It's the rookie's turn

When Carol at Sew Sisters asked if I would participate in the Canadian Blogathon I was like:

What?
Who??
Me???
Seriously????

When it comes to quilting, I would definitely fall into the novice category.  I work full-time so I really only get to sew on weekends.  I have some hits.  I have some misses.  Every time I sit down to sew or pull out a pile of fabric to ponder, a small evolution happens.  I’m so proud to be hosting the Manitoba leg of your blogathon journey. I’ve lived in Winnipeg my entire life and I have to let you in on a secret:

I.Love.This.Place.

I couldn’t live without my bright blue prairie sky, the funniest and friendliest people you’ll ever meet and yes, believe it or not, our climate. We have four very distinct seasons and we know how to take full advantage of each of them.

I would say I’m a self taught quilter but that would be a big fat lie. I learn from every post on every quilter’s blog that I read. The blogging community is filled with incredibly talented, inspiring, funny, generous people and I consider all of you my teachers. Thank you. Truly. I’d still be stumbling around with crooked, lumpy seams if not for you. Here are just a few of my Manitoba online mentors:

Tammy's Craft Emporium
CW Quilts
Tamarack Shack
Night Owl Quilting & Dye Works
Quilter Sandy
Scraps and Strings
The Crazy Crafting Cat Lady
OCD: Obsessive Crafting Disorder
Marj Moore's Blog
Thread Head


I have a handful of quilts under my belt, approximately 6.2 million ideas for quilts I want to make, and a very faithful assistant to help me with quality control:

Is it weird that my most treasured quilt is not a quilt at all? It’s these two paper-pieced pillows that my sister-in-law made for me:

So cute!

Hey, wanna win something?

Sew Sisters let me pick out my giveaway and I thought we should keep the Manitoba connection going. Monique Dillard of Open Gate quilts – and creator of the awesome “fit to be” rulers – was born right here in river city. She has a great book called Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts and you can win a copy by doing something very strenuous, labour intensive and highly complicated:

Leave me a comment!

I’ll try and pick the winner before noon Friday.  If you're a no-reply blogger, please remember to leave your email address in your comment.

Oh, and after you leave your comment here, make sure you pop over to check out Marika’s blog. She represents La Belle Province beautifully!

Before I go, Happy Thanksgiving to our American pals. I’m having serious turkey envy today.