My April Stars

I am thrilled to introduce my April Stars of the month. Maggey and Jim are a quilting couple, and I love the idea that they are quilting together. I can see that they are soulmates, and it is nice to see such a wonderful couple, as I also found my soulmate in Joe. Although Joe does not quilt with me, he is my sounding board and my biggest fan. I do enjoy seeing the work that Maggie and Jim have done together, and I know you will also love the experience when you visit their blog called The Quilting Couple. I am proud to introduce you to a very talented couple, who also share with us their love of visiting flea markets. If we ever meet, I know we would all hit it off...maybe one day.

Enjoy the wonderful interview below and meet a charming couple!

Interview for April
Name:__The Quilting Couple_________

· A Bit About Me:
We have been married about 52 years.. High school sweethearts.. We have 3 children, a son and 2 daughters..
They are the loves of our lives.. We have 6 grandchildren,
one grandson and 5 granddaughters.. They are precious and we could not love them more. We live in a small town and really wouldn't live anywhere else. I have always sewn, clothes, crafts but didn't do any quilting until 1986 when I heard a lady was teaching quilt as you go.. Well I took the class, piecing, then sandwiching the block in a wood frame to quilt. Mr Couple looked at it one day and said " I think I could do that", so he took over the hand quilting part of it..I then put the quilt (a sampler) together and it was finished,, That's how it all started,, Mr Couple is also a woodworker.. He is in the process of making my kitchen cabinets and doing a splendid job.. He used to cut all my boards when I was a painter..

· What Inspires Me:
I love flowers, art and looking at other quilter ideas. I read a book sometime ago that really helped me called
AN ARTIST WAY.
So many times I try to come up with my own ideas and I do, but not as artistic as I would like,

· What I Love to Do the Most Creatively:
In the last few years I have been on this kick with purses, I just love making them and creating my own design.. I love quilting, it is so rewarding to look back at a whole quilt and know that you made it,,

· My Favorite Fabric and Designer:
There are so many designers out there and they all have their place,, the designers really try to give us everything imaginable. Moda is mostly what I buy, but not always.

· UFO I Intend to Finish First:
A pumpkin table runner.. then on to more bags..

· What’s on the Design Wall Now:
Two bags for the Animal rescue where my daughter-in-law volunteers.
· Who Would I Love to Meet:
It would be hard to narrow it down to one person.

· If I Had One Wish:
I would wish that all our soldiers would come home for good!!!

· Plans for the Future:
More quilts and purses and maybe an online shop? I think that is a dream.. But I can dream, can't I.

Here is some wonderful eye candy of Maggey's and Jim's work! Enjoy it all!

Two Siggies and Where is Spring?

Two lovely siggies arrived here at my door. One siggy has beautiful hand stitched roses in the centre and came all the way from Iowa. Thanks to Cathy for such a pretty block! Then the second siggy arrived from the state of Washington. Thanks also to Judy, who sent me gorgeous butterfly fabric, and I do love butterflies!

Now, as to spring. Where is it? Ireland had terrible storms yesterday and high winds, and you won't believe this , but it snowed a bit. Spring is bypassing us, I am afraid. Today, the sun is shining, the winds are still a bit high, and it is cold. This is what happened last year. We missed spring, had maybe one week of summer in May, and then we had fall weather...Hello????? We do live in the Northwest of Donegal, which is the northernmost county in the Republic of Ireland in what they call the Northwest Passage, and we do tend to get colder weather here, but boy is it gorgeous here! Here is a map for you to see where we are.

I just got a crochet package in the mail. If you remember, I crocheted two blocks of a colorful afghan so far. I decided to join the club and get four blocks a month figuring that it would come quicker and more regularly when it was sent to our home. Boy, was I wrong! The first package of the club did not arrive for two months, but at least it came. I am hoping that from now on I get four each month and they come as they should. I will post when I get a block done. The blocks are all coming with a booklet of instructions which has photos, step by step instructions, and several additional patterns, so the idea is that you get a whole library of information and patterns that you put in the original portfolio that they gave you. Well, it arrived, but I felt like venting. It seems that whenever I order online, which is most of the time, I am waiting , waiting, and waiting.
Off to the laptop for some internet surfing.Don't forget that tomorrow is my next Star of the month, and you will love them...yes them....no more hints.LOL

PS: I want to amend something....the sun is gone and we are having a hail storm. Oh my gosh!

