Happy New Year!

This graphic comes from Madame Samm, the best cheerleader

I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Why do we blog hop hostesses call ourselves

  CHEERLEADERS?

Because we are here to encourage YOU to:

TRY new methods of sewing and quilting,

FREE yourself from the fear of being less than perfect,

CHALLENGE yourself to be creative,

SHARE a laugh or two,

SURPRISE us with your talent, and

MEET new blogger friends who will cheer you on, too!

The 2013 Blog Hops will show you some great ideas and

 help you to accomplish (maybe even finish) a project. 

Blog hops happen about twice a month, so sign-up for one...

I'm sure there will be something just for 

YOU!

As for the New Year....

2012 had some crappy (yes, I said "crappy") things happen,

but we have to hope that 2013 will show us the good in

people and remind us everyday that for every evil-minded

person there are millions of good people who

will uplift us with their good deeds.

Disastrous events will happen (weather related or otherwise)

and some will be catastrophic. But as history has shown

us, we will see amazing acts of kindness and heroism

during these times. We can prepare for some of those events

with food storage and emergency preparation, but there will be

times when even our imagination cannot

prepare us to know what to do or what to think.

My hope is that 2013 will bring us a lot more of these....

LOVE

KINDNESS

PEACE

GOOD WILL

HAPPINESS

Nancy Drew PLUS It's Going To Get Wordy

We're still planning on having fun with Nancy Drew fabric

in MARCH, so if you want to play along send me an email.

If you don't have a blog, that's okay. We have one you can use

to show off your Nancy Drew creation(s).

The schedule is over there on the right.

It's almost time for  In Your Words to start!

I'm terrible about labeling my quilts or projects, but this time

I decided to give it my best effort and pulled

out my printable fabric and whipped up this label:

It's attached to the back of my wordy project--

I'll let you know how it looks after I wash it.

What To Do Now...hmmm....

Now that Christmas is over....

There will be no more Christmas songs
on the radio or at the malls

Santa has finished passing out toys to good little girls and boys
 

The wrapping paper and ribbon pieces are scattered all over the floor 

and the Christmas tree is starting to wilt and get dry...
unless, of course, you have an artificial tree 

(*My sweet husband noticed a tree on the side of the road that

someone had obviously lost off of their vehicle. It sat there for a couple

days before he picked it up and brought it home so

our grandsons could "smell Christmas" when they came in our house.

I dubbed it our "Road Kill Christmas Tree")

Our traditional Pretzel Salad won't appear until next year and all
the cookies, Stollen bread, and yummy baked goods are getting stale .

Now what should I do to avoid 
those dreaded

Post-Holiday Blues?

Well, I'm going to get ready for some hopping...

Blog Hopping that is!

Linda at Buzzing and Bumbling 

will be the amazing hostess for this hop!

Some of my words:

A little sneak peek at my wordy project

December Brought Me A Few Things....

A sweet letter (that made me laugh)  from

my six-year-old Monkey Boy....

A  pair of cute, cute, cute scissors from 

Judy B. to go with my tweezers

A little charm pack giveaway gift from

Amy at Sew Incredibly Crazy 

A gift certificate from Pauline at Quilt N Queen

which paid for this from Crazy Quilt Girl Fabric Shop 

Lemon curd and shortbread 

...oh my gosh! Yum!

But probably best of all, this sweet little package 

arrived in November to celebrate Christmas with us

...it was the best gift of all!

I hope we all find a little peace, love, and happiness

during this Christmas holiday.

What Was In The Box You Asked?

I had a Follower's Giveaway (my favorite kind of giveaway) a while ago, but didn't say what was going to be in the little box because I wanted it to be a surprise. Well, Karen at KaHolly has received her giveaway prize, so I can show you what was in it.

Just a little of this and that was smushed into that little box

Books For Women By Women

Sew We Quilt is having giveaways this whole month 

and reviews about books written by women. 

You can find those books, reviews, and giveaways HERE.

There's A Winner!

CARIN from the Netherlands!

(An email has been sent to Carin.)
Thank you to all who entered my little giveaway!

JUST A SIDE NOTE:
There were many who entered and left great comments,
but I couldn't reply because they were no-reply
bloggers and didn't leave an email address in their comment.
It really made me sad not to be able to reply...really, it did!

If you have a blog it is an easy fix:

The fix:
In blogger.com--Click on Dashboard.
Select Edit Profile.
Check the box for "Show my Email Address."
Save changes.

