Blogathon Canada … in Toronto and a Giveaway!

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SewSistersQuiltShop

I’m excited to be one of the Ontario blog hosts of Blogathon Canada today! Thanks to Sew Sisters, my favourite quilt shop, for putting together this wonderful blogathon of Canadian quilters.

My name’s Cathi and I live in downtown Toronto, my hometown, with Mr. Q.O. and our Maine Coon kitty, Baxter who has his own following thanks to the daily Baxtertoons Mr. Q.O. draws.

Living in downtown Toronto, we are close to many major attractions, including the Rogers Centre where our beloved Blue Jays play and where the Grey Cup is being played this weekend. I love the gargoyles on the Rogers Centre – they always make me laugh.

And the CN Tower, which we can see from the roof garden.

While I have a sewing machine, I find hand piecing the most relaxing, therapeutic craft imaginable. No matter how stressful a day might be, half an hour or more — usually way more — with a needle, thread and fabric and the stress of the day is wiped away.

My favourite quilt so far is Chintz Circles, a quilt I made for my aunt’s 90th birthday and the one that started me writing patterns for use with Inklingo shape collections. I hand pieced and machine quilted it and enjoyed every minute of making it and even more the moment when my aunt saw it for the first time. When I had the top finished, I realized I had nothing that would work for the binding. So where did we go? Sew Sisters, of course, where I found the perfect French General faded red that framed it perfectly.

I tend to give most of my finished quilts away, it seems, so pretty much everything in this blog post are finished tops. When I realized just how many there are (and there are more that aren’t in this post!), I decided it’s time to start buying some batts and get these quilted!

Another favourite is the quilt in my blog header, the blue and white Texas Star quilt. I hand pieced and machine quilted it. That was the beginning of my journey making two-colour quilts. I love the classic look of two-colour quilts, but have learned that I absolutely have to love the fabric I’m working with or else it’s all too easy to get bored.

A pink and cream hand-pieced top was my next two-colour quilt top. Another hand pieced top, although I did add the final pink border by machine.

This little quilt top was inspired by the framing the blocks. I was at a quilt show with a friend and when I saw that fabric, it just had to become part of a Dresden Plate variation. Another hand-pieced top.

The dragonflies top is one of the last applique pieces I’ve made. I seem to have gravitated to hand piecing much more than applique over the past five or six years. I have the binding ready for this one and really do need to get it quilted and hang it on the wall.

Curved piecing is another passion. Making this Drunkard’s Path quilt using French General charm packs and some yardage was pure delight. Hand pieced again, except for the borders which I added by machine.

The reproduction star top is possibly not finished. I can’t quite decide whether to add another border to it or not. Hand pieced.

Fruit Punch is one of my favourite tops, waiting its turn to be quilted. And  yes, hand pieced again.

My most recent two-colour quilt top finish is the red and white Feathered Star/Sunflower quilt. It’s 72 x 92 and was made entirely by hand, although I know most people would have machine-pieced the HSTs used to make the feathers. I might have too, except they gave me such a wonderful opportunity for lots and lots of continuous stitching, which I love almost as much as curved piecing. This isn’t the best picture, but as it’s too large to hang on the wall we had to make use of the roof garden to take the picture.

I have decided to call this quilt Canadian Starburst. It couldn’t have been finished were it not for Judy at Sew Sisters. I had made half of the 12 Feathered Star/Sunflower blocks when I realized I was running out of the white on white fabric. The quilt sat for a few months while Judy worked her magic and found more of that white fabric. I still remember the Friday night when she called to say it had arrived at the store. We were up there very quickly and I was printing my shapes on fabric to finish the red and white quilt in next to no time!

I have machine pieced a few quilts, including this Japanese X/Spool top. It was fun making it by machine – once I got my head wrapped around just how differently one constructs a block when machine piecing as compared to hand piecing! But I did want to see how I’d do, and I’m happy enough with how it turned out. It will eventually be quilted and tucked away as it’s the perfect size for a baby quilt.

