Congrats to (the winner)!!!

The winner of the That Patchwork Place Quilt Calendar 2017 is (drumroll please):

1. 
   OhioLoriJuly 30, 2016 at 11:17 PM

   Yay for you!! Congratulations!! & thank you for chance to win your Give-a-way too! :)

   ReplyDelete

Congrats! Please email me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com with your snail mail address so I can get this calendar out to you!

Thank you to all who entered this calendar giveaway! 

Last Day! (& Maura)

Today is the day I pick a winner for the new That Patchwork Place Quilt Calendar 2017. I will be choosing a winner later today (I'll give you all day to enter) and I will post the winner tomorrow. To enter into the giveaway and read more about the calendar, click here. Be sure to enter the giveaway on the original post, not here.

I'm writing this kinda quick in between dishes, making baby food, trying to get Maura to nap and finally finish laundry (laundry may have to wait). I haven't given a Maura update in a bit so here's a quick recap and some pictures from a couple weeks ago:

 Maura will be 5 months old next week...She's eating baby food like a champ and there isn't anything we've given her yet that she doesn't like (phew). I'm busy making green beans for her as I type this too.

 She's been teething FOREVER but nothing has broken through just yet. She's a spittle fountain most days (just like in the picture above). She's also on the move and has been chasing our dog Rosie around in a walker for the last couple weeks or so too. She's attempting to crawl and nothing has happened quite yet, but she can wiggle her cute little butt all over the floor. And her crib. And everywhere else.

She's got the cutest giggle and the prettiest smile and she's just growing up way too fast. She's doing all sorts of things months ahead of schedule and she seems to be a girl on a mission. I'm just hoping once she becomes completely mobile that I can still entertain her enough AND still have time to fit some quilting in between naps and such.

Alrighty, I think those green beans are good to go, that laundry is giving me the stink eye (it's all done and folded, just needs put away), and this sweet little miss in my lap is avoiding her naptime like the plague. Wish me luck. Good luck to you and check back tomorrow for the winner of the calendar giveaway and maybe some more Maura cuteness. Toodles!

Calendar Giveaway and a Sale!!!

It's that time of year again! I can't believe it myself...

Time to pick out which Martingale Calendar is going to grace your wall for 2017! Yes, they are out and ready for your enjoyment (I'm pretty sure, if they're not out yet it'll be soon)

I got the wonderful news that I have a quilt in the Quilt Calendar 2017 (click here to purchase your own calendar):

I'm Miss August. Or atleast my Wayfarer quilt from Seems Like Scrappy is. See:

One of the best parts of this particular calendar is the wide variety of quilts to gaze at throughout the year. Oh, and the fact the instructions to make all of the quilts are included and that's pretty cool too. Yes, you read that right. It's like a calendar and a quilt book all in one.

The quilts are all gorgeous and its so wonderful to have this collection. Would you like one? You would? Well that's wonderful because one lucky reader will get a copy of this calendar - just leave me a comment below and you're entered! I will pick a winner Monday August 1st! Good luck!

Also, don't forget in the meantime my entire online store is having a sale in honor of my birthday month. Just enter the code HAPPYBDAY for 31% off all books, magazines and patterns. Sale runs through July 31st, so act fast!

And the winner is...

So sorry for the delay in announcing a winner. Since we last spoke, things got a tad crazy here. This momma-to-be had a great doctor's appointment and it seems Little Miss is eager to make her appearance. She's not "due" for another 4 weeks, yet the doctors think with her progression we won't make it til then, let alone the end of this month. We'll know more later this week at the next appointment to see if she's progressed more or not. :)

And then I somehow picked up a nasty stomach bug that sidelined me the rest of the week and into the weekend. Luckily I had my flu shot and I think that helped curb the effects a bit, but it still wasn't fun and I was basically worthless.

Add on top of that we had another open house here this weekend to try to sell our home. Luckily Ben was a great trooper and was able to handle the majority of it and then some... I swear I can't make this stuff up - Here we are about half an hour from leaving the house and we get a call from the realtor who was supposed to be showing our house... She got in a car accident and can't make it. Our regular realtor was at another showing over an hour away and knew he would be late (hence the other partner opening the showing). So what were we to do? Well, it ended up that I packed up the dogs and wished my hubby luck and he tried his hat at being a realtor until our guy could show up and save the day... It was awkward at best, but I hope Ben did a good job and we get some good news soon. Otherwise I'm not sure how we're going to be able to show this house in the first few weeks Little Miss decides to join us, especially if it's sooner than anticipated!

