Just What We Need!

                                                                                     Just what we need-- during this busy time of the year!! Of course, sometimes, these sew alongs give us a mental break to the busy time of the season.

Quilting Gail is offering this free Scrappy mystery.  And I do love a mystery!

• Oct 18: Clue #1: Fabric Requirements and Cutting
• Oct 25: Clue #2
• Nov 1: Clue #3
• Nov 8: Clue #4
• Nov 15: Clue #5
• Nov 22: Clue #6
• Nov 29: Clue #7
• Dec 6: Clue #8
• Dec 13: Mystery Quilt Parade

Join into this sewalong that has already began —make one block each week from October 21, 2022 and runs through April 14, 2023, with two more weeks afterward dedicated to finishing and backing the quilt. FAtquarter Shop

Them Holes Can Be Deep.

 I know!  I know!  I can go down rabbit holes and never surface--and when I do, there are so many ideas swimming around in my brain!  Sure, I want to do them all...........

I found this on an app--which one I couldn't tell you!  But, I love, love leaf quilts!  Then one of those rabbit holes I jumped into I found this free pattern for a leaf!

Of course, I grabbed a screen shot and then went searching to find the pattern

The Crafty Quilter offers this free pattern in Three sizes!  Now, that's a winner for me!

She also has other patterns on her blog--more time to explore will take me there

But, first, I must make one of these scrappy leaf blocks--I'll do a large size first--10"

I know I should be doing something else--there are so many Christmas items

to be working on instead of FAll leaves!

Then my brain went into overdrive--

Quilting.craftgossip has several versions of leaves.

Why not make a quilt with different leaf patterns??  

Shabby Fabrics shares this video for their style of leaf.

My friend has been gathering fat quarters for her leaf quilt. You can never tire of seeing fall colors! 

Did you ever wonder why we say "down a rabbit hole"? 

“down the rabbit hole” comes to us thanks to the great Lewis Carroll who introduced the term in 1865 in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In the story, Alice literally falls down the hole of the White Rabbit, taking her to Wonderland. In this case, falling down the rabbit hole meant entering a strange and absurd alternate universe, which many believe was supposed to represent a psychedelic experience.

Today, when people say they “went down the rabbit hole”, they usually mean that they got sucked into spending way to long reading about or researching something on the internet.

another rabbit hole I jumped in--we have been watching a show that is Welsh--the language is interesting-very hard to understand.  So, where did Welsh language originate? Down the rabbit hole, I went.

Welsh language is one of the oldest language---Welsh is a Brythonic language, meaning British Celtic in origin and was spoken in Britain even before the Roman occupation. Thought to have arrived in Britain around 600 BC, the Celtic language evolved in the British Isles into a Brythonic tongue which provided the basis not only for Welsh, but also Breton and Cornish.

So, sometimes it helps to go down that rabbit hole!! But, we still use closed captions on this Welsh show!

TAlly Ho--OnWard WE Go!

 There hasn't been much time at the sewing machine--that's not to say the hands and brain haven't been functioning--maybe, not simultaneously, but working!

It starts out small--then it grows and grows--mindless (brain doesn't need to be engaged) knitting on this pattern  Musselburgh--it's two hats in one.

For this hat, I’m combining lots of small bits of leftover yarns—should be a colorful hat for someone. 

I found this yarn in my stash and couldn’t help but begin another hat—anxious to see how each color stacks up. And finished!!

Purl Soho is offering a Bandana Cowl KAL (knit along)  The pattern is free--learn how to do short rows on this knit.

Alycia Quilts has clues for the latest Quilt of Valor she designed.  Her quilt designs are always simple to complete for a special quilt for a special veteran.

Just in time for fall and the holidays, here is a free pattern for knitted pumpkins.

 

Take some time to begin on this sew along for Christmas--Lisa gives you the pattern in the notes and also walks you through all the pattern pieces.

 This is a busy season for all of us. Not only are the holidays upcoming, we are readying for a bridal shower and a fall wedding.

I Found A Heart!

 "I need a home!" says this little heart. 

There is a special project where quilters/craft folks make special hearts and leave the hearts in outdoor spots where someone can find them.

Usually, these hearts carry a note of encouragement and often the hearts are found by

someone who is need of  this special note of caring.

I found a quilted heart is where you can find all the instructions.

little quilted heart with a tag reading, “I need a home.” is just the right thing to leave for those who will give a heart a home!

