Happy Anniversary Girlfriends! MUSICA
Today is the day we’re going to begin our June celebration for two wonderful events ~ It was June 11, 2009 that we started connecting with our wonderful Friends on Facebook. Two years 
later, on June 9, 2011, the Blog went live (still quiver when I think about it) and our connection to our Girlfriends began! That’s pretty good! But it makes me wonder, why June? I didn’t plan it that way, in fact I was kind of surprised to see how close the dates were. Maybe we were inspired because it’s such a pretty month. I’ll tell you one thing, it smells like heaven here on the island. The Beauty Bush and the Mock Orange are in bloom (to name just two), I picked my first four strawberries today and look at the foxgloves!
Magic.♥ One more reason to celebrate.
Three years ago, when I first started blogging I had NO idea how it would go ~ “going live” was so scary! I wondered how people would find me, and if they would even come. I knew how I wished it would go and tried my best to make it something 
everyone would like, hoping everyone liked dishtowels, dishes, and old movies as much as me! Any of you with a blog knows exactly what I’m talking about. Saying to yourself as you are writing a post or putting something up on Facebook, “I hope they like this!” then letting the chips fall where they may! Scary! And first time you’re “liked!” Or, then, to be “shared!” How wonderful it is to get your first comment! How amazing to have your first give-away! And that excitement and amazement really hasn’t gone away. Traveling to England together put the frosting on the cake. I loved it so much, we’ll definitely do it again (yes we will!). I just wish there were more hours in the day for blogging. Such a creative way to connect with kindred spirits. So how do we celebrate? Easy: By saying “Thank You” to everyone who helps to make this dream come true. Which would be YOU, thank you very much.♥
As many of you know, it has been my dream for years, way before there was any such thing as a blog or even the Internet, that the people who’ve written me such wonderful personal 
letters (since 1987 when my first book came out and I started getting mail), could meet each other. The letters were so nice, so full of love, I always thought it would cheer people up to know that despite what we see and hear on the news, the world is filled with wonderful home-loving, creative, family-adoring people, in all countries, all parts of the world, and even in countries where we might think our “enemies” live.
Even there, the cities and towns are filled with regular tea-drinking, flower-growing, music-loving, tender-hearted, 
soup-making, peace-loving kinds of people just like you and me. You just don’t hear that much from them because the other kind are so obnoxious and loud. But there are many more of our kind of person in this world than of the obnoxious ones. Truly. No matter how different we may look from each other on the outside. And we need to band together in our appreciation for beauty and a gentle way of life. It must be scary to live in a land where the maniacs have the keys to the castle. You would probably feel trapped and worried about your children all the time. Let’s pray for them, and then give them this 
place, and each other, to meet and celebrate the little things that make life sweet ~ and especially, all the ways we are so very much alike. They like apples, we like apples. They like gorgeous blue tablecloths ~ we like gorgeous blue tablecloths. They like picnics and the sounds of nature and going barefoot, and we do too! They like starry nights and big moons and us too! It’s an amazingly wonderful beautiful world.
Imagine all the people, living life in peace ~ You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one . . .
So, to celebrate all of this and all of us, we are having not One, not even Two, but Three Give-aways in this blog post, and this contest is open to everyone everywhere on the planet! If someone in a faraway land is chosen in this drawing, we will mail their package to wherever they would like it to go. Because it is true, we are the world. What the Internet has brought has surpassed my wildest dreams . . . I thought it would be good, but I didn’t know it would be this good! So here we go, let’s start off with some inspiration! Mas Musica? Frank? Oui!♥
You should probably get a cup of tea or something cold to drink . . . this could be a long one! The inspiration for this giveaway came from a request in a Girlfriend’s comment a couple of months back ~ she asked, “Could we see more of your quilt collection.” Oh boy, yes, you can! Here we go!
From the very first quilt I got, which happens to be the one my Great Grandma made for my Grandma who then gave it to me, it’s always been the colors. I love the old-fashioned fabrics, the soft pastels and simple patterns and I love that they used lots of white. These are the colors that inspired my watercolors.
A little worn, a little faded, and never signed. Just so lovely and artistic, and humble and oh, if they could talk. You know they were made by creative women, and often in groups. Could we please listen in on one of those conversations, oh dearest back-in-time genie?
All those tiny little hand-made stitches. I have so much appreciation for this art.
It’s easy to relate to the hearts that made them.
I made a few quilts when I was young, never as beautiful as this one, but then I learned to paint, so I painted quilts instead, and I learned to go to antique stores and there I found old quilts . . . which I’ve collected for years . . . now I drape them over sofas . . .
It’s not a huge collection, and I don’t have all the scientific information on them, I just like to drape them on bedroom chairs . . .
at the ends of the beds . . . so I can look at them and be charmed and feel happy.
I like them in the kitchen in the winter, folded over the back of a chair, even though it really doesn’t make any sense, I just like to look at them . . .
