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Nats select right-handed pitcher Jake Johansen in MLB Draft

Maybe it is actually a good thing that for once the Nationals left their scouting department bored stiff on Thursday night. With the best record in baseball last season and a prominent free-agent signing over the winter in closer Rafael Soriano, Washington didn’t have a selection in Major League Baseball’s 2013 draft until No. 68.




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New collection: Flower Slave Bracelet Handflowers With Ring

Fashion slave bracelet-ring handflowers with imitation colored stones inlaid used by harem dancers in medieval time.

This bracelet-ring features a bracelet with dangling chains, connected to a triangular layout of chains and a metal ring that loops over a finger.

You will feel like a princess wearing this exotic bracelet!

Size Guide
  Ring size Medium (diameter 18mm, extendable +5mm).
  See Ring size chart.

  Bracelet fitting wrist 6" to 8½" (adjustable).

Comes with display card.




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New collection: Slave Bracelet Handflowers With Ring

Fashion slave bracelet-ring with imitation colored stone inlaid used by harem dancer in medieval time.

This bracelet-ring features a triangular layout of chains connected to a metal ring that loops over a finger.

You will feel like a princess wearing this exotic bracelet!

Size Guide
  Ring size Medium (diameter 18mm, extendable +5mm).
  See Ring size chart.

  Bracelet fitting wrist 6" to 8½" (adjustable).

Comes with display card.




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New collection: Slave Bracelet Handflowers With Ring

Fashion slave bracelet-ring handflowers with imitation colored stones inlaid used by harem dancer in medieval time.

This bracelet-ring features a triangular layout of chains and stones connected to a metal ring that loops over a finger. You will feel like a princess wearing this exotic bracelet!

Size Guide
  Ring size Medium (diameter 18mm, extendable +5mm).
  See Ring size chart.

  Bracelet fitting wrist 6" to 8½" (adjustable).

Comes with display card.




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Textile Show Looming: Tucson Handweavers and Spinners Guild are spinning a new tale

Talk about a well-oiled machine…



  • News & Opinion/Currents Feature

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'Jeopardy!' Winner on 'Racist' Hand Gesture Accusations: It's a 'Terrible Misunderstanding'

His statement arrives after a group of 467 former contestants of the game show penned an open letter to the show, demanding an apology from the show's producers for not censoring a controversial hand gesture in an episode.




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Josh Duggar Handcuffed in New Footage of His Child Porn Arrest

In the wake of Josh's arrest, Jill Duggar's husband Derick Dillard appears to support #CancelTheDuggars movement to get the entire Duggar family removed from TLC.




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The Great Elected Mayor Handicap

News that another well-known local has declared themselves a potential mayoral candidate prompts Dave Woodhall to wonder what the criteria for the job will be.




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Time to get hands on with CPR

Learn how to deal with cardiac arrest and save a life.





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Goldman Sachs look to join hands with Bhartias of Jubilant for HCCB stake buy, to finance upto Rs 3500 cr

The Bhartia family and Goldman Sachs are joining forces for a significant deal. They are planning to acquire a large stake in HCCB, the bottling arm of Coca-Cola in India. Goldman Sachs will provide substantial financial backing for this venture. The deal involves a planned future listing of HCCB, allowing Goldman Sachs to exit strategically. This move mirrors PepsiCo's successful strategy with Varun Beverages.




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By rd45 in "Handling post-infidelity situation with partner & affair partner" on Ask MeFi

I don't disagree with the advice already provided, but I think you're using the word "boundary" in an odd way. You don't get to set boundaries on other people's behaviour, even when you're married to them. You can set a boundary around your own behaviour, then other people decide how they'll respond.

In this case, you might say: if you continue a friendship with B, our relationship will be at an end. Then, the ball is in R's court - he can decide what to do next.




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By warriorqueen in "Handling post-infidelity situation with partner & affair partner" on Ask MeFi

My marriage is only monogamish, so I'm saying this with some bias towards polyamory:

If your spouse want to prioritize this friendship over your stated boundary, then your spouse is prioritizing the friendship over your marriage.

