Advent Calendar

It's that time of year when my mind turns to Advent--time to reflect on the reason for the season.  We have an advent wreath--a circle of life--candles are lit on Sundays before Christmas.

I also like to prepare myself by knitting an advent scarf, which I've

done for the past several years.  This year is no different--

Unkatissima hosts this special knit along beginning December 1--Each day a 'window' will open to reveal the pattern for the day--It is my meditation time--yarn in my hands is certainly a blessing.  The pattern is free--knit along!

About the pattern:

1. This year the shawl has
    7 different consecutive lace patterns which mirror each other harmoniously,
    a 20 stitches repeat which allows you to knit the shawl as wide as you like and
    on day 13 a pattern that you can knit as often as you like to adapt the length of the shawl to your liking.
    
2. The pattern
    is a multiple of 20 pattern stitches + 3 start/end stitches + 2 or more edge stitches, and has a total of 386 rows with the day 13 pattern knitted once.
    The day 13 pattern has 28 rows and can be knitted several times if necessary.
    The daily instructions contain each as well charts as written instructions.
    
3. To knit the shawl you need
    yarn with needles in appropriate size (the shawl looks as beautiful knitted in lace yarn as in fingering or bulkier yarn),
    know-how about knitting yarn overs and different decreases and
    if you like stitch markers to mark the repeats.
    
4. If you want to make the shawl
    broader/narrower simply adjust the number of repeats;  shorter,
   • use smaller needle sizes and/or
   • finer yarn and/or
   • knit less loose;  longer
• knit the day 13 pattern more than once and/or
• use larger needles and/or bulkier yarn and/or knit more loose.

Advent Skalender is another shawl to knit during this period.  It began November 20

Wool Work---

Sleep as I will--wish as I would--

It just doesn't get the job done!

I bought this book for some wool applique

sense--I've not done much wool work.  A few small

pieces but I bought this book to make 

This tea cozy!!  I loved this tea cozy!  I have the book

now.  I have wool too.  I have floss to do the stitching--

BUT............A cold spell came along

AND

My tea pot is still naked!!

Not Early Enough!

Every year I think and believe that I will begin gift making

earlier in the year--but here I am in mid November

and just working on a few--and I mean a few!

Not going to have time to create all the gifts

I thought I could--intentions went by the wayside!!

This pattern by Denton Foreman, Cozy Fingerless Gloves

is a perfect mindless knitting project--

knit in front of TV, in the car, in a lecture,

talking to friends--

I found lots of small bits of yarn that will 

work for this easy peazy pattern.

I divided my yarn into two so I can knit both mitts

as the same time on circular needles--and the best

part--it's all Knit!!

Post Thanksgiving Food.....................

  Gobble--Gobble--Gobble!!!

Are there Thursday leftovers in your refrigerator?  Each person in our family love those leftovers and want a 'favorite'--be it just turkey sandwich or turkey ala king, turkey tetrazzini, turkey salad, turkey gumbo--we could eat turkey for days after the BIG day!  What is your favorite?

Here is my recipe for turkey tetrazzini:  which is my family favorite!

INGREDIENTS

• 12 oz dry spaghetti
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion diced
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 1/4 cups chicken broth 
• 1 1/3 cups half & half or light cream
• Juice of one lemon
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 cups chopped turkey
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese 
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, topping
• splash of white wine, if on hand

Prepare spaghetti in boiling salted water.  In a saute pan, melt butter, brown chopped onion in butter, then add flour to make a roux.  Add liquid--chicken broth and half/half, stir till thick; then add chopped turkey, juice of one lemon, salt and pepper, mix in cheese--

place the cooked spaghetti in a greased casserole dish, pour the turkey mixture over spaghetti, mix together; on top sprinkle parmesan cheese--sometimes, I'll sprinkle some fine bread crumbs on top to get a nice crunch.  Bake at 350* for about 30-40 minutes till bubbly around the edges.  Serve to the waiting crowd!

Can be prepared ahead, frozen and then served at a later date.

Enjoy your leftovers or in our house we call it "must go"!

Happy Thanksgiving!

FAll colors will soon turn to Christmas Red and Green,

but before that happens, I'm enjoying the newly fallen

leaves, rosy crisp apples, butternut squash filled with

goodies--

We will continue to Give Thanks for the small things in

our life

We leave you with this tablescape From My Carolina Home

May your Thanksgiving day be filled with many

blessings and riches of bounty!

