Christmas Comes Early!

 Holly Jolly Time of the year is now IF you decide to participate in this weekly sew along with Jessica Dayon

This event began May 14 with the first block in the series.  I'm liking this cheerful Christmas quilt--and if you work each block for each week--you'll have a quilt top finished by December! 

Notice I didn't say what year--because I'm guessing, I won't finish this anytime in 2021!  But,

it's fun to plan and collect the Free block patterns!

Holly Jolly Block of the Week

Information Post & Fabric Requirements

Week 1- May 14- Snickerdoodle

Week 2- May 21- Peanut Butter Blossom

Week 3- May 28- Gingerbread

Week 4- June 4- Chocolate Chip

Week 5- June 11- Jam Thumbprint

Week 6- June 18- Peppermint Bark

Week 7- June 25- Pink & Red Spritz

Week 8- July 2- Macaroon

Week 9- July 9- Shortbread

Week 10- July 16- Snowballs

Week 11- July 23- Biscotti

Week 12- July 30- Meringue

Week 13- August 6- Toffee

Week 14- August 13- Molasses

Week 15- August 20- Butter

Week 16- August 27- Black & Green Spritz

Week 17- September 3- Rugelach

Week 18- September 10-Gingerbread

Week 19- September 17- Black & White

Week 20- September 24- Pineapple Squares

Week 21- October 1- Chocolate Cherry

Week 22- October 8- Fudge

Week 23- October 15- Cinnamon Sugar

Week 24- October 22- Blondie

Week 25- October 29- Brownie

Week 26- November 5- Assembly

Here is what you need to make the Holly Jolly Block of the Month-

Holly Jolly Block of the Month: Materials Needed

9 red fat quarters

6 pink fat quarters

8 green fat quarters (a mix of light and dark greens)

6 black fat quarters

5 yards white background

1 yard red print for border

2/3 yard binding fabric

5 1/8 yards backing fabric (43/44" width)

Mercy Quilts = Quilts of Love

 Does your heart direct you to help someone who is in Hospice?  Here is another way to give of your heart and hands.  Check out Needle and Foot and Sew Preeti Quilts for further information.

Merciful Positivity Quilt Along!!!

What is a Mercyful Quilt?
The Palliative Care Unit in the Mercy Hospital gives quilts to their terminally ill patients to bring some measure of comfort to the person and their family as they go through the difficult process of dying. The family then keeps the quilt in the memory of the person who passed away. The need for such quilts is never ending. With a raging pandemic and limited family visits, these quilts have become even more meaningful for a sense of home and peace.

• Suggested size - 60" by 80"

• Suggested Colors - Gender Neutral colors (avoid/limit pink)

• Quilting - Avoid dense quilting

• Fabrics - 100% Cotton (avoid/limit juvenile fabrics) 

What is the purpose of the QAL?
To make Merciful Quilts because the need is ongoing. If you have wanted to make a Mercyful Quilt but life got in the way, here is an opportunity to participate and stitch some love, along with others. 

What does it cost?
There is no cost to participate. The simple block pattern and layout options are provided free of charge. 

How much fabric do I need? 
For a simple Plus Quilt, you will need 16 strips (2.5" by WOF) of focus fabric and about 4 yards of background fabric (I used low volume scraps). 

What is the QAL schedule?
The QAL will begin on Sunday, May 30, 2021 (Memorial Day Weekend) and will end on Sunday, September 5, 2021 (Labor Day Weekend). 

Questions?
Ask away and I will respond in the comments.

In the next couple of weeks, I will be working on the block instructions, layout options and other logistics for the QAL. Bernie and I are also organizing some prizes for the QAL. 

Santa Fe Trail

Have you ever driven the Santa Fe Trail?  Here is some info about this trail used by many a pioneer and us modern day folks today.

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico.^[1][2][3][4] Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the trail served as a vital commercial highway until 1880, when the railroad arrived in Santa Fe. Santa Fe was near the end of the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, which carried trade from Mexico City. 

