Monday, May 21, 2012

It's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

                                           

********Comments now closed. Will post winner this weekend!****** OK, things are hoppin' in quilty blogland with Blogger's Quilt Festival and Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day (really, a giveaway week!) happening at the same time.  Fun, fun, fun!  And it's only slightly unfortunate timing that this is the last week of preschool which means class parties and picnics and sniff, sniff, a graduation for our oldest (he's headed to kindergarten - ack!). So really, that boils down to all I want to do is hang out online with all this quilty love spreading through the internet, but alas, it'll have to be pieces of moments that I can steal away.

Blah, blah, blah - get on to the goods, woman!  OK, here is what I'm giving away, because A)  I am a nice person.  Really.  Ask anyone who knows me.  and B)  I take my responsibility of spreading quilt/fabric love quite seriously.  Which is why I'm giving away THIS:
Some FULL MOON FOREST!  It probably goes without saying, but just in case you missed it, this is the very first line ever from Tula Pink, that fabulous designer we all know and love.  I think it's from back in 2007...and is currently out-of-print, and therefore, hard-to-find.  But not today!  It's right here - and soon will be with one of you!  I'm giving away layer cake size cuts (10 inch square) of the ten different prints you see here. 



This one is my favorite - do you see the squirrel??  It looks all viney and lovely, and then wait, those are squirrels in there!  There's a bunny in one of the prints too.  Have you seen the owl one?  I don't have any of that one, but it's amazing.  She is masterful at hiding little treasures in her designs.  I love it!

To enter, please leave a comment telling me, oh, I don't know, your favorite sewing tip.  Or your best advice for filling long summer days for three small children.  Or, if you have a french door refrigerator, what model do you have and do you like it.  Seriously.  Our fridge up and died the other day - been using a dorm size fridge for our family of five for a week! - so I need some info!  (I'm too tied to online reviews and for every model we look at at seems 10 people LOVE it and 10 people HATE it.  Well, what do you do with that?!)

Giveaway ends May 25 at 5 PM PST.   Winner will be chosen randomly.  Happy to ship internationally.
Good luck, and thanks for stopping by!  

276 comments:

  1. Using an easy angle ruler for half-square triangles. Just started using this and don't know why I didn't earlier.....none of this 7/8's, 3/8's measuring. And one of the "rabbit ears" is already gone. Have a great day....thanks for the giveaway opportunity.

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  2. Be precise with your cutting, and also, daytime crafts/movies on rainy days are sure fire ways to get some sewing time while the kids are busy :)

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  3. Clover binding clips make machine binding SO much easier!

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  4. I so don't see any squirrels! =) I think nature walks are great. Make up a list of what you think you could find...then go for a long walk, searching for those things. You can do it in your neighborhood. We have to keep busy...or the 'BOREDOM' sets in quickly. =)

    Thank you.

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  5. Playing in water is a great way to entertain, so are parks and playing in the grass with the dog. Although in Arizona we won't be doing much of that other than swimming, it will be too hot! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  6. I hope the last week of preschool is a fun one! That's crazy that your whole family is using a dorm fridge!! I bet that gets old fast :) I wish I had a french door refrigerator-- sounds lovely!
    I've learned recently that paying close attention to sewing with a scant quarter inch seam really helps, especially when I'm making bee blocks that should be a particular size!

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  7. Anything involving water. Those foam paint brushes, a bucket of water and a fence kept mine occupied for good chunks of time. A kiddy pool and a bunch of cups, anything that will float (sponges were great fun too). Good luck, mine are *finally* getting to the I can entertain myself stage and while it's bittersweet it's so much less pressure!

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  8. One of my kids favourite things on a hot hot summers day is a bucketfull of ice which has toys frozen in it. they spend ages trying to get them out, digging with spoons :-)
    Great giveaway, Tula Pink is my favourite designer :-)
    Thank you :-)

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  9. For toddlers, paint outside on the driveway or sidewalk with a paintbrush and water. :) Thanks for the chance to win!

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  10. Lots of time outside to run riot. It always kept me, my brother and my sister occupied anyway :)
    I love all the blues in those fabrics!

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  11. My tip: be precise in cutting out you pieces, saves drama later on!

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  12. Hyperventilation! I love, love these prints and those squirrels are the bomb! Sewing tips... Don't sweat the small stuff :) This is something we do for fun and beauty, so we shouldn't stress out about it too much. (This is more a reminder to myself not to get too hung up about my fabric... "collecting"/hoarding tendencies :)) Thanks for the giveaway.

