Notes from the Patch

Dynomite!

So cute

 

so zig zaggy!

 

Encourage one another,

Confucius Says...

When I first saw these adorable felt fortune cookies on the cover of Mollie Makes magazine I knew I had to make them. (I buy Mollie Makes at Barnes and Noble).

One thing led to another and before I knew it I had whipped up fifty of the little suckers for Bernina Club favors. They were so fun to do - even after fifty!

I inserted a printed paper fortune into each cookie predicting that club members would receive a discount on a future purchase. 

Although Mollie Makes also included a pattern for the take out boxes I took the easy way out and purchased mine at Paper Source. They are the perfect size for my diminutive cookies.

Confucius says: these would make fun favors for a New Years party, birthday parties, Chinese New Year, bridal or baby showers. You can customize the paper fortunes  for any occasion.

The idea and recipe for the individual cheesecakes that we served were from Pinterest.

I'm loving the canning jar craze right now and it's a great way to serve a large group.  You can check out this and other fun ideas here on my Pinterest board.

I'm linking up with my friend Beverly at My Sew Sweet Studio for Try Pinterest Thursday.

Encourage one another,

Love thy neighbor

  Valentine's Day has gotten to be a bit, er... trying for me. You see we share a parking lot with a very popular local bakery and although we have five plainly marked parking spots reserved for Strawberry Patches employees, finding a spot to park at 9:00am on Valentine's Day is next to impossible.

I always know it's coming, and I know it's only one day, but I must admit it gets my panties in a wad when I drive up in the morning and there are dozens of cars EVERYWHERE including in our five PLAINLY marked RESERVED spots.

My first instinct upon discovering a Volkswagen Bug in my spot was to park behind it and block it in.

Mean. I know.

But then I got a grip and found a spot down the street. After all, who am I to stand in the way of love? Men, frantically rushing in before work for chocolate dipped strawberries, moms picking up cupcakes for the school party and that single young man picking out just the perfect chocolate assortment in hopes to woo his girl.

Valentine's Day. Gotta love it!

Speaking of love...

this is Les Amis de la Foret - Friends of the Forest by Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller Fabrics.

See: creatures great and small, parked there under the huge oak tree, living in perfect harmony.

Encourage one another,

My Funny Valentines

I'll bet I'm the only one you know who received a mini bottle of milk as a valentine

and it couldn't have been more perfect!

Thank you Barbara. You totally get me.

Speaking of perfect, this is the card I found for Bill this year.

Pretty much sums us up.

I hope your day is filled with love and some sweet surprises.

Encourage one another,

The past week in review

I've been quiet lately, I know. Here's what I've been up to.

Last week I:

1. Watched my car's odometer click over 100,000 miles. I've never driven a car this long. I really hope feel it's just getting broken in. #fingerscrossed

2. Made fifty two treats for Bernina Club.

3. Worked on the final design of our Shop Hop quilt. #challenging

4. Cooked a super healthy Sunday night dinner and threw it in the trash. (Sometimes you need a little fat in a recipe to make it edible). Had a fudge bar instead.

5. Stayed in my PJ's all day Saturday sewing and nesting. #myperfectday

6. Unpacked box after box of fabric and ended up moving half the store so I could put it all away. # ohmyachingback

7. Picked a winner to our Pillow Pop giveaway. Congratulations to Jan Richards from Washington! Thanks to everyone who entered!

8. Had my teeth cleaned, bladder scanned and roots colored. #goodnews #badnews #muchneededmaintenance

9. Ate oatmeal everyday for lunch. There's nothing better on a cold day!

10. Played with our pretty new felted wool balls.

11. Saw another Oscar nominated film for best picture (that makes five out of nine - we never see that many).

12. Stocked up on those cute little colored clothes pins - we finally got some in.

13. Easily found at least one thing to be grateful for everyday.

How about you?

Encourage one another,

 

 

Meet Terri & Violet and let's have a Give Away!

You know, I see a lot of books in this business and to be honest, I haven't been a huge fan of late because I rarely find books with more than one project in them that I think you all would want to make.  #runonsentence  It just seems rather expensive to have to buy a whole book for one stink'n project.

So when uber talented friend and customer Terri Harlan dropped off an advanced copy of Pillow POP I was anxious to have a look.

A bunch of us gathered around the cutting table

and flipped through the pages

oohing and awing over

pillow

after

pillow.

All delightfully modern

and all beautifully done.

This is the pillow Terri submitted for the book.

It's a modern twist on a Cathedral Window. She calls it Violet Cathedral.

I call it mine. I can't believe it but Terri GAVE Violet to me! #oneluckygirl

Just look how happy she looks in my house.

I totally recommend Pillow POP for anyone who wants fresh, modern pillow ideas and inspiration.

I promise you'll find lots of pillows you'll want to try. #suchadeal!

Which brings us to the give away.

If you'd like a chance to win this copy of Pillow Pop just leave me a comment. I'll select one lucky winner next Sunday. Good luck everyone!

Encourage one another,

Super Sewing

Prepping for some mindless Super Bowl sewing.

Will you watch the game? Sew? Or like me, do both?

Encourage one another,