Spring is Here

It is hard to believe I was finishing the last of my snowdyes only 5 days ago. Spring is here in Wisconsin. The robins and bluebirds arrived the day after all the snow melted. It is such a pleasure to be outside and listening to birdsong again.

Karen is hosting a giveaway on her blog. Click here to follow the link for a chance to enter.

Giveaway Results

And the winners are.....

Jen of A Quilting Jewel

and Marlene of Sipiweske Quilt Designs

Congratulations ladies!!!

My thanks to everyone that participated. There we almost 200 entries. I had a chance to meet many new people and found some wonderful blogs that I had not seen before.

I am just returning home from a week away from home for work in Illinois. Taking the (long) way home I chance to meet my new nephew in Iowa. He was just two days old. What a cutie!!

I spent Saturday morning cleaning house and washing laundry for my sister and brother in-law so they can rest once they bring my nephew home.

I finally remembered to take some photographs of the stained glass items that I made for my sister over the years. She is a huge fan of Arts and Crafts period furnishings. I designed the lampshade with the art of Charles Renee MacKintosh in mind.

I designed these stained glass window hangings for her wedding day. My sister and her husband had a garden wedding in their backyard on a beautiful September day. These windows were the backdrop for the ceremony. I chose each flower and plant with its symbolic meaning in mind.

Tulips for perfect love

Roses for love and hope

Ivy for Friendship, fidelity and eternal love

Ginkgo for longevity and

Myrtle to symbolize love and marriage

Have a wonderful week! Chris

Welcome to my Dye Candy Giveaway. If you are new to my blog, I welcome you and invite you to look around. You have at least two chances to win a prize. Leave a comment here and enter a second time on my other blog DyeCandy.blogspot.com. You are welcome to copy the top picture of my dye candy sample packs and use it if you are creating a link to this giveaway on your own blog. If you create a link please leave me a note in your comment and I will enter your name in the drawing two more times.

If you are a winner you will have your choice of one of these prizes:

1 Gift Certificate for $25.00 for my Dye Candy Shop or

2 Dye Candy Sample Packs or

1 yard of Hand Dyed one of a kind fabrics or

a half yard of Shibori Dyed Fabric or

6 step fat quarter gradation set.

or a hand dyed silk or velvet scarf.

Choose a piece of Quilt Block Jewelry or

a small Stained Glass Snowflake Sun Catcher Ornament from my Shady Grove Studios Etsy Shop.

Good Luck to you! Drawing closes at 6:00 pm on Sunday, November 22nd.

Tiny Stitches and Paying in Foward

Look what came in the mail on Friday! I've been checking my mailbox with anticipation every day for more than a week. This gorgeous embroidery sampler was hand stitched by Maya the Embellisher. She hosted a giveaway in June and I was the very lucky winner. Maya's Blog is titled "Million Little Stitches" and this sampler lives up to her reputation. Oh my these are tiny stitches, smaller than the head of most pins. All done with a single strand of embroidery floss. I love how she inserted subtle changes of color in certain places. It just makes the embroidery shine.

My great, great Grandparents moved to the United States from Norway and Germany. Many of the motifs in Maya's work remind me of handwork and knitting that I have seen in my home since childhood. Her work will have a cherished place in my home. Thank you Maya for your generosity!

To pay my good fortune forward I am hosting a giveaway that ends this evening (Sunday) on my Dye Candy Blog. Click here to enter.

Giveaway Day

I have finally finished my latest dyelots. They will soon be for sale in my Dye Candy Etsy Shop.

My giveaway on my Dye Candy blog has just started. Follow this link for a chance to win.

Crazy Quilt Update and A Fabulous Surprise For Me

I can finally show you my completed crazy quilt block made for our 2008-2009 guild president.

She received her quilt last night.

I was so pleased she chose this theme for her quilt. I really enjoy hand embroidery.

It was so much fun to see all of our unique styles blended together in a quilt.

This quilt is such a treasure!!

Guess What? Can You Tell I'm Excited?? Yesterday I woke up to the news that I had won such a beautiful gift from Embellisher at Million Little Stitches. For her 125th post she gave away this amazing heart sampler. I have been following her blog for a long time and always enjoy seeing her creative ideas and little pieces of her life far across the oceans.

Thank you so much! I will cherish your gift.

My new bolts of fabrics have arrived and are ready to be dyed. Keep an eye on my blog. I plan to pass my good fortune on with a Dye Candy Fabric giveaway in a week or two (once my dye lots are finished and photographed).

Have a wonderful rest of your week!

Chris

The Big Day is Here

Here is a peek at what I've been working on for the last few weeks. Today is the reveal date of our "Brave New World" art quilts on the Around the World in 20 Quilts site. The quilts are A4 size and each is to contain recycled or re-purposed items. I really enjoyed the journey from start to finish. I had six different ideas and knew I had chosen the right one. But when I started my quilt something completely different came to mind and I had to follow that path. I love the diversity of the finished quilts. Stop by and see more here.

Thanks to everyone that entered my jewelry giveaway. I really enjoyed meeting you and visiting your blogs. The Internet has made this world so small and so much more connected.

And now for the winner..... Pamela S. who says: I love your creativity! Your colors are fabulous and I'm crossing my fingers I win your giveaway. P.S. I lived in WI for 10years and it is a marvelous place.

Pamela, congratulations. Please contact me via the e-mail address on my profile page to claim a piece of jewelry of your choice from my Shady Grove Studios ETSY shop.

Three Giveaways

To celebrate the opening of my new Etsy Store called Dye Candy I am hosting a giveaway here and on my other blog. Enter here for a change to win a piece of quilt block jewelry. Visit my other blog for a change to win a Dye Candy box of your choice. For a chance to win both there is a third giveaway running simultaneously on Simply Robin's blog. She has guest bloggers all week and few different giveaways. I will be a guest blogger on Thursday March 26th.

I will be drawing for winners on March 31st.

Good Luck!

P.S. If you are new to my blog and want to see more post about our rural location click on the Shady Grove link in the labels below