Look At This!

Remember this picture of my mom on a pony?



Well, Martha from Q Is For Quilter sent me an email with this:



Isn't that amazing??? Didn't she do a fabulous job??? I was so surprised! I know my mom is going to love it - this is her favorite picture. Martha, you are an absolute doll and I thank you from the bottom of my heart! That is just brilliant!!!!!

And of course I have to show you this.....my son went downstairs to change loads, turned his back and look what he found in the dryer:



I'm tempted to have a "give that photo a name" contest like Pioneer Woman, but I don't have a junk drawer with prizes like she does, lol!!!! Seriously, I remember when she was giving away coupons from the junk drawer. She's come a long way, baby!

Off to stitch my fingers to the bone - Christmas is coming WAY too fast!

100 Posts = GiveAway!!!!!

EDIT: Comments are now closed - I'm putting all the names in the jar now and the give-away will commence shortly!


So tell me - what's better than finishing a quilt???



Finishing TWO quilts, of course!!!!!!!



That's right, I made two - one for you and one for me. Back in May, I won a fat quarter bundle of Snippets from Kelly at Charming Chatter. After I decided I wanted a simple patchwork quilt, I started cutting and found I had enough for two quilts. So now, I'm giving one away!

The quilt measures 60"x75".



It's backed with a sheet, the batting is a flannel sheet. Lightweight but cozy and washable.



This is a utility quilt, meant to be used - I have no mad quilting skills to show off, lol! It's a hug from me to you.

So what are the rules? Very simple, there are only two:

1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. DO NOT POST ABOUT IT.

That's right, don't put it on your blog. This give-away is for my regular readers and followers. Which of course greatly enhances your chance of winning!

So read the edit on my previous post to make sure I can reply to you, and leave me a comment here. This is open to everyone - whether you live down the street or down under, or across the pond. I will pick a winner on Black Friday, the day after our Thanksgiving holiday, November 27. Good luck!

An Important Post: Updated With An Important Edit!

Edit: I was wrong! Debbie was good enough to let me know how you REALLY make sure you're not a no-reply blogger! Debbie, I can't thank you enough....I was horrified! Here's how you change a no-reply. Go to your blog, sign in, and go to your dashboard. Over on the left, click on "edit profile". There are two things where you show your email addy, and I'm not sure if you need both of them or just one of them checked, so we'll do both. Under where it says Privacy, make sure 'show my email address' has a check mark in the box, then scroll down to Identity and make sure your email addy is in the box for Email Address. SAVE your changes. Everybody, be sure to thank Debbie! There's just no end to this learning curve, lol!



Why? Well, because I want everyone to have a chance to win my give-away, if they want. So I'm posting information on how to know if you're a no-reply blogger or not.

What IS a no-reply blogger? Well, when you comment on my posts, I get an email with your comment. Normally, it will have your email addy on it, and I can just click 'reply' and email you back. If you've ever left a comment, and not heard from me, then the email doesn't show your addy - instead, it says 'no-reply commenter'. If I try to reply to it, it goes out to cyberspace and is eaten by borgs. Not really borgs, but I like the way it sounds. And by the way, I do reply to each and every comment, as long as I have an email to reply to.



So. HOW do you know? Well, if you use blogger, then I can tell you. Sign into your blog. Go to either Customize, or your Dashboard. Click on the tab that says Settings. Underneath the tabs at the top of that page, you'll see Basic, Publishing, Formatting, and Comments - click on Comments. This is where you make changes to how people comment on your blog.



Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page. It says Comment Notification Email. If that box is blank, then you're a no-reply blogger. You want to have your email address in that box. When you've put your email there, click SAVE. You have to save or the changes won't take.



And that's it! Now you can enter my give-away, and lots of others. Now, what if you don't have a blog, or you have a different one, like wordpress or typepad and I can't help you with those? Just leave your email in your comment, so I can reply to you.



If none of this makes sense and you need more help, you can email me at alliehomeschool at yahoo dot com [take out spaces and use the symbols]. I'd be glad to help you if I can.



This is post number 99. Friday will be number 100, so check and make sure I can reply to you!

Challenge Blocks Have Arrived!