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  13. Lovely giveaway. Best tip for entertaining small kids in the summer is water. I fill up a couple of bowls of water give them some plastic plates, bowls, anything thing really and some sponges and they can spend hours 'washing up'.

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  14. Hmmm, I'd say collecting thread scraps in something instead of throwing them anywhere willy nilly! Haha, it's a pain to clean them up!

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  15. That print is so awesome! oh, and I agree with Stefanie- the best tip for successful sewing is to be precise in your cutting (in in your seam allowances)

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  16. A desktop thread bin...fewer threads then end up everywhere!

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  17. The colors in your fabric are gorgeous! We have a fridge that both doors open in the middle on the top and the freezer is on the bottom. We've had it about 2 years and I love it. It would probably not be best for small children simply because they could reach the popsicles but not the milk!

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  18. When my son was little we got a family zoo membership. Once you were a member you could go to zoos all over the place and it was all paid for. It's been many years ago, but at that time it was cheap entertainment.

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  19. I've never even heard of a french door refrigerator, so I'm definitely no help there! I agree that zoo memberships are great - we've had one for the Sacramento Zoo for the last year and it's been fun being able to go whenever we're in town without worrying that we only had an hour or so to spend there. :)

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  20. Heh the thread bins are the best idea. :)

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  21. thanks for the giveaway!

    try making your own bubble wands and solution -- it's a great way to spend the day outside...

    you can reach me at supersharmie at gmail dot com :)

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  22. I use freezer paper for all of my kids clothes patterns. I trace the pattern onto freezer paper, cut it out, and iron it on my fabric. Then, I just cut out the fabric around the pattern. It is reusable, leaves no residue on fabric, and means NO PINS!

    Desi
    weeshareblog@gmail.com

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  23. Well, my kids are all adults but we used to spend lots of cool morning at the park for exercise and then come home and do some kind of easy craft in the afternoon. sidewalk chalk and a little pool is always fun too.

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  24. Lots of playdates! And blanket forts.

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  25. My best advice for summer is get a water table and a few toys. They will play with that forever!

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  26. my best sewing tip (to my sister because she's the only one i have ever tried to help sew) look at where your needle is about to sew, not where your needle is piercing right at this second. she sews hoooorible lines! =}

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  27. My favorite sewing tip? Don't let the cat try to help. My favorite thing with 3 kids in the summer? Don't know, first summer with 3 kids! We do love filling up buckets of water and just having fun with it, though. We got those squirters from Hobby Lobby and some spongey balls and the kids go nuts! Fast cheap and easy, the way to live life.

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  28. sewing tip -iron.
    summer days with three kids... build a splash park in your backyard lol. seriously I kill the time by taking my girl outside and giving her a bubble wand

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  29. For kids, I love the idea I've seen later to use masking tape or yarn or something like that to make a spy obstacle course. Pictures explain this better than words, check out http://theweekendhomemaker.com/boredom-busters.

    Or give them some items to use to make an obstacle course in the yard, and let them set it up then race through it?

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  30. Favourite sewing tip, measure twice before you cut (yes, that is bitter experience talking!)

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  31. Thanks for this......my tip is measure twice...cut once..lol

    Shoot!!! just noticed it above....lol guess it must be a good one,eh

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  32. My favorite way to entertain my two when the heat index gets too high to go outside is to put some water in some different containers and then let them have all of my measuring cups and spoons. Towels on the floor first, of course. ;)

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  33. Have a watermelon seed spitting contest outside!

    Thanks for the giveaway :)

    melissajpalmer at yahoo dot com

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  34. Gosh I don't feel like I know enough to give tips... I always cut a spare template up into pieces when paper piecing so I can use them as templates and waste less fabric

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  35. kids outdoors ALL day! water games, mud, climbing trees....
    thanks for the giveaway!

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  36. My best sewing tip: have a lot of room (which I do not) so you can spread out.

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  37. Kids and water and dirt are all you need during the
    summer.

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  38. Thanks for the chance, those fabrics are lovely.

    I honestly don't know what I did...but I did something as my kids are 11 and 13 now. When I look back in the photos there seems to be a lot of dress up days with costumes and hats, my youngest sitting in a puddle wearing her cinderella ballgown...and lots of forts.

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  39. Quit sewing when you are tired. Takes too much time to unsew mistakes!

