Thursday, December 30, 2010

Why focus on health freedom?

I think this article is excellent, having said that I do not agree with everything written in it, especially the part about meditation.  Mr. Adams doesn't write from a Christian's view; while he believes in God it appears that he doesn't get to God through Jesus.  However, what he writes is very important for our day.

 

Why focus on health freedom? Because our future is worth protecting, says Health Ranger

by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

(NaturalNews) We've been covering health freedom topics with great intensity lately, and that has taken away from our typical coverage of natural cures, herbal remedies, medicinal foods and so on. Some people are asking why we've shifted our focus, and I want to answer those questions with clarity and determination.

It's one thing to know HOW to use herbs and superfoods, and there's a wealth of knowledge to be gained in that area. But it's another thing entirely to have ACCESS to those herbs and superfoods without being criminalized or harassed by the government in the process. I would say that unless you have access to those healing remedies, all the knowledge in the world of how to use them makes no difference.

Our access to natural healing remedies, superfoods and herbs is under constant threat. For example, the FDA has outlawed supplement companies and food companies from offering scientifically-validated free speech about their products. If a cherry company links to a scientific study on its website, providing a scientific basis for clinical evidence that cherries can help prevent gout, for example, the FDA sends them a threatening letter claiming they may be subjected to criminal prosecution, have their products seized, and even thrown in prison for selling "unapproved drugs."

Both local and federal authorities, meanwhile, have declared war on raw milk producers, treating them like drug dealers with armed raids, arrests and criminal prosecutions. If milking a cow and selling that milk to your neighbor is now a federal crime, what other foods or natural substances might the feds go after next? (It looks like they may soon outlaw the selling of breast milk!)

With the passage of the recent Food Safety Modernization Act, the FDA will be moving forward with so-called Codex Alimentarius harmonization. It's written right into the bill text. This law also requires the FDA to set up enforcement offices in foreign nations to run a global food safety scheme that will try to pasteurize, irradiate or fumigate virtually all foods entering the United States. This is an effort to kill these foods and destroy most of their nutritive qualities. "Safety" is just the excuse to sterilize your food.

This same law also gives the FDA authority to inspect and shut down backyard gardeners, small local famers, small greenhouse operations, people who sell items at the farmers' market, and so on. No, these groups are not automatically exempt from the bill as was claimed by bill proponents: They must "apply" to be granted exemption by the FDA -- a process requiring them to produce tax returns, safety documentation and a pile of paperwork that the FDA can choose to declare "insufficient."

With our health freedoms under attack, it's crucial that we take a stand and support our Natural Law rights (God-given rights) to grow our own food and medicine, to buy food and natural medicine, and to sell what we grow to our local neighbors and community members. All these rights are under assault by the federal government, and if we don't work to oppose the tyrants who want to take away our access to healing foods, herbs and supplements, we may end up living in a nation where vitamins are outlawed (or at least the natural, food-based vitamins are), herbs are regulated off the shelves and local farmers' markets are shut down.

Instead of getting your food from a neighbor, you'll have to get it from a food factory that passes the FDA's "safety" inspections even though it's still injecting aspartame, sodium nitrite and MSG into its food products. (The FDA considers all those chemical food additives to be "safe," believe it or not.)

Why protecting our freedoms is crucial to our health

If we do nothing and stay silent, it is guaranteed that our access to natural remedies and honest food will be stolen from us by tyrannical bureaucrats who incessantly work to protect the financial interests of Big Pharma and the sick-care industry. They don't necessarily want you to be well. They don't want you to buy local food. What they want is to turn consumers into cattle, where they feed you dead, processed foods and then make a fortune off the degenerative disease that inevitably develops as a result.

And they especially want you to do what you're told and stop questioning vaccines. Stop questioning the chemicals in the food. Just eat it, swallow and buy into it.

What I seek to do, on the other hand, is protect our food freedoms by alerting you when those freedoms are under attack. I aim to expose the true agenda of the FDA and Big Government tyrants who are trying to take away your raw milk, take away your access to nutritional supplement and censor the truth about how natural remedies can prevent and even cure serious disease.

Health freedom protection is a team effort

In addition to NaturalNews, other health freedom organizations are also part of the leading edge of this fight: The Alliance for Natural Health, the Natural Solutions Foundation , and to some extent also sites such as the Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. Alex Jones even covers health freedom on his show, and then goes on to warn about the Fed, FEMA camps and other similar topics. Authors such as Naomi Wolf, Lew Rockwell, Ed Griffin, Dr Gary North and many others are beating the freedom drum on other fronts that are just as important (the Fed, the police state, etc.).