So, that was basically what happened here since we last spoke and I'm now in that super excited/anxious/panicked/can't wait mode waiting for Little Miss to get here. I had a hunch she may arrive early, but I didn't think she would be this far ahead of schedule!

Speaking of which, I think I have finally hit my mark on being "done" with quilting until after Little Miss arrives. She has been wearing me out and just airing on the side of caution, I think it's best I take it easy and prep for her arrival. Please feel free to contact me about quilting services and I can still take in quilts and get you on the schedule for once I start quilting again, but please know I probably won't be quilting again until after Easter or so - so please plan accordingly if you have deadlines.

And the reason you all (hopefully) have been listening to me babble and ramble on - THE WINNER!!!

The winner of the book is mamajan who wrote:

mamajanFebruary 11, 2016 at 12:06 AM

Lately I have been buying fabrics in coral and navy cause I would love to make a quilt with these colors. This book looks like I could find a beautiful pattern to use. Congrats on being part of it.

Now, I normally don't do this, but I'm making an exception. Mamajan, I don't have an e-mail for you so I can't send you a message. I'm giving you until Wednesday morning (Ohio time)to contact me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com with your snail mail address so I can send you this book. Otherwise I will choose another winner and move on down the list. 

I normally don't choose a winner I can't immediately respond to, but there seems to have been some security changes on the blog platforms lately and more than half of the comments were no-reply (which means I can't e-mail you back).

I honestly don't know at the moment how to change the settings, but I will look into it and let you all know so that you can change your settings and have better chances of myself and other bloggers contacting you in the future (if you win something for instance). Thank you to all who entered and I urge you to go find this book and take it home with you because you're going to find several projects you'd like to make!

Now I'm going to do some more baby laundry and finish up these last couple quilts I have and wait for Little Miss to arrive. I'll update you all soon and mamajan - I hope to hear from you soon!

Block-Buster Quilts: I Love Log Cabins

It's time to share a brand new book with you that I'm super excited about! Today I'm going to share with you a new book by Martingale featuring 16 designers (myself included) called Block-Buster Quilts: I Love Log Cabins.

If you're new to the blog, welcome! If you're familiar with my ways, welcome back and please don't mind the life pauses here and there. I'm currently expecting our first child to arrive soon and we're trying to sell our house and move and yeah... Not much quilting happening at the moment. But today I have plenty to share so let's begin!

I have had a log cabin quilt on my quilting bucket list for a long long time. I finally made my first log cabin quilt a couple years ago - you can find Frolic in my second book, Seems Like Scrappy (it's on the cover) and from that moment I was hooked! 

I mean what's not to love? Choosing fabrics and getting prepped is so much fun and the construction goes together so smooth and swift - you have a quilt top before you know it. Not only that, but the color and layout options are endless allowing you to create and imagine and create some more until your heart is content!

As I mentioned, there are 16 quilts in this book - one from each designer. Oh, and before I forget - head on over to Martingale's blog and leave a comment to win! They're giving away 16 copies of this very book next week - one for each designer! Click here to head on over, just leave a comment and you're entered!

Daybreak by Rebecca Silbaugh (that's me!)

The neat thing with compilation books, like this one, is until the book is released or the marketing materials start to arrive, as a designer we usually only know about the quilt we made and/or the quilts our close friends have made too if we chat about that sort of thing. You never know what to expect. 

The quilt above is Daybreak by me! I am in love with wonky blocks and came up with this fun layout to try. This type of layout does give a directional look to the quilt overall, but it has so much dimension that I really want to try it in other color options soon. Maybe. Depending on when Little Miss arrives and how much energy I'll have left. 

If anyone knows me - I usually am not a fan of yellow. However there are exceptions to every rule and one being my sewing room is painted yellow. Knowing this book would be released in the typically most mundane time of year for me (I live in the snow belt in NE Ohio, usually by now the landscape has been several shades of grey for months) I wanted to choose lively colors that would remind me of Spring. And sun. And warmer temperatures. And yeah. That's why I chose these colors. 

I would love to see what colors or fabric lines you would choose to make this quilt out of. You know what - leave me a comment below with what color or fabric scheme you'd make Daybreak out of and I'll choose a winner later this week to receive a copy of I Love Log Cabins! 

Scrappy Courthouse Steps by Lissa Alexander

Well, to be honest I got my books in the mail last week and haven't had a chance to open them until today (we're trying to sell our house so my office and sewing room can't be the usual clutter storm I'm so used to living in - hey, I'm creative and it works). So I opened my books and started to scroll through the pages and had to keep the drool at bay. There are so many beautiful quilts in this book bursting with personality that I want to tear into my stash and make almost all of them. But I can't because I have to keep it clean and tidy... But the second we sell this place and move it's game on! Quilting season will be open as long as Little Miss and I have come to an understanding. I'm hoping the sound of the sewing machines will lull her to sleep. 

