Edna Annie

Today, I was greeted by this adorable little girl in the mail, Edna Annie. Isn't she cute!

I found this website on Friday that you just have to check out, http://www.raggedyoldannies.com/. I had seen someone on HGTV years ago making these cute dolls... who knows maybe it was her. I can't remember it was too long ago. Anyway, as soon as I saw her blog and website I just had to have one. I have been wanting one of these dolls ever since I saw them on TV. I had originally planned to purchase one for my daughter for Christmas, so I found Edna Annie and had to adopt her. So, I quickly made the purchase so she would not go home to someone else, and immediately got an email from Nicole saying that she was on her way. What fast service! I was impressed to say the least. WELL.... today, she arrived. She is so well made and so adorable... that well... I just had to keep her for myself... I'll get Paige some other things for Christmas... this one was mine. Just look at her... She looks so cute next to my Moda Home Apron Strings Lunch Tin.

Weekend Recap

Saturday, my mom, sister, me and the kids went to Durant, Oklahoma for a few hours to do a bit of antique shopping. We actually happened to walk into a Quilt Store on Main Street that carried a ton of Moda fabrics. Hearts -N- Twined is located at 137 W Main Street, Durant, OK. I was impressed how much product they had in the store, yet was not overwhelming. They carry all our jelly rolls, layer cakes, charm packs and more. I really liked how the fabric bolts were grouped together and then above the collections, they had the cut fabrics that went with the collection. So everything you needed to match in a collection was grouped together and easy to find. They also carried a few items from our Moda Home line as well as a bunch of notions. They had several other items as well and everything was grouped so nicely in areas easy to find. Well done, Hearts -N- Twined. I was able to talk with the owners for a quick minute and had a nice chat. They are also a Moda University member so if you are in the Durant, Oklahoma area, you should go and check out their shop and classes.

I even found a couple of things for myself that I just had to purchase. One was this cute little cow rattle that Matthew just had to have. He is so soft!

The other was this adorable dress towel... How cute is this! I have never seen anything so adorable for a kitchen towel. I immediately had to hang this up in my kitchen when I got home.


We gradually made it down the road to an antique store and these two little dough figures caught my eye. My mom has the dough boy in her kitchen and when Paige goes to Granny and Poppy's house, she always wants to play with it. Well... little does she know that she will be getting this cute little dough boy and girl in her stocking this year for christmas. I was so excited to find the pair and quickly snatched them up before looking at the price... 7.50 each... score!

When we got home, we played outside for a bit and then came in. Well, the door we come in through by the garage, we have a laundry room / mud room where we remove our shoes. Paige was playing with her Barbie doll outside and we came in to take our shoes off. I took my shoes off first, then Paige, then Barbie... of course. I thought this was so funny... I just had to share.

Dollhouse Frock GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Dollhouse Frock GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!
Check out this week's giveaway from Grosgrain... Absolutely adorable!!!!!

Grosgrain: Sarsaparilla Skirt & Vest GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain: Sarsaparilla Skirt & Vest GIVEAWAY!!!!
I just happened to fall upon this blog through another blog. She has the cutest little outfits for kids... and she gives them away! You must check this out. She does a giveaway biweekly. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

30 Days and Counting....

It has officially started.... the chocolate and Dr. Pepper cravings have kicked into gear in preparation for Quilt Market. Market is quickly approaching and I am sooo looking forward to it... new web developments, chocolate, new fabrics and products, Dr. P, new ideas, chocolate, the long hours, more chocolate and DP, the excitement of market.... did I mention chocolate? No kidding... I truly love it when market rolls around... it is an adrennaline rush for quilters. I may be a web developer, however I definitely enjoy sewing when the time permits. I have been munching on Peanut M&M's all week and I had to change it up a bit tonight, so I made brownies with extra chocolate chips after dinner. YUMMM!!! Want some?

On another note... We are holding another challenge on our Moda Fabricmatcher website! WOOHOO!

The Fabricmatcher contest for October 2008 will be featuring one of our Moda Fabric Designers, Fig Tree Quilts. Joanna Figueroa with Fig Tree Quilts has gladly accepted to be apart of our October Contest.

The rules for the contest are as follows:

1 – You must only use the fabrics designed by Fig Tree Quilts. You may also mix and match any of her collections to use in your project. Simply select Fig Tree Quilts as the Designer on the Find Fabrics page to select your fabrics for your project.

2 – You can use any pattern available on our Moda Fabricmatcher website under Find Patterns. They do not have to be designed by Fig Tree Quilts in order to participate.

3 – Your project must be named “Fun with Figs“ in order to be eligible. You may enter as many projects as you wish, however they must have “Fun with Figs“ as the project name. Simply number them with a 1, 2, 3, etc. after the name.

4 – The “Fun with Figs” Contest will end on October 31, 2008 at midnight.

REMEMBER: You must have your Stash including your Projects available for the Public to view. You can make your stash public by following the instructions under the heading “How to enter” on the Win a Quilt Kit page under the Show & Tell tab.