The route skirted the northern edge and crossed the north-western corner of Comancheria, the territory of the Comanche. Realizing the value, they demanded compensation for granting passage to the trail. American traders envisioned them as another market. Comanche raiding farther south in Mexico isolated New Mexico, making it more dependent on the American trade. They raided to gain a steady supply of horses to sell. By the 1840s, trail traffic through the Arkansas Valley was so numerous that bison herds were cut off from important seasonal grazing land. This habitat disruption, on top of overhunting, contributed to the collapse of the species. Comanche power declined in the region when they lost their most important game.^[5]

The American army used the trail route in 1846 to invade New Mexico during the Mexican–American War.^[6]

After the U.S. acquisition of the Southwest that ended the war, the trail was integral to the U.S. opening the region to economic development and settlement. It played a vital role in the westward expansion of the US into these new lands. The road route is commemorated today by the National Park Service as the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. A highway route that roughly follows the trail's path, through the entire length of Kansas, the southeast corner of Colorado and northern New Mexico, has been designated as the Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway.

Melva Loves Scraps blog is hosting a quilt along featuring stories from pioneer women along the route.  This QAL began April 1, but there is time to catch up--much like I did--  

 

There We Were!

 Yes, there we were--in all our glory! It was all smiles from the minute you opened the door to walk in to the warmth that filled the room!  Yes, we were there!  Friends who hadn't seen each other for over a year and half!  Like so many in this world, we had been isolating--now, we are back as a group--friends forever!  It was time to play catch up--how do you do that when there is so much to learn from each other since the last time we gathered? 

So much laughter, many opinions to hand out, advice to be given, happy notes of family events and special occasions--yes, there we were!  And it was just like we hadn't been apart those 18 months!

We shared a delicious lunch to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!  There was a spread of fajita beef and chicken with all the trimmings; seven layer dip and queso with chips, magical no calorie 'fluff' for dessert--which I need the recipe for!  I took my Mexican salad with chicken--here is a basic recipe.  Wish I'd taken a photo--it was really pretty before it became mixed up with dressing.

I used this dressing--was afraid it would be too 'soapy' tasting, but was quite nice.  I  topped the salad with crushed corn chips and queso fresco cheese--we had leftovers for our dinner--yay!

It was a delicious lunch!  The conversation and company were the BEST!

I filled my fiber bag (my Florida friend made for me) with projects to be stitched--thinking my hands would keep busy while my mouth and ears were occupied--but, alas.................

the only thing I got stitched was this very small top!

oh well, all is right with the world when you are with good friends

who care and love you for who you are!

Happy Day!!

Its' always a happy day when you update with your monthly block

sew alongs!

This April's block for Hands All Around:  Alcott-- I should be thinking of 

joiner blocks when I have time

Another row completed for the charity quilt from

Fat Quarter Shop--Serendipity QAL

Another block in Pat Sloan's "Home" quilt along.

I'm working in red, white and blue--she has several quilt alongs--I don't know how she keeps up with each month!

This spring time quilt is definitely needed in my stash!

And now that I'm caught up--I'm behind again!

Happy Sewing to you!

 

Mistake or Design Element?

Do you declare that mistake you made is really a design 

Element?  No!! Never!  Of course, it was not a mistake but

A liberty taken in the pattern!  

I’ve been working on this pattern for two months now—

I stopped adding beads ( cause I was running out of beads)

Isn’t that another design element?  

The pattern has these lovely X’s—and the way the pattern reads—calling a “mistake” a design element is often in 

My vocabulary!

Knit on!  Mistake or design element?  It’s my work of art!!

 

Spin, Spun, Span

It was time to pull out the spinning wheel and get to work.

This is just one hank of my carded brown cotton that has aged well!

I grew brown cotton for years; harvested the bolls, hand ginned the seeds,

and since I'm lazy--I sent the bags off to be carded and placed into these hanks.

Mostly, purists of brown cotton will hand card their cotton into 

punis--rolags.

If you want to see a wonderful exhibit of Acadian textiles.

It just takes some patience and a few hours of treadling to produce a bobbin

filled with this rich lovely fiber!

Three bobbins full = time to ply!

I love spinning my home grown brown cotton!