A Winner ..and a winning advent calendar

so that title is boo-worthy. I'm working, as usual, on about 5 hours of sleep.

I put the pedal to the metal to finish the advent calendar for my daughters (in future years, it will be for both . . my three year old is benefitting solely this year since baby #2 is just 15 months and could care less!) in time for Dec 1. I used Oh Fransson's tutorial from back in July on Sew Mama Sew, and followed her lead by using mainly Michael Miller Funky Christmas fabric. I made a ton of mistakes but I think I've finally learned my lesson and pledge to square up at every stage next time.

I'm happy with it, and we've had fun so far . .

Day 1 . . .chocolate lollipop

Day 2. . new tights (this is a girl who wears dresses all the time)

Day 3 . .some new headbands

Day 4 . .a mini bag of popcorn and a note for family movie night - (we watched Shrek the Halls and Merry Madagascar . . tried Rudolph and my daughter was scared of the monster!)

Day 5. . .a glowstick and a note for Santa Claus parade of lights (which we ended up skipping as both girls skipped their naps and it would have been ugly

Day 6. . a fancy decorated sugar cookie I got at a craft show yesterday with a note for decorating sugar cookies with friends. I made gingerbread and sugar cutouts and another family came over with their kids who are 5, 7 and 9 and they all went to town.

Fun!

Here's the calendar in its glory:

I had to handstitch the appliquéd numbers on since I quickly realized that my skill on the machine did not allow me to machine appliqué. My plan is to make one of these for my first grandchild so that I can measure how far I've come . .this is quilt number 6, counting two doll size quilts so I think it's not too bad! It's definitely my most square quilt.

And now on to the winner of my giveaway . .*drumroll, please . . .*

. . Eeme-le - congrats! I've sent you an email asking for your mailing address, so as soon you provide me with that I'll get your things sent out!

Night, all. And thanks for playing along.

- Donna

Comments on Giveaway post now closed

Hey all
Wow. I somehow wasn't expecting so many comments! I'm closing up comments now (in words, since I don't know how to do that in blogger!) and will finish entering names into my spreadsheet and then pick a number later today. Check back to see if you're the lucky winner. I'll do my best to contact the winner and will give the person 48 hours to respond and if I hear nothing I'll move along to the next lucky person.

I'm really pleased that so many new people commented and added our blog to their reader or started to follow us. Come back and say hi anytime ! We love new readers and do our best to answer comments (I petered out on the giveaway post, I have to admit, but I appreciated every recipe and entry! I have me some baking to do.)

Who knew the popularity of snickerdoodles, magic cookie bars, peanut butter balls, peanut blossoms, and chocolate crinkles? Gingerbread and Shortbread, sure, but some of the others surprised me.

Since you all shared so kindly, here`s a to-die for recipe that I sampled at a Christmas open house yesterday.

Gluten-Free Rocky Road Snowballs

Enlist your favourite helping hands to roll these delights and coat them in coconut. For a nut-free variation, replace walnuts with chopped glac?herries.
Servings: 75 snowballs

1-1/2 cups (375 mL) semisweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) milk chocolate chips
1 pkg (250 g) cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) chopped walnuts
1 cup (250 mL) mini-marshmallows
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) shredded sweetened coconut

Preparation:
In bowl over saucepan of simmering water, melt together semisweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips and cream cheese, stirring occasionally, until very thick. Remove from heat; stir in walnuts and marshmallows. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Roll by scant 1 tbsp (15 mL) into balls; roll each in coconut. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheet; refrigerate until hardened, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate in airtight container for up to 5 days.)

They`re from Canadian Living Magazine and they`re pretty much AWESOME.

tune back for a winner . . .

- Donna

Giveaway Day

Over the years that I've been entering contests via this lovely internet community, I've been lucky enough to win a few great prizes. . fabric, a calendar, cute clothes for my girls, a beautiful quilted journal cover, handmade cards, a fabric storage box, and of course, an autographed copy of Alicia Paulson's Stitched in Time - the list goes on . . .

I enter a giveaway almost every day . . I think they're such a great way to give back to the blogging community that gives so much in terms of inspiration.

Which is why I'm taking part in Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day on December 2.

I have this book on my wish list this year . . I borrowed it from the library a few weeks ago and fell in love! I didn't have a chance to try out any of the projects but I think it belongs on every quilter's bookshelf.

If you win this giveaway, I will order it directly from a bookstore and have it delivered to you. I will also mail a little package of handmade fun. This will include an ornament for sure, but the rest depends on where the winner is from since postage rates can vary and it would be nice if the package could arrive before Christmas.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me what your favourite Christmas cookie is . . and a link to a recipe gives you two entries. I need to get started on holiday baking!

Want a third entry? Become a follower of our blog and leave a comment telling me you've done so. (If you're already a follower you get a bonus entry but be sure and let me know.)

The deadline to enter is December 6th. Please include your email with your entry so I can contact you if you win!

Good luck!

- Donna

Crazy Carnival

Oh boy! It feels really great to have this one finished and not a moment too soon as it is being gifted today. I struggled on many levels with this quilt and resorted to asking both you and the recipient for guidance to get me out of the ruts. I really hope it's what she wants now that it's together!


Things I am not so proud of about this quilt include the inordinate amount of time it took to decide on the pattern (had the whole thing laid out in the first of these patterns, but could not wrap my head around squaring up the edges), the time it took me to get the right amount of blocks (had some going in the opposite direction and after fixing those, ended up with some STILL going in the wrong direction...oh, and of course cut one too small when trimming).

What I am proud of is that my points line up somewhat well. It really is impressive when you're careful to keep everything the same size and to press the seams in the right direction. It ends up fitting together just like a puzzle. Also, there was somewhat of a crisis during quilting, but I persevered and after the washing and drying magic of a stippled quilt, the crisis is barely even visible. Phewf!

There were a few firsts with this quilt. It's my first pinwheel which I enjoyed. It's the first time I've quilted with bamboo batting which is so soft and gives a really nice drape to the finished quilt. Lastly, it was the first time I've used flannel for the back. I will definitely do another flannel back again, but I have had some trouble with colored flannel running before, so it may be wise to pre-wash if white isn't what you're using.

~Sara

Calling all Flea Market Fancy Freaks

I want so badly to tell you about the craft show . . but daughter's child care giver is sick with the flu so I'm with the baby ...

In the meantime . . .click on over here and enter. What an AMAZING giveaway!!!



- Donna

Sneak Peek

No time to fiddle with getting pictures to look nicer but here are a few sneak peeks. . .
Shirts are all sewn . . .I love this one (I think because it has two scraps of Flea Market Fancy!)

Ambrosia Macaroons are setting.
And doodads (magnets, pushpins and hair clips) are done and packaged.












It's the last day before the sale! I'm working on packaging today and designing my table layout. And making soup for the crafters' lunch (roasted apple and carrot with ginger and a butternut squash with chipotle peppers, pancetta and sweet corn. Sprinkled with some goat cheese it's pretty much heaven in a bowl). It's going to be a good day tomorrow!

I can't wait to fill you all in on how it went.

- Donna

PS -thanks for all the birthday wishes. I had a super nice day with a fantastic lunch out here with Holly, an amazing birthday cake baked by my husband. He then helped me make candy for three hours. Love that guy!

I have a secret...

~Sara