California Fire Quilts Update

Picking up on the fire quilts, I have made quite a bit of progress since the last update. Here is where I left off, after the stitch-rip fiasco.  The first quilt was finally quilted, and I took it off the frame. I had a wide-width remnant left over from a previous quilt that I thought …

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Catching up on Books and Movies with a giveaway

It has been a while since I talked about the books I'm reading and movies to recommend.  For those getting my posts via email, you might not know that I link my Goodreads reviews on the sidebar so you can see my latest reviews.  I like to read a variety of books, lately becoming bored …

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Appetizer Meals

Are you planning to watch the game on Sunday?  Certainly it is a good time for appetizer style meals and serving finger foods that are easy to eat with a variety to keep the menu interesting.  It is fun to just graze sometimes, and I have several favorite things to make for football games, racing …

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Travel Pillow Case

One thing that I do not like about traveling is hotel pillows.  For some reason most hotels have gone to all down pillows, which to me are very uncomfortable.  They go flat in a hurry, and I need the support for my neck to last all night.  So, I started asking for acrylic or polyester …

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Mardi Gras Tablescape

It is Carnival season, essentially the month of January all the way to Fat Tuesday, which is February 13 this year.  Another sewing day is planned, but I'm not quite sure when it will be. So far, we haven't been able to figure out when we can do another for reasons of weather and dates …

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California Fire Quilts Sew Day

Last Tuesday, friends gathered for a sewing day to begin the process of assembling the blocks received for the California Fire Quilt project.  I asked everyone to just bring a dish for our potluck lunch, and no sewing stuff, as using all my machines helps to keep them in working order. Picture heavy post coming!  …

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Stitch, Rip, Stitch, Rip, Quilt

Loading the first quilt for the California Thomas Fire Quilts project on the longarm, the quilting began. I have had some tension issues with the longarm, and the first row looked OK. But that didn't last. The stitches on the top of the quilt looked fine on the first pass with one of my new …

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Assembling the First Blocks for the Fire Quilts

Over the past couple of weeks, more blocks and donations have been received, and I got to work to prepare for the first sewing day with friends.  I measured the blocks and divided them into piles based on their size.  The blocks ranged from 12-inches to 12-1/2-inches, with a fair number at 12-1/4-inches.  Thanks to …

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A Brilliant Tip

Sometimes you run across something quite by serendipity, and it turns out to be brilliant.  I was browsing around youtube last week as I was curled up in my chair with a quilt waiting for the anesthetic to wear off from the dental work I had to have.  I hate that miserable feeling and it …

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January Stamping Fun with Cards

About a week ago, we got an invitation to a surprise birthday party my dear friend, Gail.  The invitation was hand delivered by her husband and clearly specified 'no gifts'.  Of course, those kinds of instructions I rarely follow, at the very least I wanted to make a card.  For stampers, January is a great …

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