If you don't have a blog just make sure you leave an
email address. To avoid spam just type your email address like this:
iwantareply at gmail dot com

Off The Quilt Topic...

One thing I try to do on my little blog is to keep my posts focused on just quilts and sewing, and maybe a little lighthearted this-and-that. I leave the deep and dirty stuff to newspapers and television.

But not today.

I just finished reading a post by Felicia, The Slow Quilter about the senseless, cruel, unthinkable, and horrific tragedy in Connecticut. Her post said it all.

It's been a hard day. I feel so sad and numb. My husband felt the same way. All my plans for the day seemed....insignificant.

I took my grandson to school today. Kindergarten.  I watched him smiling with excitement when he saw his friend "Lucy" and how he couldn't wait to get out of the car to go see her. I didn't want to let him out of the car. I kept thinking about those little babies in Connecticut who were smiling, too, as they went to what should have been a safe place to learn, make friends, and be happy.

Felicia is right. There will be "celebrations of Christmas cheer" and we will "feel blessed that we made it through another year." Presents will be opened, good food will be served, and laughter will fill our homes. But not this year for some families.

My thoughts and prayers go to the families who have been affected by this and other senseless tragedies this year.

Quilters Blog Hop Party

Michelle at Quilting Gallery is having a party! She is celebrating her 5^th birthday by hosting a 

Quilters Blog Hop Party with giveaways. After seeing that Lesley

at The Cuddle Quilter was joining in...well….I had to join, too!

This giveaway has ended.

What am I giving away you ask?

A Juggling Summer charm pack and a pair of cute sewing tweezers.

The rules to enter are simple:

1. One entry per person.
2. You don't HAVE to be a follower to win, but I love followers!
3. Leave a short and sweet comment .
4. I'll need an email address to contact you.
5. I'll mail anywhere.
6. Comments must be left before December 15th at 6:00 p.m. EST.

If you're new to my blog...WELCOME! I'm no sewing pro, I use a seam ripper more often than I care to admit, I (GASP) machine quilt my bindings, I don't follow directions very well, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being a cheerleader for another blog, Sew We Quilt, where Madame Samm keeps us all hopping! I hope you come back to visit again sometime.

The Grinch Is Back

I can't seem to let this guy go. 

I probably never will. 

Maybe because I have a little Grinch in me.

Yeah, I'm sure that's what it is.

I had some sewing time this weekend, so I...sewed.

I made four candy cane holders (or whatever you want holders) for gifts. 

 This is the back with little pockets to hold a dowel for hanging.

My sister already snatched one, but not before I could take a picture of it on my NEW BARN WOOD background she got for me. A friend of hers ripped it right off a real barn in Utah. I love this wood, though I have to credit Madame Samm for the idea. She has such COOL ideas, doesn't she!

The Following Follower Won!

Congratulations!
Karen at KaHolly

is the winner of my little brown box of goodies.

(An email has been sent to Karen.)

Thanks to all of you who follow me around!

Books And Blog Hop

SEW WE QUILT

is the place to be during the month of December. 

Madame Samm has reviews of books by women authors

AND some amazing giveaways.

Really INCREDIBLE giveaways, actually!

So...grab your quilt, bundle up, and go see some good reads.

Be sure to 

LEAVE A COMMENT

EVERY DAY

for a chance to win those great prizes!

P. S. While you're at Madame Samm's blog, be sure to FOLLOW her because she's close

to 5000 FOLLOWERS and has something special for us

when she reaches that BIG NUMBER!

There are still openings for

this blog hop:

 Sign-up for IN YOUR WORDS with Linda at

Buzzing and Bumbling

The Box, Etc., Etc., Etc.

This is THE BOX that will hold my

Follower's Giveaway Gift.

It's a small box, 6x6x6, but I promise it will hold

special gifts just for the winner.

I've started to fill it with goodies.

That's a cute pair of tweezers at the bottom of the box.

She won't be lonely for long! 

~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a snippet of a gift that will be mailed out today.

I can't show it all, yet, because then it wouldn't be

a SURPRISE to the receiver. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Have you signed up for In Your Words? I did!

Madame Samm has a cute little sign to add words to.

I used Picasa to make my signs.

~~~~~~~~~~~

NANCY DREW UPDATE!

I hear that the Nancy Drew 

yardage fabric is available here:

FAT QUARTER SHOP