Reblooming Amaryllis

Back in December, I repotted both my amaryllis bulbs in the hopes that they would bloom again.  The red one was a gift from my dear mother-in-law in 2013, and it rebloomed every year for four more years, but didn't bloom last year.  I thought repotting it and giving it some food would help.  Plus, …

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Buttonmania Strikes Again!

Buttons can be such fun to play with.  I have several tins full, some have been sorted into little bags to keep sets together, and lots are just loose.  Whatever project I have in mind, it seems that there are plenty of buttons to use.  I still have this Button Basket sitting in my sewing …

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Completing the Last Queen Quilt

When this project began, I made the commitment to make and send five queen size quilts to Wilmington for the Carolina Hurricane Quilt Project with the help of friends.  The last of the queen quilts was finished in a diamond design, yet another way to arrange the blocks. Many thanks to Claire and Mac Warner, …

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Mardi Gras Tablescape, with a Springtime Blog Hop!

Mardi Gras comes later this year, it is tomorrow!  So, time for a tablescape featuring purple, green and gold.  I thought it would be the ideal table to bring out the green Depression glass grill plates.  I've had these for many years, and in the past we used them quite regularly, often for take out …

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Fun at Quilt Retreat

Three days of sewing with friends, what could be more fun?  I could have really used the time to get farther along on the Scrap Dance Minuet Mystery Quilt Along, but Step 2 hasn't been posted yet (coming next Friday), and I didn't want to give any sneak peeks, LOL!!   So, I took a bunch …

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Teacups Quilt Along – Block 8

Last month, we did a teapot, and the discussion that followed was about sugar and creamer (or milk for the true tea drinkers) to go with the quilt along.  I looked around but didn't really see anything I liked.  I briefly considered making an applique pattern from my own little sugar and creamer set from …

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The Raulston Arboretum, Part 2

Returning to the JC Raulston Arboretum, there is so much more to see.  Day lilies are prevalent in NC, and they had a number of beautiful specimens in bloom in August.  My home garden day lilies are earlier bloomers.  At least the ones I have left, LOL, after digging up a bunch and giving them …

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Visiting the Raulston Arboretum

While I still work on secret sewing, I thought I would finally show you the gardens I visited in Raleigh.  The JC Raulston Arboretum is maintained by NC State University as a study area for plants and trees that would do well in our area of the country.  They describe themselves as a 'living laboratory' …

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More Quilts for the Hurricane Project

The pile of quilts kept growing over the past couple of weeks, with more coming into the quilt shops.  Thanks to runner, Laura, bringing over the quilts from Cary Quilting, the pile doubled in size! Some of the members of the Asheville Quilt Guild dropped off these pretty quilts. I liked their labels, so cute! …

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Winter Reading

It has been an up and down winter for reading.  If you visit my blog on the internet, you'll see my Goodreads reviews on the sidebar.  Some have been good, but there were several just 'meh', and there was one true wall banger.  A wall-banger is where you are so bored/disgusted/irritated with a book that …

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