Anywho, the first quilt I stumbled across that I want to make is this amazing Scrappy Courthouse Steps by Lissa Alexander. It's simple and fun and fresh but timeless. I see this as a quilt for Little Miss and I to cuddle under in the future and watch movies. 

Mi Casa by Carrie Nelson

And then I flipped a few more pages and saw this dream of a quilt that I NEED TO MAKE!!! Carrie is known for her eye for color and texture and this quilt is the perfect opportunity to play with both of those things. It's another simple yet fresh concept that allows for maximum scrappiness. And you all know how I love scrappy!

 Seeing Stars by Kimberly Jolly

And what's not to love about a log cabin block with a star in it set in stars? Kimberly did an awesome job with this quilt and I love it. Okay I love them all, but for different reasons. This particular design could work so well for just about anyone by changing the colors and the textures. It could be masculine or patriotic or feminine or whimsical. I'm not sure which fabrics I would choose to make this one in, but the possibilities are endless!

 Log Cabin Chevron by Penny Barnes

And finally this quilt just blew me away when I looked at it. I'm a traditionalist at heart and this is honestly a very traditional block. It's just a modern color palette and layout to take this quilt to the next level. When I see this quilt, immediately I want someone to make it and send it to me to quilt it.  This type of design gets the long-armer in me buzzing and my brain is working overdrive to figure out how I would quilt it. I mean really - how much fun is this - AND it's a log cabin that doesn't look like a log cabin. BONUS!

So what do you think about this new book? Are you in love with log cabins like the designers in this book? Are you a hooked quilter on the road to log cabin recovery or a newbie to the log cabin fever? I'd love to hear what you think!

Don't forget to leave me a comment below to enter for a chance to win a copy of this book - I will probably choose a winner this weekend - and don't forget to head over to enter for another chance to win at Martingale's blog too!

If you're too impatient and you want to get your hands on this book NOW, you're in luck. You can look at your LQS, they should have copies in stock now, or you can purchase a copy from Martingale. The great thing about buying a copy directly from Martingale is you know the actual book will be arriving and be in your hands soon, but you also get an ebook download immediately after your purchase so you can scroll and start to plan your next project right away. Without the wait. How awesome is that?!

Well, that's a bunch of log cabin love to share with you today. Good luck and I can't wait to hear what you think about this latest book.

And the winners are:

Wait, winners? As in plural? Yep, you read right. I picked two different winners for the quilting giveaway and here's why...

The winner of $100 in quilting is:

Congrats, Sarah!!! I will be e-mailing you shortly. Or, if you see this first, please send me an email at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com so we can discuss quilting options!!!

Now, that would be well enough on it's own, but I'm feeling a bit generous today. I loved all of the suggestions that were made for a name for my long arm! I had so much fun reading the names you chose and the reason why.

Many of you suggested Ruby or Blue or something along those lines. I completely understand why, but I can't. When I started this business I wanted to try and keep a business life and a home life and distinguish between the two. Granted my hobby is my business... But there are times where I just need to unplug and be me. When I'm in super crazy quilter mode, Ruby Blue (or just Ruby for short) has become almost an alter ego. Ben and I discuss her as such sometimes. She is a big part of me and I can't name my machine the same...

However, there was one name from the minute I read it that just pulled at my heart strings and resonated with me (and for completely un-quilty reasons). Do you all have your movies? You know the movies that no matter how many times you've watched them, if you're scrolling through the channels and see it's on, you stop right there and watch it for the gazillionth time? Well, this is one of those movies for me:

I am such a sucker for car movies! Especially muscle car movies. So when I read this comment, I had to give a little extra love:

So Patricia, you have a choice. You can either choose to reserve your very own signed copy of my new book, Seems Like Scrappy, and I will send one to you when it is released... Or you can choose any two patterns from my Shop and I will send those to you right away! I couldn't just choose the name Memphis without showing my appreciation. Send your response over to rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com!

So, it worked out too perfectly. My long arm is now known as Memphis (as in Memphis Raines) and my little domestic is now Kip (as in Kip Raines, Memphis' little brother).

Thank you to everyone that participated and thank you for your input! I read each and every comment and I may just be switching up some things around here in the future. Nothing too crazy, but I think I'll go back and share just how I came up with some of the designs I've chosen for certain quilts, I have some tutorials I need to work up and share as well as some other new and exciting things!

