Who Won?

Don't bother counting--this isn't all of them!

Yes, the results are in.  I have culled and counted.

I have 123 skirts.

The closest guess came from Crissy, who guessed 112. 

I was surprised by how LOW the guesses were! 

I told you guys, I have a LOT of skirts!

I started with 170 skirts, so I reduced their number by about 25%.

Not too bad.  I really didn't expect dramatic results with this category.

The good news is that I don't have a ton of clothes up in the attic anymore. 

 My off season skirts (fifty of them!) are hanging up there, but that is all.

Certainly not a minimalist wardrobe, but not as out of control as it was!

Once Crissy chooses her prize, I am going to put the other three prize packages up on etsy.  So if you didn't win, but there was something you had your eye on, stay tuned!

Fourth and Final

Did ya hear the one about the snowstorm that hit two days before Halloween? I wish it were a joke, but it wasn't. We were hit pretty hard here and lost power for about 72 hours. No lights, no heat, no water. Thankfully, they restored power well before their estimated target of Thursday at 11 pm.


The funny part was that my husband and I were just talking about how much more leisurely our lives will be now that a) soccer season is ending, b) my mom's birthday party is past, and c) our CSA blog is back on hiatus. Guess somewhere out there in the cosmos, someone decided we needed one more roadblock before we could relax a little!

So today I'm basking in the cental heating, catching up on laundry, and clearing up all the messes we made in the dark. While I'm waiting for the dryer to catch up with the washer, I figured I'd pay some attention to the poor, neglected blog.


The fourth and final choice of prizes in the Guess the Number of Skirts contest is the vintage kitchen prize. This prize package includes a linen tea towel, apron, cookie cutters, and cookbook--all vintage! It will be Lincoln's birthday before you know it, so don't get caught without a recipe!

If you'd like a chance to win this prize or one of the other three prizes up for grabs (sewing, kids' stuff, or global) just leave your guess on the original giveaway post!

Giveaway Prize Choice #3

Back again with another prize! For details or to enter, see the original giveaway post. There is still plenty of time to enter, as I am nowhere near finishing my closet clean out! This is the promised "sewing prize," and it includes an assortment of vintage notions as well as a copy of the Japanese craft magazine Cotton Time.

There are buttons and trims, bias tapes and buckles! What you see is more or less what you get. I'll probably throw in a few more things along the way!
The Cotton Time magazine is written entirely in Japanese, but includes pattern sheets and illustrated instructions. It's fun to look at, just for the ideas!

For a look at the other prizes you can choose from if you win, click here to see the Around the World prize or here to see the Vintage Childhood prize. Just remember to enter at the original giveaway post! I've gotten a wide variety of guesses so far!

Another Giveaway Prize!

Back with another prize package you could choose if you win my skirt count giveaway! This is the "vintage childhood" package, filled with cute goodies from days gone by. To start, there is a pair of nursery rhyme cutouts featuring Humpty Dumpty and Jack Be Nimble. I love the colors and always pictured these tacked up on the wall in a baby's room.

Next, The Bingity Bangity School bus, a pair of coloring books, and a Child Life magazine dated 1940. If you're a fan of Halloween, that would be a great cover to frame!

And finally, a sweet baby sweater from Italy, and a vintage hankie with a very jaunty dancing dog!

Remember, the giveaway is open for entries until I finish cleaning out my closet, so you still have plenty of time to enter. Now...I should get busy!

Around the World

It wasn't all that sunny today, but I took some pictures anyway! This is one of the prizes you can choose if you win my Guess the Number of Skirts contest! I think I called this the Around the World prize, and it includes: a cotton batik tunic/cover up in size XXL from North Africa (but bought in Italy), a linen tea towel from Ireland, a school composition notebook from Morocco, a change purse from India, a bar of the famous black soap from Spain called Magno, and a packet of perfumed powder from Italy.

Coming up next...the Vintage Childhood prize package!

A Giveaway!

