neat & tidy

2012-01-29T06:43:00.010-05:00

My friend NancyP is the one who got the idea for some of us to make this quilt. A message from her on Facebook yesterday looking for photos of my blocks made me realize I'd better get cracking. So with a pot of chili on the stove and some 70's music on Pandora, I got busy. Six blocks later, I was glad she got me moving.

These are 6" blocks. Between this project and The Farmer's Wife quilt, I can see where my piecing has greatly improved. Personally I favor mindless sewing and simple quilt patterns, so it was a real kick in the pants when I had to piece the more difficult blocks.

One thing I've learned is to constantly measure after sewing a seam. Even if there were those couple of threads extending off an edge, I trimmed them and squared up my piece. And I always trim up my finished blocks. I place my ruler on the block with a line on the ruler on top the seam line and trim from there. This helps to keep the block square.

There are two schools of thought as far as pressing - steam or no steam. I'm a steam person, and I feel the more the better but press - not iron. I like my blocks to be as flat as possible, and pressing on the front and back of the block help.

I've also started pressing some of the seams open. With the smaller pieces in these blocks, it helps to reduce the bulk. If I have two rows where seams will butt up, I go the usual route of pressing seams to the side.

Audrey already has her top pieced, and NancyP has her red blocks done. Not sure where the rest of the gang is. Girls? I plan to spend this afternoon sewing again. My goal is to get mine pieced so I can give it to NancyZ for the machine quilting. I'm taking inventory of my UFO's and excited that I am challenging myself to get this stuff finished up.

2012-01-24T16:54:00.006-05:00

This morning I read Renee's Sewn with Grace blog and her list of goals concerning her sewing room. I mentioned her list to Audrey; and she came up with a list of her own and encouraged me to make a list, too. Now I have to say that I am Audrey's biggest fan because I love all her ideas and her taste. So as long as she's doing this, I need to as well not only because I have too much stuff but also because I will regret not doing it once I see what she's accomplished.

And I can't tell how many times I've torn my sewing room apart looking for something only to see so many things I've bought and never used. So here's my plan and list for how I'm going to clean up my act and my sewing room.

1. No fabric purchasing except for borders and backs (this one really hurts). Any fabric purchased for backs will have to be white or cream so that leftovers can be used for piecing. Good idea, Renee!

2. No books, patterns, or quilt magazine purchasing. I needed to throw something easy onto this list. I have a lot of patterns and books I'd like to make projects from.

3. No purchasing cross stitch charts, linen, or floss except for Anniversaries of the Heart. I've wanted to do this project for months, so I'm allowing myself the purchase of the linen and any floss that I don't already have on hand.

4. I will make a list of all unfinished quilt projects and try to finish one every two months.

5. The only exception for buying is for destination quilt shops. Purchasing will be allowed there.

I can already tell this is going to be painful! For years Audrey and I have justified a lot of our buying by comparing our purchases to the cost of our husbands' golf addictions. And if you know the cost of a club membership or a good iron or wood, you know where I'm coming from.

2012-01-23T05:54:00.004-05:00

Gigi is sporting a new hat that I finished yesterday. That's a piece of a black feather boa on top. And yes, those cheeks are as kissable as they look!

2012-01-22T05:55:00.000-05:00

Need I say more?

2012-01-22T05:47:00.010-05:00

Years ago I taught quilting at a local shop. One of the women in a class had studied fashion in New York City when she was younger. She had spent a lot of money there and through the years buying fabrics and buttons. She jokingly told me that when she passed away, her friend Claudia was to go clean out her sewing room so her husband wouldn't know how much stuff she had amasssed. I asked her what difference it would make since she would be dead anyway. She laughed and told me she was afraid he wouldn't bury her if he knew how much money she had spent!

So the ongoing joke with some of my cousins/quilt/stitch buddies has been to skip each other's funeral and get the truck backed up to the house. Audrey, Cathy, JulieF, and Melissa, I couldn't resist posting this picture I saw on Pinterest without thinking of each of you. Thanks for all the laughs!

2012-01-16T17:48:00.018-05:00

We finally got snow here in Northwestern Pennsylvania over the weekend, and my snowmobile guys couldn't have been happier. And when they are out riding for hours, I have the place to myself. So Saturday I started a pot of soup on the stove and got busy with a needle.

Siobhan emailed and said she was working on a stack of freebie cross stitch charts. That really tempted me because in December I want to drape pine garland on my bannister and load it up with stitched ornaments. This is a freebie pattern I found here.

I finally nailed the crochet slipper pattern that I've been working on. For every slipper I made, I'll bet I ripped out and restarted five other ones. I finally was confident with my work and started making pairs. Larry told me at one point he thought I was obsessed with that project, so I started giving away the pairs. I'm still itching to get the hook out and make more, though.

I am way behind on my sewing, so I ended up trying to finish up a few things. I have always been a sucker for cute quilts, and I credit Debbie Mumm for that. While I've outgrown my Debbie phase, I still like to make a cutie every now and then. With some luck, we'll get more snow before this one gets put away; and the spring quilts come out.

2012-01-02T13:30:00.007-05:00

My quilt group has a Christmas party every year, and at each party we exchange gifts. We don't shop for an individual. We all have pretty much the same taste, so the gifts are wrapped and piled on a table. One at a time, we each get to chose one.

This year I got the gift Terri bought, and it was the pattern and fabric to make this little quilt designed by Primitive Gatherings. Aren't these colors terrific! I made it up in a couple of afternoons, and I finished the binding today. What a great piece for an otherwise dreary January.

Thanks, Terri!

2011-12-31T09:50:00.009-05:00

We had a great Christmas celebration here. I started vacation on December 16 at 4:30 when I left work. It seemed excessive to take a whole week off before Christmas, but I am glad I did. The list on my refrigerator of projects to finish before Christmas is still hanging there. I crossed off most of the projects, and I'm spending these last few days of vacation trying to finish the rest of them.

One of the first projects I saw on Pinterest that I wanted to make was a knitting needle case. You can find the directions here. I like how mine turned out. I wish I had one of these a long time ago; I wouldn't have bought duplicate needles and hooks if I'd been more organized! And somewhere along the line I lost the mate to two different sizes of needles. Of course they weren't part of the duplicates, and doesn't that just figure.

I've been knitting baby hats and crocheting slippers, and I can't seem to get enough of working with yarn. The local quilt shop is offering knitting classes in January, and I'm really tempted to sign up. This website has some really great patterns.

My granddaughter Natalie wanted to give each child in her kindergarten class a pair of mittens for Christmas. Her great grandmonther is well-known in their little town for her knitting skills. She was already knitting mittens for the church Christmas program, so she made an extra 25 pair for Natalie (all togther she made 100 pairs of mittens this year!).

The mittens were packed in a box and given to Natie to take to school. A half hour after she got to school that day, the teacher called Julie and said there were only 18 pairs but 21 students. Julie thought great grandma miscounted only to find out that her mother in law had made sure there were 25 pair when they were packed in the box. Come to find out, Natie had started passing out mittens on the bus to students who didn't have any. I love this story and I'm going to write it down and put it into the book I've started to chronicle Natie's school years.

I hope your 2012 is a good year for you. Thank you for taking a few minutes to read these posts or to follow my blog. I hope God pours out blessings on you and your home this coming year.

2011-12-21T06:23:00.017-05:00

The other day I finished stockings for Aubrey Faith and Gianna.

This is Aubrey's Christmas quilt. Still needs a label on the back, but I'm making a stack of handwork for later. Today I'll machine quilt Gianna's and finish it up. I'm amazed at how easily things are going together and getting checked off my to-do list. I think just getting away from my job for a couple of weeks and clearing my head is helping.

Yesterday I took some time to go to Natalie's Christmas program at her school. Julie and Travis live in a small farming community just over the state line from us. As we left the school after the program, Julie and I laughed because the scent of cow manure is in the air even in the town!

And I love where they live. These are hard-working people in this tiny community with a firm hold on good values and Christian faith. The program was for grades K through four, and each class sang one song celebrating Christ's birth and one secular song. How different from the couple of miles over the hill where we live. There was a live nativity in our town over the weekend, and someone has complained which has brought out the separation of church and state statement and yadda yadda.

Do you see something in this picture? Yes, there are Amish children in Natie's class. There is an Amish school in their community, but some of the families send their children to the public school for kindergarten and first grade. There were even two fellows in the fourth grade. Such a great little place!

2011-12-18T07:12:00.004-05:00

A shirt for Natie for her last week of school before Christmas vacation. I saw this on Pinterest, but I didn't pin it; so I have no idea who came up with this one.

It's snowing outside, and the plow just went down the road. It's easier to get into the mood for Christmas sewing when it snows.

2011-12-17T16:15:00.005-05:00

Gianna Mary-Lynn and her new hat. There's one for Aubrey Faith, and she'll get her hat when she comes for Christmas.

Scratch two things off the to-do list!

2011-12-17T06:09:00.007-05:00

I made it - I'm finally on vacation until January 3. Well, there will be one morning after Christmas that I have to work; but that's far enough away that I don't have to think about it yet. It's been a rough month on top of a rougher week, so all this time away is even sweeter.

The job list is already posted on my refrigerator of the things I need to knit, sew, or quilt before Christmas; and it's really a do-able list. No stress here! I just don't want to wake up the morning of January 3 and wonder what the heck happened. I must have crocheted 100 slippers and knitted 10 baby hats this fall. Unfortunately, most of them were ripped out and restarted because I didn't care for how they looked. At this stage of the game, it's all about 'what gets done, gets done and there will be another Christmas next year.' I was joking with a supplier last week about how we didn't want our families to remember the year Mom had such a short fuse and ruined everything.

Thursday evening I had dinner with my quilt group, and on the menu was lobster macaroni and cheese. Now I didn't order it, but those that did raved about it. So sometime during this vacation I'll be putting this together using a favorite macaroni and cheese recipe from one of mom's dearest friends that was published in our church cookbook.

Shirley Paschke's Macaroni and Cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni
1/2 cup margarine
1/3 cup flour
4 cups milk
1/4 pound sharp cheese, cubed
1/2 pound Longhorn or Colby cheese, cubed
1 pound Velveeta cheese, cubed
4 slices bread, buttered and cubed

Cook and drain macaroni. Melt margarine; add flour and blend. Slowly stir in milk. Stir and cook until mixture begins to thicken. Add cubed cheeses and stir constantly until cheese melts. Mix with cooked macaroni. Pour into buttered 5-quart baking dish. Top with buttered bread cubes. Bake covered at 350 for one hour or until bubbly. This can be made in two smaller casserole dishes with one to put in the freezer for another time. Lobster is optional.