Speaking of exciting things... I have some quilts to share from the local Lake Farmpark Quilt Show! I finally ventured out and got to see the show and it was wonderful (as usual). I'll be sharing photos soon, so check back here for quilty overload!

Quilting Giveaway!!!

Thank you to all who entered, but this giveaway is now closed. Check back in the future for more chances to win!

It's about time I showed you all how much I appreciate you with a little giveaway! Doesn't that sound like fun?!

I'm going to keep this one short, sweet and simple...

Up for grabs is the chance to win $100 in long arm quilting!!!

There's three easy ways to enter:

1. Leave a comment below telling me what you enjoy on the blog and what you'd like to see more of.

2. Leave a separate comment suggesting a name for my long-arm machine... It needs a title!

3. For a bonus entry tag me @rubybluequilts on Instagram with a picture of your quilt (or the quilt you'd like to make) to send me!

If you are the lucky winner, there isn't a time limit on when I need to receive the quilt (within reason). You could have it completed and waiting, or it could be an idea in your noggin you're still waiting to figure out!

Leave your comments to enter below and share the word with your friends, $100 in quilting can go a long way!

This giveaway will be open until Monday, March 16th, winner will be announced Tuesday the 17th! Good Luck!

Fun-Size Quilts Winner!!!

Thank you to everyone that participated in this fun giveaway. Not only does it seem that you all are excited about the book and can't wait to get it in your hands... You all seem to love chocolate too! I had such a blast reading all of the comments. And I may have raided my fun size candy stash after reading about chocolate all day long...

So let's get to the winners! 

The winner of the eBook version of Fun-Size Quilts is:

Pauline PerryJuly 24, 2014 at 3:22 PM

Dairy Queen Blizzards have a fun-size!!

Pauline

The winner of the signed copy of Fun-Size Quilts is:

RosieGmaJuly 24, 2014 at 5:09 PM

Fun sized...hmmmm....maybe BabyRuths...no...Snickers....no.....Hershey Kisses....no...Mounds with Almonds....no...Butterfingers...no,.. oh heck, just all of them.....

Once again, I cannot thank you all enough for stopping by and making me laugh with your comments. This was such a fun giveaway and I'll have to do another one here soon kinda like it.

I have to admit though, My snack of choice while quilting is baby carrots. No mess on the fingers! And I can eat as many as I want. However, it just doesn't do the same trick as chocolate :)

Thank you all again and congrats to the winners!

Calendar Winner

Sorry for the delay in this post, I forgot to look at the calendar when I cut off the entries and I didn't want to interrupt the fun with the Fun-Size Quilts Blog Hop.

So, the winner of the 2015 Calendar is:

Liz LesJuly 18, 2014 at 6:45 PM

Thanks for the great opportunity to win the 2015 calendar.

Liz, please e-mail me at rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com with your snail mail address so I can get your calendar into the mail!

Thank you to everyone that commented and don't forget you still have time to win copies of Fun-Size Quilts, just go to the post here to enter. 

Have a great weekend!

Paris Preview and eBook Winner!!!

I have a TON of catching up to do, starting with sharing some of my 1500+ (no joke) pictures that I took this Spring when my Hubby and I ran away to Paris for a few days. I will show you this little teaser before we get to the really good stuff, like the winner!

Oh, Paris, how I miss you! But enough of that, I will be posting a bunch of pictures soon. For now let's announce the winner of the Celebrate Christmas with That Patchwork Place eBook!

And the winner is:

Congrats to martamanole!!!

AnonymousJune 30, 2014 at 2:44 PM

since I have grand kids(12 and 7) we took up car rides around the city for couple of evenings and look at the lights that people decorate their houses..also make one new quilty ornament for their Christmas tree....martamanole@yahoo.com

I had such a great time reading about all of your favorite traditions and it may or may not have made me want to bake a batch or 27 of holiday cookies while lounging in my pjs and watching classic movies. I have so many wonderful things to share with you all, come back for Paris pictures if you want to take a virtual trip with me and I'll get back to the quilting stuff real soon!

TIme to Celebrate Christmas with That Patchwork Place

I think I have come to the conclusion that the holidays are truly a year-round event for quilters. Think about it - at the beginning of the year there are those people that didn't get their projects done in time so they're going to finish them in the first few months of the year to be really ahead of schedule for the next season. Then when the weather warms up and the novelty of finishing those projects wears off, the new fabrics arrive in stores between May & July. Then you buy the new fabrics and come up with a new plan and set them aside until the weather gets cold again, when you decide to pull out that stack of UFOs and want to finish gifts for everyone you know in a unrealistic matter of time. Sound familiar to any of you? Can I get an Amen?Granted, if you're south of the equator the temperatures might be a bit different, but it's the same schedule all the same.

