Glamorous Girly Giveaway

Kitty and Me, photo by Tilt Photography

September is my one year blogiversary! This past year has flown by and here I am celebrating, one year. I have met so many amazing bloggers in the past year; inspirational, friendly, encouraging and of course incredibly talented.

One of my very first blogging friends was Jodi from Pleasant Home (originally: Simply This That and the Other). What I realized was Jodi and I go way back, she and my big sister were friends. I knew Jodi as this fun, sweet, oh so creative friend of my sisters. It didn't surprise me in the slightest to find she had an wonderful, successful, inspiring blog.

When she told me about her big plans to unveil her new site, Pleasant Home, I jumped at the chance to host a giveaway on her blog. Celebrate my one year anniversary with Jodi and Pleasant Home? Yes, Please!

But wait it gets sweeter! My little sister, Kitty, of Fahrenheit 350° Kitchen Fame is hosting a giveaway at Pleasant Home as well. Stop by her blog and make sure your in on a chance for $100 worth of her amazing confections.

So put on your party hats on and get ready for your take home glamorous goodie bag!!

Glamorous Girly Giveaway
with all the great girly bloggers I have met in the past year I had to celebrate with girly goodies
Lone Star Quilt Wall Hanging
2 yards of Girly Fabric. 4 ~ 1/2 yard measurements
***Don't forget all the great scraps I'll thrown in for good measure!
Black Butterfly Necklace by Home Studio
Barbie Bag and Magnets

To enter for this GGG ~ Glamorous Girly Giveaway: Make sure and do the following:

**Follow and subscribe to Pleasant Home AND follow and subscribe to French Knots. **Please leave two separate comments on each blog 1) I've followed 2) I've subscribed. **Blog about this giveaway, and sent me the link. **Giving you 5 chances to win!!!

Giveaway ends: Sunday, September 6th at midnight. Happy Commenting!

Lone Star Quilt Wall Hanging.

4 ~ 1/2 yard fabrics

Black Butterfly Necklace

Barbie Bag and Magnets

Crazy for Dots

Crazy for Dots, that's me. Last summer when I made this quilt I ended up with so much extra fabric, that I was left scratching my head. Quickly, I came up with a game plan: summer quilt. For some time, I had been wanting to make a playful, vibrant, colorful quilt for my bed to use during the summer months. Something warm, but light weight. Now, my bed is king size so I knew it was going to be a big undertaking.

I worked really hard last summer and finished the quilt entirely. I didn't have a back so I tucked it away for safe keeping. At the beginning of this summer I went to a quilt store closing sale and snagged a back I just loved for $12, Cha Ching. Finally, I was ready to have it quilted.

I love nine patches! I have made more quilts with nine patches than anything else. That was the first block I ever learned and I have been hooked ever since.

I love the machine quilting Ella did. I know it was alot of work, stopping and starting on all 72 squares, but it gives the quilt its little extra umpf! Dontcha think?

With no quilting in the white sashing, really allows the nine patches to pop!

This quilt is just a behemoth. I just couldn't get a great photo of it all together. I love the inner boarder: black with teal polka dots. I wasn't quite sold on the red with white polka dotted outer boarder, but letting it soak in over the winter ~ Now, I think it was the perfect choice for me and my quilt.

Field Trip Friday ~ Blackberry Picking

This week, Kitty and I went Blackberry picking. I heard about the berries from this gal while on a hike organized by this gal. Growing up in the Northwest, blackberries are abundant; juicy, sweet and everywhere. So I was so excited to find a farm with U-pick potential. We had a fun morning getting hot, sticky and sampling the fruit of our labors. (ha ha! pun intended!)

My fingertips were completely stained purple by the time I was done. Picking your own berries is one of the most rewarding activities. If you live in Utah, click here for information about U-pick farms. Blackberries were picked at Phelps Farm.

Check out the amazing view of the valley and mountains. It was the perfect morning.

Roly Poly Circus Quilt

I haven't been doing alot of quilting lately. With school, end of summer vacation, family trips and my business quilting has been put on the back burner. I hope in the next week to get the ball rolling again. Although I can't quilt, it has been fun posting quilts I have completed. My Roly Poly Circus Quilt is one of my favorites. I took this class about 6 years ago at my LQS. I enjoyed every minute of the hand embroidery and hand quilting!!

What a surprise this quilt is made in with red fabric and polka-dots (sarcasm noted!). I should have seen my obsession way back then. I knew I wanted this quilt to be simple. I wanted the embroidery to be the focus. Working with only 4 fabrics was fun, I love how they repeat themselves. I wanted to find the perfect border and searching for a few months really paid off, I love it.

I love this little doggy with his balloon.

My two boys love the crocodile and his teeth!

I love his trunk and tusks.

Mid Week Munchies ~ summer garden foods

Last summer when I first started blogging I did two posts on what to do with your summer veggies so that you could enjoy them all winter. I thought I would link back to them, since I am doing it all over again this summer.

Corn ~ fresh corn, cooked and frozen reminds you of summer even in the bitter chill of winter.

Tomatoes ~ stewing your garden tomatoes is the perfect compliment to any winter soup.

Enjoy!

