Birthday!

This is the day my age changes from one non-descript number to another....and the gifts go to you!

During our vacation, my goal was to buy fabric in every city where we stayed overnight. This was hindered by Richmond not having any quilting shops (the fail is strong in that city) and Victoria's quilting store being notoriously hard to find (quel dommage!). I settled for a handmade glass necklace in Victoria.

These were my souvenirs from Cranbrook, BC, from a tiny store called The Cotton Tree Quilt Shop. Isn't that the most perfect red? The brown print has script about chickadees.

I scored Big Time in Port Alberni. On the quay was an end-of-the-world quilting haven called Kismet Quilts. I totally cleaned up! They even had some local prints and designs, two of which came home with me. I squee'd when I saw an entire bolt of those ants!

Kelowna had rolled up it's sidewalks by the time I got there. They were having a local celebration or something in the park (now affectionately known as "Downtown Douche-fest") and weekenders had every single hotel room booked from Calgary to Vancouver. I'm not exaggerating. We couldn't stay long and ended up sleeping in our van after driving nearly four more hours to Golden. My favorite Kelowna quilt shop was closed for the weekend, but my second choice was happy to serve. Here are my purchases from Cottage Quilting:

Now on to the presents!!

Those of us who have lived on The Island know that this print is quite obviously of First Nations inspiration. Since I am not a fan of that culture, I bought this fat quarter specifically to celebrate our vacation by giving it away to a lucky reader. I believe these are halibut, salmon, and orca.

Secondly, a confession.

I bought a package of hexie papers before we left home, with lofty intentions to sew something cute from my new acquisitions. I learned that basting these little bits together is bloody hard work!! Hats off to women who can create anything of size by EPP! I had problems right from Go. I did manage to get one flower put together, but it was excruciating. I don't feel bad about giving away my one lonely flower and the remainder of the new package of hexie papers.

If you would like either of these two gifts, send me some birthday love! Tell me a favorite memory from your birthday or a vacation and mention which gift you'd like to take home. I'll pick two winners on Saturday.