What do I love about blogging? The sheer inspiration that can be found on so many blogs by such extraordinarily talented quilters. And thanks to this week of Blogathon Canada, I’ve found some new-to-me blogs. Who could ask for more? Except maybe more time to stitch!

Now for the fun stuff. Here’s a list of some Ontario bloggers — and don’t forget there are lists of more Ontario bloggers to be found on Cara Quilts and Miss Print, the other two Ontario host blogs today, as well as more giveaways sponsored by Sew Sisters:

Bending Pins
Super Mom No Cape
Sew Maybe I Can
Krista Quilts
Liz’s Quilt Adventures
Aft Agley
Modern Aunties Quilts
Quilts by Joanne
Books and Quilts
Crazy Quilter on a Bike
Lindy’s Threads
Itch’n2Stitch
All About Inklingo
Patchwork Sanity – A Woman’s Piece of Mind
Applique ‘n Patch Quilting

As I’m firmly convinced no one can have too many batiks, the giveaway sponsored by Sew Sisters is of this luscious bundle of batik FQs. I’d love to win this one myself! All you have to do to be entered in the giveaway is leave a comment. While I’d love it if you were to subscribe to my blog, either via a reader or by e-mail (see the subscribe by e-mail widget at the right), it is not necessary to get a chance to win. The winner will be drawn and announced on my blog Sunday. The giveaway is open to everyone, no matter where in the world you may be.

And there are yet more great giveaways still going on on most, if not all, the blogs that have hosted Blogathon Canada this week.  They are:

Sunday, November 18 Kick-off! Michele Quilting Gallery
Monday, November 19 BC Felicity Felicity Quilts
Monday, November 19 BC Cathy Blueberry Patch
Tuesday, November 20 NS Jeanette STAMP * STITCH * CREATE
Tuesday, November 20 NB Holly Through My Window
Wednesday, November 21 AB Shena Apple Pie Patchwork
Wednesday, November 21 SK Patti Retired to Quilt
Thursday, November 22 QC Marika Live, Laugh, Love… Sew
Thursday, November 22 MB Heather Church Avenue Quilts
Friday, November 23 YT Vivian Quilting Under the Midnight Sun
Friday, November 23 YT Janet Caribou Crossing Chronicles
Saturday, November 24 ON Cathi Quilt Obsession
Saturday, November 24 ON Cara Cara Quilts
Saturday, November 24 ON Kaye Miss Print

Baxter is ready for some fun visiting blogs today.

This is a shot from the summer of Baxter, but it is one of our favourites of him and shows why I love the view we have overlooking the roof garden.

139 thoughts on “Blogathon Canada … in Toronto and a Giveaway!”

  1. Hi Cathi, I really had to look for the comment box, then there it is at the top.It is great to see more of your quilts, your Chintz Circles is so lovely, some photos of your home town, and of course Baxter in all his favourite places.Lovely Batik giveaway, they are my favourite fabric, fine woven, super range of colours, designed or plain. . Greetings from Jean.

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  2. Oh wow…..love that dragonfly applique, it is superb! and a little different to your pieced quilts, even though they are gorgeous too. Baxter, I like your little beaver friend! What scrumptious batiks, I’m with you……a quilter can never have too many of them; some even came home with me from our recent holiday in Canada.

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  4. Cathi I think we needed this blogathon so that I can see some of your finished quilts. I have only seen one finished and was glad to see such a wonderful trunk show! I love your quilts and love that you hand piece..your posts always hold my interest. and of course that gorgeous kitty like i said I want to just hug him
    Thanks for adding my blog that is kind…those batiks are just gorgeous!

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  6. Hi Cathy, I’m really enjoying your blog every morning, your quilts are just amazing and your hand piecing is an inspiration! Thank you for the tut on the flat knot i use it all the time now!

