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Saturday, August 31, 2013

Good Morning from the Blue Ridge!

This is the view I awoke to this morning….

There is a peace and a quiet here that I need.  It’s soul centering.  The rest of the world stops and I feel like I can actually think up here.

Yes, there is a ton of work to be done this weekend ---- the first thing on the agenda last night was to change out the bad gasket between the tank and toilet in the upstairs bathroom.  While Mickey was here…she called me down to her bathroom and said,  “Houston, we have a problem!”

Looking up, we saw droplets of water beaded on the ceiling.  Where were they falling? DIRECTLY onto the toilet paper roll hanging off the side of the cabinet.  That roll had swelled to enormous capacity!

When the roll couldn't hold it anymore, where was THAT dripping?  Directly into the trash can below it.

Miracle of miracles ---no water had reached the pine plank floor.  It was at this point that we found that the gasket between the tank and bowl on the upstairs commode needed replacing.  Water damage can be such a bad thing….we were lucky!  No drywall was harmed because the ceilings and floors are pine plank and varnished.  It was a minimal amount of water, and now that is fixed.

It seems that everyone and their dog in North Carolina is headed one of two directions for the Labor Day weekend – Either East to the coast…..or West…to the Mountains!  This was our dead stand still creeping crawling view as we made our way to Wilkesboro heading toward Boone:

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Red tail lights for miles!

But we got here!

I will be deep in Mystery sewing mode…..I am so excited about our November Mystery ----and will be going full force on it this weekend, so if you don’t see much of what I’m working on, that’s why!  Just wait!  You will NOT want to miss this mystery!  Expect yardage requirements and colors by Mid-October.  First clue goes live November 29th!

Have a safe,fun and memorable Labor Day weekend however you spend it ---

Love from Buck Mountain,

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Friday, August 30, 2013

More Info for Labor Day Yard Sale!

Questions are coming in from those of you who have not participated before in past Yard Sale Saturdays-

It’s been a while since we've done one, life has been too busy, go go go to do it again.

But I found some goodies to clear out – and although it is a bit impromptu, feel free to throw your stuff into the ring too!

How this works is ----you write a post about something quilty that you want to sell….and you link back to me on the linky…and it will be like a neighborhood yard sale!

There will be some ground rules…These items need to be QUILT RELATED. Patterns, Books, Fabric, Notions, Partial UFOs…whatever you want. This is for gently used –white elephant type items, not new-sell-at-retail-stuff or new crafts you have made to sell.. Understood? Think YARD SALE. When your item has sold, mark it sold on your blog page so people know.

You must link your post back to my LABOR DAY YARD SALE POST, not just my  whole blog --- The url to use will be provided to you on that morning's post.

You write the post on your blog, you come back here and link it up. It is up to you to decide how you are going to interact with your buyers. I’m going to use Etsy. 

Does this sound like something you’d like to do to clean some stuff out?  There is no limit to the number of things you want to list on your blog….you do your own listings and take care of the details, we just all link together in the linky as a “one stop shopping” spot for people to peruse our wares – yes??
If this is something you are interested in, Get your items ready, prepare your post, and be ready to come back here on Monday morning to link up to mine!

Here’s to re-homing some goodies!


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Q & A: Caring for Old Quilts & Textiles

Every once in a while an email comes in with a question that would really make a great topic for a blog post.
 
This is a question I’ve had to answer many times from readers, and I think if I put the answer here, in the archives that it would be a good place to refer folks, rather than my having to write it out time and time again as the need arises, as it does quite often.
 
This email is from Judy, and she writes:
 
Bonnie,
I am a faithful follower of your Quiltville blog  and enjoy it very much. 
I have a question regarding old quilts.  I have quilts made by my husbands mother who passed at the age of 97.  She would have been 100 years old this year had she lived.  The quilts I have are VERY old and were made, according to her, before she married in 1940, by her, her mother and/or her sisters. 
 My question is how to handle these quilts.  Fabric in some of them seems very fragile and binding is worn or frayed, but centers appear to be okay.  The fabric on some of the quilts is worn and torn and appear to be beyond repair.  We talked about quilt making through the years, but I did not become an active quilter until about 10 years ago and by that time she was in a nursing home and memory was slipping badly.  She did indicate to me that they used cotton from the field as batting for their quilts as she was raised on a farm in AL and made do with what they had.  These are rough country quilts, pieced by hand and quilting is not fancy.  Once she married and moved to the “big city of Birmingham” she never quilted again.
 