Some Really Wonderful Mail Arrives

Bunny sent me my giveaway prize, and boy is it special! I got this wonderful paper piecing pattern called Crown of Jewels and tons of fabric pieces to use for the pattern. Now, if you have been a follower for a while, you know that I love to paper piece, so this was right up my alley! I was so thrilled with it all Bunny, and thank you so much!

Also, Lyn sent me a lovely booklet that tells the story about the family dog named Monty. I have thoroughly enjoyed this booklet about him. She calls him the Little Tornado, and a pain in the butt, but oh my is he a funny dog , and I laughed a lot when reading about all his antics. I have to admit that he reminded me of our Rufus, who is our border collie, because our other dog Charlie is just way too laid back to remind me of Monty. Rufus is our pain in the butt, but we love him so much, as does Lyn her dog. Here is a pic of Rufus Lyn!

All I can say Lyn is that it is more fun having a dog like your Monty and our Rufus....It's a shame that they can't meet, as they are kindred spirits.LOL Charlie just sleeps most of the day, as you can see by the pic, but boy is he cute!

Rufus, on the other hand, is always into some trouble like Monty is , but he is the best dog ever and boy does he have a heart of gold....just look at his eyes! I can never forget that someone literally set him on fire and beat him, and yes, our bills were horrendous getting him straightened out medically when we rescued him, but he has given us so much joy and love that we feel blessed that we found him. He is a pain in the butt, but we love him.Oh by the way Lyn, our dogs eat chicken and dry food...I know that will make you smile. Thanks for sending me that story...I just laughed and laughed and had a blast reading it! It was so kind of you to think of me, and boy did you make me smile!

Then, I got a Sunshine Award from Miriam. Thanks for giving me the award and saying that I inspire you. Since my shingles, I have fought to regain my strength back, and really still haven't completely, but I was thrilled that I am still inpiring to you. It has taken me a while to get back to doing what I did before, but your award was so kind. I will just pass it on to all of my followers, so grab the award if you want, as you all inspire me so much. Thanks again Miriam...it was so kind of you!

Saturday is just beginning. Joe and I are going for our usual long walk after we finish breakfast, and I am sure that it will be beautiful! I am starting today to be a vegan. Besides, it helping me to shed the few pounds that I want to shed, I am thrilled to be doing this at last, as I have been wanting to be a vegetarian. I got the book Eat to Live by Dr. Fuhrman. You can see information about it here. I have over the years gotten rid of red meat, and mostly have eaten vegetables and fruit with either a bit of chicken or fish, so today, I become a vegan...no eggs, meat, fish, dairy, salt, sugar and the list goes on, so you can read about it at the site. I love beans, vegetables, fruit, grains like couscous, and bread, etc, so I know I can do this, and if I shed the twenty pounds that I want to shed, that will be a bonus. As I love animals and it is better for my overall health, I know this is the right decision. Well, I will have to spice up the taste with a bit of humous or spices, and get used to that, but I am ready to go. For breakfast, I am having a banana and some grapes...I could have made a smoothie with low fat soy milk (which is allowed), but I will have to buy the soy milk this week in Letterkenny.
Off to make breakfast, and I have talked your ears off enough.LOL Enjoy your weekends!

A Lovely Walk and Two Cards I Made

Joe and I took a walk to New Lake. We passed some fields where some sheep were, and lo and behold, there were the cutest lambs that were just born, happily walking the fields with their mothers. Pics had to be taken. New Lake is beautiful as you can see. If you see the dunes in the distance, we often walk across the dunes to go to a very remote beach called Tramore Beach. The walk round trip is 8 miles, so normally, we take a lunch with us and sit on the beach which is gorgeous, as you can see Tory Island in the distance.

It is a long hike, up many dunes to get to Tramore, and 8 miles is a long way, but here is what we see from the last dune...something very magical.

Well, I decided to make a card about Ireland in honour of our

walk. I have embossed alot of the card, and this definitely makes me think of Ireland in the spring...lots of green, flowers, and sheep of course...LOL
I also made an embossed card of things that I love: a turtle, dragonfly, flower, and a heart. It looks like spring, but it is a bit cool here still, but the sun was shining, and you couldn't help but smile.