In conjunction with The Great Closet Clean Up (and my renewed commitment to blogging), I am having a GIVEAWAY!

Basic premise: You guess how many skirts I own. Because I am starting a closet purge, that number will constantly be changing, but the only number that counts is the one at the end of the project.

Timeline: No idea. It might take me a week to finish this project, or it might take me a month. You can enter at any time up until I edit this post and declare the project DONE.

Random Rules: You may enter once. This contest is open to US residents only. (Sorry, other countries!)

Hints: It's going to be a pretty big number. I wear skirts often. Even if I purge many of them, I will have quite a few left.

I couldn't even guess how many I have.

In the Event of a Tie: If multiple people guess the same number or if two people are equidistant from the actual number, I will choose the winner by flipping a coin or drawing names.

Prizes: The winner will choose from one of four prizes. There will be a sewing prize, a kitchen prize, an around-the-world prize, or a vintage children's prize. Details on these will follow once we get a sunny day and I can take photos!

What You Need to Do: Leave your guess in the comments of this post. I need a way to get in touch with you as well. Make sure I have an email address or link to your blog or something, anything, so I don't have to hire a detective to track you down!

Did I forget anything?

Howdy, ya'll!

This is my 600th post, if you can believe it. They certainly haven't been coming fast and furious lately! I've been a little preoccupied with the kittens, the food blog, and just trying to get to a place where I feel on top of things around the house. Today, though, I was thinking that I used to use the blog as motivation to get things done. There was throwing out fifty things, which I could easily do again! And my First Quilt Ever! which would still be fabric in a Jo-Ann's bag if I hadn't been blogging about it.

So I think I am going to go back there and launch some new projects. First up is cleaning out my closet, which I got started on today. That's the pile of summertime skirts I have ready to put away in the attic. Don't the girls remind you of The Princess and the Pea?

I will be back with a post tomorrow outlining the closet project AND, in celebration of my 600th post, I am also going to have a giveaway!

Results

So whattaya think? This is Valspar's "Escape" otherwise known as Number TWO! Just one coat so far, but we're getting there! Is it what you expected? Does it look better? Worse? Is my vision becoming any clearer?

Oh, and I guess I have a giveaway winner to announce. Random.org picked #14, which is SAMINA! Samina, please send me your address so I can mail out your book!

Thanks to everyone for the input! I KNEW the bribe would work! :-D

Opinions Sought, Bribery Involved

I know it's boring to hear about painting cabinets day after day, so I'm offering a little bribe if you bear with me a little longer and help with some advice. Want to win a copy of this book? Keep reading!

So this is what the kitchen looks like right now. The cabinets and trim are nearly done, we have a tile guy lined up for the backsplash (white subway tile, very simple), and we are going to try refinishing the countertops ourselves. If that should go terribly wrong, we'll replace them with new butcher block, but I have been assured that no special skills are needed, so that sounds like our kind of project!

I've been eyeing up some finishing touches like a new faucet, pendant lights, and a rolling cart, which will make for MUCH more interesting posts, but before we can get to the fun stuff, we have to make some decisions.

We know we want blue. I had decided on a color, but got cold feet and brought home a few more samples. After round two of samples, we've narrowed it down to these two.

Which do you prefer?

Tell me your choice and why, and I will enter you in a drawing to win the Make Your Place book! And don't worry, you can win even if we don't end up going with your pick. I'll take opinions until the end of the day Wednesday, because Thursday is the day we start painting, and then draw a winner at random. And now I will refrain from saying anything else until I hear some opinions!

Warm and Toasty

I thought a nice, warm picture from Ireland was in order to counteract the cold, snowy ones I posted the other day. This is the new Stanley cooker at the farm, and isn't it a beauty? Gosh, I love it. I resisted as long as I could, then, much to everyone's amusement, I started taking pictures of it. Nevermind the people we hadn't seen for a year, look at that stove! ;-)

Today my mom chose the winner of my ornament variation contest. Mags, your suggestion to add a bit of glitter to the edges was her favorite! Congratulations! If I weren't so lazy, it would have been fun to make a few and show the winner rather than name the winner, but I don't have any glitter, and it's cold outside, so this will have to do!

