Angela Walters Rocks My World--Final Day of the Hop

By now, if you've read a few posts, you will know that I have a MAJOR CRUSH on Angela Walters.

  

Adoration.  Admiration. Awe.

Wonder.  Wizard. Wicked talent.

AW, yeah!!

April 21, 2015

I do hope you've managed to keep up over the past 5 days with all the bloggers' posts on this Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life blog hop.  I hope you've seen that yes, there is a wealth of excellent educational classes to be had (remember those reviewed in this hop are on for 50% off through the particular blogger's blog until next Sunday), but I hope maybe you've been shown that there is more to Craftsy than you may have thought.  I myself learned about sewing tools like that nifty iron that Jayne reviewed.  I may also have bought some floral fabric (thanks Preeti!) in a 6" strip, a precut that I had never heard of before.

Craftsy Blog Hop Day 5 - Finding Balance - A Sunday Stretch for Sewists Post

Life just seems to get busier and crazier by the year.  Trying to find balance is extremely difficult, and one can feel defeated and deflated in no time just trying to find time for oneself.

Tree of Life block - one of my Q1 FAL goals

The Sunday Stretch is below... as we are currently balancing quilting, blogging, real life, (Happy Valentine's Day everyone!) and a blog hop this week and we are on Day 5!

Have you entered the fabulous giveaway yet? Taken advantage of the 50% off the classes reviewed in this hop yet?  That discount runs for one week only, so don't hesitate too long.

Today is all about S.E.X. and Education: (hope you didn't choke on your coffee or tea, but you read that right)
Stash Enhancing eXperience.  It's a real term!  See Quiltbug.

Preeti at Sew Preeti Quilts is going to tell you how you can enhance your stash at Craftsy without breaking the bank by buying a Kaffe Fassett 6" strip! And, she's got a terrific quilt she designed with that strip.

Beth at Cooking Up Quilts learned that appliqué can be done in many ways.  Read her review of Amanda Murphy's "20 Fresh Appliqué Techniques."  Save major bucks with a 50% discount on this class through Beth's website!

Remember the Sweet Giveaway On Now - over $500 of free Craftsy products

Enter the Craftsy Giveaway here as well as through any of the bloggers in this hop.  The main blog hop schedule can be found here or by clicking the Heart Button on the sidebar.

Click here to enter.  That's it!  

THREE prizes:

• 2 free classes to 2 different people
• 1- Boundless Solids Crown Jewels by Amy Gibson Quilt Kit  
• AND two packs of precuts: a 6" strip set and a 10" squares pack, both of Boundless Solids Modern Brights 
• One entry per person.  Enter until Sunday, February 21, 2016, at 11:59 pm MST.  The winners will be announced Feb. 22 here and at Pink Doxies.

Quilt kit PLUS 6" strips PLUS 10" squares

Be Kind to Yourself

Yesterday we talked a bit about RAK Week.  Random Acts of Kindness Week, Feb. 14-20.  Being kind to others is so simple.  Being kind to yourself is sometimes not so simple.  But you will be a happier sewist and person in general, if you remember to look after yourself too.

Long hours at your sewing machine, hunched over hand-sewing, or long hours standing at your longarm can lead to very sore muscles.  Last summer Julie of Pink Doxies sent me a cryptic text, something like:
Aching muscles. Need Sandra to tell us how to work out the kinks.
A few more back and forth iMessages, and Sunday Stretch For Sewists was born.

Here is a great pose that takes no more than a few minutes and can do much more than ease those aches.

Er, no Rocco, not Frog pose, although that is definitely a great hip-opener!

Tree Pose - Vrksasana
Helps to improve focus; calms and relaxes your mind and your central nervous system.
Strengthens posture, leg and foot muscles; stretches your inner thighs, groin and shoulders. (Gaia Yoga)

You can start with any of the variations shown below, or start with stage 1 and work your way slowly and mindfully through the variations.  Remember to do both legs.

Stage 1

Hands in prayer. Shift your weight to one foot.  Lift the other, resting it gently against the side of your lower leg, below the knee.  Find a spot upon which to softly gaze. Breathe.  Hold for 6-10 slow and even breaths. If you need to lean on a wall in the beginning, not a problem.  You'll improve.