Spring Card and Pic of Limited Edition of Blue Cuttlebug

I made a beautiful Spring card with my new Cuttlebug. I was dying to try this embossing procedure with the Cuttlebug where you use regular aluminum foil. I took the aluminum foil ( very carefully may I add...LOL)and embossed it with a lovely bird and leaf pattern. I then used a metallic rub on paste to give the aluminum foil a bit of a burnished look to it.The paste is called Craft-T Product Mini Rub on Kit #3. I also embossed a heart and love on it. I used the Cricut Expression to cut out the flowers and grass that is in a 3D effect. The paper is from a Stack 7 Pad..very spring like. The flower that is the focal flower, I hand cut it out, as the paper is hand dyed and very delicate. I created a shadow effect and then put a brad in the centre to embellish it.

I am really pleased with the results. I have several techniques that I want to try. I have to order fantasy film as I already have angelina fibres, and will create fantasy paper with the Cuttlebug and will explain that technique when I do it with pics of course.

Anyways, I am thrilled with the Cuttlebug. Funny enough, you can do a lot of techniques with it, and it is a very versatile machine. I had a ball creating the card!

Here is a pic of the bundle that I received. Off to take a walk with Joe.Enjoy your Tuesday!

A Few Wonderful Surprises

Pat sent me a lovely gift in the mail. She said that when she saw them, she thought of me. I received a frames package and stickers for Christmas. Of course, the frames are embossed and very old fashioned looking, which is going to be perfect for the journal that I will be making for my family's older pics. Thanks so much Pat! Your package will be in the mail as of today. I made a few things, and also bought you something Irish...mum is the word, so just teasing you with some tidbits about it. Hope you like the package and thanks again!

Also, Bunny from The Creative Hare told me that I won her giveaway. She had three prizes, and I was one of the three people picked. How nice is that! You can see the announcement at the link to her blog. What a lovely way to begin my day! Thanks so much Bunny, and what a sweetheart you are for writing me this morning and telling me! I can't wait to see what I won!

I was busy making Pat's surprise and also making a card for a blogger friend, so of course I can't show you the card...Lots of hush hush things happening around here...LOL My Cuttlebug is finally arriving today, late by a week, as they sent it to Antrim instead of Donegal, as I told you in a previous post. I will take a pic and post it tomorrow. I have several cards that need to be embossed, so the timing is perfect.

Have a wonderful Monday! Gee, another week...Time is really flying!

Dunfanaghy Parade Pics For St. Paddy's Day

Well, here are the pics as I promised. Joe and I had lots of fun at the parade. We had green, yes green, ice cream cones while we were watching the parade. We were feeling like kids again...great craic! Hope you enjoy the pics and a Happy St. Paddy's Day again!

Happy St. Paddy's Day

Happy St. Paddy's day to you all! First of all, Joe and I had a lovely anniversary weekend, and yes, we did celebrate it most of the weekend. We started off with going to a pub in the early morning and having Baileys. It was only 10AM and we had the pub to ourself, except for one customer sitting at the bar. We were in one of the snug areas. Then we each bought each other wee gifts at the local craft store...each of us went in seperately of course.We then had to go to our favorite coffee shop which overlooks the sea called Muck and Muffins, and we took some lovely walks by the sea during the weekend, and just enjoyed being with each other. I made Joe a booklet to have a keepsake of that day. I wrote what happened on the left side of the booklet, wrote him a poem called "Soulmates" in the middle, and included a pic of both of us kissing on our wedding day on the right hand side. He loved it!

Our main gifts have not arrived yet, so I can't tell you what Joe got yet. Mine got diverted to N. Ireland, because the person who sold it to me put County Antrim, which is in N. Ireland, instead of County Donegal. She had already sent me the Cricut Expression to the right address, so I don't know how she did that...and I didn't even get an apology. No more giving her any business! Anyways, mine is not arriving till Friday, and Joe's is not arriving till Monday, but that is the way of it when one orders online. LOL

Today, we have a wee parade in our village, and Joe will take pics. It should be fun, but don't expect anything like what is happening in Dublin...that is an incredible parade, but ours is fun. I will post the pics tomorrow. Enjoy your St. Paddy's Day! I know some of you have already made those brownies with Guiness recipe that I gave you and are enjoying them, so that is so nice to know.

I also got a lovely siggy from Susanne in Germany, and I do want to thank her for that so much!

Well, here's wishing you all a Happy St. Paddy's Day once more!

Sew Fantastic Giveaway

If you love Kona Solids as much as I do, stop over at the Sew Fantastic blog and enter the most generous giveaway. It is amazing how many colours are in this bundle. Is this a rainbow of colours or what?

