I myself am subscribed to the blogs I follow through Google Reader, an RSS feed reader that keeps everything organized in a browser tab.

Many people subscribe to blogs that way, while others prefer to subscribe by email. They’re more familiar with email and prefer having a post’s content delivered right to their in-box.

We who write blogs are ecstatic that you’re following us! Any which a way you like! But did you know that if you subscribe through a feed reader or by email, you’re missing a lot?

You’re getting each post in its bare-bones form. You see the text, you see the photos. But we work hard to format our posts, making them look pretty with text lined up and wrapping the right way with the pictures. This formatting is usually stripped away when posts are delivered remotely.

Also, you’re not seeing the blog’s sidebars, which are rich with possibilities.

Have you reviewed lately what All About Appliqué’s sidebars have to offer? Take a moment to click over to the blog itself. Just click on the title of this post and you’ll be whisked away to the blog.

Are we there now? See how nice the content looks in its intended form? See all the good stuff in the sidebars? Let’s take a tour.

Top left… the Appliqué Bookshop, powered by Amazon. All appliqué titles, hand-picked by me for your browsing pleasure. Just below that is the Appliqué DVD Store.

Next comes a rotating ad from Amazon, with juicy titles to catch your eye.

Below that is a search function for the blog. Type some keywords here and it will search the entire archive, bringing up any post no matter how old. A very handy feature when you’re looking for information on a designer or a technique!

Then come the Categories. These are categories that I assign each blog post so that if you’re looking for info on a certain subject, you can click on one and all posts assigned that category will come up. Another way to search the blog, and very useful when looking for information.

Then there are a couple of blog rings. Click on these logos and you’ll be taken to another blog that belongs to the same ring. You can keep going around from blog to blog for a long time .

Lastly on the left are the Archives, filed by month. If you want to look back and see all the posts for a certain month, that’s how you can do it.

Now we move to the right-hand side.

Up top are two ways to subscribe, by email or by feed reader. Both of these are great ways to receive automatic notification when a blog post goes up. Just remember, you’re only seeing a stripped-down version of the post when you get them this way, and clicking over to the blog itself is a good thing to do every once in awhile.

Below that are two linked logos, one for the new on-line Quilt Pattern Magazine, and one for the first issue of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, both of which I had stuff in.

Then there’s a link to the All About Appliqué Flickr group, which you can post your appliqué photos to, or just go and enjoy the eye candy!

Below that is a linked image for the Easy Appliqué Blocks Book-A-Round from 2009. Ooh, that was a fun one.

Guess what… there’s another one coming down the pike! That’s right, look for Book-A-Round 2, Inspired by Tradition coming your way in March or April. There will be tons of info about the new book as well as lots of chances to win a copy.

Below that is the blogroll, with lots of linky love for appliqué designers and pattern companies. Another rich resource for appliqué enthusiasts.

That’s it! Thanks for coming on the sidebar tour with me. And thanks for reading the blog, and subscribing to it!

Until next time,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie

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I had THE most fabulous time at Spring Market and I do have a few pictures to share when I get home and my head stops spinning. In the meantime, here’s a typical market story. On Saturday, I’m in the ladies’ room when another gal eyes me, yells “Kay!’ and charges forward. I get a look at her just in time to recognize Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Studio and reply, “It’s a miracle!” before we were able to give each other a big hug. Kathy has been an internet pal and she participated in my Book-A-Round, but this is the first time we had met in person.

We left the ladies room and started chatting in the lobby. We were just saying, “Now how are we going to find Susan?” when Susan Brubaker Knapp herself of Blue Moon River, another Book-A-Round blogger, approached. Kathy and Susan had met up the year before but this was my first chance to meet either one of them. It was just one of those kismet things, and such a happy occurrence. We were so excited, we chattered like magpies.

So when I say ‘Let Susan do it,” I mean go to her Blue Moon River blog and read her fabulous posts about Quilt Market. She’s already got a wonderful one done with lots of pictures, including one of the three of us!

Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill also has fabulous and funny Market posts.

Aloha,
Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

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That gal is fast! She’s already made a project and is it ever nifty! Check out Sarah’s Pineapple Welcome Banner on her blog Sew Joy.

Until next time,
Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

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Thanks a million to all the bloggers who participated, and to the readers who followed the trail of breadcrumbs through cyberspace. Today I’d like to hear your feedback. Leave a comment about the blog tour… how did you enjoy it? What was your favorite part? I’ll give away one more copy of Easy Appliqué Blocks, and I’ll draw the winner Tuesday morning.

It’s time for Show & Tell. Here’s one more little quilt that appears in the book’s “Little Gallery of Ideas.”

This cute thing is called ‘There’s One in Every Crowd’. (The working title was ‘Renegade Terrier’.) If you read my article series ‘A journey to a book’ you may recall my surprise at finding out that according to the dictionary the little white guy who’s crashing the Scottie party is a West Highland white terrier instead of a West Highland White Terrier. It’s one of those things that may *be* right but just *looks* wrong IMO so I settled for calling him a Westie. I have friends in Ohio who have a bunch of Westies and I couldn’t wait to show them this quilt. This one’s machine appliquéd.

Now for our party refreshments:

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Kay’s Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar

1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
2 large eggs

¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup all-purpose flour
2¼ cups cake flour

12 oz pkg semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars. Add vanilla and eggs and mix well.

In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Add to wet ingredients and mix well.

Add chocolate chips and mix well.

Drop spoonfuls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake one sheet at a time, about 12 minutes or until very lightly browned around edges. Let cool on pan 5 minutes before removing. Makes about 6 dozen.

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Enjoy!

Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

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Darcy Ashton’s new book Bunnies & More is the latest in her long line of darling appliqué books from Ashton Publications. Today Darcy is hosting a guest post from me, where I get to talk about one of the quilts shown in Easy Appliqué Blocks, “The Mackenzie Family Quilt.” Join me at Darcy’s Ashton Publications blog.

Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

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Gina Halladay writes one of the most widely read blogs for quilters, Quilters Buzz. She is such a busy lady… in addition to blogging, she has a Gammill dealership and a longarm quilting businees, Cranberry Quiltworks, a pattern company, Threaded Pear Studio, and just opened a fabric store in the same location, Fresh Picked Fabrics. Whew! I hear she doesn’t sleep much.

Off to discover the Quilters Buzz on Easy Appliqué Blocks!

Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

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Let’s drop in on Holly Mabutas of Eat Cake Graphics, rubber stamp and quilt designer of the highest-cuteness-factor-ever.

Holly, the little red-haired girl, with Puppy Tucker.

I hear Holly plans to show some of the blocks from the book that she’s appliquéd. Show & Tell! Show & Tell! Off to Holly’s blog, Sprinkles of Thought.

Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

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Here’s Annie being Artist-in-Residence at Empty Spools earlier this month.

If you haven’t heard of it, Annie has the most wonderful, warm podcast for quilters, Annie’s Quilting Stash. The information and insight she brings us through her passion for quilting combined with her years of podcasting are incredible. Today you’ll find a recorded interview where we talk about Easy Appliqué Blocks and how it all came about. We recorded it at a retreat and it was just wonderful to be able to talk with other quilters about things they were curious about.

If you haven’t listened to a podcast before, never fear. You don’t need an iPod… you can listen to it right on your computer! Off to Quilting Stash!

Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

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Stay tuned,
Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

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Kim Jamieson-Hirst, a mother of two, designs quilt patterns and works part-time at her local quilt shop, Along Came Quilting, which provides her with lots of inspiration. Kim’s website is Chatterbox Quilts, where you can see her adorable patterns. Kim also has some great podcasts on her blog. Today she’s writing about the very cool CD that comes with Easy Appliqué Blocks and what a wonderful convenience it is for the appliqué enthusiast. Let’s go visit Kim at her Chatterbox Quilts Blog.

See you there!
Kay
Quilt Puppy Publications & Designs

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