2011-12-10T06:04:00.009-05:00

Like every other quilter out there, I'm over my head with projects I want to finish in time for Christmas. We don't even have our tree up! I like to decorate on Black Friday when everyone else is shopping, but the weather was warm; and it just didn't feel Christmasy. There has been little snow here; there's something about the snow puts me in the mood to decorate. The plans are to get the tree and the other things up this weekend regardless of what the weather is. Tomorrow is Natalie's Christmas program (with her first speaking part!), and it'll be nice to come home to a Christmas house.

Last Friday I had a couple friends over to sew. Sue from across the road had a sewing machine set up in her front window. It's not like I like to look into other people's windows; but coming out of the driveway, I have to look right into her house. We've barely said hello in the two years she's lived over there, but I took and chance and walked over to invite her to come over and sew with us. It was awkward, but it all worked out in the end; and we hope to get together again soon. I think there is a new quilter in the making, and she's got me wanting to start to sew Amy Butler bags.

I listen to Christian radio on my way to work and back. It's just a 10-minute drive, and I don't get to hear much; but this short story was shared earlier this week. And while I've shared the YouTube video other Christmases, it's one of my favorites; and I want to share with my new readers. Merry Christmas to everyone.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow married Frances Appleton in July of 1843 and lived in the historic Craigie House in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Not long after they started a family and were blessed with the birth of their first child, Charles. Eventually, the Longfellow household numbered five children—including Charles there was Ernest, Alice, Edith, and Allegra.

Almost 20 years after their marriage, tragedy struck both the nation and the family. Confederate General Beauregard fired the opening shots of the American Civil War on April 12. A few months after this any breeze from the ocean was masked from the dust and activity of the war’s gunfire.

Fanny noticed that her little 7 year old Edith especially suffered from the heat due to the weight of her beautiful curly hair. Fanny decided to trim some of Edith’s curls and preserve the clippings in some sealing wax (as was a custom of the time). As Fanny melted a bar of sealing wax with a candle, a few drops fell onto her dress and when a long awaited and ill-timed sea breeze gusted through the window it ignited the light material of her skirts immediately wrapping her in flames.

Frances sprung into mommy-mode in an attempt to protect her children and ran into Henry's study. There, Henry frantically tried to extinguish the flames with a throw rug. Failing to stop the fire with the rug, he tried to smother the flames by throwing his arms around his sweet wife severely burning his face, arms, and hands. Fanny Longfellow died the next morning. Too ill from his burns and grief, Henry did not attend her funeral. (Incidentally, the trademark full beard of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow arose from his inability to shave after this tragedy.)

The first Christmas after Fanny's death, Longfellow wrote, "How inexpressibly sad are all holidays." A year after the incident, he wrote, "I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace." Longfellow's journal entry for December 25th 1862 reads: "'A merry Christmas' say the children, but that is no more for me."

Almost a year later, Longfellow received word that his oldest son Charles, an lieutenant in the Army, had been critically wounded. The Christmas of 1863 was silent in Longfellow's journal. But on Christmas Day of 1864, God helped him find his peace. He wrote the words of the poem, "Christmas Bells" where we all now hear the bells proclaiming loudly, "God is not dead."

Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T05:08:00.004-05:00

There will be 17 at our place this year for Thanksgiving. My table can seat 12 comfortably if no one sticks their elbows out. So the men will load up their plates and sit in the living room in front of the TV while the women take over the table and help the littlest ones. I have a 24-pound turkey thawing in the frig, and there will be an extra turkey breast to roast as well. Everyone is bringing dishes to share to help with the meal.

The last two years my parents lived on their own, I would do the whole meal myself. That would mean getting up early on Thanksgiving day to make and bake yeast rolls and pies so they would as fresh as possible. It was a lot of work, but I loved every minute of it. It seems weird not to be so busy on Thanksgiving morning, but I'm getting to love it.

For the first time, we are using paper plates and plastic silverware, and that seems the hardest thing to do! In fact, I had some beautiful Waverly plates in my grocery cart last week; but I ended up putting them back on the shelf. I just couldn't imagine paper and plastic on Thanksgiving. But my kitchen is tiny; and when it was remodeled, I didn't want to sacrifice cupboard space for a dishwasher. Doing dishes for 17 plus pots and pans is seems ridiculous, so the china and good silver will have to wait until Christmas.

We have so much to be thankful for this year - what a year it's been for my family! Thanks for your comments to my posts as well as your kind thoughts and prayers. I appreciate you all so much. Have a good Thanksgiving celebration.

The retreat - the final post

2011-11-20T07:02:00.018-05:00

Donna always amazes me with the projects she and her team work up for us. At each retreat, we receive handmade goodies as well as things she picks up from the stores. This year I went home with sewing machine needles, threads, scissors as well as a pile of other things. As soon as she arrived on Friday, she handed out these totes; and inside each one was a small drawstring bag and this handy thing to put under our machines. There are pockets across the front to hold supplies. Now even my sewing machine has a quilt!

Patti stitched the designs for the sweetest little tins that held small scissors, needles, and a needle threader. I've tried to take a picture; but even without the flash, the design is too light to show up well. So imagine an Altoid tin with a cross stitch design on top and trim to hide the raw edges. Some of the designs on the tins were stitched just for the person receiving it - a camper for Mary Lou and kitties for Sarah were a couple.

This is what I spent most of my time working on. It's Miss Rosie's X-Rated Schnibble made with French General's Falalalala. It was an easy pattern to work on; but like Darcy told me before I started, you have to pay attention! Even so, I ended up using my seam ripper a few times. Now I hope to get it quilted in time for Christmas.

On a road trip in September, NancyP got some of us interested in this pattern. So now we have a Betsy Ross quilt group, and we are the little Betsys. I was able to get several blocks done, and here are a few.

So now I have more projects that need to be finished. It just doesn't seem to end, but I love what I do; and I so enjoy these women that inspire me.

The retreat - some projects

2011-11-19T07:13:00.020-05:00

This year Terri organized a mug rug contest, and each of us made one. She displayed them on a little clothesline with tiny clothespins. Really cute! The winner was Sarah's which is the one at the top of this picture. Every entry was super, and I couldn't imagine putting a coffee mug on any of them.

Twister quilts are huge with this group. This is NancyP's mug rug done twister style; it's really tiny!

Here's Darcy's twister quilt made from Funky Monkey Christmas fabric. The backing fabric is dark brown with bananas printed on it. What a winner of a quilt!

NancyZ is also a member of another quilt group, and they just finished doing this row quilt project. It's an idea we tossed around for our group as well. Nancy sewed blocks and then passed them along with the coordinating fabric onto the next quilter. She added blocks for the next row and then so on. At their retreat, everyone pieced their tops making adjustments for the widths. This will be a fun project for our group, and I have a Blackbird Designs bundle ready to go.

And here is everyone for the annual picture of the baby quilts for the Florence Crittenton Home. Aren't they a beautiful group of women?

I'll be back with pictures of some of the goodies I got as well as the projects I worked on.

Retreat recap - the recipes first

2011-11-16T05:36:00.011-05:00

This year's retreat was one of the best thanks to Donna and her helpers. Each year I think it can't get better than this, and they end up surprising us all.

Darcy made these really cute cookies after she saw the picture on Pinterest. Where I come from, sugar cookies always have frosting on top; but without frosting, they were still a great cookie. Definitely a recipe I will make.

Sarah made a ginger cookie from a recipe of her grandmother's that was written on the back of an old envelope. Don't you just love that kind of keepsake?! She didn't have her recipe with her, but ginger snap recipes are easy to find on the web. The twist that she added to her cookie was that she dipped half of it into white chocolate. I could have made a meal of these; they were excellent, and I plan to make these for Christmas.

I brought salad to go with Friday evening's meal. I just tossed romaine with baby spinach and had mandarin oranges and sugared walnuts on the side to toss with the greens. The dressing recipe I got from Our Best Bites' blog. It was a red wine vinegar with honey and garlic. If you ever need to try a good recipe, check out that blog. My cousin Audrey bought their cookbook, and it is superb.

I have a few pictures of projects from the retreat as well as some of the ideas we tossed around for future group projects. I'll share those in another post.

The fall quilt retreat

2011-11-11T04:56:00.009-05:00

Today starts the annual fall retreat with my quilt group. I'm flying solo this year meaning my cousins Audrey and Cathy won't be joining me. We always room together and spend the weekend talking our heads off about everything under the sun. I'll miss them both a lot, but the rest of the group is every bit as fun as these two. I know I'll keep thinking 'I've got to remember to tell Audrey this one.' Guess I'd better throw a pencil and a tablet into my project basket.

Hope to have some pictures to show when I get back. These women are so talented and creative. Can't wait to join them!

A pinwheel quilt

2011-11-08T05:45:00.004-05:00

A couple weeks ago our quilt group had the monthly meeting at NancyP's. When the discussion turned to finalizing the plans for the the annual retreat this month, I realized I had forgotten to make my baby quilt. Every November we donate a stack of baby quilts to a home for unwed mothers. How could I have forgotten this?!!! I am blaming it on the fact that I was sewing and quilting a pile of wheelchair quilts.

Anyway, I saw Lorrie's Christmas pinwheel quilt and knew that I could duplicate that pattern for a baby quilt - quick and easy! And then this tutorial was on the Moda Bakeshop. I didn't have a charm pack to spare, so I used some fat quarters.

I love how this turned out! (Yes, I know I haven't trimmed the border at the top.) The retreat starts Friday, and I don't even have my projects cut. Not sure where I'll get the time to quilt this, but it's on the to-do list.

Pumpkins

2011-11-05T06:33:00.004-04:00

At our stitch day last month, Melissa gave me this pattern. I've always loved Country Threads patterns, and this is one of my favorites.

2011-11-02T05:27:00.003-04:00

Siobhan pinned this; and because she's pretty cool, I needed to pin it as well. Another God moment.......

Those God Moments

2011-11-01T16:50:00.031-04:00

Sometimes life seems to come at us in ways that we don't expect and don't want. The past few weeks I've seen so much sadness in the form of health issues with people I love so much. But then there are those God moments that help see us through.

My mom's health has been upsetting these past few years, and now she's going through another decline. My friends in my quilt group have been one of those God moments by helping donate wheelchair quilts to the nursing home she lives in. These quilts were done by Betsy and NancyZ.

A favorite niece is undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin's, and again my quilt group was there for her with one of the charity quilts that is stockpiled and handed out when there is a need.

Sue surprised me with this wonderful quilt book. Neither of us knew that the day I opened the package there would be an upsetting health issue with someone so close to me. This book and her emails of encouragement were just what I needed and at the right time.

Melanie blessed me with a beautiful card and words of encouragement right at the same time I found out about a family member who needs chemotherapy and radiation treatments. How could Sue and Melanie have known? It's another couple of God moments.

I treasure this quilt that Sue, Melanie, and I have building together. All our quilts have memories sewn into them, and this quilt made by three friends who have never met will always be one of my favorites.

