Hill Country Film Fest

This past weekend we have been attending Hill Country Film Fest in Fredericksburg, Texas--This is our seventh year to view some outstanding films--some of these films are released to the public, so watch for them; although the films might not play on the big screen, sometimes, you can find them on the small screen.

Here you not only see the film, but there is Q and A with

the film maker and sometimes, the actors are in the theater 

to answer questions.  This year it was David Arquette with

his film--"Amanda and Jack Go Glamping"  

Our houseguests had their photo taken with David after

the movie.

There were over 80 short films, 17 feature films from 12

different countries.  Nothing was shown twice.  you just needed

to check the program to decide what you wanted to see and

when.  sometimes it was a conflict--but decisions had to be made.

Another film, 1989, shown was "Great Balls of Fire" starring Dennis Quaid--

really interesting to hear him speak about the film and Jerry Lee Lewis!

Five years ago, this large screen was set up in the Marktplatz where we viewed some of the short films nominated--a great experience!

How To Wear a Kilt!!

Recently we were at an outdoor event and I met a young gentleman wearing a kilt--that is something you don't see often in United States. We got into a discussion about his clan and the tartan--Each clan has their own


tartan--I've done extensive research into tartans; have numerous books too--our name is related to MacFarlane tartan but since our name is Mc--that means it's Irish--that's whole other topic. I've woven several tartan swatches--never a complete yardage of tartan!

Wearing of the tartan is always an interesting topic--so when I came across this video--I had to share--wait to the end--you might find out the answer to another questionable topic--what do they wear under their kilts??

A kilt (Scottish Gaelic: fèileadh [ˈfeːləɣ])^[1] is a type of knee-length non-bifurcated skirt with pleats at the back, originating in the traditional dress of Gaelicmen and boys in the Scottish Highlands. It is first recorded in the 16th century as the great kilt, a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak. The small kilt or modern kilt emerged in the 18th century, and is essentially the bottom half of the great kilt. Since the 19th century, it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland, and more broadly with Gaelic or Celtic heritage. It is most often made of woollen cloth in a tartan pattern.

Although the kilt is most often worn on formal occasions and at Highland games and sports events, it has also been adapted as an item of informal male clothing in recent years, returning to its roots as an everyday garment. Particularly in North America, kilts are now made for casual wear in a variety of materials. Alternative fastenings may be used and pockets inserted to avoid the need for a sporran. Kilts have also been adopted as female wear for some sports.

Weaving with Natural

My loom has been warped for months now with another set of

handspun cotton dish towels.  I had finished one set last year and

thought it would be great to use up all my handspun cotton that

has been in my stash.  Besides, I could just tie on another

warp and pull through--lazy me!

There are small bits of this and that--some brown cotton

plied with white.  Some with white cotton and hand dyed

indigo cotton.

And then--you would think there would be enough yarn

for the loom--but, my brain doesn't function that way--

I thought I had enough--and I did to WARP but

not for weft--oh bother!  There are times more needs to 

be spun--here is a small ball of handspun brown and

blue dyed cotton--don't you have any idea how long

it takes to spin a bobbin of cotton?  Neither did I--

of course, I'm an optimist and yes, there was enough

in the stash for weft--NOT!  

it takes time to spin and ply what is needed... 

Here is woven areas--looks great!  Loving the feel 

and the pattern that is generated just with plain weave.

A bobbin of handspun white cotton ready to throw

Behind the loom there still seems to be miles and miles

of unwoven warp--does it multiply during the night or

when I'm away from the loom?

Eggs! Eggs! Eggs!

Here it is couple days passed Easter and we still have several

hard boiled eggs in refrigerator!  If you are like me before the big

Easter day, you boil eggs for dyeing--I did a dozen and half--

I use my Instant Pot--great way to get all the eggs

finished at the same time and they peel so easy!

Anyway, now I'm left with all these eggs--so what do you

do with them?  Of course, I deviled some--then my brain

went off the deep end--why are they are called

deviled eggs when they taste so good?  Everyone has

their own special recipe to make these delicious foods.

But, deviled they are--here's what Chowhound states:

"It turns out, the history goes back further than you think. The first documented usage for the word “devil” as a culinary term dates back to 1786 when, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, it was used to describe a “(highly seasoned) fried or boiled dish.” By 1800, the term “deviling” caught on and was primarily used to refer to the process of making a spicy or condiment-laden dish, like ham or even kidneys, as was common for the time.

The OED claims,”the term was presumably adopted because of the connection between the devil and the excessive heat in Hell.” This association makes sense. Even while the spice level of deviled eggs can definitely vary based on filling ingredients, they certainly have the potential to pack heat. I mean, you can literally put anything in a deviled egg. Beyond mustard, mayo, and paprika, you can throw in cayenne, kimchi, and even wasabi to kick it up a notch. At their mildest, they are still heavily seasoned and chock-full of condiments, so the original “deviled” definition still holds up."

