Holly Blog

244...My Favorite Things...Hearts A Plenty!

It's been so long...and just when I thought things couldn't get any crazier, things did...so it's wonderful to be back.

The Sweet Little Words Quilt from the March/April edition of McCall's Quilting was just returned to me.  It was so precious, I had to call Pam and have her come over to see it in person and snap a few shots to show you...The Pam Kitty Love color palette is positively radiant!

Kudos to Pam Kitty for her lovely, seemingly effortless photos.

Here are some close-ups of Nubin Jensen's delightful quilting...

And a big shout-out to Fat Quarter Shop's Debra Taylor, for her lightning-fast precision piecing...

Hugs all around for all you gals, it takes a dedicated & experienced team to meet the time demands of quilt magazine projects!  In case you haven't actually seen the magazine article, the Sweet Little Words Quilt is being offered as a kit (with two different border color options!).  To see the kit info, just click here.

In addition to all of the quilty-love excitement, there's been friends visiting from out of town, we've been putting the final touches on the Sweet Things collection, had several bouts of frozen pipes at the studio, and our mascot -- a Border Collie/Terrier mix who demands (seemingly endless) hours of exercise on every chilly day we have.  I could go on, but let's get to the really good stuff...

Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, who is a renowned chef from Berkeley California, says that the secret to being a good cook is knowing how to shop (for the best quality ingredients).

People often ask me about my design inspiration & secrets...Yes, there are tales of travels, flea markets & tiny one-of-a-kind boutiques, on quiet, tucked-away-streets in Europe.  More often than not, inspiration sort of "bonks me on the head" while I am walking down the street minding my own business, and *poof* something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye.  Or like the other day, at a little mom & pop store called Andy's Local Market near where I walk my dogs.  Getting a morning coffee, and what did I see amongst an adorable display of Valentine's Day trinkets & treats...?

Naturally, I thought of Pam, & our recent Pam Kitty Love collection...called her immediately.

We came up with the idea to offer all of you a chance to win your very own Pam Kitty Love LunchBox...

So here's the deal...Tell us a wonderful Valentine's story...it could be true romance...a tale about the power of love, or a rom-com, like a first date story that went awry, or a true tale about one of your most beloved & favorite critters.  Make it good, really, really good...and then tell us your story in our comments bar...and we may pick you!

The deadline is Thursday February 14th

The winner will be announced on Tuesday February 19th

Be there, or be square.

(Or keep carrying your lunch in a boring paper bag to work...)

*<:@)

H2

PS~Pam, this one's for you WoOoF!

PPS  thanks to Goji, for being such a willing subject

:oP

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Favorite Things...102...Happy Endings!

We chose Maria Fareri Children's Hospital to receive the "12 Bears for Christmas". To find out more about this amazing facility, click here .

Su Bashir, our LHDG "queen of allocations", came along to help out.  Her beautiful daughter Aliya was born at this hospital complex.

The day we delivered the bears, also happened to be the day that 5 little girls who had received liver transplants at MFCH all returned for a visit and a photo op...Here they all are...their transplant doctor is holding one of the littlest girls...who was born at the hospital and lived there until recently, when she received her transplant.  When I saw those little girl's faces, I really had to hold back the big alligator tears....I imagine that all of the adults in the room had lumps in their throats.

Each of the girls received a bear to take home...and the others were given to the events coordinator, so that they could be given out...Although this hospital looks like it has some pretty wealthy benefactors, they tell me that many of the children are from under privileged backgrounds. So I'm sure that the bears will all find happy and deserving homes.

It's true what they say...'Tis better to give than receive.

Happy "Holly-Daze" to all of you.

Back in two shakes...H2

My Favorite Things...87...Bearly There!

This is a bit of a shaggy dog story about a bunch of little bears.  The story really started out as a kitty story...Some of you will remember my post..."Who Wants to Lick the Beaters?"...you know, "Noodle Pudding" and "Vickie Dixie", who wore the little cat-sized bibs?  That little incident turned into a display idea, for the LakeHouse booth at Fall Quilt Market in Houston.  Which in turn prompted a discussion at our bloggers dinner.  Brenda said that I should take the bear around market and go visiting ...my first thought after that was "photo ops with quilt luminaries"! And my next thought after that was to share those pictures with all of you, "my little bloggettes"...Our first stop was at Elizabeth Scott's booth.  She had the most precious & sentimental decorations, I just had to take Bearlina's picture...She looks so cute, and right at home, don't you think?  Oh and BTW, we were both absolutely smitten with Elizabeth's Hen & Egg Basket quilt, called Petaluma...perfect name, BTW!  But I digress...

So all over market, Bearlina and I, we frolicked...got lots of great snaphots with some of our favorite people.  That's what prompted the new flickr album on the side column (lots more Bearlina pics there!)...(more on this later!) After spending so much time with B(earlina), I got to thinking how sad it was that she really didn't have a good home to go to after market, what with the construction and the other critters at our house.  And not only B, but we had 11 other bears that needed good homes in time for the "HollyDaze"... This brings our little saga to an end (for today), as I announce "12 Bears for Christmas"...Starting soon, we'll be having another "Dazzling Dozen Delightful"...this time with some surprise guests and lots of holiday cheer. So stay tuned, it's going to be a lot of fun here at HollyBlog in the weeks to come.

Back in two shakes...H2