So my family is taking one day at a time encouraging each other the best way that we can. And we'll all get through these days with scars on our hearts and a deeper appreciation of each other and the good things we have. Squeeze those people you love but tick you off; and overlook their messes, the mistakes that are made, and whatever they do that someday you won't even remember. Purposely be that God moment for someone; you won't regret it.

My name is Mary, and I'm an addict

2011-10-16T07:18:00.004-04:00

Pinterest. Need I say more?

And let me tell you - it is so addicting pinning ideas! If you are not part of Pinterest and would like to, let me know; and I'll send you an invite. I was actually a Pinterest pinhead meaning I couldn't even pin until my daughter Mandy was home and got me squared away. Then my cousing Audrey sent me a link that detailed more information. The rest is history.

Here is my link; don't say I didn't warn you.

The black and white fabric challenge

2011-09-24T12:56:00.013-04:00

There is a quilt shop in town, but I don't often shop there. The owner's taste in fabrics is different than what I normally buy. A couple weeks ago I was in town on Sunday, and she had her flag out showing she was open, so I took a minute to run in to see what was new. She's having a challenge using these fabrics. Now normally I wouldn't participate in something like that; but having spent the day before with some quilt buddies on a road trip, I was still feeling the inspiration from being with them. (Yes, girls, I'm in awe of each one of you!)

Right away I knew my project had to be quick to sew because I need to turn in my project this weekend. I decided to use Blackbird Designs' quilt block that I posted about here and made this miniature quilt. The handles are fall colors of rust, brown, and dark green. I did a simple quilt-in-the-ditch machine straight stitch to hold the layers together. I took the time to fussy cut the binding along the printed lines of the plaid.

Voting will take place during a local shop hop in October, and votes are a penny apiece. Now I don't care if I win or not because the money raised will support an area charity, and that's a good thing. And there is already a stunning lap quilt entered, but it was fun to sew this up and give it a chance.

And the crazy black and white check fabric? I put it on the back!

OK, so I'm a Republican

2011-09-15T05:18:00.004-04:00

You know how you should never mix politics, religion, and friendship? Two weeks ago we had dinner with another couple. The men work together, and I've only met the girlfriend a couple of times. Somehow or other, the subject of politics came up; and I found out she's a die-hard Democrat. I wonder if her perspective of me changed when she discovered I'm on the opposite side; I sure think differently of her now because of her negative comments about my people. In the blog world we tend to read blogs by women we identify with, and one of my favorite bloggers is Debbie. I recently asked her opinion on Rick Perry since he is the governor of the state she lives in. If you're interested in her opinion, check out her blog.

And let's just keep politics and religion on the back burner, OK?

9-11

2011-09-11T08:41:00.007-04:00

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, my God in Whom I trust."

For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge. His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

You will not be afraid of the terror by night or of the arrow that flies by day, of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand my fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand. But it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you nor will any plague come near your tent.

For He will give His angels charge concerning you - to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands lest you strike your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:1-11

Something good for supper

2011-09-10T07:49:00.007-04:00

I'm on a road trip this morning with some quilt buddies! I'm getting my housework done now so that when I get home, I can head straight to the sewing room. I've put this in the crockpot so I won't have to spend a lot of time cooking either. What a great day ahead! I got this recipe from a Pillsbury cookbook.

Rosemary Beef and Tomatoes over Noodles

2 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon beef base
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 lb. beef stew meat
4 Italian plum tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Combine butter, onion, beef base, salt, pepper, and beef in crock pot. Mix well. Cover and cook on low for 9 to 10 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, add tomatoes and rosemary to beef mixture and mix well. Increase heat to high. Cover and cook an additional 10 minutes. Serve over cooked noodles.

I omitted the salt since we're trying to watch our salt intake. I figured there would be enough salt in the beef base. I like this recipe because for once I've found a stew recipe that doesn't use canned tomates or cream of whatever soup.

Hop To It - getting caught up

2011-09-07T19:08:00.013-04:00

When I was in the fourth grade, we were required to memorize poetry. For the poor student who was the last one to memorize a poem perfectly, he/she was called 'the old cow's tail' because the tail is the last thing on a cow. Can you imagine doing that to a student?! My teacher was the wife of the school principal, was very well respected in our town, and was the favored teacher for the fourth grade. Things sure have changed and definitely for the better.

Thankfully I was never the old cow's tail, but I kind of feel like that with the Hop To It project. Here are the two blocks that I am late on.

Melanie helped me out with the fabric for the bunny. I can't believe I didn't have gray in my stash, but she gifted me with this great fabric. There is just something wrong with the little nose on this guy. I haven't stitched anything down yet on this block; I want to make the nose better.

This block is really pretty - in real life. Again, it looks rather washed out because I'm using pastel-colored fabrics.

This is a great project with Sue and Melanie, and I am honored that they've asked me to join them. It's a fun project to work on together, and it's always interesting to see what they've done with their blocks. Please check out their blogs, too.

Natalie goes to kindergarten!

2011-09-05T12:26:00.016-04:00

Natie starts kindergarten tomorrow. To say our entire family is excited, is an understatement. She is Travis and Julie's first child, and our first grandchild. Everything she has done has captivated us and captured our hearts.

She has two years of preschool under her belt. To prepare her for kindergarten and before she graduated from preschool, she had to answer 205 questions about things she learned and needed to know. She correctly answered 204 of these questions and had the highest score her teacher ever saw with one of her students. Please bear with me, but I just had to brag.

The mother of Travis' best friend will be her bus driver, so there will be no hiccups as far as missing her bus stop or knowing where to drop her off on the days Julie and Travis will be working. She has been to the meet-and-greet and met her teacher. Some of her Sunday School friends will be in her class, but most of the children will be new to her.

Because kindergarten is an all-day affair, she was asked to bring a beach towel or small blanket for naptime. So I took time from my Hop to It block of the month and the wheelchair quilt projects to make nap mat for her. I used some leftover squares Julie had from the baby quilt she made for her friend Addie. The fabric is Sandy Gervais' line titled Lovely. I am really excited how this quilt turned out - perfect for a little girl.

So here's to the 42 students in the Class of 2015 and one special little girl! Have a great year.

Peach pie filling

2011-08-28T09:18:00.009-04:00

We're canning peaches today, and I want to make some pie filling for the freezer. This recipe is from Farm Journals's Canning and Freezing cookbook. When the pie is baked, it tastes like it was made fresh.

4 quarts sliced and peeled peaches (9 pounds)
1 teaspoon powdered ascorbic acid
1 gallon water
3 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablesppons quick-cooking tapioca
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt

Place peaches in a large container. Dissolve ascorbic acid in water and pour over peaches. Drain.

Combine peaches, sugar, tapioca, lemon juice, and salt.

Line four 8" pie pans with heavy-duty aluminum foil letting it extend 5" beyond rim. Divide filling evenly between pans. Makes fillings for four 9" pies.

To freeze, fold foil loosely over fillings; freeze. Remove from freezer when solid and turn filling from pans. Wrap snugly in foil and return to freezer. Recommended storage time is six months.

To bake, remove foil from frozen filling and place it (unthawed) in a pastry lined 9" pie pan. Dot with butter and sprinkle on 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Adjust top crust, flute edges, and cut vents. Bake at 425 F for one hour and ten minutes or until syrup boils with heavy bubbles that do not burst.

This tastes so good on a winter day!

Iowa Girl - quilted

2011-08-26T17:09:00.005-04:00

I machine quilted and finished up Iowa Girl a few weeks ago. I don't know what it is about this quilt, but I just love it.

School started this week in our district. Where has the summer gone?! I have yet to post my Hop To It block for this month. Since the next block is due to be posted on Wednesday, I'll just show both (hopefully). Thanks, Mel and Sue, for hanging in there with me.

We've been enjoying summer to the fullest with family picnics, grandbabies, gardening, and beating the heat. I've already started to cut back some of my perennials since the sun has just about burned them up even though I tried to be faithful with watering. Our experiment with container gardening fizzled out. Most of our tomatoes ended up with blossom end rot; there are only two that look promising. We had one zucchini from three plants. The easiest vegetable to grow, and we couldn't do it. Fortunately there are lots of farmers in our area with produce to sell. We've already put up half the corn we need and will be canning peaches this weekend.

Thank you for the kind comments and emails concerning my last post about Mom, Dad, and the wheelchair quilts. I've been sewing like crazy in order to have a nice stack to take to the nursing home when I attend Mom's care plan meeting. Some of my quilt friends have offered to help, and I love that they care. I want to finish up this project as soon as I can. I have other quilt tops to work on, and there is a road trip coming up in September to an area quilt shop. It just doesn't end, does it!

It's been a great summer; and in reading some blogs, I can see that a lot of you have had good ones, too. I'm hoping things slow down soon, though, now that fall is just around the corner.

In memory of Robert - in honor of Jane

2011-08-09T17:00:00.011-04:00

It seems the older I get, the busier I get. I thought once the girls got married and moved out, I'd have more time to sew and quilt. But now there are family dinners on the weekend as well as grandbabies to visit and play with. Since Larry's heart attack, he hasn't golfed much. His hours golfing used to mean hours for my sewing. Now we head to the local driving range, and he works on putting or his swing while I walk a few miles. He prefers not to go alone, and I feel more comfortable being nearby to keep an eye on him.

At our last quilt group meeting, Donna mentioned a project of sewing shirt protectors (adult bibs) for a nursing home. I was interested in this project because I thought it would be something I could contribute to the home Mom lives in. After talking with the social worker, it became more bother than it was worth. However, the social worker said they could always use wheelchair quilts; and so a new project was born.

When I talked with my cousin Audrey about it, she said she had homespuns that we could use; so a Saturday was spent sewing her blocks into quilts. She mentioned this project to Darlene who does long arm quilting, and she gave us a pile of batting scraps that could be pieced together.

I had blocks left over from making wedding quilts for my girls, and they got sewn into quilts. These quilts are only 36" square, so they work up quickly. I have been quilting them on my sewing machine with a simple straight line.

My parents were not ones for calling attention to themselves. They gave of their money, time, and resources to their community and church but never wanted recognition for it. There will certainly be no buildings at a college because of their contribution, and no blocks with their name on it will be purchased for area fundraisers.

When my dad passed away six years ago, I had the job of closing out his estate. As I submitted a death certificate for each financial account, I thought to myself it was one more way he would never be remembered. I saved his credit union account for the last as this was a credit union he helped establish. As I met with the manager, I found she never knew my dad; and she didn't even recognize his name. Without him, there would have been no credit union and no job for her. It was hard to imagine that his name was slowly being erased from the community he lived in all his life.

So I'm giving these quilts in memory of dad and in honor of mom. My plan is to give a stack of these the next time I have a care plan meeting for mom. I am giving them from Audrey, Darlene, and me. I know Mom and Dad wouldn't want the recognition, but their story is part of my life; and the story of my life is the reason I have this blog. There will be no label on the quilts stating any of this, but I'll know.

