My March Star

Miri of Milk andHoney Quilts is my Star of the Month, and it is very appropriate that she is the star, as it is also her birthday month. I have known Miri since I started blogging, and she is such a sweet person and so super talented. She lives in the area close to where I lived when I was in Israel, but I never got to see that quilt shop she is mentioning in her interview.I would have loved that! I know you will enjoy her work and interview, and hopefully, you will visit her lovely blog.

Enjoy some of Miri's Eye Candy:

Here is Miri's Interview:

A Bit About Myself: I've been quilting seen 1989 and have been a quilt

teacher for about 20 years. In the 1990s, we moved to Israel and at
first, we lived in Tel Aviv and I taught at the American International
School. Then we moved out to the country-right on the Sea of Galilee
and now I teach at our local quilt shop, The Quilt Center.

I've been married for 33 years and we have three lovely children, two
children-in-law and now 2 little grandbabies. In June, we're moving to
Boston for a year and looking forward to it.

What Inspires Me:Generally, I can sum up my inspiration in two words:
antique quilts. Even when I'm doing something more modern, I feel my
inspiration comes from antique quilts.

What I love to do the most creatively: I love designing quilts-I
especially like taking a simple traditional block like the Log Cabin
or 9-Patch and then exploring its possibilites. I'll make several
different quilts using that block over the course of a couple of
years. I love fabric (of course) so sometimes I'll explore how the
fabrics change the look of the quilt.I'll try a log cabin with sashing
or using all soft florals or a 9-patch in all plaids. I tend to make
large quilts-lots of sofa and bed size quilts.

To be honest, I haven't bought much fabric in the last couple of
years-I have a closet full and I've been working from my stash. When I
was in my soft romantic period I loved Robyn Pandolph fabrics. When we're in
the US, I'm not taking any fabric with me and I'm looking forward to
working with all new fabrics!!

UFO I intend to finish first: That's an easy one...my Drunken Path
Quilt. I only have to finish machine quilting the border and its been
sitting for the last few months while I've been totally consumed doing
a Jane Stickle reproduction. I also have to finish hand quilting the
Double Wedding Ring quilt that is on the frame before we leave.

What's on the design wall now: The Jane Stickle Reproduction quilt

Who I would love to meet: President Obama (totally not quilting related!)

If I Had One Wish: Its going to sound very Miss America Pagent but also hope for
World Peace.

Plans for the Future: When we're in the US and I'll be away from my
stash and sewing machine (I may break down and buy an inexpensive
machine...I'll probably break down and buy an inexpensive machine) I'm
planning on doing some applique, and work on my needlepunch blocks.
I'm looking forward to buying some new fabrics and I would love to
join a Modern Quilt Guild. I'm definitely not a "wocky" style quilter
but I do love the clean lines of the Modern quilts.

Thanks for a lovely interview! Your work is incredible! I wish you luck in Boston, as it sounds so exciting! I haven't been there in a lot of years, but loved it when I visited.

Stay tuned for another great March Star in mid March, and thanks again so much Miri!!!!

New Heart Potholder

I made a really cute Heart Potholder and created the design myself. I started work on it yesterday. I have a shelf with hooks underneath where I hang up my potholders , so now this one is hanging from there. I used the Accuquilt GO to make the hearts...so much quicker and easier. I machine appliqued the hearts to an Asian style background that I created...lots of machine stitching on the background. I guess tht I am in a decorating mood. I recently told someone that I am a collector of bears, pincushions, tea towels and potholders. I just love all of them!

I love hanging my potholders in the kitchen. It just makes it so homey and cute, and gives the kitchen personality. I want to create also a recipe journal of all my favorite vegetarian recipes.I will do that as soon as I finish Joe's journal. I am now vegetarian and suscribe to the magazine Vegetarian Living. I lost two and a half stone since going vegetarian and enjoy all of the recipes.

Gee, another new week....Isn't time just flying by?

My Crazy Pincushion is FInished!

I finished my crazy pincushion, and it is nicely stuffed and hand sewn. I love it! No, I will not use it for sticking my pins into it as I said...It will just be a decorative item.
I made it nice and plump, and I just love it!