At one time I had a “Heart of the Home” store on the Central Coast of California where I sold a few vintage quilts whenever I could find them (or part with them). These were in a pile in a corner of the store, they weren’t for sale, only for inspiration, so my shopper Girlfriends could see how pretty a stack of quilts can be and begin the search to get a stack for themselves.
From the beginning, my watercolors were influenced by the beauty and the colors of these quilts. I painted what I loved. I don’t make stitches so much anymore, I paint them.
You can kind of see quilt-influence in the things I’ve made in the past . . . everything feels a little like a 1930’s quilt.
The other big influence on my watercolors was the dish variation of the quilt. To me quilts and dishes have everything in common: home, practicality, love, beauty, history, delicacy and most of all, that color again. They also reach out when I walk by at a flea market, take my hand and say right out loud, I’m going home with you. And I say, thank you, I could not agree more.
I love painting my own rendition of pattern ~
Almost as much as I love finding and collecting old dishes…
You see? Dishes ↑ and Quilt fabric ↓ ~ See the resemblance? Kissing cousins.
Especially when it’s me choosing the colors.
This is fabric from my long extinct “Tea Party” Collection of fabric.
And lots more than quilts was made from those designs. These were made at the wonderful embroidery studio at Crabapple Hill. They sell the great old-fashioned embroidery patterns you see here and in the photo before this one and lots more.♥
Even this Tea Tin is a “sub-unit” (made that up, like it) from the design of quilt fabric.
And because of the fact that all of this fabric is now gone from the market place, and there’s no more available anywhere . . . except right here in my hot little hands, the First Give-away turns out to be everything you see here . . . except of course Jack. He is not included. He is a sub-unit of me.
I hope everyone likes yellow, because the words “everything is included” means this bolt of several yards of “Honeybee Yellow” fabric.
In addition, I found a yard (or maybe a little more) of each of these three fabrics, from my “Sweet Baby” collection, the dot, the check and the lambs with the hearts. In they go!
And yes, “everything” includes a complete set of the “Tea Party” Collection in “Little Fat Quarters.”
Little Fat quarters and the bolt of bees (and the little lambs), and also a gift card from me to the winner of the drawing with love.
You can see better some of the fabrics in the pile of Fat Quarters. I hope someone out there can put them to good use! OK, so that is Giveaway # 1! This officially puts us on . . .
. . .’cause here comes the rest of the Give-aways!
Next? OK, this is Give-away number #2. Again, the cat is not included (but try taking a picture without him in it!). What these are are the unbound proofs for our brand new 2015 Wall and Mini Calendars ~ you can’t hang them, but they’re just too nice to throw away. The color is beautiful, they’re on heavy paper so I thought possibly, someone would like these, maybe to do some scrapbooking with?
Here is Jack with the Mini Calendar, you can see, the pages aren’t hooked together . . . every time I try to take a picture, he jumps into the middle of it, he makes me laugh. Kissing occurs.
But here’s more of the inside of the Mini Calendar — lots of bookmark-making or card-making possibilities here too! Knowing you, there are a 1000 possibilities!
And here’s some of the art from the Wall Calendar. Both calendars have been approved and the finished products should be arriving at the Studio any day now. So this is Give-Away #2, both of these brand new calendars, and both signed.
(Oh, don’t worry, in case you were, the big Blotter Calendar is still on schedule for shipping in late August.)
And Now, Number Three Give-away to celebrate our FOSB Girls and our Blog Girlfriends, this 53″ x 74″ quilt made with my “Martha’s Vineyard” Collection of fabrics, also quite extinct and no longer available (except for today, here).
The pattern is called “Hearts and Flowers” ~ I designed it and it was made and presented to me by the fabric manufacturer.
And I signed it with the year it was made . . . this little quilt is behind door #3 of our Drawing. I hope one of these doors suits your fancy!
And FYI, we still do have a few bits and pieces of some of the fabric collections, still have a few patterns for aprons, pillowcases, and appliqued dishtowels, many of which are free (especially our really cute gored apron). Just go HERE.
Girl Kitty thinks it’s all just lovely. She likes quilts too.
One more rather exciting thing! My AUTUMN book went to the printer yesterday! I’m so very proud to announce that the Tenth 
Anniversary Edition of AUTUMN from the Heart of the Home will be in stores by October first! Autumn will be published in the USA by Spring Street Publishing, and just so you know, this new edition is exactly like the first edition in every way except this one comes complete with a ribbon bookmark and will have a different publisher. (We weren’t completely in charge of the ribbon the last time, this time we are, so voila, we get one!)
All my most favorite recipes and most inspiring ideas for Autumn fun, both indoors and out, are there. Pumpkin Cheesecake! Corn Pudding!
Including crafts and sewing, because Autumn is the most creative time of the year, all that good Back-to-School energy never goes away! First whiff of September and I want to make something! And Yes, we are having a Pre-sale for the book, beginning TODAY. 
