Christmas JOY {Day 2} Blog Hop

Welcome to {Day 2} of our "Christmas Joy" Blog Hop!!!  We are soooo excited to have you all following along!  We're also glad to hear you are enjoying having the hop sooner, so you can make the projects to trim your tree, decorate your mantle or make as gifts to give to your friends!  That's just what this hop is all about!

Today I enjoyed the day with my girls {they were off from school, as it's the end of their quarter}.   We did lunch, stopped at this sale, and hit the dance store before I headed to an appointment for my bruised ribs. {ouch!}  I can't tell you how  being surrounded by the smells of fresh cut pines, holly & an array of Holiday decor helped brighten my day!   A little Holiday cheer and a cheesecake cupcake always makes everything better, right?!?!!!  

I loved these letters!!!!

You know I love me a red truck!

I tried the peanut butter cheesecake & Hannah tried the lemon cheesecake cupcake!  Both were yummy!

Speaking of Holiday cheer!  Tracy from Plum Cute Designs also brought us a great post & darling stitchery design today as she kicked off our blog hop!  I also love how she finished the piece andclipped it on this cute frame!  Another great idea!  Then you can change out the design each season!!!

If you missed it... Be sure to go to her blog and print off your copy!!!

Up today is Gail Pan!  She's our Australian designer!  It's always fun to see what she comes up with!  Our friend Debbie, from Wooden Spool Designs, is over there with her teaching!  I can just imagine them getting their posts ready together!  What a special time for the both of them!!!  I'm so excited!!!  Please head over to her blog and get inspired!  I'll meet you back here again tomorrow for more Holiday fun!  Stay Calm & Be Merry!

http://gailpandesigns.typepad.com

Nov 6th * Plum Cute Designs

Nov 7th * Gail Pan Designs

Nov 8th * Wooden Spool Designs

Nov 9th * Sheri Glasscock

Nov 10th * Ali Strebel Designs

Nov 11th * Notforgotten Farm

Nov 12th * Woolen Willow Designs

Nov 13th * Cottage at Cardiff Farms

Nov 14th * Heartspun Quilts

Nov 15th * Crabapple Hill

Nov 16th * Bits n Pieces by Joan

Nov 17th * Primitive Gatherings

Nov 18th * Buttermilk Basin

Christmas JOY Blog Hop Day 1

"LUCKY" Friday is back to its normal broadcasting from MN!  Yeehaw!  So be sure to head over to our Facebook page and leave a comment there for a chance to win patterns after you've checked out Tracy at Plum Cute Designs blog....as she kicks off our Christmas Joy blog hop!!

You have no idea how good it feels to be home {and to be done with shows for the year}!!!!  Being on the road for 2 weeks was EXCITING... but being back with my girls & cats {and sleeping in my own bed} is priceless!!!  Both the girls and cats missed us very much!  We had a lot of catching up to do, snuggling & then got right back into being the taxi drivers for the girls, litter box cleaners for the cats & treat givers to the guinea pigs!  Talk about living the dream!!!! Lol!!!  Then Hannah's retainer got chewed up by a dog while we were away & our furnace went out- so those are on top of the "to do" list!   I also thought I'd come home to my car ready to roll!!!!  That didn't happen!  I'm about to go crazy!!!  Lol!!!  😳 Guess it's better to make sure it's perfect then to have issues!!!  

Still need to unload the trailer!  I threw something out or pulled something in my left shoulder loading the trailer in Houston.  I'm going to the chiro tomorrow.  It's been tough to even sleep...and laughing is the worst!!!!  And you know I love to laugh!  😂Hopefully my family will help this weekend, so we can get some goods on the website for you, get all the prizes I gave away last week to you and park that baby for the winter!!!

So.... Do you know what today is???  It's day 1 of our {Christmas Joy} Blog Hop!!!!  Aren't you excited?!?  Each day for the next 13 days we will share appetizer recipes, tidbits about the Holidays & a FREE pattern for you all to print off and make for the Holidays or to give as a gift!  Each day I will post the link to the next designer here on my blog so be sure to stop here every morning and click your way through the hop!  Here is a list of days/designers!!!!!   It's going to be fabulous!

Nov 6th * Plum Cute Designs

Nov 7th * Gail Pan Designs

Nov 8th * Wooden Spool Designs

Nov 9th * Sheri Glasscock

Nov 10th * Ali Strebel Designs

Nov 11th * Notforgotten Farm

Nov 12th * Woolen Willow Designs

Nov 13th * Cottage at Cardiff Farms

Nov 14th * Heartspun Quilts

Nov 15th * Crabapple Hill

Nov 16th * Bits n Pieces by Joan

Nov 17th * Primitive Gatherings

Nov 18th * Buttermilk Basin

Again, thanks for bearing with me over the last few weeks... It's been quite hectic all around!  I look forward to getting caught back up, connecting back with each of you and taking some time to enjoy the upcoming Holidays with family & friends!  Here is Tracy's Holiday appetizer recipe and link to head over to her blog to see what she has in store for you!  Enjoy!  See you tomorrow!

http://www.plumcutedesigns.com

Market Give Away! Photos & more!