Stage 2

Place your foot against your inner thigh in this stage.

Stage 3 with either of the leg placements....note the furball photo-bomber ;-)

Slowly raise your arms above your head. You can keep the elbows bent or stretch the arms straight.  Trees wave in the wind, so it's okay if you sway a little!

Remember to do both legs.  You can let your arms come apart like the branches of a tree

Think about being tall, straight and strong here. Pull in your tummy; find your core; lengthen the low back and tuck in your tailbone.

Stage 4: For a real challenge, if you feel stable, slowly close your eyes!

No matter where you are in the pose, be happy. Visualize your healthy strong body rooting into the ground. Feel the energy from the Earth, the energy and lightness in the skies above as you reach up!  Ahh, do this outside! Even better.  Gratitude for a strong body and for Mother Earth.  This reminds me, I used to haul my Elna (pre-Bernina days) outside onto our deck, with my ironing board and iron, so I could sew in the sun, soaking up Vitamin D and soaking up birdsong. "Ahhh!" indeed.

I did not do my regular Sunday Stretch for Sewists in December, no big deal with all the rush and excitement, but somehow it escaped me in January.  Thank you Liz, of Lizzy Clips Design, who asked me about it, thanks to those of you who have told me how much you enjoy these posts, thanks to those of you who are doing them (ahhh), and wow, kudos to those of you who have told me that you now have started yoga!  These posts are usually out the last Sunday of each month.  Yep I will start a page with the links to each one so you can easily find them all.

Now that you are balanced, and have that 'ahhh!' feeling, mosey on over to Beth and to Preeti for some 'ahhh!' for your creativity.

Craftsy Blog Hop Day 4 - Giveaway and RAK

Double Cross Block - by Cindy of Stitchin At Home available here for free

It doesn't take much to brighten someone's day: a word, a deed, a small gesture.  I hope to brighten the designer of this block's day by making her newest block as my random act of kindness.  More below because we have a certain hop to discuss!

It's hard to believe we are already on Day 4 of the Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life! Blog Hop. Today we have Tish and Anja weathering the snowstorms in their areas to take you into some other areas of Craftsy you may not know about.

Tish at Tish's Adventures In Wonderland is reviewing "Dot to Dot Quilting" with Angela Walters, and then takes us out of the quilting realm a bit with reviews of two photography classes: "Product Photography at Home" with Jessica Marquez and "Shoot It! A Product Photography Primer" with Caro Sheridan, great for us quilter bloggers.  Enjoy 50% off these 3 classes on Tish's site!

Anja at Anja Quilts is showing us some patterns she's picked up and made that will most assuredly warm our hearts and hands:  Postcard from Sweden, 1 Hour Basket, Star Bright, and Reusable Handwarmers.

Sweet Giveaway On Now - over $500 of free Craftsy products

Enter the Craftsy Giveaway here as well as through any of the bloggers in this hop.  The main schedule can be found here or by clicking the Heart Button on the sidebar.

Click here to enter.  That's it!  

THREE prizes:

• 2 free classes to 2 different people
• 1- Boundless Solids Crown Jewels by Amy Gibson Quilt Kit  
• AND two packs of precuts: a 6" strip set and a 10" squares pack, both of Boundless Solids Modern Brights

 

One entry per person.  Enter until Sunday, February 21, 2016, at 11:59 pm MST.  The winners will be announced Feb. 22 here and at Pink Doxies.

Did you know that RAK Week, Random Acts of Kindness Week, is February 14-20 this year?  Be kind.  It really is easy, and like FMQ, the more you practice, the better you get, and the easier it comes.  Random Acts of Kindness has a great site.  I love all 10 items on this list.  Number 6, "Give compliments" is one that has always come naturally to me.  I think one of the best compliments one can give in QBL is making another quilter's design.  I hope you like my rendition of your design, Cindy, and I hope it makes your Saturday!  It was a fun block to make, and Cindy's directions are clear.  Does anyone else see the star there too?!  My favourite block is a star, so I tend to see them everywhere.

