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Happy February! The design and colours in the heading above remind me of carnival season, which takes place this month. My favourite carnival is the one that takes place in Cádiz, Spain. It is famous around the world. We were fortunate enough to have lived close to Cádiz for nine years and have attended the Carnaval activities there. This year's event runs from 12-22 February.
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In Ireland, the feast of St. Brigid of Kildare, one of the patron saints of the country, is on 1st February. Because this falls on a Sunday this year, the holiday is moved to Monday, 2nd February. St Brigid is also considered a patron saint of craftwork, so that's a perfectly good reason for all you quilters and other craftspeople to celebrate. Imbolc (Spring) also begins on 1st February in Ireland!
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Let's not forget about Valentine's Day on 14th February! For all you romantics out there, I hope you have a very special day.
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As a reminder, Red Bridge Quilts offers free standard postage to anywhere within the island of Ireland. So those of you lucky enough to live on this beautiful Emerald Isle always have this advantage should you choose to order anything. All other destinations will incur the normal postage charge unless the total reaches the 'free postage' amount. We also offer a free local pick-up service for everyone.
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FEATURED CONTENT THIS MONTH
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Quilting news and tips
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New this month
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Following are the new posts up on the website this month. They are a gathering of various topics and articles from the world of quilting. I hope you find them of interest.
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1
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Have you lost your 'sewjo'? This is a play on the word 'mojo' and has the same basic meaning except that it refers to your desire to sew or (as related to quilters) to quilt. Since the holidays, I feel that I have lost some of my 'sewjo'. I am finding it a bit difficult to get back into the swing of quilting. Are you having the same difficulty? If so, perhaps this post from "Diary of a Quilter" will help.
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2
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Quilters are generous people, and they love to help others. They accomplish this many times by donating quilts to people in need. This could be by donating quilts to families who have lost their homes in disasters, or to homeless people, or to orphanages, just to name a few. Read about a group of women in Louisiana who do just this. They call themselves "The Piecemakers".
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3
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I hope you have been enjoying the regular series of "Grandma's Corner". I find these stories very special and reminiscent of days gone by. In this month's tale, Grandma uses her wisdom once again to help out new neighbours who are really struggling to make ends meet. How does she help them? Of course, she finds the perfect quilt for them--and it turns out to be a miracle quilt.
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Recently finished
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Unfortunately, once again I do not have any new products to show you this month. My inventory was nearly wiped out over Christmas, and as I work alone, it will take me a while to get lots of new items made. On top of that, as mentioned above I seem to have lost my "sewjo" since the holidays and have not been doing very well so far at keeping to my New Year's resolution--being more productive! Taking an extended break is not helping me get any quilting accomplished, but I can tell you that it is giving me more energy. I do feel, however, that there is lots of interesting reading for you in this newsletter, so I do hope you enjoy it.
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Presser Feet
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Your sewing machine most certainly came with a supply of generally used presser feet. If you own an up-market machine, then it probably also has a few extra or specialty presser feet. However, are you familiar with all your presser feet? Do you know their purpose and understand how to use them? Have you ever used any of them other than the basic zig-zag/all purpose foot? Knowing the purpose of all your feet (and also the ones you don't have but might like to purchase) can make your sewing life so much easier.
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Caroline from SewCanShe has a helpful guide listing the basic machine feet and their uses, plus specific links on how to use a walking foot, a rolled hem foot and an overcast foot. There is also a link to download and print a handy PDF guide that you can keep next to your sewing machine. For any more detailed instructions, you can always pull out the instruction booklet that came with your machine. I know, I know, that's something that we all hate to do!
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By the way, if you do not have or can't find the original instructions for your machine, a simple internet search for "instruction book" or "instruction manual" along with the make and model of your machine will normally produce a site where you can download it for free.
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Under my needle
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I do have a few projects on the go which you can read about here.
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The item currently under my needle is another "Songbirds Wall Hanging". It has proven to be very popular and sells out quickly. The outer borders need to be added still, and then it will be ready for quilting.
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The next item about to go under my needle is this "layer cake" pack with a lovely mix of 10" squares. I will pair them with the white squares shown to make a good-sized quilted throw made with half-square triangles featuring a large star design in the centre.
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After the throw quilt, I will be making a soft and cuddly baby quilt using this beautiful cotton flannel "Hootsie" mix of multicoloured pastel owls and flowers.
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A Bit of Fun -- The "Quilt Husband Learns to Sew" Series
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I have just begun watching a YouTube series produced by "Thread Life With Belle" in which accomplished quilter Belle Brunner from Seams Sew Me attempts to teach her husband how to sew. In the first episode, Belle and "Quilt Husband" explain how all this came about, and Belle teaches him how to use a sewing machine. If you would like to follow this adventure, head on over to YouTube, hit the Subscribe button, and subscribe to all so as not to miss an episode. This is live and completely unscripted and sounds like it will be lots of fun to watch.
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Looking for a Gift?
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Do you know someone who loves quilts? Or someone who appreciates a handmade item for the home? A Gift Card from Red Bridge Quilts takes away the hassle of trying to choose just the right gift. You won't have to worry if they will like what you choose or will want to return it or exchange it. Let them decide what they'd really like!! See RBQ's Gift Card options.
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Did you know?
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With every online order from Red Bridge Quilts you will receive a free quilted glasses case. These sturdy 100% cotton cases will protect reading glasses as well as sunglasses. The photo shows a few of the cases from the current selection.
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The Red Bridge Quilts website has an Events page listing many current and upcoming quilt shows, fairs and exhibitions. It gives the basic information on each event with links to more specific info. Even if you are not a quilter but like to look at beautiful quilts, this may be of interest to you. There are currently eight different shows/fairs/exhibitions listed, two of which will be finishing shortly. If you're quick, you can still catch the Irish Patchwork Society's free exhibition in Galway where you can also have a quick quilting lesson and take what you make home with you. This finishes on 6 February. Or you can catch the Harrogate Quilting & Sewing Show in Yorkshire, England, running from 5-7 February.
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Red Bridge Quilts offers a Longarm Quilting Service. This means that if you are a quilter, and either don't have the time, are afraid of doing the quilting yourself, or you would like to have a professionally finished look to your quilt, then you might have a "longarmer" do the job for you. I have been "longarming" since 2018 and have many different patterns and thread colours from which to choose. Contact Red Bridge Quilts for more information.
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Pictured below are two recently completed longarm jobs. The first is a very colourful baby quilt, and the second is a beautifully appliquéd sewing room quilt.
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I hope you have enjoyed reading this newsletter. Please feel free to forward it on to anyone you think might like to read it. As always, thank you very much for being here.
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Vectors designed by Vecteezy
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