I did hit my sewing room this evening but with the specific purpose of shooting photos for the tutorial for my New Year Fresh Start blocks. I wrote most of the text last night, but it still needs a LOT of editing.
So I grabbed my computer and headed down the hall. I had made notes in my tutorial document about the specific photos I needed to shoot to illustrate parts of the tutorial.
I made a strip set that gave me four block centers.
But I only made one of them into a block, taking a lot of photos along the way.
I’m hoping to have the tutorial done and posted some time this weekend. I can do that if I don’t spend too much time editing the text!
I scheduled some vacation time today. My friend will be visiting for ten days in February if we can make the dates work. This is my friend who I make quilts with when she visits. I’m really looking forward to some time off and am looking forward to seeing my friend. I guess we need to decide what quilt we’re going to make while she’s here!
My brother and his wife are also planning to visit next weekend. They will be gifted my sunburst quarter log cabin quilt while they’re here.
And my brother made me a wooden picture frame for a canvas print of a photo of my Forrest. It’s going to be cold next weekend and it’s possible that we see some snow. I’m hoping the snow stays away.
We had a visit from Ernie yesterday. His owner dropped him off to spend the day with us as she headed off to work.
He’s such an easy dog to have around. He snoozed a good part of the day, played and hung out with my boys, and sat on my lap for a couple zoom meetings for work. We did get a walk in during the afternoon when the rain stopped.
We’ve had such a mild winter here in Portland. There are still roses blooming around the neighborhood.
The winter Camelias are blooming and there are daisy type flowers here and there.
There is also candy tuft blooming. It’s one of the first plants to bloom in the spring. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it bloom in January. That’s crazy early!
The mountains are supposed to get a lot of snow this weekend and that’s good news.
My new dishwasher was installed this morning. One guy came alone and he had the old dishwasher out and the new one installed within about an hour. I was pretty impressed. He ran it before he left and it was so quiet I couldn’t hear it from across the room. It looks and feels high quality.
Isn’t it beautiful?!?! And I’m hoping it will last me for at least ten years. I’m going to dirty a lot of dishes tomorrow so I can run it!
It feels really good to have that taken care of.
I’m playing pickleball early tomorrow, followed by Rico’s weekly sheep herding lesson. Then I plan on doing some house keeping to prepare for my brother’s visit next week, and I will make more blocks on my current quilt.
I’m meeting some friend for breakfast Sunday morning and will play pickleball in the afternoon. I haven’t played pickleball since last Sunday.
agilejack 
Sounds like a Great weekend, Happy New Year!!
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Anne that quarter log cabin is glorious! Gosh another for the to-make list! My SIL had a Bosch and it was beautifully engineered, did a fantastic job. Alas they have never made a model that would keep up with our family…we usually stuff our gigantic dishwasher twice a day. Well, **I** do. The rest are curiously blind to the entire process. And they must wonder what the sink-side bottle of Dawn is for.
The boys look very sweet. Give them a cuddle for me. And good luck with the snow forecast. Looking forward to your tute!
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You’re the opposite of me. I might run my dishwasher three times every two weeks! and it’s usually full of bowls and spoons!
Magic the way your kitchen cleans itself!!
Anne
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I’m looking forward to the tutorial of your gorgeous new quilt! I’m hoping to make one when I finish my current project. Thanks always for your constant encouragement.
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I’m happy to share how I put these blocks together. It will be fun to see others make this quilt and see how they change it up!
Anne
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I always enjoy your posts. You and the boys have a lovely life and I love getting glimpses of your days, especially your quilting and the foliage in your world. Thank you for sharing. Hug the boys for me.
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Our life is pretty uneventful, but I do like to have things to do! and I Like doing NEW things. Learning new things keeps life interesting!
thanks for reading!
Anne
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Uneventful is a good thing. Trust me on that! Lol
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Sounds like another busy weekend coming your way , Happy New Year
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that’s what I thought. but so far my early pickleball session has been canceled because of rain and I found out we don’t have a sheep herding lesson today since our trainer is in a herding competition today. so my weekend just got a lot less busy!
