Marit is having a give-away to celebrate her 100th blog post. Head over to her site to leave a comment, Pot Holders and Napkin Box Give-Away

Beth over at Simply Sewn is having a big box give-away. Here’s some wonderful Moda Marbles that she’s including in the box.

Good luck!

Carla Barrett of Feathered Fibers draws these adorable quilting cartoons for a magazine, Machine Quilting Unlimited.

Scott over at Blue Nickel Studios is having a Tootsie Pop Mini Quilt Challenge. These little quilts will be no bigger than 4″ square.. wow that’s tiny. Instructions and sign up information is on Scott’s site.

I can’t remember the last time I saw a Tootsie Roll, but now I’m craving one.

Living in the Nation’s capital for the past 6+ years, Canada Day has become my most favourite day of the year. It starts pretty early in the morning, and lasts well into the early hours of the next day, sometimes with a nap in the afternoon to keep me going. The city buzzes with energy and excitement and SO MANY PEOPLE! The fireworks at the end of the evening are spectacular.

I have warned/reminded my friends that I am very selfish on Canada Day, and I’m also easily side-tracked. So, if something catches my eye, I’ll be gone, even if that wasn’t the “plan”. I figure everyone is entitled to one selfish day to do exactly what they want, when they want. This is my day.

I’ll probably start the day with the Canada Day Parade down Elgin, then I’ll scoot over to Metcalfe to avoid the crowds and head up to the Hill for 11:30 or so. I’ll stay on the Hill for the noon show, or at least to see the Snowbirds, the SkyHawks, Blue Rodeo and Paul Brandt.

Eventually, I’ll make my way over to friends’ for a BBQ, then I may “break tradition” and head back to the Hill for the evening show, since I’m a Blue Rodeo and Paul Brandt fan. Hard to say for sure, as the fireworks from the Hill aren’t nearly as good as from other locations in the city.

Below are some free Canadian-themed patterns, a video I shot of the snowbirds, some Canada Day pictures from past years and some Canadian humour.

Canadian-Themed Free Patterns

• Maple Leaf Weave
• Quilt Canada
• Canadian Comfort and Remembrance Project
• Paper Pieced Canadian Flag

Snowbirds 2007

Shot at Pariament Hill, Canada Day 2007.

Photos

The cutest little girl is my niece Lucy (with her dad); this will be her third Canada Day. The beautiful fireworks photo was taken by my friend Tom. The rest of the photos I took.

Some Canadian Humour

Jokes brought to you by Is It Beer Time Yet?, which may not be work- or family-friendly for all.

• 40 Signs That You May Be Canadian
• Signs that you might be too Canadian for your own good
• US Navy Ship vs. Canadian Lighthouse
• The Making of Canada
• You know you’re from Canada when…
• Best Coffee in Canada
• 25 Cent Piece
• Top 10 Reasons

If you’re Canadian, I hope you have a fabulous day. I’d love to hear how you spend your Canada Day, please leave a comment.

Happy Birthday Canada!

Technorati Profile

Every Friday, FabricMom has a draw for a Fat Quarter on her web site. I was the lucky winner of this gorgeous piece of fabric, Orange Spiral, that arrived in the mail today. Be sure to check her site each week to enter.

There’s a great article over on the Lemon Tree Tales’ web site, Sewing Room Ergonomics or why does it hurt when I sew?.

My sewing machine and table set-up are my problem. I really need to lower my machine, about 4 inches, but can’t afford to buy a new table right now. I can raise the chair, and will try that again, with the presser foot on some boxes. I found the presser foot kept falling off the phone book I was using in the past. I only feel the stress when I’m doing the quilting part, no problems with piecing or regular sewing.

Here’s a completely unrelated link to a blog post a friend of mine made earlier tonight, Saving the Environment by Renovating the Little Red Golf. Please forgive the intrusion… we’re testing some Googleze to see what happens. Us web developers always have to stay on top of such things.

1. “Oh, it’s not for me! I’m buying it for a friend!”
2. Because it’s on sale.
3. It keeps without refrigeration, and you don’t have to cook it to enjoy it. Also, you never have to feed it, change it, wipe its nose, or walk it.
4. I need extra weight in the trunk of my car for traction on snowy, icy roads. This is important, even in Florida and Southern California, as you never know when the weather will change.
5. It’s non-fattening.It has been confirmed by registered dietitians that a fat quarter has 100% fewer calories than a hot fudge sundae.
6. It’s prettier than salt and pepper shakers.
7. Unless my fabric stash is reasonably impressive, people might think my family is destitute, and my children would be embarrassed.

