Holly Blog

My Favorite Things...231...A Funny Lady

Well, one of you did guess...It's Gina (who will forever be known as) "my dog ate my computer cord" Halladay.

After a couple of days of one-too-many Xmas cookies, and other holiday delectables, I must confess I can barely keep my eyes open between naps to write this post...

Besides, Gina says it best...click here to visit Gina over at her famous QuiltersBuzz blog.

Besides being one of of quilting's first serious bloggers, Gina owns Cranberry Quiltworks for Long Arm Machines, Threaded Pear Studio for Fun & Easy Quilt Patterns as well has her new store:  Fresh Picked Fabrics.

Thanks to all for the enthusiasm & holiday cheer from all who participated in our little Brownie Points Event.

Lots more about the winners & the prizes coming soon.

To all a good night.

Back in two shakes...H2

 

 

 

My Favorite Things...230...The Spirit of Giving!

WELCOME TO DAY TWELVE OF OUR BROWNIE POINTS BLOG-ALONG-ATHON!

As we await a visit with quilting's funny lady...Let me give you a little snippet, and we'll see if you can guess who my next guest was supposed to be today:

Tried to post & have technical difficulties...electricity out in the rain...then the dog chewed my cables... Am I just an old coot, or does this sound like the modern day equivalent of "the dog ate my homework"? LOL...

I'll send out some fat quarter bundles to whoever guesses who our tardy guest is.

And also in the spirit of giving, since quilter's flock to free stuff like scrambled eggs to bacon...

I have read most of your posts as of this morning.  It occurred to me that this would be a good time to tell all of you who make quilts for good causes, things like:  Project Linus, children in local hospitals, etc.  We do have a Free Fabric Policy at LakeHouse. 

First we verify that our excess fabric is going to a good home...many of you are in quilt guilds who are registered as non-profit organizations for this purpose.  There are also a lot of other ways to verify that you are "doing good works"

Second, we tell you what we have available that would suit your needs.

Third, we need to know how much fabric you can afford to have sent you you and how you want it sent. Because while our overstocked fabric is FREE, shipping to you is not.

Guess who helps us out with this?  Kristine Tate, she's the angel who made up all of our Fast Flowers Quilt Kits for this Brownie Points event.   You can write to her at:  support@lakehousedrygoods.com

Hope this gives the charitable amongst us some food for thought.

Peace on Earth,

Goodwill towards Quilters!

H:oP

H2

 

My Favorite Things...220...More Fun with Tammy & A Giveaway Too!

WELCOME TO DAY TWO OF OUR BROWNIE POINTS BLOG-ALONG-ATHON!

Tammy is selling the Fast Flowers Quilt Kit from her website, click here for the details.

You'll be able to get the FREE Fast Flowers Quilt Pattern by clicking here.

My Fast Flowers Tip Sheets will be available as a FREE download on the side bar by TOMORROW.

We're having a second day with Tammy, so that you make sure to see her blog A Tadd More, and her bright and friendly website as well.  I'm hoping she'll have some more pictures of her fabuloso store as well...check out her online store here.

Rumor has it Tammy's got some goodies to give away today, so check her out!

From the first time I saw her, Tammy has always loved bright jewelry, clothing & accessories, it's no wonder that she loves our Fun Flowers Fabric line.  She's done oodles of nifty bag patterns, and probably hundreds of quilt designs with her mom Velda at her side.

I wanted to share some fond memories from a trip that Tammy took with friends & family to visit me in New York City.

A few years ago Tammy, Velda, Tammy's daughter and a gaggle of friends all convened in New York.  With me as their gourmand guide, we walked for hours & hours in Manhattan's SOHO, Nolita, Greenwich Village & Gramercy Park.  We ate French pastries at a teeny bakery called Ceci Cela (try the Napoleans with Fresh Raspberries). We shopped till we almost dropped and ended up at Les Halles (Anthony Bourdain's old restaurant) at the end of the day for some yummy "Steak Frites". 