St. Paddy's Day is Almost Here

One of the best ways to celebrate St. Paddy's Day is to make Irish dishes and then of course to celebrate and have fun.You know what they say, " There are only two kinds of people in the world: The Irish and those who wish they were." Everyone wants to be Irish on St. Paddy's Day...so to help you celebrate with good Irish food, here is a recipe for Guiness and Chocolate Brownies. If you love chocolate and Guiness, this is for you.It is a favorite here during holiday celebrations....very decadently yummy.
Enjoy the recipe!

Here it goes........

Chocolate Guiness Brownies

Ingredients:4 eggs, 3/4 cup superfine sugar, 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped 6 tablespoons unsalted butter ,3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup cocoa 1 1/4 cups Guinness stout, Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch-square pan. In an electric mixer, combine the eggs and sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the bittersweet chocolate, white chocolate and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and beat into the egg mixture.Sift the flour and cocoa together and beat into the chocolate mixture. Whisk in the Guinness. Pour into the pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. To serve, dust the cake with confectioners' sugar and cut into squares. Serves 8 to 10

Then, if you want to have a very comforting drink, nothing beats Traditional Irish Coffee. Here is how to make it:

1 1/2 tsp. sugar per glass
hot coffee
1 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey per glass
lightly whipped cream, 3 Tbsp. per glass
freshly grated nutmeg
1 Tbsp. grated lemon rind
Assemble four or more Irish Coffee glasses. In each glass combine 1 1/2 tsp sugar with enough hot coffee to dissolve the sugar. Tp each glass add 1 1/2 oz. (one jigger) Irish whiskey. Fill glasses to within 1 inch of the top with hot coffee. Float 3 Tbsp. whipped cream on top and sprinkle the cream with freshly grated nutmeg, if desired

I found this on You Tube...It's about last year's St. Paddy's Day parade, and there is a great song about St. Patrick himself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKlsQk46Di8 You will love the scenes of the Dublin, which by the way is my husband's hometown. Enjoy it all...
It will get you into the spirit of the holiday.

As far as the Irish themselves, Irish people love to joke about themselves. In fact, a great deal of St. Patrick's Day humor is found in toasts raised by the Irish. I think that is what I love about the Irish..their incredible sense of humour. They just love to celebrate, laugh and have fun.
I will be posting pics of our wee parade in Dunfanaghy. Hope you enjoy the pics and in Gaelic, Happy St. Paddy's Day is said like this: La Fheile Padraig Sona Duit

We have a lot to celebrate this month: Sunday is our anniversary; St. Paddy's Day is on the 17th, and Joe's birthday is on the 21st. What a month!

My Two Handmade Anniversary Cards and Packages Arrive

Tanya from 3 Cats Creations sent me my prize from the OWOH giveaway. I got some lovely cards and a beautiful book mark, all with cat themes. Thank you so much! How cute!

Also, Monica of Giddy Greetings sent me my wonderful Xyron Creative Station , which was my OWOH giveaway prize. The cartridge that it came with allows me to make stickers out of anything, so if I cut out die cuts, I can make them sticky on the back...how great is that! It also laminates and makes magnets. Thanks so much Monica, as this is an awesome product!

This Sunday is special, as it is our wedding anniversary. I can't tell you what I got Joe, as he reads my blog, but I have teased him and said that it will be the best gift ever. He will love it for sure! I have given him no hints at all. I will tell you afterwards what I got him. Now, as to my anniversary gift, I am getting a blue and white Cuttlebug bundle, which includes embossing folders and a kit . I can't wait to emboss with it! It is always a blessing being with Joe each and every day, but our anniversary is always so special.
I made two anniversary cards and matching envelopes for the two of us. Joe wanted first pick, and he took the owl. I have to admit that the owl card is so cute and the envelope is adorable. I got the fancier card with the bird in the window to give to Joe, but Joe just loved the owl, and will be writing something special in the card for me, as I will for him.

Well, that is all the latest news. We just got back from a trip to Letterkenny, and I am baking muffins with coconut and raisins...very healthy though...no sugar and I have used wheat flour. Joe loves them! I have a chicken in the oven to roast for dinner, and we are taking a walk before dinner. Hope you enjoy the rest of the week and hugs from me.

Quilt Qua Hosting Fresh Poppy Design Patterns Giveaway

Quilt Qua, which is a wonderful site giving quilters tons of invaluable information and services, is hosting a giveaway of Fresh Poppy Design patterns. All you have to do is leave a comment on the Quilt Qua Site and tell them which 2 patterns you would like to win. The patterns, as you can see by the pics, are just wonderful.This is a great chance to win some great patterns, so please do sign up.