The Communique Layout
Popularized by Rhonda Dort, who uses the layout in her classes, the Communique Quilt Layout works for both featuring large fabric and panel pieces, as well as a basis for multiple block designs.
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About Me
I'm Andrea, a web developer living in rural America with her husband and daughter. I'm excited to share my life with you as I explore some of the great things about living in the middle of nowhere. Be sure to check out the blog below to see a few of the things that are speaking to me right now.
On the Blog
I’ll Cry If I Want To! – 3 Tips for Child Photography
The weather has finally warmed up around here, the grass is green and flowers are blooming, which makes it a great time to get some outdoor photos of your favorite tiny human. Unfortunately, kids aren’t always cooperative. That’s something I was reminded of earlier this week when I tried to get some new photos of…
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Duck Troubles
It’s been a sad few days here on the farm. If you follow us on facebook, you probably know that we lost one duckling less than 24 hours after the ducks’ arrival. But what you don’t know yet, is that have lost 4 more of our ducklings in the last 3 days. I’m not even…
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Photo Challenge – Self-Portrait
A friend of mine and I occasionally give each other photography challenges to help each other improve our photography skills. Our most recent challenge was to create a self-portrait that we felt described something about our personality. When taking any sort of portrait style picture, it’s important to think about what lens you’re using. With…
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Toy Organization Essentials for Tiny Humans
One thing I have discovered about tiny humans is that they love to get all the things out, but not put things back up. Mildred is a great example of this. She will be playing with a toy, and then become distracted by another, and another, leaving a trail of toys in her wake. That…
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Baby Ducks!
The baby ducks have arrived! Yesterday morning, I picked up a box of ducklings from the post office. Yes, you can indeed get ducks by mail, which is super useful when you don’t live near a hatchery. Many local farm supply stores, such as Rural King, do carry chicks and other poultry in the spring,…
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Follow Friday – Houseful of Nicholes
Welcome to this month's Follow Friday post, where I'll be sharing with you one of my favorite blogs on the internet. This Follow Friday post, I want to introduce you to Houseful Of Nicholes. This lifestyle blog, by Chicago native (and fabulous internet friend) Natasha focuses on topics that affect her family, like education, and…
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Happy Easter
I hope you had a super Easter this year. Our little family did. Mil & I went on an Easter Egg Hunt at my mom's church on Saturday, followed by dying eggs at my mom's house. Mil hasn't quite figured out how to hunt for eggs, but all the grandmas and grandpas were happy to…
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A Baby Sized Communique Quilt Design
One of my lovely readers recently asked about making the Communique Quilt in a baby or crib sized version. So, because I love creating layouts for quilts, I’ve come up with an altered version of the original throw pattern that is perfect for a baby quilt. For this design, I started with my original Communique…
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Mildred Jane at 1 Year!
Mildred Jane has officially made her 1st trip around the sun. She still has no hair, but her 3rd tooth just popped through, and it looks like she might be working on number 4. I made a simple little cake for her for her birthday. (I topped it with one of the puzzle pieces from…
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Coffee Talk – On Feminism & Appropriation
Barbie & Feminism International Women's Day was yesterday, and to celebrate, Barbie has released a line of dolls based on inspiring and historic women. It's called the Role Models collection. I played with Barbie dolls when I was little. That was back before they came in different sizes and skin tones. Heck, back then it…
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TBB Asks – Beauty Edition
Eyelash Curler? Yes. At least when I really and truly do my makeup. Most days, I'm a lipstick only kind of gal. Favorite Nail Shade? I never wear nail polish because it won't stay on my nails. They are weird and polish just peels off of them, but I'm a big fan of the traditional…
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Follow Friday – Living Outside the Stacks
Ages ago, when I first started this blog, I had a regular feature called "Follow Friday." It was my own spin on the #FollowFriday tag on Twitter where I would share a blog that I enjoyed reading. While I don't plan to do this every week, I do think it's time to bring the feature…
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