Denim Jacket Refashion

At a guild meeting a couple of months ago, one of my friends showed her fabulous vest that she recently got. It was made from an older denim jacket, where the sleeves were removed to make it a vest, and a lace panel was added to the back. The denim under the panel was cut …

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A New Year – Cookies, Embroidery and Mountain Living

Several mornings this past week had such colors at dawn that I had to step out to the freezing cold to take pictures. This day had purple clouds low on the horizon, almost looking like a second mountain ridge with the sun coming up in front of them. The birds seem to like the new …

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Fall Fortnight Placemats and Tablescape

Now that Halloween is past, we turn our attention to Thanksgiving. For the final project post of Fall Fortnight, I'll show some fun ideas for placemats and tablescapes to make our holiday celebrations special. Today's post will have the final drawing entries for a Fat Quarter Shop $50 gift certificate! From 2023, these Turkey Talk …

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Fall Fortnight – Micro-Mitts

Today's free pattern is a small project with big appeal. This little one-handed hot pad is specifically designed to take hot things out of a microwave, with pockets on the top for your fingers and thumb to grip the edge of a hot plate or bowl, or a handle. Of course, they also work for …

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Produce Bag Tutorial

I've been sewing produce bags this summer, and today I'm going to give you the pattern and tutorial. If you do not sew, the ones I have made are available for purchase, just skip to the bottom of this post. These bags are great for taking to farmer's markets and produce stands to hold my …

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Improv Meditation – a Creativity Exercise

Over a year ago, I attended a class given by a friend of mine, Barb Boatman. She is an amazing artist, making fantastic pieces out of everything you can think of including aluminum soda cans. She was featured in Quilt Folk a couple of years ago and I am lucky enough to have one of …

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Sunday Chat

Yesterday, we had a driving event with one of our car clubs. We met at a local grocery store, and drove back country roads for two hours (with a comfort stop halfway in) to the Highlands Motoring Festival in Highlands, NC. The drive route was so pretty, lush and green the whole way. We drove …

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Sunday Chat – Garden, Sewing and More

It has rained most of the week, which has been wonderful for tamping down the wildfires. It has made the grass and weeds grow, and brought the azaleas in full bloom. I've been taking more photos of them. We have this deep pink, along with the pastel pink and white ones. A few days from …

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Sewing and Decluttering

This week, I had a couple of days where I could spend the whole day in my she-cave. It was a good time to load up the embroidery machine and let it stitch while I was working around the room, pulling things out and working on the decluttering. Here are two of the kitchen towels …

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Sunday Chat – Garden, Sewing, and Cookbook Winner

Spring is arriving when the ajugas bloom, although this week has been a full-on Blackberry Winter with lows near freezing, and that will continue into next week. It may damage the plants that have already begun to bloom, like the azaleas, but these ajugas can take it. We have lots of clumps all over the …

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