Aughhh....

The first rainy day of Fall....just makes everything feel so much better!

New slippers in the mail from my mom also keep my toes warm for a cozy afternoon of binding.

I have found teaching in a comprehensive distant model to be weirdly exhausting emotionally.

Zoom, Google Meets are common place forms of communication and teaching.

By the weekend, I'm just done. I hoping as the rain clears tomorrow to go for a long mountain hike to enjoy the fresh air, beautiful Fall leaves and rejuvenate my heart and head. How about you.? How do you keep yourself rejuvenated as we continue to find ourselves living a new normal?

With Smiles! Val

A Crochet Blanket....

I quilt, my mom knits and my sister crochets.

I got this blanket as a surprise in the mail today!!!

Our deal was she'd crochet me a blanket and I'm going to make her a quilt.

She's wayyyy ahead of me....but I love it! And it's sooooo warm! Lucky me....and Jackson.

What! I WON!!!!

Before I raked leaves after work today, I snapped a picture of today's happy mail:

I won this Rustic Vive thread collection by Pat Bravo during  Kathy's Quilts Save the Bee draw!  

Quilted Postcard Swap/Blog Hop

Last month I posted the quilted postcard I sent from Oregon to Indiana...

I created this one for my Kris who blogs at Krislovesfabric. Her prompt was: MAKE.
My postcard note said: "Kris you make very beautiful gifts and I'm sure they bring sunshine to many hearts."

and  the one that traveled through the mail from Michigan to Oregon to little ol' me! 

This one was created for me  by Sunshine'sAddiction using my prompt: HAPPY.
She illustrated that happy transition many us feel as Winter finally turns into Spring.

Well today we are having a Postcard Blog Hop of many of us who participated in the swap.

Here's a list of today's Blog Hop participants to check out. ENJOY!  

Denise @ DottieDoodle

Isis @ Creation d'Isis 

Karen @ Run Sew Fun

Lynette @ What A Hoot Quilts

Laura @ LC's Cottage

Lisa @ Sunlight in Winter Quilts

Marsha @ Quilter in Motion

Michelle @ Creative Blonde

Paige @ Quilted Blooms

Patty @ Elm Street Quilts

Sandra @ mmm! quilts

Susan @ California Fiber and Music

Dione @ https://www.cleverchameleon.com.au/blog/

I specialize in edge to edge pantographs with over 100 designs to choose from.

Check out my Long-Arm Quilting page for details.

I offer FREE Return Shipping on all quilts in the U.S.A.

Happy Mail Winner!

Remember to find happiness in the little things along the way.

Remember to steal as many hugs and kisses as you can.

 As I think:

Thank you to everyone for visiting my blog during the Virtual Cookie Exchange and to all of you who are my loyal followers/bloggy friends. Our blogs are certainly a happy spot in my life.

I have a happy shout out to Deb who blogs at Frugal Little Bungalow. Yep! Random Number Generator chose your number as the winner of my Happy Mail Give-Away. Congrats Deb!

I specialize in edge to edge pantographs with over 100 designs to choose from.

Check out my Long-Arm Quilting page for details.

I offer FREE Return Shipping on all quilts in the U.S.A.

Happy Mail=Happy Stitching

I really wanted to find a new stitching project and well, truth be told, 

I also wanted some happy mail to look forward to each month..

I found this Dancing Chickens & Flying Pigs wool applique BOM created by Anne Downs while cruising the internet and knew immediately this was exactly what I was looking for.

I like how quick and easy wool applique is and well, I think the blocks are just adorable.

Annnnddd....we are using a linen background, thus this is going to make the perfect wall hanging in one of our guest bedrooms once it's done.

Once I get all the pieces stitched down I'm looking forward to...

...adding some creative stitching to many of the pieces. Don't ya just love that piggy tail!

 I do have a question for you fellow stitches though: Do I need to use an embroidery hoop when I stitch the lettering? I'm going to use a black perle cotton for the lettering. Thanks ahead of time.

Happy Slow Sunday Stitching everyone.

WIN quilt batting this summer. Click HERE to read how.

I specialize in edge to edge pantographs with over 100 designs to choose from.

Check out my Long-Arm Quilting page for details.

I offer FREE Return Shipping on all quilts in the U.S.A.

WIN quilt batting this summer. Click HERE to read how.

Happy Mail Coming!

Okay, okay....don't be calling me all crazy....but I can't honestly remember the last time I bought fabric!!! (I know! Seriuosly, insert an awe struck emoji right here.)  I got inspired after our grand guy's visit and ordered enough fabric to make him a small quilt of his favorite Brown Bear book.  And I have to admit, I couldn't resist adding an additional charm pack of some oh so soft baby flannel to make a quick baby quilt....because ya know, the anticipation of another grand-baby is always exciting and creating baby quilts is always fun!

Hoping your week is sprinkled with a little bit of anticipation too. 

And just in case you didn't see...there's still time to take advantage of this sale.

I soooo value the excellent customer service I've received from Fat Quarter Shop.

