A Snow Day...

Just as predicted, winter weather arrived in central Iowa yesterday evening...it started as a rain/sleet mix, then quickly turned to snow (and thunder snow). We received 12" to 14" of snow (on top of a layer of ice) and blizzard-like conditions with winds gusting up to 50 mph...yes, winter has definitely arrived! With the heavy snow, our power was knocked out last night...but we are blessed, as our electricity was restored early this morning. With most of the city shutdown this morning and travel not recommended, today was an official snow day. I made it outside to do a little snow removal and take Simba for a brief walk...he was quite irritated by the harsh weather and I had to force him to go further than the end of our driveway....but who could blame him - with the snow so high, he must feel like he is walking in a tunnel...and with the winds so extreme, he must feel like a little kite. I must say, even with the cold, wind, snow, and ice, it was still beautiful outside - looks like we will be having a white Christmas this year!

View from our deck....

Sunshine trying to peek through....

...and speaking of winter weather and snow...several days ago, I received a FABULOUS Christmas package from my dear friend Robin - I have only opened one of the enclosed gifts....and it was this WONDERFUL winter fabric, which reminds me of our current weather situation...it is Winter Wonderland by Ingrid Slyder for Moda...isn't it marvelous?! 

It was a very quiet day and I decided to do some cooking (a big pot of homemade chili), some baking (molasses cookies), and some sewing (more Etsy shop items and a couple last minute gifts). I finished up the last six Blueberry Crumb Cake Needlebook Scissor Cases...then decided to pull out some bright cheerful fabric (Fresh Flowers by Deb Strain for Moda) and work on some more Stitch Starter Ruler Pocket Sleeves....these will be listed in my Etsy shop soon.

I have just a few more things to finish up in my studio and at my desk...then I will be headed to my comfy stitching nest to work on some model stitching (I think a fire in the fireplace and a hot beverage will be a nice touch)...I have several large projects to get completed in the next few weeks...

I hope you are staying warm and cozy...and enjoying this winter holiday season....

Focused and Inspired...

It has been a productive few days, as I have been having model stitching marathons each evening and working on items for my Etsy shop during each day. I have a very detailed list of what I plan to accomplish in the next couple weeks and I am doing my best to stay focused to meet my goals. I have a nice long list of new ideas for my Etsy shop, but have had numerous requests for more of my pieces in the Blueberry Crumb Cake fabric line by Blackbird Designs...so I finished up 24 pieces over the weekend - nine more Stitching Cases (Needlework Pouches) and fifteen more Stitch Starter Ruler Sets....and yes, there will be some needlebooks on the way (I know I have been promising them for a while - they are just a little more time consuming and require some additional supplies - but I will get some completed soon!). All 24 pieces shown below have now been listed...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlueRibbonDesigns

I have a fun new pincushion idea I want to try...so I picked up a 25 lb. bag of crushed walnut shells today while running errands. I also picked up a fun assortment of new fabrics while I was in Omaha/Fremont a couple weeks ago - so I have things in the works for those, as well.

More exciting news - my prize-winning $1,000 AccuQuilt shopping spree order arrived last week...after spending over a week narrowing down my wish list (was that ever a task...my "want list" is ridiculously LONG), I finally settled on 23 Studio dies, 2 GO! dies, and 10 cutting mats/plastics...I was completely giddy when two large boxes arrived from AccuQuilt! I haven't had much time to just "play" yet - but I have big plans for all the dies I chose...and as I work on each project, I will be sure to share them here....

Time To Pack My Bags...

After waiting for what seems like "forever and a day", it is finally time for my prize winning AccuQuilt trip! If you read my blog regularly, then you know I won the grand prize in AccuQuilt's 3rd Annual Barn Quilt Design Contest...in fact, I know many of you voted for my winning quilt block which helped put my entry in the Top 10 to be voted on by the celebrity judges (THANK YOU AGAIN!). Part of my winnings is a round trip for two to Omaha, NE for the quilt block unveiling ceremony, with two tickets to the 2nd Annual Let’s GO! Quilt Retreat (including transportation and hotel stay)...I am taking my dear friend Merry with me and we leave for Omaha in the morning for a week full of events. There is a welcome reception tomorrow night, followed by the two day quilt retreat...then on Friday, my quilt block will be unveiled (it will be displayed at a ginormous 17’ x 17’ size, hanging in all it's glory at the new AccuQuilt Headquarters). This is quite an honor for me and I am looking forward to taking this mini trip - no cooking, cleaning, yard work, or laundry for almost a week - sounds pretty heavenly to me! I am feeling guilty about taking the time away from my work...and I will be taking some cross stitching deadlines with me...but for the most part, I plan to take the time off and enjoy it...and hopefully get a good start on the retreat project quilt...

