Happy Zombie

My sweet, wonderful and funny friend Cate of A Charmed Life is having a give-away on her blog. Cate is one of the few peeps in this world who’s gotten me to put on make-up, brush my hair, and even wear a blouse with buttons and everything. It would be wrong for me to tell you that she blackmailed me into it.  So I won’t.  And I would REALLY suck as a friend if I said she’s trying to top me with my four winners - with her having FIVE winners!  So I won’t.

Kidding aside (except the part about her being sweet, wonderful and funny), check out Cate’s blog and give-away.  One of those 5 bundles of joy could be yours!  Be sure to say I sent ya… b’cause I’m still suckin’ up to her, especailly after she made me look so good!

You must also see what sistah-friend Karen is up to.  Karen has a mission for you, as well as an opportunity to win this HUGE bundle of fabric.   Poppy would want you to have it.

Thank GOODNESS for the random generator! Holy scrap - what a wonderful response! And almost a third of you had second chance entries. WOW… thatzalotta commenting going on! I really wish I had 400+ prizes to give, but I only have four. I’ll be stuffing the envelopes not knowing who’s going to get what… only the winners will know once they receive them.

So here they are.

Drumroll.

More drumroll.

We’ll find out right after the break (my piss poor Ryan Seacrest imitation).

And the winners are…

Huge congrats to Shnoodle,  AnyoneCanQuilt, Deb, and Cyndi!  I’ll be sending you guys an email shortly!

I’ve been wanting to show my Lecien Cosmo embroidery floss from Japan… to rave how wonderful it is. But I’ve had no place to say where to get it. Until now! The Cosmo floss is pure heaven.  Now that I’m using Cosmo - I feel like all these years I’ve been driving an old Ford Pinto (with no A/C, crank windows and only an AM radio)… and now I’m driving the BMW (an X5 to be exact) of embroidery floss thanks to Cosmo.  What Aurifil Mako is to thread - Cosmo is to floss.  A gotta have.  A must have.

I’m so excited that Joe & Roxie of ThimbleCreek are now carrying the entire Cosmo line!  Oh happy day!  You can visit their wonderful shop in Concord or contact them via phone or email.  You can find a Cosmo color chart here (aka my shopping list).

Other floss now feels like burlap… Cosmos feels like silk.

Pulling strands is a snap - and never gets jumbled up and looking like the LA freeway system.

Glides like butter through fabric.

Feels like silk… but it’s 100% cotton.

It never frays or knots up on me - and I stitch with long strands (because I’m lazy like that).

The colors are rich and vibrant.

So soft you can’t help but pet it.

Candy made from cotton.

I’m so excited about ThimbleCreek now selling Cosmo, I thought how fun it would be to have a Cosmo give-away. So I got on the horn and asked my sweet friend Nireko from Lecien if she could send me a Cosmo goodie to give-away - and she not only sent me one goodie… she sent me four. FOUR! That means FOUR WINNERS!

So here’s the deal. Leave a comment between now and 10am PST on March 26th to enter - four lucky winners will win either a 4-pack of floss (that’s 48 skeins of Cosmo!) or a darling Petit Sampler kit (which is adorable Japanese sweetness).

To sweeten the deal… sign up for Joe’s amazing newsletter and give yourself a second chance comment.  If you’re already receiving the ThimbleCreek newsletter… make a second comment as well. Be sure to say “I’m signed up” in your second comment! And if you’re thinking I’m going to win a toaster oven for getting you to sign up… I am!  Just kidding.  I love the TC news (Email Gazette), and it always makes me smile when I see it in my in-box - and I think it will make you smile too!  Cosmo will make you smile.  It will make your fingers smile.  It will make your fabric smile.

3/26/09 10:04am - Contest is now closed. Winners announced soon!

Another crazy cute block of Anne’s adorable BOM done. Mine’s been done, but I’ve been under the weather so it’s taken me a while to show it. The best part about making this month’s block - is I got to make mine with Paula as she made hers. AND SHE EVEN FEED ME, TOO! The woman can cook, can bake, can make killer margaritas, can knit, can sew, can craft… and she can share a mean cold bug! J/K Paula (I probably gave it to you)!

