The Secret Revealed . . . I WON!

Yes, I can hardly still believe it myself. One of my EQ Rose of Sharon Quilt Block designs was chosen as one of the 12 final winners. See the original posting here. When I found out several months ago (December 14 to be exact) I could hardly contain myself! Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson actually picked this block as a winner!



We were told there were over 850+ entries and 11 countries represented. Sharon and her business partner Elizabeth at Nine Patch Media narrowed it down to 50 blocks and Ricky and Alex took over judging from there. They "complained" that they were given a very difficult task of picking only 12 of the 50 they were given. LOL!

My block will now be in Sharon Pederson's Rose of Sharon Block Book, as well as the DVD of the same name and it will also be available as a CD from OESD Embroidery. I also won approximately $1,700 in prizes. I am soooo tickled!

Funny thing is that I was most proud when Sharon herself told me that she uses MY block as a teaching sample in her classes because it eclipsed a variety of nuances, such as placement, color, sizing and motion. Wow, what an honor! Oh, found the e-mail: Here are her words exactly, "...here's the block we fell in love with. It's not only going to be in the book, the DVD, and the Embroidery CD but I have chosen it to be the class sample block for the Rose of Sharon class. It has the perfect combination of shapes, sizes, colors, etc. and is 'traditional' enough but still sort of contemporary at the same time."

Doing the happy dance,
Suzy

Move Over Thelma & Louise -- Here Come Kathy & Suzy!

Ok, ok, so we weren't that bad and we made it out alive -- but we DID have a fun time on our little getaway weekend to St. Augustine.

Hubby was down in Stuart with his mother this past week (his Dad had to unexpectedly have quadruple bypass surgery but all went well). So while the cat's away the girl's decided to P-L-A-Y.

First thing Kathy said after I told her that hubby would be gone for a week was "Road Trip!" First thing I said in response was "St. Augustine!" Aside from the silly "pushing all the elevator buttons" and various small sundry things, we were what we consider well-behaved. Hehehehe. No falling down drunk or peeing on people's lawns and such. No, we were trying our best to stay out of jail and spend the night at the local Holiday Inn instead.

We walked and walked, and took the trolly tour and walked, and walked, and...well we were TIRED when we got home from the trip. Only a few pictures to share, as we couldn't be bothered with the camera. We were too busy window shopping and touring and real shopping and such.

We did take pictures of each other at one of the places we had dinner. The place was soooooo cute! It was an Irish Pub and Seafood Restaurant. We ate upstairs on the outdoor balcony overlooking the water, bridge, pirate ships, sailboats, yachts and even horse-drawn carriages. We even saw 4 dolphins playing amongst the boats. And the food was great, as well! Forgot to take pics of the food, but we both had the fish and chips. Dang they gave you alot. We could have shared after it was all said and done. :o)

Oh, and I can't forget to tell you we found a quilt shop! Right there in downtown St. Augustine. It was a really wonderful shop with friendly staff and great fabrics! Yes, of course I helped our fledgling economy by plopping down almost $200. But see my pretty treasures!

Hope your weekend was as great as mine,

Suzy

I Have An Exciting Secret!

...And finally after waiting several months, I'll be able to share it with you here on my blog on Friday, May 21, during the Spring 2010 International Quilt Market. YAYYYYYY!

Stay tuned,
Suzy

P.S. If you want to guess what it could possibly be (hint: check previous blog entries), leave a comment with your guess and I'll e-mail you and let you know if you are correct. I can't officially B-L-O-G about it until then, but I have been able to tell family and friends. And I consider y'all my friends. :o)

Dream ~ Design ~ Create: Announcing The Upcoming Release of EQ7

Coming June 7, 2010 from The Electric Quilt Company!

Quilts, Blocks and now PHOTOS!
Digital cameras will become a quilter's best friend. EQ7 has dozens of ways to turn everyday photos into quilt art images. Or crop and edit scanned fabrics right in EQ7 in minutes. And that's just the start!

New Activation Policy
You'll never run out of EQ7 activations! Activation and deactivation is as easy as two clicks of the mouse. Install on as many computers as you like and quickly transfer activations from computer to computer. This new policy gives you complete freedom to manage your own activations — and no dongle to worry about!

