Hello,

Hello,

Hello

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Yes, I'm finally here - hard to believe, I know! LOL A HUGE thank you for all the good thoughts and prayers you sent our way on behalf of my hubby, Ron and my mom. Both are still experiencing challenges but it is what it is and we are continuing to put our faith in God and the professionals.
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As I've tried to peek over your shoulders I see that some have suffered the sudden losses of family members, some have family members experiencing sudden health challenges and some are suffering sudden health challenges themselves. Sigh - please know that we're keeping you and yours in our thoughts and prayers, as well.
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I have not spent any time with my sewing machine however one night this week I finally threaded an embroidery needle with DMC floss #304. I have finished the January block by Barbie Jo at Cleo and Me. I think there are only three blocks remaining. WooHoo!!!
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Then I traded my embroidery needle and DMC floss for a tapestry needle and overdyed floss to work on a x-stitch project.

I've really enjoyed spending time with my needle and have started to feel the stirrings to do some sewing. I have some old exciting projects and some new exciting projects - what to do? Any thoughts or ideas????? LOL
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Welcome new followers - thank you for following what has been a very boring blog. I appreciate that you're here.

I hope you're having a terrific day.

In Friendship!

When It Rains, It Pours
(thunder & lightening)

After 5 days in the hospital Mr Daze (Ron) came home! WooHoo!!!! I'll spare you all the sordid details but suffice it to say that we got good news and bad news. He came home with 5 new medical prescriptions and some life changing instructions. Sigh! His cardiologist was on vacation while Ron was in the hospital so he'll have to see him this week and a very other appointments are on the schedule. It is what it is and we'll adjust.

Ron and I want to thank you for all your prayers and good thoughts! You've truly touched our hearts. :-)

When it rains it pours - sigh! Yesterday afternoon I received news that my Mom has been admitted to the hospital in Texas and is in ICU. The list of challenges is long - a severe bladder infection causing problems with her kidneys, an ovarian cyst and a 6 cm aneurysm - she's a very sick woman and walking time bomb. Sigh!!!

I've tried to reply to your comments however bear with me, please! I don't mind telling you that my mind and heart are all over the place.

I hope that life in your corner of the world is good. Take care of your loved ones and yourself.

In Friendship!

May I Ask?

(again)

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I'm here to ask for your prayers and thoughts for my main man, Mr Daze aka Ron! I won't bore you with the details but yesterday I had to take him to the emergency room and he was admitted to the heart hospital. He's experiencing another challenge with his big old heart - sigh!
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He's scheduled to have an angiogram early tomorrow morning and depending on findings decisions will be made regarding the best way to correct this new challenge!

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Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
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In Friendship!

In Friendship!

Happy Everything!
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I've been searching for a perfect gift for a handful of very special bloggy friends who always remember me at Christmas, my birthday or simply share their talent with me. I'm not as good a friend to them as they are to me because while I remember them on special occasions I'm not good at sending something on time. I do have the best of intentions but you know the road is paved with good intentions. :-)
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I discovered Ivonne at The Crackling Crows and her delightful banners and immediately contacted her about making "QUILTS" banners for my friends. After discussing colors and such she got busy - even locating the special quilt stencils to use on each end (can you say perfect?)

Pictures from Ivonne's blog - she's an incredibly talented photographer, as well.
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I can't tell you who these are for but do you think they will know based on the colors? teehee! I hope they will be pleasantly surprised and excited to receive a small "Happy Everything" gift from me.
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Please take a few minutes to visit Ivonne at The Crackling Crows- her banners are incredible!!! And, working with her is truly a delight. Tell her I sent you. :-)
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One more thing - soon I will be celebrating my 5th Blogiversary (yes, five years!!!) and I will be giving away a "QUILTS" banner so stay tuned. :-)
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Thank you for continuing to pop in to visit with me - I love and enjoy all your comments and ask that you continue to bear with me I hope to blog on a more regular basis soon.

