CONTEST Starting In August Your FAVORITE TUTORIAL - Sponsors Needed Also

I am wanting to find some crafty people that love to show off there crafts.How would you like to be a guest and work your wonders through your favorite tutorial?

There has to be some talented crafters out there that are not too shy to give my viewers a craft or sewing tutorial.

Then I will have the viewers vote at the end of the month for the best tutorial of the month.

We can't have a contest without Sponsors. So who would like to donate something to give to the crafter that wins the contest.

If the contest goes well it will continue each month.

Also is there anyone who would be willing to help advertise the contest. I made a badge/button to advertise the contest that way whoever wants to grab it and display it on their blog they can.

New Blog Design from Blogaholic Designs

Hey everyone I have a new blog design from Blogaholic Desins. Hope you like the the new design. It was a free template and I actually set it up myself from a tutorial on Blogaholic Designs. Be kind if you use her freebies and leave a donation.

Guest: LeAnn Frobom of Pasque Flower Creations on Etsy

Thank you to Patricia for inviting me to be a guest blogger today!
My real name is LeAnn Frobom. I’ve been a fabric lover most of my life. I started sewing and embroidering at the age of four.

I grew up on a farm in eastern South Dakota. I was active in 4-H and debate, and went on to major in Home Economics at South Dakota State University. I veered off that path and ended up in law school. I’ve spent thirty-odd years using my law degree and raising three wonderful kids. But I never completely abandoned my love of fabric, sewing, handwork and quilting.

I’m now a semi-retired empty-nester with three grown kids, two grown stepchildren, and nine delightful grandchildren. In 2011, I opened my Etsy shop, Pasque Flower Creations, which features boutique children’s clothing and other fun and functional fabric items. I also started a blog, Pasque Flower Ponderings and joined the Etsy Blog Team, and that’s how I “met” Patricia aka Mamaw.

I will be showing you how to make an easy peasy table runner, based on LaRae Bunnell Clark’s Ten Minute Table Runner. (There’s no commercial pattern.) LaRae is affiliated with Utah State University’s Weber County Extension Office and she has granted permission to freely enjoy and share this fun project. (It takes me a little more than ten minutes, but even a beginner can complete one in about an hour.) Your finished table runner will be approximately 41 inches long and 15 inches wide.

I’ve chosen to use fun and funky Halloween fabric for this tutorial. I’ve made several using seasonal fabrics, but any two fabrics that play well together would be fine.

Ready? Here we go!

STEP 1: CHOOSE YOUR FABRICS

1/3 yard of a “theme” or focus fabric x width of fabric (WOF) –12 inches by 42 inches
1/2 yard of a coordinating fabric x WOF – 18 inches by 42 inches

I chose Cackle Jacks from The Alexander Henry Fabrics Collection for my theme fabric. I just love those colorful wacky jack-o-lanterns!

Choosing my coordinating fabric was more difficult. I had three strong contenders, but I decided to use a Maywood Studio black with tiny tan dots from my stash. I had also considered the purple and black Lilac Parade from the Buggy Barn for Henry Glass & Co. and an orange and cream Lonni Rossi print from Andover Fabrics Inc. In the end, I decided the black would best anchor my wild and crazy focus print.

STEP 2: PRESS & TRIM

Press your fabrics. Trim selvages. Square up your fabric to create a straight edge with no fabric whiskers.

STEP 3: SEW
Place your fabrics right sides together (RST). Sew one long edge with a ½ inch seam allowance.
Now bring the unsewn long edges of your fabrics together and sew with a ½ inch seam allowance.
No need to finish these seams. They’ll be tucked out of sight inside your finished table runner. (NOTE: If you wanted to dress up your runner, you could insert thin fabric piping between the two fabrics.)

STEP 4: PRESS AGAIN

Press the seams away from the center or theme fabric and toward the coordinating fabric.

Turn your fabric tube right side out.
Lay your fabric tube on your ironing surface, theme fabric showing, and carefully measure the borders so that they are exactly the same width on either side of your center fabric. I measure in at least four or five spots as I am pressing. (That’s probably why it takes me more than 10 minutes!)

STEP 5: FINISH THE SHORT ENDS

Trim the short ends so they are even and perpendicular to the borders.
Serge or zigzag stitch each of the short ends to prevent raveling. If serging, be sure to tie, weave, and snip your thread tails.

Fold your fabric in half lengthwise so you have a long skinny rectangle with your theme fabric showing.
Stitch a ½ inch seam through all 4 layers of fabric on each of the short ends.

STEP 7: PRESS AGAIN

Open the folded rectangle so that the coordinating fabric side is up and the theme fabric is on the bottom. Align the seam you just sewed with the center fold on the coordinating fabric and press the seam open. You will have a teeny tiny triangle at the top of the larger triangle. I usually turn and tack the seam edges at the other end of the short seam as well, but that is optional.