Yes, I realize that’s not 71 reasons, so you’ll have to go to this page, Fabriholics Defined and Defended, and read the rest. Apparently, there’s also a cure for Fabriholics… why one would even consider attempting such a thing is beyond me.

Have a great weekend!

The winner for my 6-Month Anniversary Celebration is…

*drum roll please*

Number 17, Amy, from Wisconsin who wrote,

I am from NW Wisconsin. To answer my “favorite” thing about quilting…GOLLY! That’s tough. I enjoy ALL stages, but the quilting stage is my still my weakest part. I love piecing and seeing the quilt top come together.

Congratulations Amy, and thanks to everyone who played along. I enjoyed reading all of your comments. Amy, I’ll be in touch after the Canadian long weekend.

Here are some pictures I took at the Ottawa Tulip Festival this past weekend. My friend and I walked from Lansdowne Park up to Commissioners Park and took photos along the way. I’m hoping to go to Major’s Hill Park this coming weekend, but the tulips might be past their prime by then. We’ll see.

P.S. The above was creating using the new Gallery feature in WordPress 2.5.1 … sweet!!

Today is my 6-month blog anniversary. It’s been a lot of fun and I really enjoy working on this blog. I love reading other blogs, so gathering my huge list of Quilting Bloggers has been amazing. The massive amount of free projects and wonderful tutorials available for quilters on the Internet should keep me posting for years… hehe.

What’s next? I have lots of plans, first up will be organing the Quilting Bloggers list into a format that’s more user-friendly than a massive list sorted alphabetically. I hope to have this ready by the end of the month, so stay tuned. Are you a quilting blogger that I don’t have listed yet? Drop me an email (michele@quiltinggallery.com), and I’ll be sure to get you added. Next up, well, you’ll just have to wait and see, but I think it’s super exciting and I hope all of you will too.

In the meantime, please continue to leave comments, send me links to your favourite tutorials or free projects, and even pictures of your finished quilts. I would be thrilled to post them.

To help celebrate my 6-month anniversary, I’m having a give-away. It’s simple to enter, post a comment below and answer two simple questions (1) What’s your favourite part of quilting; and, (2) Where are you located? I’ll pick one random winner on May 15th to receive 6 (one for each month) pre-washed fat quarters taken from my stash and some other goodies.

Thanks for the adventure so far and Happy Quilting,
Michele

It’s time to resurrect the Pay It Forward game on my site as I’ve seen it popping up on various quilting blogs lately and I received a notice on the weekend from Caron at Michigan Quilts that I won her Pay It Forward. I’m really looking forward to receiving her gift.

Here’s how it works:

I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. As I’m away from my home and sewing machine in Canada until April, I propose to send out the handmade items in May. I will email each person for their mailing address and send the handmade gift when completed. (Who knows, maybe something unique from Buenos Aires will make it into my handmade pieces.)

What YOU have to do in return, then, is Pay it Forward by making the same promise on your blog to 3 different people. Unfortunately, this is only possible for those of who have a blog.

Suzan over a The Reluctant Quilter is playing … how about you?

Continuing with our Quilting History post last week, here’s another great site, with wonderful photos, and 181 interviews with quilters.

Quilts and Quiltmaking in America showcases materials from two American Folklife Center collections, the Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project Collection (1978) and the “All-American Quilt Contest” sponsored by Coming Home, a division of Lands’ End, and Good Housekeeping. Together these collections provide a glimpse into America’s diverse quilting traditions.

I had a lovely email this weekend from Judy Anne Breneman sharing with me her Quilting History web sites. I had a great time exploring these sites.

• Patterns from History
• Womenfolk: The Art of Quilting
• Patches from the Past

While exploring, I came across this document entitled, A Collection of Notes on the Historical Aspects of Quilting, by Kateryn de Develyn. It too was very fascinating.

And another great find, New Pathways Into Quilt History, by Kimberly Wulfert. Don’t miss the crazy blocks from 1887… what a treasure to have.

And yet one more, The Quilt Index. This is a fantastic site.

Did you know?
I’m always looking for new material for this site, free patterns, quilting news, product/book reviews, your finished quilts, tutorials, etc. I always provide links directly to your site. Want to share? Send me an email, michele@quiltinggallery.com.