In this case, you really don't have to explain why. In fact, I'd stop explaining why. It's not a comprehension problem. It's that your partner doesn't want to do what you are asking.

Here's the words I would use: I do not want you to continue this friendship. If you do, I am going to have to take steps towards ending our marriage. We should discuss this in counselling.

In other words even in marriages where there's less emphasis on monogamy, the main thing is that you have to respect your partner's limits, or else you aren't partners. I'm sorry your partner is putting you through this.




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Savannah Mayor Van Johnson On Handling COVID-19, Racial Justice And More — In His First 6 Months

America’s mayors have taken center stage in 2020. Big city mayors feuded with state and federal officials over COVID-19 protections and resources, and have been praised — and condemned — for their handling of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. These crises may be unfolding on a national and international scale, but affect lives in every American city and town. Outside of Atlanta’s national spotlight, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson is working to address these issues head-on.




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MeFi: Which Contemporary Film Snob Director Are You? a handy flowchart

It's dark, it's late, you're drunk, and you're ready to admit to MetaFilter that you're really a famous cult filmmaker. But if you're not sure, follow this handy flowchart by Adam Fromm: Which Contemporary Film Snob Director Are You? It's funny, it's clever, it's easy to navigate, it's a giant JPG image.

Here's a discussion on the Criterion Collection subreddit about an earlier version of this flowchart.

P. S. I am Agnès Varda.




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Need Advice on Handling My Teen Daughter's Drinking Confession

I'm feeling out of my depth and could really use some support. My 16-year-old daughter recently admitted to drinking alcohol, and I'm grateful she trusted me enough to share this. But now, I'm facing an even more complicated situation. Last night she came home late with red eyes. I was asleep, and my wife became suspicious of smoking weed. The next day asked me to speak with her. I had a private conversation with her, where I asked about alcohol and other substances. She denied it. I promised her that she could tell me anything, and I'd keep it confidential unless her safety was at risk or if I felt I couldn't help and needed to find someone who could. I assured her that if it ever came to that, I'd tell her first before involving anyone else.

With that reassurance, she admitted to drinking. I'm grateful she opened up, but now I'm worried this may not be the first time, and I'm feeling deeply concerned.

Family History: My father's drinking led to emotional neglect and abuse when I was growing up. This makes me particularly hurt, sad, and fearful about my daughter's safety and the potential dangers of substance use.
•. Daughter's Challenges: She has attention issues and dyslexia, making school and focus a constant challenge. I worry that drinking or experimenting with substances could worsen these struggles.
Parental Dynamics: I haven't shared any of this with my wife yet. My wife has a very strict, zero-tolerance stance on substance use and has even threatened to abandon our daughter if she ever used drugs or alcohol. To be clear that's just intended to keep her in line. I don't believe it would ever come to that —but I feel stuck and unsure of how to handle this delicate situation.
•.Social Concerns: My daughter's friends are important to her, and I don't want to damage her social life or push her away. At the same time, I need to find a way to set boundaries and keep her safe.

My Questions:
• How do I support my daughter, maintain her trust, and guide her toward safer choices without isolating her socially or damaging our relationship?
• How do I handle this situation with my wife while protecting my daughter's trust and managing the volatility of our family dynamics?
• How can I manage my own fears, given my past experiences with emotional abuse and my daughter's learning challenges?

Any advice, support, or shared experiences would mean the world to me. Thank you for listening.




