Peas In A Pod: August 2013

HI Everyone!

Thanks for stopping by today! I am so pleased and honored to be part of the Love My Scarf Blog Tour! If this is the first time you have visited my blog, thanks for coming by, and I hope you take a moment to look around a bit! If you're one of my frequent readers, it's great to see you again!

(Keep reading for information on the giveaway!)

As I said, I'm really excited to be part of this blog tour. A little bit about it....This blog tour is aimed at encouraging others to participate in the Love My Scarf Challenge. Designs in Machine Embroidery is sponsoring this blog tour, and they are trying to collect 10,000 headscarves for women who are going through cancer treatment and have lost their hair. I know many of you have been touched by cancer, and many of you know that my mother, aunt, and cousin have all had breast cancer and are survivors. This project is near and dear to my heart. Please consider participating in this challenge!

Look for these boxes at your local sewing center, where you can donate a scarf. If you can't find a box, you can mail them to:

Love My Scarf

c/o Designs in Machine Embroidery

2517 Manana Dr.

Dallas, TX 75220

Are you ready to see what I made?

I decided to use The Quilted Fish's new pattern called Make It Snappy: Pramada Scarf (click the link to get a copy for yourself). I thought this would be a good one, because it would have multiple uses...as a head scarf and as a scarf later on. Also, it's lightweight and might be good for warmer climates.

I really enjoyed making it, and I liked wearing it, myself! The Quilted Fish's new Make it Snappy line of patterns is cool, because they are quick and easy to make. I made this one in 40 minutes (after I had the fabric cut out, which only took another 10 minutes). The pattern includes this scarf, as well as one with a ruffle around the edge. I didn't put the ruffle on this one, but I'm going to make another with a ruffle. Come back later to see that! This pattern was super easy to follow, has clear diagrams, and had very clear instructions. A great project for a beginning sewist!

I was thinking this quick project would make a wonderful hostess gift for someone. This one's going in my quick, but effective, gift pattern collection!

Here it is worn as a scarf. Also very pretty. I'm very pleased with how it turned out!

I wanted to try something new when I made this, and I wanted it to be very drapey. I decided to use some cotton voile, because I had never tried it before. I used this Notting Hill line from Joel Dewberry. (I'm not sure whose fabric the purple fabric is...sorry!) I love it! The fabric is so silky, but was still easy to sew.

I'm excited to send this off to this wonderful cause. I hope the recipient likes it.

Well, how about some giveaways?!

Here is what I have to give away:

Designs in Machine Embroidery has donated TWO CD's full of embroidery designs that are called "Embroidery for a Cure." They are all "cancer cure" themed. Very nice for making gifts for loved ones who are in the middle of the fight. You need a sewing machine that does machine embroidery to use these designs.

(Photo courtesy of Amanda Herring, The Quilted Fish. Used with permission.)

And Amanda Herring, The Quilted Fish, loved this cause so much, she is providng FOUR patterns for this scarf AND FOUR FABRIC KITS to make the scarf! (Your fabric will be different from mine. It will come from one of Amanda's fabric lines.)

So, that's SIX GIVEAWAYS!

If you'd like to be in on the giveaway, here is what I ask you to do:

Leave a comment on this post pledging to make and donate a headscarf to this wonderful cause. (You're on your honor to actually do it.)
Let me know if you're interested in the embroidery designs, scarf kits, or both. I'll try to honor your request when I draw names. Each person will only win one prize, but let me know if you can or can't do machine embroidery, given what kind of machine you own.
Be sure I have a way to contact you (i.e., leave your email address in the space for it on the comment form). If you don't, I won't have a way to contact you to let you know you won.

That's it! I'll draw six names and post them on Monday, September 2 (Labor Day!). Some come back and check in then! (EDIT: I'M LEAVING THIS OPEN UNTIL SEPTEMBER 4, TO GO THROUGH THE END OF THE BLOG TOUR)

There are lots of other stops on this blog hop. Please stop by the other blogger's sites to see the other scarves they are making and for more opportunities to win!

LOVE MY SCARF BLOG TOUR

August 28th	Eileen Roche	www.dzgns.com/blog
August 29^th	Peas in a Pod That's me! You're here!	http://peasinapod.typepad.com
August 30^th	Riley Blake Designs	http://www.rileyblakedesigns.com/blog/
August 31^st	Nancy Zieman	http://www.nancyzieman.com/blog/
September 1st	We All Sew	www.weallsew.com
September 2^nd	Stitched by Crystal	http://www.stitchedbycrystal.com/
September 3rd	Totally Stitchin	http://totallystitchin.net/
September 4^th	Eileen Roche	www.dzgns.com

Again, thank you SO MUCH to Eileen Roche and Designs in Machine Embroidery for inviting me to be on this tour. I'm so trilled to be a part of it wit so many people I admire. Also, thank you to Designs in Machine Embroidery for providing the embroidery design giveaway.

A huge thank you to Amanda Herring of The Quilted Fish for providing me with a copy of the pattern and for providing the kits for the giveaway. So very sweet of you!

Thanks again for stopping by! I hope you had a great visit and that you will come back soon. More importantly, I hope you will join in on this wonderful cause.

Until next time,

Hello....(she said sheepishly)

I know....I disappeared again.

Here's the thing. It's been really busy. We've been traveling. I started my new role as department chair. I've been meeting up with blogger friends. We got a new puppy (more on that later). Summer is whizzing past. I haven't felt like blogging. I'm behind on my blog reading. I'm behind on my email.

Sigh.

Thank you to those of you who have checked in to see if I'm okay! I'm alive and well! Sorry I am behind in answering you. I'm answering so many work emails every day that when I get home, I don't have much energy left for it.

But I'm having lots of fun. So, it's all good! I just wish summer wasn't leaving us already!

So, here's a little peek at what's been going on. I need to download photos to show you more, so those will have to wait!

Lisa emailed me today and said she saw in Gen Q's website that my Baubles and Bangles pattern is coming out in the next issue! Woo Hoo!!!! I had suspected so, but not confirmation yet. This just made my day! Can I tell you how excited I am to be in the issue where Valori Wells is on the cover and where one of the topics is hand embroidery???? (hint hint!) Hop on over there and check it out!

A few weeks ago, we took a trip to Colorado. While we were there, we visited our friends Rick and Kate (who used to live in Utah when we lived there). They had a dog named Skardu, who was one of Sweet Pea's best friends. He died recently. I blogged about that here. While we were visiting them, Sweet Pea picked a punch of wild flowers to put on Skardu's grave.

She was wearing her new outfit, and it seemed the perfect opportunity for a photo shoot. My friend Kate send me these great photos she took.

What a ham.

We miss old Skardu. He was a really, really good dog. One of those special ones.

There's another dog and a cat buried here, too. Sweet Pea teared up a little after these photos were taken.

A while back, I got this nice postcard in the mail. It was from the Sandy Hook PTA.

On the back was a nice thank you for the snowflakes I sent. I thought this was very cool and classy. And frankly, amazing.

Before we went to Colorado, Sweet Pea and I had a Girl's Day Out. She said she'd been missing me with me being gone at work all week and only getting to spend time with her on the weekends. So, we went out and had some fun together. We saw Monsters University. It was far better than I thought it would be.