Blog Tour and Book Giveaway Week 5

Welcome back to Week #5, the halfway mark of my blog tour, and congratulations to Mary from Florida for winning the giveaway for Week #4! 

 This week we're back in my home province of BC and are visiting my friend Wendy in New Westminster.

I met Wendy several years ago when she visited my open house and you can meet this amazing quilter on her blog, "Snippets of a Quilter".  She makes beautiful quilts and always has something inspiring on the go!

I was so happy that she found time in her busy schedule to blog about my book.

So if you're a follower of "Country Quilts", pop on over to Wendy's blog, leave a comment, and you'll be in the draw to win a copy of At Home with Country Quilts later this week.

Good luck and check back next weekend for the next location on the tour!

Island Getaway

Okay, a bit of a break now from the book giveaway. We've been on vacation this past week with friends, a tradition we've had for several summers. This year we took the ferry to Saltspring Island, about 1 1/2 hours west of Vancouver.

The main town here is Ganges, with its beautiful little harbour.

 
We rented a house on a hill for the week.  This was the view from the deck.

The island is home to many artists and craftspeople.  So while the guys went golfing, the women toured a few studios.  This little garden belonged to a weaver.

The studio tour included a few farms.

And some wineries.

Saltspring Island is famous for its gourmet cheeses.

We checked out a few of the beaches.

And explored one of the first homesteads, established here over 100 years ago.

Then we drove up to the highest point on the island for some spectacular views.

On Saturdays, visitors come from far and wide to browse the famous Market. 

 

This little cutie might have been the youngest vendor there.

Here's a sampling of the goods for sale.

If you didn't want to shop, you could practice your Tai Chi.

Or tour the town in a horse-drawn carriage.

A wonderful week that as always, went by much too quickly.

Don't forget to check back here for the next stop on the book blog tour!

Blog Tour and Book Giveaway - Week 4

Hi everyone and welcome back to Week 4 of my book blog tour!  I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am!  Thanks to all of you who have commented--your kind words just make my day!

Congratulations to last week's winner, Laura from Florida!  Your book is on its way.

This week we're heading back across the border to the far east section of Washington State and the tiny town of Reardan, home to Pam and Janet of the Buggy Barn quilt shop!  

I've been a fan of these talented sisters since I spotted their patterns at my first Quilt Market.  Every August for the past 16 years, their shop has hosted the most amazing outdoor quilt show and I've been privileged to display my quilts there for a few summers now.  But I must admit that the first time I drove there, if I hadn't seen the signs beside the road, I'd have wondered if I'd taken a wrong turn along the way!  The shop is located on their farm, surrounded by "amber waves of grain" seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  But the morning of the show, car after car drives up the gravel road bringing hundreds of quilters from near and far.  And as you get closer, you see quilts and more quilts hanging from fence posts, tacked onto the sides of their barns, and inside their shop.  Here are a few pictures from past shows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This show has become a destination event for many quilters and over the years has expanded to include classes with well-known teachers from all over the US as well as local artisans selling their unique wares.  I'm not able to attend the show this year but several quilts from the book will be on display so if you're lucky enough to go, make sure to check them out!

If you hop on over to Pam and Janet's blog, you'll find out more about the show and if you leave a comment on their blog this coming week, you'll be entered to win a copy of my book.

 Good luck everyone and check back next Sunday to find out the next spot on this blog tour!

Blog Tour and Book Giveaway - Week 3

Whew, I think summer's finally arrived here in the Pacific Northwest!  Today it's a balmy 32 C or about 90 F.  On days like these, when I was younger I'd slather myself up with baby oil and do nothing but lie in the sun for hours.  My backyard bikini days are long gone (for which I'm sure my neighbours are all profoundly grateful) and these days I'm quite content to stay inside where it's relatively cool and keep working at my projects.

Okay, first things, first!  Congratulations to Chris from Alabama, who won the book giveaway on Week 1 and to Pauline from Texas who won last week!  Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to comment.  And now on to Week 3!

Today we're heading back across the continent to my home town of Abbotsford, BC.

It was several years ago and I was at my local quilt shop when I overheard someone ask the clerk, "Do you have any Cheryl Wall patterns?"  I turned around and said, "Do you mean me?"  I'd never met Kimberly before and she didn't know me either but she'd already made several of my patterns and was wanting to make more.

If you haven't yet been to Kimberly's blog, "My Brown Bag Studio", you're in for a treat.  She's an amazing quilter, crafter, and mom.  She sells her creations on Etsy and every year she hosts a wonderful Christmas Open House with her sister.  We've also rented booths at the same local craft shows.  Isn't it great how quilting introduces us to people we'd likely never meet, from across the world and sometimes from just across town?

Anyway, if you're one of my followers, hop over to Kimberly's blog and leave a comment there to have a chance to win a copy of my book.  She's set up the giveaway so that you can have up to 3 chances to win!

If you've left comments on the two previous posts, don't feel you have to come up with something new to say each time, unless you want to!  You can repeat yourself if that's easier.  This blog tour will run for several more weeks so just keep checking back for the next location and leave another comment and hopefully one of these times, it will be your turn to win.

Good luck!