Showing posts with label project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label project. Show all posts

A New Year and ...

A New Look!!
Well, this is where you get to decide if I wasted my time over the holidays! I came up with a new header, new color scheme, and new look for my blog ... and I spent ALL day tweakin' this and that! It's not quite what I'm envisionin' but it's closer. And as I find the time, I'll keep tweakin' the elements 'n' settin's to get it j-u-u-u-u-s-t right! If'n ya'll have any suggestions, ideas, criticisms or compliments, I sure would LOVE to hear'em!

A New Update on the eZine!!
I've also made a lot of progress on the eZine over the holidays ... I've got four new patterns/projects designed, two more mouth-waterin' recipes, three more tips 'n' tidbits, and two more articles! Yippee!!! Yay!!! I'll be finishin' up takin' the pictures for the spreads this week ... and I have a projected date for sendin' out by the end of the month at the latest. Yay!!!! :)

In the next few days, I'll be puttin' up a poll, askin' ya'll what's the biggest PDF file size ya'll want to fool with. That will decide whether or not I split the patterns and eZine into two parts ... the eZine in one file and the patterns themselves in another (sort of like how magazines have the "pull-out" pattern section). Remember, ya'll will get a link in your e-mail box and once you click the link, the file(s) will automatically download to your computer desktop.

And remember, those of ya'll who're usin' EQ6: each issue will have links to downloadable EQ6 project files!! :)

(NOTE: Please make sure that you provide a working e-mail addy when you sign up for the eZine & mailing list!! Last two times I sent out the newsletter, I had three of ya'll's e-mails bounce my newsletter back!!)

Well, that's about it for now!! I'm hopin' to be back tomorrow afternoon at the latest (after I finish a few illustrations for clients!) ... and I really hope to hear from ya'll SOON!! :)

Quilty hugs!!!
Connie :)

Peek-a-boo!

I don't know if ya'll know this, but Google's set me up so's I can see how many of ya'll are visitin' me a day (over 500 hits a DAY! Wow!!). I just also found out that I can see where ya'll live ... not your actual address, o'course, just the city ya'll hang your hat in. And guess what! I'm gettin' a lot of people from my own little town (well, not so little, thanks to the condo developers and Mtv) of Panama City Beach! :-)

So, now I'm dyin' to know who in PCB is visitin' me (50 unique visitors from PCB and PC!!)! 'Specially 'cause I might know you ... I don't s'pose any of you neighbors'll come forward and let me know we're just a hop, skip and a jump away from each other, would ya'll? I'm picturin' a few minutes of gabbin' at the next St. Andrews Quilter's Guild meetin' ... mayhap gettin' together for a bee? Or how's 'bout lunch over at Hook's? Or J. Michaels? I'll even settle for a quickie lunch at Sonic's! :-)

I'm hopin' some of you will holler at me and let me know who you are!! I'm so excited and so ... curious!! I feel almost like I'm on a scavenger hunt - but for future quilty friends!! Yippee!! Now this is a wonderful way to start the day!! Imagine! Next person I chat up at the grocery store could be a subscriber or visitor!! Wow! That just really boggles my mind! Sort of like meeting someone in your thirties in a new town thousands of miles from where you grew up and finding out that you were in school together, but always had different classes! Yay!!! :-)

Alrighty, I just had to get all giggly over that ... it just tickled me to no end!! :-)

Back to the patterns!! :-)

Until next time (later on today, I'm sure - hubby told me I was in a gabby mood this mornin'!!) ...

Big ol' quilty hugs!!
Connie :-)

I'm sorry, ya'll ... I made a HUGE mistake in my last post - one that merits more than an edit in the post itself ... Jill has been hard at work, helpin' critters in need since 2003 and has made 5,000, no ... I'm not kidding, FIVE THOUSAND blankies for our furry friends!! I don't know 'bout ya'll but I really don't think I know ANYONE who's made 500 quilts, much less 5,000. It goes to show you just how important her cause is and how strongly she supports it!

She'll take virtually any kind of washable fabric ya'll can spare: cottons, knits, polyester, fleece, denim, flannel, etc. Please, please, I'm urgin' you to take a few minutes and look over your sewin' room ... don't you have a bit of fabric that you bought, but just never found the perfect project for? That you need to "move" to make room for new squishies? That otherwise, would just sit on your shelf, just collectin' dust? You can give that fabric a new life as the cuddly, comforting "woobie" to a four-legged friend. And the reward is more than makin' room for a new fabric acquisition - it's the knowledge that one more sweet critter is using YOUR fabric to soothe itself to sleep ... and knowing that s/he knows that someone cares.