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  40. I bought a french door a few years ago, and ended up taking it back. The way that one door had to be closed before the other did, or closed 'just so' was murder with 6 kids in the house. I lost more food that way!! We took it back and got separate stainless pieces. A fridge and a freezer. They have a little trim kit that makes it look like they are all one piece, so it looks like a sub zero. Love it.

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  41. planting a garden with kids, dress up, kiddie pool w/water, bubbles

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  42. Our refrigerator recently died and we purchased the Kenmore Elite french door fridge from Sears. I love, love LOVE it! The ice maker is in the door you don't lose any shelf space, there's a deli drawer that is very wide, it has really come in handy. The freezer in on the bottom, so sensible. It is perfect!

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  43. With small kids? Buckets of bubbles, water painting on the pavement and chalk art, all outdoors and quick clean up :o)

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  44. I am hoping the water table and sprinkler work on my three little ones. :)
    kirkwood0419(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  45. I always found anything to do with food or with water playing was a hit in the summer with my kids.

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  46. I did NOT see the squirrel! How cute is this fabric? Summers with small kids can be fun - but challenging! I recommend a "rainy day box" (or some similiar container) with all sorts of dress-up items such as hats and scarfs and Mom's old dressy shoes,and jewelry too -- anything that can allow a child a chance to pretend she/he is someone else!

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  47. Yay! I saw the squirrel...umm whirlpool fridge from the scratch and dent store...small kids...break up the day. Love the fabric. Thank you.

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  48. measure twice cut once..works for everything :) raineoc@yahoo.com

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  49. French door fridges are where it's at yo. We have an LG LMX28988SW / 00. (Whatever that means.) It has the space saver icemaker which is great as it does seem slimmer and leave room on the left door for two shelves still. I like the three vegetable drawers and the extra on that goes across the whole fridge at the bottom that's kinda skinny. We put our cheeses, eggs and things like tortillas there. The door storage is great, the inside customizable. Having the two freezer drawers below are great. I don't get how ppl can use the ones with one big drawer. The top one's a bit smaller and it keeps smaller things, ice cream and things we use more often on top. With bigger things in bottom. It can hold a frozen pizza box in there easily all the way which the side by side freezer couldn't do. The only odd thing is the water dispenser on the outside is a bit confusing. It's higher than it seems it should be. We're used to it now but it's, ahem, kinda funny when ppl come over and put their glass in the wrong place and the water squirts all over their feet.

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  50. I like to make my HSTs using a quick method that produces 8 at one time. It's probably my best trick in terms of quilting. :) I made up a tutorial for it in case you are curious:
    http://echinopsaster.blogspot.com/2012/02/easy-hst-tutorial-and-february-boms.html
    Thanks for the chance to win!

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  51. Tip: I've been using temporary spray fabric adhesive on all sorts of projects to keep layers of fabric together while they are sewn. audiodropzone at gmail dot com

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  52. My favorite tip is one from an online tutorial on binding. There are so many hints out there. I like doing it all by machine and learned about folding the start piece to create a pocket to tuck the end in. So easy.
    Thank you for the give away!

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  53. A fenced back yard with lots of sprinklers and bubbles is absolutely necessary to keep kids busy in the summer!

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  54. Sewing tip: measure twice, cut once. I need to follow that myself. Cut several pieces yesterday that were too short; my ruler got turned around & I didn't notice. Thanks for the chance to win.

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  55. Wow!!! What a great giveaway! I recently picked up part of a jelly roll, but the cuts aren't large enough to see the hidden pictures in all their glory. That squirrel is amazing!!

    My favorite sewing tip is keep a pair of embroidery anywhere & everywhere because you'll always need them.

    Send the kids here to Wyoming for the summer, I'll keep them entertained! ;)

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  56. Those are lovely; thanks for chance to win! Having 3 small kids myself, I could use the same advice ;>) They do love playing in their little pool though.....(EMAIL: marshudson at comcast dot net)

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  57. my best tip for entertaining kids all summer is to get ideas from pinterest! I was totally despairing about how to entertain my almost-3-year-old on an upcoming 8 hr car ride (he and I both get carsick and can't read or write or watch a movie or it will be vomit city), until I looked at Pinterest. Now I have approximately 10 bazillion easy, inexpensive ideas that I'm getting ready to entertain him with (like driving his hot wheels cars on a cookie sheet from the dollar store)

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  58. I know nothing about any of those things, but I do remember that I always loved water fun and shaving cream days when I was little. Hope that helps!