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Thank you again, my friends!

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In Friendship!

Finally Home

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Once upon a time a little girl named Darlene would spend hours watching her grandmother, Hope sewing away on her Singer treadle sewing machine. She begged her grandmother to teach her to sew. It didn't take much begging on Darlene's part because her grandmother was beyond pleased that Darlene wanted to learn how to sew. She sent Darlene to Anita's Fabric Shop to pick out a simple pattern and fabric to make a pair of shorts and top. Darlene was in Heaven laying out her pattern pieces and beamed with pride when her cute outfit was finished. There were many more cute outfits finished on that treadle. :-)

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Eventually, Darlene's grandmother retired her treadle machine and purchased an electric Sears Kenmore machine but promised Darlene that the Singer would be hers when she passed.

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Sadly her grandmother passed 24 years ago but Darlene's mother would not let her have the machine saying that it was hers (mom's) and would be passed on to Darlene 'someday'. Sigh!

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Recently Darlene's mom decided that the machine was in her way and Darlene could now have it. Screech!!!! The machine was in Texas and Darlene is in Arizona!!! Well, where there's a will there's a way.....Darlene's daughter Kristie and son-in-law Gino brought it to Darlene last week making Darlene a very happy girl. Here she is coming into Darlene's home and she stayed like that for a few days because Darlene was full of emotion. This morning she was finally uncovered, opened up and set up in the entry way of Darlene's home - a place of honor. Darlene was full of anticipation hoping that one day soon she'd do a little sewing in honor of her grandmother, Hope but sadly the machine is in bad shape - she needs some serious TLC. One of Darlene's favorite memories is the flip drawer on the front of the cabinet - how cool is that??? LOL *

In honor of my grandmother - I've named the machine Hope!

Thank you for letting me share my story!!!!

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And, a huge thank you for all the comments and compliments you left about our little Shaye!

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I appreciate your visits and comments. Come again soon. *

In Friendship!

Just Sweet Shaye!

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She's gone Hollywood! LOL

She's growing like a dandelion and starting to develop her sweet personality.

We all think she's stinkin' cute but we may be a bit biased. :-)

I haven't threaded a needle, cut a piece of fabric or even walked into my sewing room in over a week - sigh! Obviously not making best use of my free time - such silliness. *

I hope life is good in your corner of the world - take a stitch or two for me. And, remember I am still peeking over your shoulder. teehee!

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In Friendship!

This Is It!

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Over a week since I posted - what's up with that? LOL Nothing interesting to post about - all I've managed to accomplish is the stitching on this flour sack towel. Oh, I had grand plans to sew; instead I've been sitting like a vegetable on the couch. Abeit, sometimes it was a vegetable holding a stitching hoop. LOL I do have a teeny tiny excuse - my allergies have been wreaking havoc and I've been feeling extremely tired. It's just that time of the year! Ugh!!! * This cute design is by Debbie at Busy As Can Be - it was really fun to stitch. I'm very lazy about tracing embroidery designs; since I discovered Transfer-Eze I've been a happy stitcher. Just makes life so much easier for complex embroidery designs. I had used every sheet of Transfer-Eze and while perusing Bird Brain Designs I discovered printable "Sticky Fabric-Solvy" by Sulky and decided to give it a try. I do like it very much and I feel sure it'll rinse off as easily as Transfer-Eze does. You can see it's still attached to my flour sack towel.

I feel the need to say

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"I'm just here to sew, share & make friends."

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Enjoy your week - sewing, sharing & making friends!

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In Friendship!

