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Wednesday, March 13, 2019

When All You Wanna Do is Sew!


**UPDATE!** I am one of those users who are currently affected by the "Can't access Facebook or Instagram" issue, and the sites have been down for me since this morning.

If they don't get it fixed before 8pm, our scheduled Quilt-Cam will be moved to a future date.  Sorry folks!


There was a bit of this going on last night -

And it all started with a strip stash re-org in the Scrap User’s System!

Over the past few trips I have come home with additions gifted to the stash by others – and I haven’t had time (Or wanted to take the time) to sort them by color family and get things separated by width of strip and place them with their “like kinds” so they would be easy to use as needed.

To tell you the truth, it’s been kind of a mess behind those drawer fronts.

But yesterday was THE DAY.

And I had some help!


Dresden, exploring the studio for the first time!

Click to play:



There is so much NEW from his perspective, now that they are allowed beyond the French doors and into the rest of the house.  I brought him down to the basement with me to see what he would do.

He wanted to be right up where I was and seeing everything I was seeing – he even plopped himself down right on top of my cutting mat where I was sorting strips by size and color family – DRESDEN!!

Once the sorting was done, It was off to the machine to do some simple strip sewing of neutrals:


Do any of these strips look familiar to you?

I’ve been pairing older ones with newer ones – the more the merrier!


Sub-cutting complete!

That pink stripe was used as an inner border – one of the rectangles has a resulting seam – I don’t care! These are the little bits that make a quilt interesting in vintage quilts I find, so why not?


Any guesses where this is going from here?

(That monster fabric is a favorite neutral!!)

This is what I’ll be working on for Quilt-Cam tonight.  Don’t forget!  8pm Eastern via Facebook Live!  Those of you who can’t make it or are in European time zones, it will be embedded into tomorrow’s blog so you won’t miss a thing.


The hot truth about irons - #IGquiltfest day 12

I never put water in an iron. Never. Not ever. It's the sure kiss of death from the moment the water enters the holding tank. It's just a matter of time before spitting, leaking, rusting, calcification, and other iron maladies occur.

My favorite irons are found either while out antiquing as this favorite small travel iron, or at the local Goodwill out thrifting as this older Rowenta that only cost me $3.99 and works like a champ.

Cheap irons are my mainstay. Why? Because I can dump an expensive iron off the ironing board and kill it just as fast as I can a cheap one!

I like my irons hot and with no auto shut off. Instead, I make sure that the power strip they are plugged into is off when I leave the room. Or completely unplugged.

I will use a spray bottle if steam is desired, but I have been a dry ironer for so long that it is a hard habit to break unless the fabric is extremely wrinkly.

I know everyone has their own opinions on what they like to use/do and these are just mine.  Not arguing, not saying which is better for anyone else, but this is what my own experience has taught me what works for me.  Your own experience may vary.


Yesterday’s late afternoon van drop off worked a treat!

I made the mad escape from the house in time for a WONDERFUL massage (most needed) and then headed over to Toyota to drop Moby off for recalled door part replacement.

Jeff was already on his way to pick me up at the end of his work day – and since we were both hungry, we headed for an early dinner at our favorite local Hong Kong Buffet.  I love the hibachi grill where I can choose which veggies, which meats, which sauces I like.  And a pot of hot tea.  Perfect!

Jeff – well he is a hungry guy of 29 and after working outside doing landscaping all day, he ate half of the buffet himself.  LOL!


Double Good Fortune!

Have you ever seen 2 cookies in one wrapper before?

It’s like an egg with a double yolk!

Jeff joked that these should both be mine and I could choose which fortune best suited me, discarding the rest.

Take a look at this:


Well, heck!  I think they both apply!

It sure beats the stupid Lost-in-Translation version from Denton, TX!

I am van-less until Jeff takes me to pick up Moby late this afternoon.  If something happens and he can’t do it before 6pm when the dealership closes I have plans to take an Uber over there.  I will NEED MY VAN.

The living room has become a staging area for everything I need to take to Pigeon Forge with me on Monday.  It will all be loaded in the van tonight.

Tomorrow morning after a check in with my Chiropractor (Isn’t it amazing the things we have to do regularly to keep these beyond-middle-age bodies working on a daily basis?!) I will be mountain bound.  

I can’t wait to see the new windows at Quiltville Inn, the fixed roof and windows at the Quiltville Post Office, the Post Office ceiling wiring in progress – and a weekend to just be in my favorite place on the planet.