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  59. Make sure your seams are even...

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  60. I like to try and cut up my scraps into squares (whatever size will fit) and sort into zippy bags, so eventually I have enough for a scrap quilt already cut.

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  61. We try to go swimming as often as possible. It's also great to have a nice shallow kiddie pool, filled with toys to scoop and pour water. The best tip I have is to dump a bunch of ice cubes in. My kids love them.

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  62. My best tip that I need to keep reminding myself is to always iron seams out flat!

    Julia @ Stars&Sunshine
    starsandsunshineblog at gmail dot com

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  63. Using a rotary cutting mat for squaring up blocks. Good luck finding a refrigerator. Thanks for the chance at your giveaway.

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  64. Only outside, mix food coloring with some vanilla pudding and use it as finger paint on the waxy side of some freezer paper. messy and you don't have to worry about them eating the paint.

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  65. Sewing tip--sure this is basic, but with lots of little ones (I have 5 : )), make sure your sewing machine, etc. are permanently set up, if possible, so you can take advantage of little pockets of time!

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  66. Summer + kids? Check out a friends way of planning for the long summer http://sarah.lidbom.com/2012/05/summer-12-to-do.html

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  67. Have a scheduled outing everyday, even if it's only to Walmart or the library!

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  68. My favorite sewing tip is to keep a small can to the side of you cutting table to quickly stash any scrap as you cut for later sorting. I find that if I have somewhere to put them as I cut, I am more likely to sort and stash rather than than chuck the smaller but still useful scraps.

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  69. Have a plan - that's a big one! Crafts are good, outings, mix it up. The park? Playdates? I'm not a mom yet but those are just some ideas. :)

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  70. Measure not only once, but twice or three or four

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  71. Hey! Guess I never hunted down your blog - so nice to see ya here! Lovely fabric to be sure. and oh yeah the best sewing tip it the measure twice before you cut - it's mandatory!

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  72. Our fridge tip is to have two fridges...seriously. When we bought a house with my parents four years ago, we kept both of our refrigerators. One stays in the kitchen and the other is overflow for the garage. That way when we do our Costco shopping, there's room enough for everything and if one dies, there's a backup.

    Hope you're doing well, Valerie. Thanks so much for the great giveaway!

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  73. I have a sewing tip. Pin!! Pin everything. It makes your lines much straighter.

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  74. no sewing tip, but maybe you can set the pool or sprinkle for the kids. That what I would do for my twins this summer.
    wcharp6739@att.net

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  75. Wow... this fabric is from just before I started sewing. I didn't even know what I was missing. LOL Thanks for this generous giveaway.

    My favorite sewing tip - check tension, stitch type & length, etc before sewing on your project. I am usually too lazy to do this - but it does pay off. I hate ripping out stitches. You think I'd learn my lesson by now. :)

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  76. I have been staring at the blue fabric and I cannot see the squirrel. I hate it when that happens.

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  77. Fun for 3 young kids - make a den in the garden. Get the paddling pool out. Go on a picnic. Do a treasure hunt. Eat icecream. Paint outside (mine love to paint stones, and themselves!).

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  78. Still looking for the squirrel perhaps i need new glasses?

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  79. I'm new to sewing/quilting so no tips and I never had a French Door refrigerator..but I do have 4 children and went through every summer with "I'm bored". I have a huge bin that I put fun things in all year so that come summer, they have something "new" to do...modeling clay, paints, puzzles from the dollar store, and sometimes even a movie or two for the dvd player. On "I'm bored" days I pull down the "Bored-Bin" and let them pick something fun to do. Other days, we go through photo albums..my kids love to look at old pictures especially ones from when they were little.

    shel704 at aol dot com

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  80. I'm a shiny new quilter, so all the tips are my favourite right now! I think the one I like best is the leader/ender idea, it looks like it reduces a lot of waste thread.

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  81. My favourite tip is as well as licking the thread for threading, lick the needle (carefully of course) too. The two seem to act like a magnet then! I'd never manage it otherwise.

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  82. Depends on the age of the children. If they're a little bit older and won't eat them, I used to love to play with my mother's (and now mine) button jar. Sort them into sizes, pick a favourite etc. My favourite is still in my jar!