Can You Help?

There are tragedies that occur everywhere in the world - right now there is utter devastation in Paradise California. There is a call out for quilt blocks and quilts if you care to donate to those who have lost so much.

It breaks your heart to know they have lost Everything!!

Here is how we can assist:

HEART QUILTS FOR CHILD VICTIMS OF THE WILDFIRES:

Complete quilts that are ready to be given to children can be mailed immediately to the address below:

WE CARE
Care of Kathy Biggi
14280 Bar Ela Ranch Rd.
Grass Valley, CA 95945

Donation Quilts website has links to patterns of other heart blocks.  If you have completed quilts or tops, please consider sending those along as well. 

It's That Time Again...................BH Mystery!

Yes!  Time to prepare for the Bonnie Hunter Annual 

Mystery Quilt!  I'm not even finished with 2017 but that

doesn't keep me from saving the clues in this 

China journey!

Beginning the Friday after Thanksgiving and each

week thereafter till all clues have been revealed, you can

jump on the sewing caravan to sew to your heart's content!

The clues will be on her website: Quiltville into February, 2019

Here are the fabric requirements:  not necessary for you

keep this same color selections, but it's helpful if you

enjoy these colors to follow along:

to me, I like my mixture of colors in these

ranges--more variety more fun

Yardage requirements for Good Fortune:

Greens: 1 1/4 yards

Blues: 2 yards.

Reds: 1 3/4 yards

Oranges: 3 2/3 yards

Neutrals: 6 yards

All Wrapped Up in Dogs!

Years ago, this quilt top was sewn just for fun--it was a month by

month pattern from Fatcat Patterns.  It was quilted by friend

Sandy.  About the time, Sandy had finished the quilt

and I had done the binding, there was a fund raising

auction for an animal shelter.

I had no purpose for the quilt--just a fun project

to do--Sandy recommended the quilt be given as an

auction item--

what a great idea!

And the quilt was purchased by an animal lover.

So time goes along and the person who purchased the quilt

contacted me in regards to making a doggie pillow for her

Mother--well, I'm not one to jump on that bandwagon.

I thought about it and said Yes, I would make her

a pillow for gift giving--there is no charge as the pattern

is copyright.  

She sent me photos of her doggie--

I thought long and hard about this--what should I do to make this

pillow actually look like this puppy?

First, I made the face as in the above pattern--

that didn't cut it for me.

Then I stumbled upon this pattern

"Dogs in Sweaters" by Elizabeth Hartman--this is

perfect!  I could make the pattern to resemble the photo

and here is the finished pillow.........

Isn't he cute?  And he's wearing the mother's favorite color

sweater--blue!  Pillow is 16" x 26"

Here is the back--I found this great dachshund fabric

and just knew it was the backing!

All finished--

Sock Challenge!

You would like hand knit socks?  Here is your chance to learn how 

to complete that perfect pair as Solene Knits is offering this

free class beginning November 18--

You will learn these basic steps in creating a wearable sock: 

• How to do an elastic cast-on
• How to work a sock in the round with double pointed or circular needles
• How to work the heel flap and turn the heel with short rows
• How to shape the gusset of your sock
• How to work the toe and use grafting at the end for a perfectly seamless finish

Challenge schedule

Sunday November 18th - PART 1: Start your sock with a german twisted cast-on, learn about the different techniques to knit a sock in the round and work the cuff.

Monday November 19th - PART 2: Knit the leg of your sock and the mystery textured pattern starts to unravel!

Wednesday November 21st: PART 3: Learn how to work a reinforced heel flap and to turn the heel using short rows.

Friday November 23rd: PART 4: Work the foot of your sock with even more texture!

Monday November 26th: PART 5: Work the toe of your sock with decreases and graft the end together.

Big Bend and Chili!

We pulled into our lodging, Lajitas Golf Resort,

about two hours after we left Marfa--Lajitas is a wide

spot in the road about seven miles west of Terlingua Ghost Town

We came for CASI--Chili Appreciate Society International

Big chili cook-off--not cooking just hoping to taste

some good chili; volunteer and enjoy the festivities.

Lajitas is located in the bend of Texas, about a stone's

throw from Old Mexico--the Rio Grande flows through the

straits and narrows of the canyons--the skies are filled

with color and on our arrival the clouds covered the

vast majority of the sky.

The Rio Grande is all that separates Texas and Mexico

The grounds of the resort are lovely--paths to 

the lobby and restaurant take you through

views of great majesty.