Now flip the end triangles so that your seam is hidden inside the triangle. You should have two end triangles of your coordinating fabric. I usually measure from the center seam to the right edge and the center seam to the left edge to make sure my triangle is properly centered. I also use my handy dandy That Purple Thang Tool to make sure my points are sharp.

STEP 9: PRESS AGAIN

Now press those perfectly centered end triangles so you have nice sharp points and crisp edges.




STEP 10: ADD BUTTONS

Sew a decorative button through the center seam of the end triangle and the theme fabric. Try not to stitch through the coordinating fabric on the back. You could add rick rack, more buttons, yo-yo’s or whatever your little creative heart desires, but I usually just pick a fun button.

STEP 11: VOILA!

All done! Wasn’t that easy? And you now have a reversible table runner. Enjoy!

TTFN (Ta Ta for Now)

LeAnn aka pasqueflower

http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pasqueflower



LeAnn I want to thank you for being a guest on my blog. Your biography was wonderful. I am sure everyone will enjoy you tutorial on the easy peasy table runner. Good luck with you Etsy shop and your blog.

Patricia aka Mamaw

Winner of the 20,000th Pageview - Book Giveaway

No one left a comment when they saw they were the the 20,000th pageviewer. So I decided to give the book to my 500th GFC follower instead. I did not count my own book blog GFC if anyone is wondering. This being my first giveaway I hope this is alright with everyone. I will get one of the random widgets for the next giveaway.
The book MY HEART REMEMBERS goes to Debbie Does Coupons.
Congratulations Debbie I am sure this is a surprise to you. Kinda fun winning something you didn't have to enter a giveaway for.

DON'T FORGET TO BLOG HOP

The blog hops are posted on the blog hop page. There are some good ones going on this weekend. FINDING NEW FRIENDS, SIT AND RELAX AND A LOT MORE. I have added some new ones. I mean they are new to my blog hop page.
HAVE A BLESSED WEEKEND NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO OR WHO YOU ARE WITH

Q&A with Emily Murray the Owner of Blogaholic Social Network

Emily Murray is the owner and creator of a new community for bloggers: Blogaholic Social Network. The community went live on Monday, May 30th and in just a few short weeks has become an active community for all bloggers! Here is a bit more from Emily about the new network!

Tell us a little bit about Blogaholic Social Network.
BSN is a community where bloggers can get together and pretty much talk about all things blog related. There is a wide variety of groups that you can join from blog niche’s to gaining followers- groups are a lot of fun and members have created quite a few of them so far so there is something for everyone! The site also allows you to post blog posts, list your giveaways, list your blog hops, there is really so much you can do on the site!

How did Blogaholic Social network come to be?
Well long story short it was an idea I had for quite awhile. I also do blog design and my creative mind never seems to stop running, I knew that I loved blogging and I had learned so much about blog design from other bloggers so I wanted to create a community that allowed all these wonderful resources to come together, not just blog design but all bloggers helping each other, getting to know each other, learning from each other about all aspects of blogging. There is so much that even I still want to learn and I know that I can do it here on BSN. So it came down to the push of a button to hit publish live and I paced back and forth until finally my husband said “Listen, do you want to be sitting on the front porch 30 years from now saying, I should of hit that publish button” so off I went and here we are!


What are your future hopes for the site?
Really, I just hope to continue to see so many people enjoying it and getting great use out it. I want the network to be a “go to” for all things that have to do with blogging while still having a close knit community and I also want people to be able to connect, ask their questions and get answers- there is nothing worse than being a new blogger and feeling completely lost. So hopefully the site can help new bloggers and for veteran bloggers they have so much advice that they are willing to share, it’s great how everyone just comes together! The truth of it all is that the community is the foundation of the site and they are the future of the site as well.

I can not begin to tell you how overwhelmed with happiness I was to see it all come together the site itself and the community that has built just in a few short weeks. I just hope the members of BSN know that I appreciate each and every one of them because without them the network is not a community at all.

Feel free to stop by and check us out, we would love to have you as a member!

Emily, I feel so honored that you have done this interview for the viewers of my blog. I know what a wonderful job you have done with Blogaholic it has been a great source of information for me and has a wonderful community of bloggers. I hope it continues to grow which I know it will.
Okay bloggers now is a perfect time to check out Blogaholic Social Network.

TEXAS BLUE by Jodie Thomas

I am almost finished reading EDGE OF ESCAPE BY DEBRA CHAPOTON. I is a fantastic book can't wait to do the review in a day or so. Read more about it on my book blog It's Time To Read Mamaw.