Well, with that in mind, the staff at Martingale came out with an amazing new book full of all sorts of projects that you could get started on now and have time to finish them before the holiday season is upon us. Sounds great right? Well, stay tuned and you could win an eBook to get your crafting in high gear.

 Celebrate Christmas with That Patchwork Place is a wonderful book full of 22 projects, large and small, that feature a variety of styles and fabrics with a project for everyone. I went through the book and picked out a few of my favorite projects that I'm sure I'm going to have to make before the holidays this year.

 I cannot get over how adorable this O Christmas Tree Wall Hanging is! I have a tree but I don't really have the right space to put one up in my house, so this may be my go-to decoration this year. Plus I know several people with the same spacial issue that I have and I think I could mass produce these cuties to grace several homes this year. I'm trying to decide which fabrics to use, but if I make a bunch, I can try several combinations and choose the right tree to fit each person on my list!

 Also, this Diamond Mantel Cover is so adorable and even though I don't have a mantel, I know some people who do and I could make a few of these for gifts too. Anything that combines different shapes like diamonds with just a touch of embroidery is right in my book!

And finally I NEED to make this stocking. The Naturally Neutral Stocking is just the project I need to grace my home this year. Sadly, each year my Husband pulls out his 5 stockings to decorate my home and I had none... So I made myself one and I wasn't thinking and made the smallest stocking known to man. It gets dwarfed by his gigantic stockings and I have been on the hunt ever since to find a stocking that I could make for me that "felt right". This is it! I may even make one to match for my Hubby, that is if I can select which stockings get hung up this year... We'll see!

So do any of these projects interest you? Do you have a stash of holiday fabrics waiting to be used? Well, I seriously recommend that you check out this book and find a project or three to make!

Oh, and getting to that giveaway - I'm curious to know - what is your favorite holiday tradition? We have several crazy traditions in our family, some that I don't think any other family does. For instance, when we open presents, you have to say "Thank you" to the giver of the gift before you begin to unwrap it. Failure to do so - no gift. Also, if you shake a package before you open it, you have to guess the contents. If you guess wrong - no gift. And never EVER shall scissors, knives or other sharp utensils be used to open a gift. EVER. It's goofy and fun and it's our thing.

So again, what's your thing? What is your favorite holiday tradition? Leave me a comment below with the answer to enter for a chance to win an eBook of Celebrate Christmas with That Patchwork Place. I will choose a random winner next Monday, so please remember to leave me your e-mail address so we can contact you when you win!

And don't forget this isn't your only chance to win, there is a blog to visit each day to enter for a chance to win. Check out the schedule below:

Thursday, June 26th - Stitch This! (Martingale)

Friday, June 27th - Pat Wys at Silver Thimble Talk

Saturday, June 28th - Kim Brackett at Magnolia Bay Quilts

Monday, June 30th - That's me at Ruby Blue Quilts

Tuesday, July 1st - SewCalGal

Wednesday, July 2nd - Cindy Lammon at Hyacinth Quilt Designs

Thursday, July 3rd - GenQ

Saturday, July 5th - Cheryl Brown at Quilter Chic

Monday, July 7th - Jen Eskridge at Reanna Lily Designs

Tuesday, July 8th - Kathy Brown at The Teacher's Pet

Wednesday, July 9th - Amy Ellis at Amy's Creative Side

That's a bunch of chances to win so hop on over and enter! Thanks for stopping by and Happy Holidays!!!

p.s. If you don't have the patience to wait to see if you win an eBook copy and you want this book in your hot little hands much much sooner, you can also purchase a copy from either Martingale or Amazon now!

Announcing the Winners!!!

Without further ado, the winners are:

Grand Prize (both autographed books and a $25 iTunes gift card) 

Miranda PJune 14, 2014 at 6:46 PM

I'm torn with Lady A and Florida Georgia Line. They are both amazing!! Thanks for the chance!!

Mini Grand Prize (both autographed books and a $15 iTunes gift card):

KathyJune 7, 2014 at 10:45 PM

I love country music - Billy Currington and Keith Urban

Signed copy of Kitchen Stitches:

SueJune 7, 2014 at 11:20 AM

I am a Big fan of Micheal Buble ! I listen to Pandora while I am sewing :-D My guess for you would be Blake Shelton

Kathy HJune 11, 2014 at 10:21 AM

I enjoyed the rest of your show pictures. What a beauty of a quilt. I think you would enjoy the eagles. I wasn't a big fan when they were very popular but have since become one.