Fun Happy Mail!

The mailman delivered my turn with Bernie's, over at Needle and Foot,  Fabric and Fiction book share. (Click HERE to read all about her cool happy mail/quilters book club of sorts.)

We receive (and send forward) three new fat quarters that relate back to the novel in some fashion. My person sent me these three fun fabrics below, each representing one of the main characters in the story. Her character captions have me intrigued.   

I laughed a little when she said the circle design represents the character Samantha whose thoughts seem to keep her running in circles. I smiled in thought of the pink representing the character Lydia, because older women often mentor younger women without even knowing it. And finally, those trees, they represent King, the character who is cool with himself, steady and stable. (I'm so grateful to have my own King) After this wonderful introduction, I'm looking forward to meeting these characters myself as I spend a few hours this chilly morning reading: Open House.

Next week's theme: Anything GREEN!

My Husband is Laughing at Me!

Soooo what if with a week worth of snow days under my belt that I've become a "little" obsessed with my little puzzle and may get up at the crack of dawn to work on it! Look how cute it is:

We quilters really know the reason I'm up so early. I have a few WIP I want to get finished today....as I know these crazy snow days have to end soon and I don't want to have a bunch of WIP.

So I actually plan to spend my entire day in my basement studio:

7:30 am Snow Day #5

There's minimal shoveling left to do and today is suppose to be a "melt day" with temperatures finally reaching 34 degrees! So while it's been snowing like crazy, I have a few new WIP to wrap up:

1. My Winter Wallhanging (DONE)

2. RSC: Purple crayons and flowers: (DONE)

3. A new commission quilt: (DONE)

This little peek outside will be my reminder to enjoy yet another snow day, predicting the make-up days will probably be eliminating some upcoming long holiday weekends I was going to use as sew days....it's all good. I miss my students and daily routines.

PS: I'm totally getting my classroom kids some puzzles to work on when they have transition time. 

 (Okay, okay...."maybe" I've become a little obsessed with my puzzle! LOL!)

Thank you for continuing to stop by and keep this "shut-in" company. Your comments and support make my day thus, comment to share if weather has affected your daily routine lately. The first day I actually do go back to work, I'll choose a random friend to send a little happy mail to. 

UPDATE: We DID return to school for one day on Tuesday the 17th.

So congratulations to #18 on this post: Kayak Kathy !!

Click here to check out this week's NEEDLE CASES.

Surprise Happy Mail!

How wonderful to walk to the mailbox and receive not one, but two surprise Happy Mails!

 Inside each I found much to smile about!

I won the magazine from Em's Scrapbag as she celebrated having her Baby Blooms pattern published in this edition! How cool is that! (And how lucky am I to now have a copy of it!)
The other was a surprise from my good ol' blogging friend Nita.
Her personal letter touched my heart and certainly made me smile...oh the eye-spys did too!

I can't even remember the last time I wrote a hand written letter?? Can you??

Yet, as we prepare for Thanksgiving, I find myself sentimental as we dig out old family recipes.

I smile at my mom's handwriting and am always amazed as I reflect upon the advancements since my own Granny's days of typed (like typewriter typed) recipes that are to this day, kept tucked in my mom's  Betty Crocker cookbook. So grateful I preserved these in a scrapbook so many years ago.

Thanksgiving Traditions Scrapbook 2006

Well, Thanks Em and Nita. 

I've ever grateful for the support and friendships found in our little blogging community.

Happy Mail Ideas???

Hmmmm....over the past years I've belonged to a variety of quilty mail order

clubs or BOM.  I belonged to a fat quarter "club" were I was sent a set of yummy fabric each month. (This was a wonderful way to build my stash.) I did a wool sampler of the month and I completed My Garden Party appliqued quilt through a BOM club. Now, well who doesn't really, but I loved coming home to my package of "happy mail" and I miss it. Yet, nothing has caught my eye lately. .

So with that said...what kind of "happy mail" do you enjoy? Have you found a new BOM/Club out there you are enjoying? I'd love to join ya.  Please comment to share your ideas. THANKS!!

(PS: I usually keep this around a budget of $30.00 each month.)

PS: Speaking of Happy Mail....I found out this morning I won a cute give-away at Homespun Hannah's Blog. Click here to check out the adorable needle book coming my way. Thanks Hannah.

Also, click HERE to check out this week's variety of cute HALLOWEEN posts.

I-Spy Happy Mail!

Yep! Going to the mailbox this week is as fun as Christmas morning!

My banquet table is overflowing and with only three more packages to arrive,

 I find myself looking forward to "organizing" these into your return envelopes. 

Thank you so very much to everyone who has participated in our I-Spy Swap!

Look below to see how blogging has connected us from all over the United States.

(My home is the red dot, yours the green dots.)

I had no idea so many of you are on the East coast!

Very cool huh! Well, I'm now beginning to feel like that kid on Christmas morning, as I've sat here  anxiously waiting to see of what's inside those just arrived I-Spy packages. 

Until tomorrow....I'm off to open them and enjoy!