Kaffe Fassett Orphaned Quilt Project Giveaway

Did you ever have a quilting project that didn't even quite make it to UFO status? 
Did it just sit there, languishing for a few years while other ideas and plans had all the fun?  
I have one or two of those (cough!) and this is one of them.  

My project was going to look like this:

Kaffe Fassett Log Cabin Quilt

What it really looks like is this:

Looking for a good home

My plan got derailed almost as soon as I started, when the recipient moved and the quilt no longer fit in with her decor.  Well, that's life.  I still adore Kaffe fabrics, but just can't get the fire relit for this project.  My bucket list grows faster than I can sew and because I would like to pass this project on to someone else, I am offering the unfinished quilt here as a giveaway.   

These packs of precut strips could be used for many purposes really.  There are four packages of 2" wide strips in log cabin sized lengths (2" to 10" long).  Three of the packages each have enough strips to make twelve 9.5" blocks, like the ones shown here.  The fourth package has enough for nine blocks, but I will also send along the three completed blocks.   Please be aware that I was a bare beginner quilter at the time I sewed those blocks and they may not be sized perfectly, even with the paper foundation.

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If you have orphaned projects like this and would like to see them adopted too, then check this out: 

Saturday June 6th, Cyndy (of Oh Scrap! fame) at Quilting is More Fun than Housework is having a brand new linky party she calls the Orphan Adoption Event.  The Link up runs on Saturday and Sunday and is for giving away your oldies but goodies!  This is the perfect opportunity to pass along your lonesome projects to someone who would love to have them and make something of them.   

Have you ever made a quilt for charity?  If so, would you like to have a chance to win this Kaffe Fassett pre-cut quilt project, for free?  I'm aiming to "pay it backward" LOL and would like the winner of this giveaway to be someone who has made quilts for charity, although they do not necessarily have to use these fabrics that way.  

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment here and tell me about your favorite charity quilting opportunity.  Please make sure that I have a way to contact you!  Check back before the giveaway ends, because I will let you know here if I am unable to reach you.  Entries will be closed at midnight (UTC) on Thursday the 11th and I'll let the random number generator choose the winner on Friday, June 12th.  

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In other exciting news: Cheryl, of Meadow Mist Designs has started her Midnight Mystery Quilt Along.  It looks like it will be a lot of fun!  I could not resist joining in, especially after hearing about what a good time people had with Cheryl's Foothills Mystery Quilt Along last year.  I hope to see you there! 

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Thanks for visiting, because...

Linking up with Sarah's Whoop Whoop Party at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Linking up with Laura & Linda's Crafty Comment Karma at Prairie Sewn Studios
Linking with Cyndy's Orphan Adoption Event at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

How to Hypnotize a Frog, a Tutorial - LOL (Plus Announcing the Giveaway Winner)

After reading the Lovely Blog Award post, quite a few people wanted to know more about hypnotizing frogs.  When Judy and Paulette jokingly suggested a tutorial, I thought "Why Not?"  ;)  

The Why and the How Behind Frog Hypnotism

Why would anyone want to hypnotize a frog?

Frog hypnotism is a fun activity to do, especially with children.  It gets everyone outside and enjoying nature.  It is a chance to explore and understand a frog's habitat, as well as to get a very close look at the frog.  It does no harm to the frog, as long as you are conscientious and respect life.     

How do you hypnotize a frog?

Needed:

• A delight in Mother Nature and the ability to not take yourself too seriously.
• A likely frog habitat: Frogs like wet areas and can be found in and around the edges of creeks, swamps, and ponds, and sometimes even in puddles.  

Tools:
If you aren't as nimble as an eight year old, then a fishing net sure comes in handy.

Instructions:  
Through each of these steps, be very gentle with the frog.

1. Go to a likely frog habitat and look for frogs.  When you locate some, catch yourself a frog.  It takes a little patience and the ability to hold still.  Wait for a frog to pop up near you and then swoop it up with either your hands or a net.  Children are especially good at catching frogs, perhaps because they have less distance to swoop.  If you are doing the frog catching yourself, be prepared for laughter and a slight-to-substantial loss of dignity.  
2. Hold the frog in one hand, tummy up.  Encircle the frog's chest with your thumb and fingers, just under the armpits and hold it firmly but without too much pressure.  
3. Pet the frog's tummy with your other fingertip, using a repetitive stroking motion from just under its chin to the bottom of its belly.  The frog will relax and go into a trance. 
4. You can get a good look at the frog now.  Frogs really are beautiful, even more so when you can examine them up close.
5. This last step is important:  Don't leave the frog in a trance when you are through.  It is too vulnerable in this state and could easily dry out or get caught by a predator.  After hypnotizing the frog, place it so that it is sitting somewhere safe and nudge it a bit until it comes out of its trance.  Make sure that it hops safely back to the water.      