Fahrenheit 350 is having the most amazing giveaway!! She is giving away a $100 gift certificate to her confectionary. She makes the most amazing candies and confections. From her brittles, to sweet logs, to carmels everything she creates is mouthwatering. Her generous giveaway will have us all begging for more.

Go sign up for her giveaway and check out her website. You won't be disappointed!!!

Field Trip Friday ~ Lake Tahoe

Last week we got to spend a our family vacation in Lake Tahoe. We rented a home for a week, in Incline Village with my sister. I just love to visit Lake Tahoe: pristine blue water, friendly home town feel, picturesque mountains, time stands still, amazing sunsets.

Two days into our trip my camera battery died and I didn't bring my charger (ugh!), but I still got some amazing shots and my sister took photos as well, so hopefully combining them both I'll have the week documented.

Our favorite beach is Sand Harbor. It is a state beach, there is an $8 entry fee and is worth every penny. The crystal clear waters, sandy cove and jumping rocks keep us busy all day. We got into snorkeling this year and it was a favorite pass time.

There are so many beaches all the around the lake. Our last morning we hiked to a new beach and it was beautiful, someone even had built a brick fireplace. So next year, s'mores on the beach!

Incline Village, Kings Beach and Carnelian Bay are home to many great restaurants, mom and pop stops and hole in the wall eateries. Whenever we didn't feel like cooking we could always go out and find something to hit the spot.

This year we took a drive all the way around the lake. We stop at emerald bay, the water was amazingly emerald, and hit South Lake Tahoe. Now that I have seen the whole lake, North Lake Tahoe is my favorite, it is a slower pace, less commercial area. It feels like you are someplace special.

We spent a day jet skiing and I have to admit, that is my favorite. Last year both my boys didn't like jet skiing, but this year they couldn't get enough. I love to go as fast as I can and try and catch as much air as possible, while still hanging on. We decided to use wet suits this year, and that was a good choice. It was a windy day and with the spray of the water we would have froze otherwise.

Next year we want to try Kayaking, there is so much to do and see therein Tahoe, my husband and I are convinced we could live there happily ever after.

Red vs. Blue

I made this quilt for my husband for Christmas. He had been asking for "his very own" quilt for sometime and when I saw this pattern in American Patchwork Quilting (Issue: April 2006) I knew he would love it: Double Irish Chain

I love the way this quilt turned out. It is one of my proudest quilts. I had a few late nights trying to finish it in time for Christmas morning and a few naughty expletives over all my seams matching up. But in the end. I just love it. Machine quilting done by Ella, and she can attest to the swearing and late nights, she was there!!

I collected the fabric for this quilt for about 6 months. Fabric collecting is one of my favorite aspects of the quilting process. I love to find fabric on sale, and most of my fabrics I found on the sale rack.

I love how the colors seem to be at war with each other. In Utah, there is a huge Utah (red) vs. BYU (blue) rivalry and while I was making this quilt it was football season; a daily reminder.

Mid Week Munchies

While in Tahoe we made the yummiest bacon hot dogs. All you do is wrap your favorite bacon around your favorite hot dog and grill it. The bacon and hot dogs cook together and once in a bun with condiments, it melts in your mouth. My husband found this RoOt BeEr PaRtY kEg at the local grocer and couldn't pass it up. It was perfect dinner after a long day at the beach.

Back in the Swing!

Arrive home late last night after a fantastic week in Tahoe. (I will fill you in all the details on my Field Trip Friday post!) First thing this morning I went out to my garden. It was brimming with delicious summer veggies: peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini! What a wonderful welcome back present. What's growing in your garden right now?

Cherish Bound

I have been really excited to share with you "my story", my Cherished Bound story. A few weeks ago, I was invited to a night of storytelling. This event was hosted by Cherish Bound, a Utah based company specializing in helping customers create "family stories" in book form. I spent the evening with other local bloggers hearing from two amazing storytellers; Wendy Gourley and Bruce Jensen. (Pictured above is me (middle) with Marie (L) and Kitty (R)).

I was also given the opportunity to make my own Cherished Bound story book. I came home that night really excited. I wanted to make 2 books for each of my boys; stories all about them. I thought they would get a kick out of a book all about them. Who ever gets to have that?The website is easy to navigate and customer friendly and designing my book was fun. My biggest challenge was sorting through all the photos I wanted to use. I had 16 pages worth of photos!! I just couldn't decide. I can't wait to get my books back and start enjoying them with my boys.

Cherished Bound also is a sponsor for the Mt. Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. The festival is celebrating its 20th year and I have the opportunity to go and participate. A weekend of storytelling with my family, I can't wait!

4 Girlies Quilt ~ Progress

Here is an update on what I have been working on with my 4 Girlies Quilt. I am adapting it from this quilt, and it feels very much like a work in progress. In my mind, I know how what it will look finished, it is just getting there.

Mid Week Munchies - Zucchini

Does your Zucchini Plant look like this?

When my zucchini get about this big I love to pick it and make sauted zucchini.

Wash and chop your zucchini into quarter inch slices.

Place in frying pan with 2 tablespoons butter and a dash of salt and pepper.

The zucchini needs to cook for about 12 minutes: until soft and browned. Once sauted, dash with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese. A great summer side dish.