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Marg in Mirror is the lucky winner of the GiveAway for Podcast 196 — Pearl’s Applique tool, Penguin and Fish Alligator pattern and a pair of Grabaroo gloves!
Congratulations, Marg! Send me your mailing address!

Stay tuned — LOTS more the come!!

Every so often, I am cruising the web and find someone has been blogging about me. In this case, it is Leah Day of “The Free Motion Quilting Project” blog. A friend of mine, Randi, had taken my Quilter’s Palette Online Quilt Class and sought advice from Leah through her blog.

What IS This Online Class You Speak Of, Annie?
The Quilter’s Palette quilt is a sampler quilt and I teach it via online class. Each of the 13 blocks teach a different skill or technique:

• 3 different types of machine appliqué
• 5 different ways to paper-piece a block
• How to draft a block
• How to make perfectly butted seams
• Y-seam construction
• How to work with templates
• Expert fabric selection
• And much much more

This class is self-paced and provides all of the patterns, instruction, personal support (from me, of course), and opportunity to meet others working on the same project from around the world! There is plenty of space in the class, and registration is on-going. I recommend you check it out if you would like to hone your quilt-making skills. For more information about the online class, click HERE and also HERE

Enter Leah Day And Her Free Motion Quilting Blog
So Randi sent her a picture of her quilt and asked her for advice on quilting the finished work. If you would like to read the story, you can follow it HERE

Leah, maybe we can arrange a time where we can chat on my podcast! Call me!

Program #197 — Creating a Quilt Booth

(Right-Click or Ctrl-Click on the icon below and select “save link as…” to download the podcast to your computer)

Running time: 00:17:26 Size: 16.8 MB

Sometimes technology is just like thorns on roses…

In this blog, I have NO pictures. Why, you might ask? Well, it’s because I cannot post pictures on my iPad to my blog… I can do everything else about making the blog and uploading the podcast for your listening pleasure, but try as I might, I cannot physically add pictures to my blog posts.

This, I abhor.

I WANT to give you pictures.

So, I’m trying to figure out how to upload the cool pictures that I have taken on my phone’s camera to TUMBLR because heaven knows, I can’t hook my camera up to my iPad and upload pictures so I can post them ON MY BLOG. (grrrrrrrr)

So, please be patient with me… I really love my iPad. I just don’t like that there are certain things I can’t do with it yet.

On this podcast, Valerie Burton and I talk about getting ready for the HMQS show, (Home Machine Quilting Show).

They pulled a switcheroo on us today and gave us EXTRA booth space, so after we had gotten about 75% of the way done, they came over and asked us if we wanted the booth next door to us too because the people who were going to take the booth had to cancel. OH MY GOSH — are you kidding??!! Of course we do! (even though it meant an additional 6-8 hours of labor to do it…)

So an emergency trip to Walmart solved our display problem for a second booth and we were there til 8:00 when they kicked us all out for the night. Now, we’re scrambling to add more display pieces, fold more fabric and make more charms and be at the expo center two hours before the show starts so we can have everything in tip top shape when the doors open in the morning.

Sorry the podcast came out before the blog — two days in a row. I think I’m trying to balance too many plates. But I’m determined to keep my promise!

Ok, don’t forget to comment on the blog here to have a chance to win some native Utah goodies — a tin of Sweet’s chocolate covered Cinnamon Bears and a Salt City candle.

I’ll pick the winner tomorrow night – Thursday, May 5th. Listen to the podcast to find out who the winner is of Program 196!!

©2011 Annie Smith All Rights Reserved

Program #196 — Three rescued interviews from Houston Market

(Right-Click or Ctrl-Click on the icon below and select “save link as…” to download the podcast to your computer)

Running time: 00:29:37 Size: 28.5 MB

 

Ok, I am truly lame and I admit it!!

I prepared this podcast and wrote the copy for the blog to release yesterday (Monday) and my son calls me this afternoon and says, “hey mom, I thought you did the podcast yesterday!”

