Post #500: Giveaway #5 - Family Fun

Here I am: Post 500 and two days away from my 4th blogiversary. Today's theme is Family Fun.

If you've been reading my blog for the last year you're sure to know the newest love of our lives: Mr. E. I can't remember what our life was like before he was born. It's hard to believe he has grown from this little boy:

Into this giggling, happy little boy.

I have the pleasure of babysitting him every Tuesday. We always have lots of fun together. Today I introduced him to the plastics drawer in the kitchen. He had lots of fun taking the bowls out and dragging them around the floor.
I hope the rain clears up soon so we can spend more time playing outdoors. He likes playing in the grass and dirt.

Aren't children and grandchildren the greatest?

Now for the final giveaway - Family Fun

This package will start with items to spend a fun day with your favorite little ones: a box of crayons, a pad of drawing paper, a box of modeling clay and a bottle of billions of bubbles. The package will be completed depending on if you want a boy package or a girl package or a little bit of both.
To enter this drawing leave a comment on this blog and tell me one of your favorite activities to do with the child(ren) in your life. Also, tell me if you want a boy, girl or a mixed package. If this is the first drawing you've entered, please tell me how you follow my blog.

The drawing is open until March 31, 2010. I will draw the winner on April 1, 2010. You may enter each drawing, but I will only accept one entry per person per drawing.

For information on Giveaway #4 go here. For Giveaway #3 go here. For Giveaway #2 go here. For Giveaway #1 go here.

I hope you've enjoyed signing up for my 500 Posts - 4 Year Blogiversary Giveaways. I'm still checking out all the entries and the new to me blogs. So, if I haven't stopped by to say hello, I will be by soon.

It's been raining and raining and raining here in New England. I don't even know how many inches we've received this month, but I'm sure it's a record. If I don't surface for a few days, send out an ark to find me, OK?

Sweet P

Giveaway #4 - Fine Food

Creating a great and comforting meal for me and my family brings me as much joy as creating a quilt, a stitchery or an afghan. DH and I often enjoy a "food coma" day when he cooks breakfast, we nibble on snacks all afternoon and then eat a yummy and filling meal.

Today I made a pot of Beef and Guinness Stew. There are many recipes for this dish on the Internet. It was delicious. I think the next time I'm going to use butternut squash instead of carrots.
I recently bought The Recipe Manager. It's an awesome program that allows me to store recipes, create menus and then shopping lists from the menus. The lists can be customized for my grocery stores which is a cool feature. My favorite feature is being able to make the recipe large enough to read from across the room. I hook up my laptop to the monitor and I can see the recipe while I'm cooking. I don't have to waste paper printing the recipe. I don't have to waste time walking back and forth across the room to get the next step. It's all big and easy to read.
From 2008 - 2009 I wrote a Coffee Time At Home blog. Last summer I got so busy with work and being a grandma and enjoying life, that I lapsed on writing entries. Now I plan to start writing more about food and Coffee Time at Home here. I'm trying to import the blog into this one, but it will take time.

Now, onto Giveway #4 - Fine Food

To enter this drawing you need to leave a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite drink is: coffee, tea, water, soda or a different beverage. Then tell me what your favorite recipe is to cook or bake. The package will be built around these two answers. Also, if this is the first drawing you've entered, please tell me how you follow my blog.

The drawing is open until March 31, 2010. I will draw the winner on April 1, 2010. You may enter each drawing, but I will only accept one entry per person per drawing.

For information on Giveaway #3 go here. Giveaway #2 go here. For Giveaway #1 go here.

Well, I'm down to one giveaway left to announce and I will do that tomorrow. I want to thank everyone who's entered so far. It's fun to see all the readers I have and check out their blogs. Good luck to everyone!

Sweet P

Giveaway #3 - Frolicking Fiber

First thing I want to say is thank you to everyone for stopping by and signing up for the drawings. Many of you are new to me and I'm wondering how many readers I have versus how many people leave comments. It's an interesting phenomena of blogs. I know I read more blogs than I comment on. I guess it's normal.