The Moda judges and Joanna with Fig Tree Quilts will select and announce the winning project the first week of November 2008. The winner of this contest will win a Moda Fabric bundle and a set of patterns all designed by Fig Tree Quilts and will be posted on our Moda Fabricmatcher website.

Enjoy!

Hurry... Contest ends Sept. 30!!!

Only one week left to get your Contest submission in for our Moda Fabricmatcher contest for September! If you have not been to our Moda Fabricmatcher website, then you must check it out. For the month of September we are doing a contest for our monthly quilt kit winner. The prize is a fat quarter bundle of the best fabric out there... Moda Fabrics... and a really cute calendar that Barbara Brackman (Moda Fabric Designer) has taken original artwork and put a fabric spin on it.

Anyway... the rules are simple... Go to http://moda.fabricmatcher.com/ , upload this picture by Barbara Brackman into the Image Matcher on the Find Fabrics page and find fabrics that match the colors in the picture. You then create a project using the fabrics that match the picture and come up with your own interpretation of what this picture should look like as a quilt or any other project. The only catch is that you have to name your project "American Fashion" when you save it and your stash must be public.

Then, the first week of October we will pick a winner of who we (moda) think has the best interpretation of this picture. Sounds like fun... huh?! So.... start creating! If you have more than one project that you would like to submit into the contest, simply add a 1, 2, 3, etc. after the name "American Fashion". For detailed rules for the contest go to http://moda.fabricmatcher.com/ShowTell/WINAQUILTKIT/tabid/132/Default.aspx.

ENJOY!!!

Mommy moment...

You know your kids are getting big when they can go potty all by themselves without any help at all. Up until this week, Paige has been coming into my office, dancing around me, urgently saying... potty, potty, potty, potty! We have been potty training for a few months now and she has been doing awesome! Earlier this week, I was working in my office and all of sudden here this flushing sound coming from the bathroom. Paige had gone into the bathroom, moved her stool over to the light switch, turned on the light, moved the stool over to the toilet, went potty, flushed, put her panties back on, moved the stool over to the sink, washed her hands, then turned off the light... all by herself without asking for help! I must say, I am very proud of her. She has done this all week without any help and I am LOVING IT!

Just a few weeks ago I received this promotional kid package in the mail (you know those ones with all those little sales flyers compiled into one mailing that try to sell you kids books, pictures, checks, etc.) Well, I fell for one of the promotions... you remember Highlights magazine? We used to get them when I was a kid and loved finding all the hidden pictures and doing the activities in them. My first thought was, my kids are too little for this right now, but then I noticed they have a brand new magazine just for toddlers... High Five! So, I had to order it for Paige, our three year old. She recently got her first issues and we had lots of fun finding all the hidden pictures and reading the short stories. If you haven't seen this and you have toddlers, you have to get a subscription. I think this weekend we just might make the chocolate dipped banana pops they have in the October issue... YUM!

NEW Moda Sweet Rolls... Coming Soon!

If you have heard of Moda Fabrics then you know about all the fun precut fabrics to help satisfy your "Sweet Tooth". Well... the Moda new product and marketing team has done it again and coming sometime around January 2009, NEW Sweet Rolls will be "Hot out of the oven" and arriving to a quilt store near you!

What are Sweet Rolls? They are similar to the Jelly Roll, however are smaller in size. The Sweet Rolls are 40 - 1.5" x 45" strips. Even the twill tape that holds these sweet rolls together is smaller. Mix them up with Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes and Charm Packs to create your very own quilt recipe. You must keep your eye out for these in January 2009. They are really cute and a great addition to all the other Moda precuts and I have had the joy of posting these cute little sweet rolls to our Moda website. Check out Quiltersbuzz.com for more information from our Marketing Director, Lissa Alexander, on more precuts coming this January. Can you imagine what patterns will be coming out for these new precuts to satisfy all your baking needs? What fun!!!

Calling all EQ6 Users!

Did you know that you can download Moda fabric images off Moda's website? Well... you can and you can easily upload them into EQ6. It's simple. Just go to http://www.modafabrics.com/ hover over the Fabrics tab and click What's New. On this page we post all the new fabrics that will be coming to a store near you. If you click on the dark brown dot under each of the fabric collection images, a pop up window will prompt you to Save or Open the file. Click Save and select a location to save the .zip file someplace on your computer that you will remember. Once the save is complete, you can go to your computer in the place you saved the file and extract the JPG images from the zip file. Once extracted, then you can upload all the JPG images into EQ6. You can visit this months newsletter from EQ6 or look in your EQ6 manual on how to upload the images into your Library. I have also found that Piecemeal Quilts did a great write-up on their blog as well on How to import fabrics in EQ6.

What fun!

I brought Paige with me to the office today since she had a doctor's appointment later in the day and Lissa, my boss, had given her these cute little toys. One was a sparklers head band which she wore all throughout the Moda Warehouse and into the evening and the other toy was this fun little clacker / yoyo /squishy thing.