Okay, that answers that question--but, you know what?  No one has ever asked me why they are called 'deviled' when they are digging into that richness!

Before Easter, I was having a discussion with a friend who said they were attending a potluck in their community--"what are you bringing?" I asked.  "Pea Salad", she answered--"it's what I always bring for potluck".  She said a friend was bringing funeral potatoes--"what are funeral potatoes?" I asked--

She replied "a potato casserole of shredded potatoes, sour cream, cheese,

and condensed soup--topped with crushed potatoes chips"  Never have

I called them "funeral potatoes"--the name comes from these casseroles

being served at funerals--or they sometimes are called Moman potatoes

since the dish is very popular in Utah and brought to many LDS functions.

Okay, folks-- my brain is back to so called "Normal"!!

and I'm back to deviling the rest of the eggs!

Easter...................................

Dishcloth Mayhem!

I'm loving these dishcloths--wish I could knit them all

from my handspun, but the blues, browns and whites

are going into my handwoven towels.

Oh, a little story of the way a couple of my skeins are not really

balls but wound so irregularly--

Years ago (you can tell I've not used these Sugar & Cream

products much lately)  our grandson would visit our

house with his friend--they found my sugar and cream

stash and thought--"wow, these would make great

fighting balls!"  And so, they proceed to wind the yarns

super tight so when they threw them, they wouldn't come unwound!

Clever, if you are using yarn for ammunition--but, not so

great when you find these balls all over the house!  Guess there's

nothing like soft 'bullets'! 

My friend and I sometimes get carried away with yarn 

buying--all my Sugar and Cream were bought at North

Carolina outlet when we were traveling though that area.

One of us said--"let's stop!" and that's the rest of the

story...............

I'm working on forgotten patterns--nothing fancy for

me-- An Almost Lost Washcloth

And the Crazy Eights Dishcloth

I use a smaller needle size when I knit my dishcloths--

American Valor Wall Hanging

You can never have enough Patriotic quilts in your house!

I found this kit at Missouri Star Quilt Company

I'm not one for buying kits--but when I looked at purchasing

the panel and fabrics to surround it--it was a no brainer

to go with the kit.

Pattern is there along with all the fabrics except the backing--

cut and sew.............

Love sewing this hanging!  

Odds And Ends

Camilla, one of our expatchers, made this lovely pastel

quilt from birthday fat quarters she received over the

years--she wanted a spring time throw for the living area

The pattern comes from Stashtastic by Doug Leko

I thought I was a genius--then I reread the instructions--

make 4--yes, FOUR! blocks, not just one, but four!

I decided to use my hand dyed fabrics for this quilt from

Fort Worth Fabric Studio--A Day in May Spring Mystery.

I thought I was so smart to finish--well, the second

clue was issued and now, I'm way behind!!  Don't

think this will be finished for that day in May!

What? When? Where??

Having moved houses a few times in the past five years,

I forget things!  It's like walking through a door--

"what did I come in here for?"

I'm finding things I'd forgotten existed!

Take for example.......This

Cactus loom all warped with a few inches woven--

What?  The Sam Hill (does anyone know how

Sam Hill got involved in this--I don't!) Little aside here--

• Euphemism for the devil: H. L. Mencken suggested that the phrase derives from Samiel, the name of the Devil in Der Freischütz, an opera by Carl Maria von Weber that was performed in New York City in 1825. The phrase "Sa' m Hill" can also be seen in the variant "Samil".^[4]

I'm asking the question--what workshop?

I'm sure it's a workshop--somewhere, somehow--

just don't remember

And look--all these yarns are with this loom!

Holy smokes--one is even marked with a label

I'm sure the label is right--marked 06/06

paprika & mochacino (I don't know what that is)

I tried a search--autocorrect wants to make it a 

coffee!! 

Where?  I look at the bag it was in--Taos Wool Market--

That answers the question where--but when?

Couldn't figure the date out--oh well--it was sometime

in the past 15 years!  I did remember the instructor--

Rose Virgil!  

You know--maybe, the workshop was at Estes Park Wool market instead--

Does it really matter what? When? Where?

Not really--I'm thinking I just might work on this piece--

even if I don't remember what the design was originally in

my brain--

I went through several doors since then!

Oh! The Beauty of It!

This is just so beautiful--music, movement of the weaver and the sound of the loom!
Watch and enjoy!

Hands Down--It's a Mystery!

