I've been busy.  Yes, like no one else has lately, right?  Two weeks ago I did make the 3rd block for the "Layer Cake Quilt-Along that I joined.  Then today, all of a sudden, it was time for the 4th block.  This is my Block 4.  Not sure what happened. I seem to invent my own blocks. At least, the corners that did meet, I managed to line up correctly. Don't know why the triangles on the sides weren't quite long enough...

This is my 3rd block from the "Layer Cake Quilt-Along."  Somehow, I didn't get around to posting this two weeks ago when I made it.  I think I did a little better on this one.  My stripes are off but I didn't have enough fabric to make them match up. I know, excuses, excuses.

I've actually finished something :)

Thanksgiving has come and gone.  Our oldest grandson, Johnny, spent the week with us as did our daughter Evonne and her family.  We had a wonderful time together.  Now I'm back to quilting and I've actually finished something.  I've been learning paper-piecing and had made 20 blocks out of Carol Doak's book of 300 paper-pieced quilt blocks.  Well, I finished 7 mug rugs to use as Christmas gifts.  Yay.

I still have a few blocks to figure out some project to use them in.  Maybe more mug rugs, candle mats...

Two Quilt Giveaway

I haven't been doing much sewing lately.  My grandsons are spending Thanksgiving week with us at the ranch so I've been busy with them.  It is deer hunting season and my oldest grandson has killed a large whitetail doe which we will  make into jerky.  This morning he was able to kill two feral hogs which are considered predators in Texas since they compete with the whitetail deer for food and also feed on the fawns.  
    I am at my computer for a little while this morning and  ran into this cool giveaway for a chance to win one of two quilts.  Pretty cool just before Christmas.  You'll have a great quilt to keep or give as a gift yourself.  Here's a picture and the link.  Maybe.  I'm not too good at doing stuff on my blog yet. You have to enter the giveaway by Dec. 1.
Pink Fig Designs Quilt Giveaway

I worked all day on the second block of the Layer Cake Quilt-Along.  I thought that I was going to gradually get better at this after the difficulties I had with the first block but I was wrong.  This block was so hard and frustrating for me (said in my little girl whiney cry-baby voice).  Anyway, after sewing the blocks backwards, upside down, and inside out (Really, I did all that.) I finally finished it.  I KNOW that one of the blocks is still offset a quarter turn but I am NOT unsewing this block any more.  This will just serve to show how far I've come when I do make beautiful blocks in the future.  Now, ta da!

     We spent the day yesterday in Kerrville, TX doing errands (buying deer corn and protein pellet).  We had lunch at the Lake House which is a beautiful spot overlooking the Guadalupe River. 
     The Layer Cake Quilt-Along has posted the 2nd block.  I've chosen my colors and will be cutting and sewing today.  It's really interesting to see all the blocks made that are posted on  Flickr.  I've also learned of a new giveaway for a lap quilt made of  "The Twelve Days of Christmas" plus the pattern.  This can be found at:
  Leon'as Quilting Adventure 
     I started out winning two of the first giveaways I ever entered.  Now I'm trying to stay on this winning streak but haven't had any luck again.  Off to cut and sew.

AccuQuilt Giveaway

I've been working my way through Carol Doak's "300 Paper-Pieced Quilt Blocks."  I've actually made about 30 blocks and I'm loving it.  It's so much easier to make those angles line up the way they're supposed to.  I'm thinking I'll be making mug rugs or candle mats for Christmas gifts. 

I found another blog giving away an AccuQuilt Go Cutter.  I may actually win one of these some day.  Go to Simply Solids blog to enter: Simply Solids AccuQuilt Go Giveaway
Maybe if I win one of these cutters, it will make it faster to cut the pieces I need for my paper-piecing :)

That didn't work...

