WHOA! Over 2000 Posts, Lets Have A Giveaway!

I just realized I have made on my blog 2007 posts since its inception which ironically was in 2007 and that my friends calls for a giveaway!

When I first started this blog, there seemed to be tons of giveaways, swaps, linky parties and so much more for all of us to get out and meet each other.  Now, maybe it is me but there doesn't seem to be as many as there once was.

For example, I show I have over 300 followers, yet sadly I would say less than 10 people contact me in a month or comment and while many bloggers that show following have gone onto other projects, blogger will not allow me to remove any of them.

On Friday, I am going to post the prizes and how you can win and I hope we get a great many people to spread the news!

All I can say is there will be fabric, thread and more!

So Unexpected, So Blessed, A Quilters Planner

I received this gift last evening from my Pastor's wife. They are running ragged getting prepared for a pastors conference next week, some visiting after that and then a wonderful trip to Ireland to visit with an Irish singing group and then an Irish church. So, when she called me last evening wanting to drop by, I realized how important it was because she was packing their travel trailer.

If you want to feel blessed and cheerful, all you have to do is be around Sharon for a few moments and you can see that the Lord shines through her. She arrived with a large gift bag and was excited to see how well I am doing and that I am up moving around.


She presented me with this wonderful pale lime green Quilters Planner called a Plan Bee by Prym Dritz. I was simply ecstatic and in awe when she told me the moment she saw it, she knew she had to get it for me. Wow! Now if that isn't confirmation from the Lord about my quilting, I don't know what is.



It is simply an amazing tool for quilters that puts most of the things we do at our finger tips. It comes with a pocket filled with notions we can use on shopping trips, thrifting, estate sales, etc. It has inside the following items:

* Pencil and sharpener

* A retractable tape measure

* A cloth tape measure

* Fabric Glue

* Ruler

* Note pad

* Colored pencils

There are also quilters templates, stash pages (to place fabric swatches for future shopping trips), graph paper, calendar, charts, direction cards, lending cards to keep inventory of any books or magazines you loan out, cards to keep track of upcoming quilting events and more!

I sat up in bed and put it all together and this is just such a cool idea. I have a place to put my stash samples, if you are working on a quilt and need more fabric, you can take it along with you. Want a place to document the cost of your quilt or who it was given to? There is lots of room for that.

According to the Prym Dritz web-site, this came out in 2004-2005 and was created by two quilters named Connie Scharff and Jessi Jung and they did a really bang up job on creating this and if you don't want to lug your wallet or purse with you, there are even places for your ID and credit cards! If you check out the internet, you can even find refills for this, stickers and more.




Since I use a Franklin/Covey planner all the time, I just may jump out of my comfort zone and see how I can organize this new one so I will use it. I love organization when it comes to scheduling my days or appointments and this one has such a nice color to it!



I didn't ask my pastor where she found this, so I don't even know where you would begin to look, but I know I was blessed with this and it is a tool that will keep giving!

Sterilite Storage Boxes, A Quilters Dream

I don't know about where you live, but here in Aberdeen over the last two weeks or so, our local WalMart store has had these really neat Sterilite Peacock Plume storage boxes for sale. I purchased the first three to have a dust free place to store my fat quarters and they stacked up so nice and neatly and fit perfectly in the storage area of my cutting table that I bought another seven.

The have very easy to open and shut latches and I love the spring colors as well as the bottoms have indentions on them that match the lids on the containers, so they stack really nicely. I don't seem to be the only one buying them because our local WalMart can't seem to keep these in stock. I have them all labeled( remember I am obsessive compulsive when it comes to organizing my house because it is so small) according to what is in them:

• The flatter boxes are perfect for fat quarters after I iron and fold them.
• The smaller flat boxes hold 4" and 5" fabric squares
• The taller ones hold 3" squares, 2" scraps and scraps
• One tall one I use for project specific fabrics

I checked out the Sterilite web site and couldn't find these boxes listed, so I am hoping these are not one of those seasonal products and they will pull them off the shelves or change the handle colors because that will just toss my OCD upside down. I like having my colors match and yes, I know it is odd, but that is just the way I am. I know you each have something about you or your quilting that is the same way, so stop laughing!

These containers would be perfect to organize my grandchildrens closets, under bed storage and basement storage areas, they come in many different sizes and I really like them much better than large bulky containers that never fit anywhere without sticking out like a sore thumb.

It might also be worth noting that these containers are made right here in the United States and very reasonably priced between $2.50 and $3.50 for the boxes I purchased.

















***Just an additional note, this company does have a few openings in their plants across the United States, so if you know someone needing a job and willing to relocate, they may want to check Sterilite out and send them a resume!

Now You See It Cutting Table

A few days ago while I was in Joann Fabrics, they had a cutting table for sale and I purchased it. This is not the flimsy one they used to sell that so many people complained about. This one has shelves to help stabilize it, it is sturdy and I was amazed at how easy it was to put together.

No! My hubby didn't put it together, I did. Matter of fact when he came home and saw that I had ripped the box opened, his first words to me were, 'have fun, I am NOT taking on that project' and he promptly went outside to spray the grass with moss killer.

Now, I am pretty smart, (after all I do have 3 college degree's) and I grew up working around muscle cars, so I am not afraid of a hex tool. I am cooking last night, working quick and so proud of myself until...I realized I had put it together backwards. Go ahead,laugh I know you are because you or someone you know has done the same thing.

I finally put it together the correct way and here it is:

Now, I can finally get the bins that are in my living room out because I don't need to use them as a cutting table and this one doesn't hurt my back because it is higher up than 2 bins stacked on top of each other.

What I like about it, is that it just folds up so easily and neatly and fits nicely in my living room. Yes, my quilt projects have once again taken over the living room, but I did catch up on some of my sewing and quilting during this all to fast Spring break as school starts tomorrow.

And, here is what it looks like when it is not in use. I recycled an old vinyl table cloth and it looks kinda like one of those old timey day beds that used to fold up.

Jesus Quilt

I am going back to making these simple 'Hug,' quilts. While I do not have a picture at this time to show, I wanted to post the story of these quilts and how they came to be.

Jesus Quilt

As I was designing and sewing this quilt, I began to get frustrated with the small mistakes I was making in sewing the letters onto the quilt. One day as I was getting ready to rip out the seams and start over, I heard a soft voice tell me ‘leave it as it is, it is a testimony of who I am.’
The brightness of the red, green, orange and yellow squares represent Jesus brightness as told in Revelation 22:16, ‘I Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things ‘for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.’
But, my stitches are not perfect Lord and they should be. The Lord replied that I was not meant to be perfect because according to Romans 3:23, ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ I was getting frustrated because I was trying to achieve something I wasn’t meant to and that was perfection.
The buttons are an interesting twist to this quilt because I had decided to border the quilt with them prior to sitting down at my sewing machine and having my conversation with Jesus.
It was revealed to me at that time, that the buttons on this quilt come in all colors, shapes and sizes and represent the many followers of Christ. We are humans and we come from all nations, all colors, young and old, short and tall.
Revelation 7:9, ‘after these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands.’
In my frustration, the Lord showed me a valuable lesson in patience and understanding of His word and His intentions for this quilt to spread His word and to keep me understanding that I can do the best of my ability, but I will never be perfect because it isn’t meant to be.
May God Bless you with this quilt and the story it tells and may it give you years of peace and happiness as you remember His words while this quilt was being put together.

God Bless and In His Grace,

Ranny Jean