new bags and a giveaway!

 

 

 These first three bags have just been added to the shop.  

I have been sewing away every spare moment,

not allowing myself to start Christmas decorating

or cookie baking,

until they were done.

{Oh, and 'miss scarlett' has a new special price.}

~

In the spirit of Christmas,

I would like to offer a giveaway

of a similar bag ~ it was made up as a sample

of the new spring-loaded frame closure bag style.

It measures approximately 14"w x 9"h x 4.5"d,

is fully lined,

and has 8 inner pockets,

plus,

it is embellished with a vintage button front & back.

My perfectionist side will not allow me to sell

this prototype in the shop,

but my practical side tells me it's a perfectly

useful bag that will serve someone well as a 

knitting/crochet/project bag or handbag.

If you have any interest in giving 'her' a home,

please let me know in comments

and I will enter you in the giveaway~ international

readers are welcome to enter.

I promise to pop a couple little surprise gifts

in the bag as well.

Be sure you leave your email address

so I can notify the winner.

I will accept comments until Friday, 11/16/11

and will announce the winner sometime Saturday.

Best wishes to all,

Deb

our winner

Thanks to all for commenting

on the new comment format

{and for your nice words!}

and for entering my little giveaway.

I enlisted my better half to

pick a number, and Jaimie

has come up the winner.

Jaimie@AtHome has left a new comment on your post "a giveaway!!":

I haven't heard of disquis either, but so far it looks like it will work wonderfully! I like the idea of being able to reply to individual comments!

I love the notebook and wallet, someone will be lucky to get them!

Just email me with your address, Jaimie, and

I will get your package right out to you.

Have a good weekend everyone!

a giveaway!!

** WE HAVE A WINNER! ~ THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL WHO ENTERED :) **

For quite some time I have been considering a new

comment format for this site...something

that would allow me to reply more easily

to your kind words & questions

...something that would make my replies visible

to other readers as well.

Today I made the jump to Disqus, and I'm

hoping all goes well.  None of my old comments

have made the move, but I am patiently/nervously waiting

for that to resolve.

It is my hope that this platform will

allow more conversation.

To encourage you to give it a try,

I would like to have a giveaway ~ just leave

a comment and let me know what you think

about Disqus.

You have til Friday night, and I will announce the winner

Saturday.

Up for grabs is the little notebook you saw above

and this snap wallet, which is made

from a vintage cotton tablecloth and some

natural colored linen.

There are two compartments inside--a main

pocket and a smaller zippered pocket.

THANKS!

our winner

Thanks to all of you who entered the dutch oven

giveaway sponsored by CSN Stores.

I loved reading your comments and now

have many great ideas for using

my dutch oven.

Our winner was chosen at random...

Search RANDOM.ORG

True Random Number ServiceRandom Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:



111

Timestamp: 2010-05-21 23:10:55 UTC

...and is Manitoulin Girl.
Carmen, Congratulations!

ManitoulinGirl said... "I would absolutely love to try making that bread - looks fabulous. I make a lot of baked beans and also Coq au vin in the cooler weather.

Thanks for hosting another giveaway."  Carmen

{Carmen, please e-mail me with your contact information and mailing address ~ thanks.}

the week's treasures & another giveaway

5/21 ~ Comments are now closed.  Thank you all for entering!  I will be back later to announce the winner....Deb   Time again has been flying by and it seems I am not getting very far with the spring cleaning.  On a happier note, I do have some great tag sale treasures to report;  and I have been planning another giveaway thanks to CSN Stores.  They have so much to choose from, everything from cookware to tv stands, that it was difficult to pick just one item!

First, the treasures...

Yard sale and flea market season has begun,

and I am most happy to report that it is off to a great start.

These are this weeks treasures,

total for all - under $10:

small painted table

wicker cutlery basket

Homer Laughlin floral bowl

3 pieces of floral fabric

mercury glass candle holder

old aqua-colored bottle

Now, back to the contest...

I know that many of you like to bake the NY Times dutch oven bread,

{and if you haven't, believe me you will love it}

so you have a chance to win a

Rachael Ray Cast Iron 7-Quart Round Dutch Oven in Blue,

like the one pictured below...

Just leave me a comment,

and if you like,

let me know if you've tried the dutch oven bread

or what is your favorite dutch oven cooked meal.

Contest ends 

May 21st at noon 

when a winner will be chosen at random.

Thank you!!

~Deb

a giveaway winner

Thank you to everyone took part in the giveaway, and thank you for sharing your thoughts on making chores more pleasant.  I loved reading every one, and it seems that music and blessing your family were a common theme.