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  7. Your quilts are amazing, especially as they are hand sewn! Like you I do like to sit and hand sew but have never made a big quilt all by hand. I machine piece and then hand quilt. Batiks – can never have too many 🙂

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  8. Love those gargoyles! They’d make me smile every time I saw them too.
    It was great being able to see your parade of finished tops. I think the red and white is still my favourite. Closely followed by the blue and white. There’s something so classic about two colour quilts isn’t there.
    What a lovely batik bundle to give away. I must admit I’m a batik fan too

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  12. Beautiful quilts !!!!! I also agree you can never have too many batiks. Thanks for a wonderful giveaway (I am a follower) 🙂

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  13. Wow! I love the patterns and the colours. I was especially captured by the blog header. So striking with the beautiful flowers in the background. I’m keeping this in mind for next year when it’s time to decide what to plant. Thanks for sharing and I have marked you as a favorite.

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  14. Your quilts are beautiful. I especially like the ones with circle designs. I am a new blog follower. Thanks for hosting a giveaway.

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  15. Hello from Halifax. Your quilts are amazing! Especially the Chintz Circles. My sister is actually in Bali today, buying me some (a lot) of batiks so these would make a great addition if I was lucky enough to win. Thanks for sharing.

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  16. Cathi, you know I love your blog! I always look forward to seeing it in my inbox; your posts make me smile. Plus, Mr. QO’s Baxtertoons are adorable. Thanks for taking part in the blogathon and for having the giveaway.

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  17. Wow. I am in awe if your quilts – especially the hand pieced ones. Is the Dragonfly quilt your own design? I would love to get a copy of that pattern. Baxter’s antics crack me up. I have a furry friend that thinks she is helping when she rearranges my quilt blocks.

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  18. Thanks for joining in the blogathon… it has been great to meet “Canadian” quilt bloggers!! You have some beautiful quilts and my favorite is the one you gave your aunt!! I am going to start following you.

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  20. Hi Cathi,
    Love your blog and the Baxter cartoons. Read it everyday.Great pictures today. Would love to win.
    Enjoy the game tomorrow.

    Dianne

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  21. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your quilts Cathi! I find myself saying “I wanna make that one, and that one . . . ” But I also come back daily to see The Baxter!!! 🙂 Pat

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  22. Morning Cathi, Mr Q.O and Baxter-as always love your blog-the highlight of my day -and am absolutely blown away at all your hand-piecing.Baxter looks like he is suspended in the air off the edge of his “nest”

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  24. Hi Cathi,
    Love my morning visits to Toronto, Mr. Q.O.s Baxtertoons, Baxter and your amazing quilts. This weeks Canadian blog posts have been wonderful…..so many that I was unfamiliar with…..and will look forward to visiting. Such inspiration and community to enjoy.
    Hugs, Barb

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  27. Cathi,
    As always, I love reading your blog. You inspire and challenge me, thank you. I so appreciate your faithfulness, and Mr. Q.O. keeps me laughing with his Baxter toons. I marvel at God’s creation when I see pictures of that handsome Baxter, just delightful.
    Hugs,

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  29. Oh my Cathi! Handpiecing all those quilts. I amin awe. You are my quilting queen! I am really curious about inklingo so I will be back to check it out more closely. That lonestar is amazing and and you are still deciding if you are making it bigger! Thanks for sharing and I miss Toronto…my sister lives there! Time to get back down there and shop at Sew Sisters! (mindji@yahoo.com)

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  30. I really like your quilts and I am so impressed that they are done by hand, WOW! Thanks for hosting a give away. Are you enjoying the snow this morning? We have a good covering in Oshawa!

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  34. I have followed your blog for over a year now, and it is a part of my “coffee in the morning” time. Thank you for sharing!

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  35. It is great to see some of your other quilts that you’ve done in the past. I know you can’t show all of them or it would be next week by the time we read your entire blog! 🙂

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  36. I am in awe of your piecing! Your quilts are all wonderful, and almost all patterns I won’t do because I machine piece, and those babies are tough! But worth it, obviously! But I know what you mean about stress relief, and I do have a English paper pieced baby blocks charm quilt that’s been on the go for about 20 years–you just have to have some handwork around to pick up when there’s nothing else to keep your hands busy. (I live in Etobicoke and I love Sew Sisters too! 🙂

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  39. I really enjoyed your post today Cathi! Gorgeous quilts and the Dragonfly had me drooling! Thanks for participating in the Blogathon, and having batiks as your giveaway.