Last Call for Entries!

This is extremely last minute, but I wanted to announce the prize for the ornament contest I posted about way back in October! If you'd like a shot at winning the scrapbooking/cardmaking supplies shown above, today is the LAST DAY TO ENTER. There are only a few entries so far, and I'm sure there are a lot more ideas out there! Good luck!

GOAL! And a Giveaway!

I made my goal of listing ten things on etsy!

See if there's anything in my shop that catches your eye.
I still have lots to list!

Leave a comment about your favorite item in my shop and you could win this cute child's hankie.

It isn't vintage, but it's still as sweet as can be!

I'll choose a winner from the comments when I wake up on Friday, the tenth.

Apron Winner

After filtering out the double comment, my husband's two cents, and the comment from Christy (who wasn't entering), Random.org picked Erin of Where the Heck is Guam? as the winner of my apron giveaway! Looks like a cool blog--and where the heck IS Guam?

Somebody PLEASE tell me how to get the graphic of the chosen number onto here from Random.org! I always feel like I should prove who won, but I have no idea how to do that!

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The wreath in the picture is another result of throwing out fifty things. I've had those flowers FOREVER and thought maybe their time was up, but I think they do nicely as a wreath! What did we do before glue guns?

Out Out Out!

Did I say I'd throw out fifty things by Friday? I better get busy! This morning, my mission was to go through my photos and fit everything into two boxes. I'm not quite there yet, but I need to move on to something less fussy if I'm going to hit fifty today. On the other hand, I had no trouble at all pulling out a nice, tall stack of books to donate to the library's book sale!

37. Pile of books.

38. Photographs.

Now, how about a giveaway for the kids? For this giveaway, leave a comment telling me either your favorite book as a child or a current favorite of your kids. Comments will close Sunday at 9 pm my time, and the winner may choose either the two Lena Anderson books on the left or the two stylish, graphic books on the right. This one will be open only to US commenters (sorry!) so I can take advantage of cheap, book-rate postage!

Make sure I can get in touch with you if you win! I need an email or a blog address, please!

Winner Winner Tofu-Chicken Dinner

Krista from Improves With Age, you've won the sewing notions giveaway! How do you like my high-tech random number generator? Everyone got an equal section of the paper and then I threw a button at it! :-D

Krista is a girl after my own heart. She likes refashioning and takes pictures of her clotheslines!

I have to say, I got a good laugh out of this giveaway. So many people with messy sewing rooms and yet they are trying to win more sewing stuff! hehe! My sewing room is by FAR the messiest room of the house. I try to rationalize this by saying it has to serve as so many things--sewing room, office, laundry area--how can I possibly keep that organized? But really? I just have too much stuff!

Giveaway Odds and Ends

We have a winner! The very last person to enter pulled off the win! Congratulations, Kathryn! Please email your address to DarlingPetunia (at) aol (dot) com. Will you share some of your sock and glove creations with us?

But wait! There is other giveaway business!

The stitch counters: Three are spoken for, which leaves one. I did not receive an address from one of the commenters, so I'm moving along to the next name on the list: stickenickan. If you are stickenickan (what's a stickenickan?) please send me your address so I can send you a stitch counter. If I don't hear from you, I'm giving up! :-)

The yellow shoes: Everyone likes those yellow shoes! They are a size eleven (yes, I'm an Amazon), and there's a close up of them here. I got them at Target maybe three years ago and never wore them. They are not leather. I think I paid twelve dollars for them. All that being said, if someone REALLY wants them, I'll sell them for $5 + s&h. I'm warning you, though--postage will cost more than the shoes!

Anything else that anyone has asked about: Many, many of these things are going to go up for sale on etsy or ebay once I have everything sorted.