QVC UK charged our credit card for the first easy payment, so the Tim Holtz Vagabond machine should be here soon. Yeah!!!!! As it is called the Vagabond, I am naming it Bojangles. This month, I will be ordering items to complete a diary journal that I will make for myself for 2011, and also one for Joe, which I am naming "Ten Things I Love About You"....I thought it would make a cute journal. He jokingly said he was surprised that I came up with 10 things that I love about him. I love so many things about him.! Yes, he was kidding, but I could have made the journal endless, but 10 pages will be just perfect.

The weekend is upon us...Joe and I went out to our favorite coffee shop called Muck and Muffins to have the best Bewley's coffee ever. If you do visit here, you have to have a Bewley's coffee...It is so delicious. Enjoy your weekend!

Crazy Patterned Pincushion

I completed the top of a pincushion that I am making, in a crazy quilt pattern, as you can see. I just have to stuff it and finish it off, and I will show it to you in a day or so completely stuffed. I appliqued the flowers and butterfly, and did some hand stitching of flowers in the orange and lighter pink sections and of the antennas of the butterfly. I also did a buttonhole stitch along some of

the seams....Hope you can see it all. I added a bit of lace and buttons, and if you can see, there are pearls around the buttons of the pink and yellow flowers. I love pincushions, but this one will just be decorative. I have a shelf that I will put it on near my sewing, and then I can just look at it. It is all felt material, and I wish that you could see it in person, as the felt fabrics are so pretty and soft. I love wool, and will have to make one in wool too. What can I say? I just love pincushions!!!!

I hope spring comes soon, as I love Ireland in the spring,. It is just so green and gorgeous! Joe and I love taking our long walks each morning. The scenery makes the walk go so quickly. One never takes the beauty of this place for granted.

The Vagabond Has Arrived in the UK and My Miniature Quilt is Finished

I was reading Tim Holtz's blog , and suddenly discovered that he was going to be on QVC UK. He told his bloggers that the Vagabond was available now on QVC UK....I couldn't believe it! I immediately went to the site and ordered it, and luckily got it on three easy payments. I am so happy, as I have been waiting months for the Vagabond to arrive.

The Vagabond is a die cutting and embossing machine. It cuts through everything, including metal , chipboard, grunge paper, several layers of fabric...name it, and it is electric...no cranking. The motor is incredibly powerful. I will be using it mostly for making art journals and tags, and anything else I creatively think of making. It cuts the AccuQuilt dies too, but I have the GO for that.

If you want to truly get inspired or are interested in getting into this type of artwork, you will truly learn so much from Tim Holtz. His videos are amazing where he demonstrates how to use all of his products, and his book A Compendium of Curiosities is wonderful.

I took a lot of media art courses at college, and really love working with all the wonderful mediums and paints.I feel a bit like Doctor Frankenstein in a lab when I mix all the components to create the wonderful backgrounds for my journal pages. My mom was an artist too , and we went to museums many times, and both my parents always encouraged my artwork. My mom was a seamstress too and taught me how to sew and design my own clothes, so I am grateful for all that she taught me.

Anyways, do I sound excited? The Vagabond will be here next week, and boy am I looking forward to it. The look of it is so neat too....just like a suitcase, and check out the stickers on it. I will also be ordering this week some of his latest dies and embossing folders and some other supplies.

Thanks to Tim for giving us all the heads up on his blog! I have been enjoying the shows on QVC UK today...The man is a genius!

I finished my miniature quilt that I am giving to my swap partner, and I will have to mail it off....I can't show it to you yet...don't want to spoil the surprise, but I was glad to have it done.

Teaching and Working at Kibbutz Shomrat

With all my blogging about my teaching, I was thinking about my time at Kibbutz Shomrat in Israel. I have been lucky to have various teaching experiences all over the United States and outside the USA too. My experiences in Israel were incredible. My parents took me there originally when I was 17 years old. We were there for a tour of the country, and it was like being a time traveler and going back thousands of years into the past. I loved it so much that I did my third year of college at the University in Jerusalem.

