Nice Matters Award (and) 2 Fabric Giveaways

(Grab your coffee and prop up your feet. This might be lengthy.)

In the first paragraph of my last post (dated August 16th) I said to watch for another fabric giveaway and that it would be posted by the end of the week. What I meant to say was that it would be posted by the end of the first week of September...yea, that's the ticket. Do you believe me? I didn't think so.

It's hard to believe that I was the recipient of a Nice Matters Award from MissesKwitty (which just warmed my heart and made me smile) and then couldn't keep up with my posting. Please accept my sincerest apologies. My mother is situated now and her place is sold, so we're trying to organize things back to normal. I do not want to be a bad blogger. I want to be like the (5) that I'm now passing this award to, and the (2) who are entering the Hall of Fame! (You will notice that each one designed and constructed her ensemble for todays awards ceremony.)

I feel like I personally know all of these ladies and not only do I like the personalities that I see through their blogs, I love what they create and what they have to say and how they say it. Each one is talented, creative, inspiring and very often entertaining.


First to come down the red carpet is MissesKwitty. Karen is dressed in a cottage style gown of aqua and pink and trimmed in matching rick rack.

Now, I know that Karen gave the award to me to begin with after she was given it by someone else, but she is VERY deserving of the Nice Matters "Hall of Fame", which I have just created by the way. I love her coasters and magnets and checkbook covers and card holders...I love everything she makes! If you aren't familiar with her, check out her etsy shop. She even sends a little surprise along. She's working on some gift sets now that will be great for any gift-giving, and certainly for Christmas. But more than that, she's become a good blogging friend and has been a huge help to me on setting up things on Etsy, my blog and even Paypal. She knows that I am "green" on so much of this and offers instructions before I even ask for help. She's an encourager and I appreciate her so much. She is nice and nice matters!

Secondly I must notice Jenn Maruska who is just stepping out of the limo now. Jenn has fashioned her gown for tonight in fur fabric and is carrying the sweetest purse resembling a tiny pillow, adorned with the cutest embroidery.

Jenn was also given the award by MissesKwitty, and since I would like to also give her the award I'm going to put her in the Hall of Fame. I've purchased several needlebooks from Jenn and I'm certainly attached to mine and the matching pincushion! She's just so sweet and easy to work with. She also sends a little surprise in her shipments. Check out her blog and etsy shop too. She's working on some adorable critters now that she has designed. They are just precious, and will make excellent gifts. She is nice, and nice matters!

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Now on to my (5) recipients of the Nice Matters Award:


Sweet Repeats- "Lucy" is approaching the red carpet in a gown covered with a colorful collage of her life. It is mixed media with freehand artwork and journaling and is quite unique. Very moving.

She is an artist and creates collages that I'm very drawn to. She's an organizer in the Sweet Goodness Swaps which I have participated in since March. (I love our swaps - so watch for the next one, especially if you've never tried it.) She and I have a lot in common in that we're single mothers, we lack "fundage" (I love her new word there), work fulltime outside of the home and try to create in-between work and family time which isn't always easy. I recently purchased a collage from her for my dd's 17th birthday and I cannot wait until my dd sees this. She is going to LOVE it. I knew she would as soon as I saw it. And believe me, the photo on Jodi's blog doesn't do it justice. Jodi pours herself into her art and she very often pours herself into her blog too. Be sure to visit her blog, her new studio shoppe and her etsy shop. She's a busy lady for sure, and she's nice. And nice matters.

Queenly Things- Ms. Vallen is a Queen! She also designed her gown AND her extremely creative crown for the ceremony. Ms. Vallen requested that no limo be sent out for her tonight, but that she be allowed to arrive in her quaint little camper.

Her blog is fascinating! I envy her talent of writing, as I do Sweet Repeats' also. (I write exactly like I talk I'm told - on and on and on while my hands are moving through the air.) Vallen tells great stories about her childhood and about places she has lived. Sometimes it's as though I'm reading the most interesting book and then suddenly I'm at the end - too quickly, and I want to read more. She is truly a writer in my book(no pun intended) and someone needs to publish a book written by her! One day she's going to pull a little camper around the country and park it at the homes of bloggers along the way for short stays, and I'm hoping she'll 'sit a spell' in my driveway. We'll invite "Lucy" for the weekend, and NObody else will be able to get a word in edgewise! Vallen has had a busy summer taking care of her recuperating Mother and still, she is nice. And nice matters.