Another mystery for your hands to unfold!  Plus, your hands will be

delighted once this knit is completed.  These Fingerless gloves

are designed by Michele Pelletier--you can find the free pattern on

Ravelry and Michele can be found on Instagram-- do you Instagram?

Of course, there are two clues already released!

These mitts are worked in the round with simple stitches to create a pretty embossed lace

pattern.  Sock yarn is the yarn needed which allows the mitts to fit

a broad range of sizes--perfect quick gift!

These are designed for easy to intermediate knitters.  Pattern

is both charted and written.  200 yards of fingering weight sock

yarn is required--can you knit in the round?  

I've finished clue one--you can tell which one I began with first--

Brown yarn was the only solid yarn I could find in 

my stash--

Heads UP! Summer Listening.............Here!

Audiobookssync  has done it again!  One of my favorite places to

receive FREE audio books--of course, the  main purpose is aimed at

teens, but guess what?  Many of these books (Audio) are on my list

of must reads (listen) again!  

So put these dates on your calendar to pick up some really

good listening for your summer time........

Below is the listing of titles....

Week 1: April 25 – May 2

SWING by Kwame Alexander, with Mary Rand Hess, narrated by Kwame Alexander (Blink)
BLINK & CAUTION by Tim Wynne-Jones, narrated by MacLeod Andrews (Candlewick on Brilliance Audio)

Week 2: May 2 – May 9
OTHELLO by William Shakespeare, narrated by Ewan McGregor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kelly Reilly, Tom Hiddleston, and a full cast (Naxos AudioBooks)
YOU by Charles Benoit, narrated by David Baker (Full Cast Audio)

Week 3: May 9 – May 16
THE EPIC CRUSH OF GENIE LO by F.C. Yee, narrated by Nancy Wu (Recorded Books)
SHADOW OF THE FOX by Julie Kagawa, narrated by Joy Osmanski, Brian Nishii, Emily Woo Zeller (HarperAudio)

Week 4: May 16 – May 23
SPILL by Leigh Fondakowski, performed by Elisa Bocanegra, Nicholas Hormann, James Morrison, Darren Richardson, and a full cast (L.A. Theatre Works)
MEET THE SKY by McCall Hoyle, narrated by Morgan Fairbanks (Blink)

Week 5: May 23 – May 30
A NIGHT DIVIDED by Jennifer A. Nielsen, narrated by Kate Simses (Scholastic Audiobooks)
TEAR DOWN THIS WALL: A CITY, A PRESIDENT, AND THE SPEECH THAT ENDED THE COLD WAR by Romesh Ratnesar, narrated by Wes Bleed (Oasis Audio)

Week 6: May 30 – June 6
THE FIRST TIME SHE DROWNED by Kerry Kletter, narrated by Jorjeana Marie (Penguin Random House Audio/Listening Library)
WILD BIRD by Wendelin Van Draanen, narrated by Alex McKenna (Penguin Random House Audio/Listening Library)

Week 7: June 6 – June 13
A GIRL LIKE THAT by Tanaz Bhathena, narrated by Firdous Bamji, Neil Shah, Soneela Nankani, Lameece Issaq (Recorded Books)
AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE by Henrik Ibsen, Adapted by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, performed by Richard Kind, Rosalind Ayres, Gregory Harrison, Josh Stamberg, and a full cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

Week 8: June 13 – June 20
THE GOLDEN DAY by Ursula Dubosarsky, narrated by Kate Rudd (Candlewick on Brilliance Audio)
GULP by Mary Roach, narrated by Emily Woo Zeller (Tantor Audio)

Week 9: June 20 – June 27
ASTRAY by Emma Donoghue, narrated by Khristine Hvam, James Langton, Robert Petkoff, Suzanne Toren, Dion Graham (Hachette Audio)
OLIVIA TWIST by Lorie Langdon, narrated by Pearl Hewitt (Black Hills Audiobooks)

Week 10: June 27 – July 4
YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS by Meg Medina, narrated by Roxanne Hernandez (Candlewick on Brilliance Audio)
HERETICS ANONYMOUS by Katie Henry, narrated by Michael Crouch (HarperAudio)

Week 11: July 4 – July 11
THE NAME OF THE STAR by Maureen Johnson, narrated by Nicola Barber (Brilliance Audio)
THE CANTERVILLE GHOST by Oscar Wilde, narrated by Rupert Degas (Naxos AudioBooks)

Week 12: July 11 – July 18
BECOMING KAREEM by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, narrated by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Hachette Audio)
VINCENT AND THEO by Deborah Heiligman, narrated by Philip Fox (Dreamscape Media)

Week 13: July 18 – July 25
THE GO-BETWEEN by Veronica Chambers, narrated by Karla Souza (Penguin Random House Audio/Listening Library)
KIDS OF APPETITE by David Arnold, narrated by Phoebe Strole, Michael Crouch and Ryan Vincent Anderson (Penguin Random House Audio/Listening Library)

Week 14: July 25 – August 1
AKATA WITCH by Nnedi Okorafor, narrated by Yetide Badaki (Tantor Audio)
ALL THE CROOKED SAINTS by Maggie Stiefvater, narrated by Thom Rivera (Scholastic Audiobooks)

 

Square by Square

There are those days, you can only work square by square.

guess what though?  In the end, you put all those squares together

and you have a whole--a whole block--a whole quilt--

and a feeling of accomplishment comes with each

square by square that is completed.