And the legacy of loving and giving continues.

Christmas in July

2011-07-29T17:33:00.008-04:00

For once I'm ahead of the game by having a Christmas project done in time for Christmas. This small quilt was made from a bundle of precuts that my cousin Audrey gave me last year for my birthday. The fabric is Fancy Hill Farm by Robin Pandolph. The pattern is Country Charm from Blackbird Designs' Country Inn book.

And look at this ruffle! It was a bugger to put on, but I love the look and will probably try to ruffle another small quilt sometime. Those Blackbird girls have the best ideas.

I've been machine quilting some of my quilt tops lately. The better tops and ones that I will give as gifts will go to the quilter for sure, but it's nice to finish up one by myself now and then.

Library summer reading program

2011-07-27T06:20:00.006-04:00

The library in the town I work offered a summer reading program for adults. I usually don't need to be encouraged to read, but I signed up anyway. The challenge of this program was to read books that are not usually something I would pick up. Here's what I have read so far.

1. The Wilder Life by W. McClure - This is a book about the author's obsession with Laura Ingalls Wilder. She traveled to all the places Laura lived and reported on what she found. Who doesn't love Laura? The author has a sense of humor, and a fun way of describing this. I really enjoyed this book.

2. Jane Eyre by C. Bronte - I may have been one of the few adults on the planet who have not read Jane Eyre. Once is enough for me with this book. I found I skimmed through much of it because of the style of writing and those endlessly long sentences. I don't know what all the fuss is about with this book, but it was a good read; and now I can say I've read Jane Eyre.

3. The Secret Between Us by B. Delinsky - I probably would have read Barbara Delinksy's books even without the summer challenge. This book was really good, and it kept me wondering how it would end. It's about a mother and daughter and a lie about a car accident in which someone was killed.

4. An Accidental Woman by B. Delinksy - I thought after reading Book #3 that this book would be equally as good. Wrong. It is a good read, but not as attention grabbing as #3.

5. Does the Noise in My Head bother You by S. Tyler - Two words for this book, and they are HOLY SMOKES! I really enjoyed Steven Tyler as an American Idoll judge with his hilarious one-liners. I never thought the library would spend money on his book, but there it was; and I couldn't resist. I learned more about his sex life than I really cared to; some things should be left unsaid. I quit reading this book before I could get halfway through; the pictures were interesting though.

6. Pray for Silence by L. Castillo - I usually don't care for mystery books or murder stories; this book is one reason why. The graphic writing in this book concerning the rape and murders of an Amish girl and her family was more than I wanted to see. However, it was an interesting read concerning how a crime could be solved. I've got another one of Linda Castillo's books in my car, and it's about another murder in Amish country. I'm not sure if I'll read it or put it in the book drop at the library.

Looking back, I felt I did meet the challenge of reading something out of my norm. I'm always looking for a good book, but I think I'll go back to my easy-to-read and kind of mindless-escape reading that I usually look for.

An aha moment with my friend Angela

2011-07-20T20:02:00.006-04:00

Quite a while ago I blogged about my friend Angela and her organization Running for Parkinsons. Here is her aha moment.

What it means to be loved

2011-07-14T17:00:00.010-04:00

So we have a new grandbaby girl in our family! Gianna Mary-Lynn was born this week to Jenny and Randy and weighed in at 5 pounds and 7 ounces. Needless to say, we are all excited! Isn't funny how somone so tiny who doesn't even know us can bring us so much happiness without even trying.

We have expected her to go home, but she has failed her car seat test twice. This test given to premature or small babies as their airways are not as strong as a fully-developed infant. It is given to make sure these airways do not collapse when the baby is in the semi-reclining position of the car seat. I guess you learn something new every day. Anyway, we are expecting Gia to be sent home sometime this evening.

This morning on my way to work, I heard a new song on the radio by Mark Schultz called 'What It Means to be Loved.' The song is about a newborn baby girl, and I've edited some of the lyrics. Grab a hankie.

I wanna give her the world
I wanna hold her hand
I wanna be her mom for as long as I can
And I wanna live every moment until that day comes
I wanna show her what it means to be loved

So we spent each day, watchin' every minute
And prayin' for our baby girl
And I will not forget the way I felt that moment
When she came into this world
But they took her from the room just as soon as she was born
And watchin' through a window I could see her holdin' on
When a voice inside me said...

I wanna give her the world
I wanna be her dad
I wanna hold her close for as long as I can
And I wanna live every moment until that day comes
I wanna show her what it means to be loved

I said everyday
We've got to bring her home
She's been out to prove the doctors wrong
Oh and you should see her now
She's as pretty as her mom
And there's a boy at the front door waiting just to take her to her high school prom...

And he wants to give her the world
Wants to hold her hand
And someday she may get a wedding band
But she's gonna live every moment until that day comes
And we're gonna show her what it means to be loved

I'm the lucky guy (again)

2011-07-08T19:42:00.014-04:00

One of my favorite prim blogs to read is Christine's at Preferably Prim. Christine lives in Ireland but she definitely has a flare for Americana. I won this stocking that she made, and I love it. It's hanging on a door just inside our house; I think it looks perfect. Thanks Christine! Please check out her blog.

And my blogging/quilting bud Melanie at Covered Porches sent me two pieces of a sagey green fabric to use in my Hop To It quilt. I think this shade of green will really add the spark to this quilt that I've been looking for. I'm also thinking maybe one of the fat quarters needs to be made into a miniature quilt, but I'm still thinking through that one.

If you haven't checked out Moda's Bakeshop yet, here's the link for Angela's quilt. Angela, a couple of my daughters, and a couple of our friends started a small quilt group. We've only been able to get together a couple of times, and then summer came. I'm looking forward to sewing with this group once summer winds its way down. She is a real inspiration to me, and her modern style of quilting is really growing on me. Angela, thank you so much for your friendship!

And if all this isn't happy enough, we'll be getting a new granddaughter on Monday. Jenny and Randy's doctor has decided it's time for this baby to be born, so they will be making an early-morning trip to the hospital. This is the third grandchild that has been born because of a doctor's decision instead of the Lord's will. But that seems to be the way things go now, so we roll with the flow and pray for the best.

Generous friends, great mail days, family, and one more baby to squeeze. Life just doesn't get much sweeter or better than this.

Hop to It - Block #4

2011-07-01T14:03:00.006-04:00

If you are new to my blog, I've been working on a block of the month quilt with my online buddies Sue and Melanie. Be sure to check out their blogs for their versions of this month's block.

I'm a day late in posting because I've been working on other projects. I knew that I'd be on vacation today, so I decided to make my block and post it just a day behind. Melanie's block really inspired me, and I was excited to get going on mine. Except compare the two! Hers is rich with color, and mine looks anemic. I'm using Moda's Faded Memories fabric line. The colors are all soft and sweet. Actually, my block is really very pretty in real life; I just need to learn how to photograph better!

I have to blanket stitch around my pieces, and then I think I'll put the first row together. There are colored squares that will separate the appliqued blocks, so there will be some good color to spark this quilt. In the meantime, I have a couple buddies who can take better photographs for me. When the quilt top is finished, I'll have one of them take some great pictures to share.

Operation Shoebox

2011-06-25T08:24:00.008-04:00

I can't remember when our quilt group was started, but I'm thinking it has to have been about seven or eight years ago. We've lost a few members along the way, but there are 13 of us still going strong.

And what a bunch of givers they are. We used Atkinson's Lucky Star block to make many quilts. Each of us makes two or three blocks in a certain color way, and then the quilt tops are put together at an annual retreat. Nancyz has a long arm, and she quilts them up for us. Someone volunteers to add the binding.

We've donated quilts to a home for unwed mothers and a local hospital for infants in the NICU. There is always a supply of quilts at Sarah's house, and some have been donated to families who've lost their homes due to a fire; one went to a child with cancer. Even the scraps are used up. At a recent meeting all the cut ends of threads and small scraps of batting and fabrics were stuffed into old pillowcases, sewn up, and given to an animal shelter for pet beds. A couple quilts were given to returning servicemen and women, and most recently a quilt to the family who lost their son in Afghanistan.

Donna emailed us instructions for our next projects. I tend to like the ones for the servicemen and women. and these are pretty easy. The link for the ditty bags is here.

Here is the link for Christmas stockings for service personnel, too. I haven't made mine yet, but that's part of my plan for this weekend.

Blog? What blog? Oh yeah, I do have a blog......

2011-06-18T06:29:00.020-04:00

Wow, time sure slips away fast these days. Maybe my life is just so quiet that I really don't have much to blog about. But in checking out the blogs this morning with my cup of coffe, I did get inspired.

I have been working on this quilt top, and I love it. The pattern is Iowa Girl from Quilt Sampler Spring/Summer 2004. I was trying to weed out some of the stuff in my little sewing room, and everybody knows you just don't throw out a magazine until you've looked through it to make sure there aren't projects calling your name. Like I need another project to start! But I had so much fabric left over from my BOM for The Farmer's Wife quilt, it just seemed that this would be quick and easy since the leftovers are all boxed together. I did use invisible thread and a zigzag stitch to hold the appliques. I'm not a fan of the invisible thread look, but I was looking for quick and easy; it does the trick.

And speaking of The Farmer's Wife, my quilt buddy Angela and one of her blog buddies have started a quilt along; and it's taken off by storm. Check out her blog to see her fun take on these blocks. I love Angela's taste in fabrics because they are happy and fresh looking. And a new blogger is Lindsay who is also participating in this; she has a new blog, and I think you'll like to read her.

And I'm stitching this. The pattern is Now I Lay Me... by La-D-Da. I had great intentions to stitch one of these for every grandbaby in our family; I'm three behind as Gianna will be born next month. But they aren't complaining, so I'm not worried :D

Larry is doing really well. He golfed for the first time last Saturday. It was just nine holes with a cart, but I was nervous the whole time. I'm getting better at this though. He is wearing a heart monitor now and has been for a couple days. When he phones in the reading, the technician tells him he sees nothing to be concerned about. Thank you for your encouraging emails and comments and especially your prayers. We're getting back to normal but we're being careful about diet and exercise like we should have been years ago.

And with strawberries finally ripe in our area, last night I froze a few containers for winter eating and made a batch of jam. I'm making a list of things I want to can and freeze this year. It's all part of trying to eat less sodium; just reading labels seems like a fulltime job in itself. But I've found some good websites and recipes for homemade which I'll share in the future.

Enjoy your summer and be sure to take some time just for yourself. I'm heading out for a long walk with my ipod; it's becoming something I look forward to a lot.

Hop to It - Block #3

2011-06-04T07:39:00.009-04:00

With apologies to Melanie and Sue for being late in posting my block, here is Block #3.