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  40. I to love two colored quilts yours are just beatiful .Once a month we travel to Toronto from Hamilton to visit Sew Sisters I love their store .Big football game in Toronto this weekend ,Good Luck

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  43. Your quilts are beautiful. I can’t imagine all the work involved with hand piecing. I avoid hand sewing at all costs. I am a follower of your blog.

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  44. I agree you can never have too many batiks!! Thanks for sharing some of your quilting projects with us and for the chance to win those gorgeous batiks! Off to check out all the blogs on the list!

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  45. Cathi, It was so much fun reading your blog post today with my morning coffee! I’ve been following for several months now via email, but this is the first time I’ve seen your many finished quilts/tops! They are gorgeous! And, yes, I follow Baxter’s antics daily through the cute Baxter-toons and the many photos. He’s just adorable and so photogenic. I’m really enjoying this blogathon and meeting so many quilting sisters to our north. Thanks for sharing!

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  46. Cathi – you have made some stunning quilts. You must have infinite patience, I couldn’t hand piece an entire quilt top. I like to finish things fast and have that instant gratification when I make a bag or a table runner in a day. Wow! Thanks for the give away!

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  47. Thanks for sharing your lovely quilts. I’m a follower-receiving posts by email. And thanks for the chance to win.

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  52. Oh my gosh, Cathi, your work is beautiful! Thanks so much for a chance at the give-away. I do hope you enjoy all the hoopla for Grey Cup. I was in Toronto all week at the Royal York for a conference so we did see the excitement starting up on Thursday….a horse in the Royal York!!!! Whoda thunk?!!!

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  54. Cathi you are certainly an inspiration. I am now hand piecing a Mystery Star quilt. Inklingo of course! Never knew how much I could really enjoy sitting and handpiecing.
    There is a de-stressing element that can’t be found machine piecing where you see how many pieces you can push thru which can actualy turn out to BE stressing. Love Baxter and can’t wait to see what he’s up to every day.

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  55. Enjoyed seeng your finished quilt tops! Your daily blog is one of the best! And I love to see what Baxter is up to everyday!! Thanks for sharing!

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  56. Wow! Cathi, you are a hand piecing phenom! Your quilts are awesome. I have done a little bit of hand piecing but I really want to do more.
    thanks so much for the giveaway.

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  58. Thanks for sharing Cathi! Your hand piecing and applique is gorgeous. It has been great to meet so many Canadian quilters. Thanks for the chance to win!!

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  59. Hi Cathy, I love your blog. You always have great inspiration and helpful information. Your quilts are beautiful! I especially love to follow Baxter and Mr QO’s Baxtertoons. They cheer up my day and start me out on a cheerful note. Love your blog!!!

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  60. You do always do such beautiful work and like you, I find myself gravitating towards hand piecing and find it so relaxing and stress free. I enjoyed your quilt show and thank you for the link to my blog! You truly are an inspiration for so many around the world.

    This was a good idea of Sew Sisters to host the Blogathon and to find new Canadian blogs, which have been a pleasure to read. When I was in Toronto for my babysitting stint back in September, a trip to Sew Sisters was high on my list of things to do.

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  61. So glad to meet you and see your beautiful quilts. I enjoy hand piecing also and have been working on a bow-tie and an aster project for some time. Love the two colour quilts, going to have to consider adding one to my to-do list. I’m across the lake in St. Kitts, will go down to the shore and wave to you and Baxter.

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  62. Congratulations, Cathi! It is amazing to see so many of your quilts together. I needed an Inklingo trunk show this morning. 🙂 Mr Quilt Obsession’s Baxtertoons always crack me up.

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  63. How nice to see so many of your tops in one post, and I hadn’t seen your applique work before — it’s beautiful.