Calamity Kim - Kim is escorted tonight by her husband Fred on one side and her brother on the other. She is wearing a one-of-a-kind apron and is wrapped in several out-of-this-world doll quilts, while carrying a beautiful art doll - ALL created by her.

Kim is another one who is fascinating! I absolutely love her blog. She just cracks me up at times and a time or two she has filled my eyes with water. Either way, she's always interesting. She used to live in Asheville, N.C. which is a gorgeous and extremely creative city. Asheville is only an hour from me and when she mentions something in Asheville I always want to take off and go. I hope Sarasota (where she now lives) is a creative city. If not, they're missing out on Calamity Kim. I know Asheville would just LOVE to see her back there. I would also love to visit Kim and roam free in her craft room for just 1 hour - tops. It's a crafters paradise for sure. I can tell that she's a very down-to-earth kind of girl, and she's nice. And nice matters.

MintBasil - LeeAnn is approaching the crowd in a gown she also designed. The entire gown is repurposed from thrifted linen dresses on which LeeAnn has embroidered elaborate designs.

LeeAnn is the first blogging friend I had. I was brand spankin' new to reading blogs last spring when I stumbled upon the Sweet Goodness Swap information. It was for a "Pink and Green Swap" to be held late March - mid April. I wasn't exactly sure what this swapping business was, but I wanted to try it, so I signed up. I had no blog and knew not one single thing about setting one up, but I signed up for the swap anyway. We were assigned our partners and LeeAnn was mine. Her blog was very new itself and I read it to get some ideas about her for my swap items I'd be sending. I found that she was young and I immediately panicked. I was f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-fifty-one at the time and I just knew this newlywed in her mid- 20's was going to want to swap for a younger partner before the pink and green swappin' began! I emailed her and told her I was plenty old enough to be her mother (although I should've said she was young enough to be my daughter - that sounds better for me doesn't it?!?) and I will never forget her reply. She said "now, age is just a number" and she went right into asking questions about me and my likes and dislikes. I was sooooo relieved, and happy. I fully agree with her reply that age is just a number, but I don't think everyone in their mid-20's feels that way, and being so new at all of this and not personally knowing LeeAnn I thought I should let her know up front that she was dealing with someone who remembers the first astronauts landing on the moon. She's also the person who encouraged me to start blogging. We had a great swap and enjoyed it enough to sign up again for the Summer Bucket of Fun swap over the summer, although we of course had different partners that time around. LeeAnn is another gifted sewer and embroiderer. I've got an embroidered zipper pouch in my purse and a pillow on my sofa embroidered with a cow - both created by LeeAnn. I've also got one of her mason jar pincushions next to my sewing machine. Visit her etsy shop and her blog and you will see yourself how creative and talented she is. And to top it off, she's nice. And nice matters.

Mamasaidsew - Christy is stepping from her limo in a black gown covered in sequins. As you will notice the gown has an apron design to it, tying at the neck and back. Wait a moment. Who is that helping her from the limo? Why it's her son Nathan!

Christy was my Summer Bucket of Fun swap partner. Christy is a good bit younger than me too, but because of LeeAnn's great attitude about age I just didn't even worry anymore, so I never told Christy that I saw the astronauts land on the moon. The Summer Bucket of Fun swap was centered around orange and yellow, and summer fun. One of my gifts from her was an apron she made me with sunshine faces all over it and I have worn that apron out in the last six or seven weeks! She's another talented sewer for sure. Her little boy Nathan just began kindergarten and I've been walking down memory lane while reading about his little adjustment to school. Christy's a good mama you can tell, and she's nice. And nice matters.

So there you have it. The (5) winners of the Nice Matters Award. Each of these winners can now pass the award on to (5) other bloggers, if they have the time. By the way, thank you all for being so nice.

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Now.......on to the (2) Fabric Giveaways. I'm offering two packs this week since it's been awhile since I last posted.

Each will contain:

(.5) yd. of Daisy Kingdom "Lines & Lace" print

(1) yd. of red cotton with flowers (this is 20+ years old)

(6) Debbie Mumm "Creative Woman" fabric labels

(8) Fabric labels on a black background

(2) Zippers and (2) Threads (these are also 20 years old)

In addition, one will contain:

(1) yd. colorful homespun cotton

(.75) colorful stripe cotton

...and the other will contain:

(1) yd. colorful stripe cotton

(.75) yd. Mary Englebreit "Bloom Where You're Planted"

So leave a comment and I'll have someone draw (2) names on Thursday, September 13th. Also, do any of you know if fabric, etc. that is 20 years old is considered vintage? I don't want to use that word without knowing. The red fabric was purchased in 1985 although it has never been used so it doesn't have a worn look or feel. I was going to call it 'vintage' but I don't know that 20 years is old enough. Do you know?

