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For our seventh Make of Christmas we are bringing back an oldie but a goodie. In this replay on how to make a pillowcase, I show you how to use your leftover yardage or novelty fabric to create a custom pillowcase with no raw edges.

That means we cover how to do a hot dog roll to get all of your raw edges concealed in the pillowcase sleeve, and how to make a French seam, which sounds way more complicated than it actually is, to give your pillowcase a finished look with no raw edges. No serger needed!

This video ...

It was a very quiet day around my house yesterday. Of course, I had work to do. I had lots and lots of paperwork to get done. I've started sending out e-mails with dates for next year's events. Like the Sit n Sews and that list of people is already long - I can't add anyone else to the list at the moment. Sorry!

But watch the blog because there'll be upcoming events that you can participate in no matter where you live. Those have to be up by the end of next week.

I do have ...

When I booked the pillowcase sewing day a couple of months ago, I had NO idea that I booked it on Giving Tuesday. Yes - Giving Tuesday is a real day! Trying to counter all the hype of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There's even a website for the day!  Who knew? Anyway - it was a perfect time and I think I'm going to book the date for 2020 to do the same. In case you want to book the date - it's December 1st. It's already on my calendar.

Not only was it a day of giving ...

I've been taking applique or embroidery to Monday sewing and frankly - I can't do it all day. I get bored and that makes me sleepy. I thought it might be the sitting all day but nope - it's the applique. Note to self - try to avoid ALL hand applique in the future! Unless the project is small. I have a couple more hand applique projects to finish and I might just switch to machine applique. I can do the prep there but stitch at home. Something to think about as I get stuff organized for 2020.

So for ...

With the crappy weather we had yesterday, it was a perfect day to sew. And indeed, I sewed and quilted the entire day and I was happy as a clam. I'm going to have to name those sewing machines one day so I have "company" in the studio. Otherwise, I have the radio going in the background and life couldn't get much better.

I'm taking a break from the audiobooks for the moment. I'm finding the listening and working is too much or too - I'm not sure what word to use, but I don't ...

Do you remember that I made a commitment - well a goal at least of making and donating 100 pillowcases to Ryan's Case for Smiles? That date is fast approaching - Tuesday, December 3rd. If you're interested in helping us sew that day - you're more than welcome to come. No need to bring a sewing machine or a serger. I'll have multiple sewing machines and sergers set up that day. In addition to sewists, we're going to need pinners for the first seam, pressers, and finishers so there's a job for everyone. You can e-mail me ...

It's a tad chilly outside, but thanks to not sleeping well and a few dying embers in the wood stove, I've got a nice fire going and we're toasty warm. While I wouldn't want to deal with a wood stove at home, I like having it here and I'm pretty darn good at keeping it going (roots from when I was a child), but Paula is our main firestarter here and I'm perfectly fine with that.

So it's technically day three this morning and I'm still using the serger. Can you believe ...

Phew - I'm glad that yesterday is over. While I had a load of fun, it was a very long day.

I have to be quick this morning as well as it's RETREAT day. I promised myself that I'd be out of the house by 7:30 and the car is packed except for my food and my clothes. AH - we have a slight problem. Due to some panic packing and taking a LOT of stuff for Ronda, there seems to be a space issue in my car. BUT - I'll make it happen. It's called -  hold ...

I'm not sure why I feel it's my mission to use up every little scrap of fabric, but I do know that I'm tired of moving this stuff around and I'm tired of seeing it and I'm tired of it niggling away in the back of my mind.

It's time to get this stuff used up and then onto the fun stuff. Don't worry - I'm still doing some fun stuff in between, but I really, really want to get this scrappy stuff used up. And it's going to happen. Remember how ...

OK - I'm now obsessed (possessed) with this darn clean up thing. There was a pile of stuff in the living room and it was getting out of hand. So I loaded up the car and I was off to the recycling depot. Got rid of 7 or 8 boxes of stuff. Phew - that feels good and the living room looks a whole lot better. There's some stuff slated to go to the retreat with me next week, but there's still a couple of things that I need to get in touch with the person who said they ...

I have NOTHING to do and NOWHERE to go today! OK - so there's technically nothing on the calendar although I have slated this as a CLEANUP day. There's a TO-DO list, but nothing is due today and no official places to go. I LOVE IT and the weather is supposed to be glorious. I'm pumped - I'm super excited. I've got loads that I want to do.

Another fun day at the Monday Sewing group. I've been spending the last couple of Mondays doing hand applique all day. I just couldn't take another day ...

What a super day yesterday was! Despite the rainy start to the day, it was a super day.

I did a very brave thing before I left the house. I decided to use the navigation screen in my car instead of my stand-alone GPS. The last time I tried to use it (months ago), I was very unhappy and I didn't bother to try again. Why was I unhappy? It was how you started it up. Plug into the car, turn on two apps and then it might work. Nope - I was so disgusted that I just used the ...

Yipeee - it's a FREE day today. I have one thing on the calendar and it's totally my call if I go or not. It's a used book sale - of course, I'm going!

I bailed from the meeting I was supposed to go to last night. After the three classes and all the stuff that went on in the last couple of weeks, I was tired. So I came home, had dinner with DH and then sat and read my book. It was glorious! I even ignored my alarm this morning. Well, after I shut it off ...

Even though I'm teaching three classes today (two one-hour-long classes and a three-hour free motion class), I actually feel like it's a "free" day.

Why? Because I'm the one in charge today! I'm going to one place, the schedule is already set, but I'm teaching the classes. It's not that I want or like to be in charge, it's well - I don't know how to explain. Plus the day is shorter - only 6 hours.

And the rest of this week has things booked but not solid days. I can hardly wait! And ...

With everything going on last year, it seems I didn’t get around to posting a couple of projects I finished last year. Better late than never, I say, so here they are from the top:

First, my finished cover for my Quilter’s Planner 2016. When you purchased the planner, you received instructions for how to make a quilted cover. I decided to to for a scrappy look with some fabric from one of my very first quilts. I didn’t put the zippered pocket on the cover because to be completely honest, I haven’t gotten over my ...