Proof

You can see, by the change of my background, that I didn't fall off the face of the earth.   However, I do worry about the future of my blogging. 

I just spent a few days with some friends I met thru blogging.  Wonderful, of course, but we talked about why most of us have fallen away from our blogs.  We also talked about why blogs we followed, when we first started reading blogs, are fading away.  Is this the life of the average blogger?  Do blogs have a life expectancy?  It does seem rare for a blogger to say 'good bye'.  We just keep hoping they'll start posting again.  

I had a previous life as a blogger.  Different blog, different name, and for lack of a better word... a different voice.  I miss that blog.  Maybe it's time for it to come back to life.  The privacy issue remains but the kids are older and 2 have moved on in life. 

What do you think? 

While the camera is out....

I snapped a couple pictures of my latest quilt-y finish. 

 

I will show this quilt despite not being able to find the magazine with the pattern.  I actually shopped for the fabrics a number of years ago and made it last fall.   I didn't quilt it until a couple weeks ago which is how I've lost track of the magazine.  It was kind of old....maybe a fall edition of Fons & Porter from 2006. 

I just love homespun fabrics.  They can be a challenge to work with but I managed to wrangle them into shape and have a twin size quilt that will be super warm in the winter.

In a few weeks I will be heading off to a fall quilt retreat...the very one where I made this quilt top last year.  I am trying very hard to NOT count the days but fall is just so busy that I'm not going to be able to control the urge much longer. 

In the mean time I will dream about which projects to take.

Happy Stitching.

Chicks Rule update

Just in the nick of time I finished the latest Chick Jubilee block.  I got an email Monday saying the next installment is in the mail. 

The one on the left is last month's which I forgot to photograph.  Hardly a new excuse, I know.  I'm always in a hurry to finish and get to the next thing. 

These bright colors are outside of my usual color scheme so it's a nice break. 

There are just 9 blocks in this block-of-the month so I'm over the hump.  And best of all, keeping up!

Happy Stitching

Fall in the air

Who doesn't love that feeling?  Fall!  Love it.  It is still bright and sunny out but the nights are cool and the school routine has begun. 

I finally felt brave enough to put Bonnie Hunter's Easy Street on the long arm.  Easy Street was the mystery quilt from last Thanksgiving.  This was my first ever Bonnie Hunter quilt.  Anyone familiar with her style knows that the quilts are amazing but involve about a million pieces. 

 

They are scrappy and complicated.  To combat the extremely busy look, I chose 2 consistent fabrics for the background. 

 

I am happy to report that the end result is awesome.  I will get the binding on just in time for this year's mystery quilt fabric requirements to be announced. 

Also, with fall, comes baking.  Recently I was reading blogs and came across this post about a recipe for Peach Beehives that looked tasty and fun to make.  Since peaches are in abundance I thought I'd make them for dessert last night. 

Don't they look delicious?  My peaches were baseball size so I could only wrap four before running out of dough, but that was just right for us. 

The recipe called for a hard sauce poured over the top but it includes too much dairy so I used caramel ice cream topping.  I put the peaches into dishes as soon as they came out of the oven so I could capture any juice that ran out while they cooled and poured the caramel topping on right away.  The hot treats warmed the caramel. They were absolutely delicious but very filling.  The only thing I'd change would be to use smaller peaches. 

 

Anyone else trying new fall recipes?

I need to talk about font size again.  I wonder if people are still having problems reading some blog posts because the font is so small?  I think (but could be wrong) that it's an AOL thing.  I can go to FireFox and read the same blog and the font is OK.  However, I am generally on AOL and have to pass up some blog posts because of the font.  If you haven't checked out your own blog or wonder why fewer people are reading and commenting....maybe it's because the post isn't legible.  I tried to change my font size by going to the dashboard but, strangely enough, despite increasing the default font size of my posts, the only thing that changed was the font size of the letters on the sidebar.  Gotta love it when AOL and Blogger don't play nicely together!  So, in the mean time, I keep clicking 'large' when I'm posting.  It switches back to 'normal' about every 3rd sentence but I'm persisting. 

We have road construction which is supposed to last well into October that has closed the main road from my house to town.  Totally sucks and gives new meaning to the phrase 'stuck at home'.  I feel for everyone having to drive more than 5 miles out of the way just to get anywhere but that's how it goes sometimes.  I hope to cram as many tasks into every trip out I make or have my husband stop at the store on his way home.  On the upside....I should have some more finishes to post....in theory anyway.  Seems like the more I can't go somewhere, the more I want to go.  

As my kids would say...such first world problems!  I know.  In the mean time....

Happy Stitching

The Christmas

version of Meadow.....

It's the flowers done in red and yellow that feel Christmassy to me.  Like Poinsettias. 

I will be keeping my eye out for patters in the same size range...approximately 60 by 60 so I can make a fall and a spring table cloth.  They've proven to be a nice addition to the kitchen decor.

Thanks for stopping by. 

I made this

wall hanging size quilt this summer.  It's from a pattern called Meadow by Jililly Studio.

 

It's the perfect size for my kitchen table.  So far the kids have been good about moving it out of the way if they sit there to eat. 

 



I like that it used both piecing and applique.  I made a second one using Christmas colors but it's not ready to be photographed yet. 

The cross stitch bug has bitten and I'm itching to work on Halloween and fall pieces.  I am holding out until after Labor Day to change my background to fall.  I might have to sneak a few fall decorations up around the house, though.  I LOVE fall. 

Happy stitching.

Oh!

I was preparing a post...finally...then saw the pictures.  I wasn't going to post until I retook the pictures but decided that I'd simply never post if I didn't just do it. 

Last week I took pictures of a couple of finishes then lost my camera.  Yesterday I tore my sewing room apart until I found it then looked at the pictures.  It's really not so bad...in fact it's possible nobody would notice.  So then I thought maybe I'd challenge you to see what I saw.  Then I decided I really wasn't up to that sort of critique.  What if you saw something I'd missed?! 

First, here is a little piece I stitched up in the spirit of fall...

 

This patriotic piece is July by Country Cottage Needleworks but I left the word 'July' off since I didn't want to be limited to just one month when displaying it.  I added some more fireworks instead. 

The little cake stand quilt blocks are on the picture to show what else I've been working on.  Unfinished they are 2 1/2 inches.  Tiny!  However it wasn't until I looked at the picture that I noticed how crooked the left hand stand was.  Oops.  I'll be taking that bottom piece off and fixing that!  Boy.  How did I miss that? 

 

Making these was part of a project posted here.  (I couldn't make the August 4th post open in its own window so you have to scroll down to August 4th to see the finished products.)  The idea was to make one block a day in July then in August lay out ideas would be revealed.  It was a fun and cute little project. 

 

My lay out plan is still a work in progress.  And, obviously, my blocks are still a work in progress! 

 

Last night this was the view out my front door.  It was even prettier 5 minutes before the pictures. 

Such a pretty end to a day. 

 



This has been a super busy, extra long week.  I am so glad today is Friday.  The weekend will be busy but I am keeping my eye on the prize....school starts soon and the summer people will go home and my work load will lighten and my sewing room will be a hive of activity. 

 

Happy Stitching.