We are, collectively, your early warning system. We are alerting you to the very real threats that are headed your way, and we're trying to prevent the tyrants from taking over. The TSA is now shoving their hands down your pants at the airports (who would have even imagined that a decade ago?). The FDA is threatening walnut company founders with prison time for telling the truth about the health benefits of walnuts. The DEA is ignoring state law and raiding medicinal marijuana dispensaries that are 100% compliant with state and local laws. The Fed is giving away trillions of dollars to foreign corporations. The President is granting health care waivers to McDonald's and hundreds of other corporations that will be exempted from Obamacare regulations. The CDC keeps pushing flu vaccine propaganda based on junk science while avoiding any mention of vitamin D.

Need I go on? One by one, nearly every government agency is on a power trip, seeking to expand its power at the expense of your freedom. The tyrants are running loose in America, and if we don't reverse this dangerous trend, there is absolutely no question where we will end up because history teaches this lesson well: A police state nation run by the wealthy elite corporatists who dictate government policy and centralize power into their own hands (while stealing it out of yours).

They want power over everything you do: What you eat, what you buy, how you save your money (did you notice U.S. banks don't let you save money in foreign currencies?), what you think (TV programming), what you read (don't read Wikileaks or you'll never get a government job!) and even how you live and die (sick-care monopoly). The government does not want you to have free choice over your body, your mind, your finances or your future. They want to control your choices while giving you the illusion of choice. Sure, go out a vote every two years and see if it really makes any difference. The corporations already run Congress. Whether you vote Republican or Democrat, they still call the shots at the top.

Can't we just meditate our way out of this?

There are quite a number of "create your own reality" people who believe we can all just meditate our way out of this. The thinking goes like this: Since we create our own reality, we can just sit in our rooms and imagine the world being a better place, and it will come true. I'm not trying to make fun of this position. There is merit to it, but as much as I value meditation, positive thinking and even to some extent the Law of Attraction, it is a mistranslation of those principles to think that we do not have to take a stand in the real world, from time to time, against those who would steal our freedoms from us.

What would have happened in India if Gandhi just sat around and meditated instead of leading his people on his famous resistance march to gather salt? That the British Empire outlawed salt in India and forbade is people from harvesting it is very much the same as the U.S. government outlawing raw milk or dictating the operations of small family farms. We are experiencing an historical rise of tyranny in America, and we must rise up against it or be overrun by it.

What would have happened in colonial America of Paul Revere, instead of riding his horse to warn his neighbors that the British were coming, just sat in his living room and tried to think positive thoughts instead? Quite possibly, Americans might still be British subjects today.

If you want proof of what happens when you sit around and meditate instead of taking a real-world stand against oppression and tyranny, just look at the Tibetan Buddhists. You won't find a more peaceful, dedicated group of wise meditators anywhere on the planet. I've visited Buddhist temples on high mountaintops in Asia. I've spent time with these people face to face, and I have incredible admiration for them. I've read many books written by the Dalai Lama and have incorporated several Buddhists principles into my own life. But even I cannot deny the fact that the Chinese government rolled right over them throughout mainland China, destroying their temples, arresting their priests and sending their congregation members into the gulag.

The Dalai Lama lives in exile! And why? Because the Chinese government stampeded over them. Meditation doesn't stop bullets. And when evil is running rampant across our lands, evil must be met with force... and then stopped cold.

I'm not faulting the Buddhists for choosing meditation over armed resistance. It is a legitimate spiritual decision to avoid violence and refuse to take part in any resistance movement, but once you choose that path, the outcome is never in doubt: Big Government will roll right over you because governments incessantly desire more power, and they will always seek to secure more power at any cost. Even if it means eradicating an entire religion.

Real action is needed to preserve liberty

So for those who believe they can sit in candle-lit rooms and meditate our way out of tyranny, I thank you for your positive vibes, but I will not limit my own actions to such passivism. I know from my time in this world, having lived in numerous countries and spoken different languages around the world, that those who retain freedom are those who actively defend it. Eternal vigilance, as Jefferson said, is the price of freedom.

My goal with NaturalNews is to be eternally vigilant; to help protect your food freedoms, your access to natural healing herbs and supplements, and to secure your natural law rights to grow your own food (and medicine) and sell it to your neighbors if you so choose. Your right to grow food and to engage in free commerce of your food is a "natural law" that exists as an even higher authority than the Constitution itself. It is a law of God and nature. You are born with it. No bureaucrat, no tyrant and no government can take it away from you (but they will try).