Have a great weekend everybody!

Inspiration Walls

Updating my blog seems to be more difficult for me than I ever think it's going to be. It still takes me a while if I want to add pictures and links and if I take forever between posts (like now) I am embarrassed. While my reddened face calms down let me say that I am collecting more fabric (and some supplies) to giveaway and will hopefully have it all posted here by the end of the week.

I've seen so many inspiration boards pictured on blogs and I love them all. I would show you mine if I could uncover it to take a photo, but my house has only one path through it right now due to furniture and memorabilia I've brought in from my mother's farm the last week or two. Her farm sold and we have only about 10 more days to empty the barn and the milk house, but at the rate I'm going we should just put everything in a huge truck and bring it to MY house because I'm having a difficult time turning loose of things that hold good memories. The only room in my house uncluttered and uncovered enough to enjoy is the dd's bedroom. She dared me to put ANY of my haul in there, and since school started yesterday she has it cleaned up and organized. Everything is in its place. She even has "inspiration walls".....

and an "inspiration desk" too.

When she was small she would draw and color for hours, literally hours. By the time she was six she had outgrown her little girl desk and I decided to buy two file cabinets and put a piece of wood across the top. My mother had the idea of a countertop instead of wood due to easy cleanup of paints and markers AND the back piece going up the wall which would prevent things from being lost over the back edge. The 5' countertop piece was $25 at Lowe's and I bought two of the $20 cheapo file drawers at Walmart. That was over 11 years ago and it is still a part of her.

The first time I saw something written on her desktop was about 3 years ago when she had gotten deep into Shakespeare. She had written a quote on it in Sharpie marker and at first I was ill, but by the time she got home I decided it wasn't a big deal because this $25 piece of countertop isn't a family heirloom. lol. She began to write song lyrics, Bible verses, poetry, and the name of her future husband, Daniel Radcliffe. (He hasn't met her yet though.) Her friends sign her desk in some way when visiting and sometimes a simple new drawing will appear. My dd will NOT part with this desk. Do NOT even discuss it with her. And it thrills me because she is surrounding herself with creativity. I'm thankful for that because I can't imagine life without creativity and I want it in her life. It has brought me many hours of joy and comfort. I've solved my problems and everyone else's through the years while sewing and cross stitching. Hours on end of journal writing have helped me avoid a therapist I couldn't afford anyway. Scrapbooks have told the life of many a loved relative. Music has calmed me, set me on fire and made me cry, all in a matter of minutes. I picture myself bored without creativity so I'm thankful I have a bit of it, and I'm especially thankful my dd does.

Fabric Giveaway Winner in the Dog Days of Summer

Everyone I talk to is sweltering in this heat right now. I don't know about you, but I'm not moving around more than I have to because the more I move, the hotter I get. The AC is running and so are the fans.

This past weekend my dd and I went to the beach for a few days with my best friend and her dd. We had the best time! Saturday we stayed in the hotel pools and lazy rivers, had a good dinner and strolled through the mega shops at Broadway at the Beach. Sunday we were at a waterpark all day where my best friend and I pretended we were 20 years old again and had a blast riding down the slides and corkscrews laughing and screaming our heads off! Our daughters said they always knew where we were in the park due to our screaming! Bovine's at Murrell's Inlet was dinner (incredible and affordable meal!) and a putt putt course that night. After checking out of the hotel Monday we visited several consignment shops where I lucked up on a couple of vintage sheets, some fabric for nearly nothing. cute cute shoes and a purse for dd, and a couple of vintage linens and handkerchiefs. I think it's great what thrifting does to my shopping mind because nothing at the specialty shops Saturday interested me at all, yet thrift and consignment shops are magnets for me. I'm hoping its rubbing off on dd too.

I appreciate all of you visiting and commenting and in return I will continue to give away fabric.

Several commented at how lucky we are in this area to have Mary Jo's Cloth Shop and I know I am. I've been told that Mary Jo (who IS a real person by the way) is in her mid 70's now and still works 6 days a week at her shop. She's always looking for new fabrics and for what her customers want. I'm going back next Friday or Saturday and I've been making a list of everything I'll be looking for, hoping I can stick to that list. (fat chance)

Dana commented about the Bathing Beauties fabric by Loralie Designs that I bought at Mary Jo's and wanted to know what I'm going to make with it. My main project with it is for (15) postcards I'm trying to finish up. I'm "fussy cutting" those lovely ladies from the fabric and appliqueing them to another fabric and making postcards. I've been in a postcard exchange that began in the spring and ends this month. I think that I'll use some to make a tote bag for the beach for next year, or maybe line a summer purse with it.

