Lena at Leka Quilt is having a wonderful giveaway...go check it out. The prizes are homemade purses.

Also, Ryan's giveaway is so nice too, so take a look at his blog. He is giving a sewing calendar as a prize.

Finally, I am feeling a bit more achey, but better as I don't feel shaky anymore. I was in a bit of a shock yesterday. Thanks for all the well wishes. The Baileys did help (LOL), as did the Rooster Party.

Carole Ann ( who by the way is from Philadelphia, PA), wanted to know who the winner of the Rose of Tralee was. I totally forgot to tell you all, in the midst of the excitement of successfully taking a pic of the Stars and Stripes quilt.It wasn't the Rose from Philadelphia, ... boo hoo... nor was it the Rose of Dublin, where Joe was born. It turned out to be Charmaine Kenny who was the Rose of London. Anyways, you get to see her pic, and it was a fun two day event on tv.

I came up with a brilliant idea this morning! So many people were asking to see the Stars and Stripes top, so I finally thought of how to take a pic of it. DUH!!!! Joe would hold it! Why didn't I think of it before? It sort of makes the story about Joe climbing on ladders even funnier. Joe held the quilt for me, and I took the pic, and though it had a few wrinkles, because it is impossible to hold it up completely straight, I am proud to show you the quilt, and Joe's feet of course.LOL

It really did turn out beautifully, and I will be thrilled when it is hanging up! Joe laughed and said that he looked like the Headless Horseman...Yes, you can't see his cute face in the pic, but boy did he do a good job of holding it! Thanks Joe so much!!!!! The light from the back of the window and camera showed up on two points on the border, but you will excuse that I am sure.LOL

Also, a friend of mine named Kylie, whom I introduced to you a while back, is getting married, so if you have the time, send her some well wishes and congratulations at her blog. She is going through a bit of a hard time, but I am thrilled to bits that she is getting married, and I am so happy for her. She is thinking of her mom not being there at her wedding, as she died two years ago, and it got me thinking of my dad. Funny enough, I saw an episode of Beauty and the Beast today, and the story was so much like mine and it did remind me of Kylie also. I do try to just remember the good times that my dad and I had. The best memory was my dad reading the story The Velveteen Rabbit to me. I loved that story, and told Kylie today that I read a portion of that story at his funeral. Here is what I read:

What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

I sometimes reread that story, and it is lovely. It has gotten me through many a bad time, and I sent it to Kylie today. Here is the complete story of The Velveteen Rabbit, if you want to read it.

Finally, I heard that Ted Kennedy died, and I was very saddened. I really loved all of the Kennedys, and I was so unhappy to hear it. I remember that I was in my French class the day that John F. Kennedy died, remember how I felt when I heard that Robert Kennedy was assasinated, and it seems that there was always sad news associated with the Kennedy family. Ted Kennedy was a Lion in the Senate, and I am sure that he will be missed greatly.All I can say is "Thank you and goodbye!"

Today, I was reading Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati in bed. Yes, I went back to bed after breakfast again...it is becoming a recurring luxury. I am almost on page 600, but there are 876 pages in the book. I just love it! I already ordered the next two books in the series from Amazon, and they are supposed to arrive this week, so I am trying to finish the first book, so that I can immediately continue the series. Anyways, while I was in bed reading, I got a package in the mail from Deborah Bridle who lives in Australia. I ordered a lovely Tree of Life necklace from her website called Unique Dichroic Glass Creations, and it arrived today. It was more beautiful than I had imagined. Well, it is going to be my signature piece, and I can well imagine myself ordering some more items for Deborah. Joe loves it. He said, "The pendant is dimensional, and there are beautiful lights and colours reflecting from the dichroic glass." I looked it up and dichroic glass dates back to the 4th century A.D. The Tree of Life is a many- branched tree that illustrates the idea of the interconnectedness of life I do love it so much! Check her site, and I think you will be as enamored with her works of art as I was. Thanks Deborah for designing such wonderful pieces of art, and I will cherish it forever!