It seems a shame to leave these quilts stored in trunks, which has been the case up to now.  I am not sure how to clean these quilts or display them (they do not appear stained or dirty).  I have no expertise in the history of fabrics and frankly they look more like utilitarian quilts; I’m sure some of the fabrics were feed sacks; backs are pieced and multiple fabrics used for backs, but the front of the quilts appear to be patterns that appeared in newspapers.  I guess I would like to display some of the “better” quilts.  I do not want to use them as bed quilts as I think they are too fragile for that kind of use.  To my knowledge she never used these quilts on the beds in her home, as I don’t remember ever seeing them when we visited in Birmingham.  However, I would like to honor my mother-in-law by displaying some some of her work.
 
We now live in Raleigh, NC (transplants from IL) and I found your blog after moving here.  I know you have an interest in old quilts and while I know these have no great monetary (only sentimental) value, I hoped you could give me some advice on how to take care of them.
Thanks in advance,
Judy F


If your quilt already has damage, washing can enlarge holes, bunch up batting and cause further deterioration of the fabric, so only you can choose whether it is best to actually wash a quilt, or to leave it as is, folded to display the best parts as show-pieces.  I recommend mending BEFORE washing.
 
That said, I feel perfectly fine machine washing sturdy utilitarian quilts that were made past 1940, including my own quilts in my front loading washer on the hand wash cycle. Quilts older than that must be hand washed, if washed at all.


 
How I handle  really old vintage quilts and textiles:
 
Vintage quilts require special care during cleaning. Do not dry clean or machine wash an heirloom piece. Dry cleaning chemicals can permanently harm old fabrics and the agitation action of a washing machine can cause fibers to shred or disintegrate
.
If your quilt is musty, try airing your quilt outside on a sunny day to restore freshness. To remove dust, vacuum with a nylon stocking over the end of vacuum hose and hold the hose slightly above the top of the quilt.  You can also place a layer of window screen on top of the quilt, and vacuum through the screen.
 
If you feel that you quilt must be washed, begin by checking the fabric for colorfastness. Testing is simple, wet a piece of white cloth with cold water and gently rub it over each different color or fabric in your quilt. If there is any color transfer to the white cloth, don’t wash your quilt at all. Washing will result in discoloration, bleeding and/or fading.

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To hand-wash, fill a deep, laundry sink or bathtub with cold water. Be certain that the sink or tub is very clean and has no residue from cleaning agents that could cause damage to the quilt. Use a liquid detergent that is gentle and free of dyes and perfumes.  I like to use Orvus Soap, a paste found in feed stores and used for washing livestock. 
 
Place your quilt in the water, being certain that the entire quilt gets wet. Gently move your quilt around in the water. Allow the quilt to remain in the water for about 10 minutes. Next, drain the wash water and fill the tub again with fresh water. Repeat draining and refilling the tub until the water and quilt are soap free – clear water and no suds.
 
You may add 1/2 cup vinegar to the rise water to both brighten colors, remove odors and soften the quilt.
 
Proper drying is also important in keeping your quilt at its best. Wet quilts must be handled gently. Pulling or wringing can break seams and cause damage. The quilt will be heavy and should be dried flat. To lift the quilt from the tub, use a white sheet to create a sling. Allow the excess water to drain than place the quilt on a bed of heavy towels. Cover with more towels and roll up to absorb water. Move the quilt to another bed of dry towels, spread out flat and allow to dry. Placing a fan in the room will help to speed the process.
 
If you have space, place a sheet on the grass outside and spread out the quilt. Cover the quilt with another clean sheet and allow to dry. Do not dry in direct sunlight, which can cause fading, without the top sheet in place. Never suspend a wet quilt from a clothesline. This causes too much stress on seams and cause tearing and can displace batting.
 
I know it sounds like a lot of work, and it is.
 
There is a lot of discussion going on about using things like Oxi-Clean for stain removal, and the jury is out on that one for me.  I don’t want to do anything that is going to damage the fibers of the fabric any further, but some say that you can remove most stains by mixing a solution of OxiClean, Clorox 2 or Purex Color Safe Bleach and cool water. Follow the package directions as to how much product per gallon of water. Completely submerge the quilt in the solution and allow it to soak for at least eight hours. Check the stain. If it is gone, rinse well and dry. If it remains, mix a fresh solution and repeat. It may take several soakings to remove the stain but it should come out.  Do this at your own risk.  I have not tried this myself --- yet.  Fear has got the best of me!
 
