The Winter Schminter Winner Schwinner

That's even hard to look at, let alone say.

As always, I am thrilled so many of you stopped by during the recent blog hop. To the many of you who became followers, bless you for making my day. To the many of you who had such lovely things to say about my blog being more fun than a barrel full of variegated thread (and seriously, how fun would that be?), bless you for making my head big for a moment or two at a time until the glow of my awesomeness was overcome by someone not having clean pants to wear to school and we were back to reality. To those of you who embraced the new definition of "geek" and made up your own words like "nutbird" and "yardening", I have a very special place for you in my heart.

To those who entered the giveaway, the bad news is most of you didn't win. But the good news is that one of you did - Sarah J.!

Sarah is a new follower whose number (16) was chosen by the random number generator. She geeks "quilting, science, and kids" and gives us this classically fantastic quote "My five year old son knows what a uterus is and that makes me happy." I really could not be more happy that her number was picked because for that sentence alone I wanted to give her a prize.

Congratulations Sarah! This lovely gift will be all yours!

Sorry I couldn't find any uterus fabric for you.

I really love these blog hops not only because I get so many new blogworld friends, but because the comments really make me feel like I get to know my audience better. I loved learning about what everyone loves to geek; plenty of Downton Abbey (forgive me, I'm trying, but can't get the crazed appeal beyond the clothes are stunning and Elizabeth McGovern can do anything) and Cake Boss, gardening, other hand crafts, and cooking, but some interesting ones were thrown in there too, like vintage cookbooks, accounting, and "old vinyl", which I have to assume means records and not that she likes to go on tours of kitchens from 1965. I also had to look up a couple, "Kumihimo braiding" and "envies", one of which I now realize my daughter uses to make friendship bracelets, and the other which I am just baffled by even after looking it up. But to each their own. As long as everyone geeks something!  

In Market Prep Insanity news, this week has been full of trying to get Taking Names done. It's going to be at least another week, but I am feeling more hopeful that this is not going to be the pattern process that never ends. They all feel that way at some point, some for longer than others. A preview of some new blocks I made that I truly love.

These purples just make me go "MMMMMMM"

News flash - I don't love orange, but I do love this block. Another bit of irony in my creative life.

My studio is in perhaps the most frightening state of creative mode it has seen in months due to all these scraps having to be auditioned. The rest of my house is also in creative mode, but for that I really don't have a great excuse. I'm really excited about this sample of TN, though, because it was inspired by a lecture my friend Judy Damon gave recently for our guild, all about color and using the color wheel for more than just a pretty picture on the wall and what "tint" really means beyond "what one does to one's hair to look prettier." I'm going to call this sample "Taking Compliments" or "Taking Complements,"  depending on who I would rather have think I spelled it wrong - quilters or grammarians. Judy will know what I mean, as will any of you smartypantses who know all about the color wheel.

Until the mood strikes me to overshare of myself with all of you again.....