Here's Tammy & her Mom below...(see what I mean with the bright accessories?!!)

 

Recently Velda's been battling cancer, and I know you'll all want to wish her the best in health and a speedy recovery, so that she can ride shot gun with Tammy & her posse' on another trip again very soon. 

WE LOVE YOU VELDA!

For Every 10 people who leave a message of LOVE & SUPPORT FOR VELDA, I'll give away a free ribbon-tied fat quarter bundle from my personal stash. 

So let's get to it girls...Let's feel the love & send out our best wishes to VELDA! 

Please, only one get well wish for Velda per person.

When you leave Velda your wish doesn't matter, as we'll be drawing your names from a hat (collected from this blog post) at the end of this event.

I'm guessing this will be in the new year, so keep checking back for the names of the prize winners.

Lots more to show & tell & give away!

Y'all come back now...

;o)  H2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

216...My Favorite Things...A FREE Quilt Pattern!

Hi again everyone,

Fall Quilt Market has come & gone, it all happened so quickly.  I got to see lots my favorite people...Beth Hayes from McCall's, the Fat Quarter Shop brigade (minus Kimberly, who was home awaiting her latest), and Gina & Melinda from Fresh Picked Fabrics, to name just a few.

By the end of the first day of market, it was obvious that I was fighting something, and spent the next 5 days in and out of bed.  So oops, no booth pictures.

Right before market, I found out that my Brownie Points Quilt (re-named Fast Flowers), and would be put on the Quilts & More website as a FREE DOWNLOAD. 

Ironically, when the Brownie Points Quilt was on it's way to us at FQM (from the photoshoot at Q & M), it "went missing"...Here's a picture of her...

I love this simple & straight forward quilt, and I am, still hoping she will show up, but she's been missing since October 21st...Come back soon, Brownie.  :@

For those of you who want a Quilt Kit to make the "lovely lady", we'll be having a special Brownie Points Blog-a-thon starting after Thanksgiving.  They'll be lots of fun & frivolity at this upcoming event. We'll have Brownie Points Quilt Kits for sale, FREE GIVEAWAYS from my private LakeHouse stash, some of my favorite "quilties" will join in the fun, and other surprises too.

I'll be back in soon to tell you all the details for the Brownie Points Quilt Blog-a-thon.

3:o)

H2

 

My Favorite Things...200...The Big Two Oh-Oh!

Day 15 of 16

 

The ric rac & ribbon is from my buddy Adam...(quilt shop owners take note!) The Forget-Me-Not millinery flowers are from my personal stash...but I have seen something very similar recently at Michaels.

Well Ladies, it's my day today, and a bit of a coincidence, actually...It's my 200th blog post. I have to laugh, when I think of what my webmaster said about blogging a couple of years ago, when I wanted to add a blog onto my website.  Something to the effect of "be careful with that and make sure you really want to do it and that you won't run out of things to say".  LOL...

Actually, I only run out of time, not things to show & tell.  I have pictures from trips and projects and things that inspire me waiting in files to show you...

Anyhoo, I designed the panel to expand the "circle of friends"...that is, people who liked the Dolly Dresses quilt from last fall & who would like to work with the Dolly Dresses fabrics, but like me, don't have the time to do all of the applique'.  Tick-tock, I say.

So before I even was finished with the dolly dresses panel fabric, I called the Beth "the Beauty Queen" Hayes (it's the cheekbones) at McCall's Quilting.  What I love about working with Beth is that she has even less time to waste than I do.  I send her a picture, she loves it, she hates it...I get instant feed back...Tick Tock.