I know we are a wild world of quilting knowledge, and I would love it if you can add your comments and advice in the comments section below.  I plan to list this page in my tips & techniques tab for future reference for everyone – so please share!
 
This afternoon we are cabin bound!  Hard to believe it is Labor Day weekend already ----
 
If I can get to it today, I’ve got a bunch of things I want to list for a Labor Day Yard Sale of quilt items.  Yes, I know it’s last minute…..but I’ll put up a linky if anyone else is interested in clearing out some sewing stuff?  Leave me a comment and let me know and if there is enough interest, we will run a Labor Day Yard Sale!

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Thursday, August 29, 2013

A Little Patience Now And Then!

First off, because I didn’t want to gross you out with photos of a very dirty Singer 301 right off the bat-

Isn’t this sweet potato vine just GORGEOUS?!

I love this color….and the little bit of purple-whatever that is growing next to it too.  FRESH green --- love it!

I met with my friend Jen for lunch and we had an hour of non-stop gab and chatter.  Just what I needed.

This sweet potato vine was spotted in the parking lot as we walked out to go to our cars....so pretty.

I came home, and decided to tackle the really DIRTY job that has been waiting over the past few days…

But before I can get in and deep clean the machine...uhoh…we have a problem!

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THIS is a very dirty bobbin assembly….

And there is a HUGE wad of thread stuck behind that one hole there…can you see it? PINK?! Yeah.  That is NOT supposed to be there.  At this point the motor is even bogged down.

Tweezers did not work, hemostats did not work, I couldn't even make it budge with my seam ripper and I was afraid of breaking the tip off of my best seam ripper if I kept digging.

Do you see that hole to the left at the bottom? That is where a gib screw goes…TINY little thing.  I removed the gib screw…

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Which enabled me to swing the arm of the bobbin race out….and get that wad of thread out of there.  BOY! Does this machine need a bath! 

This is the Franken Singer that I posted about the other day, REMEMBER?  The one where I combined two parts machines into one working machine…I needed to be sure it was going to run before I did all the cleaning, so I usually check to see if it is going to be worth my effort to clean it before I get started.

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Testing machine to see if it runs.

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This is the kind of gross crusted on nicotine stuff that has been on this machine for 50+ years.  The machine was COATED with it! ((Yeah, imagine what that does to your lungs too!))

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After some patience, long-suffering and lots of elbow grease!

It’s looking SO much better!  Next step up is a good coat of car wax to protect and shine.  There are some cosmetic issues that will always be there, like the deep gouges in the machine bed and the wear and tear on the front edge of the machine.  The GOOD story is….even though neglected in recent years, the donor-body of this machine has had a heavy life long history of sewing – so someone loved it a lot!

If you ever want to know if you need to go back and clean some more?  Take a photo of any area…..pictures don’t lie.  I need to spend some more time under and  around the top thread guide and the tensioner here:

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It’s MUCH better, but I can see some ick around the screws and such.  Q tips, water, machine oil, wooden toothpicks and patience.  Be careful using anything chemical that might damage the paint.  It’s amazing what you can do with simple machine oil, toothpicks and Q tips!

And don't forget the patience.

Back at it!

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A Fond Farewell!

The last stop on our Cadillac tour was up as high as we could go to get a view of the city of Victoria BC from above.

But before we went up, up, up, a drive by at the Governor's House was a must!  We pulled in like visiting dignitaries :)

This deer was spotted just grazing away in the gardens at the Government House  at the end of the day --- we didn't seem to bother him at all.  ((Yes, it’s a HIM…his horns are barely visible in this photo…he was oh so cute!

Info on the BC Government House from Wiki:

Government House is where the Canadian Royal Family and visiting foreign dignitaries are greeted and often stay while in Victoria. It is also where numerous royal and viceroyal events take place, such as the bestowing of provincial awards or inductions into the Order of British Columbia, as well as luncheons, dinners, receptions, and speaking engagements.
Among many public receptions and garden parties held annually, the lieutenant governor's New Years Day levèe remains a popular and well-attended highlight of the holiday season in Victoria. It is also at the royal residence that the lieutenant governor will drop the writs of election, swear-in new members of the Executive Council, and hold audience with his premier.
 