Well, that post about the AccuQuilt Go Giveaway didn't work.  It doesn't look at all like the one "Stray Stitches" posted so I'm going to try something else.  How about this?
"Lavender Ridge"
And then, just in case I'm doing this correctly, my favorite blogger "Stray Stitches" also has a giveaway for her 80th post.  She's giving away some beautiful fabric.  Try clicking this link:
"Stray Stitches" 80th Post Giveaway

Hunting

I haven't worked much on my blog since I'm deer hunting with my husband and son.  I have my laptop with me and keep checking the blogs I follow.  I daily go to "Stray Stitches" since I enjoy her blog so much.  Posted on "Stray Stitches" is information about an AccuQuilt Go Giveaway.  I'm trying to  enter the giveaway and one of the requirements is that I post a link to the giveaway on my blog.  Right.  Like I know how to do that.  So, what I'm doing is copying the link to this post to see if it works...
The blog is called "Lavender Ridge"

http://lavenderridge.blogspot.com/2010/11/go-giveaway.html

My Layer Cake Quilt-Along block

I've joined a Layer Cake Quilt Along with "Moose on the Porch Quilts."  I excitedly downloaded the instructions and very carefully (I thought I was doing it carefully) cut and sewed my block together and submitted the photos.  Man, those other quilters are great.  Mine looks very amateurish compared to theirs.  All of the other submissions have all the seams matching and they lie flat on the surface they're photographed on.  Mine is all puckered and crooked.  Everyone has been so great and made comments saying how nice my colors are and how nice it looks and that if one drives by a quilt at 50 miles another and sees no mistakes, then it's fine.  What wonderfully nice sewers.  Here is the photo of my block.  One good thing, my block #2 can only look better. Ok, I'm no better at blogging than I am at sewing...trying to upload my block...

Giveaway Prizes

I have received the beautiful prizes I won in the recent "Fall into Fall Quilt Bloggers Giveaway.  I'm so excited to start a project with both of them.  One is a  beautiful lap quilt kit of 13 fat quarters plus a half yard print for binding from the giveaway Dawn Nichols had on her blog called Dawn’s Quilt Corner (http://www.dawnsquiltcorner.com/). 

The other giveaway I won contains 10 batik fat quarters and a generous 4 yards of a beautiful yellow print fabric that Teresa Thornborough had on her blog called “Country Cabin Thoughts and Crafts (http://countrycabinthoughtsandcrafts.blogspot.com/). 

Thanks Dawn and Teresa.  I’m also posting your photos of these wonderful prizes since I can’t begin to describe the beautiful colors and prints on these fabrics.  Thanks Dawn and Teresa!  Now I just need to make something wonderful with these lovely fabrics.

Cool.  Here's my paper-pieced tablecloth (well, Mama's tablecloth).

Paper-piecing

While I was in Fresno, California I bought Carol Doak's book on paper-pieced quilt blocks so I'm trying to learn how to do that.  I've always had a hard time getting the pieces to match up correctly and this really makes a difference.  I do still have a problem getting the blocks to square up but I'm still practicing.  I'm going to try to post a photo of the tablecloth I made for my mother using paper-pieced blocks.  The blocks that don't line up or have the points cut off do give the tablecloth character, right?
Ok, I'm tring to figure out how to upload my tablecloth photo...

Yay for the Fall into Fall Quilt Bloggers Giveaway

     I started this blog in order to participate in the Fall Quilt Bloggers Giveaway and was that ever a great idea.  After entering around 100 of the giveaways, I won!  I won!  I wrote "I won!" twice because that's what I did.  I won twice.  I hardly ever win anything and it was so exciting to win the beautiful  Gypsy Quilt Kit from Dawn's Quilt Corner and  five yards of "Nature's Blooms" & ten 1/2 yards of "Fossil Ferns"  from Country Cabin Thoughts and Crafts.  I can hardly wait to get started quilting with these new fabrics :) 
     Another exciting thing is the three new followers.  I actually have 5 followers but 2 are my sisters who I asked to follow my blog so I would have followers, haha.  Now I have 3 more.  Thanks Quilting Nana (I'm a Quilting Nana also), teresamnj, and Micki.

Ok, I haven't done anything else on my blog.  I'm currently traveling with my husband and yes, this is an excuse.  A better excuse is that I've not done a blog before and am struggling with getting started.  I will soon post photos of the quilt projects I've done.  For now, I am checking out other quilting blogs and trying not to steal ideas, but rather receive inspiration for my own.  Until later.

The beginning...

Being new to blogging, I don't even know if this will post.  But, in case it does, be it known that my first comment will be about a beautiful little quilting store I visited today while in the Clovis, California area, close to  Fresno, California where we are visiting my daughter and her family.  This little store is called Quilters' Paradise and that is exactly what it is.  I spent about an hour enjoying myself while my husband patiently waited for me.  It's great that so many stores provide the "husband waiting chairs."  Since he was waiting, I cut my visit short today and since I don't know if I'm posting this correctly on my blog, I will also cut this comment short :)