Tired of Leftovers & Can we please pick a winner?

Tired of Thanksgiving leftovers? Not Chelsea and Bitsy! These girls are just getting started. They had their own roasted chicken with rosemary and sage for Thanksgiving dinner! They are not particularly fond of turkey so a chicken went on the menu. They've had chicken sandwiches for the past two days and today Chelsea was suggesting chicken soup. It's out of control around here. Completely out of control.

So, did you think I forgot about choosing a winner for the trim? Of course I didn’t, it’s just that so many little things came up today and they amounted to a big chunk of my time. Like what you ask? Well, my husband was getting the Christmas decorations out of the garage, and he went to move his 32 Ford out of the way, and heaven forbid he should come into the house to get the keys, so it rolled into my new Saturn parked on the street. ROLLED I kid you not! The Saturn has a dent, the ford has a dent and I’m about to give my husband a dent to match. I can’t make it too big because he does the shipping. And then who would make that soup for Chelsea? I want to hear him explain all this to the insurance company.

Here's the package of trims I promised......and I'll announce the winners right now! Opps, did I say winners? Well the truth is there were SO many wonderful comments I couldn’t just leave it at one winner.

The first winner is Rachel Rabbit! This is one talented rabbit (I mean lady) that will put the trims to good use for sure! She’s just announced she’s going to have a baby! A baby! Check out her blog to see how “cute” her announcement is. Not that I’m partial to rabbits or anything like that. I adore her blog. And she can use the trims for all those baby things.

I always have a soft spot in my heart for the first person to leave a comment, because you know they usually don’t get chosen in these giveaways…so the second winner is Louise who left the first post. Louise not only left the first post, she participated in the magazine giveaway for “our” Julia in Germany. Everyone had so much fun in that giveaway! Louise thank you for being you!


And I'll leave you with pictures of Thanksgiving at our house. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and actually the whole weekend has been good...even with the car thing!

These crystals were my husband's grandmothers. They now hang on the chandelier above our dining room table. Not only are they beautiful, but I feel as if we are continuing on a tradition.

Our centerpiece was pumpkins and squash in a black wood bowl. Then I noticed that bitty bird just had to join in!

The squash soup was delicious. I'll share Brigette's recipe soon. Not a spoon left, and what a treat the warm soup was!

The table was set, and the tablecloth was brown gingham check fabric from Bunny Hill. If I had the time there would have been brown check napkins too!

I'm in love with Turkeys, glass ones that is! I collect them and they go on display at Thanksgiving.

I forgot to serve the cranberry relish. There was so much food no one noticed!

Just before Thanksgiving my grand-daughters came over and we made this dessert tablecloth. We took a big sheet of pink craft paper and cut it to fit the table. Michaela wrote the words (I mean word) "Thanksgiving" in the biggest letters she could and then we all colored them in.

And dessert? The Caramelized Walnut Tart was as good as it looks, and the pumpkin pie was the best I've ever had.

Congratulations to our two winners! Just email me your address and you will have trims! Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Hi Everyone! Wishing you a wonderful start to this holiday season with a very Happy Thanksgiving! May your table be surrounded with family, friends, wonderful memories, and of course good food! Times are hard in America right now, but each and everyone of us has something to be thankful for. Just look around, I know you'll see something. (:

I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving. My son and his girlfriend will be here from Germany and she has never had the experience of an American Thanksgiving with all the traditional foods!

A cook I am not, but I try my best every Thanksgiving. I’ve never been one to whip up a homemade pie at the drop of a hat, or cook a magical dish that brings raves at the table. But I do know the basics. Set the table and decorate? This I can do. This I LOVE! And so I’ll get out the good china, clean the red glasses and make our table special for the occasion. I try to use what we have to decorate the table.

On the food front I have a thanksgiving coach this year! It’s my friend and Bunny Hill helper, Brigette! She’s a wonder in the kitchen…a chef like no other. I’m taking instructions from her. She’s suggested a menu, and somehow I talked her into actually making the pies! She went from offering to make the crusts to an offer of two pies. I'd be a fool to say no. So it's pies a la Brigette!

Here's the menu we came up with:

Don't feel badly if your not having a vegetable display at your house. It's actually a vegetable tray from Costco, but how could I write that on the menu? (:

So I'm off to start cooking. I'm doing as much as I can ahead of time. I'm sure I'm not alone.

Bitsy and Chelsea send their wishes for a happy thanksgiving too! Just wait until you see what they are having for thanksgiving dinner. Shhhh...don't tell the vet.

Remember to add a comment to the last post. We have a drawing on Saturday!

She Shall Have Ribbons!

I love trims. I put them on everything! I use them for flower stems, tote bags, quilt edges, pincushions, Christmas decorations, cat collars, hems and anything else I can think of. I keep a stash in my studio just in case the need strikes. I even love just looking at them! So while I was at market, I walked past the ribbon booths and well you can guess the rest, I bought lots of trims. They’ve been arriving over the past few weeks and FINALLY I have them for sale on my web site. You can find them here at Bunny Hill.