In a rush to get a million things done before my trip, I managed to get 55 newly finished items listed in my Etsy shop - including 39 more Stitch Starter Rulers Sets and 16 pincushions. This was quite time consuming and I was still up adding items at 4:00 AM. The Ruler Pocket Sleeves shown below are from two different Blackbird Designs fabric lines...the top photo shows ruler pocket sleeves made from Beach House by Blackbird Designs for Moda and the bottom photo shows ruler pocket sleeves made from Blueberry Crumb Cake by Blackbird Designs for Moda...these are already selling well (as did the first batch), so I don't expect them to last long. My shop is open now, but will be "on vacation" while I am out of the office...any orders placed before I leave will ship tomorrow morning. The shop should reopen again on Saturday evening...

Well, that is about all the time I have this evening - I still have work to do, orders to fill, and suitcases to pack...it will be another late night for me! I will take lots of photos and be sure to share my trip with you upon my return....have a wonderful week....

Saturday and Sunday Sewing...

I am in a rush to finish up a million things before I leave on my prize-winning AccuQuilt trip on Tuesday morning...I managed to get all the yard work, laundry, and a bunch of correspondence done today...as well as finished up a large pile of sewing for my Etsy Shop - I will slowly be adding more pincushions and Stitch Stater Ruler Sleeves tonight.

These first eight pincushion tuffets and four ruler pocket sleeves (for my Stitch Starter Ruler) are from the fabric line Breakfast at Tiffany's by Joanna Figueroa, Fig Tree & Co. for Moda. Joanna's fabrics always appeal to me - she uses such soft colors...and her sewing and quilting patterns and books are always inspiring!

The next eight pincushion tuffets and nine ruler pocket sleeves (for my Stitch Starter Ruler) are from the fabric line Bliss by Bonnie & Camille for Moda - this fabric collection was a favorite of mine and I have used it for several large projects, so I am using up what I have left for some smaller pieces...

I have a few more ruler sleeves completed that I will share with you tomorrow...I hope you have had lovely and productive weekend...

French General Goodies

Here are more of the goodies I have been working on this week - twelve more pincushion tuffets....and a new item for my Etsy shop - a Stitch Starter Ruler with Pocket Sleeve. The pincushions shown and four of the Stitch Starter Ruler Pocket Sleeves are made from the fabric line Maison de Garance by French General for Moda. The pincushion tuffets have a pieced top and a wool felt fabric bottom...each has a coordinating wool felt heart embellishment pinned in place with a decorative button pin and two decorative pins (one dark red heart, one white heart). After completing the pincushions, I decided to work on a new item....pocket sleeves for my Stitch Starter Rulers. These pocket sleeves measure 3.5" x 3.5" and hold the 3" square ruler perfectly - they are fully lined with no raw seams...and they use fusible fleece to give them a bit of padding and stability. I have listed the six ruler pocket sleeves shown in my Etsy shop...and I have plans to add quite a few more in the near future...each ruler pocket sleeve purchase will include the Stitch Starter Ruler.

For those of you unfamiliar with my Stitch Starter Ruler:

• It is 2 mil acrylic plastic, making it durable.
• It has marking lines for 1", 2", and 3" seam allowances, so you only need one tool.
• It is clear, making it easy to see your fabric placement.
• It has 1/4" and 1/2" markings on three sides.It has complete 3" ruler markings down the left side - these can be used for: finishing work measurements, measuring between stitched designs, counting threads to figure fabric count
• A stitch Starter Ruler is included in the following Blue Ribbon Designs with charting and instructions to make your own cross stitch sleeve: BRD-100 Holiday Helpings and BRD-097 Blessed Beyond Measure - these two design charts can be purchased at your favorite needlework shop.
• Directions for using the Stitch Starter Ruler

My June "Just Because" Giveaway is still open until Friday at midnight, so if you haven't entered already, visit Tuesday's post for details...