which is on Saturday. Come back and take a peek!

Supper

My idea of supper is one that is cooked for me when I get home. Teaching is one tiring profession and making supper at the end of a long day is not my idea of relaxing. Thus, my new favorite friend is the slow cooker. Tonight's supper is roast with carrots and potatoes and some bread on the side. Don't you want to just swan dive into that loaf of bread? It's from a local bakery and the first day you get the bread, the outside is crunchy crunchy and the inside is soooooooft. (Seize the moment, because it levels off quickly!)

Here is the roast recipe:

*3-4 lb beef chuck roast

*4 potatoes (we use 6-8 small red bliss and quarter them)

*carrots (we use baby carrots for convenience)

*1 medium onion sliced into wedges

*1/2 cup of plum jam or preserves

*1/3 cup of marsala cooking wine

*1/2 cup of water

* 2tsp. basil

*1 tsp. garlic salt

*1/2 tsp. black pepper

The recipe calls for parsnip too, but I don't remember how much. Parsnip is not on my list of things I'd like to eat in a roast.

Cut the potatoes, carrots and onion and place them in the bottom of the slow cooker.

Mix the plum jam, cooking wine, water, basil, garlic, and black pepper together.

Place roast on top of the vegetables and pour the mixture over the roast.

Cook for 11-12 hours on low or 5-6 hours on high.

When it is finished, mix 3 TBsp of water and 3 TBsp of corn starch together in a pan. Skim the fat off the juices in the slow cooker and pour the juices into the pan. Heat several minutes until the gravy is thickened.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year, Happy Camera!

Happy 2009!

(I don't actually like years that end in odd numbers. I know I'm quirky. The only thing worse than an odd numbered year is a prime numbered year. Shudder! I think it's the teacher in me that likes numbers that can be evenly shared.....)

I digress.....

Happy 2009!

From my parents, Josh and I received a small digital camera. I've wanted a small digital camera for a while so it can go with me easily and I can take pictures spontaneously.

Small digital cameras in big bags need cases though. Some Internet research helped me to find the CUTEST CAMERA CASES EVER! Camera cases that look like cameras!

Here's my attempt at one:

The felt LCD screen is really a little pocket for the SD card.

Not as cute as the originals, but I like it!

My next news is that I have committed to take a picture a day this year. I've wanted to try it for a while now, but have always had a LARGE camera. This is the year!

The link is: Quaint and Quirky Photographs

I'm going to try to post every day.... we will see how that works! Stop by every now and then to check out my photos!

Christmas 2008

I'm finally recovering from crazy Christmas 2008. I was in craft prison for a while there, making LOTS of crafty things. Here are some finished projects and shots from Christmas. I'll be back with more!

First, my pile of presents from my generous husband. If you look carefully, each present has a skeleton key attached to it. He won the keys on ebay to decorate the presents!

Here is a closeup of one. Pretty....eh?

Here is Josh's pile of presents. I loved the paper I found. He objects to using "Happy Holidays" so I found paper that said, "Merry Christmas" in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian!

I made aprons for the moms. This is my mom's apron. I found out later that it is a pattern from the book A is for Apron, but I found the pattern on the I is for Internet!

The next one is for my mother-in-law. I think it looks like she should be making cupcakes or candy! It's altered from another Internet find.

These pillows were for my brother and his fiancee. They are photographs they took in Vermont (where they live). I printed them out on fabric paper (which was a LOT of fun!) and sewed them together!

This is a leftover project from the dresses/bags order. It is a bag for a woman who has a sailboat. The nautical flags spell her initials. I think I'm going to offer these on etsy shortly.

I'll be back with more pictures from Christmas and the contents of the packages! ;)

Happy last day of 2008!

Where I've Been

Hello? Anyone still read this blog? ;) I have not posted in so long because I've been super busy sewing, sewing sewing! Someone hired me to make two matching sister dresses
(Sing with me now: Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters..... Caring, sharing, every little thing that we are wearing).

My husband took the pictures. Can you tell he is a lefty?

The inside took a lot of work, but I love clothing items that are finished inside and out!

I used Simplicity 2767 for both dresses. The fabric was from Joanns. The pattern was very nice, but not without its flaws. It was NOT a fast dress.

The same person hired me to make FIVE tote bags. Four are done. The fifth one is pretty fun and I'll post it when it is finished.


First up is Amy Butler fabric.