Sewing Time

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First let me wish you a Happy Spring - it's MY favorite season! :-)

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Managed to get some sewing time in - woohoo!!!! This is my 'tweaked' version of Summer Dreamin' from The Moda Bakeshop. A bloggy friend and I decided it would be sweet with sashing strips and corner stones between the blocks; I'm quite smitten with the results. teehee! I cut the sashing strips at 1.5", corner stones are 1.5" x 1.5" and first border is also cut 1.5". I'm not sure what I will do for the outer border (scrappy or one print) - still thinking. :-) I also stopped with 16 blocks - 4 x 4 (blocks finish at 16") - big enough for me. Lest you think I haven't been keeping up with you - I have definitely been peeking over your shoulders and keeping up with happenings in your corner of the world. I'm finding the balance with work and play. LOL * Enjoy your day - I'm hoping to prep some handwork today. * In Friendship!

Can't think of a snappy title!

:-)

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I've spent the past three weeks adjusting to changes in my every day life. The first two weeks I was one very tired woman - every part of my body hurt (alot). LOL It happened so suddenly but I feel it was simply meant to be. It literally fell in my lap and it's become more than I anticipated. :-) What? I've gone back to work and it quickly became full-time employment. LOL I used to have a very good career in Human Resources and over the past 10 years I've made some very bad career decisions - those details aren't important. LOL
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I'm off today and tomorrow and couldn't wait to get into my sewing room this morning. This is the first time I've felt like sewing in quite awhile and I had tons of fun. I found myself smiling most of the day and I know my heart was singing. lalalalalalalala!!!!!! While I was working on the project du jour I was thinking, "maybe I'll work on this one for awhile and then I'll pull out a new one....wait there's that other project, too". Serious silliness!
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So here's how I spent my day...................
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I added the 30's prints around my October, November and December Annie stitcheries. Aren't they sweet? :-)


Speaking of redwork embroidery - please take a few minutes to visit Debbie at Busy As Can Be - she has a new adorable freebie. Feel free to tell her I sent you. :-)


Then I decided it was time to play with my Charlevoix prints. I am seriously smitten with this line of fabric by Minick & Simpson/Moda and have two quilts planned.
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Summer Dreamin' on the Moda Bake Shop blog looked appealing so today I made 9 of the 20 blocks. I plan to tweak the pattern a little so stay tuned. I think it's going to be a terrific summer quilt. By the way the blocks are just tossed on my design wall - that's not my planned layout.





I hope you're still visiting - I do plan to be around more often.
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In Friendship!

Back Soon!

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I've made a sudden change in my every day life and it's requiring some adjustments. I'm going to put my blog on hiatus for a bit and promise to be back soon. In the meantime I will be visiting with you - in some cases leaving a simple comment or just peeking over your shoulder. I'll be back soon - this change is a very good thing for Mr Daze and I but especially for ME. And, on a side note, we're fine, please, don't assume the worst - LOL.

It's all good!

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Miss me!

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In Friendship!

Scrap-Basket Sensations Blog Tour

Day 10

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Day 10 - the final stop on the Scrap Basket Sensations Blog Tour is Carol of Brown Quilts 4 Me. So get yourself over there for an opportunity to win an autographed copy of Kim's fabulous book.

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Good Luck!
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In Friendship

Scrap-Basket Sensations Blog Tour

Day Nine

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Winner of my giveaway is Kathy at Humble Quilter

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A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by to visit - so many new blogs for me to visit - woohoo!!!

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Now it's time to travel across the pond to visit Sue for another opportunity to win an autographed copy of Kim's book. Don't dawdle - go now - it's already Friday afternoon in Jolly Old England. :-)
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then on to:
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Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th
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Good Luck!!!
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In Friendship!

Scrap Basket Sensations Blog Tour

Day Eight

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Your next stop on the Scrap Basket Sensations Blog Tour is Karen - she's Kim's BFF (aka cohort in crime - teehee). I know you'll enjoy reading about the quilts she made for the book. Like Kim she can take a variety of scraps and make beautiful quilts.

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Go NOW - it's another opportunity for you to win an autographed copy of the book. You still have a chance to win here - by leaving a comment on the post below this one.