Anne
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Buzy Gal have a great week
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I don’t feel busy. I’ve been so bored this week!
Anne
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Hi Anne, I enjoyed this post and I’m looking forward to seeing your tutorial. Sounds like a nice weekend you’ve got planned. My family visitors finally departed yesterday which left me feeling simultaneously both sad and relieved. Today has been all about restoring order to the house, washing quantities of bedding and packing away all the Christmas decs. I’m looking forward to getting back to my usual routine and especially starting our anniversary quilt. I’ve been searching the sales trying to find an extra wide batik backing in brown/ gold/cream to no avail. I’m conscious that I have a tendency to ‘ play safe’ when it comes to quilt backing fabric and seeing your gorgeous and exuberant sunburst quilt has given me pause. My nephew is in California next month for work which may provide an opportunity to land myself something interesting. Any tips for online sites much appreciated! Ok back to housework. Enjoy your pickleball. Lindy
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http://www.sewcolorful.com has a lot of Kaffe fabric. She’s having a sale right now. She carries some wide backings.
http://www.allaboutcolorquilting.com carries a lot of Kaffe fabrics as well. I don’t know if she carries wide backings.
http://www.islandquilter.com has a huge selection of Kaffe fabrics. Don’t know if they carry wide backings.
http://www.gloriouscolor.com is a great site for Kaffe fabrics. I think they carry some wide backs.
http://www.tennesseequilts.com has a large selection of Kaffe fabrics and a lot of other stuff. Don’t know if they have wide backings.
That should keep you busy!!!
Anne
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You’re a star! Thanks Anne xx
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Looking forward to the tutorial, and to see what projcts you and your friend make when she visits!
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I’ve been thinking about a quilt to make. so many ideas! But I think I might be narrowing it down.
anne
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I haven’t commented lately as I caught the norovirus, which is called the winter vomiting virus. I do want to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed reading your posts lately. I’m old and this virus knocked me for a loop but hopefully I’ll be back enjoying life again soon. Looking at pictures of your dogs and quilts cheers me. Give that Ernie a big hug.
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I’m so sorry you’ve been sick! I had a cold a few weeks ago that I still haven’t quite shaken off… just the last remnants of a cough.
I hope you feel better soon and are back to the things you love!
Anne
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Thank you for a preview of your next amazing tutorial. You are so generous to let us all share in your creativity and hard work to put them together. You are my favorite blogger!
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It’s fun to see others tackle projects I’ve done! I’m happy to share.
Anne
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Your brother and his wife are very lucky. Didn’t they also get the similar quilt set on point with the black and white jumble? Love the back on that one. So much energy. Thanks for working on the tutorial. The flowers in january are amazing. The daisy looking one I think is a zinnia. Looks like a zinnia leaf. You’re a pretty mind climate hence the reason you can play pickleball so much. You’ve had Ernie quite a bit lately. Nice having a lap dog!
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they do not have that jumble quilt. It’s still in a pile of quilts on my guest bed that have unfinished bindings. they did receive the Aboriginal quilt I made earlier in the pandemic.
Our mild climate would allow more pickleball in the winter if it wasn’t so damned wet! I just found out my Saturday morning play has been canceled because of rain. that’s the third time this week! Hoping to play at 10:30.
Anne
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So glad you’re writing the text/pics for your new pattern……I had saved the first pics on my to-do list after finishing this quilt for our granddaughter. Thanks for sharing your time and talents with your faithful followers! Anita Bowen Columbia, SC
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It’s such an easy block to make. It takes some time to write it all down in a coherent way!
Anne
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Oh, and I love my Bosch dish washer!! It is so quiet I never hear it after it starts! Perfect job everytime. In my older age, I’ve decided to put out the dollars for equipment that will last the remainder of my life! That goes for irons and notions. I sew on a 1939 Featherweight that was my MIL’s who always complained that it cost soooo much back in 1940! Something to be said about buying quality!! Anita Bowen
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I’m doing the same thing with wanting purchases that I won’t have to replace. but I’m only 63 so I need REALLY good stuff!