Easier than ever for new users
EQ7 is the most user-friendly full-featured quilting software yet.
• Complete user manual
• 22 printable full-color PDF lessons (115 pages)
• Point-and-read info on each tool – now linked directly to Help topics
• 10 videos targeted for beginners
• 67 “How do I?” topics: printable stepped-out instructions for doing everything from printing English paper-piecing templates to drawing a New York Beauty
• Built-in Help buttons are everywhere, targeted to the task you're doing
• New block tools for creating original blocks instantly without drawing
• Blocks size themselves – just drag and drop on the quilt

Users upgrading from EQ6 will feel right at home
Exactly the same friendly interface, plus loads of new user-requested features.
• 5000 copyright-free blocks
• 5000 new scanned fabrics, plus grayscale textures
• 120 new pre-designed quilt layouts
• Snap blocks to a Quilt grid
• Instant border blocks with greatly expanded Auto Borders
• Print multiple photos on fabric
• Create original fabric designs from photos, then print on fabric
• Mirror and use myriad symmetries on photos
• Use dozens of artistic effects, making everyday photos look like watercolors or Impressionist paintings
• 79 new features in all

Netbook compatible
Works on netbooks as well as laptops and desktop computers.

When will The Electric Quilt Company begin shipping EQ7?
We will begin shipping June 7, 2010.

What are the EQ7 and EQ7 Upgrade system requirements?
ELECTRIC QUILT 7
Minimum system requirements: Windows® XP, Windows® Vista, Windows® 7 (32 or 64 bit), Internet access, 750 MB of available hard-disk space, CD-ROM drive. Netbook compatible. Internet required for activation, deactivation, and periodic validations.
Recommended: Monitor with screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or greater, Adobe® Reader®, sound card for demo videos.
Activation: Internet access is required for activation and deactivation. Unlimited installations. Activations can be easily transferred between computers. Two (2) computers may be simultaneously active.
EQ7 UPGRADE
Minimum system requirements: Windows® XP, Windows® Vista, Windows® 7 (32 or 64 bit), Internet access, 750 MB of available hard-disk space, CD-ROM drive. Netbook compatible. Internet required for activation, deactivation, and periodic validations.
Recommended: Monitor with screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or greater, Adobe® Reader®, sound card for demo videos.
Activation: Internet access is required for activation and deactivation. Unlimited installations. Activations can be easily transferred between computers. Two (2) computers may be simultaneously active.

UPGRADE VERSION of Electric Quilt 7 This upgrade version of Electric Quilt 7 will install only if you are a licensed user of Electric Quilt 6 (EQ6). Visit www.electricquilt.com for other upgrade requirements.

What is the activation policy?
EQ7 has a new activation policy, created as a result of user feedback.

Activation: Internet access is required for activation and deactivation. Unlimited installations.
Activations can be easily transferred between computers. Two (2) computers may be simultaneously active

Just When We Thought It Couldn't Get Worse...

First, sorry I haven't blogged since my last post asking for prayers. I've been a bit depressed (hence no quilting), but even more so since our friend and neighbor across the street passed away on the 29th. He had the same cancer as Chris and decided to take the same non-traditional treatment route. He passed away 3 years to the day he was diagnosed. His memorial service was on Friday. A very sad day indeed. His wife, Kathy, and I are good friends and I am totally making myself available to her, as I know she will also be there for me, if and when that time comes.

Second, Chris had his endoscopy yesterday. Bad news all around. The tumor is quite huge (8cm x 6cm), which translated is approximately 3-1/4 inches by 2-1/2 inches. She was shocked he can still swallow and that it hasn't yet obstructed. According to the results and the pictures (ewwwie, btw), he doesn't have much more opening to go before he does obstruct. PLEASE DON'T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU GET GROSSED OUT EASILY. The thing that scared us both the most, though, was when the doctor started talking "fatal aspiration." Apparently he is at the point where he could be having a conversation just fine, and then suddenly have an aspiration episode where the tumor will start uncontrollably bleeding and he will just start vomiting blood and die. We are also questioning whether the bleeding episode from several months back where he was bleeding profusely from his rectum and the hospital couldn't figure out why. He was in the hospital for several days. His hemogoblin has never really rebounded yet from that episode. In fact, if it gets any lower, he will have to have a transfusion. It is a strong possibility that that episode could have been a bleeding episode from his rectum caused by the tumor. Apparently he can bleed out either through vomiting the blood or from his rectum. Scary stuff indeed.

So there you have it. Our lives at the moment. Monday we have an appointment with a lawyer here in FL to update our wills. Last time was a few years ago in NJ, but we want to make sure everything is kopasetic (sp?) now that we're living here in FL.

