My new book!

I wanted to share my new book with you! It is a companion book to my new fabric line, Gumdrops and Lollipops but you can use any fabric to make the projects in the book! One of the best things is that I have included a pattern to make the Lil Miss Cutie Patootie Doll. Now you can make a doll to go along with all the new quilts and new fabric lines that will be coming out! The book is full color with a full sized template pull out page. She is sitting on the Tea Party Quilt or Tablecloth that is also in the book. Fun projects for your special Lil Cutie Patootie! You can find them on my website.

Fun Tea Party Quilt or Tablecloth!

It's time to draw the name of the lucky winner, is it you!!??

TODAY IS THE DAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since returning home I have been busy with orders, unpacking and babysitting for my daughter, I am exhausted. I have been gathering names and preparing to draw for the basket and my sketching class this Saturday. Life is so full sometimes, I am not complaining, I love the excitement, the anticipation and the fun of being able to offer some really amazing gifts to all of you from some very talented artists!

I wanted to take the time to thanks our sponsors Kelly Mueller from Wooden Bear, Lesley Riley and CT Publishing, Terry Degenkolb from Whimsicals, Jamie Fingal, Lyric Montgomery Kinard,Sue Bleiweiss, Hillcreek Design and myself. I have added even more goodies, some of my patterns, a sample Fabulous Folded Bag, scissor bob etc.

I also want to thank all of YOU!! All of you who took the time to visit my blog and FB page and posted comments. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all your comments as I read them. It not only inspires me but keeps me wanting to do more!! I loved doing this give away basket and I hope to do another in October so keep tuned and follow me so you will stay informed on when it happens. I hope you will also go to my website and click on the newsletter link so I can send you monthly newsletter which keeps you up to date on all of my new adventures!! You guys are awesome!! Good luck next time!

Watch the video and see my drawing and see who is our grand prize, Marvelous May Market Give-Away, Winner!!  Please email me with your shipping info once you have seen the video lucky winner!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

I'm Back!!!

Market was great, we made lots of new friends and acquaintances! I did two schoolhouses and one was standing room only! I had so much fun and my Fabulous Folded Bags were the hit of the show again. My new pattern called Ladybugs and Kisses was also well received as were the newest scarecrow 12"x12" holiday quiltlets. 

 Sample Spree Madness!!!

 All the women love Randy the eye candy! 

 I stopped by Terri's booth to say hi, she just happened to have a little table so we visited!

Quilting Treasures display of my fabric line, I brought them a bunch of fun things! After all the hard work everyday we would have parties at night. One night we had Sample Spree, then one night we had a dinner party with Quilting Treasures and then Randy and I went to the Fons and Porter party! Fun, fun and then you break down in a few hours and its over. All those months of preparations and sleepless nights. Meetings and planning and designing. Phew! 

Then on to our vacation.....

 These first sketches were done in Crater Lake in Oregon, it was so beautiful the day we arrived and then quickly changed to a blizzard. Walking dogs in snow is challenging too! LOL Here is a sketch I did at the dinner table looking out over the hillside during the storm. The snow was blowing horizontally and I think it got down to 14. Side note: we are all from southern California, I even forgot my jacket! LOL

 The first day at Crater Lake was gorgeous, snow but clear and blue skies and cold

Lil Miss Cutie Patooti enjoyed it too!

This was a nice area with rocking chairs and blankets where we could sit and drink hot chocolate and look out at the lake. Notice the other people sitting in the rocking chairs. The next picture is the same rocking chairs less than 24 hours later! LOL

Then the storm hit! Still beautiful but freezing and horizontal snow. Glad we weren't driving in it! 

 Sitting at the dinner table, sketching the craziness outside. 

The next day we headed down the mountain, it was just softly snowing and the plows had cleared the 8" of snow we got the night before. The drive was wonderful, it looked like a winter wonderland! I will be painting more snow pictures now! As we reached the bottom of the mountain the forest changed dramatically and as we got warmer and the snow disappeared the forest floor was awash a greens and ferns and everywhere stood dogwoods. Blooming in the darkness of the forest, being a light in a dark place. Randy stopped to pick me one so I could sketch it as we drove. 