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then on to:

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Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th

Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th

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Good Luck!!!
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In Friendship!

Scrap Basket Sensations Blog Tour

Day Seven

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It's my turn to talk to you about Kim Brackett's new bestselling book, Scrap Basket Sensations!

This means that leaving a comment on this post gives you an opportunity to win an autographed copy of Kim's book.

This book is also available from Martingale Publishing, Amazon or your local quilt store.

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Do you remember this post about Scrappy vs The Safe Zone? Well, these are the quilts I had just completed. LOL

I had the honor of making two quilts for Kim's book. I was happily in The Safe Zone when I made Summer Daze using a Snippets Jelly Roll.

I was in the Scrappy Zone (way out of my comfort zone) to make Tool Shed. I kept telling Kim I couldn't use scraps to make this quilt. She laughed but gently encouraged me. Not bad for an amateur scrap quilter. LOL

Initially I opted not to interview Kim for this post because what could I ask her that others hadn't already asked.
I finally did ask her what size shoe she wears?
She wears an 8 1/2 so I wondered if she used her empty shoe boxes to store her carefully organized scraps. LOL
Actually sometime in 2010 she shared on her blog that she cut most of her stash into 2 1/2" strips and stores them in plastic shoe boxes (not her empty card board shoe boxes)


Instead I asked the talented ladies on this Blog Tour the following:
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Are you comfortable working with true scraps (fabrics from many different lines) or do you prefer to use a coordinated set of fabrics?
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Their answers:
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Kim: "For the most part, I'm a scrap freak! For the Picnic quilt on the cover of the book, I used part of one Jelly Roll, part of another, and threw in some scraps just for the heck of it. "
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Sherri: "I love working with true scraps...honestly, sometimes I just use pre-cuts because they save so much time!"
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Mary: "For me I found I like to keep my civil war scraps separate from all the others...I guess same goes with Jo fabrics. I have a really hard time mixing batiks in with novelties! LOL I love working with the Moda pre-cuts for scrappy quilts even though they end up a coordinated scrappy look like Blessings from the Hollow quilt".
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Stephanie: "The scrappier the better...mix them all up I say!"
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Millie: "I do love scrappy quilts and these quilts all have their own personality."
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Nicole: " I do sometimes work with true scraps, but I sure do spend a long time auditioning the ones that go best with each other!"
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Sinta: "I prefer fabric groups myself. I have a whole lot of jelly rolls that I have collected, so it's an opportunity to use them."
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Karen: "I say scraps. I'm trying to use a jelly roll for the tipsy baskets, and I'm having a hard time. I'd much rather use true scraps."
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Sue: "For myself, I use either jelly-rolls or co-ordinated bundles. I really can't seem to make myself do truly scrappy!"
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Carol: Carol was away on a quilting retreat when I asked my question but I know she loves working with scraps and coordinated fabric lines.
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Me: We already know I prefer The Safe Zone - coordinated fabric lines. :-)
Some day I will organize all my scraps I have saved from every quilt I've made. Or not! LOL
The Safe Zone - Oasis and Breakfast at Tiffany's Jelly Rolls :-)
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Leave a comment telling me whether you prefer The Scrappy Zone or The Safe Zone (coordinated fabric lines)
I plan to draw a winner on Friday, February 18th
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then on to:
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Karen at Nana Girl Quilts - February 17th
Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th
Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th
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Good Luck!!!
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By the way Kim would love to be retired so she can spend her days quilting but for now she must use her
size 8 1/2 foot to put pedal to the medal on her red Honda CRV to drive to work every day.
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I wish I could show you a work in progress from this fabulous new book but there's still no sewing going on here! Soon, I hope! Don't fret - this too shall pass. :-)

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In Friendship

Scrap-Basket Sensations Blog Tour

Day Six

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Here it is day six on the Scrap-Basket Sensation Blog Tour - another opportunity to win an autographed copy of Kim Brackett's new book. :-) Today you must visit Sinta for said opportunity. Other than a reminder to visit me tomorrow I don't have much more to say so go visit Sinta NOW.
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then on to:

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Tomorrow is my turn :-)

Darlene at Quilting Daze - February 16th

Karen at Nana Girl Quilts - February 17th

Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th

Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th
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Good Luck!!!

