Grow Your Blog Party and Giveaway

 Hello and Welcome!  Hosted by Vicki at Two Bags Full, today marks the start of the 3rd annual Grow Your Blog Party, which gives bloggers the chance to make new friends and find new blogs to follow. Of course you don't have to be a blogger to join in on the fun - anyone can go to Vicki's blog here and peruse the list of participants, many of whom have listed some of their main hobbies or interests - isn't it fun to find new "like-minded" friends? A huge Thank You to Vicki for spending many long hours organizing this fun event for us! I am honoured to be one of Vicki's helpers this year!

 In another few weeks I'll be celebrating my sixth blogging anniversary, and am approaching my thousandth post! I try to do a new post every two or three days. Like many, I began blogging at the urging of a friend, and had my doubts about how successful I'd be or how long I'd stick with it. I gave myself one year... And here I am, almost six years later! As well as serving as a "projects and progress" journal for myself and a way to keep in touch with family and others who are "away", this blog has brought me a great deal of pleasure because of the wonderful friends I have made through blogging, friends who are always there to support and encourage each other. I look forward to meeting and making more blogging friends through this event. If you are new here, I hope you'll take the time to have a good look around, and perhaps consider "joining" me as a Follower - through Google Friend Connect, or via Bloglovin' or email.

This quilt was donated to a Guild charity project

A set of  placemats.

 Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Linda Hubbard and I live in a beautiful small city in New Brunswick, in eastern Canada. I'm a Mom to two young adults and one very spoiled cat. Let's just say we have a  "semi-empty" nest. By profession I am a teacher, happily retired; by choice, I am a quilter and a stitcher, loving them both equally. I'm always trying to find more hours in the day for both!! I teach quilting classes at a local quilt shop and for Guilds in a widening area.  I enjoy piecing quilts large and small, with scrap quilts a particular favourite. Here are a couple of recent "finishes".


You can see more of my quilts by clicking on My Quilts and Small Projects under "Looking for Something?" on my sidebar. I have several tutorials on my sidebar as well- the one on Finishing Placemats is very helpful and has been quite popular.

(Have you figured out that blue is my favourite color...? Yes I do work in other colors as well.)

 I also enjoy making miniature quilts, this little Pineapple quilt is 8.75" square, and has 447 pieces! I love the challenge of working small... (I know, I know, many think I'm crazy...) Actually "crazy quilting" is another one of my loves although I have not done any lately!! There just aren't enough hours in the day!! You can see more of my miniature quilts and crazy quilt projects in the Galleries on my sidebar.

Gardening is another of my passions. Our growing season here in Atlantic Canada is fairly short, but I appreciate the seasons and spend the cold snowy winter dreaming of next year's garden! I am a serious amateur photographer and spend many happy hours with camera in hand in my perennial gardens, and those of my friends. ( I use a Pentax SLR digital K7.)
I love nature; the natural world is my favourite "subject" to photograph. I enjoy doing seasonal collages with my photos. Here are a few...

Spring

Summer

Autumn

I always have a stack of books waiting to be read.

I am an avid reader. There's nothing better than holding a good book (or a camera) in your hands... well, unless it's a good piece of dark chocolate!! I love sharing book reviews, and my tried and true recipes on my blog too, chocolate and otherwise. When I started blogging, I began a list of  Books Read, you'll find it at the bottom of my sidebar. It's getting a tad long...

















Travel is a love I wish I could pursue more frequently. I recently spent 10 days in South Florida and have been sharing photos from the World Quilt Show in West Palm Beach, and other Florida adventures (like my visit with this cheeky parrot), so if you scroll down to earlier posts or visit again soon, that's what you'll be finding. Summer often sees me off on short road trips with my camera so I can share the beauty of the area I live in.

I always appreciate comments from readers. (After all, if you don't leave a comment, how will I get to know you?) If you'd like to leave a comment below on this post, I'll enter your name in my Giveaway, which will be drawn on Feb. 15th. In your comment please tell me where you're visiting from (i.e. where you live.) If you are not a blogger, or you are a No Reply blogger, be sure to leave your email in the comment so I can reach you if you're the lucky winner.  The Giveaway is open to all - you do not have to be a blogger to enter - and I will ship anywhere in the world. The prize will be a pack of 5 of my photo cards, with envelopes. The winner can choose from a floral pack or a variety pack. Or... if you're a quilter, they could be quilt photo/notecards... just sayin'...

EDIT: The Giveaway is now closed, but I'd still love to hear from you! Please leave a comment and let me know where you're visiting from.

Have fun with the Grow Your Blog party, click here to return to the list of participants. But before you go - thanks for stopping by, and I do hope you'll visit Stitch Lines often!

Peace,
Linda

"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new." ~ Will Carleton