SALUTE!

Yes, Salute! to all those who serve in the military! Salute! to all those who have served for our country! Salute! to all those who will serve! You are special!

Quilts! Quilts! Quilts

When our group of quilters, The Expatchers, gather there is a display of finished quilts. Here are just a few samples of our talent!
One Block wonder! Cut from one fabric! Not on my agenda!

Sampler quilt made by member Camilla, who will soon be moving (temporarily) to Mexico. Yes, we say temporary as she will 'be back'. Camilla is our quilt mom; keeper of records, announcer of meetings and special events--what will we do without her?
School house quilt that was worked on during our tenure in Venezuela.

The following are made with love from Grandmas for their grandkids.

We are a productive group as we not only make quilts for our personal use, we also make many charity quilts each year for Binky Patrol . Each time a quilter unfurls one of her treasures, we are amazed at our accomplishments. Many didn't learn to quilt until we started meeting in Venezuela. We were learning from each other, although we had a couple of members who had quilting in their experiences. Our gatherings continue, even though our expat members come in and out of the group. We are still learning from each other and sharing our common interest--we have a bond--we are expats and we love quilts!

Join in on the Fun!

Join in on the fun of learning an applique technique by doing this lovely Joseph's Coat Quilt Along. Visit Don't Look Now There is a super tutorial on drafting the pattern as well as the placement of petals and how to handstitch each in place. Take a peek and come join in on the fun. Whenever there is a blog that is hosting a special event, usually the link will be along the side of this blog. Another special event is the Cross Country Christmas Blog Hop

where 12 designers are lined up to give a different project each day November 9-20--Wow! great American designers offering a free design--Are you going to join in that fun? The only problem--there is no certain blog that will host this, but you must visit the different designer on their day to pick up the design. Okay, it takes some time to visit but you can do it! Join in the fun by visiting their website--just gotta love the internet!!

One Mystery Solved; Three to Go!

There are never ending mysteries in our lives. A lover of mystery novels and mysteries period--the October sock mystery has been solved (yes, they are socks and darn neat pattern to boot). Mystery bag pattern is still being knitted although all the clues are there, there hasn't been time to piece together the last remaining hints to solve this one!

The toe of the handspun sock follows the lines of the sides. Hard to photograph one's toes; guess sock blockers should be one of the things on Christmas list!
This was an enjoyable pattern to solve! Easy to read the clues! We do not rest on our October laurels though, there are mysteries remaining to be solved in November--two hat patterns from Ravelry group, WoolyWormHead--hats to share with Knits for Needs
Shhhhhh, detective at work!

Stitchers Angel Indeed!

This summer there was the opportunity to join the Stitchers Angel swap, which was sponsored by Hugs from Helen . The criteria was to send at least three 'goodies'. Each week there was a wonderful pattern given that we could use. My swap partner lived in Italy and my stitcher angel lived in Tasmania. Her name is Marja. Just recently my wonderful gifts arrived! What fun it was to open each package and discover what lay underneath the bright colored paper. Here is the group of three.

Nice collection of handmade gifts by Marja!

Closeup view of stitching on wall hanging--received just in time for the holiday season!

This lovely stitchery will make a great wall hanging in my sewing studio.

And a super little bag to carry stitching supplies! What great treasures! Thank you, Marja, my stitching angel!

Knitscape Scenery

What fun it was to turn down Larchmere Street in Cleveland to find Knitscape trees! All of the trees were decorated in their finest knitting pattern.
The color combinations and yarns were the same on each tree. The pattern was a large lace stitch with large yarn. Anyone know the pattern?

There were some trees that had their top branches decorated with knitted designs! Knitting is alive and well on Larchmere Street in Cleveland! Thank you knitters.

Ohio Amish

A ride through Ohio Amish country brings serenity and peace. Clean cut fields, white clapboard houses, horse and buggy, limited hassle -- the softer side of life.
Dairy farms dot the landscape, resulting in lots of cheese production. Lines of tourist pack a local cheese shop for tastings. Many tasted. Few bought. We, however, bought cheese and more cheese.
Even restaurants display artful quilts.