This waterway was our view from our porch

as we were lodged in the old Cavalry barracks

At night we had Javelins visit to chow down on the

fallen Oak acorns--now, that was interesting to see!

All's quiet on our first day to arrive at Rancho CASI de los Chisos, 

where all activities will  commence over the five days of the 

event.  We are novices but welcomed with open arms--

want to volunteer?  Many opportunities exist here-

we signed up to work the 'store' or merchandise

booth--wow!  what fun!  

Representatives from sponsors set up to hand out

their wares--how about some hot sauce from Louisiana

Hot sauce, bottle cozies,  a drink with imported vodka, bloody mary

mix from another company, cornbread mix (who doesn't like

that with their chili??) and a local quilt guild selling

chances on their two quilts. 

Volunteers are needed to be judges--oh, yeah!

We arrive Friday morning too late to judge the Hot

wings contest--this judging is just first come--

the line was way too long for us to enter that;

BUT, the best thing--all the wings that didn't go into

the next round, are served to those waiting for the

next category!  Being patient pays off!

We waited in line to judge Salsas--you can only

judge one round--then back in line for the

non-traditional salsa--now, that was interesting.

Contests are held for camp stoves--the best painting

of regional scenery

We were registered to judge chili on Saturday--we

had waited all this time to see if our name would be on

the list--and yes, there we were!  Table O and P!!

Some veterans of the chili contest were not on

the list and very disappointed!  We line up at 11:30

and wait for the 274 chili cooks to enter with their

sample in hand

The cooks competing were stationed in the middle of the

grounds--there are certain requirements for chili--meat,

seasonings and tomato sauce--this is a RED chili

competition only!

We didn't walk through the cooks--but were notified no photos

allowed!  Competition is stiff and there should be no

hanky panky with cheating about whose chili is whose!

At high noon, cooks turn in their white quart container of

their very best chili and then the first group of judges (which

are us) are seated at our tables and the tasting begins!

Score 1-10--I tell you, there wasn't a bad chili in the bunch!

All received high scores from my pen!  Not spicy chili either--

clue--don't burn your judges mouth with spice--they won't

be able to taste either again!  

Drink "maids' come around offering water, beer, soda

for judges to clean their palate--the table also offers

cheese, celery, crackers--

Now, you're asking where did everyone sleep?  Most

were in RVs or tents and they pitched their spot right

in the area--

Krazy Flats hosted parties every night--guess that's

why they call it Krazy Flats!!

We met so many interesting folks from around the world--

most come every year to meet up with friends, to 

share their love of chili and just party!  

We grabbed our special CASI judging t-shirt,

walked to our car and reminisced about our time

at CASI as we headed through portion of Big Bend

and home--

man, that chili was good!

Veterans Day Commemoration

How will you spend your Veteran's Day?

This is the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI--

the war to end all wars!

Fair Warning! Road to Red/White Trees!

Do you Instagram?  I'm not sure how this works, but

I'm willing to find out beginning November 12.

I have plenty of red and white fabrics--been saving

for Valentine's quilt..

But, you can purchase this line of fabric now

and be ready to sew, sew, sew to your heart's content!

 Carina Gardner is hosting a quilt along on instagram! there will be 5 days worth of videos starting on November 12th-16th at @carinagardner. And the quilt you will be making is the one shown here!  Finished quilt is 44" x 50" 

You will need the following supplies:
+ A fat quarter pack of So Ruby Fabric
+ 1/8 yard of light interfacing
+ 1 1/3 yards of white fabric (Note: technically you can use the WHITE patterned pieces in fat quarter pack for this if you want a more patchwork look!)
+ about 1 1/2 yards backing

CUT THE FOLLOWING:

Monday, November 12th: Tree Quilt Block
(Total of 12 Tree Blocks)
+ six red (mix and match the fabrics) 10 in. x 10 in. squares
+ six red (matching the fabrics above) 2 in. x 10 in. rectangles
+ six white 10 in. x 10 in. squares
+ six white 2 in. x 10 in. rectangles
+ six red (mix and match the fabrics) 2 in. x 2 in. squares (trunk)
+ six white 2 in. x 2 in. squares (trunk)

Tuesday, November 13th: Candy Cane Stripe
(Total of 2 Candy Cane Stripes)
+ thirty red (mix and match) 2.5 in. x 4.5 in. rectangles
+ four 1.5 in. x WOF white rectangles

Wednesday, November 14th: Peppermint Quilt Block 
(Total of 4 Peppermint Blocks)

NOTE: This is an intermediate to advanced block.If you are a beginner, you can skip this block and simply cut out four 6.5 in squares in red fabrics! 