We have ordered an early shipment of books to be sent to the studio just for our Girlfriends. We always seem to run out of everything (no matter how carefully we plan), it seems to be our M.O. but if you have ordered a book in our web store, you are guaranteed to get it the minute they come in, before we begin shipping to the bookstores and Amazon. Although the publication date is October first, we will start shipping your books by the middle of August and maybe even sooner if we get lucky! Perfect timing, because by then, we are going to be yearning for those fall breezes. (But not yet.)
And one more thing, if you are the kind of person who likes to do their Christmas Shopping early, here is a combination that will give you something to give away and something to keep, a win-win. To celebrate our Anniversaries, we’ve bundled the two books for a very special, limited-offer, thank-you-for-being-here price.♥
You all know how to enter the drawing ~ it’s easy, just leave a short comment below and in a few days we’ll draw names. (For those to whom the blog is mailed, you should click here www.162.240.10.175/~susanbs3/susanbranch/, scroll to the bottom of the post, look for the tiny letters that say, “comment” ~ click there and leave your comment. I don’t know why, but the senders of the email blogs do not include a way to leave a comment.)
I will warn Vanna to exercise a bit more this week, clear her head, get that arm pumped ~ she has a big job choosing three winners! The first name chosen will win prize number one (fabric bundles) the second name chosen will get the calendars, and the third will have the signed quilt. And I’ll email the winners and let them know the minute I know.
I’m going back to the garden. I’m reading Gladys Taber in preparation for next week! Very exciting! Makes for a very nice life, reading this book, and smelling the flowers. Hope the same for you. Love you, Girlfriends. Happy Anniversary! XOXO
Love, love, love your whimsical style of all your creative endeavors. I am quilter and would greatly enjoy including your fabrics in a very special quilt. I just finished A Fine Romance. I looked forward to a few quiet moments each day drifting thru the English countryside with you. Sadly, it came to an end much too soon. The Lake District is on my bucket list and your adventure only made me move it closer to the top of the list. An added pleasure was giving A Fine Romance to a dear friend who is enjoying it as much as I did. Soon will share our thoughts over a cup of tea. Thank you for bringing me into your quiet, comforting world.
Oh Susan! what a thrill to even be allowed to enter this drawing….I’m sure I speak for all when I say PICK ME! Just this morning I was selecting fabric for a quilt for a baby-to-be, whose shower is in July. How fun to even dare to think that perhaps I could win this drawing (or any of the 3). I’m thinking today of my “Susan Branch pen pal” that I got from your FB page – her name is Karen Stephenson, and today she is becoming new bride marrying her love Everett!! she is in Maine, I am in Michigan, but I’m thinking of her all day long and hoping the weather is picture-perfect as it is here and wishing them all the love and happiness imaginable. 🙂
Oh that’s so fantastic, that you are sharing in her wedding in this way . . . how wonderful!
Love, love, love your whimsical style of all your creative endeavors. I am quilter and would greatly enjoy including your fabrics in a very special quilt. I just finished A Fine Romance. I looked forward to a few quiet moments each day drifting thru the English countryside with you. Sadly, it came to an end much too soon. The Lake District is on my bucket list and your adventure only made me move it closer to the top of the list. An added pleasure was giving A Fine Romance to a dear friend who is enjoying it as much as I did. Soon will share our thoughts over a cup of tea. Thank you for bringing me into your quiet, comforting world.
I love reading your blog first thing in the morning with my cup of coffee. It’s always a happy way to start the day.
Beautiful quilts. I have 2, one from Granny and one from my Mom.
Thank you for the wonderful giveaway, and for the fun journey thus far! Can’t wait to see what the future holds! Blessings to you and yours…
Love! Love! Love! The colors in this blog, from the quilts to the flowers. Oh! let us not for get the dishes, I have these for every holiday/ season. I store them in cabinets under beds and in guest room closets. I am asked how come so many? I simply reply I use them and I love to eat and drink from pretty dishes, it makes me smile . I even like you with quilts place them in places that make no since, just so I can see them.
All 3 of your prizes would be wonderful to win. Your garden weather is a few weeks ahead of us here in Nova Scotia. I’m actually enjoying my breakfast tea outside this morning in my garden as it is a beautiful day today. Three of my friends and I will be visiting Martha’s Vineyard for the first time in September, which we are so excited about. Thanks so much for your blog.
Oh my, I didn’t know what to do first, pre order the book or leave a comment! I am drinking a cup of tea while reading this amazing post…..Out of my new Emma rose and bee mug!!! It makes your springtime tea taste even more wonderful. Could life get any better? Thank you so so much. Xoxo
Happy anniversary! I can’t wait to order a copy of the Autumn book for my daughter. It will make a great gift for her birthday! I might have to get a little somethin’ for myself, too-perhaps a tin of tea….