Then I went back to America and completed my fourth year at Temple University. I had completed my first two years at Penn State University Anyways, after I finished college, I went to Israel to teach in Ramat Aviv and got married to an Israeli...It was the marriage from hell. I will not say anything further about that, as it was the worst time of my life, except for my time at Kibbutz Shomrat.

I was teaching part time in the school there, and also working in the dairy with the cows...I have to say that I enjoyed that. You should have seen me with my boots on and overalls working with the cows. I, of course, named each and every one of the cows. I loved teaching the children, but enjoyed the farm work even more. I then got trained in the factory where I did quality control and repaired computers ...I was even going to be sent to Germany for advanced training there. I fell in love with kibbutz life. We got up each morning, had a wonderful breakfast at the communal dining room with all the residents, then I taught a few hours in the children's school, had lunch, and then worked in the dairy in the afternoon. I was switched later on from the dairy to the factory.In the evenings, we all met in the community hall, and there was music, food and lots of chatting.

The children lived in the children's house...a weird concept, but they loved the freedom, and yes, the children had a wonderful life on the kibbutz.The celebrations were incredible, and there were people working on the kibbutz who came from all over the world to experience kibbutz life. Shomrat was located near the Lebanon border, and a few times, our kibbutz was under attack. Even though we occasionally had tense situations, it was a good life there. We were given a home, shared everything, and there was no concern over bills or anything.The people there were wonderful, and it was an incredible experience, and everyone was like a big family. As, I never had a large family, it was amazing for me to have so many people care about me. The kibbutz was originally started by holocaust survivors, and as my parents were survivors, I was accepted very quickly.

My parents visited me on the kibbutz during the Passover celebration, and they loved the whole kibbutz life too. My dad was very sick ... I didn't know it at the time... and that was the last time I saw him. He died a few weeks after he returned to the States of a massive heart attack. I remember my brother calling me telling me that our dad had died, and as I was daddy's little girl, my world was shattered. After I attended the funeral, I returned to Israel, and I found out from a friend on the kibbutz that my ex had an affair while I was at the funeral. My ex was abusive, so he had honestly done me a favor. The kibbutz had asked me and my son to stay as permanent members, as they really liked us , and also because I had been a good teacher and worker in general, and I had made friends quickly. After the divorce, I decided not to stay and returned to the USA, as I wanted to help my mom, and also I didn't want my son entering the Israeli army.Mostly, I wanted to go home.

I am glad that I had the experience on the kibbutz. I do want to return to Israel one day and visit, if possible. Joe would love to see it, and I would love to see the country again, visit the kibbutz, see Jerusalem again,and just see how much Israel had changed.My mom wrote a diary of the holocaust while she was hiding, similar to Anne Frank, and I would love to see her original diary on display at the Yad Vashem Museum. We shall see if we are able to visit, as it is a long ways from Ireland. It would be nice to go back and see the country again with my soulmate Joe, as I know we would both love to see it together. Anyways, hope you enjoy some of the pics of the kibbutz and my wee story about my life there.

My Most Memorable Student

If I had to choose one story that I most cherished about my teaching career, it would definitely be about a student named Johnny Johnson. I was teaching at Del Valle High School in Del Valle, Texas. Johnny was a tall, handsome, African American who was assigned to my 10th grade class. On day 1, he walked into my class in a loud, rude fashion, but as the day progressed I recognized the potential in this student.He continued to defy me throughout the year, but I never gave up on him. He was smart and quick with his responses, and when he took the role of Hamlet, I saw what a star he could be. When the class clapped at one portion of his Hamlet performance, I saw the flicker of a smile, and I began to have hope of a change, but he refused to budge from his defiant stance. The following year, Johnny was assigned to my class again, as I was assigned to teach an 11th grade class. I couldn't believe that I got him again! I gave him greater responsiilities, challenged him even further, had tons of meetings with him and his parents, but at the end of the year, he maintained his defiance. In the fall, I was given the 12 grade class, which was always a great responsibility and honor for a teacher, and of course, I was assigned Johnny Johnson yet again. On the first day of class, he asked to speak to me in the hallway, and he said he was going to be my top student that year, and he kept his promise...He maintained an "A" average, and he graduated with honors.