+ sixteen red color A 3 in. x 3 in. squares
+ eight red color B 3 in. x 3 in. squares
+ eight white 3 in. x 3 in. squares
+ four white 3.5 in. x 6.5 in. rectangles
+ sixteen white 2 in. x 2 in. squares
+ four 4 in. x 4 in. pieces of fusible interfacing (I used the single sided fusible featherweight)
+ one 3 inch circle template (available for download below)

Thursday, November 15th: Patchwork Borders
(Total of 2 Short Borders and 2 Long Borders)
+ thirty-six red/white So Ruby fabrics cut into 3.5 in. x 4.5 in. rectangles
+ eight 2 in. x WOF white fabric

Friday, November 16th: Putting it all together!
+ Binding – I’m not going over this, but you can patch together binding from your fat quarter pack OR purchase a single fabric. You will need about 1/2 yard if you use the WOF for your binding.

Little Road Trippin' Post

We traveled to West Texas--a journey of epic adventures!

Our first stop was Marfa--the famed area to view the 

'mysterious lights' that bounce around on a clear night--

unfortunately, we didn't have clear skies--rainy and lots of clouds--

it's the luck of the weather, isn't it!

We chose to stay in El Paisano Hotel--the location of famous

actors, Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, as they 

filmed the classic movie "Giant".  To this day, I've not seen this 

movie!!  

The courtyard was inviting and a place to enjoy at your leisure

after a day of hiking, biking, visiting historic structures or just

a nice drink by the flowing fountain

The touches you see are from the 1930's--although the hotel has 

gone through many hands and a few renovations but it still

remains the ideal location when you stay in Marfa--

We enjoyed the local foods, like this Chevre

from the Marfa Maid Dairy Farm

And where else could you find a coffee shop that

is located inside a vacant lumberyard!  Across the

street is the Get It and Go--such a refreshing grocery store!

After our dinner at the Hotel, we walked a short block

to Tumbleweed Laundry/Frama for a bite of Henry's

home made ice cream--yes, right next door to the

laundry--actually, I think that's pretty good marketing!

We also found Laundry/coffee shop in Alpine, sister

to the one in Marfa.

Marfa is home to Donald Judd Foundation--

Outside of town is Chinati Foundation

In 1979, Judd began working with the Dia Art Foundation to purchase the buildings and land of Fort D.A. Russell, a decommissioned military base. Through what was known at that time as “the Marfa Project,” Judd established the permanent installation of large-scale works by himself and his contemporaries. In 1986, Dia transferred the artworks, buildings, and land to Marfa. 

This latest art installation was designed by Robert Irwin

 A rebuilding of the demolished hospital at the former Fort D.A. Russell (which Donald Judd acquired in the late 70's with the help of Dia Art Foundation), it’s the only permanent and freestanding work of art by Irwin. To a non-discerning eye, it may appear to be just a building, but look closely and you’ll notice that the windows are taller than they should be, and the walls are disproportionately thick.

“That’s the main event, all the windows. People think they’re looking for artwork but what they’re actually seeing is beautiful nature,” said Irwin. “I liked the architecture of the fort. All I did was take that form and elaborate it—make the walls thicker, so you get a more substantial physicality to look out of. A real sense of frame.”

What the walls are framing is the big Texas sky, which is what, aside from his friendship with Judd, attracted Irwin to Marfa in the first place. “The clouds are right on top of your head; it’s like a wild west show everyday,” he said.

His purchase of two artillery sheds has enabled vast space for

exhibits--

Inside one of the hangers is the location for huge

aluminum structures--these are only open at certain times

for public viewing but as we walked along the outside

windows, we could see the marvelous pieces.

One hundred of them, made of silvery milled aluminum, are housed in two old brick artillery sheds. They sit in perfect quiet rows, glowing or seemingly translucent, depending on the light. 

Walking through the acres of fields, we flushed out

scores of jack rabbits and watched out steps for

rattlesnakes.

Now, all 400 acres of the site are run by the Chinati Foundation.  In this space, Judd scattered 15 giant concrete boxes, as empty and remote as the landscape.

Art at its finest in the wide open spaces of West Texas!