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You can hypnotize a few other kinds of animals too.  Did you read Maryse's comment from my last post?  Here it is, in case you missed it.  I could just imagine it and practically fell out of my chair laughing:

Maryse5/28/15, 7:17 AM

It was really fun to read about you, Lara!
I sure got a kick out of reading you hypnotizing frogs ... I had to look this one up on youtube. My husband used to hypnotize his grandma's chickens, she almost had a stroke when she saw all her chickens laying on the ground. :-))

Later, Maryse explained that her husband did it by drawing a line on the ground with a stick.  The chicken watches this and goes into a trance.  She thought it might have something to do with their eyes being on the sides of their heads.    

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My family did not have a TV for most of my childhood.  I can clearly remember the wonder and excitement of going to our neighbor's home to watch Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11) reach the moon in 1969.  We were country kids.  When we weren't in school or working, we were off like a shot on our banana seat bikes, having adventures in the woods and along the creeksides and ponds.  We invented our own fun.  

Were you an outdoorsy tomboy-ish sort of kid when you were young?  Or did you prefer tea sets and dolls and baking?  My children categorized their friends in two ways.  They called them "innies" and "outies".  This at first fooled me into thinking they were talking about belly buttons, but it really referred to where their friends liked to play.  

There is a lot to be said for getting children away from the television and video games and into the fresh air.  One of my son's fondest memories is of the time he and I were stuck waiting for my husband to come out of a long appointment.  Sam was only seven and the wait was making him very restless, so we wandered over to a pond and had a sword fight with cattails.  By the time my husband came out to the car, we were covered in cattail fluff and quite happy with ourselves.   

Things have changed so much and children today have less freedom to ramble over the countryside.  The kids of yesterday knew a lot more lore about animals and the outdoors than most children do today.  As a Mom, I felt sad that my own three had so few of these experiences.  So when my kids were young, I bought them this book about nature activities:

"Talking to Fireflies, Shrinking the Moon"

The author, Edward Duensing was a very adventurous child himself, but he also gathered knowledge of playing outdoors from many sources.  Want to whistle up a woodchuck?  Make clothes from wearable plants?  Be able to tell just how tall that tree is?  Find exploding weeds?  There are forty different fun activities in this book.  If you want to mightily impress the children in your life, then I heartily recommend reading this book and putting some of these adventures into practice.  

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It's about time that I announce the winner of the Cotton + Steel Flying Geese Quilt Kit Giveaway.  The winner my husband drew from all the slips was....

Beth was commenter number 39 and wrote:

Beth5/30/15, 1:44 AM

I commented on each blog, and found several new ones to follow--thanks! Also, now I'm browsing some Craftsy patterns I discovered while making the rounds. What a fun way to spend an evening, thanks to you. :)

I'm very happy to meet you Beth!  Thank you for your lovely comments on all the blogs!

Thanks to all of you for visiting and for your enthusiasm in that giveaway!  There was a lot of blog hopping going on and it was a lot of fun!  

Stay tuned for more giveaways here on BuzzinBumble this month.   Next up, I will be giving away the makings for a Kaffe Fassett pre-cut log cabin quilt!  I'll be looking for people who make charity quilts and holding a random drawing for the winner.  

I will be joining Cyndy's Orphan Project Adoption Event - a Linky Party at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.  Cyndy came up with the BRILLIANT idea to pass along the projects we don't think we'll ever finish by holding giveaways and linking to her event.  The one qualification is that the projects must be passed along for free - no charge (except perhaps for shipping).  So be sure to round up your own languishing orphan projects and come and join in the fun this Saturday!  

  

Click on the pup to leave a comment...

If you are also a blogger, she is highly likely to follow you home!

Cotton + Steel Quilt Kit Giveaway and One Lovely Blog Award

Craftsy's Flying Geese Quilt Kit

Last week BuzzinBumble had the honor of being nominated by two wonderful friends for the "One Lovely Blog Award"  

You may have seen these awards, which are just beginning to sweep Quilty Blogland.  The idea behind the award is to introduce your readers to some of your favorite blogs, preferably ones which they might not have visited before.  It is a great opportunity for people to explore and make new friends.    

If you accept an award, then you write a blog post and:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link to their post.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Choose 10 blogs to nominate for the award. (It is fine to nominate less than ten, just however many you feel comfortable with.) 

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So here I go...

Thank you Kaja (Sew Slowly) and Sandra (Musings of a Menopausal Melon)!  

You made me feel Wonderful by nominating my blog and it means even more coming from you!    

