Welcome! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit the Crafty Threads blog!

This blog tour is hosted by Timeless Treasures to celebrate the release of Judy & Judel Niemeyer's first-ever fabric line, The Reclaimed West.

Crafty Threads has been a Judy Niemeyer

Certified Shop since June 2013.

I always liked paper piecing, but when I discovered the "Judy" method of paper piecing, 

I was forever hooked.

Take a class, pick up one of her MANY patterns, and fall in love with paper piecing all over again!

I chose the pattern "Golden Harvest" to highlight the lighter shades of the Reclaimed West.

First, I made sure all the cows were not standing on their heads!

Cows? In Florida? Sure thing!

Florida's ranchers raise the third largest number of cattle of any state east of the Mississippi.

The photo above shows part of the piecing process.  Everything fits together so precisely.

That's the beauty of paper piecing!

"TA DA"!  The finished top!

We have this version of "Golden Harvest" in a limited number of kits.  You can see all of our Judy Niemeyer pattern and kit selections on our website.

Crafty Threads website 

Want to win?

ENTER THE TIMELESS TREASURES GIVEAWAY — Starting Nov 17^th – The giveaway will be open for entries throughout ALL five days of the blog tour. 

THREE WINNERS will be selected on Monday, Nov. 24^th at Noon Eastern Time.

Follow this link to enter!

http://www.ttfabrics.com/reclaimed-west-blog-tour

** EACH OF THE THREE WINNERS WILL RECEIVE: one fat eighth bundle of the entire Reclaimed West collection (24 pcs), one 52-pc charm pack of the Reclaimed West collection, one Braided Table Runner pattern by Quiltworx/Judy Niemeyer, one Geese in the West pattern by Cindi McCracken, one Reclaimed West bookmark & bag tag set from Quilt Dots, one spool of coordinating thread from the Reclaimed West designer thread set available from Aurifil.

Be sure to visit all of the Blog Hop Participants to see more great projects made in The Reclaimed West fabric line.

November 17

Carla Klop, Kits by Carla - http://www.kitsbycarla.com/blog

Catherine Wilson, Queenie Quilts - http://queeniequiltsblogs.blogspot.com

Lisa McCarthy, Compass Point Quilts - www.compasspointquilts.com

November 18

Deborah Brizendine, Just Stitchin with Deborah - http://juststitchinwithdeborah.blogspot.com/

Denise Green, HollyDee Quilts - http://hollydeequilts.net

Sandy Lueth, Totes by Sandy - http://www.totes-by-sandy.com

November 19

Cathy McKillip, Wish Upon A Quilt - http://wishuponaquilt.com/blog

Marcia Nagel/Megan Bohr, Pine Needles Quilt & Sew - http://thepineconepress.blogspot.com/

Stacey Day, Stacey in Stitches - http://staceyinstitches.wordpress.com

November 20

Barb Linares, Crafty Threads - http://craftyquilts.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Eubank, Archipelago Quilting - http://jennifersewing.wordpress.com/

Konda Luckau, Moose on the Porch Quilts - http://www.moosequilts.com/blog

Susan Nelson, Prairie Sky Quilts - http://blog.prairieskyquilting.com

November 21

Jackie Kunkel, Canton Village Quilt Works - http://cvquiltworks.com/blogs/blog

Lauren Rogers, Backdoor Quilt Shoppe - www.backdoorquiltshoppe.wordpress.com

Osie Lebowitz, From Needle and Thread - http://www.fromneedleandthread.com/

Timeless Treasures, SewTimeless (Giveaways!) - http://www.ttfabrics.com/blog/

Koru and the warrior princesses

Koru is Maori for loop.  This loop symbolizes new life, growth, strength and peace.

Elizabeth chose this symbol during a 

crazy discussion about tattoos.

A strange and wonderful combination of "fateful" events occured and two friends supported each other in getting (almost) matching tattoos.

In honor of you, Elizabeth.

New life, growth, strength, and peace.

With love from your warrior princesses.

Faith, Hope & Love

Faith!

All the petty arguments, hurt feelings, and day to day inconveniences seem so, so, so trivial when someone close to you is battling cancer.

My heart hurts for Elizabeth, but not as much as she hurts.

I want to take away her pain, but not as much as she wishes for relief.

I want her to tell me how to help, but doesn't that just add to her burden?

Hope!

What gets me through each day is my belief that our lives are in His hands and He has a purpose for each of us.  Rarely do we know what that purpose is until long after He has pointed us down the right path, but the purpose is there and we just have to have patience and trust and hope and faith.

Love!

And laughter - there can never be too much laughter!  

Cancer SUCKS!

October 3rd, 2014 at 2:45 p.m. my friend answers my text 

"I'm sorry to say it isn't good."

She was still at the doctors office getting the results 

from various scans she had the day before.

Bottom line, her cancer had returned.

It's name is Metastatic Breast Cancer and it SUCKS!

Elizabeth Johnston is my friend, my employee, and the most fun spirit that has ever crossed my path.  We are sisters in so many ways, none of which include having the same parents.  We think alike, we are both breast cancer survivors, our husbands are geeks, the tools in the house belong to us, and, best of all, we share the love of everything fabric & sewing & yarn & wool...

Because she is a breast cancer survivor, this cancer will also be known as breast cancer - although it is not in her breast(s).  

Metastatic breast cancer can be in the bones, liver and/or brain.

For Elizabeth, it has chosen her bones and her liver.

She started radiation for the bone "mets" that is on her spine - it was causing her extreme pain.  She also has a bone "mets" at the base of her skull.

This round of radiation will end on November 3rd.

The next order of business is to attack the cancer in her liver.  This will start with MAJOR (is there minor?) chemo on November 10th.

Please understand that all of this information is 2nd, or 3rd hand and I might not have all of the "lingo" exactly correct.  

My goal is to share her story with you, for her, so that she can focus all her energy on her fight.

She wants to be at Crafty Threads as much as she can 

- it is her happy place!

   

But... she doesn't have the strength to answer questions, listen to anecdotes, hear about herbal remedies, or how acupuncture helped a friend of a friend.

She really likes her doctors and she and her husband, Keith, are comfortable with the proposed course of treatment.  

Well wishes, prayers, strength, and hope, are the things she longs for and needs the most.

And laughter - there can NEVER be too much laughter!

I have set up a fundraising website to help with her medical expenses here:
Warriors for Elizabeth