My friend Toni is moving to Montana soon – she and I have a girl’s day planned for Friday.  We are heading out for a round of antiquing fun and lunch at a fun place and just spending time before she makes her big move. 

And into the weekend we go!



Quiltville Quote of the Day.

Any type of relationship is meaningless if you can't actively express your genuine emotions without feeling ashamed or "less than".

Always trust your gut feelings.

They are usually accurate.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, friends – see you tonight for Quilt-Cam Live!



14 comments:

  1. Thank you Bonnie, your thought for day are sometimes just what I needed to hear!

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  2. I call those appointments "personal maintenance," And trust me, they become more frequent the older you get...ha!

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  3. I like the "Act like a role model. the younger are watching." fortune. After discovering you just a few years ago, my quilting and my perception of it has become so much better. Thank you

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  4. I enjoy your post ever morning; it's a great start to the day. Look forward to tonight's quilt cam.

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  5. Loving your strip sets love your mix of scraps. Dresden is adorable, my cat likes to sit by the sewing machine and attack things always worried about his paws so usually end up putting him down on the floor lol.
    Enjoy your day out with your friend hope you have a fun time. Looking forward to tonight’s quiltcam.
    Love and quilty hugs
    Anne xxx

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  6. Dresden is just so sweet and inquisitive. I see him more than Lola. Is she more shy?

    The neutrals are wonderful. I'm ever so thankful for all you have taught me about neutrals. No longer just cream and white, or those in tot's. Now they are F - U - N!!!

    Love son Jeff helping his mom, and the two of you spending time together!

    Safe travels in the coming days!

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  7. I love receiving scraps from others, it makes scrapping so much more interesting. I am on the same page as you with irons, I never use water in the iron but have either a spray bottle with water or starch/magic sizing for the stubborn creases. I personally don't understand why so many people are buying the expensive Rowenta irons especially after reading all the complaints about them on fb but as you say to each his own. Have a great time at the cabin and safe travels next week. Looking forward to quilt cam tonight as long as I don't forget to watch.

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  8. Oh, Goody! Love, love, love listening to Quilt Cam when I sew and you have just made my week! We sure miss you and quilting with you and can't wait until you are home more for more Quilt Cam's! Thank you for taking the time from your schedule to do this for us! :)

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  9. Pretty neutrals, I see a few I know. I'm a NO WATER IN MY IRON Quilter.as well. My favorite Iron is the portable Sunbeam Iron you recommended in 2014. It gets hot and stays hot. Perfect for a travel trip this weekend with my Quilt Buddy. All I need is a Wool mat and I'm good. Saturday is National Quilting Day, FUN!! That was a Good Fortune. Glad you can plan to spend time with your friend who is moving. See you on QuiltCam.

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  10. Your pieces look so pretty. I enjoy seeing what you are working on. Very inspiring to make use of my scraps!

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  11. I just dug out my grandma's iron which is ancient. It's 40 years since she would have used it! I've kept it with my sewing supplies, taking it to a Retreat about 20 years ago. It has moved with me from Ontario, as I searched for my 'perfect' place, to the Pacific shores of Canada. At the Quilt Retreat this iron became the favourite for everyone, they loved Grandma's iron! The weight is important, I think, when selecting an iron. I also have an Oliso for other ironing and back-up.

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  12. Well while he is around, I think you need to teach Dresden how to do some strings! I agree with dry ironing. I got so fed up with the drips from the steam - and no matter how much I used the clear burst, I still ended up with brown smudgy drips so things had to go back in the wash! So dry ironing it was, although the lint still got in the holes. I now have a Rowenta that cost a fortune because it was the only heavy one I could find without steam. But it's worth it, I love it to bits! I like the weight to help press the fabric.

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  13. Wow!
    So happy to hear an EXPERIENCED quilter not putting water in their iron and shopping for them at thrift stores!
    I get so tired of being put down because of these two things
    I did buy the new little cute steam fast one at Wal-Mart because it fits in my featherweight toolbox that goes to sewing group with me
    Glad you are home safe
    Love your car
    I miss having my kitties with me in the house, but my big sewing buddies doggies would make a mess with them in here too😁

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  14. I, too, use my irons dry and buy the cheap ones for the sewing room. My ironing board has a more expensive one. I don't like the turn off feature at all, thus the cheaper models.

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