When I started quilting years ago, I saw a picture of a Bridal Wreath block that I thought I'd make someday. Larry and I were engaged, and it just seemed like it was appropriate. But the applique held me back; those were the days when the only fusible web was Stitch Witchery which was a bugger to work with. I didn't have the patience to do the handwork. A full-sized quilt done with just several of these blocks would be just beautiful, I think. Maybe someday......

So life goes on here following Larry's heart attack. I still can't believe it happened to him; he's 56 - seems so young to me. The same time he had his, Audrey told me of someone she know that suffered a massive heart attack. She was 44 and subsequently died. We've had a ton of company and phone calls since his attack; and more and more we're hearing of people with stents, people who required surgery, and those who didn't survive.

We've made changes to our diet, and we're exercising more. He's struggling with quitting smoking; I'm praying my heart out that he will. A year ago at this time, he would have been at the golf course or the driving range every day. Now he hits a few balls into the field behind our yard. My sewing has taken a back seat as I sit on the deck to keep an eye on him. And will I ever quit running to my office at work when the switchboard operator tells me he's on the phone?! I'm sure things will settle down eventually; it'll just take time.

Thank you

2011-05-22T08:17:00.015-04:00

I appreciate so much your kind emails and comments about Larry. It was scarey for us, and it still is. Just a pothole in our life, but we're pressing on.

Last weekend Larry was in Dover for the NASCAR race with his brothers. This is becoming an annual event for them, and I have a ball sewing all I can. I made this tablerunner from a pattern in the current issue of Quilts and More.

Then with a couple pieces of pink and white flannel, I made this receiving blanket for Jenny and Randy's baby. I've had my Bernina for ten years, but I never really tried the handful of decorative stitches on it. So I loaded up some pink thread and gave the edges of the blanket some fancy work.

And, finally, it took just a few minutes to put in the last stitches for this piece. Not sure if I'll have it framed right away, but someone may find this under their tree at Christmastime.

So for a while our evenings will be spent resting and relaxing together which means I'll be doing handwork a bit more than usual. Next week Larry can start moderate exercise; and if the weather is good, we'll begin to walk. Again, thank you for thinking of us during this difficult time.

2011-05-18T23:05:00.004-04:00

No posting for a while although I do have projects to share - another time. My husband had a heart attack today. He is at the hospital this evening resting comfortably and will be coming home in the next day or two. I love my family; they gave up their evenings to came to sit with us, and Audrey was with me on the phone.

We'd appreciate your prayers. Thank you.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T06:45:00.010-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to you. Yesterday we hosted a baby shower for soon-to-be-mom, my daughter Jenny. We didn't purposely choose Mother's Day weekend for this, but it was so appropriate. Little Gianna will be born in July.

So blogging has taken a back seat to a lot of other things lately; but now that the shower is over, I'm ready to get back into the sewing room and start finishing up projects. But over morning coffee today and catching up on blogs, I see that Dresden plates are starting to be the new rage. I know better than to start one more thing; but my mom made a miniature Dresden wallhanging years ago, and I loved it. I don't know what's happened to the pattern, but the little hanging is in her room at the nursing home; and I get itchy fingers every time I see it.

The Galloping Pony blog has a pattern for a freebie; and while I don't plan to make the door hanger, I do want to make the little Dresden. I think if I make just one, I'll get this new project out of my system. Yeah, I've said that before! Here's the link.

Fun stuff

2011-05-01T08:02:00.005-04:00

I love this idea! And this website is also one of the best for recipes. Audrey bought their cookbook, and I had a chance to see it. Definitely something to think about for my collection.

Hop to It - Block #2

2011-04-30T06:37:00.008-04:00

If you are new to my blog, here's a quick update. I'm making the From My Garden Album Quilt from the book Hop To It by Edyta Sitar with my blog friends Melanie from Covered Porches and Sue from The House that Love Built/Simply Pieceful Quilting.

I haven't stitched down my pieces yet. You can see that the blue kind of fades away into the background. I'm not sure if I want to swap out those pieces or just go with it. Today I'm spending a lot of time in my sewing room, and I know I'll be in the middle of something when the idea will hit me as to how to handle the blue pieces. I haven't spent a lot of time sewing since the retreat three weeks ago, and I'm looking forward to this.

Fun stuff

2011-04-23T07:36:00.023-04:00

It's done nothing but rain, rain, rain around here for what seems like all week. We haven't had coffee on the deck but once all spring - it's cold as well. So my evenings have been spent reading or cross stitching. We're in the midst of planning a baby shower for Jenny, and yesterday I was just itching to knit or crochet a baby afgan. Quilts are wonderful, but something knitted snuggles so much nicer.

Isn't this afgan gorgeous?! I found it on Ravelry, but you can get the pattern here as well. I don't have many colors in my stash of yarn, so I won't be working on this project - but I'd love to. Plus I don't need one more project. Hopefully the weather will be warm soon; I hate to work with yarn when it's nice and warm outside.

So during this three-day weekend, my sewing has consisted of finishing this mug mat,

stitching another one of these,

and binding this quilt - a project with my TT quilt group for the NICU at a local hospital.

I made almost 25 blocks for my Farmer's Wife quilt at the retreat a couple weeks ago. I'm still about that many behind. I'm doing a block of the month through Primitive Gatherings, and the fabrics are excellent; I wouldn't have been able to find these fabrics in this area. This quilt will be one of my favorites once it's completed, and my goal is to have it finished by the end of summer. The final installment comes in May, so I'll spend the rest of this weekend celebrating Easter and working on my blocks.

Fun stuff

2011-04-16T06:42:00.004-04:00

I love these!

Here's the link

Retreat recap

2011-04-12T05:42:00.032-04:00

A great weekend! Let's start with Audrey who organized this party. This is a Fig Tree pattern made from Minick & Simpson's Claremont Farms fabric.

Audrey gave us a challenge to sew up a project using only items from our stash, and don't we all have enough fabric to do that?!

This is Sarah's. A lot of us had been seeing pictures from the red/white quilt show in NYC. This one was just as lovely.

Lynne's dog quilt was hilarious!

Audrey's Apple Crisp from last fall's American Patchwork and Quilting.

Darcy's red/white blue. What a great quilt for summertime!

This is my piece. Something fun our group does is give each member a fat quarter during her birthday month. The birthday girl choses the color or style of fabric that she wants and ends up with about 14 fat quarters. I chose the color red for a couple of years, and I used those pieces with scrap backgrounds from my stash to make this Atkinson pattern.

There were more tops from this challenge and a darling tote made by Betsy, but I didn't get good pictures to share. So onto the winner - NancyP's! Absolutely stunning and even more beautiful in real life.

Terri wore sunglasses when she showed this bright quilt!

Darcy worked on this quilt for her daughter. It features novelty fabrics that describe things she likes. What a cute idea!

A truly great weekend!

Recap of stitch day

2011-04-05T05:42:00.010-04:00

Melanie has been talking to me a couple times lately about documenting, so I took my camera along with me on Sunday when I stitched with Melissa and Audrey.

Audrey has been working on her Blackbird Designs stockings. Aren't they wonderful?

I picked away at Remember Me. This is turning out a big bigger than I wanted, but it's still a keeper.

It wasn't until I was on the road going home that I realized I hadn't taken a picture of Melissa's finished project. However, she did make this masterpiece in honor of Audrey's birthday later this month. It's a Paula Dean ice cream cake. I believe she said there is either one or one and a half cups of butter in this. Need I say more?!

This coming weekend is the spring retreat with my quilt group, so the next few nights will be spent picking out projects and cleaning up the sewing room. And I hope to remember to pack my camera for more documentation when I head to Findley Lake. Catch you later.

Apple-Raisin Bread

2011-04-03T09:04:00.007-04:00

Today is stitch day with Audrey and Melissa. I made a loaf of this bread to drop off at Uncle Frank's. I imagine he's been given more than enough food these past few days, but this can be frozen until he needs it.

I have no idea where this recipe came from. Judging from my handwritten recipe card, I imagine I copied this one either before we were married or shortly afterward - 34 years this year!

APPLE-RAISIN BREAD

1/3 cup soft butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cups gflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped, peeled apple
1 cup chopped raisins

Cream together butter, sugar, lemon peel, and cinnamon. Beat in eggs until light and fluffy. Beat in milk and lemon juice. Sift together dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture. Stir until moistened. Fold in the apple and raisins. Bake at 350 degrees in a 5x9 greased loaf pan - about an hour.

I'm going to put a simple confectioner's sugar glaze on top of this just for fun.

Remember me

2011-04-01T21:57:00.010-04:00

Several years ago my sister and I went through Mom and Dad's things deciding what we wanted to keep and what would be sold at auction. When we came across this little piece Mom had stitched on perforated paper, we looked at each other with tears in our eyes. I grabbed it; threw it into my pile, and we moved on. I still haven't decided what to do with it, but I'll cherish it forever.

I got a phone call today from a former boss. Bob has had several heart attacks, and the last one was just a few weeks ago. He had called to tell me that he appreciated my work through the years. Even after he retired, I continued to do secretarial work for him for the annual homecoming weekend in our town. We had a great work relationship and an even better friendship. It was an odd phone call - almost as if he was saying thanks and goodbye at the same time.

My aunt passed away this week. A nursing instructor two of my daughters had in college also passed away. My friend NancyF emailed me this morning to let me know that her mom had passed away last week. What a heck of a day.

So tonight I got out this Blackbird Designs pattern I just bought. It's quiet in the house, and I've spent time stitching this piece and thinking about the friends and family who are hurting right now. Stitching helps calm an anxious spirit, doesn't it.

Hop To It - Block #1

2011-03-31T05:48:00.005-04:00

You know, sometimes it's nice to get out of the box. This quilt is a project I would never have thought of doing; but when Sue and Melanie invited me to join them, I jumped on the opportunity simply because I enjoy my friendship with them. The quilt came second, but I'm glad I'm doing this project.

I chose fat quarters from Moda's 3 Sisters line named Faded Memories. I thought about buying some darker fabrics to add some spark to my colors; but after pawing through my scraps, I found I had colors and tones that worked just fine. And it's it all about making do sometimes, isn't it?

And yes, my design is off center. We were instructed to cut the blocks a half inch too big. I'm not trimming mine down until it's time to put the whole top together.

I have to admit that I'm not crazy about the applique stitch I've chosen. The author suggested using a zigzag stitch with invisible thread for machine applique. I tried it and didn't like it. My Bernina has a nice blanket stitch, so I went with that using colored thread. My thread stands out more than I'd like it to, but I didn't want to invest in colored threads just for this project.

I think once my blocks are finished and sewn together for the quilt top, I won't notice the contrasting threads as much. I don't make heirloom quilts. I want my quilts to survive my grandchildren's childhoods; after that, I don't care what happens to them. Someday after my kids ship me off to a nursing home and pick through my things to take what they want, I want everyone to remember the fun and good times we've had. Quilts that have been jumped on, played with, and snuggled under will bring back good memories. And making this quilt with two friends is a good memory for me.

