DRAWING WINNERS!!!!

Of course, you're all going to skip this part (at least at first) and look ahead to see if your name was the one drawn. But I'm going to pretend you're reading this patiently, (yeah, right, LOL!).... The day after the deadline, I listed all the entries, checked links and tallied up all the "points" for each person. Some entrants had left no contact information, so they were eliminated. Word to the wise: make sure someone can get in touch withf you if you enter a contest!! There were 123 valid entries!! Whew! Those names were printed out (some only once, some up to six times, depending on how many times they qualified), and I got carpal tunnel cutting them apart. (Another word to the not-so-wise - that would be me: Use you d*** paper cutter next time!). So, this is what it all looked like when we were ready for the drawing on Friday night: Now, isn't that the cutest bowl you've ever seen? I bought this fired pottery basket, made by a wonderful artisan at the Salt Lake Farmers Market, a couple years ago..... But, I digress..... Here is Bruce, my DH, reaching in for the name.......

And whose name did he draw??? The Winner is SHARI IN COLORADO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations, Shari!! Please send me a private email and we'll arrange the details, OK??? BUT WAIT - there were so many entrants, that I decided to have a second place goodie bag (smaller, but still nice) for someone. So, DH dove into the names again and came out with...

Second Place is Karrin Hurd !!!!

Karrin, please email me too to arrange details!

Thanks to everyone for entering the contest, or mentioning the drawing on your blog. I truly appreciate all your congratulations and good wishes on my 100th Blog Post Milestone. I wish it were practical to give everyone goodies, but unfortunately it's not. But I've met many new people and discovered some wonderful new-to-me blogs. And I hope you all stick around and pop in to say hello now and then!

With appreciative hugs,

100th POST!!!!!!

Hi - this is it! My 100th Post. It's been so much fun and so rewarding to discover so many wonderful people and blogs during the past 10 months. Thank you all for your kind words.

This is the last post before the drawing. For rules and a picture of the goodies you might win, see one of the previous two posts. The deadline for entry will be Wednesday Feb. 25 night at 9:00 p.m., Mountain Time (8 Pacific, 10 Central, 11 Eastern). That will give me the rest of the evening to verify that I've got everyone's name down correctly and prepare the drawing slips. I'll have DH select the winning entry on Thursday or Friday evening from a glass vase.. The winner (and I'm thinking of picking a second name for a second, smaller prize) will be announced on Saturday morning, Feb. 28.

In the meantime, I have something to share. I bought these at an Arts Festival on an Indian Reservation (can you say "Casino"?) in Arizona. The woman and her sister who make these items first collect leaves. Then they send the leaves off to someone who soaks them in a "top secret solution" that leaves only the veins and membrane.

When they get the leaves back, the sisters coat the leaves in a metal and apply heat for coloring.

These are my oak leaf earrings.

My husband picked this out for the colors. I think we'll probably give it to DD; it's a barrette.

After the drawing, I've got pictures to share of some CQ'ed puzzle pieces that I'm working on for Pat Winter's "Pieces of Friendship" swap. What a fun idea that is!

Until next time,

99th Post, Goodies & Sunny Pix

Business first................ this is my 99th post!! If you read my last post, you know I'm having a drawing to give away a goodie pack in thanks for your support! Just leave a comment on this post (or the 98th one, or the 100th one when I do that.....) and I'll enter you into the drawing. Mention it in your blog and link back to mine and I'll enter you AGAIN. What will you win? I promised a picture, and I've finally gotten most of the goodies together, so here it is.

There are 20 pieces of fancy fabrics; nice quality and clean. Mostly new and pressed as well. I'll include a little info with the packet to explain what's what........ And then there's the lace (mostly vintage), some paisley lace (new), a cross-stitched rose motif, a piece of sequined fabric to "raid", some hankie corners for incorporating into your work, thread and trims. THERE WILL BE MORE. When the winner is selected, I'll add additional things to tailor it to your particular tastes and interests. If you do collage, I can add some ephemera, jewelry bits, feathers, wallpaper samples. If you are a sane quilter, I've got loads of yummy cottons. If you embroider, we can go heavier on the threads - metallics, silks, whatever. OK???? :-)

I've got still more pictures from our vacation in Arizona. Take heart, LOL, this is *almost* the end!!! :-) The shop I'm showing you today is one of my favorites ONLY because of its exterior. It's a cowboy shop and gallery (complete with old-time cowboy music) and its wares are just "not my thing". But, oh the courtyard! It's another of those combination shop and residences, although instead of being in one building, the courtyard separates the two and also provides a walkway for people crossing from one street to another.