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'Brave New World' Meets 'The Handmaid's Tale' In Sophie Mackintosh's New Novel

Sophie Mackintosh wrote her first novel, The Water Cure , while she was also working a full time office job. It was a success — longlisted for the Man Booker prize in 2018. So she left the day job to write her second novel, Blue Ticket. And as she did in her first book, Mackintosh has created a world in Blue Ticket that explores themes of gender, power and family. "On the day of the first period, teenage girls are assigned a blue ticket or white ticket through a lottery system," Mackintosh says. "The blue ticket means you can't have children and a white ticket means that you can. And this one decision that they make very early on in their lives kind of dictates the rest of their life and follows them around." Interview Highlights On the protagonist, Calla, a blue-ticket woman So I had decided — for a long time I decided I wasn't going to have children, and I was very firm on this. And then when I kind of reached my late 20s, I found myself experiencing something which I imagine a lot




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Salud y seguridad, ¿el gobierno está escuchando las advertencias?

Panelistas consideran que el gobierno enfrenta enorme resistencia, pero afirman que hace falta consenso y diálogo entre los distintos sectores.




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Petro se quedó escuchando a los jóvenes: Viceministro de Juventudes tras cuestionamientos

En Caracol Radio estuvo Gareth Sella, el viceministro de Juventudes, explicando detalles sobre el encuentro del presidente con los consejeros de juventudes




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“Israel no está luchando contra el pueblo”: portavoz tras tragedia con camiones de ayuda

Capitán Roni Kaplan, portavoz del Ejército israelí, se refirió en 6AM a la tragedia en la que más de un centenar de palestinos falleció mientras intentaba conseguir ayuda humanitaria en Gaza




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When fish gave us the finger: this ancient four-limbed fish reveals the origins of the human hand




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Jouw eerste AI-collega’s zijn hier: deze taken nemen ze uit handen

In een eerder artikel* schreef ik hoe AI de betrouwbaarheid van chatbots vergroot. Door duidelijke kaders te stellen en de juiste bedrijfsdata beschikbaar te stellen aan het repertoire, worden AI-gestuurde chatbots steeds vaker succesvol ingezet. Inmiddels zijn we beland in de volgende fase van AI en spreken we niet langer over chatbots, maar over AI-agenten. […]





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Maverick Handley, Ali Peper are student-athletes of the year

A catcher bound for Stanford and a golfer-ice hockey player who spent half the school year in Boston and is headed to Harvard were named male and female student-athletes of the year at The Denver Athletic Club's 41st annual athlete-of-the-year banquet Thursday night.




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Flicks of the Week: Taye Diggs Handles Best Man Duties



See how everything turns out.



  • BET Star Cinema

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Ex-NBA Player Tyson Chandler And His Wife Are Divorcing After 16 Years

Kimberly Chandler reportedly filed this week.




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BHCS Present Safe Hands Award To Dion Stovell

BHCS concluded the Calvin “Bummy” Symonds Safe Hands Award after 25 years, honoring Dion Stovell with their final award. A spokesperson said, “Bermuda Healthcare Services [BHCS] proudly announces the culmination of the Calvin “Bummy” Symonds Safe Hands Award, marking 25 years of celebrating exceptional athletic achievement. The 2024 award presentation, honoring the remarkable fielding performances of […]




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Hand-me-down Parade – A song

It can be quite cathartic writing a song when a parent dies. This is my tribute to Dad who died in October. Maybe there’s a little Gerry Rafferty in here, a dash of ELO, there’s probably no Roy Orbison nor Buddy Holly in it, except in spirit, perhaps.* Hand-me-down Parade by Dave Bradley Inevitably, it’s … Continue reading "Hand-me-down Parade – A song"




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Spirit Hands




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my hands hurt

Today on Married To The Sea: my hands hurt


This RSS feed is brought to you by Drew and Natalie's podcast Garbage Brain University. Our new series Everything Is Real explores the world of cryptids, aliens, quantum physics, the occult, and more. If you use this RSS feed, please consider supporting us by becoming a patron. Patronage includes membership to our private Discord server and other bonus material non-patrons never see!




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Hands-Free GPS




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Cavan hand debuts to five players

Cavan have handed debuts to five players for Sunday's Ulster senior football championship tie against Donegal.




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Providence's Oswin Erhunmwunse throws down a POWERFUL two-hand dunk vs. Hampton

Providence Friars' Oswin Erhunmwunse threw down a powerful two-handed dunk against the Hampton Pirates.