Crocheting is another hand craft I learned from my grandmother. The first project I remember making was a pink and blue granny square afghan. There were six squares, each about 12 inches big, in the afghan. I know I still had it when my children were born, but when we moved my parents out of their house a few years ago the afghan was nowhere to be found.

Fast forward to last May. Mr. E's baptism was getting close and out of nowhere I get the urge to crochet him a white baptism afghan. A quick trip to the LYS and two weeks later his afghan was done. It's probably a good thing I didn't start crocheting sooner as we used to live two doors down from the LYS. Imagine the money I would have spent in there!

But the projects for Mr. E didn't stop there. Over the summer I crocheted him two sweaters and this hat, all of which he has now outgrown.

I also crocheted him this scarf. I think it will last at least one more winter.

Even the Hotel Man received a crocheted scarf.

I love crocheting. I love the feel of the yarn sliding through my fingers. I love watching a ball of yarn become a sweater or a scarf or an afghan under my patient fingers.

So by now you've figured out the Giveway #3 is Frolicking Fiber.

The package will start with these three skeins of Naturally Caron yarn. This yarn is super scrumptious and fun to work with whether you crochet or knit. I've made a few projects with the yarn and love it.
The package will be completed with items based on what the winner's favorite yarn activity is. Do you like to knit socks? Perhaps you like to crochet granny squares? Maybe you want to learn to knit or crochet.

Tell me what you would with the yarn in your comment so if your name is drawn I can complete the package. Also if you haven't entered one of the other drawings, please tell me how you follow my blog.

The drawing is open until March 31, 2010. I will draw the winner on April 1, 2010. You may enter each drawing, but I will only accept one entry per person per drawing.

For information on Giveaway #2 go here. For Giveaway #1 go here.

Hotel Man is coming home tonight from being out of town. I will probably have the next giveaway up on Saturday.

Have a great weekend!
Sweet P

Giveaway #2 - Fabulous Floss

When I was in junior high (many, many, many moons ago) my grandmother embroidered me this Holly Hobbie on the back of a blouse. I still have the blouse, although I no longer wear it. Didn't grandma do great work? This Holly Hobbie is the inspiration for me to play with floss.
This is the first embroidered block I made in 2007. Does it surprise you that I stitched a coffee cup and then made it the centerpiece of a coffee-themed tote bag? Probably not.

Not only do I embroider, but I also cross stitch.
This is a Santa Clause stocking I made last year.

I recently blogged about my Tower of Floss. I have so many wonderful threads and I suppose you may be wondering what I will make with them. Here is one inspiration project I have:
A friend of ours stitched this for herself a long time ago. She was so happy when I told her I loved it. No one had ever told her that before (and it's been hanging in her bathroom for almost 30 years).


This brings me to Giveaway #2 - Fabulous Floss

The winner of this giveaway will receive this Cinderberry Stitches kit. The kit is complete with fabric, floss and directions to make a thread and needle wallet. Of course, the prize will include another goodie or two.
To enter leave a comment on this post. Tell me who you would make this wallet for - yourself or a special friend. If, by chance, you have this pattern, I will substitute another kit. Also, if you haven't told me in a previous post, tell me how you follow me - with Bloglines, Google Reader, on your side bar, etc.

The drawing is open until March 31, 2010. I will draw the winner on April 1, 2010. You may enter each drawing, but I will only accept one entry per person per drawing.

For information on Giveaway #1 go here.

Happy Stitching!
Sweet P

Giveaway #1 - Fantastic Fabric

Let me take you on a brief tour of my quilting before I announce the first giveaway - Fantastic Fabric.

The first completed quilt I made in the spring of 2005 went to this little girl. It was a Dorthy Young mystery quilt. I had lots of fun making it and I know the little girl still uses it today.
The first completed top I made was for the Hotel Man. It has Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots in it. It's called All Stars. It resides on our bed as an extra covering on the coldest winter nights.

