What's on the line?

Something brand new is on the line today. It's the quilt that I won back at the end of August. While I won the quilt then, I didn't actually get it until the first part of October. And then I brought it home and took this picture on a pretty fall day in mid October............

I won the quilt in a raffle held by the Lehigh (Iowa) Historical Society. When I was home visiting my mom in early August, I bought tickets from Roger Smith, president of the historical society. I decided to go for six for $5. I had no idea what the quilt looked like. I bought the tickets in part to support the Lehigh Historical Society. However, I'd be lying if I said that was the only reason. I've been buying raffle tickets for quilts at all sorts of events for years and have never won. I was hoping my lucky day was somewhere in my future..........and it was! Here's how I got the good news...........
On Sunday, August 28th there was an Open House event at the Lehigh Historical Society. I wasn't able to be there. I was home in Minnesota. Late that Sunday afternoon, I was doing some sewing and watching TV. I looked over at the clock and saw it was 3:30 p.m. and thought........."hmmm, they will be drawing the name of the winner of the quilt soon. Wouldn't it be nice if I could win it?" And then I went back to my sewing. At 4:25 p.m. the phone rang. I know this because I wrote the time in my journal. :-)  Thanks to Caller I.D., I could see that it was my brother, Doug calling. He's the secretary for the historical society. I answered the phone and jokingly, said "Hey, are you calling to tell me I won the quilt?"  Momentary silence..........and then he said "well, actually, I am." To which I replied, "Oh, you're kidding me!"  And he said "no, your name was drawn. You won!"  Well, I could not believe it. I didn't even know what the quilt looked like but I was just thrilled. Doug said he would keep it for me until the next time I came to visit.
I picked up the quilt after my mom and I returned from her visit to Iowa City at the end of September. When I saw it, I immediately loved the colors. It was just "me"! I love that design, intricate and almost a lace effect aroiund the center circles. The quilt was not made by members of the historical society or local quilters. Member Judy Smith purchased the quilt and donated it to raise funds. You may know the maker.......Name on the tag is J.C. Penney. I think I've heard of her before. LOL!  Hope you all understand my sense of humor. Anyway, the quilt is queen size and just plain comfy and wonderful! Thanks go the members of the Lehigh Historical Society for hosting the raffle. And to Donny Ford who drew my name!

Here is another view of the quilt draped over the deck railing..........

There is only one thing that would have made winning this quilt more fun and that's if I could have shared the story of the win with my dad. He would have been telling everyone in Lehigh the story of how I won it!  I'll be sharing the story when I do my "Legacy of Stitches" quilt program. It's one more quilt that I can share along with the stories of so many other quilts that my dad and mother brought my way. So happy that my lucky day arrived!

Had a great weekend. Loved getting that hour back! I finished a donation quilt for Basics and also did a little sewing just for me. Oh, and my husband brought home the Christmas tree. Granted, it's not real, but we need a new tree for the living room and so we went tree shopping last weekend. I found four I liked and told him he had to like at least one of them.  We decided to think about which one would be best, one that would go in front of the window or one for the corner of the living room. We decided on one for the big window, so he stopped at Menard's and picked up the 9ft Cedar Canyon. I even like the name of the tree. Oh, and it was on sale!  I'll light pine scented votive candles and once the tree is decorated no one will know it's articial. I can hardly wait to start decorating it. Am zipping right into Christmas now that the Halloween stuff is put away. We have family coming this year and some other fun stuff planned for December so I am going to make sure the place looks very festive! If you are reading this Monday morning, I'll be in the closet under the steps pulling out the Christmas decorations. Sewing may have to take the "back burner" for a few days..........
Have a great Monday!  You know, I kinda like Mondays. They are a nice fresh start to the week. How about you?
Sandi