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Matthew Nicholson throws down a two-handed slam to help Northwestern lead over UIC going into the half

Matthew Nicholson threw down a two-handed slam to help the Northwestern Wildcats lead over the the UIC Flames going into the half.




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Bill Clinton Cracked a Terrible Dad Joke on Twitter and Nobody Can Handle It

Slick Willy just had to go and crack a dad joke that simultaneously dug on President Trump and kept the pun game strong, didn't he? Naturally, people were highly entertained and vaguely irritated. 




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How to Handle Cold Fusion Errors – onError() Function and More

After lots of research surrounding the onMissingTemplate() function, cflog, and creating a custom error log, it became very event that the information you have would be great, I say great except; a server issue…. Source: Colorblind Programming <cfsetting showdebugoutput=”no” requesttimeout=”200″ /> <cfoutput> Server.ColdFusion.RootDir=#Server.ColdFusion.RootDir# <!— quick and dirty way of getting the file separator —> <cfif find(‘/’,Server.ColdFusion.RootDir)> […]




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AMD Ryzen AI 365/HX 370 Handhelds Outperform ROG Ally X by 15-20%

AMD's latest gaming handhelds, powered by the Ryzen AI 365 and HX 370 processors, have shown impressive performance benchmarks, surpassing the ASUS ROG Ally X equipped with the Ryzen Z1 Extreme by 15-20%. This marks a significant advancement in portable gaming technology, particularly with the introduction of AMD's Strix Point architecture.

The post AMD Ryzen AI 365/HX 370 Handhelds Outperform ROG Ally X by 15-20% appeared first on ThinkComputers.org.




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F&S behandelen overspannen VVD'ers (NRC, di, 27-08-24)




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World Made by Hand: A Novel

Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle, Audiobook – January 1, 2009





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Wool Applique Chicks - I Love Handwork!!!


I started this project in October, 2014, so I would have a nice handwork project while traveling for a month in Europe. I love it!!!

A bunch of pre-cut threads and trims, a small package of mixed seed beads/buttons/sequins, a folded piece of felt with various sizes of needles, embroidery scissors, Sue Spargo's book, and 16 wool chicks already stitched to the background wool fit very nicely into a 12 x 9 inch zippered, mesh bag.... perfect to tuck into my backpack! I stitched on the airplanes, in people's homes, and with my beady/quilty friends! At the end of the month, 8 chicks were finished. You can see them here.


Since then, I've been busy making a Travel Diary quilt, and starting another very challenging "Shimmer" quilt, which will be the subject of the next post. However, once in a while, the Chicks are just the right break from machine sewing. Working on them makes me happy and peaceful.


The new ones are in this post... As you can see in the photo below, I still have 2 chicks to embellish, plus one that might need something more.


When all of them are finished, it will be time to decide what to do with them. My idea so far is to make them into a small wall quilt, hand quilting around the chicks, maybe adding a few flowers between some of the chicks.  I'll wait to decide, keeping all options open until the chicks are finished.


Most of the chicks are girls, but so far 3 of them seem to have a bit of testosterone...  can you tell which ones are the boys? You'll need to click on the above picture of all 16 to enlarge it enough to find the boys. If you feel like making a guess, let's give them numbers starting at the top left with 1 and going across row by row. As you can probably tell, the one below is definitely a girly girl!

By the way, the lace trim on the above chick is vintage lace from LaDonne Weinland, an Etsy vendor. It was white, which was too "strong" a color for this piece. So I painted dye on it!!! These are the pieces I painted. To give you an idea of scale, the lace is just under 1/4" wide. The chick, from the bottoms of her feet to the top of her crown, is exactly 3 inches tall.

Threads! 

People ask me where I got all the threads I use for these chicks. Here are some answers...

Variegated pearl cotton. I'd estimate that over half the stitches (all the beaks and feet, most of the edge stitches, tails, and top-knots) are pearl cotton, size 8 or 12. I like using threads that are subtly variegated. DMC and Valdani are two brands of pearl cotton that come in a ball for $5 to $7 per ball. I have purchased some Valdani balls from Sue Spargo and some from this site.