I believe in Liberty, I believe in America's founding principles, and I believe in the Bill of Rights. And I will fight to defend it. Nowhere in the world is there another country that is more free than America once was. This freedom is worth fighting for.

I was not so adamant about this point until recently, when Big Government began reaching down our pants at the airport and the S.510 food safety bill passed. Today, I cannot stand by idly and do nothing while our food freedoms are threatened. Codex harmonization is on the horizon. The Department of Homeland Security has us all spying on each other at Wal-Mart. The GMO conspiracy is very real and very powerful, and they want us all to eat their poisonous corn and soy products so that we become diseased and infertile.

I will resist this effort with every ounce of breath in my body. I will continue to work to expose the dangers of vaccines, GMOs, fluoride, MSG and other chemicals, and I will do my best to promote the healing properties of natural foods, healing herbs, superfoods and nutritional supplements.

By the way, I haven't made this publicly known until now, but I was offered a very large sum of money to walk away from NaturalNews and sell it to a multinational corporation. I turned that down without hesitation. This has never been about money or profit. I still don't get paid any salary for being the editor of NaturalNews. I don't earn any royalties on the products we sell through our store -- every dollar goes back into NaturalNews to expand our content, build our content base and attract new readers who also want to know the truth.

We continue to grow our reach and expand our audience by the day! Our video site is exploding in popularity, our news site reaches millions of readers each month, and we have a lineup of video mini-documentaries coming in 2011 that will absolutely blow your mind.

Along with people like Jesse Ventura, Alex Jones, Jonathan Emord and James Turner (and many others), we are winning the fight against tyranny. We are Journalism 2.0 -- it's the new journalism where you can't buy us off, you can't control our message, and you can't stop us because we are powered by the People who support our efforts, who believe in our mission and who absolutely will not stop until they are free.

That's why I do what I do. That's why I work 16 hour days and spend nearly every waking hour thinking of new ways to spread knowledge, enlightenment and a message of FREEDOM for our collective future. And that's why I've been writing about health freedom rather than the specific properties of medicinal herbs and nutrients. It is crucial that we protect our natural rights to food and natural medicine, even it is means putting other projects to the side for the moment.

I thank you for your ongoing support in this mission. Our future is, in every way, worth fighting for. And with your help, we can make sure that future is one based on freedom rather than tyranny.

- Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Be Mine Blog Tour

I'm interested to see what this is all about. Go here to read more about it.

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Sunday, December 26, 2010

Merry Christmas!

From my girls:
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From the entire doll family:
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And from our family:
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Hope your Christmas was blessed.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Favorite Nativity

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Amy had set this up early this morning.

From left to right:
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We have a couple nativity sets, but for some reason they never got put up. But this is much better. It's one of my favorite things of this Christmas day.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Selling

I had the idea to make non-Christmassy coats to put in the shop. No one was buying the others, so I thought maybe just regular coats were what people wanted. I guess I was right. The three I made all sold pretty quickly. Then I just ran out of time to get more done before Christmas shopping and mailing would be over. I've been so blessed. God had given me something I'd never expected--to sell anything on Etsy. So I'm thankful.

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Have a very Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Wow!

Check out this blog. One of my coats is featured there. Yay!

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The following two are now in the shop. My right-hand daughter named these and listed them for me. Gotta love her!

Pretty in Pink Polka Dots:
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Pretty in Pink Funky Flowers:
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Friday, December 10, 2010

Block of the Week quilt

I took this to the quilter today. The picture was taken in the basement without good light; it does look better in person. I was going to quilt it myself, but there is one block that doesn't lay quite right and then there was a problem with part of the sashing not laying right either. The quilter will do a better job of hiding those imperfects than I could.

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I am going to quilt another quilt myself starting tomorrow. I don't have any pictures of it yet; I'll see what I can do to remedy that.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Photography by Amy

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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Kit's got a Christmas dress

Kit was in need of a dress for Christmas, so from stash fabric she got one. The buttons really are evenly spaced, they just don't look like it in the pic.
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I added white muslin to make a pleat in the center.  I also machine-embroidered the detail on the cuff.
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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The future in internet freedom

Net neutrality, the FCC, Wikileaks and the future of internet freedom

(NaturalNews) Regardless of what you think about the Wikileaks release of state secrets, there's no debating the astonishing fact that the internet made these leaks possible. Without the internet, no single organization such as Wikileaks would have been able to so widely propagate secret government information and make it public. In the old model of information distribution -- centralized mainstream media newspapers and news broadcasts -- such information would have been tightly controlled thanks to government pressure.