So the embellished Dolly Dress Up panel quilt that was shown in the LakeHouse booth at Fall Quilt market, (which I showed in a previous blog back in October)...Is going to be in the McCall's Quilting April 2010 issue that hits the newsstands in February.  The timing is perfect, because the Dolly Dresses 2 fabrics will be getting to the stores in early April...For those of you with scraps left over from Doll Dresses 1, I used a lot of scraps from that collection in my quilt...Not to worry though, DD 1, 2 & 3...they all go together, it's a mix & match thing...like Garanimals...LOL

Meantime, it's time for you to give it your best shot...Remember the scene in the movie "Notting Hill"...Hugh Grant's character is sitting around the dinner table with friends?  Each of them had to tell a story about why they deserved the last brownie...Well now's the time...Give it your best shot & tell me why you deserve to win the Dolly Dress Up panels (months earlier than anyone else) from our secret stash here at the studio. 

Leave your story below and I'll announce the winners of the Dolly Dress Up panels tomorrow.

Make Me Laugh!...Back in a Flash,

H2

My Favorite Things...197...Me "FriendFolks"!

Day 12 of 16

Tricia Cribbs of FriendFolks was across the aisle from us at Fall Quilt Market in 2008...noticing a trend?  Since it was the slowest market that I'd ever experienced, (right after all the banks fell out of bed) we actually got a chance to chat...turns out she is the woman behind the best selling "Turning Twenty" books...Isn't that catchiest name?  Tricia's first love is applique' and boy is she good at it...Since we first met, she has made some amazing appliqued quilts with our Teatime Floral fabrics, too.

Here's a little looky-loo at what Tricia's done with the Dolly Dress Panel...

 

I can't wait to see what this project looks like...I'm guessing that Tricia has gone off the grid completely!

click here to see Tricia's latest masterpiece!

":ºO

H2

My Favorite Things...189...A Little Doggie...Told Me

Day 4 of 16

We had our first snow storm near the office yesterday, so here I am all "geared up" today when we took a break from work to get some lunch. Thought I'd wear my Elmer Fudd...aka my "Dog Ear Hat" in honor of our next guest.

Our little bloggie group has nothing if not a lot of personalities, wouldn't you say?...Some with a bigger "bone to pick" than others...LOL!

This little doll is none other than Gidget, Jere'e McDade's (the Quilted Quickies lady) little sidekick and office mascot...I hear that we are all in for quite the show today.

There are two blog sites listed below, one of them will be compatible with your browser, we hope.

Hit-it Gidge #1

Hit-it Gidge #2

Back in two wags, of a you-know-what...

>;ºV

H2

PS  Monday am--Since our guest presentations are as much of a surprise to me as they are to you, I had to comment on Jer'e's post:  SIMPLY ADORABLE--A MUST SEE!

My Favorite Things...187...Hot Toppers!

Day 2 of 16

I am very impressed with my next guest designer...Did you know that Jennifer Bosworth the woman behind Shabby Fabrics is also a commercial pilot in her spare time? (spare time = LOL)...As in planes with 100's of people on them?

Can't exactly remember how I found out about this, but it did make my jaw drop when she told me it was true.  For those of you who haven't ever met Jennifer, think "miniature Barbie"--she's adorable!  Outwardly, she's not-at-all who you'd think was in the cockpit flying a "wide body" to Hawaii.

So imagine my glee when she sent me a picture of her latest creation--such a clever girl.  Here's a little peek at her "Paper Doll Table Runner"...

 

I can't wait to see what Jennifer has to show and tell.  Click here for what she's been up to.

Till tomorrow,

;O)

H2

My Favorite Things...154...Success!

At long last...

Hope that it was worth the wait! 

A few more fun details on Sunday...

Back in two shakes...   X';º)   H2

PS  Thanks Cheryl!

PPS  I took this version of the quilt outside today in daylight and re-posted Saturday night...the picture that I took inside last night was a little fuzzy.

My Favorite Things...150...A Sneak Peek!

I'm mentally tapping my fingers and toes...how 'bout you?

Here's a quick looky-loo at Cheryl's studio...

There's another market quilt rolled on the frame waiting to be finished too...So much to show and tell!  Fingers crossed until Cheryl gets the part!

Back in two shakes...H2  +º)