Twenty-five Years of Blizzards

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Twenty-five years of blizzards.

And I don't mean a snowstorm, although here in Iowa

I am sure we have had at least one blizzard a year for the last twenty-five years.

I mean the Dairy Queen Blizzard, which is celebrating it's 25th birthday.

Today my seamstresses are here proofing patterns - a tedious job that we really dislike.
It was decided that a Mini Blizzard would really make the task seem less tedious.
Today Dairy Queen will donate $1.00 to the Childrens' Miracle Network for every Blizzard sold- another reason to have a blizzard.

My favorite Blizzard flavor is Pecan Cluster.
Sandy and Lori opted for Butterfinger.
What is your favorite flavor?

Isn't this just adorable.
And half the calories - you gotta love it.



Tell me your favorite flavor in a comment.
All comments with a favorite flavor will be put in a drawing.
The winner will win an Awesome Charm Pack™ and an Acorn Alley pattern.





I grew up in Jackson Minnesota.
Coming into town from the south there was a tiny little Dairy Queen.
Sadly I could not find a picture of the old Jackson Dairy Queen
but it looked kind of like this.
My sister Brenda could never figure out
how the people got into the Dairy Queen…
Did they really crawl through the tiny little order window?
She was sure they did for there was no door - at least not one that she could see.




It was such a treat to stop at the Dairy Queen.
At that time you could buy a cone for a nickel.





One of my favorite treats as a child
was the Buster Bar - oooh I loved that chocolate fudge middle.
Sometimes I would get brain freeze.

Once a year our school bus would stop
at the Dairy Queen on our way out of town.
I am sure that would not be permitted these days.
Sure glad I grew up in the day were a school bus stopping
at a Dairy Queen was okay.

Now go treat yourself to a Mini Blizzard - Childrens' Miracle Network will appreciate it.

From my heart,

Sandy

Happy As A Clam

I am Happy as a clam.

Why am I happy as a clam?
I have just finished computer generating

my quilts using my 2010 Fall fabric.
For me generating quilts is a pain in the neck.
Not because I do not like generating,

I love the challenge of taking forty 5" Charm Squares

and seeing what I can create.
Generating for me is literally a pain in the neck.

The pain in the neck comes from having
to tilt my head back to see the computer screen,
thus causing the pain in my neck.

(Yes, I am of the age of "bifocals required".)

Therefore when my quilts are done - I am happy as a clam.
The solution would be to take a pair of old frames

and have the reading part of my prescription put in the lenses.
I just cannot remember to do this.

Lord knows I have plenty of old frames laying around.
(I have a bit of a glasses fetish.)

Some of your might be wondering - What exactly is computer generating a quilt.
At Moda they like to be able to show the shop owners what patterns will be available using each line of fabric. This enables them to order fabric more efficiently.
Since the sales reps show the fabric on paper - before we actually have cloth to make the quilts - our only option is to "make" them on the computer.

How do you make a quilt on the computer?
Kind of like you make a real quilt.
Moda scans each strike-off (samples of fabric the mill sends us to approve the color and pattern). They then send me a disc of all of the scanned images.

Just like a real quilt the first thing you do is cut the quilt.
The images are usually about 6" X 8". If I am making a Charm Pack™ quilt I have to cut each of the pieces to a size of 5" X 5". How do I do this? I simply crop the picture to 5" X 5". If I am making a Layer Cake™ quilt I have to "piece" the fabric to make a 10" X 10" piece.

After I have "cut" the quilt. I start "piecing", simply by moving the scanned images into the position needed.

The name of the line is Awesome.
What season is more awesome than fall?
In my eyes, by far the prettiest color palette of all the seasons.

Autumn Glow, Pumpkin, Moss, Bark, Yarrow and Red Maple.
Below are the quilts that I generated.

Quilt using the panel.

I did a squirrel and acorns because our yards at home and the lake

are filled with oak trees, acorns and squirrels.

Charm Pack pattern

Jelly Roll pattern

Layer Cake pattern



A pattern called Cosmos.



This one I named Kaleidoscope.
It is easier than it looks.
(Lots of strip piecing.)

If you are a shop owner and you are interested in seeing this line, contact you Moda rep. The reps now have this line in their hands.

If you are not a shop owner you will have to wait until July to see this line.

Sorry to be such a tease...

but arriving in stores now - Frolic.

Did you ever wonder where the saying Happy as a Clam came from?

I assumed it was because a clam always looks like he/she is smiling.

Well I did some research and I found out the original saying was " happy as a clam in high tide". A clam is happy at high tide because you cannot dig for clams at high tide. They therefore as assured of not becoming some one's meal.

Now you know.

From my heart,

Sandy