sewtakeahike

a debt of gratitude

 

 

The second annual Sewtakeahike weekend paper piecing workshop was a huge success!  We had a cozy group of 8 and sewed our hearts out.  Aaaaaand, to top it all off, everyone left with some seriously great booty.

Take a look at these two pics:

 

 

I was so humbled by the generosity of the sponsors for the workshop.  Tara worked her tush off to make it all happen, but these shops, designers, and businesses went above and beyond with their support and I am so thankful to each and everyone one of them!

Laurie Wisbrun who sent loads of fq bundles from her personal stash

Angela at Mama Said Sew who provided embroidery floss, a pattern, a sweetwater fq bundle, and that sweet Simple Home book you see up there and a discount for all purchases by the attendees

Randi at Fresh Squeezed fabrics who provided scrap packs and fq bundles of fabric (also, Randi has all her dot fabric on special sale this week!)

Olfa who provided a cutting mat and a rotary cutter

Kelly at Superbuzzy for the fab gift certificate

Kimberly at The Fat Quarter Shop for two awesome gift certificates

Warm and Natural for the batting

Fig Leaf for the discount to all the attendees

Kathy at The Inn at City Park for allowing us to workshop there

And of course the lovely Tara, who made the a pillow, a quilt as you go bag, and donated the Modern Patchwork magazine and made goodie bags for everyone and stuffed them chock full!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  I am deeply indebted to each and every one of you!

~Penny

teach a man how to fish

 

Last spring, Kay emailed me to ask if she could teach my wrap it up bag to the "tailors" at Musana Children's Home in Uganda, "so that they could make these bags and sell them to benefit the orphanage."

 

 

After I answered her back, I didn't think anything more of it, until I received her email a month or so ago giving me an update.

Not only did Kay update me in written form, she also sent along these photos. The first one is of her and Irene. It appears Kay is getting a lesson from Irene on using a treadle machine before Kay teaches Irene the ins and outs of the wrap it up bag.

 

 

And here is Irene with a wrap it up bag!

Kay says, "not only are the bags selling here stateside, they are also selling them in Uganda where no one has ever thought of using a reusable bag!
It was sheer joy to teach Irene how to make your bag. She and the other ladies work on really lousy treadle machines with the worst thread tension you can imagine! They use a stick inserted in the bobbin to wind their bobbins! It took me forever to get the hang of those machines. But what fun! And as an a muzungu (white person) telling her, "i sew just like you in america" it gave her such affirmation and value."

 

 

Kay, I just want to say how much your email has touched my heart! I so appreciate the time and energy you have/will invest in the women and children at Musana. Thank you for caring enough to involve yourself in others lives by teaching others "how to fish"! And thank you for allowing me to be a small part of it all!

So what do you say? Would you like to get involved too? Check out Musana's website here! Want to make a donation? You can do that online here!

 

And here's one last gratuitous shot of "Solomon", one of the children at the Children's home.

 

 

 

Happy, happy Wednesday to you all!!

~Penny

 

this weekend

Was full of fun for L-man and I!

 

We flew down to Arizona for our friends Anthony and Jeanette's wedding and visited with L-man's parents for a couple of days as well.  This is the label I made for A&J's Unity quilt.  Yes, they were married on October 1st!

 

 

For our trip, I went armed with all the supplies to make a new and improved scrubbie pattern.  L-man's mom is a master at these and after several pointers from her, I gave it my own twist and came up with this new scrubbie pattern.  I'll be posting the PDF pattern for sale sometime this week for a minimal cost for those of you who are interested. 

 

And as you can probably imagine, L-man and I are out of our minds excited for our upcoming move.  I am so thankful to you all who left us encouraging comments about our new home, you guys absolutely rock!  Lenny and I sit and look at the pictures we have of our new home daily and plan and dream about all the improvements we will be making.  So until we actually move in, I'm making what I can for our new home. 

 

What do you all think of my new hand-soap dispenser for our kitchen?  It was super easy to make and all you need is a jelly jar, a pump and a lid for the jelly jar.  L-man drilled a hole in the lid so that the inside of the pump would fit snugly, I painted the lid parts and then glued the pump to the lid.  Easy peasy!

 

 

Here's a view through the kitchen door and windows that lead on to the deck.  One thing Lenny and I wanted was a home that didn't require a lot of upkeep in the yard.  We both agreed that we have too many things we enjoy doing in the summertime to have a yard that required any time at all.  We truly found what we were looking for in this home!  The complete 1/2 acre our home sits on is natural-scaped, complete with moss rocks, a few succulents, and whatever else grows up there naturally.  It really is a beautiful scene!  My plan is to throw out a few wildflower seeds, plant a few munstead lavender plants and call it good.

 

 

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend and have an even better week!

~Penny

Friends

 

For the first year or so after I started blogging, I didn't understand.  I didn't *get* how bloggers became good friends with other bloggers.  And then it started happening.  I started connecting with certain bloggers, who have become my friends.  Some whom I've still not met to this day, but talk to on the phone and email.  Others who I have met and treasure dearly.

Honestly, I don't like it when bloggers distinguish between their online friends and their "around the corner from my house" friends.  I don't like to be referred to as a "bloggy friend", "online friend", or "imaginary friend".  I don't know, I just look at it like even though I've never met several of my friends (and may never have the chance), they're just my friends.  Online or in real life. 

 

And I'm always blessed when I receive a thoughtful note or card or gift in the mail from my friends.  Most recently, Alpa, who I've been friends with for a couple of years, sent me this little spice container.  She knows I love Indian food and wanted to sow into that love I have for it.  I am still just totally blown away by such a thoughtful gift.

 

And then, Amanda (with some help from Tara) goes and does this for me.

Can you believe it?  I still can't.  It's not just the pillow, but the time and thought she put into it.  Remember this pillow I made for the last round of the pillow talk swap?  She says she felt bad that I spent so much time on it and then gave it away.  It still makes me laugh because that's exactly what she did for me!  And I love that she did.

So thank-you Alpa and Amanda.  Thank-you for your friendship and your thoughtful gifts. 

And sincerely from my heart to all of yours, I hope you have found the same thing with the blogging community.  It really is full of wonderful, awesome friends at every turn if you will take the time to look!

 

And now for the winners of the Stitch and 101 Patchwork Magazines:

#35-Lisa, who said:  Love the fish mat! Both of these mags look like alot of fun.

and

#97-Lisa, who said:  Luv, luv, luv the magazines, especially the patchwork one. Luv your projects too - so wimsy & fresh!

Congratulations, Lisas!!

 

Be a part {modern relief Japan}

 

 

Starting Monday, April 4.

Six Monday rounds.

Awesome quilters.

Donating quilts.

Raffle tickets $10.

To help Japan.

Don't Miss it!

 

p.s.  My "happy picnic quilt" will be in the raffle on April 11th!