Now, o'course, I'm not saying that Fido or Fifi will know your name and be able to thank you (I may be goofy, but I'm not THAT goofy! LOL!). But think about this, please: an animal that's given comfort in such a stressful time will better cope with other stresses. An animal that can cope with external stressors is more likely to make a good, sweet pet for a family - or an elderly person. And that equals not only a happier owner(s), but also one less sweet animal to be destroyed. That animal that you help save, could help save some person out there. Mayhap pull them out of a fire, maybe just make someone's life less lonely. The lives you save can only increase ...

So please, please, take a gander 'round your sewin' room and send some unwanted fabric to Jill ... you'll make extra room in your sewin' room for more fabric and'll make sew many lives sew much better. :-)

And not that it's THAT big of a sellin' point, but I'll repeat my offer of a special, exclusive pattern packet for those who donate fabric to Jill and Critter Comforts. You'll get doggies, kitties, birds, cows, a couple of pigs ... and more!! Just for doin' a li'l light cleanin' in your sewin' room and takin' a quick trip to the post office! If you were to buy those patterns somewhere else, well, you'd spend more than that in time and $$! I mean, a single pattern can run you $8 - and I'm offerin' at least 6! Probably more ... as I'm feelin' awfully inspired! :-)

Hopin' that Jill hears from you soon - and gets plenty of squishies SOON! :-)

Big ol' quilty hugs!!
Connie :-)

Quiltin' for desperate critters in need!

I've been jawin' on about charitable causes and whatnot all mornin' so why should this post be any different? :-)

I'm goin' to talk about "Critter Comforts" right now ... it's a wonderful organization run by Jill, an amazin' woman - she takes fabric that ya'll donate and uses it to create beautiful, cuddly quilts for critters in need!

Sew far, she's made (with a li'l help o'course) over 500, yep, I said FIVE HUNDRED critter quilts!! Each one of those quilts goes to an animal in desperate need of knowin' that they have two-legged friends that give a woof. Or a meow.

Now, are these critters pampered pooches? Finicky felines? Nope, these are abandoned critters ... four-legged friends needin' a home of their own. Some of them might be puppies that the owner just decided they didn't want. Some of them might kitties that were just abandoned on the side of the road, left to fend for themselves. All of these sweet animals have two things in common: a desperate need for a home, and Jill.

But Jill can't do it alone ... she needs YOUR help! She'll take that help in the form of fabric (practically any kind'll do), thread, batts, and Hobbes Batting UPC codes (those li'l proofs of purchase on the batts you buy that you weren't goin' to do anything with anyway) ... just anything that you think might help her keep these poor critters comfy. I don't know 'bout you ... but I'd prefer a cuddly quilt to a cold, cage floor any day o' the week. And with your help, Jill can provide just that - comfort to an animal who needs it.

So, please, please, ya'll ... give Jill a holler and ask her what you can do for her wonderful, selfless, cause. If you don't, who will?

Before you make your decision, go on over to her web site and see the sweet li'l face of some of the animals that she's helped so far - and some precious critters that need a good home. Believe me, my dear quilty friends, once you see those sweet faces, you'll be mailin' fabric and such to her the next day! If not sooner!

To make the deal a bit sweeter in ya'lls favor ... if'n you donate something to Jill, I'll send ya'll a packet of patterns (exclusive! - they won't be posted anywhere else!) of animal-themed patterns. Dogs, cats, birds, cows ... and more! All yours if'n you just take the time to send Jill a much needed squishy! If'n you like my patterns NOW, I can assure you that I'll be takin' extra time and care to make sure that these patterns are WONDERFUL!! :-)

Big ol' quilty hugs!!
Connie :-)

Charitable causes & community projects

Well, goodness, if I didn't forget something important, here! I swear, sometimes I think I've only got two brains cells left - and durn if they hardly ever manage to rub together to make a spark! :-/

I MEANT to say earlier that if any of ya'll have any charitable organizations that you support or any charitable or community projects that you're workin' on, I'd LOVE it if you'd holler at me about'em. 'Specially if they're quilt related (or can be made quilt related). Sew, if you're workin' on (or your guild is or you know someone who is) a special quilt for a cause you feel strongly about, please let me know and I'll post a link to your organization or just provide info t'other quilters on what THEY can do to help. Or if you're auctionin' off a quilt to help a cause, or need help STARTIN' a quilt to help a cause, I'll help you get the word out on it.

As you can probably tell, I'm fair big on givin' back to the community - I've probably seen "It's a Wonderful Life" too many times! LOL! But it's somethin' that's always been close to my heart. We see such terrible stories in the news every day ... it's a real blessin' when you can do somethin' to offset the tragedy or heartache of others.

I'm also a big supporter of the "Pay it forward" principle. Doin' good things for others can only bless us in return. And it feelin' so good to do good for others doesn't hurt none, does it? :-)

Sew, please, if you have a project or cause that benefits your community (or anyone elses' o'course), please holler at me and let me know so I can help get the word out! There's others out there who'd love to help!! Let's get YOU and THEM together and let the blessin's increase!! :-)

Big ol' quilty hugs to you ALL!!
Connie :-)