Johnny was accepted in a very good college, and he was in the top 5 percent of his class. He wrote an essay about the teacher who had the greatest influence in his life, and he submitted it to Who's Who Among America's Teachers. It turned out to be an essay about me. As a result of Johnny's essay, I was included in the publication that year, and only 5 percent of teachers nationwide are selected for inclusion in this publication. It was the highest honor I could have achieved, and I cried when I received the letter from Who's Who Among America's Teachers. Johnny had been also published in Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.

I then also appeared in the Del Valle Digest to announce that I was chosen on of the best teachers in America. Here is the link to the digest. and I am on page three:

http://www.del-valle.k12.tx.us/documents/District%20Digest%20January%202005.pdf I am listed under Anna Perlberger Butler. Anna is my legal first name. I was named after both my grandmothers, and Perlberger is my maiden name. I then got nominated again two years later.

Anyways, I had great joy from teaching, and working with students like Johnny was so rewarding. I will never forget Johnny Johnson!

Another Good Hepburn Story and I was Sister Luke Once

I should write a book about my teaching, and maybe I will one day. I traveled around the United States and even abroad, and I had some wonderful experiences. It was always funny when I did an interview for a new teaching position, as the first thing that they said was, "Boy, you have taught in a lot of places!" I always felt that it made me a better teacher with lots of interesting stories to tell my students, but I have to admit that all my travels always created a reaction. LOL

I was thinking of Audrey Hepburn again this morning and all the influence she has had on my life. I had watched the Nun's Story, which I adored, and needless to say, I wanted to be Sister Luke and travel to Africa like Audrey did. Well, I landed up taking a job at St. Gabriel Hall in PA instead and funny enough there became Sister Luke. I took that job because of Audrey Hepburn, as she always in her personal life tried to help people, and I landed up mostly teaching troubled children over my teaching career. Anyways, St. Gabriel was a school for boys who had been adjudicated ungovernable by the juvenile courts, and this was their last chance to make it before they went to adult prison. I was good at working with what they called "bad" students, and I got the job. It turned out being one of my best jobs, as I loved working with the kids and especially with the priests and the nuns there. I told them once that I always wanted to be Sister Luke, and one of the priests who loved me said that you have such a gift with the children, you really should have been a nun, so he officially dubbed me Sister Luke and gave me a habit, which I landed up wearing two weeks a year each year that I was there. It was funny to see the childrens' reactions when I put on the habit and it was the standing joke there, but I was truly called Sister Luke by one and all. During the two weeks of the year, I wore the habit, I had so much fun seeing the students' faces, as they were never quite sure if I was a nun or not. When I decided to leave St. Gabriel, because I just couldn't make it on the salary that they were paying me, as I was a single mom with no child support,it was so hard to say goodbye to them all! My habit was hung up on a hanger and they said that I would always be Sister Luke. I will never forget that each morning, that priest, who had given me my habit, came to my classroom and blessed me and thanked me for all that I was doing for the children. I so missed them all, because in the public schools, the administration surely didn't do that. I wish that I could have stayed!!!!

Audrey Hepburn really did have a great influence in my life. I landed up taking most of my teaching positions with really difficult students , and I loved every minute that I taught them. I was so inspired by her personal life and all that she did for children in Africa, so this was my way of helping children.

I will tell you another great story tomorrow about my teaching experiences. This story also means a lot to me, and you will love it. It's a bit of a tear jerker, but quite the story.

Have a blessed weekend! This is Sister Luke signing off for a short while.

My Giveaway Prize Arrived , Breakfast at Tiffany and Phantom of the Opera

If you remember, around Christmas time, I won a giveaway from Janet whose blog is Quilting with Janet. I won a FQ bundle of 12 reproduction fabrics. I ordered Kathleen Tracy's latest book on Civil War miniature quilts, so this bundle will be perfect. The weather in Nova Scotia has been terrible, so Janet finally was able to get a neighbor to take my package into town to mail it, and I do thank you Janet for such lovely fabrics. She also got me some pins, and a small purse that will come in very handy.