But most of my perle cotton comes from African Folklore Embroidery ... Leora Raikin, the owner, packages hand-dyed, variegated, pearl cotton on cards of three colors, each color about 10 yards in length, for $5.  She has a HUGE selection, from which you can have 24 colors for only $40!!! I love the colors, the subtle changes of colors in the variegation, and the quality of the thread. Here's a page that shows her colors in size 8 pearl cotton... mind boggling!
My photo does not show the full amount you get... only how it is packaged, 3 colors to a card!

Embroidery floss.  For finer stitches and details, I often switch to regular embroidery floss. Again I gravitate toward the variegated colors. DMC has put out a lot of new variegated skeins in recent years. If you have an older supply of solid colors, you might want to check out DMC's 24 new colors. Here's an Etsy seller that offers them. Or, if you are in the Seattle area, Nancy's Sewing Basket (on Queen Anne hill) stocks all of them. They are much more subtle than previous DMC variegated floss choices, more like hand-dyed. Anchor has also added nice options to their line.




I also buy hand-dyed embroidery floss when I see a skein that appeals to me. Again, I like the subtlety of it.

Other threads. Sue Spargo offers a line of variegated silk threads in beautiful colors, which she calls Silken Pearl. I bought some of them from her during the class, and have enjoyed using them. The sheen of the silk is a lovely contrast to the more matte quality of the pearl cotton.

In her book, Sue recommends using a wool thread to applique the wool chicks to the background wool. Since it is quite expensive, I used 60 weight cotton applique/sewing thread by Metler, which I already had in a range of colors. It works fine. If I didn't already have the Metler thread, I probably would have bought a set of Genziana wool threads on bobbins on Etsy, here. This wool thread is a bit too fine for embellishment work, but it's great for wool applique.

Novelty yarns, metallic threads, chenille, dazzle threads, etc. all have their occasional use as well. As I tend to like more matte and less bling, I don't often use these threads. But it's fun to experiment with them. I did use chenille on one of the above chicks... can you find it?








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Does Machine Quilting Enhance Quilts that are otherwise Hand-Sewn?

Oh dear, I'm sorry to have neglected posting here for so long. Although many suitable topics and photos have passed through my mind and camera, there just hasn't seemed to be a nice chunk of time available for putting it all together. Today is the day to begin again!

Inspired by Alice, by Marilyn Lidstrom Larson of Willow City, ND (detail of border)

For the past two months, it's been all about quilts and quilting for me, with beading taking a bit of a back seat for a while. My quilt and travel buddy, Lunnette, and I flew to Ontario, California for The Road to California, which is a ginormous quilt show with more than 1,000 quilts on exhibition and over 200 vendors. We gawked (and spent all of our allotted budget) for 3 whole days, barely noticing our fatigue and sore footies.

There are several intriguing subjects to cover, inspired by our experiences there. Today's post is about traditional applique and machine quilting.

Inspired by Alice, by Marilyn Lidstrom Larson of Willow City, ND
photo credit (for this photo only): Road 2 CA

Inspired by Alice, by Marilyn Lidstrom Larson, detail showing back

Inspired by Alice, by Marilyn Lidstrom Larson, detail of center

Inspired by Alice, by Marilyn Lidstrom Larson, detail of center quilting
Inspired by Alice, shown in the photos above, won the first prize of $1,000 in the Traditional, Wall, Applique category of the main (judged) exhibit! Take a moment to study the pictures, click on them to enlarge them, notice the way the applique and machine quilting compliment each other. Also think about what this might have looked like if the maker, Marilyn Lidstrom Larson, had hand-quilted her work the way Alice, her grandmother (and inspiration for the central portion of the quilt), would have done. I love this quilt, totally love it, and believe it deserved the award it received.