I saved the draft and thought I hit the publish button but DID NOT!
So I apologize BIG. So, the podcast says that I will pick the winner for the giveaway on Tuesday night,(tonight), but instead I will pick the winner on Wednesday night.

The giveaway is an assortment from the three interviews:

Pearl Perreira of P3Designs talks about how she gets her inspiration for her highly detailed applique quilts. Here are a few that she talked about:

Then, Alyssa Thomas of Penguin and Fish talks about how she came into the quilting industry from a different career.

Finally Miriam of Grabaroos tells us about the different uses for the Grabaroo gloves beside being the best machine quilting gloves available, and Purple too!

So the giveaway is:
One of Pearl’s Applique and Pressing Tools

A Penguin and Fish Alligator pattern

And a pair of your very own Grabaroo gloves

I will pick ONE lucky winner, again, at midnight, Wednesday night.
To enter, leave me a comment about what you enjoyed from the interviews and what you learned that you didn’t know before.

And stay tuned for more!!

©2011 Annie Smith All Rights Reserved

This Mad Tea Party tea-set was painstakingly quilted in 3D by Instructables user Technoplastique who documented the whole process in a great (if somewhat daunting) how to article. You can find the details by clicking HERE

Hi All,

This is WebGuy filling-in for Annie while she is on her way to Utah with her 8 boxes full of quilting love and goodness to show-off at Quilt Market in Salt Lake City. After the great tumult of preparing, packing, and the normal running around associated with a trip of this magnitude, the house feels a little large and quiet this morning. Just me and Piper, the wonder dog, holding down the fort.

Just when I thought I had the day to myself, Annie sends me a message to post here on the website. It appears she neglected to announce the winner of the Quilt Album Software package.

It seems that after Annie called out to you to call-in and tell her your quilt stories, she received quite a few! Thanks to all who participated. Annie is planning on including some of the stories in an upcoming podcast.

Of course, after all of the entries, there can be only one winner. I don’t have any cute photographs of bowls with names on paper slips. But I do have the winner’s name:

Diane Loomis

Diane, thanks for calling in and winning!

In case you guys don’t know, Diane won best machine quilting workmanship at the AQS show in Paducah. You can check out the quilt HERE

Sorry for late blog post today but I have been taking care of business. Precisely, housekeeping in my studio.

Needing to pack for my trip to

tomorrow…

Lots and lots and lots to do… like:

and

and

and

but I had help…

Here is Kirsten in all her loveliness — you haven’t seen her for awhile!

Oh my aching back and feet and …

well, enough of sympathy mongering…

Here’s a fun picture that I haven’t shown you yet —

My Ivar Stash cabinet, filled to the brim. Can I tell you how much I love having my stash all put away and organized so I can shop in it when I want? I do!

Ok , my friends, I have to finish packing so I can get on the train in the early a.m.  Did I tell you that there is NO WiFi on this particular train?!  Hey, this is the 21st Century for PEET’s Sake! Get with it! So I’m going to be without the internet for 16 whole hours. What ever am I going to do??

WebGuy came to my rescue and loaded books and podcasts and movies onto this lovely little device:

which will save my sanity. My best friend on this trip.

Oh — before I forget, I need to leave you with a little parting gift until tomorrow when there will be an all new podcast for you… what will I do…?

How about since I’m going to Utah, I will give you an opportunity to win something from a real Utahn. How ’bout…

something from this pretty, talented and crafty lady?

How about her new book?

It’s a great book with gifts for all ages, with nice personal stories from Marie about growing up, time spent with her Mother – who taught her how to sew and embroider, the memory quilt she made with her mother’s treasures (the only things that survived her house fire) and things she’s made for her children. Tradition. That’s what Marie is all about and she does it in a pretty clever way.

For a chance to win Marie’s book, leave me a comment and tell me any memories that you have of Marie Osmond, performing, as a teenager, etc. Be specific and creative.

I will draw the winner on Sunday night, May 1st at midnight, when I finally wake up from my travel coma.

Get ready for a Utah lalapalooza of podcasts, special guests, great Give-Aways and tons of fun. There will be something new everyday beginning on Monday, so you better keep up with me!