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The property is owned by the Queen in Right of British Columbia; as with other Crown property, Government House is held in trust for future rulers and cannot be sold by the monarch except by her lieutenant governor with the proper advice and consent from the Executive Council of British Columbia.
The management of the residence is, however, overseen by the British Columbia Government House Foundation, a charitable, non-profit organization that was in 1987 established by Lieutenant Governor Robert Gordon Rogers, along with his Council at the time.
The foundation is mandated to oversee the maintenance of Government House's property and all the structures on it; the acquisition, either on loan or permanently, of British Columbia artworks for display in the royal residence; the management of official gifts to the lieutenant governor or monarch in right of British Columbia; and public awareness of Government House, its history, and value.

We wound through the hills, climbing higher and higher to get to this view:

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Overlooking the city of Victoria clear down to the pier in the distance.
 
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Looking the other direction.
 
It was a perfect end to a beautiful day ---and back down to the pier we went, driving slowly through the downtown area to watch the tourists hitting all of the shops in port they could!  I need another few days to explore Victoria….there is so much to see.
 
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The BC Bon Voyage Babes!
 
Upon our arrival back to the pier, we were greeted by Kathy’s fun group of quilters! ((My arm is around Kathy to the far right..All of this fun day is thanks to her and her hubby, Dale!))  Greetings and hugs and photo opportunities and also pier side show and tell!
 
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Orange Crush at the Pier!
 
It was the perfect end to the perfect day!  I can’t thank Kathy and her hubby for the gift of touring in their car, and for the quilty ladies for the very sweet send off, complete with goodie bags as we got ready to re-board our ship for our last night before reaching Seattle and starting our long journey home.
 
It was definitely a trip to be remembered.  Can we do it again?
 
Today I am meeting up with my friend Jen for lunch.  It’s been a while --- too long of a while ---and due to some things that have happened in the past couple of months, I really realize that even though there has been many pots boiling on my stove to over flowing, without a lot of extra time to deal with anything outside of my immediate world,  I have GOT to take time to let the people I love and care about know that I am still here for them.  So lunch it is.  It’s an afternoon for fun conversation, catching up with goings on, and making plans for the next time we can get together.
 
Call a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while…..it’s that important.

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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Quilt Cam! 8/28/2013

Our photo here is from Beverley in New Zealand!

She writes:

Here's my set up, you, Bertie the cat on two quilts ready for binding and my lovely new 99k, I'm working on sisters choice 9 patches along with dark squares for the leader/ender challenge!
Great to see you here in the afternoon in New Zealand!
I hope the New Zealanders and Aussies are up and at it and tuning in tonight.  My apologies to the Brits & Europeans…I’ve just not been home of a weekend afternoon.  IN fact, I don’t remember the last Saturday or Sunday that I actually was HOME to do Quilt-Cam!

It’s been a very busy summer with loads of travel, gone for long periods, home for a day in between and off again.
I know the time for Quilt-Cam has been lacking, but I have not been slacking! It’s just one of those things that I can’t do from the road, so we stick it in here when we can.

I cleaned up the studio a bit in preparation for sewing at the treadle machine tonight.  TWO crumb/string projects are hogging all the horizontal surfaces..

There is THIS ONE…the brings to mind the greens of Ireland:

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Lovely string blocks in shades of green…every green I can think of!

And then, yes…there are STILL these:

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These are trimmed and ready to be de-papered and sewn together.

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My current mess is waiting!

I flipped a coin!  I didn’t know which one to work on tonight, but the crumb strips won.  If you have a long languishing project..maybe this means you need to keep working on it too, instead of getting distracted by something NEW!

Let’s sew….I’m firing up the webcam!  Click the arrow on the screen below to start the feed!


**After The Fact**   Not a stellar recording...laptop is hard wired at the electric machine, but had to resort to wifi to move it to the treadle.  Not a great connection tonight, so I know the video is off from the audio which is  a bit garbly, and when the wifi connection is slow, the video defaults to my profile picture -- how annoying!  These are things beyond my control...nevertheless, we got a bunch of sewing done!!

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Necessary Shopping ---

I’m a bad shopper.

Meaning, I really HATE extensive shopping.

I am not a fan of just wandering a mall, unless it is an antique mall searching for great old kitchen stuff, linens, fabric, quilts and anything sewing related including vintage machines.

I hate trying on clothes, shopping for shoes, looking for handbags, buying jewelry or any amount of other foo-foo stuff.

I am “NOT” into fashion.  I am into COMFORT.

I can’t stand Project Runway!  ((Don’t be offended at this declaration, it’s fine with me if you do – but I’d rather be sewing quilts!))