    Thank you so much, Cathi, for all the inspiration and also for sharing your knowledge regarding tools and techniques. You’re the best!!

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  65. I am really enjoying the blog hop and finding new blogs to read. I fell in love with yours because I recoognised a kindred spirit as I prefer to sew by hand too. I am never happier than when I am putting hexagons or dresdens together at the moment. Thanks for the great giveaway.

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  66. Hi Cathi,
    Baxter is beautiful. I am a sucker for animals as well as quilts.
    You have so many amazing quilts. I wish I was related to you 😉
    Thank you for the chance to win.
    Kay Lemieux
    Sudbury

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  70. Such a treat to review so many of the quilts I watched progress since I started following your blog. Of course I would love to win but not counting on it! Thanks again for having your inspirational blog posts almost every day!

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  73. I love your hand pieced quilts. I often wish that I had the patience to do more handpiecing, but for now I’ll settle for always handstitching the bindings down. And I agree about the batiks: you can never have too many.

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  74. Hi Cathi, you do amazing work by hand . Love your kitty, what is it about quilters and cats seems we all have one . Thanks so much for hosting this part of the blogathon now to visit other bloggers in ON..

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  76. Your quilts are all beautiful! I’m looking forward to following your blog. Now I have to go check out more pictures of your work and elegant Baxter.

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  78. Beautiful work I have never done hand piecing I’m always in a hurry to see the finished top. Baxter is a great looking cat and if he’s like mine he loves testing new fabrics.
    Thanx for sharing

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  81. So thrilled to find another Toronto Quilter who blogs. I grew-up in Agincourt (part of Scarborough) and have ended-up in Oshawa. Toronto is still the best place for living in my mind.
    Thanks for sharing your great quilts, etc., and being part of this Blogathon. Yeah. I’m a new member to your blog and look forward to many more great visists here.
    Cheers,from Oshawa.

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  82. LOVE your Quilts! The Texas Star…and the Dragonflies are my super Favorites! You do amazing work! Wowie! Awesome job!

    I’m a new follower…..comin’ back in a few minutes to ramble thru this great Blog slower! Thanks for chance to win your Drawing too! 🙂

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  86. Your quilts are so beautiful. Thank you for taking the time to explain each one. I thoroughly enjoyed this post today!

    I applaud your ability to hand stitch the pieces; I think of the pioneer women who did likewise–it must have been relaxing for them, too, after the rigors of daily life on the frontier.

    Today’s quilters pump out quilts so quickly, using the latest fabric designs, and I wonder sometimes if our culture of instant gratification lessens the appreciation and value of the time-honored traditions of quilting…

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  88. Thanks for the chance to win, your quilts are fabulous! Entirely stiched by hand! Wow! I love my machine too much to do that! Lol!

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  92. Just discovered your blog last night and am really enjoying it. I love all your quilts! And you hand-piece, wow! Agreed: never enough batiks…
    Suzanne

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  94. Hand pieced eye candy!!!! Beautiful! Thanks for hosting. Your work is stunning and it was nice to see the view from my first home away from home. I could sit out and watch the games inside the skydome when the roof was open! Lived down on Queen’s Quay.

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  96. Hi Cathi, lovely quilts, can’t believe they are all handpieced. I haven’t done that yet although I do like to sit quietly and sew the bindings on by hand. Thanks for the chance to win, batiks are my favourite fabrics. I’ve made three quilttops for gifts so this year all in batiks.

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  98. Hi Cathy, Nice to “meet” you. I visited your blog earlier this week and signed up to subscribe. I love your quilts, especially the Feathered Star, it is amazing!! I too have a Maine Coon Cat (Oliver). Aren’t they the greatest cats?! Such unique “purrrsonalities! Ollie and i will be watching your blog for Baxter- he’s so handsome!!
    Thanks for the Giveaway chance. I love Batiks too!!