At the same time, it saddens me that in all the juried/judged shows I've seen (and entered) recently, there is no category specifically for hand sewn quilts... quilts which are hand-pieced, hand-appliqued, hand-embroidered, and/or hand-embellished, and finished with hand-quilting. Nope, hand-sewn quilts are judged right along with machine-sewn quilts. In my observation, machine-quilted pieces are the ones that win almost all the prizes, even in the traditional categories. Why is that? Is hand-quilting considered passe, a thing of our grandmothers' time? Is it because machine-quilting has more pizzazz in the viewers' and makers' eyes? Is it because the machine manufacturers are huge financial supporters of these shows and providers of much of the prize money? Is it because the machine manufacturers run the training programs for judges?

OK, let's look into this subject a bit more. Later, I'll tackle the subject of the influence of the machine manufacturers. For now let's consider this question:

Does machine-quilting enhance quilts that are otherwise hand-sewn?

Interestingly, at Road to California this year, there was a small exhibit of hand-sewn quilt tops, made long ago (most of them in the early 1900s) that were not quilted or layered with back and batting by the maker. These tops were given to modern machine quilters to finish, and the results were displayed. Studying them gave me a greater perspective on the above question.

I found myself looking at them through the imagined eyes of the original maker. Would she have been pleased with the finished quilt?  As you look at some of the quilts below (and in a few cases, detail shots), ask yourself, if you had hand-sewn the top, would you have liked the way it looks today? Does the machine quilting enhance the work of the original maker? I've numbered the quilts (in no particular order), so you can respond (regarding specific quilts) in the comments if you wish. As always, you can click on the photos to enlarge them.
#1 - Vintage Top with Modern Machine Quilting

#1 - Vintage Top with Modern Machine Quilting, detail

#2 - Vintage Top with Modern Machine Quilting

#3 - Vintage Top with Modern Machine Quilting

#3 - Vintage Top with Modern Machine Quilting, detail

#3 - Vintage Top with Modern Machine Quilting, detail

#4 - Vintage Top with Modern Machine Quilting

#5 - Vintage Top with Modern Machine Quilting

#5 - Vintage Top with Modern Machine Quilting, detail
What do you think of these? Which tops are enhanced by the machine quilting? Are there any that don't look right to you? If so, why not?

Since there is quite a difference looking at the photos as opposed to seeing the actual quits, my responses to these questions might be different than yours. To my eyes, #1 offers a believable connection and balance between the quilting and the original applique or piecing. It felt like the original maker would have done something very similar, only by hand.

I didn't want the quilting to overpower the original as it does in #3 and #5. Both of these were so stiff from the dense quilting, that it would be like sleeping under a piece of cardboard. Both of them made me feel disjointed. The lovely charm and grace of the original work seemed lost. I'm not sure why, but the background color created by machine quilting with colored thread in #5 seems almost weird... maybe because it's such an unlikely choice for the period.

Number 4 has the look of a chenille bedspread, both pretty and more-or-less "of the period." It works for me, even though the quilting is dense. The same is true for #2.

More from Road to California coming soon...




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It's official: Trump hands Musk efficiency role in new administration

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, under Donald Trump's administration, Trump said.




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AI / Deep Learning applications course – with hands-on experience

    New workshop in London / remote Link - Enterprise AI workshop – Sep 2018 – in London or remote     AI / Deep Learning applications course/ mentoring program – hands-on experience with limited spaces I am pleased to announce a new course on AI Applications The course combines elements of teaching, coaching and [...]




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AI labs – a club for #AI research and a chance to gain hands-on experience with AI

  We have been working on this idea over the summer and have now launched the next stage of the AI labs in London Here are some more details. Think of AI labs – as a club for AI research AI labs addresses three problems a)  Today, even if you are working on Machine Learning [...]




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Your hand is cramping up! Use this ergonomic mouse instead

TL;DR: If you still don't have a mouse for your WFH setup, get this ergonomic Logitech MX mouse for $89.99 (reg. $99)!