I am happiest in my jeans and running shoes, a comfy tshirt and my hair in a pony tail.  This is living for me.  I like things simple.

Today found me out doing some NECESSARY shopping ---but luckily it was all at once place.  Sam’s Club.

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IT’S A FULL CART!

Necessary shopping….one vacuum for the cabin.  Necessary.

One printer for the office.  Necessary.  The old printer has some life left in it, and it is going to go to the cabin to live there.  But this way the new more powerful one will be at home where I need it most.

Mailing envelopes.  Necessary.  I was just about out!

Not shown: Printer ink cartridges.  Necessary.  BUT EXPENSIVE!!

I think I spent more in this one necessary shopping trip that took about 15 minutes total, than I
would-have-could-have if I WERE into fashion and cute clothes, and cute little shoes, and cute little jewelry and cute little whatever ----

And all this big spender shopping makes me think I need a nap.

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But I WILL be ready for Quilt-Cam at 9pm Eastern time tonight, won’t you?

Hope to catch you then!

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Craigdarroch Castle, Victoria, BC!

One of the stops on our Classic Cadillac tour was to the beautiful Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria ---

Not only is it a beautiful landmark, but it has quite the soap opera story to go with it!

Dale was such an entrancing narrator --- you can tell he loves history, and the history of Victoria, and loves watching folk’s reactions to the story of Robert Dunsmuir, a Scottish immigrant who made his fortune from Vancouver Island coal.

We drove up, and my jaw dropped open! 

From TheCastle.ca website:

Craigdarroch was built between 1887-1890 for Robert Dunsmuir, a Scottish immigrant who made his fortune from Vancouver Island coal. This legendary Victorian mansion, built on a hill overlooking the City of Victoria announced to the world that Robert Dunsmuir was the richest and most important man in Western Canada.
 
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The castle dwarfs our 1954 Cadillac Limousine!
 
Robert died in 1889 leaving his entire estate to his wife Joan who lived in the Castle until her death in 1908. The immense fortune of the Dunsmuir family is reflected in the four floors of exquisite stained glass windows, intricate woodwork and fabulous Victorian era furnishings.
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There are 39 rooms, most of which are furnished lavishly in the 1890s-1900s period, so enjoy the ambiance as you climb the 87 stairs to the tower. There you’ll see fabulous views of Victoria, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Olympic Mountains.

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With over 20,000 square feet of interior space, the house and gardens are being restored exactly as they were originally built.
 
Further info from Wiki:
Upon the death of Robert Dunsmuir's widow, Joan, the Craigdarroch estate was sold to land speculator Griffith Hughes for $38,000 who subdivided the estate into building lots. 
To stimulate sales during a slow real estate market, Griffiths announced that the castle would be the subject of a raffle, to be won by one of the purchasers of the residential parcels carved from the estate.
The winner, Solomon Cameron, mortgaged the castle to finance other speculative ventures which failed, leaving him broke, and in 1919 ownership of the castle passed to one of Cameron's creditors, the Bank of Montreal.
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The four-story Craigdarroch Castle still has lavish furnishings from the 1890s and is known for its stained-glass and intricate woodwork.
The Castle is currently owned by the Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum Society, which is a private non-profit society, and is open to the public. The castle is a tourist attraction, and receives 150,000 visitors a year.


 
 
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We didn't tour inside…our day was quickly passing and we had a reservation for dinner! 


Our Caddie ride continued to the Fireside Grill, another great building with neat history!
 
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The fireside grill is a large old tudor style home that eventually became a dance hall back in the day.  It’s now a very nice restaurant with a ton of old fashioned charm and ambiance!
 
Here we all are, DH and myself, my sister-in-law, Pam and DH’s brother Myron on the steps of the Fireside Grill.
 
Our Victoria BC adventure was not over yet!  Stay tuned for more!
 
Don’t forget that tonight is Quilt-Cam at 9pm Eastern!  I’m considering it as a treadle night.  I’ve been having a lot of fun with that new to me Singer 227M in the treadle cabinet….set your clocks, bring a project, and come join me!

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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

A View from My Treadle!

Having a great time digging in the crumbs tonight…YES….STILL working on those Crumb Strips and I will be for a long time.

I need between 50 and 70 blocks, and each block takes 4 strips so….yup.  Sew, Press, Repeat – Sew, Press, Repeat!

While working ((Oh, it feels SO GOOD to be working at the machine again!))  I have tuned into a very intriguing series I somehow missed when it was new.

