Weekly Deal - July 16-July 22, 2015

This weeks deal is 20% off the Tidal Pool Table Runner Pattern that is listed in my Run 'n Stitch shop at Runnstitch.blogspot.com and 20% off the Poinsettia Table Runner Pattern which is listed in my Christmas Jul shop.  

The regular cost of each of these patterns is 12.00  The Weekly Deal price is 9.60.  Both patterns are from Wildfire Designs Alaska.  Dana Michelle creates beautiful designs that are inspired by the scenes near her home.  

Check out my raw edge appliqué tutorial to answer questions about working with these patterns.  CLICK HERE FOR TUTORIAL

Click the picture to purchase the pattern.

Tidal Pool

Southeast Alaska is an archipelago. The miles and miles of beaches in this region are home to an abundance of sea creatures.  There can be more than 20 feet of tidal fluctuation in our area.  If you wander down to the beach low tide, you will find tidal pools with all kinds of interesting life.  Dana Michelle Woodard at Wildfire Designs had created a table runner pattern for the beach lover.  This pattern includes many of the creatures that make their home beneath the sea in our area.  Dana's patterns are easy to follow.  Skills needed for this pattern are tracing, cutting and ironing.  Of course a little sewing is necessary too.  Click the picture below to get more information about this pattern.

 Trace the pattern onto fusible web and then iron it on to the fabric for each of your pieces.

 Cut the pieces out.  

Iron the detail pieces on.

Using the appliqué pressing sheet placed over the pattern, iron the pieces in place.

Put the background together.

Peel the ironed pieces off the sheet and place them on the background.

Add any remaining pieces to the background.

 Your table runner is ready to be quilted.

Linking to:

A Round Tuit, Craftistic Monday, Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party, Sew Cute Tuesday, Handmade Tuesday, Take A Look Tuesday, Tutorial Tuesday, Linky Tuesday, Fabric Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday, Let's Bee Social, WIP, My Quilt Infatuation, Create It Thursday,  Can I Get A Whoop, Whoop, No Rules Weekend Blog Party, Pin Me Weekly Party,  The Handmade Hangout,  Saturday Sparks Link Party,  The Bouquet of Talent Party, It's Linky Time, Sew Darn Crafty, The Creative Collection Link Party , That DIY Party, Stitch It, Blog It, Share It,  

WEEKLY DEAL 7/9-7/15

I am starting a weekly blog advertisement for the WEEKLY DEAL at both of my shops, Runnstitch.etsy.com and Christmasjul.etsy.com.  Each week I will offer some kind of deal in each of my shops.  This week's deal is a 20% discount on a fat quarter fabric bundle. A fat quarter measures 18" X 22."   Click on the picture to purchase the fabric.

This Christmas bundle by Riley Blake is great for whimsical Christmas projects.  The fabric is from Riley Blake Designs and it is 100% cotton.   The regular price for this bundle is 13.75 but for this week it is listed at 11.00.

Isn't this bundle adorable perfect for a little boy's quilt?  This Riley Blake fabric is 100% cotton and machine washable.  The cost of this bundle is regularly $11.00 but for 1 week, you can get it for $8.80.

Michael Miller Retro Bundle

Isn't this a cute little retro bundle.  It's a new bundle at Christmas Jul. You can find this Michael Miller fabric bundle by clicking on the photo.

New Christmas Fabrics

I have received my first batch of new Christmas fabric.  It is always fun to get the latest prints from all of my favorite vendors.  Today I am highlighting 3 fabric bundles I have put together using Michael Miller's latest fabrics.  Aren't they adorable.  You can find these fabrics at Christmas Jul.etsy.com.  If you click on the picture, you can go directly to the site to purchase these bundles. You can also buy each of these fabrics by the yard at Christmas Jul.  It's never too early to start those Christmas projects.

Coral Baby Quilt

My newest baby girl, granddaughter #3, Helmi Rae was born on Valentine's Day this year.  Her little nursery is coral and white.  She needed a little quilt to match the nursery decor.  I used fabrics the Dreamin Vintage collection by designer Jeni Baker along with other fabrics from my stash to make this quilt.  I put minky on the back of the quilt.  The key to quilting with minky is to spray baste and pin baste.  

I quilted it pretty simply, with a stitch in the ditch around the border and an x in each block.  The fabrics are the focal point of the quilt.  I didn't want the quilting to overpower the thing.

This is the fabric bundle I used for the quilt, with the large floral print for the border.  

I also used a coral prints from Blend, Michael Miller,  and Riley Blake.  The coral border is a Michael Miller Batik.  All of these fabrics can be found at Runnstitch.Etsy.com

Linking To:

Let's Bee Social Sew Cute Tuesday Home Work  

3 Days in San Diego

San Diego, California is my favorite city.  I don't like cities in general but I do love San Diego.  The weather is always great and there are lots of things to do there.  I love it as a tourist, not as a resident. I am sure it would be a nice place to live, if you like to live in a city.

Doug and I visit San Diego every year during our winter road trip.  If we don't stop there on the way to where we are going, we are sure to visit on our way home.  It is one of the only places we have visited every year for the past 7 years of trailer travel.  We always stay at the San Diego KOA in Chula Vista.  It is my favorite campground on our trail.  I believe this campground deserves it's own post.

There are several major attractions in San Diego and each year we visit one of them.  We have been to the San Diego Zoo, the Maritime Museum, Sea World, Old Town, Gaslamp, the Convention Center, and etc.  This year we were in San Diego for 3 days and rather than go to a major attraction, we decided to explore beaches and parks.

The first day was spent on one of our favorites, Coronado beach.  There is a great 'dog beach' at the end of the Coronado beach, where Cessna loves to frolic in the waves.  When we get close to this beach she whines and jumps around in anticipation of the fun she will have at one of her favorite spots.  There are lots of things for people to do on Coronado too.  You can enjoy a meal at a good restaurant, shopping, sitting in the sun, touring The Coronado Beach Hotel, and or course, running on the beach.  We had a nice run down the beach toward the Silver Strand.

The second day, we decided to go to Mission Bay and play.  We started our day on Fiesta Island, a place Cessna could swim and play on the beach.  After she had her fill of fun, we parked in a Mission Bay Parking lot and started our day of fun in the sun.  The first thing we did was pull out the Eagle Kayak and inflate it.  We spent an hour or so kayaking around the bay.  We had a little picnic and then rode our bikes along the bike path.  There is a long, well maintained bike path around Mission Bay.  We ended our day with a short, slow run along the path.  It was truly an active day.  Mission Bay park is well utilized.  There were lots and lots of people there, picnicking, boating, exercising, riding bikes, walking, running, skateboarding.

On day 3 we drove up to Mission Trails Regional Park.  This park a short drive East of San Diego.  This was our first visit to this park.  There is a road to the dam, which is the main attraction of the park.  It was built a long time ago by the native people who lived in the area.  There are lots of well marked spur trails along the main road.  There are interpretive signs at points along the trails as well. This is a dog-friendly park.  Cessna enjoyed a little swim in the dam.

A person can spend a lot of money visiting the many wonderful attractions in San Diego and we usually do find one to enjoy each time we visit.  This year, however, we had a very enjoyable 3 days in San Diego and spent very little money.  All of the parks and beaches we visited were free of charge and gas was about $2.25 a gallon.  We had a very active, interesting and fun time in San Diego this year.