The original heart is in the photo above and can be used  as an inspiration for the IFAQH hearts.  Hearts are made of fabric, generally the size of your palm, and can be any shape of heart you choose. Most have a layer of batting or fiberfill and you can embellish with buttons, sequins, ribbon, etc.   Have fun with your creative process!

In this time of year, there are many that need to find a heart--to participate, check out the website for the download of the tag.

• Do not hand, give or gift hearts to people. (Hearts need to be “found.”)
• Do not leave hearts on personal or private property, such as a front porch, vehicle, door, bicycle, mailbox, gate, little libraries, etc. (Not public)
• Do not leave hearts in a cluster, like a giving tree. (Not random)
• Do not leave hearts in places that are not public: hotel rooms, work desk, break rooms, office, private retreat, etc. (Not public )
• Do not leave hearts inside any kind of retail store or on retail displays. (Can be mistaken for merchandise.)
• Do not leave hearts in airports. (Homeland security does not approve!)
• Do not leave hearts in National Parks, Wilderness, Forests, Monuments, Bureau of Land Managements, or other Federal Public Lands areas. (Federal Regulation Title 36, 2.22 (a))
• Do not leave hearts in bathrooms, restrooms, washrooms, etc. (Unsanitary)
• Do not leave in places where they may be thrown away by staff. (Super Sad)

Travel Log Continued

 

I hate that the truck picks up hitch hikers, but they smash themselves into the window shield or get caught in the grill work.  It is migration time for certain butterflies.

Big Bend is a large park.  It is super that Texas has this National Park in the system.  Along the river road to Marfa and on we go to Fort Davis National Park.  This is the end of our journey in this small town that boasts this outstanding post that was used before the Civil War and afterwards.  Most of the soldiers were freed slaves.  The grounds were dotted with foundation ruins and replacement buildings. One evening we were fortunate to take the lantern tour, that happens once a year.  

We had some time in the afternoon to take a short drive to Chateau Wright Winery, outside of Fort Davis.  The location is remote but interesting to find some good wines.  We sat on the patio and visited with

 the winemaker.  It was a cool breezy afternoon

They are building their barrel room from hay bales--it will make great insulation.  

One wall displayed their wine bottles in macramé hangers.  It has been said that macrame' is making a comeback in the craft world.  I say "what goes around, comes around"  I taught Macramé to my Campfire troup 40 years ago!

We planned for many months to visit McDonald Observatory for a star party.   As the days rolled along, and the skies were mostly cloudy, we just knew we wouldn't have much luck--and we were right.  The night was cloudy, with a full moon, and little rain before we headed up the mountain to the top.  The guys stayed outside to view through telescopes Saturn; while the gals went inside to a program, which was interesting.  I'm not much for space but I admit the enhanced photos of star constellations, galaxies had me thinking how great if printed on fabric these would look! 

All good things must come to an end and so it goes with our trip to West Texas.

Back home, time to unpack and get back into a routine again.  It's always nice to go away for awhile, but it's difficult for me to settle down and get back to work.

and as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans said:

Happy trails to you until we meet again!

Travel is Awesome!

We took another road trip!  Packed and ready to travel; this time in hubby’s truck—which means, I’m a passenger.  Hands were busy knitting.  

I want to introduce you to my constant companions—no matter if I’m going far or near, these are always with me.

This is my spindle spinning bag!  Always ready to pull out and loaded with silk sliver—

Piggy is always at my side—and I mean always!  He has traveled far and wide—he has been to China, Mexico, Venezuela, Several states, Germany, England, France—you name it, he’s probably been there!

You can tell he doesn’t bathe too often—such a dirty face!

Notice his handwoven bands—he fell in love with a couple of weavers who made him these lovely bands. 

His backpack is ready for travel any time!  Oh the 'tales' he could tell you about his adventures!

Our travels this time took us to the far west of Texas--over 5.5 hours to reach our first stop--Marathon--We stayed at the historic Gage Hotel, which is said to be haunted—room 10 especially!  We were in room 8--heard no ghosts but lots of trains pass through the night!

Marathon is the gateway to Big Bend National Park; also served as an important military fort during the Mexican Revolution.

We are visiting our friend who works at Brick Vault Brewery and BBQ--she is a brewer. Sadly, the BBQ was all sold out when we arrived!  Beer was okay, although I’m not much of a beer drinker.  And our friend wasn't working this evening--we'll catch up with her later in our travels.