Signed copy of Seamingly Scrappy:

Farm QuilterJune 7, 2014 at 10:35 PM

38 Special is a great band to listen to when I am quilting an E2E pattern so I can just rock out to the music - makes for a fast quilt!!!

Phyllis MoynihanJune 8, 2014 at 4:03 AM

Pink Floyd

Congrats to all of the winners. You have until the end of the week to send me your snail mail address to claim your prize before I choose a new winner. If you didn't get an e-mail from me, there wasn't an e-mail address left or you are set up as a no reply. E-mail me your information to rubybluequilts (at) gmail (dot) com.

And since this was so much fun, I wanted to share with you which music you guessed that I listen to, the music you guessed I don't listen to, and some of my other personal favorites.

Let's get started with the correct guesses. These play either on my Pandora, my CDs, my MP3s, the radio, or you may find me dancing to them in public given the chance:

Luke Bryan (I'm actually seeing him in concert this summer)

Colbie Callait

Michael Buble

Led Zeppelin

Lady Antebellum

38 Special

Billy Currington

Keith Urban

Metallica

Jason Aldean (I'm going to see him too)

Dierks Bentley

Air Supply

The Beatles

Straight No Chaser

Martina McBride

Journey

Chicago

Jim Brickman

Taylor Swift (yes, kinda sorta still)

Kenny Chesney

Tim McGraw

The Band Perry

Miranda Lambert (seeing her with Jason Aldean!)

Blake Shelton

CCR

Heart

Florida Georgia Line (seeing them with Jason too, it's gonna be a great concert)

Richard Marks

So that didn't leave many guesses that I don't listen to. That left:

Natalie McMaster

the Rankin Family

Enya

Springsteen (hate me if you must)

Toby Keith (not a big fan)

Pink Floyd

Mumford and Sons

Jack Johnson

the Stones

Tiffany Alvord

Ray Charles

Rockapella

Eagles (again, hate me if you must)

Kaiser Chiefs

John Williams

Hank Williams Jr.

Fleetwood Mac

Barbara Streisand

Neal Sedaka

James Taylor

Beach Boys (however I grew up listening to 45s on my grandparents jukebox, they're just not in my current playlist)

George Strait

Rod Stewart

Benny Goodman

Trisha Yearwood

Barry Manilow

Cher

Elton John

Okay, maybe now that I see it all in a list, there may have been more that I don't listen to. And trust me, I may not dislike their music, but it's not something I regularly seek out and listen to.

And now for the odd balls. Here's some music I listen to all the time that may surprise you:

Pentatonix

Lindsey Stirling (seriously, check her out, she's AMAZING)

Korn

Slipknot

Mushroomhead

Disturbed

Nat King Cole

JANET JACKSON (enough said)

Staind

Brantley Gilbert

Colt Ford

Bruno Mars

Daughtry

Linkin Park

Incubus

Ingrid Michaelson

Justin Moore

Katy Perry

30 Seconds to Mars

Kelly Clarkson

One Republic

Rascal Flatts

Sara Bareilles

SHeDAISY

Theory of a Deadman

Zac Brown Band

Styx

Jake Owen

Boston

Toto

Kansas

Frank Sinatra

And many many more! 

So as you can see I like my rock, especially hard rock (it helps to quilt faster), some country (which is what I grew up on...), some 80's (but when you're a child of the 80's...) some 70's rock (when your parents grew up in that era...), and some classics. Probably not the music you had in mind. Or atleast some of them. I just looked and between my Hubby and I we have 254 different artists in our iPods... That's not including the stacks of CDs we still have :)

But thanks for stopping by if you're still reading this and if there's anything else you think I should listen to, please share! Have a great day and congrats to the winners again!

Last Chance !!!

Dont forget, today is the last day to enter the drawing for autographed books and iTunes gift cards! 

Head over to the giveaway post by clicking the link:

http://rubybluequilts.blogspot.com/2014/06/musical-giveaway.html?m=1 

Musical Giveaway!!!

This giveaway is now closed! Thanks to all that entered!!!

I came up with this idea during Market and I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to try it out. Definitely, one if the questions I get asked the most about long arm quilting is:

WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO???

I have a super eclectic mix on my iPod and my Pandora account also gets a ton of use. So how does this giveaway work? What can you win?

Here's the plan: leave. Comment with the name of a singer or band or artist that you think I would listen to. Be creative. 

Just by leaving a comment you will be entered to win an autographed copy of with Kitchen Stitches or Seamingly Scrappy. 

However, if you actually guess someone I listen to, you will be entered to win the Grand Prize of both signed books and an iTunes $25 gift card. 