American Pie

2011-03-27T19:19:00.009-04:00

When Mandy and Shane announced last year that they were expecting, I knew I'd be making a quilt for the new little one. And when they said it would be a girl, I thought of the Faded Memories fat quarters I had stashed away.

The pattern I chose was American Pie from the book Miss Rosie's Quilt Collection. Quite an appropriate name for a sweetheart who has dual American and Canadian citizenship.

Peanut butter bars

2011-03-26T16:25:00.006-04:00

I hosted our sewing group today. Because Max and Natie had spent the night before, and I was running short on time, I needed a quick cookie recipe for the snack. Audrey bought me this cookbook, and every recipe I've tried has been really good. These bars went together quickly and were a hit. The book is available on Amazon.

Peanut Butter Bars
1 6-oz. package semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups quick-cook oats, uncooked

Melt the chocolate over low heat; set aside.

Beat the butter and peanut butter until creamy. Add sugar, egg, vanilla and mix well.

Combine flour, soda, salt; stir into creamed mixture. Stir in oats.

Press three-fourths of the peanut butter mixture into a greased 13x9 pan. Spread the chocolate over top. Crumble remaining peanut butter mixture over chocolate.

Bake 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Catching up

2011-03-23T18:26:00.033-04:00

Did you ever seem to have so much going on that you felt like you couldn't do one more thing? I've felt like a one-armed paperhanger these past few weeks; finally things are getting back to normal.

My daughter Jenny and her husband Randy are expecting their first baby in July. They had a baby reveal party a couple weekends ago. Have you heard about these? I don't read mommy blogs, so it was new to me. They organized a Saturday lunch and had a cake baked for the dessert.

The frosting between the two layers was to be tinted either pink (for a girl baby) or blue (for a boy). Everyone invited to the party was asked to wear either a pink or blue shirt; the color depended on what you were hoping the baby would be. The verdict? It's a girl!

Poor little Max. At 17 months old, he could care less; but I'm sure someday he'll wish he had a boy cousin.

My cousin Cathy and I got an invitation to spend a weekend with Cousin Audrey. Her husband was going to be out of town, and she invited us for a sewing weekend. Cathy had plans to travel to Italy for a 3-week vacation, so she wasn't able to join us. I was treated like royalty; Cathy, you missed a great weekend! I slept in 'the gramma room' which was full of Audrey's beautiful 30's fabric quilts. She bought me my own coffee mug (red with white dots!!), and even had a small dish of candy next to the bed.

We spent a lot of time sewing for an upcoming retreat, and I also got to work on the basket blocks for the quilt I'm making with the last of Mom's fabric stash. Did I say I thought I needed 300 blocks? I may have to rethink this!

And I finally got to meet and get to know this little bundle of goodness. This is Aubrey Faith who was born the week of Christmas to our Canadians - Mandy and Shane. They were home for the past week. It was so nice to come home from work and just hold this little sweetheart.

I am way behind on my sewing. Evenings have been spent in the living room with Larry and catching up on stitching. I'll be posting soon with some of the projects I'm working on.

The Hop To It blocks that Sue, Melanie, and I are making will be shown the last day of each month. Our first reveal will be next week. I have figured out I'm the weak link in this chain as I still have a lot of work to do on my block. Please check back and see how this all turns out.

And because I showed pictures of two of our grandbabies, I felt I should show you Natalie, too. This is her back-to-preschool picture from September. I think they are all so precious, and I can't wait to meet Miss #4!

Sendai

2011-03-11T17:20:00.003-05:00

Four years ago my sister and her family moved home from the mission field. They were based in Sendai, Japan. And now they wait to learn of the situation of their friends they left behind. Please hold them in prayer as well as their friends as you watch the news of the devastation.

Hop to it!

2011-03-02T20:13:00.020-05:00

One of the best things about blogging is finding kindred spirits, and I've made some great friends while blogging. Last Saturday Angela from Fussy Cut, my daughters Jenny and Julie, and my friend Marla got together at my house to sew. Our plan is to stitch together once a month. I would have never met Angela without the blog world, and I don't want to think about what I've missed. I met Karen at Christmastime when we were at Julie and Travis' church for Natalie's Christmas program; she's as warm and friendly as her blog and her emails.

Two blog buddies I've connected with through email but that I haven't met are Sue and Melanie. Their blogs were a couple of the first I started to read and follow, and we've been email friends almost from the start. Sue and Mel came up with a quilt project and asked me to join them. Each of us are going to make the From My Garden Album Quilt from Edyta Sitar's book Hop To It. Our inspiration is from Linda at The Quilted Pineapple. She is doing her quilt with a primitive flair that Sue, Melanie, and I all really like.

The original plan was to use our scraps, but I have a couple Moda bundles that need to be tapped into. Ella's Linen Closet features dark fabrics, and Faded Memories has lighter and more springy colors. I'm leaning toward Faded Memories. The goal is to complete one block each month. I'm definitely up to the challenge. I have several projects in the works in my sewing room, but the idea of doing this quilt with these two friends was too tempting; and I couldn't resist. Linda's quilt (like everything else I've seen on her blog) would look great with the farmhouse country style I'm trying to decorate with. I hope my quilt will look as nice as hers.

We'll be posting about our progress and showing pictures of our finished blocks. Would you like to join us? There's always room for one more blog buddy!

Mom and I make one last quilt together

2011-02-21T17:55:00.010-05:00

I was a senior in high school in the early 1970's. My home ec teacher assigned us a 9-week project; and while I don't remember the details of the assignment, I do remember one of my friends came up with idea to make a quilt. I loved to sew and embroider and the idea of making a quilt was right up my alley, too.

My parents were in favor of this project, but they did not want to spend the money on new fabric. Mom was a beautiful seamstress, and she had sewn clothes for herself, my sister, and me for years. All the leftover scraps were neatly bundled and stored in a huge box in the attic. I was less than enthusiastic about using those scraps especially when my friends had plans to make quilts from traditional patchwork patterns. But as Mom and I went through that box of scraps and sorted the cotton/poly fabrics from the knits, wools, and corduroys, I saw a lot of fabrics I remembered from favorite grade school clothes; and so my charm quilt was started.

At that time, Mom was not a quilter. When America was celebrating the bicentennial in 1976, a lot of women began quilting; and Mom joined in soon after that. Her quilts like everything else she did were beautiful. She had great taste in color and design; I was so proud of her.

When she and Dad moved to assisted living in 2000, I brought all her quilt supplies and fabrics to my house. I sewed six scrap quilts for each of their grandchildren as well as one for myself. If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know that my mom has Alzheimer's and now is considered in the final stage.

Lately I noticed that my baskets of scraps were getting a little too full, so I decided it was time to weed things out and start another quilt. This time I decided to combine the last of Mom's scraps with mine to make one more quilt. My pattern is this basket from Blackbird's blog . I figure I'll need about 300 blocks to make a quilt for my bed. I told my cousin Audrey to check with me when I'm on Block #175. I'll probably be sick of this project! But I know this is something Mom and I would have done together, and that should be enough inspiration to keep going. I'll keep you posted.

Just a little something I made

2011-02-06T09:06:00.009-05:00

Not much to post about lately. I've been picking away at projects but not finishing anything. Yesterday I did manage to sew up this little table topper.

Our quilt group is having a spring retreat, and we have a challenge of making a project using only fabrics from our stash. A couple years ago I started a red and white quilt using only stash fabrics; this may be the project I finish up for the retreat.

I still have some fabrics from my mom's stash, and I'm thinking of making a miniature basket or 9-patch quilt for myself. Like I should start another project!! Anyway, I made quilts for her six grandchildren plus one for myself. I'd like to use up the rest of her fabrics for one last quilt. So we'll see if this is my stash project or if I'll go with the red and white quilt.

Now how did that get in there?!! The men are riding the snowmobiles today, and Jenny and I are cooking and getting ready for the big game. I am not a big football fan, but it's easy to get caught up in the Steeler fever. Personally, I hope the commercials are good :D

Still sewing on the stash

2011-01-23T09:34:00.008-05:00

I didn't get to my quilt group meeting this past week as the weather was a little iffy. Plus Larry came home with a box of ice cream and some hot fudge. What can I say - I'm easily swayed!

When I won the Sudoku kit from Laurie Minnick, she also threw in Petit Four squares of Charlevoix. I sewed them up into this small table quilt. In the spring it'll be on my kitchen table underneath and ironstone pitcher of flowers. In the meantime, it holds my stitching supplies.

And I pieced together these blocks I embroidered. It was one of the best projects I've stitched - almost all done in black floss.

And just a dab of color in a couple of the blocks.

Fun thing

2011-01-22T05:31:00.006-05:00

Here's a cute pattern for a small table quilt, and there's plenty of time to make this before Valentine's Day. Check it out at Pleasant Home.

Sewing down my stash

2011-01-16T08:02:00.022-05:00

Joyce at Plain Ol' Vanilla has started Sew Down the Stash, and I'm sewing along with her.

Melanie at Covered Porches sent me a charm pack last fall. I worked on the tablerunner at the retreat in November but wish I had finished it sooner. I love how it turned out.

The ultimate in stash sewing - I used the trimmed pieces of half-square triangles to sew this little quilt.

I'm still plugging away. I have two projects I'd like to finish up this afternoon!

A great giveaway

2011-01-09T22:16:00.004-05:00

My quilt buddy Angela (formerly of Raggedy Owl but now Fussy Cut) is having a very cute giveaway of some fabric. Click here to check out her new blog and sign up!

Pineberry Lane

2011-01-08T08:02:00.007-05:00

I finished this cross stitch from Pineberry Lane over my Christmas vacation and sewed it into a small pillow.

The striped fabric is from Moda's Hollywood and Vines line. I cut the fabric on the bias so that the ruffle would have a candy cane look. Before I stuffed the pillow, I inserted four layers of quilt batting scraps (two for the front and two for the back) and then stuffed the pillow with polyester fiberfill. The two layers of batting on each side hide any bumps from the fiberfill.

We don't decorate for Christmas with a whole lot of Santa things, but I just couldn't resist this pattern. Aren't the guys in the sleigh just adorable?!

Fun thing

2011-01-02T08:21:00.002-05:00

I won a pile of counted cross stitch linen on ebay, and I've been stitching as much as I can. I think this vacation just isn't going to be long enough! I found this free pattern on this blog.

The picture is from Nina's blog - another great blog for inspiration.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year to you

2010-12-31T07:04:00.001-05:00

I hope it's your best year yet.

Friends

2010-12-29T08:22:00.028-05:00

I've been on vacation since December 20, and I am having a ball. I could get used to living like this very easily.

I met and had coffee with Angela from Raggedy Owl blog. She is as darn cute as her picture and her blog. We are starting a small quilt group, and it was fun to make plans for that.