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  83. This is an amazing giveaway! My best sewing tip is keep your sewing machine covered when you're not using it and to clean and oil it regularly. Boring but true :o)

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  84. Wow lovely fabrics! My best tip would be, cut precisely! x

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  85. My favourite sewing tip would be "measure twice, cut once". It's a lesson you learn pretty quickly in quilting!!!! Thanks for the chance to win!

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  86. A tip for little kids is to make homemade play dough. They can help make it and then they love playing with it too.
    Thanks,
    Erin
    emstone28@gmail.com

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  87. Sewing tip - enjoy the process, not just the product!!
    Thanks for offering this wonderful giveaway - love the fabrics!!!

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  88. It's boring, but my tip is: press when you should, it makes everything so much easier. I think water is the answer to young children, a small pool, buckets and cups, they just love water. I love this fabric, Tula Pink is a favorite of mine, but I've never seen that fabric. Thanks.

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  89. This summer I'm hoping to set up a routine of some sort - a loose one, but something like library on Wednesday, Park on Friday or whatever so my kids won't bug me every single day about what we're going to do for fun! :)

    Thanks for the giveaway!!

    Jess

    jessicacook17 AT hotmail DOT com

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  90. A good sewing tip is to always have a hammer in the sewing room for those really thick seams. Everyone at my house knows that my hammer never leaves the sewing room

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  91. Ha! I have a GE Monogram and hate it, but I absolutely love my Whirlpool one in the garage.

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  92. Thanks for the chance to win!
    b.zanninelli@gmail.com

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  93. Favorite sewing tip -- don't cut the wrong edge of the fabric! seems obvious, but every once in awhile I just lose track of my head...

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  94. Slip-n-Slide. My kids love theirs so much and can spend hours playing on it. Plus it is safer than the pool in my opinion.

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  95. Long summer days with kids. A sandbox and a sprinkler! I have 5 wee ones 11 -4 and that is what we will be doing. I am also getting a pass to the local aquarium because they have a splash pad.

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  96. I think you can spent the summer with your kids at the beach :)

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  97. Backyard sprinklers were always my sister and I's favorite.

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  98. Oh look at all that gorgeousness! My favorite thing to do in the summer with the kids is go to the beach! And I don't have any French-door fridge tips but I want to hear some because I'd like one of those myself! I'll have to read through your comments to see if anyone has any good recommendations! xo

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  99. My children are grown up now but when they were small they spent most of the summer in the sandpit which was in the shade of a huge weeping ash tree!

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  100. Wow! There's some great sewing and summer tips here. My summer tip would be to have a daily and weekly routine for the kids...9:00 chores, 1:00 quiet reading time, and so on. For the weekly routine--Monday is movie day (our local theater has really cheap kids' movies each week), Tuesday is library day, etc., etc. Those things really saved me when my older kids were younger, and looking back, they really were the best summers my kids remember! thanks for the giveaway!

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  101. let your kids play with your fabric while you sew. My katelyn knows what fabric she can play with and which ones she cant.

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  102. My best advice for summer activities for three children is....... water! We did not have a pool, but we would turn on a sprinkler or get a slip and slide. Whoa, what fun, and then they slept REALLY well :-) Thanks for the fabulous giveaway.

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  103. I had one of those French Door fridges and I hated it. You have to open both doors at the same time, and so it requires two hands.

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  104. The Canadian Living website has excellent craft ideas for children.

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  105. I need to figure out what to do with my 3 year old this summer. We are on a schedule, but we need things to do inside in the early afternoon.

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  106. Use chalk to make an obstacle course on the sidewalk or driveway. Grind up chalk, add water and make chalk paint!

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  107. My favorite sewing tip is to use a really good pattern! Nothing is more frustrating than using a pattern that doesn't make sense!

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  108. We have a Maytag french door refrigerator with the refrigerated drawer in the middle. I love it!

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  109. On super warm days go to the local pool. It wears them out. Thanks, Jera

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  110. Water! Kids LOVE water. Sprinkler, paint with water, water squirters!
    sntbosch(at)msn(dot)com

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  111. I don't know any tips because I am a begginer but I reasly need them!

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  112. I use dollar store hair clips instead of quilting binding clips -- they're so much cheaper and easier to buy! :> Thanks for the chance to win!

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  113. Don't ever throw away a pin cushion without tearing it apart first -- it's a goldmine of needles!