Check out  “DAMAGES” on Netflix if you have it --- talk about twists and turns and intrigue!  I just can NOT figure out where this is going.  It stars Glen Close as a powerful attorney, and Ted Danson as an evil bad guy ---- I’m hooked!

It lasted 5 seasons or so – there are 90 + episodes to get through.  Oh man, it's GOOD!

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Sitting here and stitching away ---

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And somehow the basket is NOT going down at all!

Have a great evening, folks!

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Quiltmaker’s String Piecing Video and GIVE-AWAY!

This is hot off the presses from Diane Harris at Quiltmaker Magazine!

She wanted me to get the word out quick to you ---they have some really fun stuff going on!

She writes:
Hey Bonnie, just a heads up fyi, I'm giving away three books on string piecing on Quilty Pleasures, including String Fling.
The post talks about Roll Roll, Cotton Boll and how it introduced me to string piecing. I wrote it because the most recent free video on Quiltmaker's Block Network is also about string piecing.
 
Here's a link to the blog post!
And Here's a link to the video page: 
 
Thanks, hope this finds you well and happily sewing or writing or resting!
Best,
Diane

3books

Head on over to QUILTY PLEASURES to comment to win the Give-Away!
((That’s, right, do NOT comment here on my blog..this is a Quiltmaker Thing, y’all!))

But DO stick around and check out the cool video!  There are some really great ideas here in String Piecing Playground!


I love my Quiltmaker Mag peeps!  I just sent off a box with a special quilt in it ---for the NEXT upcoming gallery section of 100 blocks, Vol 8!  Fingers crossed that it arrives in Golden, Colorado in one piece, and in good shape.

Good luck on the Give-Away everyone.  So far today I have accomplished MUCH.  Bathrooms are clean.  Bedrooms are clean.  Laundry is done.  Suitcases completely emptied and their contents put away.  Book orders out and up to date.  I’ll spend the rest of the afternoon deep in pattern writing mode, but hope to do some String Piecing of my own tonight on the new-to-me Singer 227M!  Love those Strings!


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Satin Moon, Victoria, BC!

THIS was really fun!

Our super cool 1954 Caddie Limo pulled up in front of Satin Moon Quilt Shop in Victoria British Columbia to the turning of heads by all the passers-by on the street.

Some of my quilting cruisers knew what we were doing with our time in port, so they were happy to see us pull up and we had a great photo op in front of the store ---and they enjoyed seeing our sweet ride!

The best part was the response from the men and hubbies who were hanging around the outside of the shop!

Give guys a chance to talk about classic cars, and the wives can shop a bit more freely, right?

Satin Moon is a great little shop, and I enjoyed meeting the owner and the gals that worked there.  They were bustling with activity, the cruise ships bring in loads of quilters from all over the globe, just looking for that perfect piece of fabric, or souvenir to commemorate their stop in Canada.

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Cantik Batiks!

Cantik Batiks are locally designed by Canadian designers, and printed in Indonesia.  There were so many different prints and patterns than I had seen before…many with wildlife and flowers, and several geometrics and beautiful textures.

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Walls of beautiful color to inspire!

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Beautiful rich hues and gorgeous patterns!

Hard to believe it’s been a year since my Bali trip where we saw how gorgeous fabrics like these were made!

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Wall hangings inspired by native art and wild life are found on the walls.

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Even Tony couldn’t resist the call of the fabric!  He and his adorable wife Debbie were BOTH in my cruise classes.  They are Tin Lizzie dealers in Alberta, Canada, Their business is named A Quilters Home.  Awesome quilters, and great breakfast company!  ((Yes, I am missing my cruisers this morning!))  While Tony browses the fabric,….

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Look who is over here in the patterns! Debbie! Miss you guys!

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More fun to be found in Kit Central!

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Lots of color in the front window displays!

My suitcase became a little fuller with the addition of several fat quarters and some loose leaf tea to bring home the taste of Victoria, BC with me!

tea

YUMMY!

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Don’t leave empty handed!  Pick up your Quilters Energy Bar!

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If you find yourself in Victoria, BC --- Make a stop at Satin Moon.  It’s not to be missed!

It’s Tuesday and the beat goes on Chez Quiltville.  I’ve 5 more patterns to finish writing for the new book.  I’m focusing on cranking another one out today.  I’d love nothing more than to start at the top floor of my house and deep clean everything top to bottom….Time is going too quickly already!  Next Thursday I’ll be in Dallas with the Dallas Quilters Guild, and then on to Abilene!

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