Due to the great response, I let the random number generator do the job of picking a winner:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

35

Timestamp: 2010-05-07 16:07:25 UTC

The lucky recipient is 'Sam'.

Congratulations!

a little giveaway

**Comments are now closed for the giveaway ~ please stop by later when I will announce the winner.

Thank you all for entering!**

~Deb

If you are going to be doing dishes, why not make it as enjoyable as possible?  The purpose of today's giveaway is to do just that for one of my wonderful readers.

One winner will receive two flour sack towels with a rose patterned border,

a hand knit organic cotton dishcloth

{I will be sharing this new pattern very soon},

and a bottle of Mrs Meyer's Clean Day dish soap

in their choice of lavender or geranium scent.

Just leave a comment,

and, if you like, tell us how you make a not-so-fun chore a bit more enjoyable.

I'll be over at Rhonda's down-to-earth forum today for an interview,

which you can find here ~ Part 1 and Part 2.

Thank you so much to Rose for inviting me and to Rhonda,

and thank you to all who have come over from the down-to-earth forum.

See you on Friday, 5/7, for the drawing...

~Deb

around the house this morning...

In the sunroom...some knitting in the basket--another drops design #119-8.  I'm working the shirred parts aroung the yoke; not too much more to go.  And, a new slipcover on the loveseat, that I made a couple weekends ago from some vintage linen damask tablecloths.

In the kitchen...a food cover ready & waiting for bug season.

Over the kitchen sink...some lilacs picked this weekend.  Not a good year for them apparently, as there are very few blooms on the bush.

On the mantle...a landscape finds a new home.

In my workroom...a tunic waiting to be finished, a 'cherry' print clothespin bag waiting to be listed, and

...plans being made for a giveaway sometime soon.

Happy May!

calendar giveaway winner

A {cold} little birdie told me that Mary @ Neat and Tidy is our giveaway winner.

Congratulations Mary!!

I will e-mail you today.

Thank you everyone for taking time to stop by and enter. I think I received the greater gift by all your kind comments. I have loved reading about all your creative projects and hope to stop by your blogs to see them.

Thank you so much for sharing!!

~Deb

a little 'late' giveaway

Usually a day late and a dollar short, I am!

But here is my little giveaway, better late than never I hope...

If you are interested in winning a calendar, please leave a comment.

And, if you would like to also mention what is on your 2010 creative-projects-to-do list, I would love to know.

The calendar {monthly} is small--about 5 inches square and comes with a little magnetic clip to hang it.

I promise to throw in something else--maybe a zippered pouch...

I will pick one winner Thursday morning, 1/7/10.

Best wishes!

the winner is....

Wow, about 150 of you offered up name suggestions for our little rooster! Great ideas too, that I never would have thought of...some of our favorites were Ozzy, Ludwig, Spike, Stanley, Barney, Einstein, Ziggy, Beaker, Maestro, Kramer, and Ringo. And of course if he had only been a she, Phyllis Diller was a definite favorite.
It was terribly difficult, but we did finally narrow it down to two top contenders: WALTER {submitted first by Erica M.} and CLUCK GABLE from 'Gone with the Hen' {submitted by Julie in Oklahoma}.
Erica said::"Walter. Soon as I saw him I thought of that name. Not sure why, as I don't know anyone or any characters named Walter for him to resemble. It just seems to fit."

Julie said::"Is he much of a fighter? How about Cluck Norris" (Claw-ratay champion and star of Good Guys Wear Black Feathers)? Or is he more of a gentleman? Then I would go with "Cluck Gable" (from Gone with the Hen)."

Since our guy is really not the suave, dignified sort, but more of a 'Walter Mitty', we finally settled on Walter. Like Erica said, to us anyway, "it just seems to fit".


So, Erica is our 'Blogging for Bliss' book winner, but because Julie's suggestion was so imaginative and funny, I would like to send her a consolation gift {yet to be determined) as well. If both of you ladies would e-mail me with your address, I will get your packages sent on their way :)
Thanks so much to you all for taking part!!

a giveaway contest

9/26--THE CONTEST HAS NOW ENDED ~ THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED. I WILL BE BACK MONDAY WITH A WINNER :)

With 20+ chickens, not everyone gets a name--I could never remember or keep them all straight. But there are always a few birds with a unique look or character that we do name, like Rooster Mike and Miss Biddy, who sadly, due to an encounter with Mr Fox, are no longer with us...