A friend of mine gifted me her mom’s Featherweight a couple years ago. it’s such a gorgeous little machine. I’ve made a couple quilts with it and just love sewing on it. There’s something magic about the sound and feel of it!
Anne
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HI Anne! You are a busy lady! I’m happy to come visit from North Carolina if you want to give me a Starburst quilt! I can cook and I know my way around a dishwasher! Love the pics of the dogs and of the flowers. I’m all in for Kaffe projects. Will definitely make your new one. Gotta get me some black patterned fabric besides the white jumble I have used forever.
Take care in this cold weather!
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If you like housekeeping and are good at grooming dogs you can just move in!!!
Anne
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Happy New Year ! You are off and running already ! It is so nice to see blooms this time of year ! Looking forward to your latest tutorial, you always give such great instructions, and “yes” your dishwasher is beautiful! We have a Bosch as well, great choice, as it quietly does a wonderful job! I’m also looking forward to February’s blogs already, to see what your quilt projects, with visiting friend will be, such fun !! Enjoy visit with Brother, he and wife are so very fortunate to receive yet another beautiful quilt, ” lucky ducks ” !! From previous blogs, it also sounds like “brother” is very talented as well !
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It’s a little unusual so see so many blooms in January. It’s going to get cold next week so I’m guessing that will take care of some of them.
I’m so lucky my brother lives so close. that’s one of the things that swayed my decision to move to Oregon in 2010. And yes… he is very talented. I’m fascinated with working with harder materials. More precision is required!
Anne
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yes! ,yes, and Oh YES!
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Love the new quilt and looking forward to the tutorial you’re creating. Thank you for introducing me to Kaffe Fassett. I always made clothing and had never been aware of his Beautiful colorful fabrics. Now I’m hooked. I had an opportunity to attend his workshop on the succulent quilt in his Quilts by the Sea book. I’m still musing about the arrangement of my pieces. If I hadn’t been on your blog, I would never have known about these fabrics and the special quilts. Thank you.
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I can’t tell you how happy this makes me!!! It’s so much fun to see others embracing these colorful and gorgeous prints!
I’ve always thought I wanted to make some clothing out of these lovely cottons but have never gotten around to it.
Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment1
Anne
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Will be interested to know how you like your new dishwasher. We recently moved into a home with an existing Bosch dishwasher. Never had one before. After 6 months I still can’t load it as logically (?) as other models. My husband was in the AFand we moved quite a bit, so adjusting to different appliances is what I do. Until now. And you’re right – it is very quiet.
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My dishwasher is running right now and I didn’t load it very efficiently. I’ve heard others say that loading it isn’t intuitive. But I think there are online guides on how to load your Bosch. So I’m going to seek them out. amazing how different dishwashers are! My old dishwasher made more sense in how it was laid out. but I’m sure I’ll get used to this one.
Anne
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I love watching your quilts come together!
The boys look very cute
That sunburst quarter log cabin is just my style- I have a skirt made out of that backing fabric 😀
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That backing fabric is really something!
Anne
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I don’t want to blend in anymore lol, I want to wear ALL the colors!
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that’s a great way to go through life!
Anne
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Your tutorial is going to be a winner. Cant wait to follow it to the letter. Your brother will be over the moon when you give him that wonderful quilt and I hope Ernie becomes a regular visitor with photos- he is SO cute.
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I’m. hoping we see Ernie on a semi regular basis. He’s really a wonderful addition to the house.
Anne
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You will love that dishwasher. We have had several of them over the years. When we would buy a new house, the noisy old dishwasher was the first thing out the door, to be replaced by the new Bosch. And believe me, it will last longer than 10 years! I rarely use any cycle but the shortest and most economical and the dishes are always sparkling. Enjoy!
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I really hope it lasts more than 10 years. I’m tired of purchasing dishwashers!
I’ve run it once and can already see that it’s doing a nice job on my dishes. My old dishwasher wouldn’t get the remnants of banana off my kitchen knives! My knives came out of this one sparkling and beautiful!
Anne
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