There is also a chance to win a Mini Grand Prize of both signed books and a $15 iTunes gift card. 

Oh, and did I mention there are 6 chances to win? There's the Grand Prize, the Mini Grand Prize, and two copies of each book up for grabs!

Because of the unprecedented nature of this giveaway and because I want to let your creativity blossom, I'm giving you until next Saturday, June 14th to enter. Tell all of your friends too and send them over. Also, you can enter once a day! 

Sound fun? I sure hope so! Like I said, get creative and I will post winners the following Monday. Good luck!

Winner & Snow

It's time to announce the winner of the Kitchen Stitches Giveaway!!! Congrats to Kathy H who wrote:

Looks like a wonderful book. It is always so refreshing to have something beautiful in the kitchen and it is often the last room in the house that I try to make prettier with some quilting.

Kathy, you have an e-mail in your inbox. Please send me your snail mail address so I can get your book in the mail to you!

And because a blog post isn't a true blog post without pictures, I thought I'd share some from the last week or so around my house.

 Like much of the country and the lake regions that get lake effect snow in snowbelts like ours, it has been snowing and snowing and cold. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw green grass, but I swear God has a sense of humor about it all. You can read about my other post referencing this theory by clicking here. But this time around, we woke up one morning to the prettiest powdery snow that coats everything!

 It's quite dramatic and is really bright. Even without sun (notice the sky is the same color as the rest of the picture) snow is about 90% reflective and this morning it seemed like there were spotlights on outside.

 Luckily this was the lighter version of the pretty snow. We had snow like this in the fall that was much heavier and it was so early many of the leaves were still on the trees which lead to downed branches and power lines for a yucky mess.

The reason I think God had a sense of humor this time is this - we have one extreme of winter or another. This day we had snow and it was a bit warmer (in the mid 20s, a virtual heatwave!). When it's gorgeous and sunny however... it looks really warm, but the temperatures drop and hover around the zero mark... Not cool, Robert Frost!!!

But alas, it is winter. I live in the snowbelt. I should be used to this. But what can I say, I'm a summer girl. Oh, and a yoga update for those of you who like to laugh. I did much better with my mantra this week. I actually had one after talking to my friend who got on her soapbox to tell me yoga is not a treat, it is an investment in my health and well being. It truly put it into perspective. I only said the other line from last week once :) If you are reading this and have no clue what I'm talking about, read this post here. It should make you chuckle and make your Monday not so boring. :)

Announcing the Winners!

Thank you all for the captions and names for my squirrels. Incidentally, I haven't seen them much these last few days, but I'm sure they'll be back around later this week as the temperatures dip pretty low and they'll need to feed on some more corn.

I had such a hard time trying to decide which posts I liked best so I let random.org decide for me. Paco here is going to help me announce the winners (if he can stay awake that is):

And the winners are:

SpartanBabeJanuary 9, 2013 at 3:10 PM

Name: Grizzly. Nickname: The Grizz

hueiseiJanuary 9, 2013 at 8:55 PM

Name: Mr. B
(B for Brown)

JohannaJanuary 10, 2013 at 9:57 AM

I would name him Bob. That is our go to name when we can't remember someone's name.

I bought my daughter (she's six) a squirrel feeder for Christmas. She loves the squirrels but we are trying to keep them away from the bird feeder. She was so excited that they have their own food now. They finally found it yesterday, we put it out on Christmas. They do provide lots of entertainment!

Alright ladies, congrats! I'll be sending you an e-mail in the next few minutes. Please e-mail me back with your snail mail address and your two choices of patterns (view them all here). 

Thank you all again for your comments and I'll try to be back with another giveaway soon!

Squirrels!!! & a GIVEAWAY!!!

This GIVEAWAY is now closed. Please come back again for more in the future!

Alright, it seems that many of you are as addicted to my squirrels as I am.

I completely forgot that I had captured these photos. After I said I wouldn't post about squirrels for awhile, I was downloading pictures from my camera and found these. I was laughing so hard I had to share...

 They're even bigger than they were last week! I just went and measured the compressed corn that this guy is munching on. That cylinder is 2.25" in diameter... Which leads me to believe this guy is about 4" in diameter. Hence their nickname this winter - Godzilla or Buddha squirrels.

 They just keep on munching and munching.

 I love this picture. It really deserves a caption.

 I literally could watch these guys all day. Maybe it's a good thing my long-arm machine is not at my house. I'd never get any work done.

Just because I could, I blew up the last picture to show the mass that is my squirrel. Which gets me to thinking...

I think in honor of my squirrels we need a GIVEAWAY!!!