Today, I am watching Breakfast at Tiffany for the umpteen time. I remember the first time I saw it...I always loved Audrey Hepburn so this movie really highlighted her charms. I had my hair styed like hers, and boy did I love her. After seeing the movie, I decided to go to Tiffany in New York City to see if I could buy anything like Audrey did in the film, and also to see if they treated me as special as she said that they did in the film. I went to NYC a lot with my dad, as he owned a fabric store in Philly, and he would drop me off at 5th Avenue while he went to the fabric district. So one day,I decided to go to Tiffany. I landed up buying a book clip that cost me 12 dollars, but they treated me like royalty, as if I was buying a piece of jewelry that was worth thousands of dollars. They asked me if I saw the movie Breakfast at Tiffany, and smiled when I said that it was the reason that I was there today. Needless to say, it turned out to be a great day. Afterwards, I went to a deli for lunch and then saw a show on Broadway....Phantom of the Opera with Michael Crawford. I was in heaven, as when he sang one of the songs, he seemed to be looking straight at me sitting in the box seat above the stage. What a day.... Tiffany and Michael Crawford. I told my dad how well Tiffany treated me, and he actually went there and thanked them. He had this smile on his face when he looked at the book clip. He wasn't surprised that I did that, as he knew what I was like.

Breakfast at Tiffany is starting in a few minutes, so I am off to see it. I told Joe the story about going to Tiffany. He wasn't surprised either. When I visited Rome, I ran to the Fountain of Trevi to throw a coin backwards over my shoulder into the fountain. Yes, I saw the movie Three Coins in the Fountain....Need I say more? LOL

Winner of OWOH

Paula from Serendipity has won my giveaway prize. I am so happy for her. She mentioned that her baby's room was decorated with sheep, so her baby was destined for this lovely Irish sheep.Paula, of course, can use the book and share the chocolate with her husband. Congrats again Paula!

Thanks to everyone who entered. I was so happy to meet so many gifted and inspirational people, and I was thrilled to visit your wonderful blogs!

Happy Valentine's Day

Joe and I had a lovely Valentine's Day!!! We just got back from walking on the beach. We also went to our favorite coffee shop and had a lovely latte coffee and snickers cake...Needless to say, the snickers cake was so tasty. I love Valentine's Day, especially since I spent it with my Joe. We had the beach basically to ourselves, and it was lovely. Horn Head was gorgeous, and the ocean was just stunning.

Someone recently asked me how this girl from Philly landed up in Ireland. That is simple...I fell in love with an Irishman, married him, and moved to Ireland. That was back in 1997. We got married in Philly, honeymooned in the PA Dutch Country, and then I quit my teaching job in Camden , NJ and came to the beautiful Emerald Isle. When I arrived here, Joe took me on camping trips all over the country, and I fell in love with the magic that was Ireland. We both discovered Donegal County on one of our camping trips, and we decided to live here. We loved the seacoast village Dunfanaghy when we first saw it, and we knew instantly that we wanted to stay here the rest of our lives. In March, we celebrate our 14th anniversary, and we are truly soulmates, or as the Irish say "anam cara". Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day...Ain't love just great!!!!!

Valentine's Star of the Month

I think it is wonderful to be introducing another Star of the Month on Valentine's Day. My star of the month is Anna McCurdy whose blog is

Quilt Mom's Journey. We have been friends, and I have enjoyed her blog now for years, and I am so happy that she agreed to fill out my interview and be my Star of the Month. I am posting it today, as Joe and I have plans for tomorrow.

Here are some of Anna's wonderful work. I know you will enjoy seeing all the stunning eye candy.

I just love your work Anna! It is all so stunning!

Here is Anna's interview. You will see she lives in Alberta Canada. I will always remember my train trip across Canada and the first time I saw Alberta. I was enamored with Lake Louse and Banff, and I loved the mountains and scenery so much.

Enjoy the interview and thanks so much Anna!