Then some Joel Dewberry.....
The infamous Anna Griffin bird fabric. This one is for a reader, so I added some deep pockets just the right size for a paperback or two!

And lets finish it off with some Midwest Modern 2 by Amy Butler. Whew! My sewing machine is TIRED!

Now to start on my own Christmas projects.......

Link is announcing the winner!

Link has come to announce that the winner of the Candy Stripe Dog Collar is:

#6 - Dovie's Aprons

I really wanted to give one to each one of you, especially when you started telling me your dogs' names! Aaaaaaah! And Itunes thanks you all for giving me such great songs to look up!

By the way..... MY favorite Christmas song is "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" by Kenny Rogers. (In case anyone was wondering!)

Anyway, Congratulations Dovie's Aprons!

Monsieur Link will be showing some of our Christmas decorations over the next few days. He is holding the Christmas calendar my mom made for us last year. I had one growing up and she put a little gift in it every day. Some days it was a note, some days a piece of candy, some days a little present. Wellllll, even though I'm married now, she's still filling the calendar. Now Josh and I both get a gift. I look forward to it each morning.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

Ho Ho Ho Woof!

So today is GIVE AWAY DAY!

I have never done a give away before, but I was planning to for maybe my blogiversary. Sew Mama Sew beat me to it though! They created Give Away Day for all the people who wanted to donate give away items. I thought it sounded cheerful and fun, so I decided to join!

Here is my give away item:

It is a super sweet candy striped dog collar! It is pictured in size Large, but I will also send you a medium if you need that. Think of all the doggies on your list that would go bow wow crazy over a groovy collar like this one!





Specs:


Large collar: Adjustable from 15" to 21", 1" in height


Medium collar: Adjustable from 11" to 15" , 3/4" in height





Guidelines:
Leave a comment with the title of your favorite Christmas song. ;) I love Christmas songs! Or just comment! I will pick a random winner from all entries tomorrow. Please also include a way for me to contact you (through email or blog).

I will ship to the US and Canada. I'm not overly familiar with international shipping. I'm not against it, but I need to keep my costs relatively low for this one. If you do not live in the US, you can still enter, but I reserve the right to pick another winner if the shipping to your destination is high (over $10).
So, Happy Give Away Day! Thanks for commenting!

And I take custom orders on dog collars, so if you are bummed that you didn't win, drop me a line! ;)

Give Away Day!

On Wednesday, I'm participating in Sew Mama Sew's Give Away Day. Check back to see my first giveaway! Very excited!

Henry VIII

Memes Memes Memes...... I love to be tagged for memes. I've been tagged for two of them currently. Here is the first one:

Literary Meme - tagged by Emma and Johanna at A Banner of Crimson

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages)

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence

4. Post the next three sentences

5. Tag five people.

The nearest book was The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. I've been interested in Henry VIII since visiting the Tower of London on my honeymoon in England. She also wrote The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

p. 123

#5It had not been forgotten how Dr. Mallet had celebrated mass in Mary's absence. Shortly afterwards a Master Benett of Ware told the Council that he had heard of a Catholic conspiracy headed by the Earl of Shrewsbury; he believed that the Lady Mary would join it.

#6Mary, of course, was not involved, but the councillors were fearful that her house might become a focus for disaffected Catholic nobles.

#7It was mainly for this reason that they did not want outsiders to be admitted to mass.

#8Late in April 1551, Dr. Mallet was arrested and sent to the Tower.

{Yikes, that was a dramatic ending to my four sentences -you don't want to be sent to the Tower!!!!}

I don't like the tagging part so much, but this one is pretty simple, so I tag:
Joan at The Paper Handmaiden
Sarah at In a Nutshell, Anachronism
Rachel at The Amber Gatherer (who tagged me for the next one I'll post!)
Hillary at The Gleam of Rose Tea

Play if you want to!

Salt and Pepper

I spent the first part of Thanksgiving with my husband's family at his aunt and uncle's house. They present a very beautiful and bountiful table. The food kept coming and coming and coming!

The children in the family make the place cards for the table. This is mine. It's so cute! My family is much less formal with Thanksgiving (still fun though), but it was nice to have such details on the table.

By FAR my favorite piece of the table was the salt and pepper shakers. Each person gets his or her own salt and pepper shaker - some 100 years old! This was mine. The little sewing machine drawers come out and hold the salt and pepper. Who even knew such a salt and pepper shaker existed! I wanted to take it home with me!

This is me with my lovely mother-in-law who is visiting from Virginia for the week. More to come!