December Star

My star of the month for December is Debbie St. Germain. I met her through my AccuQuilt GO Giveaway, and I am so happy that we stayed in contact and became friends. Debbie is a a very versatile artist and quilter, and she is very creative with her techniques and mediums that she uses. Her blog Woolen Sails is wonderful, so do visit and get to know her. Debbie is not feeling well now, so I was most appreciative that she still found the energy to do the interview and send me pics of her wonderful work.

Here is Debbie's interview:

Name: Debbie St. Germain

A Bit about Me: I call myself a folk artist, since much of my work is naive, but based on life around me. I love to take realistic images and create them into a simpler form, working in different mediums.
I guess I take after my grandmother, in that respect. She was a talented crafter, who sewed, quilted, hooked rugs, as well as, running a ceramic studio. I spent most of my younger years with her, during the summer and spent many an hour at her side, watching her work on her crafts.
For most of my life, I have been crafting, in one way or another. I love to work in textile mediums, but I also dabble in frakturs, tole painting and wood working. Recently I have been experimenting with needle roving and like to incorporate it into my art pieces.

What Inspires Me:
Nature is what inspires me most. I love to go for walks or kayaking, taking in my surroundings. Nature has her own way of creating art and I capture those things, to use in my pieces.
What I love to do the most creatively: I think quilting would be the answer to that question. I find that I have more freedom with fabrics and I can be as detailed or simple as I want, depending on what type of result, I am going for. I also find myself changing things as I work, or changing other designers patterns, so I truly tend to be more creative in fabrics.

My Favorite Fabric and Designer: That is a tough one, I do love quite a few designers. But I would have to say Jan Patek, since I love and use her designs more than most and her fabrics are wonderful.

UFO I intend to Finish First: The first thing I want to finish is my wool quilt. I took patterns from several sources and cut the background blocks to fit the size of the design. I need to finish one more block and the details, then I plan on joining the blocks with various wools to fit them together. I guess it will be a cross between a crazy quilt and wonky blocks.

What's On the Design Wall Now: Right now I am busy with Christmas gifts. Once I finish those, I plan on making a wall hanging for my entry way. I am thinking of something simple with a deer in a forest, using Silent Night as my theme. My design wall, is in my head.
Who I would love to meet: I think that would be Marylou Weidman. I love to visit her blog and see all of the wonderful creations she makes. She is just so fun and full of happy energy.

If I Had One Wish: To win enough money to pay off all of my bills. Then I could spend all my time creating and giving gifts to people. I love to make things for others and often get my inspiration for ideas, from things they love.

Plans for the Future: I will be spending the next year, working more on my own designs and perfecting my sewing skills. I would like to start working on patterns for quilting, and explore my creative side, with art quilting. I just need some fun time to create and see where it leads me.

Thanks Debbie for sharing your wonderful creations! I am sure that everyone will be inspired by your work and will throughly enjoy visiting your blog. I am so happy that we met, and that we are becoming friends. It has been so much fun getting to know you, and I do thank you again so much!

Snow in Dunfanaghy

We are getting hit with a big storm, as is England and Scotland. Temperatures are going down to minus 10 centrigrade tonight...something unheard of . It is snowing now again, and the weathermen are saying that we should expect 5 more days of this.

Joe and I still went to see Bobbi this morning. At the time we took our hike, there was snow on the ground from a previous snowfall, but it was only snowing off and on. Here are some pics that we took and 2 videos too of Bobbi. Hope you enjoy everything. Some people asked me for some pics of the snow, so enjoy.

That's a video of Bobbi eating his last carrot and then walking off. Isn't it hilarious to hear him crunching and crunching happily? He walked off rather abruptly, because a tractor was coming up the road.The other video is Bobbi walking towards us when he first saw us at the fence.

Well, the only place for us is home in our wee, cozy cottage. If you are getting snow where you are, stay warm. I will be in my lounge chair snuggled under my electric blanket, next to my soulmate Joe....no better place to be.