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  99. You do stunning work – what amazing hand piecing. I am a machine quilter all the way. I have bought fabric a few times from Sew Sisters in Toronto( on line) and they have always been so helpful and accomodating.
    I love batiks too- and need to always buy more lights because I tend to buy the brights – I love color. Your winner is going to love your choices.
    Thanks for participating in the bloga thon.
    Regards from Edmonton,
    Anna

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  100. LOVE your work! I’ve been handsewing on and off since I was 8 or 9, mostly clothes, though. And some dolls and other odd bits. Now I’m turning to hand-sewn embellishments on clothing for little girls. And other odd bits (-;
    I will be using my scraps for quilt blocks and am excited about getting started, finally! Thanks for the chance to win, too. ~ Linne

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  101. Hi Cathi,
    Even tho I have been following you for a time, it was a delight to get a refresher of some of your completed quilts. Lovely, each and every one! I especially like the applique dragonfly.

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  103. I enjoyed your parade of pictures and your talent. I would love to be in the drawing for you beautiful fabric giveaway. Thanks

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  104. Hello Cathi. It’s been great to meet you. I really enjoyed reading you blog and seeing your quilt “show and tell”. It’s truly amazing how many quilt tops you have hand pieced. Beautiful work & your cat’s cute, too. My cat, William is sitting on my lap right now wondering why I’m not paying enough attention to him. 🙂 Have a super day!

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  105. All your quilts are gorgeous! I love that you hand piece! This past year I’ve really gotten into hand piecing and am working on a wall hanging. I’m also doing the dragonfly applique. I just started and can’t wait to get to the sewing part, hehe. I’m a new follower and looking forward to returning and see more of what I’ve been missing.

    Thank you and Sew Sisters for an awesome giveaway and a chance to win.

    usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com

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  107. I love all your quilts, they are so pretty. I would not put a border on the star quilt, it looks great the way it is. Just curious, how many of the diamond shapes did you use. I am a new follower babscorbitt at gmail.com

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  108. Your quilts are beautiful I can’t imagine that I would ever have enough patience. Looking forward to following you and Baxter. I had a Maine Coon named Loki and we miss him so much they are wonderful cats.

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  109. How did I know know your blog existed!!! I will be clicking on follow once done commenting. I love hand sewing. I need to devote more time to it as it is very relaxing and I need more relaxing. Going to look at past posts as well. Thank you for your inspiration!

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  110. All your quilts are so pretty but my favourite is the blue and white Texas star quilt with the red and white one being a close second. Thanks for being one of the hosts for Blogathon Canada and for the great giveaway.

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  111. Your quilts are amazing! And handpieced? All I can say is wow. It would take me an entire lifetime to ever hand piece a quilt. I’m a new follower.

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  112. Nice to meet you! I too love to hand piece, as well as hand quilt. I like the saying: My day is not complete, until needle, thread and fabric meet.

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  114. Thanks for introducing yourself to us. I hand pieced for many years and am finally getting all those quilt tops quilted. Love your work and of course, every quilter needs a cat.

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  119. Your Chintz Glass quilt is the most gorgeous and breathtaking! I almost cried when I read you handpieced it all!!! Wowza

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  123. I think you have done some great quilts … I kind a like that dragon fly quilt….. my fav bug 🙂
    those batiks look lovely to … fingers crossed
    in stitches

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  124. I think it is amazing that you hand piece , your work is beautiful ! This blogathon is such a terrific idea to introduce us to all the talent through Canada . I will be subscribing to your blog by email , thanks for the inspiration .

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  125. I just love that you hand piece – oh, the feathered star quilt is my favorite and one I would just love to do – just may be my hand-pieced quilt next year. Thank you for sharing such wonderful inspiration.

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  127. All of your quilts are beautiful, but I am in love with your two-color quilts. That may have to be my next project. Thanks for sharing and for the great giveaway chance!

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  131. ohh batiks (squeals of delight) .. my favourites! Thank you for hosting this giveaway.
    Julie Andrea
    sundayschild1966(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

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  132. Wow! What a lot of beautiful quilts! I especially love your blue & white texas star and the dragonflies! Thanks for a chance to win some batiks! 🙂

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