Melanie from Covered Porches sent me a sweet book on quilting and a charm pack a while ago. I started reading Melanie's blog long before I started writing my own. She is definitely a kindred spirit, and I enjoy our friendship so much. I've been working on a tablerunner with the charm pack, and I'll show that soon. I haven't met Melanie in person yet, but I'm looking forward to that sometime in the future.

Sue from The House that Love Built sent me two Crabapple Hill embroidery patterns. Sue is another special online email/blogger friend. Her emails and comments are always so encouraging. One pattern is called An Embroiderer's Blessing, and she said she thought of me when she read it. It says May your stitches be even, The back neat and tidy, Your threads never tangled, And may you always see well enough to thread your needle. The name of my blog came from my friend Nancyz who is in my quilt group and who has also quilted several of my quilt tops. She made the comment a couple times that the backs of my quilt tops are neat and tidy. Mom used to say that the back of my work should be as neat as the front. I'm hoping to meet Sue someday as well.

I had a sew day with Audrey who is not only my cousin but one of my best friends. Her new sewing room has two sewing machines set on cabinets that face each other. Next to our machines, she had a small Christmas candy dish with Christmas candy in each. It was so special! We had a ball sewing and talked non-stop. I would still be there now if someone at home was expecting supper that night.

I got a surprise email from Laurie Aaron Hird, author of The Farmer's Wife Quilt book and blog. It was nice that she thought to send a special wish my way, and I so appreciated that.

I had lunch with my old and dear friend Marla. We sat down in the restaurant at 11:30 and never left until 4:00! It was great. Years ago when the kids were small, she dabbled in quilting but never got into it much. As we sat at the table, she pulled out a tote bag and said she wanted me to see what she was working on. And she has been sewing patchwork Christmas tree skirts for her daughters. I was thrilled and invited her to join our quilt group as well.

It's been a great time connecting with online friends and friends I can see, and I've enjoyed it so much. Marla gave me this angel. Can you read what is printed on her skirt? It says Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them but you know they are always there. Isn't that true?

The Pony Club Book - a giveaway!

2010-12-28T07:04:00.005-05:00

Laurie is giving away seven copies of her book in February. She is also the author of The Farmer's Wife quilt. This is the link to her blog where you can comment if you'd like to try to win a copy of this book.

I am working on The Farmer's Wife quilt, and I have to admit that I'm way behind with the blocks of the month packages I get from Primitive Gatherings. The fabrics are beautiful, and the blocks all look like something from my Gramma's house. I think I just have too much going on, but I have a goal to get this quilt finished in 2011.

Please check out Laurie's blog. It is one of my favorites.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T05:35:00.003-05:00

It's Christmas Eve, and we're ready to celebrate the birth of a Saviour. Everything has come together so easily this year - the decorating, shopping, baking, and wrapping.

Jenny and I are going to the nursing home to celebrate Mom's birthday with her. She won't know we are there, but we will know; and we'll think about the Christmas productions she used put on for all of us.

There will be a lot of good memories made this weekend. One of the nicest gifts I've already received - Baby Aubrey. I'll get to meet her in the spring when we go to Canada, or when they make the trip down; and I can't wait. Good things really do come in small packages.

Merry Christmas to all of you from my family and from me. May God pour out blessings on each of you in 2011 - faster than you can even think to ask Him for them.

Christmas music

2010-12-23T06:45:00.009-05:00

Thank you for all the kind comments and emails about Aubrey. She developed a couple problems Tuesday evening, but Mandy and Shane are confident she will be released to go home today. She is a wonderful Christmas present, and we are ready to begin to celebrate!

We're lucky that two of our three daughters live nearby, so it's not unusual to have them eat a meal with us often. For special occasions like Easter or Christmas, I like to have some background music while we eat. Here are some of my favorite CD's for Christmas music.

Tim Janis - Christmas Piano Collection
Casting Crowns - Peace on Earth
John Tesh - Christmas Worship and Winter Song
George Winston - December
Mannheim Steamroller - Any of their Christmas DVD's

But you need to be careful if you eat food to the beat of some of Mannheim Steamroller's music. It can be pretty zippy stuff, and you may be done eating before you know what was on your plate.

It's a girl!

2010-12-21T05:46:00.006-05:00

No details yet as Daddy was a little excited, and it was late when he called; but Aubrey has arrived.

Passing on the traditions

2010-12-19T07:50:00.008-05:00

Just seven days to go until Christmas! Yesteday I did some baking; and every year I say I'm not going to bake as much, but there are some cookies that just need to be on the cookie tray. As usual they are cookies that my mom used to bake. I always appreciate when my girls call to ask for one of Mom's recipes; it's nice to pass on the recipes I grew up on.

This morning I had email from my cousin Debbie. Her mom, Muriel, is my mom's sister. If you've read this blog for a few months, you'll remember that Muriel passed away this year. Debbie was asking for a couple recipes; and again, it was nice to pass along something Mom used to make.

I have a loaf of eggnog bread baking in the oven. My friend and I shared a bottle of this at lunch the other day. She picked it up at this dairy. For two people who aren't crazy about eggnog, we made quite a dent in it; it's that good. Here's the recipe for the bread.

1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs
2 1/4 cups white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup eggnog
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins

Combine butter, sugar, eggs and mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, salt. Sitr into butter mixture alternately with eggnog. Mix only until dry ingredients are moist. Fold in pecans and raisins. Spoon into loaf pan and baket at 350° for about 70 minutes.

This morning we are going to church with Julie and Travis. Natie's Sunday School Christmas program is this morning, and we wouldn't miss it. Another tradition - the Sunday School Christmas program. It just wouldn't seem like a Christmas celebration without it.

Fun stuff

2010-12-18T07:45:00.006-05:00

Last year I made little boxes from old Christmas cards, and I used Junie Moon's directions. We play bingo from prizes on Christmas Day, and these cute little boxes hold some of the smaller prizes. Easy to make!

This morning I'm meeting with Angela from Raggedy Owl blog. Then I'll come home to sew and bake to get ready for Christmas. Hopefully there will be time to make more boxes, too.

The Inspired Room

2010-12-10T05:24:00.011-05:00

Do you read The Inspired Room blog? It's a wonderful blog mostly about decorating. Melissa's style is a lot more formal than what I prefer, but she has a lot of good ideas. Look at this beautiful Christmas tree she's decorated using her Mom's silver.

I was just talking at lunch the other day about how I used to hate polishing Mom's silver when I lived at home. When we divided up Mom's things after she moved to assisted living, I took the iced tea spoons and spoons that were engraved with Gramma's and Great Aunt Aurie's and Fannie's names. This weekend I'll be polishing the silver and tying it to the small tree I have in the dining room. I can't wait!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2010-12-08T05:11:00.006-05:00

It started snow on Sunday, and it literally hasn't stopped. The local schools have been closed for two days, and they are on a two-hour delay this morning.

Yesterday morning someone from the Weather Channel broadcast from North East, Pennsylvania, which is my old hometown. They reported 19" of snow had fallen. Pooh! They should have driven 20 minutes down the road to my place; there had to have been at least three feet on my deck when I left for work just after that report. The snow is so impressive that the Canadians called us last night because they heard about it on their news - 8 hours away.

Last night after supper we went out to clear off more of the deck as the weather report is calling for another 6" of the stuff. We are cornball enough to bring the camera with us. The lump behind me is the snow that has built up on the grill.

According to the weatherman, we should see some rain Thursday and Friday before we start getting dumped with more snow. Needless to say, the snowmobilers in my family are thrilled!

225 and room for more

2010-12-06T17:17:00.007-05:00

Ever since we've been married, our Christmas tree has been decorated with all kinds of different ornaments - no theme tree for us. I know a lot of my friends have a theme to their Christmas tree decorating, and they are always gorgeous trees. So a couple years ago, I bought Martha Stewart red and green balls and glittery snowflakes; our tree just screamed blah.

I was looking at my Farm Chicks Christmas book Saturday evening, and there was a picture of a tree with 2,000 ornaments - just beautiful! I'm not sure how tall the tree is.

Randy and Larry dragged the tree up from the basement and set it up on Saturday evening. Early Sunday morning I started bring up one box of ornaments at a time, and I started counting them as I hung them on the tree. There are a lot of golf-related ornaments (Larry), primitive angels (me), and a baby's first Christmas ornament for each of our girls. And then there are the quirky ornaments the girls made in Missionettes when they were little, the ornaments given to us by friends, the satin bells my Great Aunt Edie had back in the 1970's, and the wooden ornaments Mom gave us when we were first married. I counted 225 ornaments, and I still haven't found the snowman Mom bought for me when I was little or any of the shiny glass balls that Larry always liked. And I see there are still two boxes of ornaments in the basement that I need to go through.

I think I could have put every ornament on the tree if I had started in the center and worked my way out to the tips, but enough is enough. After I started writing this post I realized we do have a theme tree. I'll leave it to you to imagine what it would be because there are a lot of adjectives that would describe it! But I think it is a beautiful tree this year.

Fun stuff

2010-12-04T05:43:00.007-05:00

Today Jenny and I are going on a local house tour. Every year I say I'm going, and every year I decide it's not worth the time or the expense. This year, however, we are going to see three of the five houses on the tour. One house is advertised as being 'full of quilts.' Sounds like us!

When we get home, I want to try this project from Kathy Schmitz's blog. I don't have the wool, but I need to stitch the letters first anyway.

But then there is this darling pillow from Renee Plains. It's a good weekend to stitch, and I just don't know which project to start first!

My cup overflows.....

2010-12-01T17:56:00.010-05:00

Daughter #2 Jenny and her husband Randy phone this evening to let us know that they will be having a baby next summer. Needless to say, we are thrilled and humbled by what God has brought them through.

Here is our scorecard:
Larry and I were married in 1977.
We had three daughters - Mandy, Jenny, and Julie.
They married three terrific men - Shane, Randy, and Travis.
Julie and Travis gave birth to Natalie and Max.
Mandy and Shane will be giving birth to Aubrey any day now.
Jenny and Randy will have a baby next year.

And there is love for any more that come along!

Christmas ornaments

2010-11-29T08:41:00.008-05:00

The staff at the nursing home my mom lives in goes out of its way to make any event festive for the residents. If there isn't a holiday coming up, they have tons of other ideas for activities to try to make life more pleasant for their special guests.

This year, they have asked the families to buy or make a Christmas ornament and hang it on the tree in the activity room. Because my mom excelled at celebrating Christ's birth, I knew this was something she would expect me to help with. I stitched these ornaments a couple years ago, and this afternoon I plan to drop them off before I visit her.

Do you remember seeing this on the blogs a couple years ago? I finally got the binding on mine. And while my picture-taking skills aren't what I wish they were, it did turn out really cute; and I hope to hang this in her room.

Hunting and sewing

2010-11-28T14:06:00.013-05:00

Tomorrow is the first day of buck hunting in the State of Pennsylvania. All weekend trucks and cars have been going down our road, and most (it seems) are full of hunters on their way to the camps.