And finally: Anyone ready for a new giveaway?

Vintage notions! Seam bindings, snaps, even a bra repair kit! Everything you see here is up for grabs in one lot. If you're interested, leave a comment answering this question: What area of your home is the most difficult for you to keep organized? I will leave comments open until Wednesday night at 9 pm and then pick a winner at random.

Morning Edition TOFT and a Giveaway!

Hey, all! Some pre-noon Throw Out Fifty Things! I think I need to focus more this afternoon, because this morning was a little random! But as long as things are going out the door, it's all good. Blogging this is helping me to stay motivated, but I know it isn't too exciting to read about, so I'm going to pepper these posts with GIVEAWAYS! Yay!

16. Bedspread and pillow cover. I thought I might cut this up and make something from this, but it isn't going to happen.

17. Pile o' clothes.

18. Socks. I'm sure you'll be excited to hear, my sock drawer is beautiful now.

19. Leftovers from a scrapbooking box I won. (I don't scrapbook.)

20. Bathroom rug.

21. Stack of books.

For the giveaway, leave a comment saying which book you would like to win. I have plans for some of these, so you must choose from the books shown below! Make sure I have an email address at which to contact you if you are chosen. I will leave comments open until tomorrow night, Monday, May 31, at nine pm my time, which is EST, I guess. This one is open only to the US! Here's a closer look at the books which are part of the giveaway!

Edited to Add: I guess I was sort of unclear in my directions--sorry! Comment with the name of the book you'd like if you're chosen. I'll choose one winner, and that person will get their choice. Better?

The two vintage baby knitting books count as one choice!

For the Love of Knitting: Lovely book about the history of knitting. Bought as a gift, anticipating a gift swap, then ended up with a different swap partner!

Encyclopedia of Embroidered Flowers: Beautiful, detailed embroidery designs--way beyond my skill level.

Sock and Glove: Cute ideas for softies!

Christmas Decorations from Williamsburg's Folk Art Collection: Ideas for old-fashioned, natural tree ornaments.

Ottobre Design Spring/Summer 2007: Many cute patterns--I cannot get into tracing them!

Style on a Budget

Easy Flea Market Style

Throwing Out Fifty Things

I've been working on another project, besides The Quilt. Decluttering. Reading another blog (I don't remember which one, sorry, but there are many), I came across the idea of throwing out fifty things. It's a book, it's a website, and it's turning into a movement, with bloggers from all over rising to the challenge to let go of the stuff that's clogging up their lives. Wanna play?
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My first five things:

1. Bag of yarn

2. Scarves and hankies.

3. Undies that don't agree with me.

4. Bits from the jewelry box.

5. Knitting books and tools.

Some of these things are going to the thrift shop and others I'll save for the next flea market, but I may do a few giveaways while I'm at it, too. To begin, I have a few of these little stich counters for knitting. Aren't they cute? If you'd like one, drop me a line!

The First Cut is the Deepest

I am compelled to clean the house by very few things. Impending guests is one of them. Apparently, fear of cutting my quilt blocks is another. Yesterday, after many loads of laundry, dusting, vacuuming, and rearranging my husband's sock drawer (really!) I could avoid it no longer. It was time to cut.

As Care suggested, I set myself up at a table where I had access to three sides of the cutting mat. The only table in the house big enough to hold this gargantuan mat is my sewing table. Piles of fabric and bags of trim seem to grow up around the table like barnacles, so I didn't clear the space so much as I excavated it. But here's the thing: Care is right. You do want to be able to get to three sides of the mat. Some cuts are more comfortable from the front; others are easier to do from the sides. Oh, and the huge mat? Lovely.

Things proceeded rather smoothly. I set up the laptop with Care's tutorial and followed along. I felt reassured having here there on top of my washing machine!

Questions for Care: You say not to iron the fold. Why is that? On some of the pieces, the fold was sort of "loose" (for lack of a better word) which made lining it up on the mat sort of difficult. Will terrible things befall me if I iron the fold?