Oh my! What a giveaway! I hope this is my lucky week!!! Thanks for the chance to win!
Of course I want to win! I am a quilter; I have been a beekeeper (well, one of my beekeeping friends called me a “bee haver” because I wasn’t very good at it, too many grandkids to distract me is my excuse); and I love everything about your work, whether it is on fabric or paper. It will be okay if I don’t win, but I would really like to have that fabric!
I too am reading Gladys Taber in prep for next weekend. The forecast is calling for good New England weather, and I hope it holds. I’ll see you there!
I’ve been wondering about the weather, but haven’t checked yet — sounds good! See you there! So many people coming who’re reading Gladys now, it’s going to be a room full of blissed-out people!
Thank you for the opportunity to win any of these lovely gifts. The calendar pages would be my favorite although the fabrics would be so nice also.
I look forward to your emails and have shared them with friends.
Happy anniversary! I am just finishing a quilt with lots of yellow in it. My favourite colour.
Hi Susan,
Happy Anniversary! I know it’s not an accident that you have had such a successful blog. Looks like hard work that you’ve put your heart and soul into; also I have a feeling you get alot of wonderful support from Joe. Keep up the great work.
Kathy from Connecticut
Such fun reading all about your New York trip and seeing the pictures! I felt like I was right there with you! The quilts are beautiful…and the way you take photographs of everything is an art in and of itself!! Like a recent commercial on tv says…..”Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?”……for you truly are an angel to share so much goodness and joy with everyone!
I love that commercial! SO cute! xoxo Thank you Barbie!
I so enjoy reading your blog…from the NYC post (you’ve been to places I didn’t even know existed…even though I live just outside the city!)..love ABC Carpet….adore rooftop restaurants and views…am always amazed by the Merritt Parkway’s beauty…and am so inspired by quilts….everything you write about seems to strike such a chord…thanks, Susan, for sharing your personal creativity..truly a joy! I also gave A Fine Romance to a very close friend at Christmastime….need to pick one up for myself — it’s just beautiful and she loved it, too!
Two words: Gaw Geous
Susan, Happy Anniversary! We all benefit from your gifted work – we are so fortunate. It is a wonderful break to read your blog and take a mini vacation from an often hectic treadmill work week to enjoy your creativeness and travels that you share so eloquently with us. My best friend and I have been vacationing to Martha’s Vineyard as our annual tradition for over 27 years, so your blog has become part of our friendship. Thank you for all you do!
Thank you Susan!
Dear Darling Susan, You are such an inspiration! Thank you for sharing your beautiful self with all of us dreamers!
Susan,
I am at a time in my life when I say that I don’t want anything, need anything, and am clearing out but I can still find a place for any of the things in this wonderful give-away. Please include me as a hopeful participant. Thanks, Judy
Susan Branch, you are such a joy! Your blog is inspirational. You encourage my creative side every time I click on your blog or pick up your book. Thank you.
So glad I do not have to choose between these amazing giveaway prizes! I would be more than happy with any of them. I have been a fan since your recipes were published in Country Living Mag. As a young newlywed, I cut them out and framed them to decorate my kitchen. Now I am a quilter and would love to use your beautiful fabric in a quilt. Those lambs for a baby quilt? Adorable! I also make cards and bookmarks so you can see that your new calendar pages would be put to good use as well. Thanks for the chance to win and thanks for the quiet inspiration you have given us through the years with your easy style, positive quotes, and gentle art.
I would LOVE to win the baby fat quarters as I am going to make
a quilt for my baby brother’s new Grandbaby coming in February!
Even if I don’t win, I Love looking at the fabric…..soooooo Cute!
Keep those Blogs coming, Girlfriend!
It has been a tough couple of weeks!…unexpected hurt and struggle. So I got up this morning and began counting blessings. I wanted to begin the week with a renewed and contented “being”.
Then I opened your blog and added you to my grateful list! I am so grateful, Susan, for your joyful demeanor, and the way you are able to share that joy with others.
Everything around you is a glorious present waiting to be opened by a giddy and expectant endlessly youthful soul! Your love of life is so contagious and uplifting…and it is impossible not to smile (from the inside out), and to want to grab on with all your soul and ride along.
I sit here now, with my furry little soul mate, a cup of tea and a plate of home made waffles…listening to birdsong outside the open window, reveling in the flowers blooming in my little garden, and the sunlight patches on my carpet!!!, and I am grateful beyond words for the opportunity you have offered to share
in the blessings of your world, and for me to share mine with you! Thanks for the smiles!
Love,
Pam
So happy to hear that Autumn will again be available for sale! I have a copy and have often wanted to be able to purchase more copies for gifts. It is a favorite, but then, all of your books are favorites! Thanks for your inspiring creativity and for the chance to win.
It’s always a pleasure to view the blog and follow the creativity of Susan and friends and cats and Joe. Susan’s cup runneth over and we, in the hinterlands, are privileged to follow along.