Seven things you might not know about me:

1.  I am a combination of shy and friendly.  Blogging is a leap of faith for me, but it gives me a freedom I do not have in everyday life.  This is because I am very hearing impaired, which makes communicating verbally difficult. 

2.  I am nuts about I love dogs and cannot imagine life without them.

3.  I am always looking for reasons to laugh and love corny jokes.  I married a funny man and raised three funny children, so I don't have far to look.      

4.  I am a good mimic.  I can howl exactly like a black and tan coonhound and have been known to set them off in the distance.  A long time ago I learned to imitate a mother cat calling her little ones and I can make kittens come running to me.  This only works two or three times on each litter, because kittens are smarter than you think.

(My brother Dave is much more talented at mimicry than I am.  He once kept an entire Alaskan cruise ship full of bird watchers running back and forth from starboard to port, as they desperately tried to sight the Bald Eagles they heard screeching. Even the ship's naturalist was fooled for awhile, but once she figured it out, she just watched and laughed.)  

4 1/2.  I get sidetracked easily.    

5.  I love pretty much every quilting style and like to try a little of everything.  Out of necessity, I am a very slow quilter, so projects take a while for me to finish.

6.  I make great homemade soups.  So good, that people have been known to have soup for dessert.

7. I can hypnotize frogs and taught my kids how to do it when they were young.

There.  Now you know that I am a little kooky.  I don't have to hide it anymore.  Mwah ah ah ah ah!   
Somehow that fly buzzing around makes the soups not sound so good.  Heh heh.

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It's time to share my nominations for the "One Lovely Blog Award". 

The problem is that I love a lot of blogs.  You can see that on the BuzzinBumble sidebar, under "Blogs to Love".  This is kind of like picking bridesmaids.  You either have to choose just one and ask your sister, or you have thirty bridesmaids.  

So I tried to choose with an eye toward doing something different.  I've nominated a few quilt bloggers from different areas of the world, blogs that represent a nice variety of quilting styles, and some which might be undiscovered treasures for my readers. And, as you will see if you visit, they all are terrific and fun people. 

Without further ado, here are my ten nominees, in alphabetical order:

Charly & Ben's Crafty Corner - Ruth 
Doodlebugs and Rosebuds - Ramona
Fancy Foot Farm - Colleen
Love to Stitch - Raewyn
Prairie Sewn Studio - Laura & Linda
Quilting Stories - Christine
Susie's Sunroom - Susie
The Cozy Pumpkin - Amanda
Weekend Doings - Martha
Whims and Fancies - Soma

Also, don't forget you can visit Sew Slowly and Musings of a Menopausal Melon too!

Each nomination has a link embedded and you can get there simply by clicking on the blog's name.

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I got to thinking about this and decided to make the award even more fun by adding some extra incentive for my readers to go and visit the Lovely Bloggers in this post:  I'm going to do a giveaway!  And not just any giveaway - a Mambo giveaway!  Craftsy has been having some amazing sales on quilting supplies and I ordered a Cotton + Steel Flying Geese Quilt Kit just for one lucky reader to win.  Here are pictures from the Craftsy website of their Flying Geese Quilt Kit, done up in Kim Knight's Homebody Collection.  It looks like it will be a lot of fun to make!

Craftsy's Flying Geese Quilt Kit - includes all the fabrics for the quit top and binding.

Craftsy's 64" square Flying Geese Quilt - Homebody fabrics

Kim Knight's Homebody Collection for Cotton + Steel

How would you like a chance to win this quilt kit?  If you would, then here is what you need to do to enter the drawing: 

Visit at least one of the blogs I have shared here and leave the blogger some comment love.  For each blog you comment on, you will get 1 chance in the drawing, so technically you could have up to 12 chances.  When you are through, come back here to BuzzinBumble and leave 1 comment (Only one!) and let me know how many of the blogs you visited and commented on.   

We will fill out 1 slip of paper for each one of your chances.  Next we'll fold up all the slips, put them in a big bowl and toss and stir them up super well.  Then I'll have my hubby draw one of the slips.  I'll announce the Winner in my next post on Monday, June 1st.     

The nominees are welcome to participate in this giveaway too!  And I welcome entries from people across borders and don't mind shipping overseas.

Make sure that I have a way to contact you if you win! If you are a no-reply commenter then I will let you know under your comment, so please check back if you aren't sure or just add your email to your comment.

Hello Everyone - Thank you for making this giveaway a great success!  Lots of people had a ball blog hopping and meeting new bloggers!  The lucky winner of the Cotton + Steel quilt kit is Beth, commenter # 39.  Congratulations Beth! 

Jim, drawing for the Giveaway 6/1/15

You can click on the pup to leave a comment.
Linking to Connie's Linky Tuesday at Free Motion by the River
Linking with Lorna's Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts