Sunday, October 27, 2013

My Day - Wicked Blog Hop and a Giveaway

Hope everyone is enjoying the hop and getting lots of marvelously wicked ideas. Thanks goes out to Wendy and Madame Samm for their excellent cheerleading skills and getting this hop together for us to showcase our talents!

Now...What to DO, What to Do!!

I wanted to try a technique that I've not done before and make use of my serger and embroidery machine...the ideas were swirling in my head!  

Okay...time to come out of the box and DO applique I said. "Applique? Really?" you say,  "You've never done applique before? And how long have you been quilting?" I know, I know...it's always intimidated me (sigh). I never wanted to take the time to transfer ALL those pieces, iron ALL those pieces, cut out ALL those pieces, then sew ALL those pieces. (sigh, sigh, sigh and sigh). So I picked a fairly easy design from the Happy Harvest book from The Wooden Bear and changed it up a bit to suit my needs. They did a pillow but I decided to do placemats instead.





They were very easy to assemble (only 28 pieces each...each placemat that is).



I did machine applique for the first time and rather enjoyed it...and was rather impressed with myself on how they turned out. Instead of batting I opted for a firm interfacing and ironed it to the backing fabric of the placemat then stitched in the ditch around both sides of the checked border. It seemed enough to hold everything down and not puff up. All they're going to be doing is sitting on the table anyway.


 I debated with myself on how to finish the edges of the placements...binding? That's how we always do it.  I needed to come out of my box more and remembered the Wave Stitch that my serger does. It was a perfect solution and was quick and easy. I chose a loose wave stitch to give it a more primitive look. 


But...I wanted to do more to complete my tables appearance so I dug through my embroidery designs and found some Halloween 3D ornaments to use as a centerpiece.


They were fun and easy to do. Lace is achieved by using water-soluble stabilizer .


The stabilizer is hooped and the design is stitched right onto the stabilizer then cut close to stitching and soaked in water for a few minutes. Wha-la...the stabilizer is gone and you are left with just the embroidered thread design....hence...lace.


Each are stitched out in three-like designs and then slotted together.  I needle and threaded each design together on the top and let them dangle.


The pumpkin was my favorite! 



My next table decoration actually was inspired by my DH. He had seen a pumpkin made with mason jar lids that had been painted orange and arranged in a circular pattern. Well...I thought...I can do that with yo-yo's I'm sure....and I surely did it! I used cinnamon sticks for the stems. Thanks DH!


And of course, we need to have a pumpkin recipe. This is the easiest muffin recipe and...oh so moist. Only two or three ingredients (even better)!


1. Boxed Spice Cake mix, 1 box 
2. Canned pumpkin, 15 oz. (not pie filling)
3. Nuts, seeds, raisins, dates of your choosing if desired

Combine dry cake mix and pumpkin...stir, stir, stir. Batter will be thick. Set aside for about 10 minutes, if desired, to rest batter and let dry mix incorporate into pumpkin, then stir, stir, stir again until well incorporated..batter will still be thick. Stir in nuts, seeds, raisins and/or dates if desired. Spray a muffin pan with spray oil and plop thick batter into muffin tins filling each about two-thirds full. (Don't forget to taste the batter...it's awesome. I was looking for something to spread it on).
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown. Makes 16 - 18 muffins.

I've also used lemon cake mix and vanilla cake mix but I think the spice cake mix is the best due to the added spices. The moisture is perfect so don't add any liquid. My sister added applesauce one time and water another time and the muffin tops were tacky after cooled. 

Soooo good and Soooo simple!!

Remember to check out today's Wicked Bloggers and see what Wicked things they have done:

Georgia-Girl Quilter (you are here)


And now for the giveaway.....

I am offering to one lucky person this Good Morning Charm Pack from Moda



I bought one for me too and just look at these fabulous prints...and this is just a dabble of what's in the pack!


It will bring some nice cheeriness to the cold dreary winter months ahead or continued sunshine to the coming summer months in the southern hemisphere!

Easy Rules...
1. Leave a nice comment.
2. For a second chance follow me and tell me you are following me in a separate comment.
3. Winners will be picked on Nov 1st by random number generator.
4. I have to be able to reach you by email so please make sure that I can.
5. I will ship internationally...no problem.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wickedly good time during the rest of the hop!!

140 comments:

  1. The yo-yo pumpkins are ingenious and adorable. The embroidered ornaments are a perfect idea for a centerpiece. I love the way you used your serger to finish the edges of the place mats. Your table looks really wonderful. Thanks for offering a giveaway.

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  2. LOVE your place mats - perfect for autumn!! You are amazing with the embroidering for the ornaments - wow!! Using your serger for the binding with the wave pattern...super finish!!

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  3. I follow you with Bloglovin!! Thanks for the great giveaway!!

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  4. Love, love, love your table setting! The embroidery ornaments are so cute! Great job on your first applique! The yo-yo pumpkins are adorable! You always do such creative stitching with the serger! Thanks for participating and inspiring us today!

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  5. I follow you on the blogger dashboard and on blogger!

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  6. What great projects! I love the lace pumpkin too. My little boy who wouldn't eat anything orally as a tiny guy loves that pumpkin cake recipe. It was one of the first things he would eat. Thanks!

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  7. Great wicked projects, but your lacy ornaments are to die for !! Thank you for sharing.

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  8. Love your placemats. They turned out so cute. Your lace pumpkin is darling. Thank you for sharing.

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  9. I love your Halloween 3D ornaments. I think I'll take your idea and see if I can run with something similar. Yours are fantastic!
    rsgrandinetti@yahoo(DOT)com

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  10. I love your placemats and especially the 3-D ornaments. I wish I had an embroidery machine so that I could make such cute things. The Charm pack is so cute. I love the prints, even though I'm not a morning person. lol

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  11. I'm now following you. How can I not follow someone with such great ideas. 8-)

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  12. I like your toppers very much, and all the pictures are great, the "arrangement" is so yummy and cosy!!!!

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  13. Love your 3D Halloween ornaments! How clever.
    nicolesender(at)yahoo(dot)com













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  14. gfc follower: nicolesender
    Bloglovin follower: Nicole Sender
    nicolesender(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  15. I think you did a super job on your first machine applique project. I had thought the edging was double twist large rick rack until you showed the process - just a perfect finish. The lace ornaments are just delightful - yes, the pumpkin is my favorite too, but think my grandsons would love the skulls. And clever with the yo-yos. Thank you for sharing your talents with us - oh so going to try your recipe, too.

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  16. Your placemats are so cute! Love the pumpkin ornament tool

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  17. Deanna your placemats are awesome

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  18. I already follow with bloglovin

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  19. and the border can we talk...great work...your machine applique totally wicked..pumpkins good enough to eat...
    and totally following you too

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  20. Your have made so lovely projects with pumpkins. I love them all and thanks for sharing your creativity.

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  21. Fantastic! I adore the lace ornaments, and your placemats are really nice too!

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  22. I am now a follower by Bloglovin. It was so nice to meet you.

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  23. A absolutely fabulous. Love all the FSL ornaments. And you appliqué looks fabulous too. Great job on all of it.

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  24. Beautiful place mats. You do very nice work. Thanks for having a give away.

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  25. Fabulous projects - I love the edging on your placemats. Will you show us how you did it ???

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  27. How very nice!! I love your placemats and your table setting

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  28. What a very nice job you did for your first applique. Love your placemats. And your center piece items all are very cute too.

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  29. Love your placemat... great decorations!!

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  30. And I am a new follower (a new google friend :) )

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  31. Love all your projects. The edge finish on the placements is really cute. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  32. Your placemats are very cute and the edge treatment is brilliant!

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  33. I love it all! I wonder if my serger will do that wave stitch...I really should read the book. :) And the lace ornaments - adorable. blessings, marlene

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  34. great place mats. love the free standing lace.
    tvbart at charter dot net

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  35. Everything is wonderful! I love how these hops inspire us to try new techniques. You did a fabulous job on the applique and I'll bet you will be doing more and more. Also love the airy ornaments.....your table setting is just wicked! Thanks for the giveaway too!

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  36. Wonderful placemats and I like your serged edge! I don't have a fancy serer so I don't have that great stitch, boo hoo :0( I do love applique the best. I think piecing takes longer to cut even more pieces and sew them, lol. To each her own I suppose. Oh those lacy pumpkins and the others are wonderful too! The giveaway fabric looks great too.

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  37. I love your boarder on you place mats. And those pumpkins....Beautiful!!!

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  38. Love your place mats, I thought the edges were rick rack until you explained it. The edges really complete the mats.

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  39. I love the wave stitch you finished the edges with. Thanks for sharing.

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  40. Of course, all wonderful projects. Love the In the Hoop embroidery....I'll have to look into yet another purchase....LOL and thanks for sharing that muffin recipe....the grand-princesses will love that one. Thanks for the chance to win the charms!!

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  41. I've been FOLLOWING your blog for awhile now. Again, thanks for a chance to win the charms!!

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  42. Wow, wow, wow, when you decide to challenge yourself, you pull out all the stops. F A B U L O U S !! What else can I say! Love the recipe too. Sounds devine and easy. I'm going to make them tody!

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  43. I love your lacey projects and the cinnamon spice pumpkins...you did a very good job on the applique DeAnna !

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  44. i am so excited about the muffin recipe. I love pumpkin and this looks the easiest ever. Thanks so much. Would love the charm pack too! can always use pretty prints. thanks! ps I am a Georgia gal too! Helen

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    1. The email for Helen is hrglover@hotmail.com

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  45. Your projects are all so wickedly awesome. I love the place mats and those lacy designs are so cool! Thanks for sharing!

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  46. Your placemats came out very nice, are you sure this was your first attempt at applique? Tell your DH that the pumpkin idea was a real treat! yessewingisfun at yahoo dot com

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  47. Those ornaments are too cool, I didn't even know sergers had other stitches, and boy, you did a great job on your placemats! Thank you very much for sharing the lace method, now all I need is an embroidery machine!

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    1. Sorry if my email didn't show up on my first comment, here's another happy thought for you!
      brandizzle7133 at gmail.com

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  48. I am a new email follower, and thanks for the recipe! mmm, pumpkin...!

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  49. Nice placemats and 3D ornaments. Happy Halloween! 24Tangent@gmail.com

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  50. The placemats were cute. I especially liked the idea of edging them with a fancy machine stitch. Thanks for the give-away.

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  51. DeAnna...luv the placemats and will have to check to see if my serger can do that stitch. I will have to find my manual...luv that binding technique. Thanks for sharing your creativity and the pumpkin receipe is one I will have to try. Happy Haunting, Pauline

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  52. I'm a new follower...don't want to miss any of your inspiration!! I am going to have to come out of my ...box...too! Thanks for the chance. Happy Haunting, Pauline

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  53. Wow, love all your show and tell, thanks for sharing.

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  54. You made me giggle....a few times. Your placemats are gorgeous. I have never attempted machine appliqué (scary machine stuff.....). Loving the binding stitch you did. Amazing. I love the decorations you made. The lacy and the pumpkin ones. Beautiful!

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  55. Your placemats are soooo cute! Great job on the applique. Your ornaments are really cute, and the pumpkins are adorable! Great job on all of your projects!

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  56. O love your place mats, I really would like to try to make something like them..Thanks for sharing

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  57. Good Morning! Your table looks sew pretty! I like that your pumpkin placemats may be used all through the fall season and that you made the spooky looking lacy 3-d decorations for the Halloween. The yo-yo pumpkins are cute. I saw the mason jar lid ones on Pinterest and think I like your yo-yo idea better. I am wondering how big the circles were for your yo-yo's. I love all the little details on your placemats, especially the edging stitching. Thanks for inviting us to your beautiful table this morning and for the chance to win the happy charms ... :) Pat

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  58. I am a happy follower on bloglovin' and GFC! The recipe sounds yummy. I have never made muffins with no eggs ... I have to try this. Thanks for sharing ... :) Pat

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  59. I love all of your hanging decorations and especially your pumpkins, so cute. Thanks for a fun giveaway.
    ks(dot)eyles(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

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  60. How cute those placemats are! Appliqueing is fun but I did not think that way years ago. I still can't needle turn very well but hey, electric needles work just fine! I hope you have arrived at that same conclusion now that you tried it? Just got a serger here but I don't think my model will do that wave stitch--looks good on your placemats as a binding alternative.

    How clever is that yo yo pumpkin! I love the lacy ornaments the best, I believe. Very neat and a great idea that so far no one has come up with!

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  61. Me again, LOL. I am a follower from a previous hop and I appreciate your giveaway opportunity. Is it raining over in your location in GA today? It has been one county away in Alabama off and on since last night.

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  62. I follow you via Bloglovin'. kathleendotlutzatcomcastdotnet

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  63. I love your embroidered centerpieces and can only dream of being able to do something similar. kathleendotlutzatcomcastdotnet

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  64. I really like the pumpkin placemats. They will work from Halloween through Thanksgiving. Your lace/embroidered/stabilizer pumpkin reminds me of Cinderella's coach.

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  65. I love your placemats, and especially love the lace pumpkins. What a creative idea!

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  66. I am a new follower by e-mail.

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  67. Hello from an Alabama girl! Your pumpkins are awesome! Thanks for the chance in the giveaway!

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  68. Good job on creating outside of your box, a perfect table for Halloween.

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  69. hello from a georgia grandmaw, n. west ga. love your place mats and your spooky things.

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  70. What great placemats! I love the addition of the serged wave stitch! Your embroidered ornaments are wonderful! And thank you so much for the recipe. It looks yummy!

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  71. FOLLOW VIA GFC

    msstitcher1948@yahoo.com

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  72. HI,SUCH NEAT PLACE MATS!
    THANKS FOR SHARING!
    HAPPY STITCHING!

    msstitcher1948@yahoo.com

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  73. Love your placemats!! Thanks for the chance to win!

    wigglypup2(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  74. I follow you by Bloglovin & by e-mail. Thanks for the chance to win!

    wigglypup2(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  75. I think you did a great job on those placemats, loved the binding. And those ornaments are so pretty.

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  76. Love the cloth pumpkins! So cute

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  77. I love your placemats! That is a lot of work! Kudos to you! :D Also, I will try that pumpkin recipe. Sounds delish!!

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  78. Your placemats are so neat and congrats on conquering applique! Everything looks perfect for Halloween!

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  79. I've never done applique either and you did a beautiful job! I am definitely going to try the recipe -- sounds yummy. :)

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  80. I love all of your projects, but I think the lace pumpkin is my favorite. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the giveaway.

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  81. I love those placemats. They are really great and can be used all fall. I really love that 3d pumpkin. Thanks for sharing

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  82. Love your projects. dorthac@aol.com

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  83. Great projects and inspiring in may ways!! Thanks for sharing in the hop!!

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  84. I follow your blog via Bloglovin' .

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  85. Very cute placemats and festive table. Thanks for sharing!

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  86. I just loved all your pumpkins. I have a new embroidery machine and am going to try the applique soon. crystalbluern at onlineok dot com

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  87. I am a new follower on GFC. crystalbluern at onlineok dot com

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  88. I like your placemats. Nicely done...I especially like your centerpiece..How creative you are. Thank you for sharing.

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  89. You really did some Wicked clever thinking outside the box. Love the placemats and your applique work. The lacey ornaments are uber cute. DH was right on when suggesting the lid pumpkins and then you using yo-yo and cinnamon sticks. Very Wicked indeed. I make those pumpkin muffins a lot as they are only 2 points in WW (Weight Watcher) world. My favorite is the orange cake mix flavor. Thank you very much for Wicked Hopping. Your projects are BOO-tiful...

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  90. Those placemats are fabulous DeAnna! Congrats on your first applique and thinking so creatively about the bindings too--I really love those and wish my serger would do that stitch, but I don't think it does. I like your centerpiece too. I've been doing a bit of machine embroidery lace myself recently and it's so fun! And the list goes on with the yo-yo pumpkins! You're wickedly creative--thanks for sharing your lovely work!

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  91. Beautiful placemats--great work. I like the technique with your serger--creative. Muffins sound good to and nearly fat free.

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  92. Love your pumpkins. Thanks for the chance to win.

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  93. I love love your placemats and that lace pumpkin is beautiful.
    Great job.
    xo jan@sewandsowfarm

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  94. Your place mats are perfect. I thought they were edged in orange rickrack until you mentioned the stitch on your machine and showed a close up. The 3D lace ornaments are fantastic. So beautiful. I think the pumpkin is my favorite as well. Thanks for sharing your creations and for offering a giveaway. Happy Halloween.

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  95. Oh the 3-D ornaments are just wonderful....love it! And the table runner and little pumpkins are great too. Thanks for the pumpkin recipe...I need something to take to a friends house this weekend...sounds perfect!

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  96. Great placemats and love the idea of no batting and the edge treatment is something I never would have thought of. The lace ornaments are beautiful. I can see a Christmas tree decorated with Christmas themed ones. The yo-yo pumpkins are so fun. I'm going to bookmark this post so I can come back to it. Thanks for the wicked good projects!

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  97. I am a now a follower via bloglovin.

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  98. I really like your appliqued placemats. The embroidered edging is a really different touch; you're so clever.

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  99. I am a new follower via Bloglovin'. Thanks for the generous giveaway.

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  100. Your first attempt at applique looks like that of a pro. Great job! I am amazed at your "binding." Maybe I'll have to dust off my serger, if you do a tutorial for us. I've used mine very, very little. Your yo you pumpkins are adorable and I like the stems - another great idea. Your lace Halloween decorations are superb. Thank you for participating, sharing your creativity and being a wonderful inspiration. I hope to see you in more hops soon.

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  101. thanks for sharing your fabulous projects DeAnna - I really like your pumpkin placemats and that lace is pretty amazing too - so cool that you learnt something new for this hop ! thanks for the giveaway - love the fabrics in the charm pack

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  102. Great projects - love the lace pumpkin and the placemats!

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  103. Wonderful projects! Adorable placemats. Wicked lace decor and cute yo yo pumpkins. Thanks for the recipe and the chance to win.

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  104. Love your placemats you did an excellent job on them and the lace designs you did were very kool

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  105. Oh my, I want to come to your house for Halloween...everything is so cute! I almost never decorate for Halloween because my oldest daughter's birthday is on the 26th. I never wanted her birthday to be upstaged by Halloween and then I never felt like decorating for just five days! lol Instead, I make up for it at Christmas. pbstrand@msn.com

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  106. I love your placemats - the edging is really nice haven't seen that effect before. Thanks for sharing.

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  107. Your projects are so nice, especially the lace, I have never seen that before.
    smjohns63 at yahoo dot com

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  108. I follow with bloglovin.
    smjohns63 at yahoo dot com

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  109. Those place mats are beautiful! Your workmanship is lovely!! Thanks for sharing!

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  110. I am a new follower! Love your work :)

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  111. Your placemats turned out great and are perfect for fall! I also love the colors in the charm pack.

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  112. your placemats are great! I love the wave stitch. It looks so neat!

    :) Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

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  113. Love the lace ornaments. Especially the pumpkin

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  114. Love the lace ornaments. Especially the pumpkin

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  115. SO COOL!! You made such cool projects!! I have a serger and did not know that it could do that stitch. I have never done anything different with it. The lace decorations are so pretty or is that creepy, LOL!! The pumpkins are great. I love the idea of doing it with yoyos. I have pumpkin in the pantry now I need to go get a spice cake mix, yummy!! Thank you for so much inspiration!!

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  116. Wow. I'm so impressed with your projects. Your placemats turned out fabulous and I just love, love, love the ornaments.

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  117. Your placemats are so pretty! You did a fantastic job on the applique. I just bought a serger but didn't realize it did fun things like your wave stitch! Well, I really have no clue how anything on it works yet. That's my weekend project! I love your lace ornaments also. I will have to give that a try sometime also. Geesh, you have made me realize how much I DON"T know how to do on all my machines!!! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  118. I love your appliqued placemats. That deisgn is really cute. The wave edging was great!

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  119. The edge on those placemats are rocking it out of the house!

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  120. You did an awesome job on your pumpkin placemats, and ornaments. Your table looks great! Thanks for a chance to win.

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  121. What a lovely table setting. The pumpkin ornament is my favorite too.

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