But the internet allows individual information publishers to bypass the censorship of government. In the case of Wikileaks, it allowed an Australian citizen to embarrass the U.S. government while sitting at a laptop computer in the United Kingdom.

Governments don't like to be embarrassed. They don't like their secrets aired on the internet. Sure, it's okay for governments to tap all of your secrets by monitoring your phone calls, emails and web browsing habits, but every government seeks to protect its own secrets at practically any cost. That's why the upshot of this Wikileaks release may be that governments will now start to look for new ways to censor and control the internet in order to prevent such information leaks from happening in the future.

What governments around the world are suddenly beginning to realize is that a free internet is ultimately incompatible with government secrets, and secrets are essential to any government that wants to remain in power. That's because, as even Noam Chomsky stated in this DemocracyNow video interview (http://www.democracynow.org/2010/11...), most government secrets are based on information governments wouldn't want their people to discover -- secrets that might threaten the legitimacy of government if the people found out the truth.

How the FCC plans to seize authority over the internet
As part of a long-term plan to control content on the internet, the FCC is now attempting to assert authority over the internet in the same way it has long exercised content censorship authority over broadcast television and radio.

The reason you can't say those seven dirty words on broadcast television, in other words, is because the FCC controls broadcast television content and can simply revoke the broadcast licenses of any television station that refuses to comply. This is the same tactic, in the internet world, of yanking a web site's domain name, which the Department of Homeland Security has already begun doing over the last several weeks (http://www.naturalnews.com/030542_c...).

The FCC also controls content on the radio and can yank the broadcast licenses of any radio stations that refuse to comply with its content censorship. This is why operators of "pirate radio stations" are dealt with so harshly: For the government to allow any radio station to operate outside its censorship and control is to invite dissent.

The internet, of course, has been operating freely and without any real government censorship for roughly two decades. In that time, it has grown to be what is arguably the most influential medium in the world for information distribution. Most importantly, the internet is the medium of information freedom that is not controlled by any government.

The U.S. government wants to change all that, and they've dispatched the FCC to reign in the "freedoms" of the internet.

How to crush internet Free Speech
The first step to the FCC's crushing of internet freedom is to assert authority over the internet by claiming to run the show. The FCC, of course, has no legal authority over the internet. It was only granted authority in 1934 over broadcast communications in the electromagnetic spectrum -- you know, radio waves and antennas, that kind of thing.

There is nothing in the Communications Act of 1934 that grants the FCC any authority over the internet because obviously the internet didn't exist then, and it would have been impossible for lawmakers in the 1930's to imagine the internet as it operates today.

So instead of following the law, the FCC is trying to "fake" its way into false authority over the internet by claiming authority in the current "net neutrality" debate. By asserting its authority with net neutrality, the FCC will establish a beachhead of implied authority from which it can begin to control and censor the internet.

This is why "net neutrality" is a threat to internet freedom. It's not because of anything to do with net neutrality itself, but rather with the FCC's big power grab in its assertion that it has authority over websites just like it has authority over broadcast radio.

The FCC may soon tell you what you can post on the internet
Where is this all heading? Once the FCC establishes a foothold on the 'net, it can then assert that it has the power to tell you what to post on the internet. Here's how it might unfold:

First, the FCC will simply ban what it calls "information traitors," which will include people like Julian Assange (Wikileaks) who publish state secrets. (Technically Julian Assange can't be a traitor since he's not even American in the first place, but don't expect the FCC to care about this distinction.)

Once the public is comfortable with that, the FCC will advance its agenda to include "information terrorists" which will include anything posted about Ron Paul, the federal reserve and the counterfeit money supply, G. Edward Griffin, or anything from true U.S. patriots who defend the Constitution. The anti-state website www.LewRockwell.com (where some of my own articles have appeared from time to time) would also be immediately banned because its information is so dangerous to government control.

After that censorship is in place, the FCC will likely begin to push the corporate agenda by banning websites that harm the profits of large corporations. This will include, of course, websites like NaturalNews.com which teach people about health freedom, nutritional cures, natural remedies and alternatives to Big Pharma's high-profit pharmaceuticals.

The way this will come about is that the FCC may require a license to publish health information on the web, in much the same way that states currently license doctors to practice medicine. This is how conventional medicine has operated its monopoly for so long, by the way: By controlling the licensing of doctors at the state level. Any doctor who dares prescribe nutritional supplements or suggest that medication might be harmful to a patient immediately gets stripped of his license to practice medicine (and thereby put out of business). The FCC will likely do the same thing across the internet. Sites that publish health information without a license will be deemed "a threat to public health" and be seized by the government.