She played with both of these toys all day and night. It was kind of cute when she received the toys from Lissa... she said "Me, dank you" so Lissa replied, "Me, welcome you". It made me chuckle... Paige has this thing of saying Me, in front of words that have to do with her. At least it has shortened from two me's to just one. Anyway, Lissa, I think you have made a new friend!

Crazy Week

This past week has been very busy in the Yosten household. We recently discovered that our little girl, Paige, is allergic to our little maltese dog, Abby. We have had Abby for almost nine years and have decided that it was time we found a new home for her. You may even recognize her from this picture. Abby has been a MODA HOME MODEL for the Pampered Pooch collection. Abby has been a great dog, very loving, and playful. But when it comes to our kids health, then we must do what's best.

Unfotunately, Paige is also a severe asthmatic so anytime she gets sick or her allergies strike up, her asthma always interferes. Tuesday, we had to start her on her steroid to help with controlling her asthma so we don't end up in the hospital. I feel so bad for her that she has to go through this at such a young age. She has been on medication for her asthma since she was 11 months old. We do daily treatments with her morning and night and by now she is a pro. She takes her medicine like a big girl. They always say that you'll grow out of it as you get older, however my husband and I both have asthma and we still take medication at times.

Matthew, our youngest, has also been sick with a small cold. We have been trying to keep him from drinking out of Paige's cup so they don't pass anything back and forth. Poor thing he can't breathe through his nose. He is just so darn cute... nothing can keep this little boy down. Even when he doesn't feel his best, he is still knows how to make us smile. Don't let him fool you though... he does have his moments if he doesn't get what he wants.

So with keeping Paige and Matthew well and keeping up with my work, the house... let's just say it is being a bit neglected. I just hope nobody decides to just pop on over. :) Hopefully, things will be back to normal soon.

Moda News Update!!!

Okay... I have been working on posting all our monthly updates on our website and decided to start a monthly news update on my blog to inform all you MODA fans out there What's New from Moda!!!

Moda has now branched out to quilt batting and started a new line called Luna Quilt Batting by Moda. Kyoto Bamboo Blend Batting is the first introduction of batting. I have seen this first hand and I have to say it is the strongest and softest batting I have ever felt. They really thought this one through when creating this batting. It does not pull apart like other battings and you can stitch up to 8" apart. Because it is made of a Bamboo blend, it is naturally anti-bacterial, biodegradable and hypo-allergenic which makes this an eco-friendly material. I just got a crib size of this batting and absolutely love it! I am definitely going to start using this batting for all my craft and quilting needs. The Kyoto Bamboo Blend Batting is available now in a quilt store near you. You can find a local quilt store by visiting our Where To Buy Store Locator on Moda's website.

The new Moda Fabric Collections arriving in stores this month are...

You must go and check these new fabric collections out on our What's New for Moda Fabrics page our Moda website. You can also get a sneak peak of what will be arriving in the two future months. To purchase the fabrics from these great collections, you can find a local quilt store by visiting our Where To Buy Store Locator.

Moda Home has some exciting new finished products available this month as well. "A Merry Christmas" collection will be in the October/November issue of Home Companion magazine. This new Christmas collection is so adorable, featuring vintage greeting cards all over kitchen linens in winter blue, tree green and cherry red colors. This collection features towels, tablecloth, crochet pot holders, bib apron, running yardage, organizer, gift bags, and a Christmas Stuffies kit. Everything you need to decorate your kitchen and beyond for Christmas this year. You can purchase these items and any other Moda Home products from Home a la mode.

Also new this month from Moda Home is the Learn to Sew Quilt Charming Kit. This is the perfect beginner quilt kit for anyone who wants to Learn to Sew. Kit includes Step by Step flash cards, fabric, bias tape, needles, yarn and it's all packaged in a reusable tote bag. The quilt top measures 36" x 26.5". Backing and batting are not included. You can purchase this item and any other Moda Home products from Home a la mode.

Happy Labor Day!

Just want to wish a Happy Labor Day to everyone. I hope your weekend is filled with fun and relaxation! We had some friends from Richie's (hubby) work over and their families yesterday for some food and fun to celebrate Labor Day. I really enjoyed having everyone over... it was a lot of fun. We had the traditional american holiday food... hamburgers and hot dogs... YUMMM!

After we ate the kids went out side to play and we put out the bubble machine. They loved it! Paige and Thera took it over... they made sure to let me know when the bubbles were running out. It was too cute! Whoever invented this bubble machine has got to be making a fortune! This is the best outside toy for toddlers... they all just sit around it watching the bubbles come out! I got mine from Target. Just invest in a lot of AA batteries and a refill bottle of bubbles and just keep pouring them in. Lots of fun! Today, Richie actually had to work so the kids and I are going to Granny and Poppy's to spend some time with them. Have a great Labor Day and stay safe!