Now for the winner of the fabric. This time I put the numbers 1 through 9 in a jar to draw from. (There were 4 comments not in the drawing.) I drew a paper and it was #3 - Katherine. So if you will get your address to me at dynacinsc@yahoo.com I will get your fabric in the mail to you.
Check back next week ya'll. There's lots more fabric to shed!

Mary Jo's (and) Fabric Giveaway #2

I guess I'm giving away fabric so that I can buy more....which is exactly what I did Friday. My daughter and I rode up to Mary Jo's Cloth Shop in Gastonia, NC , which is just outside of Charlotte and just a bit more than an hour away from us. When I go to Mary Jo's my palms sweat, my stomach gets jumpy, my heart races and my blood pressure rises. I leave there planning to sew 24/7. I can conquer the world!






When my sister married 25 years ago, she and her husband lived within minutes of this shop and when I visited we would always go to Mary Jo's. I imagine my brother-in-law broke out in a sweat when we mentioned we were going there and I'm sure he knew he wouldn't see us again until nightfall.

Mary Jo's has the lowest prices I've seen anywhere, from the high quality cottons to wool felt (yes they carry wool felt at $9.99/yd - solids and two-color) to linen to.... they carry everything! Some cottons are grouped by pattern like these coordinating dots and stripes, and this picture shows only part of that group.

They have groupings by category like sports, florals, babies, Christmas, fall, etc. and also groupings by color. Then there are groupings by design name like Aunt Grace, and these by Loralie. (I had to have some of the "Bathing Beautys" here.)



Batiks...






...and look at the Michael Miller group. These Michael Miller fabrics are all priced from $5.49 - $5.69 per yard!! I bought several of these for projects and some for tops I'll be making my DD.





This photo doesn't let you see how amazing the Bridal department is. I purchased the fabric and laces for my wedding gown here nearly 20 years ago and still when I go to Mary Jo's there are always young women and their mothers in this department planning their formal gowns or wedding gowns.





And my 2nd sewing obsession after fabric is..............rick rack! And look at the rolls of rick rack! Every color you can hope for! When I told DD I was headed to the rick rack, she just sat down on a bench. She knew I would busy for a while.

Oh how I love this store. I wish all of you who sew could visit it. They are online too at http://www.maryjos.com/ and for now you can order from them by email. The nice lady who helped me Friday (and they are ALL very nice - seriously) said it won't be long before the fabrics are on their website to see, but for now you can link to a fabric manufacturer like Marcus Brothers or Free Spirit, etc. and tell Mary Jo's the design name you're looking for and they will order it and mail it to you. I had ordered some yardage of a particular Michael Miller design and they called me last week when it came in, so I had a GOOD reason to drive up there Friday instead of having them mail it to me.

I hope ya'll don't mind my promotion of Mary Jo's Cloth Shop but I just want you to know there IS somewhere to pay reasonable prices for these beautiful cottons that so many of us love. I don't personally know anyone at Mary Jo's but I do know their prices and I know their service, which is top notch.

Looking at all of this fabric at Mary Jo's makes my fabric giveaway look pretty puny, but I'll give it a whirl anyway. If you're interested in helping me make room for my new fabric, leave a comment and I'll draw a number on Tuesday.

This will include:

- about 1.5 yds. of Mary Englebreit cotton (this is the 2nd piece that I have. Yes I had an obsession.)

- about 1.5 yds. of "Crazy Patch" by Daisy Kingdom

- a small piece of cotton with cute kittys

- about .5 yd. of multi-color cotton with gold design

Swap Package Fun

I got my Summer Bucket of Fun Swap package Monday afternoon and did I get a jackpot of good stuff or what!??!! My partner is Christy and she showered me with fun for the entire week, and then some! First of all, this is the container she decorated to hold my goodies. I will definitely be using this box. I might use it for sewing supplies (I'm always needing another container) or in our bathroom, or for one of my many "collections"...the uses are endless. (The pictures don't do any of this justice. My photography skills are NOT good, especially when the lighting isn't good to begin with.)

And the wrapped gifts....





At this point, I was trying not to tear into anything too fast, but I'll tell ya'...I 'contain' myself at Christmas much better than I do with these swap packages. I don't know what happens to me opening these surprises. I hope I'm NEVER caught on film by anyone!