This quilt I made just for me. I'm not a huge fan of florals and pastels, but these fabrics spoke to me. It's my Wicked Girly quilt.

This is the back of Wicked Girly! Needless to say this quilt is not on the bed when the Hotel Man is home. It is strictly for me.

Now on to Giveaway #1 - Fantastic Fabric

The package starts with these two charm square packs and two patterns.

Then I will pull a few more pieces from my fabric closet.

And then, just for fun, a few other goodies.

To enter leave a comment on this post. Tell me what you would make with the charm squares and other fabric goodies you would win. Also tell me how you follow me - with Bloglines, Google Reader, on your side bar, etc.

The drawing is open until March 31, 2010. I will draw the winner on April 1, 2010. You may enter each drawing, but I will only accept one entry per person per drawing.

PS - How do you like the new look? I followed Paula's lead and played with Blogger in Draft. I like the availability to play around. I'm also adding a page of recent blog posts for each topic of the Giveaway. I have plans to expand my blog and this is the start of it. I hope you like it and I hope you keep reading even though I may not write about quilting all the time.

Happy Sewing!
Sweet P

Busy Day and Big News

I certainly made the most of my day off. I spent the morning working on my sample overnight bag. I got to a point where I'm stuck and will have to bring it to work with me on Wednesday to get tips on where I'm stuck.

But, that didn't stop me from switching creative gears. On Saturday night I was Googling crochet stitch markers and found directions to make them. I have plenty of beads and thread from when I thought I wanted to add beads to my quilts. All I needed to buy was lever back earrings. I got those at work yesterday, a package of four for 90 cents. Before lunch today I whipped up a set of stitch markers for me.
If you're thinking to yourself, "those brown beads look like coffee beans." You're right! They are coffee bean beads. Not real coffee beans, but sure look like coffee beans. They came in an assortment of beads I bought from E-Bay.

Here are the stitch markers when they are being used in a crochet project. I think they are cute. I can make a couple more with coffee beads, but I have to buy more lever earrings.
After lunch I was cutting out a pair of shorts for Mr. E and talking on-line with my DIL. She asked me if I could make a lunch bag for Mr. E to use at his new day care. I thought about it for a few minutes and decided I could make one up quickly. Off I went to my studio, grabbed the necessary fabric and a couple hours later I finished his new lunch bag. I bet no other child will have a lunch bag like his!
Now for the BIG NEWS —
I am at Post 496 and near my four year blogiversary. If someone had told me four years ago today that I would be at this point, I would have laughed. But, here I am!

A lot has changed in my creative life since I started writing my blog four years ago. I've gone beyond bed and baby quilts to sewing bags and clothes. I gave away all my DMC floss one summer only to start embroidering six months later. Finding a $20 Christmas cross stitch kit for less than $3 brought me back to cross stitching. Mr. E needing a baptism afghan led me back to crocheting and playing with yarn. I've always loved cooking, but reading cooking blogs have expanded my cooking and meal repertoire.

I want to thank everyone who stops by to read and perhaps leave a comment or two. I have made many new friends and I cherish every one of you. One gift bag isn't enough. So . . . drum roll please . . . I will be giving away five gift bags! Over the next five posts I will highlight one gift package and why it is important to me. To enter the drawing for the gift package, simply leave a comment and tell me what you would do with the items in the package. If you are a follower of my blog, tell me how you follow it - through Bloglines, through Google Reader, or whatever program you use. On April 1, my actual blogiversary, I will draw 5 winners, one for each gift. You can enter every drawing, but I will only accept one entry per reader per drawing.

There you have it, the BIG NEWS. I hope you check back tomorrow for the first gift package.

I'm off to crochet a row or two on my jacket. Then a hot shower and a good sleep. Mr. E will be here tomorrow, plus my niece and nephew will be here for the afternoon. Another fun filled day here at Coffee Time Stitches!

Sweet P

Makes Me Happy Monday #3A

Quick Happy Monday post this morning.

