Category: Books

Little Farmstead Living

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I live in Farmers Branch, a small town that
sits immediately north of Dallas, Texas.
I have lived here since I was eight years old. Three of my five kids live here, and all four of my grandkids live here.
My oldest grandson just started Kindergarten at the same elementary school I attended.
Why I mention this, is our family roots run deep and while I live in a suburb of Dallas, Texas surrounded by international business,
bustling highways, I love anything country/farmhouse related.

When I found out Martingale was publishing a book from Julie Thomas, I knew I had to own it.

I have followed Julie on instagram for quite a while and love everything she does.

Now I get to drool over the pages in print as she shares how they
“created a country life just past the city limits.”

Sounds completely heavenly!

Not only is the book full of gorgeous pictures, but it is also full of how-tos,
such as creating an outdoor eating area.
Many of these ideas are doable regardless of your space.

Gardening? My brown thumb doesn’t work, but I love reading about it,
dreaming about it and eating out of other people’s gardens.

Chickens Like Pumpkins Too.

This saying made me giggle.
My daughter lives in the country and raises chickens, so I do enjoy fresh, colorful eggs.
I will certainly send my pumpkins to the farm as treats for her chickens.

And if this is not the cutest thing ever,
an Olde English “Babydoll” sheep.

Not sure if this is Teddy, Winston or George but I
could stare at him for days.

A great book to add to your Christmas wish list! Available at your favorite book retailer. Stock #B1500

(all above photos used courtesy of Martingale publishing)

The book will be in stores October 1st, but as a special treat, I have an advance copy that I am going
to share with one of my country girl readers.

Leave a comment and let me know if you had an animal growing up.

I had many animals, but one of my favorites was my duck named Frito.

I will pick a winner at random on Wednesday the 18th.

 

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

  Winner

On A Roll

69 Comments

(giveaway closed)

Available now, stock # B1498

Moda Jelly Rolls have been around since 2008 and I can’t believe how many wonderful projects, tools, notions, patterns, and books have been created based on the 2 1/2″ strip. I will never forget the first time I used a jelly roll. After working a full day at the greatest job ever, I went home, opened a jelly roll and started sewing. So theraoutic!

The Moda All-Stars have done it again, each quilt is based on a jelly roll. Some of the quilts have additional fabrics added, some of the quilts are appliqued. There is something for everyone, 16 quilts all in all shapes and sizes sure to inspire.

Row 1, L to R

Not Too Sweet by American Jane
Chain Reaction by Kansas Troubles
What’s the Commotion by Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings

Row 2, L to R
One Roll Wonder by Me and My Sister
Square Dance by SweetWaterCo.
Pineapple Quilt by Zen Chic

Row 3, L to R
Sweet Butterfly by Stacy Iest Hsu
On Flip Side by Linzee McCray
Trifle by Janet Clare

Row 4, L to R
Apricot Jelly by Corey Yoder
Rule Roost by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs
Mounation Climbing by Betsy Chutchian

Row5
Maisy Daises by Fig Tree and Co.


and last but not least Parfait by Sherri McConnell. Can you believe these projects all started with a Jelly Roll?

The proceeds from the sale of this book are going to Schools on Wheels, an organization that provides academic tutoring to children living in shelters, motels, cars, group foster homes and on the streets in Southern California.

Your purchase of any of the Moda All-Star book helps us make donations to many of the causes that Moda Fabrics, Martingale Publishing and the Moda Designers believe in. Thank you for that!

Leave a comment and let me know what quilt you would want to make….. I have a few books that need to put to use!

enjoy!

-ModaLissa

Winners have been notified.

May 30, 2019 at 11:46 am

Paulette says:

Time to stop admiring jelly rolls and use them! I love the left cover quilt.

May 30, 2019 at 10:59 am

Teri says:

Of course I’d like to make all the quilts but the one that I most want to do now is Sweet Butterfly. I am looking for a special pattern for special girl and this looks perfect.

May 30, 2019 at 1:39 pm

Mary Ann Scanlon says:

It’s a toss up between Apricot Jelly and Not Too Sweet! Actually that’s one of the reasons I like apricot jelly, it’s not too sweet. (I crack myself up) thanks for fun give away Lissa.

May 31, 2019 at 8:24 am

Jane says:

Not Too Sweet really caught my eye! I would LOVE to own this book!

I love Quirky

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I love the word Quirky and I love little quilts, which is why I am taking part in Quirky Little Quilts quiltalong. I have choosen some of my favorite Minick and Simpson Christmas scraps.

Book and fabrics- Ready to go!
photo from https://temeculaquiltco.blogspot.com/

How super cool would it be to have a jar big enough to hold mini quilts or enough mini quilts to even fit into the jar! That is what I am going for.

Sheryl shared many tips on finishing the mini quilts and I can’t wait to get finished to try some of them out.

The Quiltalong starts on March 25th and all you have to do is make 4 mini blocks a week. To find out more details, click here.

Be sure to use the hashtag #QuirkyLittleQuiltsQAL when you post about your progress on Facebook and Instagram. I can’t wait to see what you create!

The Happiness Project

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Do you journal? I always have the best intentions but that does not get me very far. I have grand dreams of leaving elloquent books filled with wisdom and insight on life. There would be pages full of funny stories, copies of family recipes and historic happenings of the day.
WAKE UP! My abridged version of this is the Happiness Project journal. It is a small 5 year journal with about 3 lines per day. Just enough to jot a sentence or two of gratitude, major family events, a quote that caught my eye or a few words of happiness.
I am on to my second 5 year journal and will be finishing it up in the year 2020. Between these journals and my hot mess of pictures stored on google my family can enjoy a zany look into my mind!

I wanted to share some of the tips from Gretchen Rubin as great reflection and daily inspiration.  Enjoy!!

 

Twelve Personal Commandments

Be Gretchen.

Let it go.

Act the way I want to feel.

Do it now.

Be polite and be fair.

Enjoy the process.

Spend out.

Identify the problem.

Lighten up.

Do what ought to be done.

No calculation.

There is only love.

A Happiness Manifesto

To be happy, you need to consider feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth.

One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.

The days are long, but the years are short.

You’re not happy unless you think you’re happy.

Your body matters.

Happiness is other people.

Think about yourself so you can forget yourself.

“It is easy to be heavy: hard to be light.”—G. K. Chesterton

What’s fun for other people may not be fun for you, and vice versa.

Best is good, better is best.

Outer order contributes to inner calm.

Happiness comes not from having more, not from having less, but from wanting what you have.

You can choose what you do, but you can’t choose what you like to do.

“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.” —Robert Louis Stevenson

You manage what you measure.

 

I would love to hear what is some of your favorite books.

-modalissa