Lyn, from Bluebird Quilts, issued a challenge - to use four vintage hexagon blocks in a wall-size quilt. The finish date is May 2010. She sent out the blocks last week and mine arrived today!



I'm so thrilled to be a part of this challenge. I have a million ideas fighting for my attention. I can't wait to get started - but I'm going to draw up several different ideas before I do. Won't this be fun! Thank you, Lyn, for letting me be a part of this!

Tomorrow, [or next day - next POST, anyway] I'm going to devote a post to how to know if you're a no-reply blogger, and what to do about it. It's important, if you enter a give-away, that the blog owner has a way to contact you! Heaven forbid someone else should get your prize, right? *G*

And now I'm going to wrap up in something warm, it's FREEZING here. Brrrrrrr.....

Another Saturday Night

WHAT a week. It didn’t start off well – my mom’s next-door neighbor’s house was broken into. In the middle of the day. Broad daylight. For the THIRD TIME. Which of course makes my mother rather nervous. I spent all day Tuesday at her house, just hanging out and basting a quilt. When she moved in 18 years ago, folks didn’t even lock their doors during the day….it was a lovely neighborhood. I wish my mom would get a dog. If you’re a praying person, I’d appreciate prayers for her safety.



Thursday, I went for a meeting with a work assessment guy. I’ll be going to a facility daily for 2 weeks, where they have me in a simulated work environment, to see how I do. I have an awful lot of restrictions – actually, he said I have them ALL, lol – like no reaching, lifting, walking, standing. I’ll be doing clerical work. I only hope there’s not much using the mouse – I have a bad mouse shoulder. We’ll see how I do, see if there’s anything they can do to make it a more friendly environment for my body, and then I’ll start sending out resumes. Oh boy! After 18 years of staying home, it’s making me a bit nervous.



Are you wondering what these pictures are? Well, I'm not going to tell you. It's a secret. *G* You'll find out in 3 posts!



Jenny from Elefantz has been having a November Trims Challenge. She used some Moda cotton tape from a jelly roll to hang her Garden Stitcheries on, and I liked it so much I copied it. I had been trying to find clothesline to use, but when I saw hers, I knew that would work MUCH better. I love it. I'm still going to look for some smaller clothes pins.



Boy I have a lot of holes in my wall. You know what I'd love? A picture hanging system - where the wire runs all along the top of the wall, near the ceiling, and then you hang wires from that to hang your pictures from. I LOVE those. I'm pretty changeable about furniture and pictures, and that would let me change my mind without putting so many holes in the wall. For now I'll just cover as many as I can with little quilts.

Well, I'd better get back to my secret project - enjoy your Sunday!

How About A Recipe??

Do any of you have old photos like this around the house?



This is my mom, not sure how old she was, on a neighborhood pony. Probably around 1940. I love this picture. I was browsing through some old ones, thinking about my mom and my grandma - my mom is still [thank You Lord] with me, but my grandma has been gone a long time. I miss her so much, and still find myself reaching for the phone to call her. Thinking about my grandma reminded me of how we used to bake together - I don't LIKE to bake, or cook, but I do love to eat and helping her with Christmas baking was sure to get me a coffee cake all my own.

One recipe of hers that we all dearly love is her Ginger Snaps cookies. I don't like store-bought, they're hard as a rock and too spicy. Grandma's were soft, sugary, and so tasty! The only problem was in the making....the dough is VERY hard to stir. Fortunately I have teen boys to do the stirring for me. I decided to share the recipe with you. I also decided to turn it into a stitchery, and make it up for my mom for Christmas. I'll let you know how that goes.

So if you'd like to make them, be prepared for the stirring....and make a lot, because they'll disappear in no time. We made them for the entire family for Christmas one year, about 30 tins full, and I don't think they lasted a week.

Grandma's Ginger Snap Cookies

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup crisco
1 egg
1/4 cup light molasses
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp ginger - use 1/8 tsp ea. for milder flavor
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour

Mix ingredients in order listed. Roll into small balls, about 1" diameter, or size of small walnuts. Roll in sugar, place on baking sheet for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

If you have any left when they've cooled, put in airtight container with piece of bread. This will keep them soft.

Edited to add: Crisco is the brand name of a vegetable shortening here in the US. I'm not sure what the equivalent would be overseas.