We'll host our own camp here; we have two hunters coming this afternoon to spend the night. Tomorrow morning I'll be up early making a huge breakfast before they head out to the woods. Then it'll be time for me. The company I work for, like a lot of businesses and schools in this state, gives the employees the first day of buck hunting off as a paid holiday.

Sherry at Prairie Moon Quilts has a Weekly Challenge where she concentrates on a specific project and tries to finish it up that week. She has a really good quilt blog, and I'm especially interested in it because she is also working on The Farmer's Wife Quilt. Like me, she's behind. A kindred spirit! So I'm taking a cue from her, and I'm planning to get five blocks done this week. It doesn't seem like a lot to accomplish, but things just seem to be crazier and crazier around here; and right now, five blocks may as well be 105.

I also have a baby quilt to finish and a tablerunner - both of which I started at the quilt retreat two weekends ago. By this time tomorrow, I hope to be able to say I finished something!

Fun stuff

2010-11-27T06:36:00.004-05:00

My heart almost skipped a beat when I saw these beautiful stars on Brenda's blog. This picture is from Pottery Barn.

And here is a tutorial from Zakka Life! Let me know if you give these a try. I'm off to find my old piano books....

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T05:06:00.001-05:00

From my family to yours, have a most happy Thanksgiving.

Snowman heads

2010-11-21T08:57:00.012-05:00

Audrey and I saw these cute little guys in a wonderful country store. Here's how to make one.

You'll need a 2 1/2" round styrofoam ball, two 1/2" strips of white muslin, a cool-melt gun, black and orange paints, a child's paintbrush.

Carefully wind a strip around the ball while just slightly overlapping the previous strip. I'm using a tan fabric here so you can see what I'm doing. There is no need to put glue on the start of the first strip; the texture of the styrofoam will hold it in place.

Cut any loose threads as you wind; do not pull them. Finish the first strip on the bottom of the ball trimming extra fabric if necessary. Overlapping the end of the first strip, start winding the second strip. You don't need to glue the end to start; just hold it with your finger.

When you've wound the ball completely, trim the end of the strip so that you finish at the bottom of the ball. Here is where you will want to put a dab of glue. At this point, you will thank me for recommending a cool-melt gun rather than a hot glue gun.

To paint the face, pour a small amount of black paint onto a bit of waxed paper. Dip the end of the paintbrush (not the brush end), into the paint. Steady your hand with your little finger on the ball, and make a dot for each eye and the smile. Be sure to dot on the strip of fabric and not on the edge.

We saw a glass cylinder filled with these little heads and an evergreen wreath with the heads tucked here and there. Really cute!

And another update

2010-11-20T08:18:00.009-05:00

Minick and Simpson! Not only do they design some of the best quilt fabric, their blog is fun. Last week I was the lucky dog and won this:

(picture lifted from their website)

And Laurie also sent me a pack of 2 1/2" squares of their new line of fabric, Charlevoix! I have an idea what I want to make with these squares, but I need to finish up a couple (or more) other things first.

Another lucky dog is NancyZ from my quilt group. A while ago she won a bag of Laurie's Charlevoix scraps. At the retreat, Nancy was sewing them into a string quilt - just beautiful.

It does pay to comment on the blogs when there is a giveaway!

An update

2010-11-20T06:14:00.039-05:00

The quilt retreat! What a lot of fun; I think it was the best one yet. Here is the cast of characters showing our baby quilts for the Crittenton Home.

Here are some of the quilts from show and tell.

Terri stole the show with the piece of challenge fabric. She not only made an apron for herself but also a matching one for her American Girl doll.

Thanks for the laughs and all your hard work!

Fun stuff

2010-11-15T05:38:00.001-05:00

Check this out!

Leaving for the quilt retreat

2010-11-11T21:58:00.011-05:00

It's been fun sharing my retreat plans and projects with you these past weeks; thanks for all the nice comments. My things are parked at the back door, and we'll load the car in the morning. Cousin Cathy and her quilt buddy Chris arrived in town this afternoon with ice cream for all the quilters and about 10 pounds of Chex mix. Sounds like we're set for the weekend!

I made a little treat for my cousins. I knitted face clothes from 100% organic cotton yarn (it's so soft!) and cross stitched their initials on some old linen. The linen squares were made into sachets filled with lavender and crushed walnut shells. I bought some lavender-scented French soap and tied everything together with black ribbon. (Audrey, if you're reading this before you leave, act surprised when I give this to you.)

Hope your weekend will be fun; I know mine will be!

The 2 1/2" strip swap quilt

2010-11-07T15:28:00.007-05:00

If you follow my blog regularly, you know that I posted here about the strip swap that my quilt group had. We've all been working on our quilts, and the big reveal will be at this coming weekend's retreat. Most of my quilts have been quilted by NancyZ from our group. This quilt, though, I took to someone else to keep the element of surprise going.

This is my quilt. I chose this pattern from the Scrap Basket Quilts book because the basket block is one of my favorites. While I wasn't crazy about this pattern when I first started sewing the blocks, it's grown on me. I love the colors of this quilt and how fabrics that aren't normally in my stash have made a beautiful quilt.

I think this is one of the best projects our group has done, and I am looking forward to seeing what the other quilts look like.

Fun stuff

2010-11-06T06:59:00.009-04:00

There ia a free quilt pattern on this site. With just four blocks, it would make a nice wallhanging - or even just one block for a table mat.

I made this quilt from The Rabbit Factory a few years ago. It is one of my favorite quilts, and I always have it on my bed in the spring. This is a picture from their site; mine is tucked away.

I think Rabbit Factory patterns are some of the prettiest out there, so I hope to be making up these freebie blocks.

Little strawberry pincushions

2010-10-31T08:45:00.010-04:00

I've always liked to make things, and I get that from my mom. When she was well, she was a beautiful seamstress, painter, and decorator. Also like Mom, I am not original; but I can copy a pattern. It fascinates me to read blogs by crafy women. I am often jealous that I can't come up with some of this stuff.

When I saw these strawberry pincushions on the Martha Stewart website, I knew I would have to make some. This past summer when I stitched these, I almost couldn't stop myself. Each one seemed cuter than the other; and with my stash of red scraps, I could have sewn all day long.

So then the question - what do I do with all these strawberries? There will be 20 women at my quilt group's retreat, so I have one for each quilter. I've wrapped them in tissue from a couple old patterns and tied them off with some red twist from Mom's embroidery stash.

Fun stuff

2010-10-30T06:59:00.011-04:00

I have enough projects to finish without evening thinking of starting this one, but wouldn't it be fun to make this for grandkids or a special quilting/stitching buddy? And look, this calendar hangs from a knitting needle!

Buying the wool felt suggested, makes this calendar is really expensive; but using your imagination, it could be sewn up a lot cheaper and still be really cute.

Hmmmmm, there is still a lot of time to try to put one together. Here's the link; I'd love to know if you make one.

A new blog hop

2010-10-28T05:46:00.004-04:00

Maybe this should fall into the category of 'fun stuff'. This blog hop has great designers participating; and right off the bat is Brenda from Country Stitches. If her cross stitch designs aren't only the best, she also posts great recipes on her blog. I've even downloaded music onto my ipod after I've heard it on her blog.

All the designers in this hop are great. The fun starts November 2 (and we'll need some fun on that stress-filled election day).

Christine's giveaway

2010-10-24T06:06:00.003-04:00

Isn't he cute?! Christine made him. You have until November 1 to sign up for this one.

Fun stuff

2010-10-23T06:50:00.008-04:00

Do you remember Betty McCall paperdolls? When I was little, Mom did subscribe to McCall's; and I loved the paperdoll page so much. Usually Mom would have to cut out the designs because I was only in kindergarten or first grade.

When I saw this website, I fell in love again. I hope someday Natalie and Aubrey will want to play with paperdolls.

Angela's giveaway

2010-10-20T17:46:00.009-04:00

Oh my, Angela's giving away some super cute things! Hurry!

That fat quarter challenge project

2010-10-17T09:05:00.014-04:00

Some of the members of our quilt group must do a lot of brainstorming; one of them came up with this idea for our retreat. We were each given a fat quarter of this fabric. It looks like a jelly bean print and is definitely out of the box of our quilters in my opinion! Our challenge was to make something of this fabric.

Mary Ellen Hopkins said once you can take the ugliest fabric and make a beautiful quilt from it if you cut the fabric into tiny pieces. At first I thought I would make a miniature quilt with this as my focus fabric. Then I realized this was probably more work than I needed to take on at this time, so I checked out some of my favorite blogs for a good idea. I found this at Polka Dot Pineapple.

and here is my version

Baked chicken nuggets

2010-10-14T05:28:00.007-04:00

Did you ever hear a joke or see a comedy TV show about the husband who brought home his boss for supper unexpectedly? It happened to me the other night. Fortunately it wasn't a canned soup and toasted cheese sandwich night. My husband isn't crazy about chicken; but the house smelled good when they walked in, and Henry seemed to enjoy the meal. Here's the recipe from a 1991 Southern Living magazine.

1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried whole basil
1/2 teaspoon dried whole thyme
4 chicken breast halves, boneless and skinless
1/4 cup butter melted

Combine first five ingredients in a bag and shake well. Cut chicken into 1" pieces. Dip into melted butter and shake a few at a time in the bread crumb mixture. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Baket at 400° for 20 minutes or until tender.

The Lucky Star blocks

2010-10-12T05:18:00.008-04:00

I am whittling away on my list of projects that I need to complete to take to the quilt retreat. Next on the list were to sew three Lucky Star blocks in red/white/blue.

A pile of quilts is stored at Sarah's house for when one of us hears of a need of a quilt. Some of these quilts have gone to returning soldiers as a thank-you for their service. Some have gone to families who have lost their homes because of fires or to individuals battling sickness. It's always sad to see an email from a member requesting a quilt because it means someone is going through a difficult time. What better way to reach out to them than with a hug in the form of a quilt.

Some of these quilts are made from blocks that are donated to our group, and some are made from blocks left over from our own projects. Most of the quilts are made with the Lucky Star block. A few years ago we started making quilts from this Atkinson pattern. It's a good one because there is no need for additional border fabrics as the block already has a border. It has been suggested that we try using a different block, so we are auditioning a new one. It doesn't matter to me what block we use; it's just nice to be a part of a group that considers charity quilts something we need to do.

A baby quilt

2010-10-10T15:27:00.007-04:00

Annually our quilt group gives baby quilts to unwed mothers living in a group home. This project is always a struggle for me because I don't usually buy novelty or bright fabrics.

After seeing some of Angela's quilts, I was more interested in the project this year. I had thought about doing a more elaborate quilt, but part of the reason I struggle with this project is because my sewing time seems to be so limited. What's quicker than a simple 9-patch?