It seems like an eternity that I’ve had this bugger cold that’s going around (and I just got over a cold a few weeks ago!), and I have a lot of catching up to do with emails and wanting to go blog visiting (I promise not to share my cold when I visit). I’m so, so, so, so touched by all the love that’s been showered on me over the whip cream dollops - thank you all sooo, sooo, soooooo much! I may just have to add a dollop to every post I make! Gush. Blush. I heart you all and thank you so very much!

Edited in: The yummy, yummy, yummy yellow background is a Moda Basics called “Dottie” and the color is called “Butter”.

My second attempt at the Sweet Slice cake was a little naked, so I decided to make a fabric “blue plate special” plate… and then some strawberries.  All I needed were some dollops of whipped cream.

Of course, I always find myself chanting, “I just need some whipped cream”.

I scoured blogland and flickr for tutorials on how to make whipped cream out of wool felt. I found a few, but they required sewing teeny tiny stitches on pee wee pieces of felt.  I have teeny tiny pee wee patience for that.

I was looking for something quick and simple - and for a way to use some of my pearl beads (my latest obsession).

So I came up with my own version.  After many prototype go-arounds with scissors, pencil and felt… I went to my trusty ruler rack and found just the ticket.  Darlene Zimmerman’s HEXAGON ruler by EZ Quilting by Wrights.  Maybe I’m not the only one who’s inner voice (or voices) keeps chanting, “I just need some whipped cream”?  Super easy, super fast, super not fussy.

1.  Ruler, wool felt.
2.  Cut into hexagon of desired size.
3.  Snip from points to about ⅓ of the way from the center to make little “pies”.  Just eyeball.  Inconsistency adds character.
4.  Trim each pie as shown.
5.  Result is one of those ninja flying disc looking things.  But not as sharp.  Or as deadly.

6. With matching thread (I used red for visual effect), pull a stitch through the sharp corner of each “pie”. Continue.
7. End where you started, and through the other side.
8. Tug/gather. Gently.  You now have a dollop.  Sort of.

9. Make a few tacking stitches.
10. Make a knot on the bottom of your dollop, but do not cut your thread.
11. Enter off center. Add pearl bead. Exit off center. Knot off on the bottom.

Sew/tack into place on what ever you’re going to dollop with whipped cream.

And now I must think about tonight’s dinner… and I think I know just what to have - and where to get it at!

I recently posted a new quilt project at the Moda Bake Shop using Turnovers (little triangle packs of Modagoodness), and as fun as it was to make, I have just as much fun naming my quilts. It’s like naming a new puppy… but my quilt isn’t gonna leave me surprises on my carpet or chew on my socks. I thought my blocks looked like waffles, so my first thought was “Waffle Stompers”, but thought that might reveal that I went to high school in the 70’s.  I guess I just revealed that.  Belgian Waffles it is!
I loved the Chez Moi Swanky Turnovers I used. I love saying “swanky”. Even in WayneGarthlish… Schhhhha-wanky. My dark north coast Oregon days make for horrible photographs, and my photo doesn’t do this yummy fabric justice. The colors and patterns are so crisp and fun. It reminds me of my sweetest of sweetiepie friend Kathleen… her colors and the Parisian/Asian vibe that she has. If you look at Kathleen’s blog, artwork and flickr - I think you will agree!

More Moda love…
- Pam is celebrating her Moda Bake Shop quilt project (weepy cute… you’ll be wanting to make it the minute you see it) with a sweet Moda Bake Shop giveaway.
- Lissa is celebrating wonderful links and quilty goodness - and a sweet giveaway she made and a bookazine.
- Vanessa is celebrating her adorable Moda Bake Shop honeybuns rug (ohmygosh I so have to make one) with a Sweet & Swanky giveaway.
I can’t help but say… schhhhha-wanky good fun!