Let's get these giveaways rockin over on the FB page!  Up for grabs tonight are 2 NEW Australian Virgin Wool Floss packs from Valdani.  They're new, colorfast & are perfect for wool appliqué!  Then I also picked up a bundle of hand dyed wool! The colors are muted and yummy!

Today was DAY 1 of market!  All I can say is I am having a blast!  Today I had the opportunity to meet so many AMAZING BB fans, supporters, voters {and no, I didn't win! But, I'm already a winner in life...so it's all good!  And having you gals in my life is the icing on the cake!!!  And no!!!  I have no desire to run for anything!!  Lol!  They were teasing me today!!!} & some of my FAV shop owners!  {This show is new to me, so I'm meeting many new gals!!}. I can't believe so many people read my blog and enjoy my work!  I'm humbled!  Wow!  We laughed, shared stories & had discussions about who's my biggest stalker!  Lol!  Seriously!  I love you gals!!!!  

Today I also got out a bit and had more fun meeting more cool vendors, & visiting {and buying antique quilt tops} with the antique quilt dealers here.  I typically never have time to look at them, much less shop!  But since fall market is slower in general... I enjoyed myself so much today!   Of course, (I'm Chatty Cathy here!) so I kept taking a couple steps and running into friends & my awesome shop owners!  Here's the shout out to Merry's Stitchin (like I promised!)!  She has a fantastic primitive shop in Iowa!  Her daughter is next to her and she is the one behind the Quilting Possibilities  patterns that you see everywhere!!!  I also met the gals behind the Row By Row & license makers for all those fantastic shop hops you all go to!  It's so cool to see all the shops signing up and getting their goods on order!  They {as well as myself} have some new & fun concepts in the works!  I'm not sure if I can mention anything?!?! but it involves wool!!!  I'll leave it at that!!!  I'm also giving a shout out to Pieceful  Gatherings quilt shop!  They are another great shop out of Illinois!  We're trying to set something up where I come out there and teach!  So keep an eye out for that in the future!!!  

Kelly's also doing great at her first market!  It's been quite an experience!  She had a blast at Sample Spree, is in "eye candy overload" & loving all the flash flood warnings we're in down here!  We just got one that goes until 1:00 now!  

Please leave a comment over in our FB page for a chance to win 1 of these items!  I'm turning in for the night- but before I do... Check out some more pics I shared of the "Mystery" BOM's & of the friendship gathering where they made those cute mummies on the FB page too!  Did I mention how much I love my job and YOU all???? 😃😃😃😃. I'll post more tomorrow!  

Setting up at market!

Ok!  Booth is set up!  Here are a couple pics of the "setting up" of the show!  I believe there are 28 ish rows with many, many vendors with various booth sizes on each side of the isles!!  Things won't be complete until morning!  After everyone is set up, they will put down the carpet!  (Usually a bright blue!! Lol)!  Sample spree begins in 50 minutes!  Vendors will set up tables with their product on it and sell models, pattern sets, fabric bundles etc!  The women have been lined up for hours!  I'll take a pic of all of them once we get up there!  It's gonna be wild in there tonight!!!!

Market in Houston! Giveaways coming!

Greetings from Houston!  It's "LUCKY" Friday over on oir FB page!  And it's going to be a great weekend of "luckiness" all around!  Since I'm here at International Quilt Market... I'll be picking up NEW patterns and such from some very amazing designers/companies!  So keep an eye out for the "LUCKY" Friday logo in pictures, because I will randomly be giving away those goods throughout the next several days {on oir FB page} instead of today {since I just flew into town}!!!  I'll also do my best to share my journey at market and festival with you!  Any special requests to things you'd like to see pics of or read about?  Let me know!!!

Tomorrow we will pick up our box of minimal table top displays!  If you know me- you know I love my PROPS!  So having a simple booth is going to be sooooo hard for me!!!  But- in a few days my husband will be here with the truck & trailer and I will have props for the 2nd show!  Yeehaw!  I seriously can't believe I "let go" and flew in with my booth in bags!  Crazy!!! 😂😂😂

On the flip side...we've only been here a couple of hours and we already realized a couple of things...

A- You can still rock capris, flip flops  and a sweatshirt {with no make up on & hair in a pony} in a fancy hotel! 

B-A pizza bagel & chocolate chip muffin beats out a seafood meal {in the rotating restaurant on the top floor} any day!

C-We LOVE the Texas accents!!!!

D-They don't know what "pop" is!!!!

...I'm sure there will be more to add to this last as the days go by!!!  I'll keep you posted!!!! Lol!

I'm off to relax!  Gotta start catching up on some lost sleep over the past couple of weeks!!!  Last night I didn't even sleep because I was going over everything & making sure I got everything together for both shows!  Glad to be here and ready to get the ball rolling!  See you tomorrow!!!