Susan, Thank You for your lovely website, for your beautiful calendars that have lit up my kitchen for so many years now (my kitchen wall would fall down without your calendar on it), for your you-ness that reminds me to bring my me-ness to my own family. A Fine Romance was one of the favorite books I’ve read this year; it took me to times & places my husband & I haven’t been to for a long time. Reading the book we laughed ’till we cried at your description of living through an English roundabout for the first time. That could have been me writing about us. Funniest, most terrifying thing ever. You’ve been a blessing!
Love your post! I can’t believe it has been 3 years. I took Autumn with me when I went in it have my c-section with my now 9yo daughter, in October ’04. I took it to read and keep me calm as we prepared for surgery. Kept in the book, on a tiny piece of paper, are the names we were thinking if for her. Extra special for that reason!
Susan, can’t even imagine winning one of these prizes!!! What an awesome give away . . .thanks from everybody!!
Oh Susan, What a lovely giveaway!! I am looking forward to your Autumn book as I have several of your small seasonal books and I display them in my home as the seasons roll around!! I love your heart and your art!!
I have loved your work for years. I just recently found your website through another blogger in England who loved your book “A Fine Romance.” I would love to be chosen but if not I will totally be blessed to keep reading your blog and all the encouragement you give. Have a wonderful day.
Susan I make pillowcases for my Great-Grandchildren and it would be so fun to have the material for that. The quilt, oh my that would be a prize for sure and not to worry, the drawings would be wonderful to use for my little ones craft time.
Susan, it has been a delight reading your blogs while listening to your musica. It has been a blessing meeting new friends through the pen pal (club?). And it’s been a dream to be able to join you on all your travels (especially England!). My thanks to you for including all of the girlfriends in your incredibly charmed daily life and for reminding us, when things are getting ugly, that a cup of tea and a letter from a friend or a cozy quilt and a snuggle from our pets, is the perfect antidote. They truly are. It’s the little things, right?
Thank-you Susan for all that you do! You inspire me. Time for me to embrace Summer-Woohoo!
Happy Anniversary! Your pictures and comments make my heart sing even on a dark and gloomy day. Thanks for sharing your joy with all of us.
Oh my! What a treasure trove of beautiful things. Cats and quilts and dishes-what a wonderful world to live in. I had many of these things before I moved in with my daughter and I love looking at your pictures and remembering them with love. Thank you Susan, you make every day cozy and warm.
I so enjoy your blog! Willard is wonderful….everything Susan Branch is wonderful. One of the most wonderful days in my life was meeting you last year on MV at the Edgartown Book Store, best day ever. My friend and I were thrilled!
Thank you !
Marilyn
Oh Please Pick Me!! I have been an admirer for years and my kitchen wouldn’t be complete without the SB Calendar. You travel with us every year when we leave the North to live in Florida for 9 months. Everyone that comes in my kitchen checks out what art is on the calendar for that month.
I am a newbie quilter, too. Trying very hard and I have some excellent teachers. But it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks. My mother was the seamstress in the family but was never really able to “teach” me. She just used to laugh at me and how inept I was with a needle or pin in my hand. Every time that I pick up a pin, I can hear her laughing in heaven! It keeps me going and trying to reach my goals.
And lastly, I am a painter and have been for 35-40 years. But I have never been able to accomplish watercolors. Mine are oils and acrylics. So I am in awe at all that you do with your watercolor palette.
It would thrill me to no end to be able to have something from the drawing! I will be sitting here with my tea, your blog and waiting with bated breath to hear who wins!
Oh any by the way, My paternal grandfather was born in Sheffield, England. So I would love to read the Fine Romance.
My sister and I had a little quilt shop in a small town called Berthoud CO. It had always been our dream to own such a store and dreams do come true! We carried your fabric ‘Tea Cups’ and loved it at first sight. We made quilts with it and they always reminded us of our mother’s and grandmother’s quilts. I dearly love my quilts. So to see your give aways brought back warm memories of my sister and the dreams we shared. Thank you, Susan, for the gift of memory you have brought me!
so happy to have found your website-it puts the happy in my day!! keep up the posting, love the quilts, linens, flowers, birds, traveling, cooking, cats, ….! what a special gift to touch the lives of so many people. best of everything to you !!
Susan — it may be YOUR anniversary, but the rest of us are celebrating the anniversary of when we received the gift of YOU! Your blog brightens the week for all of us and makes the world a prettier, lovlier, gentler place full of the things that matter most — friends, family, lovely surroundings, old movies, books (and more books) and an appreciation for those little “pre-loved” treasures we find hiding in attics and antique shops. After a killer week, your blog has once again, soothed my soul. Now, for tea! LOL.
P.S. Why do I never see cat hair on those close-up photos? My two tuxedos are amazingly accurate at turning their black fur toward light colored fabrics, and their white fur toward the darks! They have amazingly accurate insincts.
