Special Holiday Dinner – Standing Rib Roast

Over the past few years, I have become a convert to the English tradition of serving beef for Christmas dinner.  Growing up we always did turkey, but just having finished off the Thanksgiving bird, the idea of something different and really special was appealing.  I have done a goose before too, but I like a …

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How to Use a Towa Gauge

If you are a longarm quilter or you use a computerized embroidery machine with a bobbin case, a Towa gauge is either in your tool kit, or you have probably heard of it.  I have to admit that for several years I resisted buying one.  They are not cheap, and I just couldn't see the …

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Christmas Quilt Along Nine Patch Star

Our second week will see the construction of the block and beginning the quilting. So, here is where we left off.  If you missed last weeks beginning with the cutting instructions and the first unit construction, click HERE. Start by sewing the HSTs units together. Press the seams open on these units to reduce bulk. …

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December In the Garden – Snow!

December mornings have been cold and grey these past few days. Fog in the valley shows the layers of hills between our mountain and the next ridge.  This might have to become my header photo for winter. Friday morning dawned colder still. As I looked out the window, I noticed that the snow had begun …

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Christmas Cards for the Shelter

Stamping Christmas cards and sending them to family and friends is fun, but this year I had another idea in mind.  There is no doubt that I now have more stamping stuff than one person should have, especially with a huge stamping score at an estate sale for paper, and then a wonderful gift from …

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Christmas Tablescape

Christmas is such a fun time for decorating, and doing special tablescapes for friends is at the top of the list.  I've been having sewing days to get a big quilt top done for Quilts of Valor, and we've been doing pot luck lunches.  I am blessed with a lot of friends, too many to …

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Sew Day Patriotic Nine Patch Stars

We had our second sew day to work on the patriotic quilt, five more friends sewing on my machines, pressing seams, cutting sashing and cornerstones, and making binding.  Of course, we had a pot luck lunch too, and did take a nice break to enjoy a meal.  I decided to do the Nine Patch Star …

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Quick Christmas Quilt Along – Nine Patch Star

Ready to use up some Christmas scraps?  Today we'll start a very fast quilt along with a new block.  This idea came to me about a month ago, and I have done extensive internet searches to see if it has already been published.  I cannot find this exact thing anywhere, and I can hardly believe …

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Holiday Home Ideas and Home Tour

Now that the Christmas season is getting into full swing, it's time for some decorating ideas.  I'll show you some of my decorating ideas from previous years, with a few new ideas thrown in for this season with links to patterns for quilted and crafted items.  To begin, if you have some stairs, it is …

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Embroidered Stars Quilt and more quilting

The stars and bars design on this next Quilt of Valor was interesting and a wonderful way to use up scraps, but I had a moment of pause when I realized the bar of stars on the left side vertical panel was embroidered.  I have not worked with this type of fabric on the longarm …

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