Giveaway Winner!




Geta Grama's idea for this week's blog hop was wonderful! The tips shared by the participating bloggers were very useful: Quilters are a generous bunch when it comes to imparting their knowledge.

Above all, I enjoyed reading and responding to your comments! It is difficult to imagine life without this blog and all the wonderful people I have gotten to know through it. I am so lucky!

Speaking of luck, here is the winner of the giveaways for this blog hop,



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Sierra Sewing Center – Reno, Nevada

Last week I stopped at Sierra Sewing Center in Reno, Nevada, on my way to see my grandchild in California. Ohhh... I felt like a child in the candy store!

They carry over 4,000 bolts of beautiful fabric by major manufacturers, tons of patterns, wool, kits, as well as sewing machines by Pfaff, Viking, Baby Lock, and Artisan (industrial sewing machines). Sierra Sewing Center also offers long arm quilting services. With a second location in Carson City, it



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Category: giveaway, quilt stores

Learning and Sharing plus Giveaway


Geta Grama from Geta's Quilting Studio is hosting a blog hop this week, so we can share with each other tips we learned in our quilting journey. I am always amazed at quilters' willingness to share what they know with one another (why reinvent the wheel, right?).

What is a blog hop without a giveaway?  I have two gifts for a lucky quilter:

Smart sponsor!
$10 Gift Certificate from my favorite online source for fabrics,



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Category: giveaway

Green Thumb?

Under the tutelage of my friend Sue, I planted seeds and have been nursing these plants for the last several weeks. My makeshift 'green house': I carefully covered my sideboard under the dining room window, collected a bunch of lamps which were not being used and placed them strategically over the plants. I water them three times a day, and when the weather is warm, I place them outside on the deck so they can start getting strong.



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Colorful pineapple blocks

I've been working on a fun quilt with [real] pineapple blocks. Using mostly batiks, I started assembling a square with strips from various fabrics, then ironed fusible web on the back, cut it, and machine appliqued it onto the mottled cream background.






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Bundle of Joy

 

This is Nicholas, my first grandchild. He will be three weeks old this coming Sunday. He is a calm, alert, gorgeous baby. Yesterday, he rode 12 hours to his new home on the outskirts of San Francisco, CA. I am driving to California on Monday and will stay there for one week to help his mom and dad settle in their new place, and to get some more time with Nicholas.

I found out I can easily calm him down when he is



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Japanese Quilting


Another precious book came in the mail this week: Japanese Quilting by Yoko Saito (I found it here). I had seen Yoko's work in magazines, but this collection of projects is a gem. Her signature taupe fabrics and wonky blocks adds whimsy and charm to her designs.  Yoko's fabric colors appeals to traditional quilters, while her modern bag designs redefine this old staple of every woman's accessory arsenal. I



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So true…

Just saw this cartoon at Live a Colorful Life. Is it true for you? More often than not it describes my creative process, particularly when faced with many concurrent deadlines...

... and deadlines will be the last thing on my mind today, with all that is going on: my mom arrives from Brazil at noon, and my son Michael graduates from BYU at 2 pm. My sewing machine and ironing board will enjoy a restful day. Sapphire, the cat, will sleep undisturbed



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Disappearing Four Patch Tutorial

Every year, each of us makes a quilt block for that year's guild president; those blocks are given to her so she can make a quilt. It is our way to say "thank you" for all her hard work.

Today I had the chance to piece my block for last year's president, Diana. I am happy she chose the Disappearing 4-Patch, as I had seen it but had not yet tried it.

Just in case you have not pieced this block, I made



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Category: tutorials

Machine applique

This is my other source of relaxation: machine applique. I can't show you the whole quilt as it is for our round robin... The colors turned out so nice, I may even make a quilt for myself with them.

I am adding some embroidery on the corners, but am not sure I like the thread I am using (too thick) as the French knots are not turning out right.  It looks like a do over...

Applique is a great technique to use



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Category: machine applique