Dear Susan, you live the life I’ve always dreamed of…
love, love your art, your fondness for the beautiful, simple things of the past, your generosity and your spirit. We do have this in common–I too live on an “almost” island–the Door County Peninsula of Wisconsin. You have to cross a bridge to get here, so that makes us an island, eh? Cheers and Peace to you…
Thank you for sharing your gifts of writing and art. Your blog is a bright spot on the web.
Happy June, happy anniversary, happy drawings! I would love to see what my sister would quilt with that fabric!
Beautiful colors, bright and happy words and photos! What a generous and exciting giveaway for all of us to excitedly dream about! Thank you Susan for putting that extra happy skip into our daily lives!
Susan, you are my inspiration. I have just finished my first water coloring class. Such fun. 6 more to go in this beginning program. I so love it. The love of what you do truly comes through in your books, calendars, your home and your wonderful blog. Thank you.
If you’re happy & you know it, clap your hands!!!! You make me clap my hands! Seeing your collection of quilts reminds me of a meeting we set up for a womens club, I thought I might share with the girlfriends. We called it “Dress the bed”.
Everyone was requested to bring a quilt from home with a note telling what they knew about it. We spread them out on top of each other on a make shift bed and then held one up at a time and read the notes off them. Such a simple thing made a great program:))) There are so many of us out here that love the same simple things. Thanks for sharing yourself with us.
Oh my! I just discovered your blog thanks to Zite – wish I’d known about it sooner! Your fabrics and the photos of your stacked quilts really sing to me. Congratulations, and well done!
What a generous giveaway, Susan! I noticed in the pile of fat quarters, that piece at the very bottom right, is one I have used in a quilt I titled “Tea Party”. It was made from blocks made and shared by a group of friends. One of my friends gave me some cut up pieces of your fabric (which I didn’t even know was yours) and I had to incorporate it into my Tea Party quilt. Just love it! So Happy Anniversary and Thanks for the opportunity to possibly win!
Hi Susan!
I just wanted to say Congatulations on a wonderful blog! I love it as I do all of your posts. Congratulations on your Facebook page and friends as well! Thank you for sharing your lovely sweet world and talents with us! You are a blessing! I know because of you I try to make sure my home is a little cozier! GOD Bless you and your! Love, hugs and prayers, Tricia B 🙂
What lovely thoughts Susan. We humans are all together in this race called life. You have brought such beauty to so many and often have reminded me to stop and savor the small moments of beauty and blessing in each day. Would love to win any of the giveaways!
I am a lover of quilts also. Thanks for sharing them with us.
I stumbled upon your blog a few months ago…I love to visit regularly. We lived in England in 1989-1990 when my husband’s job took us to the Manchester area…my children had the most wonderful experience at a real village school. One of our most remembered times was stopping at the Kingsly farm to watch the sheep, the lambs, and their border collie, Tom, round up the sheep. These memories came back very clearly looking at your pictures and words about England!!!
I love each and everyone of your bog posts. I enjoy so much the colors and different fonts you use.
The quilts are simply wonderful and the colors are suburb.
Rainy Sunday mornings and your blog makeme happy! Thank you Susan for the lovely words and pictures you paint!
Your blog is so much fun!! I always look forward to sitting with a cup of coffee and reading it. You always inspire me
Og Susan, oh Susan, oh my! What a fabulously generous giveaway! Happy anniversary and thank you for all your happy posts that bring a sprinkling of sunshine into all the girlfriends days.
Thank you so much for these wonderful chances to own some of your charming beauty! We love you Susan, love your blog, are happy to be friends on FB, loving to tweet…and we would all still be these things even without the fabulous prizes xoxo, your friend Jacqui from FL
Love your fabrics, but they are hard to find. My husband and I did visit your store several years ago, and we are so glad we did because it is closed now.
I have your book, “A Fine Romance.” I keep re-reading it. So cheerful. It lifts my spirits.
Thank you.
All the loveliness makes me happy.
Happy Anniversary Susan! Thank you…for making my world so much prettier, for letting me enjoy the beauty and peace your talent brings to my world…for letting me share your traveling adventures while sipping my favorite herbal teas! You bless me indeed girlfriend!
Thank you…for sharing your world with me!
Cheri
how lovely is this message…..it is soooo easy to get bogged down in the negative side of this world…..i choose to celebrate goodness and beauty……and my 56th wedding anniversary…..
yes, indeed…..june is a special month…..thank you for being you and sharing with all of us….
❤️
I so enjoy reading your blog . It is so inspiring. I, also, collect vintage dishes and quilts . The colors and patterns are so cheerful. I have collected quite a few of your fabrics. Love them!
This was such a lovely blog, but then, so is every new blog you send to us. Every one of your blogs continues to show us more and more that “you do all things with love and love all that you do”! You continue to inspire me. Thank you !
