Winner

Since I have no clue how to put my widget on my post, I took a picture of it to show the winner.  Congratulations to Samantha!

We've had a busy week around here, but again, the sewing has been on the back burner.  I did manage to complete a gift.  This darling little lunch tote was from a tutorial from the Pink Penguin.  I made a few changes in the way I sewed it up, but I think it turned out just great and was an easy pattern to sew up. 

We celebrated my mom's birthday this week as well.  My sister, brother and their spouses fixed dinner at her house and we had a fabulous time bringing in her next year - her 90th!!!!  Doesn't she look great?

Recently, I attended a cooking class from Carol Kotkin so I volunteered to bring a salad for the party and it was really yummy.  You start with layer of sliced and peeled oranges (I used the navals and some of the blood oranges from the garden.)

Top that with layers of sliced fennel bulb, sliced red onion. freshly shaved Parmesan cheese and Kalamata olives. Drizzle olive oil over the top and it is finished.  I used a tangerine infused olive oil which was very good, but the plain is just fabulous too.

Have you heard about Thearica's monthly swap block contest?  Don't you all have blocks that you have swapped and then never finished up into a quilt?  Well....this is for you.  It MUST be swap blocks and you must photograph your progress of assembling them.  Once it is a completed quilt - binding and all - you can submit it to Thearica's blog.  At the end of each month she will select a name and the prizes are FANTASTIC.  I won January's  contest and received a $50 gift certificate to The Fat Quarter Shop AND a $20 gift certificate to Thearica's shop.  Pretty awesome, wouldn't you say?  Why don't you join us for March.

Quilting Gallery is having a pillow contest this week for quilted pillows.  You can vote for five different ones this week and I have entered my Cathedral Windows pillow.  The work on all of them is gorgeous and you can vote here if you are interested.

We've had some cool winter weather here this week, but we are suppose to jump up into the upper 70s for the weekend.  I am looking forward to it.  I wish I could send some nice weather to the poor folks who have been hurt by the terrible tornadoes this week.  It surely seems like an early start to tornado season to me.