Next I will be reading TEXAS BLUE by JODIE THOMAS. It is the most recent book #5 in the WHISPERING MOUNTAIN SERIES. I loved the other books in this series and have been very anxious to read this newest book. This series is about orphaned McMurray boys caring for their newborn baby sister. Plus trying to defend the family ranch from being taken from them. Can you image young boys defending their land and home without the help of their parents. If you haven't already read any of these books in this series I highly recommend you to buy or borrow the books and enjoy.


I have been very distracted from my reading because of my lab puppies but now that I have found wonderful homes for all eight of them I will be able to relax and read.

BABY/CHILDREN'S QUILT SALE

Hello friends,

I have made some cute children's quilts that I would like to sell on my blog. Contact me if you are interested in one of the darling quilts.

A sweet gift for the kids is this Dora the Explorer Quilt. This lovely little quilt is 30"x40". It is machine pieced and hand stitched with Mamaw's love. It will make your little one dream they are exploring in the Rain Forest with Dora. Selling for $50

This is another of my favorites because it is so soft.
Sweet Pink Flannel And Chenille Butterfly Quilt. Three Butterfly Appliques Are On The Quilt Top and Patchwork on the back of the quilt. This quilt measures 36"x44". It is bound by machine and hand stitched with Mamaw's Love. Selling for $50

I have a great sale going on at my shop, It's About Time Mamaw on Etsy
I am getting ready to add some new items to my shop. Which means I am ready to move merchandise. I have some darling clothes for babies, toddlers, boys and girls. Dresses, pants set, short set, and pants. Just click on my shop tab at the top of my blog and it will take you to some great bargains. If you will notice I have custom orders of the same items to be made in different sizes. But the custom orders will remain at the regular price. Custom orders can be made by contacting me with the item and your choice of fabric. I have a good selection of fabrics to choose from in my shop. Most of the items are sewn with french seams and all with loving care. Custom orders may also be a pattern you have or want to get and even fabric you have. Maybe make something you already have in mind. Pick a theme for your choice of fabric like pirates, frogs, cars, monsters, fairies, etc. I guess you get the idea. If I don't have the fabric you want I can try to find it for you, if you like. So please head on over to my shop and buy something for the kiddos.

HUGS TO ALL MY FRIENDS
God Bless You and Yours

Seven Puppies Gone To New Homes

Well I put an ad on Craigslist Wednesday night at midnight. Within minutes I had three people setting up appointments to pickup their new puppies. Yesterday the last of seven puppies was on it's way to his new home. All of them went to fanastic people. I was especially impressed with one young man still in high school he was so excited. He lives on a lake and plans on taking the puppy fishing with him. All the people that took a puppy were men. Only two of the men brought their wife and one brought his twin sons. One young man in his late twenties was getting the puppy as a surprise for his girlfriend. But what was funny is she contacted me and wanted to get a puppy to surprise him. So the young man and I let her set up an appointment to pickup a puppy over the weekend. He surprised her with the puppy last night. Sweet! I asked all of the new owners to please send me pictures and updates on their puppy. I hope they remember because I would love to see how the puppies are doing. Here is a picture I just took the other day.

Delaney - Sweet Tea Serendipity - Guest Post

Hi y'all! My name is Delaney & I'm from Georgia.

My first white Christmas!

I'm a college student, and I'm majoring in magazines (yes, that is a real major) and minoring in sociology.

When I'm not at school, I live with my dad & bird dog both of whom I love dearly.

When I'm not studying, I'm reading, hanging out with friends, playing or watching sports or going on adventures!

I used to work at a dog kennel, but we recently moved, so this summer I'm just volunteering and interning for a magazine publishing company.

A snowy Christmas at the dog kennel

I love to do arts and crafts projects, but I don't have a lot of supplies or money, so I don't get to do too many.  Hopefully one day I'll have an amazing craft room, and maybe my own Etsy shop!  For now though, I'll stick to being inspired by other people's amazing creations & making a few of my own.

I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes, and I plan to start posting more of those when I go back to school (because I don't really cook when I'm at home).

Savory Crescent Chicken Squares

I also enjoy taking photos of my friends, my life or just about anything that is pretty.

My goal in life is to teach journalism to elementary school students.  Until then, I hope to work for a magazine when I graduate in six months, and then gradually get into teaching.


You can read all about this at my blog: Sweet Tea Serendipity.  I've recently gotten into "personal" blogging, and I'm really enjoying it.  So, feel free to stop by and say "Hi" because I want to get to know you too!

P.S. Wanna win this nifty ring?  Stop by my blog and find out how!

A special thanks to Patricia for letting me guest blog on her wonderful blog today!

Mamaw's Fabric Shop

Mamaw's Fabric Shop, a set on Flickr.

Do you see anything you like?