a rousing end . . .

Last night was our regular guild meeting and I was really looking forward to it. We did a round robin of easy holiday crafts and I was one of the teachers!!  I was so excited to share the sweet little felt poinsettia pins that I've made for several years now, from lil fish studios! 

I just needed to make a quick stop in Michael's before heading to the meeting...

And that was my downfall.  I was going in and out so quickly, I didn't even bother to take my phone.  Or my car keys.  Aye yi yi!! Luckily, we have AAA and so I called for service. That was at 6:08 p.m.  The social hour at our meeting starts at 6:30 and the meeting at 7:00.  

The agent at AAA said the service would be there by 7:08.  What can I do but wait?!?!  Luckily, I really didn't have to wait long . . . happy story, the responder arrived at 6:23!  Less than five minutes later, I'm on the road again.  WHEW! Thank you AAA!

There were some fun surprises waiting for me when I got there. 

Isn't it pretty??  It's the tote from the International Quilt Festival in Houston!  The quilt on the cover?  That was made by my friend and fellow guild member, Barbara Black!  How cool, huh?  She blogs over at My Joyful Journey.  She's a wonderful and talented quilter *and* teacher and a dear friend, too!

She also brought back some of the pretty pins from Houston . . . aren't I lucky?!  

I was also lucky enough to purchase from her an acrylic template for the Antique Rose block (like the one I made here).

I turned up my nose at the acrylic template . . . but that was before the POTC blocks and understanding how the templates can really be a powerful tool to enhance your block design!  I may have to give the Antique Rose block another shot.  *grin*

Ya' know, the magic mirror works with the Antique Rose template, too . . . 

Isn't that awesome?! That reminds me, I need to announce a winner!  I left it in the reliable hands of random.org and my winner was:

Yay, Sandi!  I've notified her and I'll have it to her next week. Sandi blogs at Quilt Cabana Patterns -- you should go check her out -- she posted her block from 100 Blocks today -- it's really cute!

I'm off to play in fabric.  With mirrors and templates, of course!

:)

HeLP! a giveaway . . .

Look at me . . . I *finally* finished stitching together my very first Patchwork of the Crosses block . . .

All that's left is to press it and remove my basting stitches. I love this fabric combination and it was such fun to stitch! I'm now thinking quilt, not just a one block exercise! Yeah, I fell hook, line and sinker.

Which means I needed all the appropriate tools!  To that end, I ordered the "Magic Mirror".

It's a simple enough gadget and very easy to use, but it makes a *world* of difference when you're fussy cutting fabrics for kaleidoscope-like effects. Take this brown fabric, for example . . .

The mirror allows me to preview how my center will look, once I've cut all my pieces out and stitched them together! This will make my designing so much easier . . . since this project is now officially on my design 'wall'! I use my clear acrylic template to determine where I want my design on my honeycomb template and butt the mirror up against the 90-degree angle of the template.

Remove the template and you've got a great view of your center!  Pretty nifty, eh?  I was so enchanted with the process, I had to try out a couple of different fabrics.

The pink was fun, but then I had this beautiful gold print with a really ornate design. Do you see how by just moving my template around, I was able to get a totally different look??

Even with a simpler design, like the scroll and leaves on the bottom row, a slight re-positioning of the template gave it a whole new look!

Once I've chosen the "look" then it's a simple matter of cutting out my pieces . . .

And I'm ready to start basting to my templates! Isn't it fun?  Aren't you itching to give it a try??!  Well, always the enabler encourager, I just happen to have an extra brand new mirror that I'd love to give to someone who's got to have one!

You can also use the mirror for a variety of angles . . . 90, 60, and 30, just to name a few!  So, is this one going to be yours?!?  Leave me a comment -- just whatever is on your mind -- and that will afford you one chance.  If you're a follower, leave a second comment and let me know how you follow -- I'll give you a second shot!  And . . . if you link an appropriate post to the HeLP for hexi-aholics linky party over to sarah did it!, leave me a third comment saying so for a third chance! 

Make sure if you're a 'noreply' blogger that you leave me a way to get a hold of you.  I'll leave this open until Friday and then randomly choose a winner! In the meantime, head on over to Patchwork Times to check out design walls all over the blogiverse!

Make your Monday matter!!

:)

**Comments closed - I'll post the giveaway winner later today!**