Field Trips in Fiber - Adventures in quilting, hand dyed fabric and fiber art.

Thankful Thursday

My effort to fill a bucket with weeds each day hasn't worked out so well. There have been many rain days and there have been several days when I just did not have time. So this week I am thankful for Round Up. In two days I "weeded" around all of the trees. Now I can focus on the vegetable garden where my time is better spent. The garden is off to a late start because of the cold weather but it's underway now and everything is growing well.We've planted corn, cantaloupe, squash, 5 varieties of peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots and potatoes. The potatoes are supremely happy for some reason. The gardening is done for the day so after a few errands I will spend the rest of the day either sewing or washing out the fabrics I dyed yesterday. I can't think of a better way to spend the day!

The winners of the Quilt Show gift certificates are:

International: Debbie M from Israel

US: Julie in GA

I'll send an email to both of you with your certificate number.

I think it's time for some hand dyed fabric so this week I'm offering this piece. It's the leftover cuts from a quilt back and, while it's an odd shape, it's probably close to 2 yards total.

If you are interested just leave a comment on this post and tell me about one quilt project on your lifetime list of quilts you really want to make. For me the project is Karen K. Stone's Indian Orange Peel. I've had the pattern for years and do want to make it "some day".

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for the warm weather that has finally arrived in Virginia. I suspect that we are going to go straight into Summer but I'll take it. I'm not very thankful for the cicadas that are here but they should be gone in time for the Memorial Day cookouts.

Wendy at Ivory Spring is even going to have a new apron to wear at her cookout! 

This week I have TWO more Quilt Show gift certificates to give away. As with the last time I'm going to give one ot a US reader and one ot an international reader. These gift certificates are for a one year membership (26 shows) and have a value of $42.95 each.

To enter just leave a comment on this post telling me where you live and one favorite thing about your home city or town.

Thankful Thursday

Boy, was yesterday a big news day or what! The heroes of the day are Charles Ramsey and Amada Berry. Jodi Arias got her due, Kermit Gosling will get his and we are finally looking into what happened in Benghazi. You know what I am thankful for? I am thankful that my life is simple! I dye some fabric, I sell some fabric, I have no family drama and I sew a lot. It's ALL good.

Now I can make someone else's day and announce that the winner of the pink silk scarf #5, Anya, the Hills Creek Quilter!

Anya, I have your address and will get the scarf in the mail to you tomorrow.

Since the great patriotic start of summer is upon us with Memorial Day, I am giving away this patriotic hand-dyed and stenciled apron this week. You will get it in time for your Memorial Day barbecue. To enter just leave a comment on this post telling me about your family's Memorial Day tradition. If you aren't American you can tell me your tradition for your favorite patriotic holiday in your home country.

Other chances to win free fabric

Don't forget about the giveaway and shipping offer over at Exuberant Quilts. Wanda's drawing closes Friday and the winner announced Saturday morning.

This morning I found out about another drawing for a Stash Pack of fabric. This one is hosted by Thearica and she's sharing her Sultry Moon wall hanging that she finished recently. The Sultry Moon kit is available here.

Customer work and a giveaway!

If you've been reading my blog for any time you already know that I am a big fan of Wanda Hanson's. Her Exuberant Color blog is aptly named because she uses color masterfully in her quilts. She's also a customer and often blends hand dyed fabric with commercial prints as she is doing in the these blocks. 

Recently she ordered a custom dyed black fabric to use for sashing in a Judy Neimeyer Stepping Stones quilts. She's showing both of these project in process today and is also giving away a Stash Pack of my hand dyed fabric along with a package of black Mistyfuse, my favorite fusible.

Check out her projects and enter the giveaway here.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for some time to finally catch up on a lot of projects this week. One urgent one that I will be doing this afternoon is making soap. I'm down to 2 bars so I need to get busy. Soap takes 3 weeks to cure so the 2 bars will have to hold me. I think my friends are low too so I'll make at least 3 batches to get us all stocked up again.

The winner of the pile of Catena scraps from last week is Joanna Mack, The Snarky Quilter!

This week's giveaway opportunity is this hand dyed silk habotai scarf. I think this pink color is perfect for Spring and reminds me of strawberry ice cream...that I can't eat. But I can eat strawberry non-dairy frozen desserts which sounds much less appetizing than ice cream! The scarf is dyed so that the ends are darker than the middle.  I'll ship this anywhere. To enter just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite summer dessert treat.