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  114. Best tip for the taking care of kids for summer is throw them in the dungeon. Wait no Dungeon Lets make them build one? Wait that's not good any way water toys always work.

    http://richardquilts.blogspot.com

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  115. Awesome fabric you give away! I love to give it a chance. Thanks for the opportunity!
    My three children are grown now, but they always loved camping together in summer, swimming (best of all in the sea), and playing between rocks among the coastline, and hiking, even when they were small (a short hike ofcourse), they love to visit castels (in France there are a lot) and nice spooky stories we told them....Kind regards, Conny

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  116. I'm not sure about the sewing tip. But kids....turn on the water. A sprinkler, slip and slide, kiddie pool, mud and hose :) You might end up with the neighborhood children though!

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  117. Trips to the pool wear my kiddos out :)

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  118. A kids car wash can keep them occupied for hours, get them to wash all their outdoor toys and cars in with lots of foamy bubbles. good clean fun! water balloons are also lots of fun for all ages

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  119. My daughter loved to wash things--I would put the play kitchen outside, fill the sink with water, and let her and her friend wash to their hearts content! We would also visit the library several times a week--there were always lots of fun things going on there. Thanks for the chance to win!

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  120. My little ones enjoy painting with (and eating)chocolate pudding! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  121. geocaching out and about keep my kids happy, great giveaway

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  122. Hmmm I've got two kids and I tend to fill up the summer days by turning on the sprinkler in the back yard and letting them go nuts while I sit under a tree in the shade and tie friendship bracelets or catch up on my handsewing or whatever I happen to need to do. :D

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  123. I stand by "measure twice and cut once!"

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  124. Whoa, took me forever to see that squirrel! Pack extra clothes in the car and take them to a place with a "splash pad" - kids seem to love those. And we took my kid brother to a local track and had him run laps to burn off energy when he was about 6 or so :)

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  125. depending on the age of kids. mine love to "paint" with water on the sidewalk, deck, and porch.

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  126. I have three small kids and I try to do a small craft with them everyday and a plastic swimming pool provides loads of fun
    mframe00@gmail.com

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  127. Sidewalk chalk, my kids can't get enough of it

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  128. My girls are grown now, but we used to run in the sprinklers together, draw on the driveway with chalk, stretch out on the cool linoleum and make whole little worlds out of modeling clay, make ice pops out of koolade, and have leaf-boat races in the bathtub. Can you tell this was before internet and video games took over? LOL!

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  129. I can't specifically answer the french door fridge question because mine was just delivered yesterday but what I really wanted was a top fridge, single door (less to break- at least my thoughts) but they don't make them counter depth any more- go figure. Love the fabric- that was before I knew what to look for. Thanks for participating in the giveaway day.

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  130. If you paper-piece, make sure you shorten your seam length so that you can tear off the paper more easily. :)

    Mary
    iammaryburke@gmail.com

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  131. My best sewing tip would be to invest in good thread, it's worth it, thanks for the chance to win!

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  132. I like making cat toys with my niece.

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  133. Favorite sewing tip (I have to keep reminding myself) is to be patient, and rip and resew if you have to. Thanks for the chance to win!

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  134. Just have fun and when it stops being fun stop listening to everyone but yourself.

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  135. Water play!! (That's a tip for summer with kids, not a sewing tip.)

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  136. That fabric is beautiful! I like a refrigerator that has the freezer on the bottom. Let the kids make homemade popsicles out of juice, and then let them eat them all day long! Thanks

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  137. I love my Maytag side-by-side with ice maker. The top part of the fridge is wider than the bottom part, making more room for PIZZA!!

    Mrs.Hearts
    www.busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com

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  138. • • • I love Sharon Schamber's way of binding.

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  139. Let go the rules a little for summer with your 3 kids. You can't keep them away from every germ so just accept it and live outdoors.

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  140. I also have children, 4. I love to do outside games. Do ABC hopscotch. Or waterballoons, sidewalk chalk people (trace them) and let them color in the cloths and hair. picnics. cloud watching.

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  141. I just learned recently that I have better accuracy if I mark my quilts with chalk or washable pen rather than using the painters tape option. So, I suggest that!

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  142. outside games, movie times or an afternoon at the beach

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  143. I have never seen the squirrel one! I've got the owl and bunny prints. Poor girl on the fridge thing. I found I spent too much time reviewing and just listed my must have details for the item I'm buying and go to a couple of product reliability review places.

