kerrykatiecakes

First off, a brief explanation why I have been missing for most of the last week. It is not a coincidence that this is also how long I have not been a smoker. In my attempt to break the mental habits associated with this physical addiction I have been abstaining from the things I connect with smoking cigarettes. For example: sitting on the computer, drinking coffee, being civil to people, etc Okay, the last one was a joke. I think. Anyway, with a week under my belt it is time to get back to my life so I have been playing with some velvet... It is hard to get good photos of the embossed velvet since it depends on reflection so much but they really do turn out beautifully. These two were done on scraps of a rayon velvet I found at the thrift store. Took a little diligence to go through the velvet clothing items checking the labels for content but well worth it. It is my understanding that rayon and silk give the best results in this technique and I have to say I am very please...

My first "favourite author" when I became interested in crazy quilting was Judith Baker Montano. Learning she was brought up at the Bar X Ranch near me in Alberta, Canada, added to my admiration for her! I have an extra copy of her book, The Art of Silk Ribbon Embroidery, and would like to share it with another crazy quilter. If you would like to put your name in for this draw please leave a comment on this post telling me what you enjoy most about crazy quilting. I am heading out of town for a stitching retreat this weekend so will make the draw on Monday. Good luck!

So, here is the baggie Cathy won - hope you enjoy it Cathy! So, I started with a small basic baggie and added one item for every person who commented and entered the draw. The 38 items I added are: 1, 2, 3 & 4 - are a sampling of the Fimo faces I have made (fun for cabachons); 5. - three Asian coins; 6. - a flower pot button and two vase buttons (plastic); 7. - a fan charm (cannabilized from costume jewelry); 8. - half a yard of ecru beaded braid trim I discovered in the quilting store yesterday (lol - half a yard for you and half a yard left for me!) 9. - three tie tack type pieces of jewelry (ruler, scissors and pencil), for use either as jewelry or to be cannibalized for cq! lol 10. - "Home Sweet Home" book subtitled "25 Beautiful Cross-Stitch Designs for Every Room in the House" , a Vanessa-Ann Collection along with some waste canvas. There is a method to my madness here! I love using waste canvas to stitch cross stitch motifs onto cq blocks so I figure this...

I am feeling like celebrating for various reasons! Firstly, this is my 100th post on my blog and that seems worthy of a little celebration. Secondly, I can now count the days on this year's camping season on my fingers! It has been a busy summer out here at the campground and I am anticipating getting home for a rest - I am so looking forward to hot showers, a real bed, good lighting and my comfy stitching chair! So, I have decided to celebrate with a giveaway! I think these are great fun and have put my name down for several and even won once so it feels like time to be on the hosting end for a change. I have decided to give away a squishie of items for stitching, embellishing and inspiration. I can't show you a picture right now because of the twist I have come up with! I'll start out with a squishie containing some fun items like an oya or two, specialty threads and fancy yarns, a silkie and a couple other things. For every person who puts their name in the draw by leavi...