Also, is it okay that I ended up with a little of the selvedge on one of my blocks? Will it be hidden in a seam anyway?

Here's another surprise I found: Ugly marker marking scrawled on the reverse side of one of my fabrics. Will we be using every single block we cut? Because this shows through on the other side. If I can't get it out, I will have to buy a little more fabric.

I'd give the girl who cut my fabrics at Jo-Ann's a B-. For the most part, I was able to squeeze the cuts I needed out of the pieces, but a few were VERY close, and the zebra print was short.

I made a bad cut myself. Towards the end, I got cocky and ignored Care's instructions. I wasn't cutting away from my body, and I didn't have the ruler pinned down with my forearm, and I made a bad cut. Lesson learned: LISTEN TO CARE!

Eeee! Look how cute! You may notice I didn't not get hung up on making sure the pattern of my muse fabric was straight. Will I regret that? Should I redo it, or will it all blend in once we have it sewn together and chopped up and sewn back together?

And finally...these were the last two fabrics picked! I can't believe how many of you guessed! Why did you pick these? OMG, they don't go, do they? Do I need to pick different ones? I'm just kidding, I'm happy with them. :) I did a random drawing of the names who guessed correctly, and the winner is...2WeeMonsters! Send me your address, 2Wee, and I'll ship a little something off soon. :)

Quilt Angst and a Giveaway!

The array of fabrics above represents almost two hours of choosing, so if you don't like them, please refrain from commenting or I may become violent. Thank you. :)

I'm sure we have a fabric shop around here somewhere, with lovely fabric collections for quilting, but I'm impatient and cheap, so I went to Jo-Ann's, where the cottons were all 40% off. What I saved in money, I spent in time. In spades.

Oh, but have I mentioned that my new work location is about two minutes away from Jo-Ann's? I can drive from the front of the building to the parking lot of Jo-Ann's without even making a turn. Handy, that.
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So, my grand plan was to find one fabric I really liked, and then play off of it to pick the others. I went marching in there with Care's words playing in my head: "You really can't go wrong here--just pick fabrics you love!" Oh, I was so confident! And then...oh boy...trouble.

First I found a floral with a retro flavor in hot pink, yellow, black, and grey. I pulled out some polka dots in pink, an abstract print in grey...and then I started to struggle. None of the yellows seemed right except for another dotty design, and it was starting to look like too much. Then, suddenly, the whole thing just started screaming EIGHTIES FLASHBACK at me, so I walked away.
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My next attempt was a Cath Kidston inspired palette of red and sky blue. I was up to about six fabrics before I realized it was looking more patriotic than Kidston-esque. Scrap that.

Well, okay, I love red. What if I keep the red and ditch the blue and see where that goes. After much pulling and discarding, the pile ended up being red, white, grey, and black. It was the closest to complete, but then I got nervous about it looking like a quilt for a Chicago Bulls fan. Sigh.

I so wish I had taken my camera along for this! That place looked like a hotel room after Guns 'n Roses got done with it!

Finally, FINALLY, due to divine intervention (or an untied shoe), I spied this almost Liberty-like print tossed on one of the bottom shelves. --cue the chorus of angels-- I had found my muse! The next five fabrics practically flew off the shelves to join the pile. The next two? A little more difficult. And then, inevitably, I got stuck. Anyone want to guess which were the last two fabrics to get picked? If you do, I'll send you a little prize.

In other news, after a frustrating search on the internet for either a local Bernina dealer or a website selling attachments for my particular machine, I decided to email one of the internet parts stores for some answers. As I was composing my email, I started to type "Activa 230, Patchwork Edition" when it hit me: I have a machine that's for making quilts. I took another look at the attachments that came with it and look at what I found! Boy, do I feel like a numbskull.

So I guess I'm ready to start cutting. I feel faint. Be sure to skip on over to Care's to see how easy she make it all look. She needs her own show.