Paper Pieced Pillow Using 1930's Fabrics

I was feeling better after taking two types of antibiotics, so I scooted over to my Pfaff 4.0 Expression, and almost gave it a hug. If you are looking for a great quilting machine, this is it. It is a real workhorse and has made my free motion quilting so much better.
Anyways, I decided to make a throw pillow to match the circle quilt and pillowcases that I already sewed. I love how it turned out.I decided to paper piece the front of the throw pillow, and then I appliqued the butterfly to the back of the pillow. I used some of the fabrics that I used in the circle quilt, so everything will match perfectly. By the way, the flowered fabric is darker than is showing up, but Joe took the pics three times, and each time it landed up this way. So picture a deeper, blue flowered patterned fabric.
I am waiting for the fabric for the backing, binding and also for the batting for the circle quilt, and then I can finish that quilt. I can't wait to see the whole ensemble together: Dresden pillowcases, throw pillow and circle quilt all together. It will be dazzling!
I ordered from Kelly of IHAN the Rose of Sharon book by Sharon Pederson, and of course, she has already shipped it out...Love Kelly and IHAN! Next month, after looking at the book, I will get the Rose of Sharon die and dvd from Kelly also and begin to slowly order the fabric for it. I want to do a few blocks a month while I do other projects. It should be pretty easy with the AccuQuilt GO.

Oh, it is snowing now in Dunfanaghy.Can you believe that? That is so unusual for a village that is near the sea. This morning when we visited the horse, it was hailing. Needless to say, it is cold here, and you know we are going to have a harsher winter this year. It seems to be colder everywhere.
Enjoy your weekends and keep cozy and warm!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! The Irish don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in Ireland. Normally, Joe and I go out for turkey dinner, but we are just having a quiet day. I just got over a bad week with the post shingles infection. The two antibiotics finally kicked in. This week was hard. The infection in the nerves in my head I can only equate to what you feel when you have a toothache, but much worse, if you can just imagine that. I was mostly holding my head hoping it would go away, and finally it did, so I have much to be thankful for. I am mostly thankful for having Joe, our two dogs Rufus and Charlie, and thankful also to good friends like your good selves.

May you all have a wonderful holiday! I know you all will have great meals. I can remember the stuffed turkey, cranberry, mashed potatoes , vegggies and pie I used to have each year with my family in the States. Joe and I are skipping going out to dinner this year for Thanksgiving. We will make it up on Christmas.We will have a wonderful dinner, some goodies, and exchange presents. It is only weeks away.

I hope everyone will have a blessed holiday, and keep smiling!

Black Friday Sale at AccuQuilt

Carolyn Robinson at AccuQuilt emailed about a big Black Friday sale that will be occuring this week. Start shopping Wednesday for great prices. Check this out...It is a hot sale! Here is all the info:

AccuQuilt’s Black Friday Sale – Lowest Prices Ever!

AccuQuilt is giving its blogger friends a sneak peek of their upcoming Black Friday sale! As you all know, Black Friday has become a great shopping tradition among Americans everywhere. However, a majority of consumers now prefer to shop online to escape the dangers of stampede and the hassles of long lines at stores. If you can’t find the items you want, it’s easy to hop from one store website to the next without being disappointed. Savvy online shoppers know how to get the most out of Black Friday sales by utilizing blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other websites to get the inside track on tremendous sales.

AccuQuilt is offering the lowest prices ever on some of their most popular items plus special Daily Deals you don’t want to miss! AccuQuilt’s Black Friday sale begins on Wednesday, November 24th and ends on Cyber Monday, November 29th! Don’t miss out – visit accuquilt.com starting Wednesday to place your order.

Is this cool or what? Sales are always fun, so just enjoy the great prices!

A Lovely Santa Arrives and Butterflies Flutter to Our Cottage

I got a lovely surprise in the mail from Lyn of Blue Bird Quilts who sent me a beautiful hanging Santa. I was thrilled with it, as I love Santas. I have collected Santas over the years, and this year I will be adding another one to my collection. They have this wonderful Santa at a department store named Heatons , and that Santa has to join my collecton. Thanks so much Lyn! You couldn't have picked a more lovely surprise.

I also wanted to thank Cheryl from Ozark Castle Blog. She sent me a bag of applique pieces that all form into butterflies, so I will have to think about what kind of quilt I will utilize them in. The pieces are all so colorful, so it will be fun to use. Here is a link to Cheryl's blog that will show you what the butterflies look like. Aren't they cute? I have a bag of various pieces that will form wonderful butterflies.

Now, as to a bit of bad news. You know I had shingles a while back. Most of it was in my head, which is not the best place to have shingles. Sometimes, the after effects can be infecton and pain, as the infection is usually in the nerve endings. Well, yesterday, my head was throbbing to say the least, and I went to the doctor's. She immediately said that she was shocked how much weight I had lost. That was nice to hear when she said that! Then after examining my head, she confirmed that I had infecton in two areas in my head...both affecting nerve endings. I was put on two antiobiotics. This has happened a few times before, so I know these antibiotics are good. Shingles is no fun for sure.