It's called the Graham Bell Gallery, and as you approach the entrance from the lower street, this is at the foot of a stairway that takes you up to the courtyard..... That's a dummy in the vintage truck, but I always do a double take! In fact, the dummy (there's probably a more politically correct term for that..... life-sized doll?) is switched out with several others that move around from the house front porch, to the shop, to the courtyard benches, etc....

Inside the walled courtyard is a wonderful bubbling fountain. There's a split-rail fence around the imaginatively-landscaped yard. Plant containers and yard art include Talavera pots, a rusty ore cart, old farm machinery, newly-crafted tile and iron benches, wagon wheels, religious statuary and more. There's even a marked grave with a cross for "Sparky" (not pictured), whom I presumed to be a lost FurFriend.....

A potted pine
Cactus and a bench for resting at the upper courtyard entrance.... What a lovely day it was!!!

And a bit of serendipity.......... in the little Tubac Trailer Tether that my BIL owns in Tubac, one of the owners had a "Free Yard Sale" on one of the days we were there. They set out a couple tables of things they wanted to get rid of with a sign that said "Take Whatever You Want - Free!". This is what I found:

An old book (circa 1920's) that I can try my hand at altering, a round little tin full of gold stars, a heart pin and a knife & fork pin. Both of the pins will be great for adding to CQ.. And DH joked that it was worth everything I paid for it, LOL!!!

Hugs,

100 Posts Drawing & More Pictures

As I was preparing pictures for this post, I looked at my blogger dashboard and realized that this is my 98th post! Well, we all know that 100 posts is a real milestone. So I want to celebrate it with you, whether you're a regular or casual reader. To that end, I'm going to have a drawing.

So here's the deal (it's the usual .....) leave a comment on THIS post (#98) or NEXT post (#99) or the post after that (#100) and I'll enter your name into the drawing. If you mention my drawing on your blog and link back here (please let me know), I'll add your name an additional time. So, you could have your name entered up to six times!

What will you win? Well, that's the million dollar question, isn't it??? Um......... I'm not sure yet, LOL!!! What I'm going to do is gather a bunch of STUFF and include a picture on my next post. I assume that most of you are fiber artists of some sort and that the majority of you are CQ'ers. Whether you are or not, most of us have some sort of fondness for fabrics and related goodies. So, this prize package will include fabric pieces (the gamut from silk to cotton), laces (contemporary and vintage), silkie prints (images printed on fabric), buttons, beads, and whatever else I come up with. I'll have a core package pre-made, but will allow some room to tailor it to whomever actually wins. That way I can accommodate YOUR favorite color, theme, interest , or whatever. Sound good??? Let the celebration commence!!

And here we go with more pictures from our Tubac, Arizona vacation. My very favorite store is Galileo Antiques. I've been going there 3-4 years - ever since they opened. The owners are Gail and Leo (hence the name the selected for the store!). Their shop is actually a shop and residence where they live for half the year (fall through spring). The other half of the time they own and operate another antique store in Minnesota (spring through fall). In between, they drive back and forth, seeking and buying for the stores. What a great lifestyle!!
Above is part of their front area. See that blue chair? My parents had several of those (originals!) when I was growing up. We had red, yellow and green. I'd love to get a couple for our patio. Below is some of their outdoor items displayed in the covered breezeway (beyond the arch in the previous picture).
When you walk into their shop, you step first into the kitchen where all the kitchen items are displayed (that works out pretty nifty, eh?). See the modern refrigerator? It's there because it IS their own refrigerator. They just clear off the stove area to cook, and clear off the table to eat, etc. So, when they close the store at 5:00, they are HOME! Nice commute!
The rest of the store proceeds in the same manner (there's a TV in the fireplace, LOL, and the bathroom is off limits!). But I got so excited to see Gail and Leo and catch up on things that I forgot to snap any more pictures. But let me share with you some of the goodies I got.

Isn't that a lovely beaded purse? A detail shot is below. I got lots of buttons, too. Not that I needed them, but they're always fun to share. And the hankie's trim was so delightful that I had to bring it home.

I'd love to try beading these flowers and leaves on something! Right..... in my *spare* time....

And then there was this cute little apron for a half a song and three pieces of vintage silverware. I've seen the forks bent into little picture stands or decorated with flowers and ribbons, so I may try that some day. And the knife has a hollow handle. While on vacation, I saw a vendor who had taken these knife handles and made them into little posy holders for a single rose or blossom. Delightful!

Gail also has an exquisite and extensive collection of vintage linens. The thing is, hers are all so beautiful, clean and pressed - much too nice to use as I would want - as cutters for incorporating into CQ and other projects. I bought several other things, including a vintage Caithness paperweight, but I'll share that sometime later when I share some of my paperweight collection with you.

I was going to include some more yummy shop and exterior pictures, but this post is long enough for today. Shall we get together tomorrow??