Trims...

...and more trims

...and more trims!

Now for the great part! I’ve just listed FOUR pages of trims. Four pages! Do you realize how many trims that is? Well one of you will find out very soon! As I was photographing these trims I was also cutting a yard of each one. The stack kept growing and growing and now one lucky person is going to win this pile of trims! 1 yard of every trim on my web site! It’s a giveaway! I’ll choose a winner on Saturday, November 29th. Just tell me why you want this stack of trims! Oh my, I think a few are missing. Do you see them all in the stack below? I may have to cut some more! And she shall have ribbons where ever she goes….

Good luck everyone. May you be sewing with trims very soon! And, yes I'll package them in a much prettier fashion. (:

A great day!

I'm in the best mood tonight because as of today I am DONE with patterns. We are shipping, shipping, shipping and I don't have to read any numbers or make myself crazy with tedious little words. DONE! Until next market.

Then I got even more excited because I hopped over to my new Flicker group Pincushions by Bunny Hill and I have 3 members! Then I realized one of them was me! I've sold more than 2 bitty pincushion patterns so there is still hope. All you need is a yahoo account and you can join our little group.

On my way to pick up the finished patterns at the printer, I went right by "Room With A Past", a favorite little shop of mine that is only open once a month. AND they were open! I found some treasures I'll share in another post, but don't you love the pink bike they park out front for their sign?

And inside the shop was a "Oh Christmas Tree" of sorts, made entirely from men's ties. That's right, men's ties! I had to take a photo to share. It's amazing. It has a dowel "trunk" and the tie branches are coat hangers cut in half. I love the creativity of this tree. Wouldn't it be great in Macy's window? It reminded me that Christmas is about 5 weeks away! 5 weeks! How can that be? It's 70 degrees here!

Then, as if the tree wasn't different enough, when I got home my husband had been shopping at our local organic vegetable stand and he brought home this ORANGE cauliflower. It is really orange. It looks as if it had been dipped in a cheddar cheese sauce. And it tastes exactly like regular cauliflower! Go figure that one! Have you ever seen anything like it? I may cook it for thanksgiving and tell my family it's a cheddar cheese cauliflower.

I tell you, in a world with things like tie trees and orange cauliflowers I'm happy to be surround with normal things. Like my little dogs...

Chelsea


and Bitsy...

Oh, you ask...what is Chelsea drinking out of? The water container to fill my iron. It's just her size of course and somehow she knows it. And Bitsy? Well, she only sleeps on my pillow in bed once in awhile when she's really, really tired. No, I don't read her bedtime stories. At least not every night. They are completely normal dogs. Thank goodness because in a world of orange cauliflowers and tie trees we all need some "normal" .

Have a perfectly normal day everyone! May your table be filled with white cauliflowers.

A Bitty Day

This is a bitty post. Really, I promise! Not too many words and well you'll get the picture LOL!

I taught a Bitty Dog class in Bunny Club yesterday at Thimble Creek our local quilt store. Bitty was really nervous because it was her first appearance after market. She's heard about the Chihuahua movie and how movie stars get treated. And to tell the truth I think Chelsea may have played it up a bit with her. But by the time class was over, she was strutting her stuffing! Bitty dogs were everywhere! All colors and each with their own special look. It was an amazing thing to see!

This bitty dog stayed home. She's a reject that didn't make the cut. SHHHH! Don't tell her!

This is the original bitty. She didn't make it to class because she's traveling and giving autographs. Who knows where she'll pop up!

This is the bitty that premiered at the Bunny Club yesterday.

A little brown bitty made by Nancy. It's a gift for a special friend, but Nancy couldn't stand it and made two of them...one for herself too!

Heidi made this beautiful white bitty dog. No pincushion base yet...she ran out of time, but I know Heidi, and the next time I see her she'll have two more done (:

And only my friend Chickie would think of a red, very French Bitty Dog. Chickie's well traveled and I think her bitty may be too. Just check out that necklace!

I couldn't call it a day without a pink bitty dog. I just had to make one! She's going to Thimble Creek to visit the shop and she's so excited! She'll be there by the end of the week so if you're in the shop look for her!

No day is complete without a group photo. Look there's a bitty in blue with the cutest brown buttons! Why, that's a great looking little dog!

So are you hooked yet? Do you want to make your own bitty dog pincushion or any of the other Bunny Hill pincushions? Since I can't have you all in a class, join me on my new Flickr group called Pincushions by Bunny Hill ! It's your chance to post your own photos or just ask me questions. I'll be checking in to answer questions and I'll have some "how to" photos soon. Get creative and you might win a prize! And, can you name your dog? Don't forget the bunny, bird and kitty. Hummm I wonder what is coming next?

Hugs to my pincushion friends!