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  144. Good luck with surviving three children. I have two boys and they keep my hands full. Be sure to check out the summer reading programs at the library. And also be sure to check and see what the local parks and recreation offers.

    ad.oneal@rocketmail.com

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  145. I think we have a french door fridge? Freezer on one side? Ours is a Kenmore from Sears. We have had it for over 10 years and just last year we had to have the thermostat replaced. (Which I think has to do with our power going out with the hurricane.)

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  146. sewing tips: there should be chocolate & music/movie to accompany you when sewing. ;)
    also, pin seams right at the intersection points so the points/seams match up right!

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  147. Spending as much time as possible at the local park means less cleanup and happy children.That is how I survived 4 young children 20 years ago.

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  148. I love my rotary cutter. It makes things go so much faster. Love that fabric - thank you!

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  149. My best sewing tip: don't try to sew a straight line on a gift for your mother-in-law with a 2 year old running loose in the same room. It just won't happen. Of course, this tip has a limited range of helpfulness... :)

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  150. My best sewing tip is try not to do it with two kids under 3 in the same room - especially when one or both want to climb into your lap and help!

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  151. Summer tip: Paddling pool and lots of shade. My two are out in the pool everyday over summer. Add different things each day, one of the favourites is to freeze some of their toys in icecream containers and let them "dig" for them. In the pool, it keeps the water cool and lets the ice melt a bit easier.

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  152. I need a new fridge too! I haven't had a french door model yet, but they sound great. I want the kind with the freezer on the bottom and not stainless steel (too hard to clean). Thanks!

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  153. Definetly a fridge with a drawer on the bottom as freezer and door or doors on top.....tall people will love this and anyone with a challenged back....goodluck with your decision making process!!!

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  154. I don't know much about any of those things, but those fabrics are really pretty.

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  155. When making your own bias binding, use the twisted tube method - it saves so much measuring and cutting!

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  156. Perfect quarter inch seams are my HOT tip. :) Thanks for the chance to win!

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  157. have a ge (not sure what model) side by side. like the fridge part of it. freezer part is working better since i put plastic baskets in there to hold small items. do not like the ice maker--it's SLOW dispensing ice. love the cold water, though. we HAD to get one immediately as ours got broken and leaked profusely, so weren't able to make a really informed decision. i'd definitely go to consumer reports and check it out for their conclusions. thanks for the opportunity and have a great day

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  158. What a great giveaway. I don't have kids, so don't know how good the advice is, but I read a great article on Etsy a while back that suggested making them business cards with whatever weird and wonderful dream they have for their future on.

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  159. gorgeous giveaway, I've never seen this fabric before. I don't have kids or a large fridge, so I can't help there, and I'm only a novice sewer, so I'd go with don't sew when you're tired, it's not worth the seam ripping you'll do.

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  160. The best tips for me are some which are basic but really the most helpful:

    - always iron in between
    - never use cheap needles, just high quality
    - the same for thread... as well as scissors...

    Make sewing a lot easier! especially coming to the needles... I never realised how big the difference can be! All the change from screwing to just having fun :)

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  161. Best sewing tip......iron your fabric really well before cutting. I live in Raleigh!

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  162. Best sewing tip - keep your friends close and your sewing friends closer : )

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  163. During the summer, I would purchase water guns and water balloons or anything water related and just let them have fun playing in the water. This kept them intertained for hours on end. Thanks for a chance to win some beautiful fabric.

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  164. I had never seen those squirrels before. How cute!
    During the summer, we would have a movie every few days, shut all the curtains, give the kids tickets to get into the movie, and tickets (or play money) to use at the concession stand. I would be the manager and put on some crazy outfit. They would have to go to the dining room table (blankets over it to make it more stand like)to get their treats and then go into the theater. My kids are grown and still talk about this. a friend of mine babysat and each week she would have a different theme, water games, olympics (perfect summer for that), animals, fitness etc. then find activities to go with them. the kids loved that too.

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  165. I'm still in need of sewing tips, rather than being in a position to hand them out. But the obvious one that I'm still struggling with is to be very precise with your cutting and your seem allowance. I am getting better, but precision isn't my strong point (not a great weakness to have if you want to quilt!). Thank you for the chance to win this!

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  166. My tip is relax enjoy this meant to be fun and bring pleasure. If it does not turn out "perfect" learn and move on. My first quilt was for a friend, she watched it grow and although not all the seams lined up would not let me alter a stitch. She said that it was like her, not perfect but the best it could be.