A Bit About Me;

I am a prairie girl, a fourth generation Albertan, from Alberta which is one of the Western Provinces in Canada. I have been married to Bruce( 30 years) and together ,we have one adult son ,Kevin ,a schnoodle dog named Dusty and a cat named Mars. We live in an older home near the center of a large city named Edmonton. In my professional life, I am a full day kindergarten teacher. I have many interests but most of them revolve around creating ( quilting, beading, knitting, making candles and family genealogy). I also love books and have a wonderful collection of both children and adult books. When I am not creating, I enjoy spending time with close friends sharing conversation and playing card games, dominoes and board games. I love old movies, comedies and dramas. Over our married life, Bruce and I have enjoyed a favorite television series ( current one is “The Good Wife”) going to the art gallery or a folk concert or just hanging out together. We both have a blog( he is a huge hockey fan and co writes a blog with David Staples called “ The Cult of Hockey”.

My quilting journey has had a few bends in the road- I guess that is why I call it a journey.. I have always loved quilts – I am told my father’s mother was a quilter but I never knew her as she died before I was born. Unfortunately we have none of the quilts that she made.

I first played with quilting around 1985- and made one quilt in 1987 the summer before Kevin was born. It was a Log Cabin quilt in a day that took considerably more time than that. I put a double layer of polyester batting in that queen sized quilt. It was like wrestling with a bear to try and quilt it on my Kenmore domestic machine. Then Kevin came along and life got kind of busy – working full time and raising our son. It was not until 1996 that I started quilting again. I haven’t stopped since then- though some years are not as productive as others. I have made over 50 large bedsized quilts ( double, queen and the occasional king) as well as numerous baby wraps, a few wall hangings and other quilty sort of things. I machine piece and quilt all my own quilts – even my kingsized ones on a Babylock quilting sewing machine.

What Inspires Me: I am often inspired by the many beautiful quilts I see on the blogs. I love touching fabric and imagining how it would look in a quilt. I have built up a sizeable collection of quilt books and enjoy reading the current quilt magazines for new ideas for my quilts. I am especially fond of the Australian magazines ( Patchwork and Quilting) because of the the rich colors and different designs.

I am also inspired by the generosity and caring of quilters from around the globe- so many quilters working tirelessly to make this world a better place by their generosity.

What I Love to Do the Most Creatively: I love making quilts and creating beaded items. Perhaps someday I might use both beads and fabric and create a quilt. I like making functional quilts that I know people will use. It is my way of expressing my caring for them. Don’t you think

My Favorite Fabric and Designer: My current favorite designer is Kaffe Fassett and I love the bright colors of his fabrics. I have always loved color and the vivid florals really appeal to me. I remember a quilting friend saying to me that she could always tell which of the quilts in our class were made by me because of my color choices.

UFO I Intend to Finish First: Well, I have a few UFO’s ( though not a huge list of them). I don’t like having more than about a half dozen projects that are unfinished because I find it unsettling. Having said that, I am pretty close to my limit now and need to start a quilt that is not on the UFO list as it a special gift for a family member who is celebrating a special birthday this spring. This animal panel quilt is in my head and is currently a collection of fabrics so I need to get busy and make it.

What's on the Design Wall Now: I have yet to figure out how to have a fabric design wall in my house- My sewing area is in the gables of the house and there is just no wall where I can have distance from it. I have thought about creating a folding one. Perhaps some year..

Who Would I Love to Meet: I would love to meet some of my blogging friends from different parts of the world- there are so many great blogs out there and I feel like we have become friends through our love of quilting. I have the good fortune to see Paula Nadelstern and Kaffe Fassett speak at local guild meetings.

I would enjoy meeting Ricky Timms and the women of Gee Bend- I also am a big fan of Freddy Moran and Gwen Marston. They all express themselves using color and pattern in innovative ways.

If I Had One Wish: I feel really privileged that I have the opportunity to quilt and have been supported by quilting mentors along the way. I would hope that new quilters who are just starting out experience that same support on their quilting journey. The process of quilting can be such a healing and reasonably inexpensive therapy. There is much fun to be had along the way.

Plans for the Future: This year I hope to create 11 quilts – I am not sure what form they will take or how I will count them. Do baby quilts count? I hope to quilt for many years to come- As long as I have a stash of fabric I will have fun playing and making quilts. Sometimes I dream of going to a big quilt show like Sisters Oregon or Houston but the internet has made it possible to visit them.