PS: Some people emailed me and asked me about our wedding when they read yesterday's post and saw our wedding picture. We got married in Philadelphia, which is where I grew up. There was a funny story surrounding our wedding. We were trying to arrange the ceremony. You know how family can be...discussions arose as to how and where the ceremony should be, etc, etc. I was pretty frazzled by it all, and Joe asked me what I wanted to do. I said sort of jokingly that if it were up to me, I would elope, so guess what we did?...We eloped. We had our ceremony privately at a justice of peace with a huge sheep dog watching our ceremony, had a lovely dinner at a Chinese Restaurant by the Delaware River in Philadelphia, and then honeymooned in my favorite spot in the Pa. Dutch Country. We then had another symbolic ceremony for my family, and a third one for Joe's family in Dublin. We landed up having three ceremonies. What a hoot that was, and the rest was history. Two soulmates found each other to stay together forever. Anyways, thanks for all of the questions and for your kind comments about our wedding pic!

Some of you have told me that you have always wanted to visit Ireland, because you have Irish heritage or just because you love the country. If you can't make the trip, I want to recommend a great book that Pat Sloan wrote called Tour Ireland with Pat Sloan. You can get the book at Amazon here.

Lance Armstrong is in the Tour of Ireland. It has been exciting to watch all the bicylists racing here in Ireland, especially since Lance Armstrong is one of them. Joe wears his Live Strong bracelet all the time, and we both really admire him. It is a shame that they are not coming up as far north as Donegal, as we would have loved to see the race.

I also found some wonderful free patterns, and some of them are patriotic and Civil War patterns, so I thought you might like to see them. I will be definitely doing one of them. Washington's Legacy is just gorgeous, as is the Dear Jane pattern. There are so many beautiful patterns there, that it is hard to decide which one I would like to do in the future. I am sure that you will like one of them!

I made two felted projects for the Angels Swap and the Advent Swap...one in red and one in purple. I can't post them, as I don't want to spoil the surprise, but they turned out so cute. I did send a pic to Dzintra to show her, and I was so pleased with how they came out. I can't even tell you what they are, but as I love felting, they were such fun to make.

I received two lovely siggies from a mother and daughter named Laura and Ambre Graham, who reside in Virginia. Both of them wrote me lovely, chatty letters, and I enjoyed reading both of them. Ambre mentioned that she loves animals, and she chose the panda as her logo for the block as it is one of her favorite animals. One of the things that Laura told me was about a pregnant female tabby that her husband rescued, and as a result, she has seven cats, thus the cat in the centre of the block. The two letters were just so friendly and informative, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning all about the two of them.

Both are members of the International Siggy Group. I have been asked by some of you what siggies are. They are blocks that are signed with one's name, city, and country, and then something is in the middle of the block that is significant to the quilter. Many people use stamps for the centre, as it is so much quicker and easier. If you want to buy a stamp, look here for a great site to do just that. It is called Inkspirations. To join the International Siggy Group and exchange siggies, please contact Annelies van den Bergh who is in charge of the group. You can see her blog at http://quiltsandsiggies.web-log.nl/quilts_and_siggies/ and her contact information is there. I love the blocks, but I think that the letters which come with the blocks are the most enjoyable to read. I have kept all of the letters, and hope to one day make a lovely double quilt from the blocks.

Hope this answers your questions about siggies.

What a wonderful surprise when Lola's giveaway package arrived in the mail. We went to see a movie in Letterkenny, and lo and behold, the mailman had brought a surprise package for me. I am so thrilled with it all. Joe already hung up the flag on the wall next to the Stanley range, and it is lovely! The patterns are wonderful, and I am especially looking forward to making the Raggedy Annie doll. I got more patriotic fabric which I can use for my Stars and Stripes wallhanging that I am doing. In addition, I got a lovely card from Lola, which really did mean so much to me. Go visit Lola's blog here and thanks so much!

Joe and I also went to Letterkenny to see The Time Traveler's Wife at the movies. It is based on the book with the same title by Audrey Neffennegger, which you can see here. It is a charming love story between Henry and Clare, and of course involves time travel. It is one of the best romances that I read in a long time, but the movie unfortunately is not as good as the book, althrough movies rarely are as good as the books. It does make one appreciate those we love, and cherish each moment we are with them.