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  167. My kids love playing with water in the summer time. Best tip for quilting, not to do it when you are tired. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  168. sewing when you get too tired causes wonky lines and lots of frustration!

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  169. A sprinkler is a good way to keep little children occupied in the summer. Mine love their sandbox, too. :) I really, REALLY want to get mine a swing set this summer!
    brooke at richardchurch dot com

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  170. Love your sense of humor, I will follow your blog just because of your opening to this giveaway!! I don't have kids, but over at Pioneer Woman today in the Homeschooling section, they had a review of a cool art kit for using over the summer to keep kids busy. It was a make your own book kit and looked really nice, not cheap or dumb. Just a thought. . . You could always teach em to quilt and set up your own personal sweat shop! :-0

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  171. Perfection is not necessary- it took me a while to learn is one. No one ever notices the mistakes except for you anyway.

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  172. sewing tip - get a 1/4 seam foot - love it, makes sewing so neat! will be following you too

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  173. My favorite sewing tip? If it isn't materially harmful to whatever you're sewing, then leave small mistakes in. No one, and I mean, NO ONE will ever notice.

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  174. I like to put giant pieces of paper on the garge and let the girls fingerpaint outside! mjalfano19@gmail.com

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  175. Have you seen where you cut a pool noodle in half the long way and use it as a racetrack for matchbox cars? My kids love that. They also love dress up, so we have costumes GALORE! Thanks for the chance to win this lovely fabric. It took me a minute to see the squirrel, but then there were squirrels all over!

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  176. Love the hidden squirrels!! As for refrigerators, I just want to say that I am a US native, but living in UK now, and I sure miss my large fridge!! Our fridges are tall and skinny here. We had to actually buy a second one to accommodate our family. Oh, I also have 3 little ones, and I have no idea how to keep them busy! I think this summer I will be enrolling them in more activities/clubs, because I'm finding it hard to juggle my 2 older kids with my baby's schedule right now.

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  177. I cant leave my teacher side during the summer, so right after breakfast we have a small routine of some kind of school work. Then out and about to play in the sun. Making ice cream, making soothies, making fruit salads! I hope I win!

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  178. I have a GE Cafe stainless steel 2 door :) It's wonderful. Love it!

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  179. My favorite sewing tip is to run your pins through your hair if they won't go through the fabric easily. The oils in your hair helps them glide through the fabric easily :-)

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  180. A hot summer day, three little kids and a garden hose set on mist or a light spray. Thanks!

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  181. My mother told me to never point out the mistakes I made; no on else would ever notice them. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  182. What i do with comments is try to understand why people hate the item and if that applies to me. Some people will bad mouth an item when they hate the company. You just have to be careful. you can always go to the stores and talk to the salesmen. go to more then one and see what each one says. Some places have sales. Hope that is of some help. GE is usually a good company. also Frigidaire.

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  183. A can to put stray string in keeps me from being overrun by clutter and mess.

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  184. The library is a great place for stuff to do with kids during the summer. There are 5 in our area and I put all of their schedules on my calendar so we can decide what we want to do that day. Also some movie theaters have $1 movie mornings for kids. Those are good too! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  185. the best advice was Keep the tension on my machine correct. I ran it in the ground and the repairman told me this. He has been doing this a long time.

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  186. Buckets of water keep kids entertained for awhile!

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  187. Favorite sewing tip...iron, but not too much!

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  188. Best sewing tip......keep a seam ripper handy at all times :)

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  189. My favorite sewing tip would be to have accurate seams ,use that 1/4" foot and all will work out well. As for summer activities my three sons loved picnics , it can be in the backyard if travel is not possible , it just makes eating so much more fun. Thanks for the chance at your giveaway .

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  190. Since I just pin basted a quilt last night, I'll share my favorite tip for that. I can't live without my Kwik Clip! It makes repinning the safety pins SO much easier on the fingers :)

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  191. Wow it took me forever to see the squirrel..how embarassing ;) My favorite sewing tip is...to the internet whenever I'm stuck. Really some blogger has usually written a tutorial or linked to the top sites that discuss the issue or something, it's saved me so many times!

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  192. I love my quilt glowes - it makes free motion quilting so much easier :-)

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  193. hahah, little kids? I'm so sorry... bubbles. lots of bubbles. and chalk. and kiddie pools. and home made popsicles....

    as far as sewing tips... measure twice, cut once. and make sure the rotary cutter blade is SHARP!

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