Toot, toot — All Aboard!!

 

©2011  Annie Smith  All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

Congratulations, Debbie! Send me your mailing address and I will get your book to you!

Stay tuned for more quilty loveliness and Give-Aways!!

Congratulations! You won the copy of Kay’s Inspired By Tradition!

Read on…

It’s like, if the pattern says I need 1 1/2 yards, I should get 2 1/2 just in case…

Or, I really do need one more fabric to make this quilt perfect.
Or, yes, by golly, I do need to buy ONE MORE PIECE OF FABRIC!!

Ok, a little segue and a story here… Only because the last sentence reminded me of a story.
Back in the olde days, The Cotton Patch quilt shop in Lafayette, CA used to have an outdoor quilt show every summer in July. For maybe a decade.

The one and only time I ever got to go, Alex Anderson was the featured guest and Patty McCormick, who was the head quilter on the film “How To Make An American Quilt” was there to sign her quilt book about the movie that had the quilt’s pattern in it.

Cool! I took my mom and WebGuy took the kids off to someplace fun for them — like a nearby zoo or bowling alley (I can’t remember which…)

After viewing the quilts, I looked at fabrics and amassed a pile of bolts on a cutting table.

…Like this…

In the middle of my fabrics being cut, I heard this little voice coming out of nowhere, saying “Do you really need that fabric?”

I turned to find my nephew standing by my side! I had left my kids in care of their dad so I didn’t have ” little consciences” with me and so I could shop freely. And here was my sister’s son!

The store was packed and all the women around the cutting table started laughing. I said “Andrew, where is your mother?” and he replied “Outside, looking at the fabric out there.” I said, “Well, go and find your mom – I think she needs you.”

Can you honestly imagine THAT?! I mean, really!

Ok, so the segue….

I happen to have another copy of Kay’s Inpired By Tradition to give away…. For real!

So, if you didn’t win the copy yesterday, you have another chance today. I will pick the winner at midnight, April 28th — and here is what you have to do to get in the drawing:

I want you to comment on how you deflect comments about buying
fabric, being accused of being a hoarder, and if YOU have a funny
story about something that happened in a quilt shop while you were
buying fabric.

So let’s hear it!

Segue #2- I told you more is better, and this one is good!

look closely

Segue #3:

A recipe for our version of Heart-healthy “pasta”:

this will feed 4

1/2 pound of 96/4 hamburger

one small jar of Prego Heart Healthy sauce

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed

a splash of less-sodium chicken broth

1 small basket of mushrooms (sliced or whole, doesn’t matter)

1 pound of zucchini, rinsed and sliced

Put sliced zucchini in a pot to boil on top of a steamer basket. (the steamer basket keeps the zucchini from getting too watery). Cook only until the zucchini is soft and not mushy – we prefer our’s “al dente”.

While the zucchini is cooking, brown onions and garlic in a pan with splash of chicken broth. You will use the broth in replacement of oil. Add hamburger and mushrooms and brown. Spoon off any remaining liquid – there won’t be much. Add the jar of sauce and simmer until the zucchini is done or as long as you wish, without over cooking and reducing.

Place zucchini in a bowl and spoon sauce on top. Sprinkle lightly with grated parmesan or romano cheese, if desired.

This recipe is perfect for cutting carbs, diabetics and dieters. Vegetarians can substitute tofu and vegetable broth. If you don’t like hamburger, try ground turkey (a little fattier) or chunks of chicken. Either way, it’s a winner.

 

©2011 Annie Smith   All Rights Reserved

No one has called and left a quilt story on my Skype line… yet.

Not interested in telling a story that can be used for a podcast, and have a chance to win a copy of Quilt Album software?

Really?

The number to call is 408-849-4882… call any time.

okay – p.s.  Thanks to Jennifer for letting me know that there was something wrong with my phone number!!  It’s working now… she says with a very red face.

So call me, okay??!!

You have until Friday, April 29th at midnight (pacific) to leave a voicemail.

I’ll draw the winner before I board my train to Salt Lake City for the HMQS show and Quilt Market (Here I come!!)