I'm happy this Monday morning as I have an unexpected day off. I have lots of plans for today. I'll be back tonight with a progress report and the previously mentioned BIG NEWS!

Sweet P

Springy Saturday

I think Mr. E was resting up for spring yesterday afternoon. I picked him and mommy up from day care and brought them home. On the way home Mr. E fell asleep in his car seat. He was so sound asleep that he didn't wake up when I brought him into the house. Even Grampa Boo couldn't wake him up! BTW, he's in jammies because it was Jammie Day at school.

Today I got off work real early and got to spend a couple hours with Mr. E. The weather is gorgeous here today (70 degrees, blue sky, light wind) so I introduced him to the dirt pile that is currently our front yard. He loved it!

This afternoon I could no longer resist using by gift certificate from Spinning Yarns. I came home with these lovely hanks of yarn. I have no definite idea of what I'll make with them. For now, I'm just enjoying the colors.

I'm doing well on my 10 On Tuesday list. I've done 7 of the 10 items listed. I haven't cut any fabrics for future projects and haven't started my overnight bag. Maybe tomorrow or Monday I'll get a chance to work on those.

I hope you're enjoying the first day of spring and/or national quilting day! If you crochet, did you know March is National Crochet Month? I didn't know that until earlier today and I'm glad to report I've been crocheting up a storm this month so I was participating and didn't even know it.

Be sure to check back tomorrow or Monday as I have some exciting news to report!

Sweet P

All Things Local Swap

I've starting hanging out on Ravelry and joined the All Things Local Swap. Here are my answers to the questions for the swap.

1. Are you a knitter or crocheter? I’m a crocheter
2. What is/are your favorite projects to create? Anything that is not an afghan. I have enough quilts and afghans.
3. What is your favorite yarn type (wool, cotton, etc?) Any yarns you don’t like to work with? I haven’t met a yarn I don’t like.
4. What is your favorite color ? Least favorite? Like yarn, I haven’t met a color I don’t like. Although I am partial to purples and blues.
5. What is your favorite thing about the city you live in? I love the smallness of my town. We moved 1.5 miles 2 years ago and that meant we moved out of downtown to the south side of town.
6. What is your favorite thing to do when you visit a new place for the first time? I have 2 favorite things I do when I visit a new town: find the local fiber and fabric stores and the best steak restaurant.
7. Do you have any other hobbies, besides fiber craft? If fiber craft means yarn, then I also embroider and sew. I love to cook.
8. Do you collect anything? I can never have enough containers for storing my threads, needles, hooks and yarn.
9. Do you like sweets? I love sweets.
10. What are your favorite scents? I’m not a fan of scented candles or potpourri. I love the smell of fresh brewed coffee and good food.
11. What is your living situation (married, kids?) Do you have any pets? I’m married to the love of my life. I adore my young grandson and babysit him at least one day a week. We have no pets.
12. Is there anything important your pal needs to know (pet allergies, food allergies, etc?) No allergies, but don’t like the smell of cigarettes.

Sweet P

Simple Pleasures

Earlier this month I ordered a Simple Pleasures package from NH Knitting Mama. Simple Pleasures is her version of a Yarn of the Month Club. Yesterday, the package finally arrived. What a wonderful envelope to open. The package included a hank of 100% Superwash Merino, sport weight yarn, hand painted by Amanda. She calls the color "Winter Buster." Other items in the package included a small bag with emery boards, red nail polish and a small chocolate bar; a pattern for pedi socks; a letter from Amanda and a hand written Thank You card. Wow!

Here is a close up of the yarn. Isn't it yummy?

Since I don't knit, I'm not sure what I'll crochet with the yarn. For now, I'm just enjoying it.

Spring is finally here! We've had two wonderful days of sunshine and warm temps with a few more days like it on the way. Hooray!

Sweet P

Wordless Wednesday . . . Part 2

Mr. E & Mommy dressed up for St. Patrick's Day

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting . . . yummy!