This is square by square for Pat Sloan's March BOM--

I changed up the colors some, but that's what

quilters can do with their squares--no need to 'color

inside the lines'--break the mold and do what you

want--after all it's your square to add to your quilt.

Another square finished for A simple life's

half square blocks--March's blocks were simple

enough to complete.

Another half square block--I'm just pulling out 4"

squares from my stash bin to make half square triangles

for these blocks--fun and quick--once the squares are finished

The three above are from Pat Sloan--A Flower Bouquet!

More Agatha..................

I'm so enjoying these Agatha Christie reads (or in my case--watching!).  These are books I've not read before and many are different.  Like March's book

A tale of angry, jealous and a murder already judged with person 

sentenced to death by hanging, which was carried out!

I decided to knit something small--like this pig dishcloth.

I used a 100% natural colored cotton yarn--

not my own handspun, but nice to knit with.

I used only 4 ply

but when I knitted the cloth

for April, I doubled and made this 

I chose to do a flower

dishcloth, designed by KrisKnits--love making these small items--easy to finish!

She has many different patterns unique to knit--she hasn't blogged for awhile

and I miss her creativity--you can find her patterns on Ravelry though.  I bought

all her sets of dishcloth patterns. Can you see the 'flowers'?

April's Agatha pick is "Mirror Cracked From Side to Side"

We follow Miss Marple as she solves this puzzling case--

which begins as a garden party--

I'm still working on the February garment for

"Death in the Clouds"

A Day In May Mystery

Oh Yes!!  Another mystery from Fort Worth Fabric Studio!!  So happy to see this--I was thinking the other day that there are no spring quilts in my stash.  Yes, I have an Easter quilt or two, but nothing for spring.....................the timing on this one is just perfect!  Of course, I'm a day late getting the information--it will be a five (5)  week sew along.  The patterns are free and kits are available for less than $50.
I'm gathering my fabrics today to begin--and I'll find some purple (my dreaded color!) to sew along!

Here’s what we can share about this Mystery Quilt: • Finished size is approximately 41” x 41” • Kits are available – with Backing + Binding INCLUDED • Highly suggested (not required) Bloc Loc 6.5” HST Ruler, Marking Trio from Omnigrid • Patterns are free and will be posted to our website on Mondays (schedule below) • Cutting guide & fabric requirements will be posted on week 1 • This quilt along will last 5 weeks • Skill level: we have one block that is considered intermediate, the rest of the blocks are confident beginner. If you are a confident beginner ready for a challenge, you can do this! Posting schedule: April 1, April 8, April 15, April 22, April 29 All PDF Downloads will be located on our website under Patterns or search “A Day In May”

April Fool's......................................!

Recently, while out at dinner, my friend said to me--"have you heard of

the new trend?"  "No" I said--"what new trend?"  She said, "I'm thinking

of making these for my ankles--ankle scarves"

"What?" I replied!  "what are ankle scarves?"

The conversation went on from there--she said she doesn't like

to wear socks and since she wears long pants and no socks, her

ankles get cold.  She saw these on internet and thought it was a good idea.

Guess, a lot of other people thought so too and thus, the

trend became a fashion item?

No, not really!

The joke might be on us!

A German satire site called Der Postillon decided to come up with the fake trend in other to get readers wound up. That, and we are sure that they wanted to go viral with this little Internet gag, too.

Their article translated to: “Long trousers are worn only by grandmothers and grandpas. But after I've had chilblains twice this year and my doctor warned me I could lose my ankles, I'll just wear those shawls for safety's sake."But because this is 2018 and a lot of people are still confused over the term “fake news,” some readers actually didn’t get this. They took out their confusion and frustration over the entire matter on Twitter and other social media platforms. Because where else would you want to vent about something like ankle scarves, right?Some people wrote comments such as, “Socks! Just wear socks and you won’t trip over your dang old ankle scarves. What is wrong with you people.”

That's not all folks--you can find these 'ankle scarves' on Etsy!  Some fell for this hook, line and sinker!!