You have the gift of making everything that you touch beautiful. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Congratulations, Susan, on the anniversary of your most delightful blog! Every blog post fills me with joy in the beauty you put in front of me, and each one is even more delightful than the previous one ~ how do you do it? I know, it comes from your heart…
A good friend introduced me to you by giving me a copy of A Fine Romance knowing we are “kindred spirits”. I am English, living in the US, and your book brought back so many memories of all that I hold dear.
I had so hoped to meet you at the Gladys Taber house but, although I live in CT, we are away right now. I will manage to meet you in person one of these days ~ where there is a will there is a way.
I have not won anything before, so if I win one of your gorgeous giveaways it will be yet another happy experience. Thank you so much and keep on doing what you do. Thanks to Joe also for being so supportive of your work!
Sally
Yes, I’d love to be entered in the drawing…great gifts! I inherited a patchwork quilt from my mother-in-law made by her and her sisters in the 30’s from their old dresses. You’d love it.
Like ingredients in a recipe, the components in your world combine for all of us to enjoy in your delicious blog posts. Your photos, your words, your cheer and especially your drawings are pure joy—thank you! Such a pleasure. Your blog is my favorite and an ongoing inspiration.
I love being a part of your world!!!! I read “A Fine Romance” in one sitting and then lent it to my mom……she also read it in one sitting – unheard of for her!!! It brought back wonderful memories of trips to England.
Hi Susan ,
I must have been one of your early readers and didn’t know it! A friend told me about your Facebook page and then I remember the Facebook page announcing the blog. Your page and blog and trip to England have been highlights in my days and your artwork (including your wonderful photography) are like a lamp in a dark room; they warm and comfort and help me to see beautiful things I might not otherwise have seen. Thank you for taking the chances you have and being bold and sharing your gifts and life with us. Happy Anniversary!
Sincerely,
Susan
What a lovely selection of prizes! Your fabric selection is amazing and certainly my cup of tea. Thank you for the last three years of sharing your life and kitties.
Hello, Susan…Happy Anniversary! I just found you last week, you were sitting on a shelf, in the travel section, of my favorite bookstore. It was serendipity! Of course, you had to come home with me, who could resist “A Fine Romance”! I love the feel of the pages, the handwriting and the art (And delighted with the ribbon bookmark, the best part of life really IS all in the details) I sat you down on my desk when I got home, right next to an Architectural Digest magazine, that a friend, had just given me. And what do you know, the May 2014’s cover, was headed with A Fine Romance,ravishing retreats….what a coincidence. But then later that evening,(this really did happen all on the same day!) I got an email from another friend, telling me about a blog by Susan Branch, that she’s been meaning to tell me about, that she thinks I would love (and I do). She said she thought of me, because I love England, too! (I went there 12 years ago for my 50th birthday, it was the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, then; would love to see the countryside, someday) You can’t make this stuff up. So now you see why it was serendipity! I’m not writing to try to win anything (haven’t had enough time in, to earn it, yet), but I did think this was a good time to tell you my story, it being your anniversary and all! Love, Candy 🙂
Loved that Candy! Thank you!
Thank you for thinking of such lovely ways to bless your readers! On my hardest days I can sit down to your blog and have a respite for my soul. You have the gift of sharing beauty and inspiration. I am finally enrolling in a watercolor class because of the encouragement I have received here. Thank you for that.
Warmly, Elizabeth
I love love love old quilts! And your blog. Happy Anniversary!
Happiest of Anniversary’s! It has been fun watching your blog and Facebook grow from the beginning! I also have loved you, your books, and still have stickers from long ago (Years) stashed away! They were just too pretty to use! I am so glad that FB and your blog have brought together all the people that love you, your art, and sweetness of life!
What wonderful gifts you are giving away. So enjoy your blog. happy anniversary!
Thanks so much for sharing yourself with us all these years!!! You have brought joy and comfort to me in so many ways. Keep on creating girlfriend…love
You inspire me!
Happy Anniversary from Bull Lake, Montana…aka Troy, Montana! I love to get up early in the morning, get my coffee, and read your blog. It is a perfect get together. I turn on the cooking shows and go into my own little world. I have almost all your books and started giving them as presents as soon as I discovered them. People love getting them and the calendars as gifts. I guess I am a “Susan Branch-a-holic”. Your style is my style and thank you for all that you do to inspire me! LOVE; Patty
Susan, you have been a part of my day since your very first book. Thank you for the feelings your pages exude, whether from the blog or a good old fashioned book. Being from the Cape, but now living in Northern CA, it is a pleasure knowing I can come to your site for my daily NE fix…It allows me a taste of home!!
Best~
Amanda
Happy Anniversary Susan, how exciting! The beginning of the post was so beautifully written! I love your collection of quilts, what a treasure of beautiful colors. I will be thinking of you at Gladys Taber’s home, wishing I could be there. Thank you for the opportunity to win such generous giveaways.
