I’ll share the winners of the Q-tips sponsored giveaway in a moment, but first I have a few quilts to share.

Yesterday I dropped by my Mom’s home to get a little help with a project I’ve been working on.

I was also excited to see my Mom’s latest creations.

The first is a black and white plus sign or cross quilt for my very lucky sister-in-law Marcie.  Her birthday is this week.

The back of the quilt looks like wool, but is actually a very soft brownish black flannel.  It’s totally dreamy to touch and the subtle texture of the design is beautiful.

She’s been hand quilting it in long straight rows and it’s a perfect compliment to the strong graphic design of quilt.

My mom is making good use of her Moda unbleached muslin, because she is also making a “U” quilt for my sister’s birthday.  We are all big University of Utah fans and I know my sister will love this quilt.  I especially love the one black U… which makes me think of the black out game.  The Utes are playing tonight and I can’t wait!  Go Utes!

And now for the Container Store gift card giveaway compliments of my friends at Q-tips.  Have you read through the comments?  Thank you all for sharing your awesome cleaning tips!  Here are the winners:

Congratulations Donette, Becky and Sheila.  Send me an email with your address so we can arrange to send you your gift cards. And again my thanks to Q-tips for sponsoring this giveaway!

I just have a few little things to share today.

I’m calling these my “half time hexies” and with all three of my kids playing soccer this fall, this project has a good chance of getting done.  I’m pretty sure they’ll be a pillow for my family room sofa.

I’m using 1/2 inch hexagons and am completely in love with them.  They sew up so quick and sweet.

Yesterday I was up at the crack of dawn… or even earlier.  I love going out on my porch swing early in the morning and sewing, but it was too dark.  So instead I made our first batch of pumpkin chocolate chip bread of the season.

Pumpkin bread is not something I make in the summer.  Even though most days the weather is still in the 90’s, I can feel Autumn in the air.  The light is changing and summer has lost it’s bite.

Did you know pumpkin bread is the breakfast of champions?

I shared the recipe a long time ago and it is DEE-licious.

Here’s a wonderful little gift I received from a friend who visited London this summer.  She bought it at the British War Museum if I remember right.

The book is a reprint of a book printed by the British government during WWII encouraging citizens to “waste not”.

This book is full of amazing tips about mending and caring for clothing, sweaters, socks, etc.  It also has wonderful ideas on how to transform clothes and give them new life, like a adding fabric to a top that is too short or unpicking and reknitting a sweater that is worn out.

I’ve enjoyed reading through and getting ideas from this little book.

Other books we’ve been enjoying around our home are:

Follow the River is the book my husband just finished reading.  I’ve read it twice over the years and I would read it again.   It’s a historical fiction based on the true life story of a remarkable woman in pre-Revolutionary War frontier America.  It’s an incredibly inspiring book about courage and survival.

Ben can’t get enough of Gregor The Overlander.  I have to turn off his light at night, since he’d read past midnight if I let him (and then be grouchy the next day).  This book is the first in a series by Suzanne Collins geared for younger readers.  I’d say it’s appropriate for 4th or 5th grade and up.  Ben is in 6th and he loves it.

I just finished reading aloud Holes to my kids.  What a great story and a perfect read-aloud.  I sort of wish I’d never seen the movie, the book was so much better!

That’s it for today.  I’ve been hard at work on a few new patterns, and hope to have more to share soon.