Well, even though I was feeling a bit sick, I stubbornly took my walk after the doctor's visit.Joe was not happy that I did that , and to our chagrin, we did not even get to see Bobbi or Katie...our luck. They were probably off romping in the hills. By the time, I got home, I just wanted to relax the rest of the day. I will have to admit that I shouldn't have probably gone for that walk, as I was bollocksed when I got home.

I am waiting for my backing fabric, binding, and batting for my circle quilt. In the meantime, I am going to make a paper pieced throw pillow to go with the new Dresden pillowcases and circle quilt. I will start it tomorrow, if my head is not throbbing in pain. I am using a lovely Carol Doak star for the front of the pillow.

That's all the news....mostly good, a bit bad...Hey, no one can say that I have not faced challenges this year. One can only say that next year has got to be easier.

Great Giveaway

Corrie at Retro Mummy is giving away Sweet Broderie fabric to three lucky winners. You shouldn't miss this one.

AccuQuilt GO Giveaway

Here is an AccuQuilt GO Giveaway for you to enter at the Simply Solids Blog . Good luck!

Love's Sweet Call and Great News

Joe and I had a lovely hike up to Bobbi and Katie. We made a decision that as soon as I get my legs stronger and we can save up for it, we are planning a long camping trip around Ireland, but concentrating on the coastal counties, which means we will be doing a loop around the country. We are planning on writing an anecdotal journal of our travels, and I will be doing watercolour paintings for each page, and we will also incorporate some photos that Joe has taken. I will also be including info about quilt shops around the country, as I have gotten emails saying that people who visited Ireland had a hard time finding them here, but we do have quite a few. Funny enough, a lot of them are in our area. It is going to be a fun book. I have been planning doing this for a while, and I am looking forward to sharing this adventure with Joe.

Joe and I camped when I first came to Ireland, and that is how we found Donegal, so this is something that we really enjoy doing. I can remember the first time we pitched a tent on Achill Island. It was a bit funny, as we couldn't figure out how to do it. A French camper took pity on us and showed us how to do it. Later, we became great camping experts. It will be fun buying all the camping equipment that we need. Of course this time, we will be using a larger tent that we can just walk into it. No more crawling into a small tent...It was very romantic, but our legs aren't what they used to be. Well, when we do finally get it all organized, I will keep you all involved with our plans and of course provide you all with lots of pics of our travels. If we are lucky enough to have the journal published, you will all be the first to know. Both of us love camping and writing, Joe enjoys his photography, and I do love to do watercolours, so this is going to be a blast. First, I have to get my legs stronger, and I am determined to do just that. Anyways, here is a link to a website concerning camping in Ireland. You can click on each county on the map to see info about it. Ireland has some beautiful campsites, and we will be going back to some of the ones that we really loved when we initially got into camping.

Back to Bobbi and Katie....The funniest thing happened.When we got to the where Bobbi was, he spotted us, and then went off...We couldn't understand why he did that, but then we saw the reason. He galloped off to get Katie, which Joe said it was "Love's Sweet Call"....Suddenly we saw both of them galloping in anticipation towards us, and they ravished the carrots and oatcakes. We thought it was so sweet of Bobbi to call Katie for her share in the food.

It was a lovely, cold, sunny day, but we throughly enjoyed our time up in the hills in the forest.
Our talk about our trip was exciting, and the time just flew by.We did both comment that each time we do the 8 mile hike, it is getting easier and easier.

We are going to love discovering Ireland again together. We are both going to be adventurous explorers...It's going to be so exciting!

PS: I got the cutest embroidery scissors you can imagine...I love scissors, and these are called
Polly Pink Embroidery Angel Scissors.....Aren't they just adorable? I just fell in love with them and had to order them from the UK.

Bobbi and Katie and Donegal County

We are hiking 8 miles each morning, and I am finding it easier each day we go out. Today was a sunny, cool day, so the hike was so much nicer. Yesterday, it was raining, and we came back drenched and chilled. Today, the sun made it a wonderful day for the hike. I decided to first of all include a map of the hike around the dunes. As you can see, it is an extensive walk, and many who visit our area head out to the dunes because the views are breathtaking.You can see the Gaelic title too for the hike.

We walked up steadily up that road into the forest and made the last steep climb and suddenly saw our Bobbi in the field, but boy did we have a surprise...There was a female horse with him, and we dubbed her Katie. She is just gorgeous, and so friendly. She took to us immediately, and she was very happy to share the carrots and oatcakes with Bobbi. They are the best of friends, and how nice for Bobbi that he found a friend.

Hope you enjoy the pics. We, of course, had to take a bunch of the loving couple. When Bobbi walked away after we said goodbye, Katie followed. They really have it good up there....miles and miles to roam, the most beautiful stream and lake you could imagine, lots of shelter from the forest,and now they have each other. What a lovely winter Bobbi is going to have!

