If you know me, you know I love knitting with beautiful yarn! I am waking up early and staying up late and having so much fun dyeing yarn and selling it online with my new business called Socks and Shawls. The inspiration for my colours are actors, musicians, landscape, towns, animals and foods found coast to coast across our beautiful country- Canada. This is the Emily Carr colour inspired by this painting by Emily Carr called Forest Trees.
If you get a moment and want to have a look at my other yarns, here is the link: Socks and Shawls Thanks and happy knitting!
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In 2021, I will be celebrating 20 years in business as well as my 50th birthday. It’s crazy to think that I have been machine quilting for 20 years. I wish I had kept track of the number of quilts that I quilted since I started Melon Patch Quilts in 2001. My machine parts dealer said that I should replace my hook assembly every 3000 quilts, or about every 10 years. I am on my third hook assembly so going by my expert math calculations, it’s safe to say I have quilted an awful lot of quilts. I didn’t even need Good Will Hunting to figure out that total. I want to thank everyone for your support these past 20 years, it’s been an honour to quilt for you. It’s even crazier to think that I will be turning 50 this year as well. How did I get so old? Why it seems like just yesterday I was 29. Since letting my hair go grey, stores started giving me a Senior’s Discount (darn you Shopper’s Drug Mart) which is the telltale sign of being old. Really old! So clearly 50 didn’t just sneak up on me. Presumptuous sales staff kept hinting that 50 was just around the corner, each and every time they were so thoughtfully, saving me money. With both of these milestones fast approaching I wondered how to celebrate with all of you and I decided on presents, because everyone loves presents. And by presents, I really mean PRIZES because winning something is even more exciting! Let’s start with the prizes for machine quilting: One $20 gift certificate towards machine quilting to celebrate being in business for 20 years. One $50 gift certificate towards machine quilting to celebrate my 50th birthday. And now for the exciting prize, the grand prize, the prize that will make me feel like Oprah! This prize will be called Oprah’s Favourite Things, if Oprah were a quilter. Which really means a gift basket of quilting goodies because quilters always need more fabric. Plus, I can’t afford to give every one of you a new car, like she can. Over the year I will be adding some of my favourite quilting things to the gift basket and one lucky quilter will win it all. Fabrics and notions and patterns- oh my! (said in my best Dorothy voice) How can you enter you ask? It’s easy! For every quilt you bring to me for machine quilting in 2021, you get a ballot to go in the draw. 1 quilt = 1 ballot, 5 quilts = 5 ballots. Want to get more ballots to increase your chances of winning? Earn bonus ballots when you bring a pair of socks for the Jon Box Sox sock drive, in memory of my brother. I will be collecting socks again all year long so you could potentially earn a lot of ballots. Ok, back to the prizes or what I like to call my favourite things. Every so often I will post photos of items being added to the gift basket throughout the year, so you can see all the amazing quilting related items to be won. Here is a sneak peek of the Soak Wash products that I love, and know you will love too: Flatter spray for pressing and a single use packets of each Soak Wash scent. Since 2021 is still smack dab in the middle of a pandemic, any of these items can be used to wash your masks, which we should all be doing often to stay healthy. I hope you will enjoy celebrating with me all year long, and again, I thank you for your continued support.
2020 total of socks donated was 210 pairs! Thank you everyone! Today is Giving Tuesday and the first day of December so I thought it would be a good idea to update everyone on the socks drive! Something that took my mind off the crippling grief after my brother died, was hearing all the heartwarming stories from people that knew him. He was everyone’s best friend and boy there were some amazing stories. When I found out about Six Shooter Records doing a sock drive, while honouring my brother, I knew I had to help out. This year we are doing it all over again! To donate money in Memory of Jon so Mission Services in London can buy much needed socks, here is the link for more information: SIX SHOOTER Jon Box Sox and to donate physical socks to me, continue reading. Here is what Six Shooter posted to Facebook last year on December 2, 2019:
A quick story: a few years ago, near the start of our time working with Jon Box and the Universal Music Canada team, we were doing a sock drive in conjunction with Hawksley Workman’s Winter Bird Tour. Before we had even announced it to fans, Jon had filled his office with socks and struck a deal with a sock company to fill it again. He ran further with it than we ever would have expected. He did that a lot. Jon Box was a friend, a colleague and a champion of Six Shooter artists and staff, and we miss him dearly. This Christmas, we want to honour his life and celebrate his many excellent qualities as a human by doing good in his memory. Having socks is essential (ice-ssential?!) in winter, and we want to make sure everyone gets to experience these crucial foot blankets. So as of December 1, we’re collecting warm, wool or other good quality socks in both women’s and men’s sizes so we can deliver 'em to shelters and other community organizations on December 20 (and hopefully again in the new year, so keep ‘em coming!) Thank you everyone! Socks + October = Socktober
Jon Box Sox Socktober Edition Last December, Six Shooter Records decided to name their sock drive in memory of my brother and there began “Jon Box Sox”. Even though it was a rushed month, so many generous friends, quilters and strangers donated new socks to be distributed within the local community and in the London area alone, we collected 366 pairs of socks. I decided to get a jump start on collecting socks this year and will be doing the Socktober Edition of Jon Box Sox. Seems kind of fitting since my brother’s birthday is in October, don’t you think? If you wished to participate, please drop off your sock donation inside my first front door in the donation box. I will have the box there from October until just before Christmas when all the socks will be distributed. You can also bring your sock donation when you drop off or pick up your quilts. $5 will be deducted from your machine quilting total as my thank you, for supporting this sock drive. Thanks everyone for being amazing and supporting a great cause. |
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