You know what part of you body seriously takes a beating after a long day or week of work? No, it's not your neck—though you need a more supportive office chair. — Read the rest

The post Your hand is cramping up! Use this ergonomic mouse instead appeared first on Boing Boing.




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Breaking: Republicans Retain Control Over House of Representatives, Handing Trump the Keys to His Agenda

Republicans have solidified their control of Washington by retaining control of the House of Representatives. President-elect Donald Trump’s overwhelming victory in the presidential race, coupled with GOP control of the […]

The post Breaking: Republicans Retain Control Over House of Representatives, Handing Trump the Keys to His Agenda appeared first on The Western Journal.




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Sport | Difference between good and great is handling pressure, says Kaizer Chiefs legend Baloyi

Former Kaizer Chiefs legend Brian Baloyi says that holding the Kaizer Chiefs No 1 jersey requires a hardened mentality, but he is upbeat over Amakhosi's chances this season.





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Twenty Years After Hong Kong Handover, Does ‘One Country, Two Systems’ Still Work?

Twenty Years After Hong Kong Handover, Does ‘One Country, Two Systems’ Still Work? Expert comment sysadmin 28 June 2017

This unique constitutional framework can endure – if Hong Kong society can reconcile its different visions of the future.

Golden Bauhinia Square prepares for the anniversary commemorations. Photo: Getty Images.

Twenty years after the handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese sovereignty, the ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement – the main aim of which was to guarantee the continuity of Hong Kong’s open society and way of life – can be said to have worked well. Street protests remain a regular feature of Hong Kong’s political culture. Freedom of information and expression are alive and well. Hong Kong retains its ‘capitalist way of life’, its legal system based on common law and independent judiciary, and its status as an international financial centre. As a result the city remains one of the most open economies across Asia, with robust institutions and transparency which are hard to find anywhere else in the region.

Yet the 79-day ‘occupy’ protests of autumn 2014 showed that something is not quite right in the city of Hong Kong.

The protests themselves had a number of causes. Partly they reflected socioeconomic concerns, especially the rise in income inequality and lack of affordable housing. These might have been dealt with to some extent by better governance over the years, but they are also a feature of many societies in the current phase of globalization – a case, perhaps, of too much ‘capitalist way of life’.

Politically, the desire expressed by many in 2014 was for a form of ‘genuine universal suffrage’ for the selection of Hong Kong’s chief executive which went beyond a provision of Hong Kong’s mini constitution, the Basic Law, that candidates should be put forward by a ‘nominating committee’. It was on this point that the possibility of constitutional reform foundered in 2015, leaving Hong Kong no further ahead in its ‘gradual progress’ towards democracy.

But this episode also brought to the surface the tension between different visions for Hong Kong’s future. In particular, many in Hong Kong are still uncomfortable with the ‘one country’ part of the deal, rejected by some (especially young people) in the ways that they conceptualize Hong Kong identity – according to one recent survey, as little as 3.1% of Hong Kong youths identify themselves as ‘Chinese’. These issues are likely to constrain political development for some time to come.

At their sharpest, some of these visions are for some form of self-determination, or even independence, for Hong Kong. This is not just anathema to the national authorities in Beijing, but contradicts a basic tenet of Hong Kong’s handover in 1997, the return to Chinese sovereignty. This is not just something on which Beijing will never compromise, but will seek to challenge.

It is this which explains the sense in Hong Kong that the central government has been looking to become politically more involved since 2014. But the challenge of influencing Hong Kong society is great, and other than strengthening relations with the establishment camp, Beijing has not been able to tighten its grip. If anything, the centre of gravity of Hong Kong politics has continued to drift away from Beijing, not towards it.

How this will play out remains to be seen. Some amelioration of social tensions could help. But the fundamental divergence in visions of Hong Kong’s future will not be resolved so easily.

Looking forward therefore, the key to the continued success of ‘one country, two systems’ lies in Hong Kong society. If mainstream acceptance of the compromises involved can return, then this unique constitutional framework can still work for years to come.