The first target? Anti-vaccine websites. Vaccines are so crucial to the continuation of disease and medical enslavement in America that any site questioning the current vaccine mythology will be deemed a threat to public health -- or perhaps even a "terrorism" organization.

Essentially, once the FCC has gained power and authority over the internet, it will use that power to push a Big Government / Big Business agenda that censors the truth, keeps people trapped in a system of disinformation, and silences anyone who challenges the status quo.

The FCC is poised to become the FDA of internet information, banning alternative speech and enforcing an information monopoly engineered by powerful corporations.

Think of the FCC as the new the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell's novel 1984 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minist...).

This is not about net neutrality, it's about the FCC power grab
Remember, I am not arguing here for or against the principle of net neutrality itself, but rather warning about the FCC's imposition of false authority over the internet in the first place. The idea of net neutrality has merits, but granting the FCC the power to control the internet is a disastrously bad idea that will only end in censorship and "information tyranny" -- especially now that governments around the world are witnessing the "dangers" of information freedom via the Wikileaks fiasco.

If there's one thing governments hate, it's real freedom. Sure, they all talk about freedom and publicly claim their allegiance to it, but behind the scenes what they really want is total information control. That's because freedom gives people the ability to say what they want, to whomever they want, and even to oppose the doctrine of the government.

Just look at China and how it has censored the internet to the point where you can't even log in to Facebook from that country.

Governments hate freedom because freedom threatens centralized power and control over the People. And because governments hate freedom, they also hate the internet as long as it's free. This is why bloggers and internet journalists are right now imprisoned all over the world for merely posting the truth (http://www.cpj.org/imprisoned/cpjs-...).

As Noam Chomsky said in his DemocracyNow interview (link above), what the recent Wikileaks releases really show is that the U.S. government has "a profound hatred for democracy."

It also happens to have a profound hatred for actual freedom, because people who are free to think for themselves and write whatever they want are always going to be a threat to a government that wants people to conform, obey and acquiesce.

All government agencies seek to expand their power
What do the FCC, FDA, TSA, DEA, FTC and USDA all have in common?

They all want more power. They want more authority, bigger budgets and more control over the world around them. They are like cancer tumors, growing in size and toxicity while they consume more and more by stealing resources from a healthy host. The bigger these cancer tumors become, the more dangerous they become to the health of the host body, and the more urgently they need to be held in check or excised from the body entirely.

There is no such thing as a government agency that wants to be smaller, with shrinking budgets and fewer employees on the taxpayer payroll. Government departments -- just like people -- incessantly seek more power even at the expense of freedom among those they claim to serve. And this move by the FCC to assume control over the internet is one of the most dangerous power grabs yet witnessed in the short history of the information age.

By the way, one of the reasons we created and launched www.NaturalNews.TV was because we wanted a video site that could not be turned off by YouTube. You've probably heard the horror stories of famous content producers like Alex Jones having their YouTube accounts suddenly terminated. NaturalNews.TV is a safe haven for alternative health content that cannot be turned off by a large corporation that doesn't recognize the value of health freedom.

Feel free to participate by uploading videos or viewing the many thousands of free videos available right now at www.NaturalNews.TV

By the way, I recommend reading another outstanding article on this topic written by John Naughton at The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentis...). Here's a taste of what he writes:

Consider, for instance, how the views of the US administration have changed in just a year. On 21 January, secretary of state Hillary Clinton made a landmark speech about internet freedom, in Washington DC, which many people welcomed and most interpreted as a rebuke to China for its alleged cyberattack on Google. "Information has never been so free," declared Clinton. "Even in authoritarian countries, information networks are helping people discover new facts and making governments more accountable."

She went on to relate how, during his visit to China in November 2009, Barack Obama had "defended the right of people to freely access information, and said that the more freely information flows the stronger societies become. He spoke about how access to information helps citizens to hold their governments accountable, generates new ideas, and encourages creativity." Given what we now know, that Clinton speech reads like a satirical masterpiece.

Read the rest here

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Goodyear Blimp

While reading my email on Saturday morning I found this:

The Goodyear blimp and the United States Marine Corps Reserve will conduct a joint maneuver to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation at the blimp base in Suffield, Ohio on Dec. 3 & 4.