So, it seems to me that our new rooster must have a name, but I just haven't come up with anything good...

And so this is the challenge ~ I would like to have a giveaway contest. The contest will be to 'name that rooster' ...
And just so you understand his character, I will try to describe him a bit::

::he is very busy, hardly ever standing still

::a little geeky and spastic, actually

::is very inquistive

::trys his hardest to to get to a worm or bug first, then a hen usually steals it away from him

If you would like to enter the contest, please leave a comment with your name idea by end of day Friday, 9/25. I will put all ideas up for a vote with the family and announce a winner on Monday, 9/28.

Oh, and the winner's prize is a copy of Blogging for Bliss...


Thanks for helping me out!

sewing pouches

The New Year always inspires me to get organized, and getting organized has inspired me to create some pouches--after all, they are a great way to corral stuff!

As usual, I start out making something for myself, and instead end up stocking the shop--here are a few of the results...

It seems no matter how long I have been sewing, I still make the same silly mistakes. This time I sewed together a zipper pouch with one of the lining pieces reversed. It was too far along by the time I noticed, {although my compulsive tendencies urged me to rip it out anyway} and so I finished it as is. This is my misfit pouch...

...it's about 5" x 5" ~ a good size for a coin purse, but could have other uses I'm sure. I would like to give it away to someone who doesn't mind its imperfection, so if you would like it, just tell me so in Comments--I will send it out to the first taker.

SUN~day...giveaway

I hope you had a great weekend!

We are having a perfect few days of Indian Summer...
...and a walk through the woods today was a perfect way to enjoy it.
I'm also happy to announce our mug cosy giveaway winner...
Cathie B.

Congratulations Cathie ~ please e-mail me with your address, and I will get the cosy right out to you.

Thanks everyone for entering!

Deb

better late than never

The last mug cosy giveaway...

If you are interested, just leave a comment on this post.

If you already entered giveaway #1 or #2, your name is still in the bowl...

Winner will be announced on Sunday ~ see you then,

Deb

Autumn knitting

Through the summer there has consistently been something cast on to my knitting needles ~ usually this {corrected link 4/09} petal dishcloth pattern {which has become a favorite} by Hazel Schrock, using some cream-colored, soft, Lion cotton yarn...

My favorite time to fit in a few rows of knitting ~ morning tea time, with a pot of PG Tips and something delicious to nibble {like Rhonda's cranberry & walnut biscuits}.

I'm also trying very hard to finish this teapot cozy started long ago...

And with the arrival of Fall, I couldn't resist casting on two of these great-looking Bainbridge neck warmers that Elizabeth mentioned ...

And of course, there is also a another denim-colored wool mug cozy in progress...

I promise that the last mug cozy giveaway will be announced before the end of this week...see you then!

Deb

our second giveaway winner

The little bowl was overflowing with all the new entries, so a bigger bowl was in order...

And, the winner of the second mug cozy giveaway is....sharon d.

Congratulations Sharon!

Remember, there will be one more giveaway to begin later this week. Thanks everyone!!

Deb

Sunday

Enjoyed a wonderful day of good food and family~

fresh tomato sauce on pasta

meatballs

garden salad

fresh bread

caramel apple cake ** with whipped cream

Promise to post the mug cozy winner tomorrow...Deb

**This cake was delicious...I didn't have Bisquick, but found this substitute:

1 cup Bisquick = 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tbsp butter

harvest

What beautiful late summer days we have been enjoying, each one flying by much too fast as we try to fit in one more long walk, one more bike ride, and some more time spent relaxing on the glider. Tonight, the first frost is a possibility, so we worked in the garden. The pumpkins and gourds are harvested, peppers and eggplant were picked, as well as some tomatoes, and onions were pulled. That done, we headed inside for a dinner of (homegrown) roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and carrots. Then I realized that it is Thursday again already! and time for another mug cozy giveaway....

If you would like a chance to win please just leave a comment to that effect. If you entered the last giveaway drawing, your name is already in the bowl...drawing will be sometime on Sunday, Deb

giveaway announcement

The winner of the mug cozy giveaway is...

denisef in c'ville va

Congratulations Denise! Just send me an e-mail to dadesign[at]rochester[dot]rr[dot]com and I will get your mug cozy right out in the mail.

Thank you all for your most gracious comments!! I will be having two more mug cozy giveaways over the next two weeks, to be announced. If your name is already in the bowl, I will leave it there, and anyone new will have a chance to have their name added.

Thanks ladies.