A Month of Thanks and Giving

Each day in November, some of our family members participate in days of thanks.  So, here goes:
We are Day 1--

Where do we begin?  There are so many riches in our daily lives; 

and so many conflicts as well--sometimes, it's hard to find a way to

be thankful.

It helps to write down or journal your thanks--than you can look back, when

there is a bad day, to see just what you were thankful for each day.

If you want a daily reminder, download this printable note

How to Do the Challenge

1. Begin paying attention.

Was your lunch today particularly good? Did you listen to one of your favorite songs while driving in your car? Were the clouds in the sky in a beautiful pattern? You can find gratitude and thankfulness in anything — big or small.

2. Write it down.

Each day, write down one thing that you are grateful for. You can print out this daily calendar.

3. Share your progress.

Join our LIVESTRONG.COM Challenge Facebook Group for motivation and challenge updates. Finally, you can share your daily gratitude on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #30DaysOfThanks.

Recording your gratitude should take you only one to five minutes per day. This is such a small amount of time to spend on something that can give you tremendous happiness and health benefits.

And I'm thankful for you visiting my blog!  Be thankful each day, even if it's small thing! 

Vampires, Witches, Bats, Skeletons = Halloweeeeeeeeeen!

Here I go again--Pondering--this time about Halloween.............

The History of Halloween

Thousands of years ago in Europe, there were groups of people known as the Celtics. The Celtic people occupied areas now known as the United Kingdom, Ireland and some parts of France. These ancient pagan people were very superstitious and their lives depended on the growth of their crops and a successful harvest. A celebration known as Samhain began within this Gaelic culture to commemorate the end of the harvest or the days of light, and to acknowledge the beginning of the days of darkness (winter) and what to them was considered the New Year. This beginning of the Celtic New Year was celebrated on November 1st.

The tradition of dressing up in costume and begging for treats may go back as far as the Middle Ages when it was common during the Christmas season for beggars and the poor to go wassailing, a ritual which involved going door to door to ask for food. Another custom known as "souling" was common during the medieval days. On All Saints Day, the less fortunate would beg for food or money and in exchange, they would offer up prayers for the dead on All Soul's Day.

 for the kids:    coloring pages for Halloweeen!  

And this is only the tip of the information about Halloween!  Now, I appreciate the holiday more than ever!

Friends!

 What is a Friend!  "a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations."

When you google "friend" you get the TV show--well, it was a show about friends, but what is a true friend?  Someone who will tell you like it is; have your back; give you moral support; love, laugh, cry with you in times of need.  Do you remember your very first "friend"?  Maybe someone from your childhood?  A life long friend?

I have -friends- and then I have FRIENDS!  You know what I mean.

In this case, my FRIENDS gather every so often to celebrate birthdays,

cheer each other on,  laugh at the bright moments, cry at the sad times,

share family crisis, and hug tightly! 

October was my birth month and I'm honored to celebrate with my FRIENDS

at our biannial luncheon.  Our gifts at all times are joyful at being together; our tangible 

gifts are fabric fat quarters of our choosing.  And the best part--the fact

that each FRIEND will bring something totally awesome to the party!

Above are my fat quarters--I chose whites or neutrals--every one is

a winner!

Another FRIENDS tangible is my Texas theme quilt--

back from quilter, Judy M--

As FRIENDS, we decided to do a fabric themed fabric exchange--

each 5" square was assembled --as this blanket is

used for comfort, I'll think of my FRIENDS who contributed

to its warmth and beauty.

with a plain backing--you can see the lines of

continued friendship as they scroll across the threads of our lives.

FRIENDS!  so glad they are in my life............

Woven Hem Study

The year long study for our weavers group is towels!  We all love towels!

Every towel woven is different--yarn, technique, sett, colors, etc.

Towels are super learning experience for beginners also

expert weavers enjoy the relaxation of throwing a shuttle for results.

At our last meeting, we were talking hems!  Yes, hems!

It is the finishing touch to the towel.  One of our newest members

brought her waffle woven towels--these are always thirsty towels,

but with this weave structure there are always problems with the hem. 

Here is the finished technique that Alex used--finish weaving

with different treadling--if 4 harness--it's 2 up, 2 down

Her towels were 7 harness--so it's 3 up 4 down--

this towel hasn't been washed so you can see the big dimples

after the hem is woven, she threads each warp end back

through the hem--time consuming but the look is neat finish.

A new product on the market is from Superior Threads--

fusible thread!  We were all enthralled!  this could be

something we could use in our hems

Most of the weavers are familiar with fusible seam tape.

This is useful with the finishing

Here is a neat hem on this block woven towel--

she used the fusible web strip to secure

Here she has done machine stitch to secure the warp and

then the fusible web before hand stitching

We had other samples of woven towels--each with a different

structure

Our hands on demo was machine stitched hem--thanks to Karen I

who showed us how she uses her walking foot attachment to do a 

blind hem stitch--neat trick.

Laura Frye has photos to show her technique to hems.

Getting Ready for Turkey Day!

If you would like to have a pretty table for your Thanksgiving, here are some

free patterns--and there is still time to sew and plan for an outstanding day!

I'm liking that acorn hot pad!

and I do love, love this quilt;

anything with houses and leaves can't be bad!  

And I'm making this Fall table runner for the brown headed

daughter--I think she'll be thrilled!

Jacque Lynn Steves blog is where you'll find all this good stuff!

Log Cabins--In A Quilt

My very first quilt was a log cabin--made from old fabric scraps--mostly

a mixture of cotton/poly--this is how I was led by my mother-in-law.

I had no quilt background and she had some knowledge so I 

followed her advice.  She said log cabin pattern was the easiest one to

sew up--so, I did!  I still have that quilt to this day! 

I haven't made a log cabin quilt since.........

when I saw this posting, I thought it would be the perfect

timing--

Sheri is making a Christmas quilt and she uses 

Creative Grids 8" Log Cabin Trim Tool, which can be

found on various websites.  This is a new tool to me--

maybe, this will make that perfect block you want

in you log cabin.

I'm thinking scrappy blocks--to use up my stash. 

Are you interested in building a log cabin of your own?

Beginning every Tuesday through end of November, there will be a posting on

a quilting life blog.  The strips, dark and light, are cut 1.75" wide by width of fabric.  The

center square is 2" x 2".

Blocking...................

This lovely lace scarf has been knit for some time--I love knitting lace!

I just don't like to do the blocking--so any lace knitting waits for this final touch

We have these large foam puzzle pieces that snap together;

some folks use them for flooring but I use them for

blocking--snapping them together and you have an instant

board for blocking

it takes some time to pin to the board--hey, maybe, that's

another reason I had a painful wrist!  Anyway, pins are

in and lace is pulled to its size and spritzed with water

Let dry overnight and unpin--that takes time as well--

and you have a wonderful lacey scarf.

Grand daughter saw me knitting this months ago and

asked if she could have it--you bet! 

and there she is!  lovely, lacey and ready to gift!

Another knitted piece is being blocked=

almost looks like a fish :-}

Too long for the board, so I'll do small amount at a time--

this is mohair yarn done for Year of Techniques project