We stayed two nights in Marathon--one day we visited Alpine--the best way to plan your visit in the city is to drop into the visitor center--we collected many brochures of literature and we were off and running--well, in the truck!  Alpine is the home of Sul Ross University and we spent part of our time wandering the campus, visiting  the baseball field, said to be the Yankee Stadium of Texas;  we had lunch at Judy's bread and breakfast, visited the bookstore and several other small businesses.  Alpine has numerous murals

painted on the walls of buildings so we took the tour of seeing what we could see; we also took a window shield tour of the town--back to Marathon in time for our dinner at Gage Restaurant.  Our second day was spent touring the Gage gardens, visiting French Grocer and a few other galleries (window shopping as those were not open till weekend)

Next morning we were off to Big Bend National Park!

What a drive!  we stayed in Terlingua one night before heading out the next day, along the River Road, stopped in Lajatas for breakfast and looked across Rio Grande river to see Mexico.  The mayor of Lajatas is Henry Clay, a goat that is in the running for Mayor!

The view along the river road is awe inspiring!  We have never taken the road across Big Bend State Park--it was an interesting drive with views of mountains, canyons and access to the Rio Grande.

Our next stop was Marfa!  We're here to see the Marfa Lights--alas, it is cloudy most of the time and there was rain the afternoon we arrived. No star gazing but we did see the Marfa Lights!

To Be continued................................

 

Quilt by quilt

There hasn't been much sewing in this household--main reason, tops are piling up, waiting to go to the long arm--guess I've been busy and hadn't scheduled time at the long arm.  

Just last week, I bite the bullet (so to speak), made a time on two days to get the long arm at our local quilt shop.  I spent two days getting everything ready to quilt--you know it takes some time, to get the backs and batting prepared--there is pressing to be done on both backs and tops.  For two of the quilts, I needed to dye the white backing.

This top is one I wanted to finish--it's a wedding gift for our granddaughter who is date is November 12, 2022!  Really close!!

My quilting friend didn't have any tops to do so she graciously offered to do this one--she's good at hearts and I wanted lots of hearts to cover this top.

She accomplished that with flair!

On the end of the top she scrolled the name of bride

The groom

and the date

lots of wonderful hearts across the top--was so excited to see such a touch from her hands.

While she did the heart quilt, I was working across on this charity top.  It is paper pieced with strips of leftover fabric. 

I thought I'd do straight lines on each block but as time went on my hands and the machine did not cooperate

So, I went to wavy lines--I'll tell you, that's a little easier to do but there are some flubs!

The other one I quilted was this Christmas quilt from two years ago

I just did swirts and loops--wanted to finish up fast.

We knocked off six quilts in those two days at the long arm--but, there are still 6 waitng in the wings to be quilted--I'd better quit sewing for awhile!

 

Obsessed!

 I am obsessed!  With Great British Baking Show!! It is in tenth season now—one problem—shows only drop once a week on Friday!  If I watch current show on Friday—it’s difficult to wait for another week.  Brown headed daughter (who lives in Denver) and I have watched this show over the seasons; we sit there, with our mouth watering, thinking “can we bake any of these goodness?”  And believe it or not, we learn some British history behind different challenges!  One episode, the technical challenge was to make “ Garibaldi biscuits(to us cookies).  Who was Garibaldi to receive such an honor? 

Don’t these look delicious!  Here’s the recipe in case you want to try your hand at baking as the bakers do with only these instructions.  No photo of the biscuit either! 

INGREDIENTS:

150g currants, roughly chopped 

50g dried cranberries, roughly chopped 

150ml orange juice 

125g self-raising flour 

pinch of salt 

75g unsalted butter, cubed and chilled 

25g caster sugar 

1 large egg, separated 

To decorate:

200g 54% dark chocolate, broken into pieces 

100g white chocolate, broken into pieces

Since thre is only show a week, daughter suggested I watch the Junior Bake Off show--well, I did--so amazing, that these youngsters can do such baking on their own!  They tackled "Cookie Cups and Hazelnut milk"--looks and sounds so delicious!

you pour the milk into the cookie and hope it doesn't leak!  I want to try these someday!

So, now as I wait for the next regular British Bake Off to drop, I can satisfy my obsession by watching seven seasons of The Junior Bake-off!