The Toys For Tots program was founded in 1948. Reaching back even further, Goodyear is reviving one of its own discontinued traditions called the Santa Claus Express, which saw Goodyear put that name on the side of one of its blimps at Christmas time, 1927-1928.
On Fri., Dec. 3 from 1-9pm and Sat., Dec. 4 from 10am-6pm the Goodyear blimp hangar will be open to drive through traffic only. The inside of the hangar and the blimp will be decorated in the Christmas spirit and Santa Claus will be on hand to wave and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. In addition, the blimp's ground crew will have a few small items of appreciation for those driving through.
The public will not be permitted to park their vehicle or walk through the hangar. A Marine in dress blues will be on hand to collect and organize the toys in their usual manner for such events. There is no charge and a toy contribution is not required to drive through and enjoy the scene.
"The Marine Corps Toys For Tots is very excited to be partnering with the Goodyear blimp this year." Said Marine SSgt Jeffrey Starr, the Toys For Tots coordinator for [the area] counties. "Together we aim to reach new levels of Spreading Christmas cheer."
The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect only new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute these toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.

We decided to go check it out.

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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Mini-wardrobe

I have a friend who found out that I make doll clothes. Lo and behold she wanted me to make some for her daughter! :)

Here's what I came up with.
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Pajamas, sleeveless dress with cropped jacket, pleated skirt, pea coat with coordinating lining, leggings (thanks Amy!) and a soon to be coming sleeveless t-shirt (again thanks in advance to Amy). Once the t-shirt is done then the cropped jacket will go with the pleated skirt also.

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Not sure why the collar is sticking up.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Here I am with two of my favorite

People

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The above pictures were take during our annual Christmas Tree Hunt. It's been our tradition since sweet Amy joined our family.

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This is the first Christmas tree we've ever put colored lights on since we've been married. We all like the change.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Avalon finished

Now don't look too carefully at it, but I finally got the binding on the Avalon. It's now on Amy's bed, although it doesn't fit it since the quilt is more of a large twin and Amy's bed is a double, but she wanted it and I said she could have it.

If I had it to do over again I'd cut the sashing and binding with the grain or maybe I'd have used a solid. There are parts of both the sashing and binding that look crooked because the print was printed crooked or I cut it that way. However, I'm pleased with it overall. And I'm very glad to have it off my list of things to do.

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Saturday, November 27, 2010

Christmas craft show

I found a sweet pair of earrings today. AND my dh was wonderful enough to let me get them. :)

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Friday, November 26, 2010

In the shop

Been busy sewing. They can be found in the shop.

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Saturday, November 20, 2010

Pinwheel project

This summer while on our girls' getaway with our friends I bought a couple store-made charm packs (5 inch squares). There were only 20 squares in each one, usually they come with 40 or 42, thus the reason for buying two. Since I wanted to practice my half-square triangles I decided to make pinwheels. I used white Kona cotton for the contrast.

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Here's the layout. I like the colors together. My pinwheels turned about pretty well, but I had to do a few of them over again. Part of the issue was that the shop that cut the charm squares didn't make them exactly 5 inches.

I'm in the process of sewing all the squares together. I think I'll do a pink inner border and a white outer border and bind it with a pink. It'll be baby quilt size.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Half-square triangles

I had a request for how I squared my half-square triangles, so I took a few pictures of the process.

1.
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First step in making a half-square triangle is to take one square of fabric fold it in half diagonally, press.

2.
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With right sides together pin to a second square and sew 1/4 inch on either side of fold. Having a 1/4 inch foot is helpful, but it can be marked with a ruler.

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Cut through squares along fold.

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4.
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Press seam to the dark side.

5.
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Take a square ruler...

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... that has a line running diagonally across.

6.
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Put that line on the seam line where the two fabrics meet. This square is supposed to be 2 inches, so I've got the bottom and the left side at 2 inches. Be sure to keep the diagonals lined up. (Note the yellow is on the bottom right.)

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With a rotary trimmer trim the excess off the right side. Don't move anything yet.

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Trim off the top.

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Turn the square so that the other color is on the right and bottom. Line everything up again.

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Trim right side. Then trim the top.

Once you have a bunch of these half-square triangles you can make pinwheels or other designs.

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I chose to sew these together in the pinwheel.

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The points should all match up in the center. Sometimes this works better than other times, but when I wasn't squaring them up properly they didn't match at all. Before I wasn't lining up the diagonal line on the ruler with the diagonal seam on the square I was putting the line of the ruler perpendicular to the seam line. While I still have some trouble getting them perfect, they're a whole lot better than they were.