Sweet P

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday Dema!

You can read about my Irish grandmother here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sweet P

10 On Tuesday

Today's 10 on Tuesday are 10 activities I want to do this week:

1. Cook Steak Pizzaiola, Fettucini Alfredo and Chocolate Stout Cupcakes for dinner tomorrow night.
2. Cook Coffee Rubbed Steaks for dinner on Thursday night.
   
3. Finish swap blocks.
4. Finish overnight bag.
5. Enjoy 50 degrees and sunny days for the rest of this.
6. Work on my Marseilles Jacket.
7. Do laundry (I really like doing laundry).
8. Cut fabrics for my Project Bag, Journal and Pouch.
9. Cut fabrics for summer clothes for Mr. E.
10. Put away the last of the winter decorations.

What are you doing today?

Sweet P

Makes Me Happy Monday #2

What makes me happy on this gloomy, rainy Monday? Let me tell you . . .

We planned our summer vacation this weekend.
We are spending 4th of July weekend visiting DS, GF, a few other friends and this lovely lady.

From there we are headed to Mohegan Sun Casino for our wedding anniversary and to see this talented musician in concert.

I am taking a few extra days to attend this show which is only an hour away from our house. I'm wondering if anyone else out there is going to attend.

After the show I'm taking two more days off to recover, have a day with Mr. E and celebrate The Hotel Man's birthday.

So what makes you happy today?

Sweet P

Clips

Coffee Time Clips

I've been checking out the Creative Cues from Three Creative Studios these past few weeks waiting for one to speak to me. This week the clue jumped off the page the second I saw it.

These are my "Clips" from my sewing project this week. Makes you wonder what the finished project is, doesn't it? Some day I'll be ready to show it, but for now I'm enjoying my beautiful pile of Clips.

I hope you have a great weekend. Hotel Man comes home tomorrow and will be home for the whole week. I have a great menu planned and can't wait to spend time cooking. Of course, I have to pull away from creating more clips.

Sweet P

Two Finishes in Two Days

I have two finishes this week! It's been awhile since I've completed two projects within two days. Both projects sprung forth from my crochet hooks on impulse. Last week I read about a Knit Along on Ravelry for knitting anything with cables. I have been wanting to crochet cables for some time. I grabbed my book Learn A Stitch, Create A Scarf by Mary Nolfi and a hank of rose Wool-Ease and crocheted away. It took me about 15 hours to make the scarf.
On Tuesday afternoon I was browsing Facebook and came across a post from The Crochet Dude giving a link to a new pattern of his from Leisure Arts: The Berry Clutch. I couldn't resist. I used blue Cascade yarn. The pattern was quick and easy. It took me about 3 hours to make it.

Both projects need a few finishing touches - the scarf needs four buttons and I'm thinking of adding a button to the clutch instead of the ties he uses to close it.

What's up next? Who knows? I still have to finish sewing 12 swap blocks and the sample bag. But I'm sure I'll be picking up yarn or floss again soon.

Happy Stitching!

Sweet P

Wordless Wednesday . . . These Will Be Here Soon . . .

Almost 10 (Or More) On Tuesday

While getting ready to leave work last night I realized I was carrying almost enough bags to qualify for 10 on Tuesday! And to top it off I added one more on the way home.

Here are the six bags I had with me when I walked in the door last night. Front row from left to right: my purse, my project bag, my lunch bag. Back row from left to right: grocery bag (the bag I added on my way home); my work bag used to carry the bags in the front row, plus a few other items; a new tote bag filled with yarn and fabric I bought on sale at work.
To bring the list to 10 I took a photo of my studio wall. Here are six more totes I use once in a while. Bottom row left to right: a swap bag from a Brown Paper Bag swap, a swap bag from a Christmas in July swap; the first bag I ever made. Top row left to right: a swap bag from the 2008 Stitcher's Angel swap, the other two bags are just for fun bags I made.
OK, so 6 + 6 = 12. That's more than 10, but hey, I could show you at least another six or seven bags I use once in a while!