Anne

I'm a Quilter

My three favorite words...I'm a quilter. The sweet sound of the sewing machine, the feel of the pins in the fabric, watching a quilt block come together as I stitch and press. Ah, this sweet passion called "Quilting"! Isn't it wonderful? I know I will never tire of it. I hope you feel the same way!

Today was the first day in a very long time that I could finally return to it. The tedious task of pattern writing is finished for the moment, and the little block you see below represents a sigh of relief, and a feeling of contentment. It's this thing we call "Quilting"! Who knew a little 4" pinwheel block could mean so much? (:

And here's the thing my husband will never understand...you don't have to actually quilt the quilt to be called a "quilter". Don't you love it?

For a quilter, possessing fabric is as much fun as making those little blocks. By the time I had returned from quilt market this little package of Renee Nannenman's new line "French Farmhouse" from Andover was waiting for me. Calling my name every so sweetly. It's so "French" and the packaging just makes me smile. Renee is the owner of Need'l Love Designs, one of my top ten favorites.

And then a few days ago another wonderful package arrived from Renee. It's tiny little prints called "Itsy Bits". Tiny little basic prints every quilter can use. I hate to open this it's so pretty, but yes, I'll be doing so very soon.

So tomorrow I'll make more pinwheel blocks, and happily listen to the sound of the sewing machine because American Patchwork and Quilting said it best...

Hugs to all you quilters out there!

Last of the market photos

This is it...the last of the 2008 Quilt Market photos. It was amazing in this year of hurricanes and horrible economy, to see all these people come together. Yes, it was slower than normal, but it was fun and I know that this industry will continue to grow. I for one, will make more handmade gifts this year for Christmas and friends and I encourage all of you to do the same. It's the little things we do that say I love you and I'll be saying that a lot!

Here I am with the President of Henry Glass Fabrics, Larry Reichenberg. So what does a President of a fabric company do? A little bit of everything. Not only does he make a LOT of decisions, he tries to keep us all happy: designers, staff and customers. He's in charge of producing great fabric, that you'll all want to buy, and he directs and guides the sales staff. I remember being on the phone with him once when the air conditioning went out. He's in charge of that too!

Henry Glass has added some great designers to their list and I think you'll be delighted to see what's coming soon! It's a talented group and we work great together. Obviously there's some designers missing from my photos, so I'll catch them at spring market. I think there will be a few more surprise names added to the list!

And the part of market I love the most are the evenings we spend with friends. Brenda, Anne and I were so excited to have dinner with our favorite little lady, Emma Jolly! She was the star of the evening and so, so cute! She has the most beautiful skin and gorgeous red hair. She's as pretty as her mom Kimberly!

Kimberly and Emma


So, so happy!


She's one of the happiest babies I've seen!


Probably because she knows how much she is loved by all of us!

And a little pink bow in her hair! And are you ready for this? She does sign language! 18 months old and so smart! She's part of the new generation of babies that can do sign language! Amazing!

Bye Emma! We'll see you next year!

Back at market I have to show you the Michael Miller booth. It took a second place ribbon! I never got by to see the first place booth, but this booth was like walking through fairyland . Their carpet was snow white and I felt like I should take off my shoes when I walked across it.

Fairy blue and white! The entire booth!

And every chair had fairy wings!


A fairy lamp surrounded by flowers. This booth was a wonderland!

But the front of the booth took the cake. It was a bed made from tree branches! It was just incredible and my photo doesn't do it justice. The tree trunks on each side of the bed came up to form a canopy. It was like looking at a fairy bed in the forest! I expected a fairy to fly by any minute!

And then of course there's wonderful Moda. Every year Moda picks a theme and this year it was "Bake Shop"! Oh the things that were cooking in this shop. Wait until you see them!

This was part of the Moda Home booth. Can you believe they even got these lights to work? How's that for a wiring job? Genius a la Moda!

And at Moda even the men wear aprons. This is Bob a Moda sales rep. He's exhausted from selling so much fabric and he had to rest in our booth. Bob you are so cute in that cupcake apron!

And here's a link to a treat you might not know about yet. Lissa Alexander, the sweet, sweet marketing director for Moda has her own blog! That's right she's blogging now and you'll be able to find out what's going on at her second home...Moda! Bunny hop on over and say hi! http://modalissa.blogspot.com/ You'll love getting to know her. We ALL love her!

We obviously couldn't visit Galveston this year. The area was devastated from the hurricane. But I did have a customer from the area tell me that she had heard some of the older homes actually survived the massive storm. It was the new homes that were destroyed. I'm praying for that to be true.

And so I say goodbye to Houston 2008. May 2009 be a better year for this great city.

Oh, and good news! I'm almost done with my new patterns and you'll find them under "what's new" on the bunny hill web site! http://www.bunnyhilldesigns.com/ Finally....I promise NEVER to be this late again!

Hugs,

Anne