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In Friendship

Scrap Basket Sensations Blog Tour

Day Five

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Will you be my Valentine?

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

I hope your Valentine brings you lots of sweets and treats.

The Scrap Basket Sensations blog tour continues. Take a few minutes to visit with talented Millie today for another opportunity to win an autographed copy of the book.

I'm not kidding go NOW!

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then on to:
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Sinta at Pink Pincushion - February 15th
Look it'll be my turn
Darlene at Quilting Daze - February 16th
Karen at Nana Girl Quilts - February 17th
Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th
Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th

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Good Luck!!!
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In Friendship

Scrap-Basket Sensations Blog Tour

Day Four

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Are you getting bored with my blog posts? I hope not because it's really all about YOU - yes YOU. This is your opportunity to win a signed copy of Kim Brackett's new, must have, book Scrap Basket Sensations.

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By now you have, hopefully, visited Sherri, Mary & Stephanie - enjoyed their projects from the book and learned more about the queen of 2 1/2" strips Kim.

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Today do not miss your opportunity to visit Nicole at Sister's Choice - she made a stunning version of Over & Under with a Bali Pop called Grasshopper.

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then on to:

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Millie at Millie's Quilting - February 14th

Sinta at Pink Pincushion - February 15th

Look it'll be my turn

Darlene at Quilting Daze - February 16th

Karen at Nana Girl Quilts - February 17th

Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th

Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th
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Good Luck!!!

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In Friendship!

Scrap Basket Sensation Blog Tour

Day 3

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Here we are at Day 3 of the Scrap Basket Sensations Blog Tour; are you having fun?

By now you've hopped through Sherri's & Mary's fabulous blogs. If you're just discovering this blog tour then please go back because they have posted some wonderful completed projects and projects in the making. They have also included questions/answers they posed to Kim Brackett the author extrodinaire of this fabulous book. 10 autographed books will be given away during this blog tour so don't miss a single opportunity. Today it's time to visit talented Stephanie at Loft Creations - go NOW.
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then on to:
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Nicole at Sister's Choice Quilts - February 13th
Millie at Millie's Quilting - February 14th
Sinta at Pink Pincushion - February 15th
Look it'll be my turn
Darlene at Quilting Daze - February 16th
Karen at Nana Girl Quilts - February 17th
Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th
Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th
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You may want to visit all the stops on the tour everyday because I've noticed some project sneak peeks; adorable peek at Karen's (Nana Girl Quilts) yesterday. :-)
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Good Luck!!!!!
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In Friendship!
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(while you're hopping & enjoying your Saturday Mr Daze and I will be celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary. Woohoo - they said it wouldn't last - HA!)

Scrap-Basket Sensations Blog Tour

Day Two

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The next stop on the Scrap Basket Sensations blog tour is Mary at Quilt Hollow. Another opportunity to win a signed copy. Even if you already own a copy of the book I hope you'll enter, bear in mind, you can keep the signed copy and pass the other one along to a friend. So make a quick dash to Mary's blog - right NOW. :-)
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then on to:

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Stephanie at Loft Creations - February 12th

Nicole at Sister's Choice Quilts - February 13th

Millie at Millie's Quilting - February 14th

Sinta at Pink Pincushion - February 15th

Look it'll be my turn

Darlene at Quilting Daze - February 16th

Karen at Nana Girl Quilts - February 17th

Sue at Quilt Times - February 18th

Carol at Brown Quilts - February 19th

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I hope your enjoyed your visit with Sherri yesterday

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Good Luck!!!!!

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In Friendship!