Giveaway winner and Shabby Rose

I want to thank everyone who participated in the my 100th post giveaway.It was alot of fun seeing all the comments--thank you all very much. And the winner is....Marie Reed! I know Marie Reed from VTT-she has the most wonderful vintage postcards (and right now a great vintage video) so hop on over.



I've been slowly working on my Shabby Rose blocks and I am finally caught up!

I'm planning on using these blocks dispersed through a shabby chic style disappearing 9-patch, so I decided I should switch background fabrics after the first three blocks...but I'm not so happy with the results and may switch back again.

This is a little too light...I tried this fabric because there are curlyques in the fabric that are like the flowers and I thought that echo thing was rather neat but its really doesn't show up.

A little too busy...I could save myself some embroidery though-you can barely see the embroidered flowers for the printed ones!

Computer troubles and Jane Austen

We’ve had problems with our server service all week-end. It started on Thursday, we called the cable company, they said they were “experiencing difficulties” and of course, just then, service returned…only to be off again almost immediately. Its been like that all week-end-a long holiday week-end here-service on for a sec, so you think its fixed, then off again.

However, there was a Jane Austen Festival on TV so I just sat and watched!It wasn’t the usual festival type fare either…not continuous reruns of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility or Emma…this time it was really fun and different. Friday night was “The Jane Austen Book Club”-I had read the book and wasn’t too thrilled but the movie was a lot more fun-thoroughly enjoyable. Saturday night was a two-part mini-series “Lost in Austen”: a modern English girl, Amanda Price, devoted to Austen walks through a door and exchanges places with Elizabeth Bennett! Lots of fun, lots of making a mush of everything,lots of fun send-ups of favorite P &P lines -all spoken in very Jane Austen English by everyone except Amanda.

While watching all this, I did get some embroidery done: my first block from the Shabby Rose BOM

Quilt back, links and the last of the wild flowers

While looking at all the wonderful quilts during the Bloggers Quilt Festival I found a great pattern for the back of my Disappearing 9 Patch quilt here on Valori Wells blog. I had been thinking of doing a pieced back so I was really glad to find this. I changed it a little because the pattern is for a larger quilt and I added in bits and pieces I had left from a different 9-patch project. After I took this picture this morning, I got right to it and the quilt is basted!

I've joined my first swap and I'm very excited! Its called Spring Blossoms Mini Quilt Swap and its hosted by Michele from the Quilting Gallery.

I've also found the Shabby Rose BOM. This BOM combines two of my favorite things: applique and embroidery. I'm a little late getting started, Block 3 was just posted, but I'll catch up. I know exactly how I want to use the blocks from this BOM...I've been thinking of doing a shabby chic style disappearing 9 patch as a summer quilt for the guest room and I'll just sprinkle these in!

The weather has changed again, its been very warm but not at all sunny- kind of weird.

This is the last of the wildflowers (I know I haven't been very good about taking pictures) and the last of the green. The hills are all turning brown and that's it until next winter.

Here you can see a last stand of flowers surrounded by brown (except for the bushes and the olive tree.)