I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving. I had a very nice day, cooking turkey so the house smelled like Thanksgiving, dressing with a rich gravy, and jellied cranberry sauce right out of the can. Once again, I decided to experiment with another method of cooking the turkey, and I’ll share that with you soon. Sewing time this week made for a good bit of progress on several projects. I found a MINI logo on the internet for my embroidery machine, and I wanted to use it for a project for the upcoming silent auction to benefit Manna Food Bank. I had some toweling fabric that I picked up from the freebie table at guild that was perfect. I used the small bit to try out the embroidery.

This came out pretty good.

Next, I cut a large piece for a generous size kitchen towel and embroidered the logo again. Placement was hard as the lines are not symmetrical. But I think this looks OK.

Next, I folded a hem to the backside 1/4-inch all the way around, then folded it over a second 1/4-inch to enclose the raw edges. Pressing well, I then stitched the edge down.

All done, the MINI towel will go with a hot pad that I made from the test piece and a Milk Street Bakes cookbook. I have a bottle of wine to put with this too, so it should make an appealing bidding lot for the auction.

I like using water soluble stabilizers for kitchen towels, and they are often on sale at Sulky. I just got a bunch to replenish my stock and have different weights for different applications.

On the first Quilt of Valor, I got the quilting finished and made the binding. I put it on by machine on the top side.

Then it went to the den to get the binding finished by hand. I worked some on it yesterday, and hope to finish it by the weekend.

Next was to get more done on the second Quilt of Valor I need to make. I found a group of patriotic scraps already cut to the size I needed, so I began working on the blocks. I have decided to do some large stripes to go around the panel, so I needed a bunch of red/white and blue/white blocks. I’m using the Scrappy Quilt block that we used for our Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project a few years ago. The block is simple and fast, and is great for use with a lot of different prints. It begins with making a bunch of half square triangles.

I found that I had four bobbins with just a little bit of white or ecru thread on each one. Lots of times I will use these as top thread, but it was so little that I didn’t want to rethread the machine that often. They didn’t have enough to put on the top, but too much to just pull off and throw away. So, I put them in the bobbin to chain piece. I can look at the bobbin between adding each fabric square set so I know when it runs out.

I cut some background that I thought would work, but it was really too dark. So, I picked out the three beige squares in the corner, and resewed with lighter fabrics.

Yes, this looks better.

I did some blues, then switched to reds.

While I was working this day, I used the Web Method of assembling the blocks so it would go quickly and accurately.

After making a few, I realized that really needed a few more prints, so while I was out on Tuesday, I stopped by my local quilt shop and picked up four more quarter yard pieces to add to the mix.

Laying out the blocks I made so far shows I have a way to go. I’m going to use the prints on the right side for the top and right edge. I just haven’t figured out how yet. I also will have to add a border to the panel to bring it up to the size I need for the blocks to fit.

Back to the cutting board for more squares, and then to the sewing machine. I was not paying attention, and got this. Crap on a cracker.

More frogging, now this is better.

This week, I got three quilts for Hurricane Helene victims. The two on the left were originally received as tops and backings from Karen Sue G, quilted by me and another longarmer, then bound by a fellow guild member. The one on the right was received in the mail from Kristi B. I have six more on the way this coming week, and another one possible from a local friend. All 10 will be delivered in mid-December. I will continue to collect and distribute quilts as long as I keep getting them.

I hope to get more sewing done this week, and to that end I have decided to do another Virtual Retreat Holiday Edition! I’ve scheduled the next day of fun for Thursday, December 5 beginning at 9:30 am Eastern standard time, and running all day. I know it is coming up fast, next Thursday, but the holidays are upon us! You can work on whatever you like, not necessarily holiday projects. You can sew, knit, paint or just come to chat. Also, you do not need to commit to the whole day, come and go as you can. Come for a little while, or all day, pop in and out as your schedule allows. This time there will be lots of show and tell, door prizes, and inspiration to make progress on projects. Just $5 for the whole day, and will include a free pattern!

Click on Virtual Retreat Holiday Edition to register!

Of course, it is Black Friday, and the holiday season is now in full swing, so I’ll be doing some shopping today. See these great deals from my affiliate sponsors, and thank you for using my links when you can. Order some new treats for yourself, get amazing gifts for friends and family, and enjoy the holidays this year without stress as all is taken care of early. Thank you for your support!

You can now buy my most popular patterns on this blog, with a credit card payment. See My Patterns page. Use the button below the pattern to pay online and then you will get a clickable link in your confirmation email to download the pattern instantly when your purchase is complete. The terms will create an account for a one time purchase for you to use your credit card. Purchases will NOT add you to my blog email list. For patterns without a button or if you’d rather not pay that way, just send me an email for a Paypal invoice, then I’ll email the pattern to you when payment is complete. See that page for links to some of my free patterns as well.

Great deals for Thanksgiving Weekend at Fat Quarter Shop starting with 15% OFF ALL ORDERS through Saturday at midnight. Plus orders $200 and over will receive a special grab bag valued at around $40 as a FREE gift! Quantities are limited, so act fast! See the fabulous new Doorbuster Deals for a limited time only (while supplies last!). Our Black Friday Sale ends Saturday, November 30 at Midnight CST! – 20% off the Basic of the Month Elements by Art Gallery Fabrics, 30% Off the Notions of the Month from Stash ‘n Stores, 30% off Patterns of the Month from Flamingo Toes, and see the Book of the Month, A Scrapbook of Quilts Book by Carrie Nelson & Joanna Figueroa. Check out Today’s Flash Sale and see the Precuts of the Week, too!

Shop the Milk Street Store for great sales on cookbooks including my favorite World in a Skillet, and the new Milk Street 365 with over 600 recipes, along with the Precision Rolling Pin I showed in a previous post and amazing knife deals. Visit the Milk Street Pantry to find wonderful sauces and flavors to broaden your meal planning. Start your holiday shopping now for the foodie on your list, or treat yourself to a new flavor. Black Friday Sale – Up to 75% off select items sitewide through Sunday 12/1.

Sulky Threads, Stabilizers and New Gift Items – New deals for November, and sign up for the New Year’s Eve Sew Along. Grab your Cozy and Comfy mystery box while supplies last.

Visit C&T Publishing, and see the Best Sellers and check out the Gifts and Games section, along with C&T’s Sale Books, too!

If you have ever wanted to have the Electric Quilt EQ8 software to do your own designing, now is the time to get it! Save 25% on all products at Electric Quilt Black Friday Sale from now until December 2! Use code FRIDAY in cart.

Amazing deals for Black Friday at Amazon! Plus, sign up for a Free Trial of Amazon Prime for fast, free shipping on all your purchases for the next two weeks!

What are your plans for the rest of the weekend?