And here are some of my goodies:

A thrifted BBQ cookbook from 1988 (I've already marked a couple of recipes I'm going to try this weekend), the cutest little bright yellow/orangy vase that's kind of retro looking that is another great thrifted find, pretty sunflower notecards and a sunflower candle that smells just wonderful, a little orange pouch holding buttons and trims (all will be used too), a cute cute fabric flower she made (I wore this to work yesterday with a green top and got many compliments I must say), (3) different yellow fabrics (that will be used towards my bedroom quilt), a new basting brush (I badly needed a new one too), and a package of summertime napkins.

And then this...

Does this not have "Fun" and "Hot" and "BBQ" written all over it!?!! I just love this apron. It is so comfortable and sturdy. Christy is another talented sewer I've met. (She should be selling these.) And that flower on the pocket is adorable - the center is stuffed. Cute! My daughter (my model here) thinks I act different when I have it on. I do. I told you it's "hot"!

Thank you so much Christy! (Your package is on its way.) This is my 2nd swap and I've enjoyed both of them so much. It's so nice to make these new friends.

Now for the fabric giveaway! Ta...da...this weeks fabric goes to.......... Dana! I numbered the comments #1 - #8 and then left out #3 (LeeAnn opted out). I then asked Jim down the hall to choose a number out of #1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. He chose #5, which is Dana. So I will get Dana's address and the fabric will be in the mail.

But don't fret ya'll. Keep coming back because I'm going to continuously weed out fabric I'm not using and I plan to give away fabric and anything else pertaining to this addiction I have on a weekly basis. I'll be adding another group no later than Monday.

Fabric Giveaway

I'm finally back ladies and very happy to have time to post. More than that, I'm anxious to catch up on my blog reading. I so much enjoy reading what you're making, what you're cooking, where you're going on vacation, etc.

My job (the one that pays the bills) has been extremely hectic the last 2 weeks and I've not had time to do my regular blog reading, much less post. I've read a post here and a post there, but not enough to know what's going on right now so I'm hoping I can catch up over the weekend.

I also haven't been able to sew as much as I wanted but I've gotten a few things completed and have added them to my etsy shop, so check them out.

Now...on to the fabric. If you are interested in adding to your stash leave a comment. I'll draw a name (or number) Wednesday morning and these will be on the way to the winner.


The fabrics are: (clockwise from upper left)

(2) panels of "Robert's Baltimore Album" - (8) blocks per panel - all different

(1) yard of "Forget Me Not" print

(1) piece with 15-20 brightly colored label designs

(1/2) yard of a Mary Engelbreit design (smaller figures)

(1/2) yard of a pastel floral print

(1/2) yard of a Mary Engelbreit design (larger figures)

So leave a comment, and have a wonderful weekend ya'll!

Catching Up

I hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th holiday. I didn't take any extra time off from work, but I got out of my routine with the holiday being in the middle of the week. I did enjoy that extra day though.

On July 4th my daughter and I spent a fantastic day at Lake Lure, N.C. It's an hour from our home and we just love it up there. Lake Lure is a man-made lake tucked in the mountains of western N.C. near Asheville. The bottom of the lake is pure comfort to my feet. It isn't mushy and muddy. It's a very comfortable sandy bottom which also exfoliates my feet for me! A good bit of "Dirty Dancing" was filmed there 20 + years ago. Lake Lure is beautiful, with a nice beach and a small waterpark area for children. You can also rent boats; from pedal boats to pontoons. We packed a nice lunch, sunscreen, magazines, paperbacks, floats, towels and grabbed the picnic blanket by the door. It was a very relaxing day and we both enjoyed it. It was what she calls "Mama and Ellet time".

While there, I got the most perfect picture of Miss Tottus laying on the blanket. This is Ellet, in her element.

fake Chanel earrings: $25.00

real Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses: $200.00

tattered Miller High Life cap begged off of your brother: Priceless

After I took the picture it just struck me how funny this was; two designer accessories and a beer cap! She's 16. What can I say?!! (...and before I forget, you've gotta read Christy's post titled "Independence" last week. Too cute!)

I've been working on some aprons and purses that will be ready for the Etsy shop this week, and I'll be anxious to see what ya'll think about them.

Also, I'm going to start a weekly giveaway of fabric in an attempt to whittle down my stash while making your stash grow! So watch for that to begin.

And thank ya'll for the kind comments about my Etsy shop. I do appreciate it very much.