Living each day at a time and still asking for prayers,
Suzy

Asking For Prayers, Please

I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything of substance, but my back has been killing me and I've been to the Dr's several times and even got a series of two epidural shots. Those who know me know that I have to be in quite a bit of pain to face needles, especially those in my spine area. Anyway, I'm feeling much better now to where the pain is managable, but it's not me I'm wanting prayers for...

We got the results Friday from hubby's recent PET scan and things are not good. In fact they are depressingly bad. The cancer is now progressing quite quickly and the Dr thinks the tumor will overtake his "esophagus" sometime this year. What that means is he will quickly go downhill from there as he won't be able to eat or even breathe. They may be able to put in a stint and even a feeding tube at that point, but it will only delay the inevitable and, of course, hospice will be called in. I asked how much it has spread and the Dr basically put his hand at his waist and his other hand at his neck. We were shocked. Especially since Chris is feeling and eating so well right now. But, as the Dr said, it is now progressing rapidly. Chris still doesn't want chemo (radiation is now out of the picture because of how much it has spread) because although the chemo will give him a little more time, it will most likely make him sick as a dog and his herbs and homeopathy medication has given him three years without the negative side effects. He wants what time he has left to feel as "normal" as possible and I can't blame him. Chris will be getting an endoscopy so they can see exactly what's going on, and I will post again when we learn the results.

Okay, I thought I was handling this well, but I'm tearing up here. We knew that this would inevitably happen and we are blessed and thankful that we had the time we had (three whole years) after his recurrance diagnosis (especially when they were talking 3-6 months). I don't want to ramble on, but did want to let everyone know the latest, especially since several of my NJ friends read my blog.

Please keep us in your prayers,
Suzy

Eye Candy

In honor of National Quilting Day, I've finally gotten around to uploading the pics I took of some of my favorite quilts from our Quilt Show (which was a huge success, btw!)...

Seaside Piecemakers Quilt Show - March 12-13, 2010

Enjoy the show,
Suzy

"Chantilly" Small Raffle Quilt

I had so much fun making the first small raffle quilt that I decided to make another. It also measures 15"x15".




I'm totally diggin' the fabrics. They are leftover scraps from my "Patisserie Stars" quilt, along with a FQ of the alternate strips, and leftover strips of some green polkadot fabric I used as a backing in another quilt. I really love the feathers that I quilted in the alternate strip areas. They soften the look of the quilt even more. I just have to put on the sleeve and the label. That should only take a minute or so as I use heavy duty wonder under to fuse them on. :o)

Small Quilt Gratification,
Suzy

We Have A Winner!

The drawing has been held and we have a winner of the mystery giveaway!

Connie W. from Cootie Bug 2, this is your prize! Six yummy, soft fat quarters of Thimbleberries flannel fabrics. Hope you can use it in a quilt to keep you warm and cozy during the cold winter months. Here in Florida I don't have much use for flannel. LOL!

Thank you to everyone who entered. I'm sure I will have more goodies to giveaway in the future, so thank you for being faithful readers. :o)

Hugs,

Suzy

"In Bloom" Raffle Quilt

Our quilt guild is having their bi-annual show on March 12 and 13, 2010. We are 300 members strong and it is a huge show with a lot of work involved (that's why we only hold one every other year). I give them major kudos for their organization. Amazing! I would say the majority (if not all) of the active members support the show in one form or another. This is my first year with the guild and I'm wading in the shallow end this time, just getting my feet wet.

I've signed up to spend several hours at the small quilt raffle booth and also am donating a small quilt to be raffled. I've just finished it up and here it is!

I call it "In Bloom" and I had a blast making it. It was hard to decide what I was going to make, as the quilt can't be any larger than 15"x15", which is exactly what "In Bloom" measures. I hope we raise lots of money and I can't wait to go to the show and see all the beautiful quilts our members made. There will be vendors there, as well as food, raffle booths, a boutique with small handmade items, lectures and demonstrations, doll exhibit, quilt appraisals, wearable art and I almost forgot to mention this is also a judged show. Maybe next show I'll even enter a quilt in the show! :o) We also have a GORGEOUS opportunity quilt that members worked on and the proceeds go to benefit the Cancer Care Centers of Brevard Foundation. In case you are in the area, more information is available at www.seasidepiecemakers.com.

I'll be sure to take many pictures once the show is finally here and I'll, of course, post and share.

Blooming with happiness,

Suzy

P.S. Don't forget about my giveaway! Last postings due by midnight EST tonite! See my blog entry below...