I am back in my lounge chair sitting under my electric velvet blanket watching Dynasty, which I missed this morning, as I slept a bit late. Well, all the events of finding Bobbi has worked out so well for me too. The really long hike is building my legs up, and I hope in a few months they will be so much stronger. Things are starting to work out. I am wearing two support bandages and I am using a walking stick, as I do have to go slower so as not to reinjure anything, but I have faith that all will be well soon. The surgeon is going to be so happy to hear that I am managing an eight mile hike. He loved my perseverence, and Pollyanna attitude. These qualities have gotten me through a lot throughout my life.

As to our Donegal County, it is quite beautiful. I went camping and saw all of Ireland when I arrived here in 1997, and I can say without hesitation that there is nothing quite as special and beautiful as this county. It has a wild, splendid scenery here, and it has everything that you imagined Ireland to be. If you ever do visit, please do try to visit our county...it is very special!

Here are two maps I thought you would like to see. One is of Donegal County and the other is of Ireland. You can see by the Ireland map that we are in the NW part of Ireland, and funny enough they call it the Northwest Passage. The northernmost part of Ireland is Malin Head, and that is an incredible spot, as when you climb to the top, the scene of the ocean and surrounding area takes your breath away. Here is a pic of what I am talking about.


I will include a bit of a tour of Donegal and Ireland, as I know from the emails that so many of you want to see the pics and get some information about this magical place.

Enjoy your day!

Here's My Circle Quilt Top and OMG, We Found Bobbi

Here's my Circle Quilt top finished. As you can see, it coordinates perfectly with the Dresden pillowcases. Boy, does it make the room colorful and happy. Remember, I have only finished the top. I have to add the batting and backing and machine quilt it and then sew the binding, so of course you will see the pic when that is done. I have to order the fabric for the backing from the Fat Quarter Shop in America and the batting from a quilt shop locally.

Well, I am too excited to talk about that quilt anymore. Joe and I found Bobbi this morning. We had to walk 8 miles round trip, but boy was it worth it. I will take you on the trip a bit, and explain how we got there, and then what happened.

As you can see by the first pic, our cottage is in that area of houses way to the left in the pic below. If you just keep on looking on the right, we had to take the road that led all the way out of Dunfanaghy.We had to walk around the water area to get to the road that is behind the grass in the foreground( which you can't see in the pic) That's quite a walk.

Then, at the end of that road, we approached the bridge to Horn Head which takes you to the dunes, to the forest, and also of course to Horn Head.

You can see the forest in the distance.Do you see the white house in the distance? That is where we turned to enter the forest. Our plan was to find him in the forest near the dunes.

The hard part is that the road is on an incline as you can see and it keeps on climbing and climbing, which needless to say is so much more excercise. My legs were not appreciating the experience, but they will just have to get used to it. LOL

As we got further up the road, we saw our village in the distance.What a beautiful view that was, and we had the whole place to ourselves.

As we came to the end of the road, we saw a gate and a huge area of forest and fields that lead to the dune area. I called Bobbi's name out and lo and behold, he came galloping towards us.

When he got to the gate, I started to cry from happiness,and that was quite the moment. We gave him oatcakes and carrots,and he was so happy. He licked my hand and Joe felt under his coat, and saw that he was quite snug. We hadn't seen each other for two weeks. I just can't begin to tell you all what this meant to me and Joe.

Anyways, there is tons of grass for him there, a wee stream near the gate, lots of shelter in the forest area and miles and miles to roam.We stayed with him for a while. We told him we would be back each morning, and I think he understood me. I was just so thrilled that we found him, and he was alright.
We started down the road to home and Bobbi followed us until he could not go any further, and we took a pic of him watching us on the road, as we yelled goodbye. I was sad to leave him, but we will be back tomorrow, but I know he will miss us until he sees us again in the AM.
I just felt so lucky that we finally found him, and that we will now be visiting him every day. You gotta love that face of his. He is the sweetest horse, and just has a heart of gold. I know he is enjoying his winter feed in the forest...lots of freedom to gallop, and now he has us too, so what else can a horse ask for?

We had miles to walk back, and the total walking trip took two hours, but boy was it worth it all!

I am sitting in my lounge chair relaxing. I am a bit tired, and my legs are achy, but I am happy as Larry.

Next time I go, I will take my walking stick with me....That will help me get up that darn steep road.Just picture me now with a big Chesire smile on my face and my feet propped up.Don't you just love a happy ending to a story? They do happen, if you believe.