Sweet P

Makes Me Happy Monday #1

Makes Me Happy Monday #1
I'm late starting Makes Me Happy Monday hosted by Paula this year. For my first week I'll start with my family. They always make me happy.

The Hotel Man - my fantastic husband. We have been married for 8 1/2 years and together for 10 years. He is my best friend.

Mr. E always makes me happy (as if regular readers don't know that). On Saturday he came to visit wearing a Red Sox outfit and baseball shoes. His Red Sox hat fits him perfectly and the bat is one of his toys here. He is ready for Red Sox baseball now.

Ethan's mommy and daddy, my son and his wife on their wedding day in 2006. They are great parents. I'm lucky they choose to live close by so we can see them often.

My youngest son and his girlfriend. They currently live in Brooklyn, NY and are attending graduate school. I don't get to see them nearly enough.

Anyone Want To Go On A Retreat?
I haven't been a sewing retreat for three years. I would love to set one up somewhere in New Hampshire, southern Maine or Massachusetts. It would be for anyone who plays with fabric, threads or yarn. If you're interested in attending, please comment below and then send me an e-mail at coffeetimestitches at comcast dot net and answer the following questions:

1. Would you prefer a late summer or fall retreat?
2. Would you prefer a one day retreat or multiple days?
3. If multiple days, would you prefer week days or a weekend?
4. What would you be willing to pay per day?
5. How far would you be willing to travel for a retreat?
   

Depending on the answers I will work on setting up a retreat.

I hope you have a Happy Monday!

Sweet P

Look! I Remember How To Sew

Sunday Activity
The Hotel Man is traveling again. This week he is in Europe and will be home next Saturday. I had today off and decided it was time to sew. I didn't want to work in my studio so I set up my sewing machine on the desk in the kitchen/dining room. You can see I kept myself surrounded with electronics.

I put my laptop on the dining room table next to me. Then I hooked it up to the monitor so I could keep an eye on my e-mail and Facebook. Since the dining room table was my cutting station, I kept the printer on the desk. Believe or not, I did have enough room for working on the swap blocks.

I also had my DVD player close by on one of the stools. I was a happy sewer. By the way, the Quiznos bag was my scrap bag.

I sewed for seven hours, with a short break at lunch time. Around 5 PM I decided I had done enough sewing and needed chocolate. So, I did what any good quilter would do: I ate dessert! I had a yummy bowl of Oreo Cookie ice cream with chocolate syrup and walnuts. Before you start telling me I was bad girl, after the ice cream I ate a dinner of chicken, stuffing and butternut squash.
Giving Proper Credit

Now that I have my laptop back I was able to determine that the embroidered flower I stitched is from Mary Corbet at Needle 'N Thread. Thanks, Mary, for a fun pattern.

Anyone Want To Go On A Retreat?
I haven't been a sewing retreat for three years. I would love to set one up somewhere in New Hampshire, southern Maine or Massachusetts. It would be for anyone who plays with fabric, threads or yarn. If you're interested in attending, please comment below and then send me an e-mail at coffeetimestitches at comcast dot net and answer the following questions:

1. Would you prefer a late summer or fall retreat?
2. Would you prefer a one day retreat or multiple days?
3. If multiple days, would you prefer week days or a weekend?
4. What would you be willing to pay per day?
5. How far would you be willing to travel for a retreat?
   

Depending on the answers I will work on setting up a retreat.

That's all the news for tonight. I'm hoping to get back to a more regular blogging schedule now that my laptop is healthy again.

Sweet P

I'll Be Back Soon!

I will finally get my laptop back tomorrow! Hooray! By the weekend I should be back up and running and can share what I've been working on lately.

In the meantime, Mr. E had his first piece of chocolate cake the other day. He really enjoyed it, can you tell?

Do you think he's ready for his 1st birthday next month?

Until this weekend, happy stitching!

Sweet P