We did make it to Redwood Forest and we had a little house to ourselves. The house was handicap friendly but was not easy. The halls and rooms were so small we had to back Jenn up everywhere since there was nowhere to turn around. We were in the middle of the meadow surrounded by Redwood Forest. There was a resident Elk herd that made there way around the meadow and some had babies! We hiked through the Redwood Forest and thats where I turned my ankle. 

I would sit at the table in the kitchen and look out onto the meadow where everything was green! I hate painting greens, did I ever tell you that. Greens are beautiful to look at but a challenge to paint. When you have scenes that are all green its nice to add other colors even if they aren't really there. I added some blue but needed to add more yellows and reds which I was somehow missing. 

 From there we traveled south to Humboldt to visit our dear friends Pastor Dennis and Linda at Acadia Baptist Church. They are such amazing people and servants. They have found a wonderful home and new church family here in the redwoods and are so happy! They took us to Trinidad, a city along the sea coast for dinner, we had fish and chips!! I know right, meat and fried fish to boot, but it was yummy. Our stomachs are still recovering from our diet change while we were traveling. 

Cold but no snow! Windy! From there we traveled to my mom and brothers homes in Philo, close to Mendocino. Beautiful but no sketches since we just visited!

Then off to Yosemite! Our last leg of the trip and another dead spot for wifi and cell phones. It was incredibly beautiful and I loved it. I am always a bit melancholy when I leave my moms, this is such special time. I haven't been to Yosemite since I was a child and I won't share how long ago that was!  While in Yosemite we hiked, walked and just enjoyed the beauty of it all. The weather was perfect and I found that I just loved carrying a pencil and a sketchbook and sketching some of the elements along the trail. I added the hiking trails maps to this page later. 

Randy was our official photographer and as he stopped on the way out to grab some shots I would sketch, the snap a photo and finish later or in the car driving.

Yosemite was a nice mix of lots of different elements and textures. It was beautiful and thankfully not too crowded. We had arrived the day after Memorial and most everyone had gone home. We didn't fight for photos or wait in long lines, it was great. Well enough of my vacation. I am home and working on getting orders out, I am finishing up my final count on entries for the give away basket and doing laundry! Happy Trails! What have all of you been up too and have you been sketching or sewing???

Yosemite, the last leg of the trip and our Marvelous May Give-away!

The days have been bathed in sunshine and billowy clouds while we were in Yosemite! I haven't been there since I was a child and can't believe how beautiful it is! Many of the trails were paved so Jennifer and Chloe could hike with us much easier. Many of the other trails, although not paved, were hard enough for her to do a bit of off roading too! Chloe had all the squirrels barked out warnings everywhere we were and about drove her crazy! She would just shake when she saw them. It couldn't have been a nicer trip accept if my ankle wasn't hurt, but I did discover that just one Motrin in the morning made me feel so much better!

I also was able to grab some sketching time and enjoyed being able to lose myself in nature! Hope you all are safe and sound as I continue,like you, to watch the storms in OK and pray! Nature is so unpredictable! Last year at this time we were traveling those roads on our way to Kansas City, MO for market. I can't even imagine the horror and devastation those wonderful people are having to endure! . When donating your resources to help aid in there recovery remember to choose a reputable agency and send cash!

Since my WiFi service was so scattered and spotty I decided to include today in our drawing! Yeah, one last opportunity to get your name in to win big! I will be going back and gathering all the posts while I was gone and today's to add to my hat before drawing! Make sure to check out the blog in a few days for an updated picture of the basket!

Happy Memorial Day!! We are coming to the end of our Marvelous May Market Give-away!

As my excitement about market has played out and May is winding down so are the opportunities to win. We had a fantastic time working and traveling down the coast. We visited new places and saw friends and family! The weather was amazing and we never tired of our adventures! Dennis and Linda made our visit to The Redwoods even better! We are feeling so blessed. My mom and brother live in paradise, filled with flowers, antiques and green rolling hills close to the ocean! Enjoy some of the photos from our travels!

I want to remind everyone to keep commenting here and on FB to be entered into the drawing in June. You have until May 31st to be included. I also have a few more things for the basket but will have to post them later, once I get them unpacked!!

This Memorial Day I want to honor all the veterans that fought for our country! We are blessed and honored that we can call ourselves American. The grandkids all met at the Riverside National Cemetery to honor their grandfather we lost Jan 1,2012. We love you dad!!