Have a beautiful weekend!
Carla
Happy Anniversary! Everything is so beautiful! Thank you for the chance to win one of your beautiful gifts 🙂
Love love love your blog. The best out there. I’m a quilter and love your fabric line. Wish it were still available. Have a great Sunday, Susan and Joe.
Oh, how I love posts like these. I love all of the colorful whimsical images. It is a delight to the senses! Thank you so much for sharing your creativity with us. This blog has been such an inspiration. I am excited to see what is in each new post. Any of the give aways would be wonderful to receive! Thank you again for making us a part of your life!
Wow! You are so generous. I love your cheerful posts. This one is especially nice with the colors and all. You succeeded with what you hoped you would create. I come here and feel the spirits of flower-growing, music-loving, tender-hearted, soup-making, peace-loving kinds of people (especially you). All the terrible events that scare me for my grandchildren are put in perspective. Not everyone out there is a lunatic.
I used to quilt and hope to again in the near future. My latest creations with cotton fabrics are double sided cloth napkins, made with high quality cotton quilting fabric. Although a bit expensive, they soften into a luxurious means of tidying one’s face and protecting one’s lap. I started making them after using something similar in a little Thai restaurant on our island. At dinner that first time, my husband said, “You could make us some of these. Let’s buy fabric on the way home.” That was a nice vote of confidence, and he had never noticed the cloth napkins we use at home on a daily basis. So I stitched us up some napkins that he continues to remark about nearly every meal.
Thank you for another peaceful, happy post. From one flower-growing, music-loving, tender-hearted, soup-making, peace-loving girlfriend to another.
A LOVELY vote of confidence! 🙂
Dear Susan, please sign me up! What a great summer give away. Thanks for inspiring me and for being a kindred spirit. Love, Debby
Happy Anniversary!
:))))
To the Curator of Creativity I extend warmest and most enthusiastic felicitations on these seminal anniversaries!
Alas, a quilter I am not but a collector of these treasures I most certainly am. But here’s the story morning glory, providence has been all too generous of late and one mustn’t be too greedy so please pass my chance on to another.
P.S.: Must get my grubby sausage fingers on the book below because the review alone is wildly gorgeous!
nytimes.com/2014/06/08/books/review/sandra-tsing-lohs-madwoman-in-the-volvo.html?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0
Happy Anniversary Susan! Love your fabrics & always enjoy the kitty photos! Right now I’m going through a serious illness with my 92 year old Mom & opening the blog to read a post is a breath of air away from our troubles. Thanks a million & many happy returns!
Kathleen
Blessings on you both Kathleen xoxo
Happy Anniversary!!!
My new kitty Sophie loves looking at Jack and Girl pictures–me too!
The prizes are amazing!!! Thank you so much for the chance to win one!!!
And Thank You for bringing delight each and every blog posting–I always save reading it til I have time to sit and sip a cuppa!!!!
I’ve been a fan for a long time and am always amazed at how much I love each blog more than the last! You are amazing! Please keep up your wonderful work, art, thoughts, LIFE!
Happy anniversary Susan and thank you for all the lovely postings over the years. Also thank you for the chance to win these wonderful prizes.
Wow! As usual, your blog is a visual feast! The colors you use from the 30’s quilts are colors I also love. I don’t often make a full bed quilt, but I am a quilt artist… small wall art varieties. Fingers crossed some of your “visual feast” becomes a reality in my mailbox!
Oh Susan, what a wonderful anniversary celebration!! I keep returning, and little-by-little, am reading ALL of the comments. Each one is a gem! Hope you are soaking up all of our happiness and heartfelt gratitude! We just love you, Susan!! ♡♡
Such a great post, full of EVERYTHING I love about you. I will be 60 years old this fall, and your “loves” are all the things from the era I grew up seeing in my grandmother and great-grandmother’s house and elsewhere. My hearts desire as a young bride was to make homemaking my focus, and I’ve been blessed to be able to do so for over 41 years of marriage. Thank you for allowing us a place to celebrate this honored profession!
I’d soooo love to win any of these, especially those delicious fabrics to make a few quilts and who knows what else? I think many of us really need GOOD NEWS these days with all that’s happening in our families, communities and world, in general. I know, I sure do. Thank you for sending out posts that are such a bright spot in our everyday lives! Much love, friend <3
de I can’t wait for your Autumn and I’m so happy it is being published in the good ol USA. I love everything you do. Happy summer.
De
My granddaughter’s name is Autumn. Can’t wait to get your book!
Happy Anniversary. It has been a wonderful 5/3 years – full of laughter, tears, adventure, peace, encouragement and much love. Thank you for bringing the “heart of the home” to us.
What a wonderful, beautiful, amazing post! Thank-you. Would love to be entered in an opportunity to have some of that incredible fabric. Thank you.