There is also a great RAK FaceBook page here.  When I was teaching, we always celebrated this week in various ways.  My class would pick a charity and we'd sell baked goods at school lunches and then donate our proceeds to that charity; the Crimestoppers group I ran for a few years would do a locker check, reminding students to fully lock their locks with a "AHA! Protect your stuff! Lock your lock!" sign we'd tape inside after locking back up the locker.

Got a new app... possibilities for Cindy's block!

"Imagine" by John Lennon comes to mind today as I write this.  Can you imagine if we could all, starting with ourselves, simply be kind.

Be kind.  It costs nothing to smile.  To hug.  To tell someone how great they look.  Notice their outfit or their pretty hair.  Tell them you love them.  Write a thoughtful comment on a blog post rather than simply "Great quilt!"

As Julie writes in her post today, "Kindness breaks down many barriers."  She has a card hanging on her wall, given to her many years ago by a friend.  It is a quote from the Dalai Lama, whose free app I have and love:

My religion is simple.

My religion is kindness.

~Dalai Lama

Now pop on over to Tish and to Anja for some not-so-random information about Craftsy!

Craftsy Blog Hop--Giveaway! and a Sweet Story

We're still hoppin' this week, professing our love for Craftsy, but I am bursting to show you this finish.  I have kept mum about this cushion since I started it in the last week of January.  It arrived at its destination yesterday, so I can show you and tell you a bit about it below... only a bit, because...

Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life--Hop To It!

Just a hop, skip and a jump to learn more wonderful ways Craftsy can help you become a better quilter.

Two talented bloggers are ready to tell why they're crushing on Craftsy today.  Cindy at Stitchin At Home will give you the skinny on "Quilting With Rulers on a Home Machine" by Amy Johnson and...

Vicki at Vicki's Crafts and Quilting will let you know what it's like to purchase fabric through Craftsy.  See what she made when she bought Stonehenge Strips, and a Christmas fat quarter bundle.

Craftsy helps you be creative by making it easy and convenient to learn new things.  Right now every class featured in the hop is on sale at 50% off, for one week!   If you were thinking about a class, but were waiting on an inside scoop on whether it was a good fit for you, read the reviews here.  Seasoned quilters and bloggers will let you know.

Craftsy Giveaways

Enter the Craftsy Giveaway here, and also on each site during the hop.

Hearing firsthand about the terrific opportunities on the bloggers' sites below will surely entice you to explore Craftsy in a little more depth, and perhaps try something out of the norm to what you usually might buy.  However, Craftsy is sweetening the pot even more...

• 50% discount on classes discussed in each post!  Suh-weet!
• giveaways on some of the individual blogger posts!
• and drum roll please!  Three fabulous prizes from Craftsy!  Two lucky people will win one class each, and one person will win this fan-tabulous grand prize:

 1- Boundless Solids Crown Jewels by Amy Gibson Quilt Kit 

1-Boundless Solids Modern Brights Pre-Cuts 6" Strips

1-Boundless Solids Modern Brights 10" Squares

 Sugar high or what, huh?!!

The giveaway entry to Craftsy can be found both here and on each post during the hop.  One entry per person.  Enter until Sunday, February 21, 2016, at 11:59 pm MST.  The winners will be announced Feb. 22 here and at Pink Doxies.

Surprises!

Check back daily at Pink Doxies or at mmm! quilts for the updated link to each day's featured posts and take advantage of surprise giveaways by the daily bloggers too!

You can also simply click the blog hop button on the sidebar of each blogger in the hop to be taken back to the main post with the schedule.  Easy peasy.

Now Hop to It! Go visit those gals and be wowed and inspired!

Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life! Blog Hop is ON!

Hey Sugar!  Are you ready?  It's finally HERE...

YES!!!

It's time to HOP!

Today be sure to visit Judy at Quilt Paradigm to read about the latest Craftsy classes she's sweet on:  "Design It Quilt It" and "Machine Quilting Wholecloth Quilts" both with Cindy Needham.

Craftsy Sweetens Up My Quilting Life! Blog Hop

QBL - Quilter Blog Land

You know what they say about great minds...synchronicity...the stars aligning... All this and more came together a couple of weeks ago to result in this quilting bloggers' blog hop with Craftsy co-hosted by Julie at Pink Doxies and I, Sandra, at mmm!quilts.

Read on for more information on all the opportunities for giveaways and sweet sweet deals.