Here's how to enter (there are many chances to win):

1. Leave me a comment that would be a caption for this photo:

2. My little guys don't have any names this year, granted I can't tell them apart, but alas, leave a comment for A NAME for one of my squirrels (just one name please)

3. Share this post on your Facebook page, blog, or any other social media outlet and leave me a comment telling me you did with a link to the post (just one link please)

So there you have it. Three chances to win. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. The GIVEAWAY will be open until 11:59 p.m. this Saturday the 12th of January EST. 

So what will you win? How about one winner for each type of entry which equals three winners. Each winner will get their choice of two Ruby Blue patterns (for right now) and they will get an autographed copy of my book, Seamingly Scrappy, reserved for them once it arrives!

There you have it! I can't wait to start reading your comments. Have a great day! Show me some squirrel love!

And the winner is...

Congrats to AnnieK who said:


"Candy Coated Dreams is my favorite, I love the bright, multi-color blocks, which don't look too busy, all together, because of the symmetry of the design."

Thanks Annie. I will be sending you an e-mail in just a minute. Please send me your snail mail address and I will get this in the mail for you very soon!

Thank you all who participated. I'm going home after work, packing my bags and heading up to Shipshewana for a couple days. I'll try to take pictures and post about some of the lastest MODA goodies. I can't wait to se what quilts we're hanging in the booth this time!

Thank You Sale

I'm slowly getting back up to speed, so in the mean time since I have no new quilting to show off, I'd like to offer a sale on the new shop:

It's now been up and running for a little bit and I think it's time to say Thank You to all of you!

From now through Saturday (February 25th) enter THANKYOU into the discount code at checkout to receive 20% off your entire order!

So, to start shopping just click on the icon at the top left of the page and it will take you directly to the store.

Oh, and one more thing... please leave a comment here with your favorite Ruby Blue pattern and why you like it so much to enter for a chance to win that very pattern for free!

Thank you again, you all make my "job" so much fun! Hope to be back soon with more quilt-y stuff!

And the winner is...

First things first - thank you all so much for the pattern love and the wonderful comments. I enjoyed reading each and everyone one of them!

From what I gather, here's a list of what many of you will be doing:

sewing or quilting

baking - all sorts of things

lots of goodies in the crockpot

reading tons of books (thanks for the suggestions by the way!)

watching movies (especially Johnny Depp! Yay!)

watching the snow fall before it becomes snirt (snow & dirt, new to me too, but I love it)

playing with the kids

After reading all these comments, here's what I want to do now:

bake - all sorts of things

put stuff in my crockpot

read a ton of books

watch a few movies

watch the snow fall from where I'm warm

play the Wii with my Hubbin

and to top it off I've never craved a grilled cheese so much in my life!!!

So, without further delay - THE WINNER IS:

justacraftymom who said...

Living up here in Maine we can get a lot of snowed in days, even in the spring! Of course I would sew! But I also like to play board games with my kiddos, snuggle in bed and read a good book while the kids watch a Disney movie that I have probably have watch a 1000 times.

Thank you all again for the wonderful comments, you sure knew how to make this girl smile and chuckle over the weekend! justacraftymom - I'll be sending you an e-mail shortly, please send me your snail mail address so I can get these goodies off to your doorstep!

This went so well, I'm already thinking of the next giveaway and what it could be... Hhhmmmmm....

Back to other topics, Paco sure felt the love, but I wanted to show you what it's like living with this little one. Here's the shots I tried to take:

If it seems that I might have more pictures of Duncan (my Cairn Terrier) it's because he's not a wiggle worm. Seriously, about 80% of all pictures end this way with Paco... but I still love him.

So much so that we got him a new toy yesterday. He LOVES Nylabones. He won't look at, sniff, or even bother with anything else. If it's a Nylabone - he's golden. So, we were out of Nylabones (panic!) so off to the store we went. We got the usual 3 pack, but I saw one that was a dinosaur... It was kinda big, but it made me wonder if Paco could handle it. If he couldn't Duncan would be fine with it regardless, so we brought it home.

It's a HUGE hit! So much so that when I came home today to let Paco out of his cage, we went outside to do "business" and then he ran back in so excited to get it - he couldn't. He'd pick it up and you'd hear it slide out of his mouth when he'd turn around. He'd finally get it, start running and drop it again. It was hi-larious! SO, not to torture my fur-baby or nothing, but I took it away from him, put it back in the cage for instant replay:

I know I"m rambling today so I've got to stop and get into my sewing room, but thank you all so much again! I'll be back with more soon!

One last congrats to justacraftymom!