WE HAVE A WINNER ! ! ! ! In my first post, we offered a ThimbleCreek kit, Spring Thyme by the lovely and talented Roxie (my wife - am I lucky or what?). Soooo, the WINNER of this kit is (BIGGGGGGG drumroll, please!) . . . . NAN!!!!!!!!! Nan, you posted your comment on May 5th at 8:13am....PLEASE e-mail me at jawood88@hotmail.com and I'll send you your kit!!! This was sooooooooo VERY much FUN for me!!! THANK YOU all for your comments and enthusiasm!!!!


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I HAVE BEEN FEELING NOSTALGIC OF LATE, so here's yet ANOTHER give-away based on your memories of baby boomer television!! Respond to this post with the names of these baby boomer television shows to enter!! I promised myself that I would never say things like "when I was young I had to WALK miles through the snow to get to school" and, yet, here I am saying something likewise parenty - "they don't make TV shows like THIS anymore!" At stake, EIGHT OF MY FAVORITE JAPANESE LECIEN FAT QUARTERS FROM MY OWN PERSONAL STASH!! AND, MY Fall Baskets pattern!!! I'll draw a random WINNER on June 1st!!!


Want to see what you're playing for? (WHO says that??)





Here's the Quiz!! NAME THESE SHOWS!!

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I HAVE HALLOWEEN . . . . on the brain! I am working on a new Halloween pattern and I should be able to finish it by next week while on the ThimbleCreek retreat!! Here's a sneak peek at one block....more to come....stay tuned!!!

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We are going up to the mountains next week for our Retreat! This is ALWAYS a FUN time and we are excited to go!! I'll be back after the retreat with more stuff to share with you!!! Sooo, PLEASE S T A Y T U N E D ! ! ! ! ! joe

Thursday, May 14, 2009

GO FORTH AND PROSPER . . . . You must RUN to see the new Star Trek movie!!!!! All the reviews are right – this is a dynamite summer movie! GGGREAT FUN!!!!! And I give it 4 (out of 4) thimbles!! The special effects are terrific and the stars of this movie have nailed the personas of the original characters – I could see this one again...and again!!!!!

BEAM ME UP, SCOTTY!!!!

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I NEED TO THANK . . .you all for your comments and encouragement! We are going to have FUN on this blog ride! It is so wonderful to hear from you all from places so far away! Ahhhh, that's the wonder of it all - to communicate and share.

AND, we DO have a winner!!!! The visual phrase in my last post translates to "You CAN teach this old man new tricks!" It was FUN for me to put that puzzle together and it seems you liked it (you really, really liked it!). It's true - I am learning new tricks and, surprisingly, ENJOYING IT!!!!!! You may not believe it, but I am a guy who has made a conscious decision NOT to even own a cell phone! I was chained to one when working for a major bank for years and years and years (frankly, I'm surprised that phone wasn't INGROWN into my ear!!!). And yet, here I am now WRITING A BLOG (I STILL can't believe it!!!). I know a blog is not a cell phone - but it equates somehow to me as an "electronic/computer thing." ANYWAY, my random picked winner is HollyC!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS to Holly!!!!! PLEASE SEND ME AN E-MAIL, jawood88@hotmail.com, AND I'LL SEND YOU YOUR 4 LECIEN FAT QUARTERS!

Reminder: if you haven't already, you must read my first post and enter the contest to win a kit from ThimbleCreek!! THAT give-away contest ends on March 20th! And, you MUST keep checking back to my blog, because there will be MORE give-aways coming!!!

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WHILE I AM EXCITED ABOUT SUMMER ALMOST BEING HERE. . . .I can't help but to start thinking about Halloween projects. Meg from Crab-apple Hill has a new Halloween pattern that we will be kitting. It's called Vintage Trick or Treat and it takes me back to a time when I was a "bum" (for SEVERAL consecutive years!) as a kid, trick or treating to all hours of the night! I love this quilt - and if you like to embroider and piece, then this is the quilt for you! We are doing this one in more vintage "hues". We're using the incredible Cosmo embroidery floss for our kits along with more vintage fabrics for the piecing. This one will no doubt be as big a hit as Hocuspocusville was last year! We are taking pre-orders for this one - we need to have an idea of how many kits we will be making so we can order the Cosmo floss NOW! I'm sorry that the photos below do not do justice to the quilt. Also, below is a sampling of the fabrics and floss that we will be using.