Thanks so much Anna. I so enjoyed reading about you. It was such a great interview, and you have always been such an inspiration to me!

Sneak Peak of My Mini Quilt

Debra Anger from Patchwork Sanity- A Woman's Piece of Mind is my partner in a miniature quilt swap. She just gave a sneak peak of what she is doing on her blog, and it is applique, so I am going to get a beauty of a quilt. My miniature for her is machine pieced and applique. Each block is 3 and a half inches only...There are 9 blocks total, and many of them were hard as the pieces were so small. It was quite the challenge! I am showing you one of the easier blocks, as I don't want to give the surprise away, but you will at least get the idea of how small it is and what types of fabrics I used.

I am finished the whole top, but tomorrow, I have to machine quilt it and then put on the binding and hand sew that. I will try to get the miniature quilt sent to Debra this week, and when she gets it, I will be able to post a pic of the completed quilt . I love the way it turned out, and I do hope she likes it.This has been fun, but I was especially happy when I found out that my partner was Debra. I am showing you only one block of the top...All of the miniature quilt is in batiks, and the fabrics are lovely. Remember the blocks are only 3 and a half inches. Joe cropped the rest of the quilt top, so I could give you all a sneak peak of one of the blocks.

Some Gifts to Make and Prizes Won

I am am making some PIF gifts and other gifts I have to complete. I am not telling you whom this is for, but I hand sewed this wool purse for someone, except for a bit of it which was machine sewn. I made it in my favorite colors, and I hope she will love them too. I was hand sewing it in my lounge chair for a few days now, and I finally finished it. As you can see I put a flower on it, as I love flowers, and there is a pink zipper , and it is lined with pink fabric..What can I say?....I love pink! I also added a bit of my favorite shade of purple , and of course, the leaves are green.

Joe and I will be taking our long walk at around 3 PM. We are waiting for the mailman to come. Joe won another prize.If you remember, Joe won a laptop recently, which I am using now. This time it was a set of three cleaning tools. One is The Dirt Devil hand vac that has its own docking station for recharging. Then there is Mini Twister floor sweeper that is electric and rechargeable, and finally he won a steam mop that is electric that you can use to steam clean your floors, rugs, and anything you want really clean, as it has attachments. I know this may sound strange, but they all make the cleaning a bit fun. It's better than the way I was doing it before using a dustpan and a mop.

This one is going to be my favorite...It hasn't arrived yet, but the other two came seperately. It should be here today or tomorrow.

Well, hope your week goes well...Ours is beginning with a bang.

Just Because and More

Joe came home with roses for me...just because. I love roses, and I was so thrilled with the surprise. He is a dote! They are sitting on our little kitchen table, and the scent is out of this world. We have been married since 1997 when I fell in love with him and started my life in Ireland. We both discovered Donegal County and decided to live here. What a guy!

Anyways, that was a great way to begin my day. I also got a package from Kelly from IHAN. She is my guardian angel in many ways...as a friend, and also my online store that I go to for many things I need. I am getting EQ7 from her this month, as I am taking the EQ7 course at Quilt University, so that should be fun.

I had ordered prior to that a DVD by Sharon Pederson called Reversible Quilts. It tells you how to use the quilting as you go technique to make reversible quilts. When you are living in a small traditional Irish cottage, there is an issue with space and room. This technique will help me to stop making those huge quilts that you have to pin up and then take to the machine and with great difficulty machine quilt. I will be able to do each block seperately and then have it finished to be reversible. I can't wait to try it.

I also got from Kelly a GO Heart Die perfect for Valentine's Day coming up.

Thanks for everyone who has been visiting my OWOH post and coming to see my blog. Welcome to all and to my regulars, thanks for your lovely comments on my new blog makeover. Madame Samm is the bomb. She is so talented!

New Blog Look

I wanted to thank Madame Samm of Sew I Quilt and Stash Manicure for giving me a new blog look. Aren't the sheep oh so cute? Even my blog button has a sheep. I am so grateful that she took the time to do that for me yesterday,and I am thrilled with the look. Thanks so much! Check out her blogs! I was lucky enough to be introduced to her through our mutual friend Millie, who is my February Star.