I also met anther blogger named Steve, who has a lovely blog called Nikon Sniper .Steve explains the title of his blog by saying, " Digital Photography is sort of like sniping with a machine gun. If you get up every day, turn on your camera and put your life on continuous fire....sooner or later, you're bound to hit something." That sort of sums up my philosophy of life. He takes gorgeous photos with a Nikon camera, and captures all that Joe and I love about nature. His pictures will enthrall you. Joe loves photography, so he has surely appreciated Steve's talent taking photos. Steve has ancestry from Ireland. Both his grandfather and father are from Belfast, so as our county is the northernmost county in the Republic of Ireland, we are closest to Northern Ireland. Stop by Steve's blog and enjoy a lot of candy for your eyes, and you will see why he has over 1,200 followers of his blog, and I am happy to say that I am one of them.

Thanks to everyone who wrote to me about my hearing problems. I am in a much more positive frame of mind. I did have a lot of inner ear infections, so it should be no surprise that I have this problem now. I do thank you all for your words of encouragement. I will hear those raindrops once again on our roof and write a post about it...That is something to look forward to.LOL

Right after breakfast, Joe suggested that I go back to bed and read my book...He heated up the bed, and I really enjoyed a lovely, comfy two hours of reading in bed....I was terribly spoiled. I am reading the first in a series of books called Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati. It is 876 pages, and it is really a good read. You can see the book at Amazon here.

After lunch I made another block for the Stars and Stripes Sampler wallhanging. This one is a 12 inch block called Bunker Hill, and it is all machine pieced.
I now have four more blocks to sew in order to finish the wallhanging. I can't wait to put all of the blocks together!

I am off to put dinner on, and then Joe and I will take a nice long walk.

Boy, the weekend flew, and another new week has begun. Time is really flying!

I joined a Rooster Party that is being hosted by Barb at her blog called Bella Vista. I decided to make a Rooster Pot holder. There is something about Roosters....They are just so cute. This one is made from various colours of felt fabric...Not functional at all, just decorative!

Joe and I also saw Harry Potter this weekend, and it was magical. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it, as you will love it. The actors have all grown up so much since the first movie, and it just made me realize how quickly time was flying by.

I was also busily making four siggies to post tomorrow in the mail, as I got requests to swap siggies from various countries around the world.

Happy Sunday to all!

PS: Sharon from Daffycat and Laurie from Indulge Yourself asked me what a siggy was. It is a block that you sign in the middle with your name, city, and country, and really you can put anything in the centre that represents you.... I have a stamp that I use for the centre of the block which has the map of Ireland, and my name, city and country on it with a shamrock on the map showing where I live. I joined the International Siggy Group, and I have exchanged siggies from all over the world. I love reading the letters that come with the blocks, and I have kept all of them. I now have over 110 blocks, but I need more siggies to make a double sized quilt. Anyways, Annelies van den Bergh is in charge of the group and you can see her blog here.

There are also siggies on that page, so anyone interested in seeing some, I have posted mine on my blog, but Annelies has tons for you to see. If you want to join the group, you can email her and ask to join....It is great fun!

This is the third block that I completed in the Stars and Stripes Wallhanging that I am doing. If you look at the August 3rd post, you will see where this block will go in the wallhanging. It is 12 inches, and it was a lot of work. They didn't give me a paper pieced pattern for the roof, so I had to draw the pattern onto foundation paper based on the measurements that they gave in the roof section diagram. I now have 5 more blocks to complete. I will have to get some more fabric, and since my quilt shop is having a big sale, now is the time to do it.

I was busy with the block for a few hours in the afternoon, and now Joe and I will be heading out for our long walk, and we are definitely into fall weather now. We had about a week's worth of summer weather, and most of the summer has been like fall. Off for our hike...hope your day has been a good one!

Do you love Bunny Hill Desgisn by Anne Sutton? if you want a chance to win a 50 dollar gift certificate, go to Mama Spark's Blog here.

Joe and I didn't go to Harry Potter, as Joe woke up with a chest cold. As the weather was rainy, windy, and cool, I thought it better that we do not go. He had a nice hot Lemsip, and he is taking a nap. Harry Potter will have to wait till next weekend.

I wanted to thank Kylie for a lovely pair of leg warmers that came in the mail. She crocheted them for me. I made her a knitted scarf in her favorite colours, so I do hope that she likes it when it arrives. Thanks so much! The leg warmers are in my favorite colour of pink, and as our weather can get very cold in the winter, they will be used often. Thank you again...they are beautiful!