YOU, as my blogging FRIENDS, have first shot at signing up for this amazing kit! Kits will not be mailed until we have all the floss and fabrics assembled, but your $25 deposit will hold your kit. The price of the complete kit is $94.99. It will include all fabric for the quilt top (including border and binding), rick rack, and Cosmo floss. Backing is not included. The balance of $69.99 will be charged at the time of mailing. As the quilt sample comes together, I'll be sharing photos. Don't miss out on this one! CALL THE SHOP TO SIGN UP NOW!!

(925) 676-5522

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY . . . .

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you will land among the stars.

- Les Brown

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OK, you've gotta STAY TUNED . . . . check back for more FUN . . . .there will be oh so many more surprises coming this summer!!!

joe

A BABY BOOMER . . . .

AND PROUD OF IT!!!!!!!!

No doubt, I won't be retiring any time soon . . . and I'm worried about my retirement savings running out before I run out . . . BUT, luckily, I love what I do - and I'm H A P P Y ! ! ! ! :)

I was reminded exactly how much of a baby boomer I am when my daughter, Molly, brought me back a "BEATLES T-shirt" - from L I V E R P O O L ! ! ! ! It may be a shirt that is available virtually EVERYWHERE, but MINE came directly from the BEATLES store in LIVERPOOL - now, just how cool is that?? I will wear it proudly - yup, I'm a baby boomer, and proud of it!!!!!!!!

(Sorry about the quality of this photo - but the shirt is real cool in person!)

I now have to learn how to juggle - helping Roxie run a quilt shop, designing new patterns, making new quilts, writing my weekly "The Gazette" newsletter, and now writing a blog!! And, I can tell that writing a blog is going to be a HOOT!!! I LOVE hearing from all of you . . . and I am going to LOVE sharing a little bit of my view of the world with you all - and getting YOUR responses back!!! This is going to be a FUN ride!! Being a new blog participant, I am just now learning how BIGGGGG the blogworld is! There are blogs out there for EVERYTHING! On my sidebar I will be adding links to blogs that I enjoy reading. It will take some time to accumulate a list because I want to REALLY LIKE those blogs I share with you as "friends." And, I will not add any "friends" until I get their permission. My first blog "friends" are Happy Zombie and PamKittyMorning!! So, a BBBBIGGGG shout out of thanks to Pam and Monica!! I hope you will check out their blogs if you haven't already! They are both delightful and FUN and entertaining - and we all can use a little of that! Tell 'em that Joe (the quilter, not the plumber!) sent you.

OK, speaking of learning the "hows" of blogging, below I have a visual riddle that I want you to translate - figure out this phrase and reply to this blog with the "answer". From all correct responses, I'll draw a WINNER! Four fat quarters of my favorite Japanese fabric from Lecien will go to the lucky winner! In my next post, I'll announce the winner and translate my riddle.

I so want to share a picture of the quilt I just finished for Lecien. But, until I have the pattern written and ready, I can't share the quilt with you. I can give you a "sneak peek" though. The quilt will debut in Pittsburgh at the Spring Quilt Market next week. I am hoping to have the pattern ready by the end of May. I am proud of this one! It's called, Everything Old Is New Again - and it's made from the NEW Civil War line of fabric from Lecien that will also debut in Pittsburgh.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

"Everything is miraculous. It is miraculous that one does not melt in one's bath."

- Pablo Picasso

Let me know the "answer" to my riddle and don't forget to enter the drawing (if you haven't already) for a kit from ThimbleCreek (from my first post below)....

H A P P Y M O T H E R ' S D A Y WEEKEND!!!!! :) :) :)

I look forward to talking to you again soon,

joe