it shouldn't be this hard . . .

I mean, right? I can't tell you the number of times I've pulled up this blog over the last four months (I'm not counting my 'Happy 4th' post!) and have just not been able to click "new post".  In fact, I just commented on another's blog that we go through seasons that just make it difficult.  So it's been.

I've been doing stuff . . . I've been quite busy, in fact.  But not really quilty/crafty stuff, though I've managed to keep some handwork going.  I finally finished (after only thirteen months) my strawberry candle mat:

And a wool flag:

And I think that's about it.  LOL! I said I'd worked on things, not that I'd finished things.  ;)

We've been out on the boat this summer, but not a lot; it's been such a rainy summer. But when we have gone out, it's been good!

We've enjoyed grandgirls . . .

And Friday I head out to California to love on my Panter crew! I'm so excited! 

Plus *my* baby turns 30.  I can't miss celebrating that!

So essentially I've jumped on here to wave hello and goodbye . . . I'll be back in two weeks and share some things on which I'm working (like orange hexies) . . .

And some updated pics of the Panter grands, along with all the stuff that's going on with guild and work and the camp, etc.

Farewell August . . . September is literally just around the corner!

:)

design wall plans . . .

Okay, so this week my design wall is actually the seat and seat back of my couch and sewing chair, respectively. It's easier for a gimpy me to not set up my flannel design wall and just use what's at hand (or butt, as the case more often is)!

Okay, so this is what I've got lined up for this week . . .

On the couch seat: I've got two more of the CSAL blocks traced out and ready to stitch on.

On the couch seat back: I've finished the hand quilting on my Christmas Star table topper and will trim and bind it this week. Definitively. I've really made up my mind on this. Bam. No, forget that. I mean: BAM!!

On my sewing chair seat and seat back: I've pulled my Orange Crush quilt blocks out again. I've got two more to actually piece, but then I've got the material all cut and ready to set them on point in their respective sashings.

I want to get a good handful of these blocks sandwiched and adhesive basted and ready to start lap quilting! I love these blocks; I love the orange and purple together so much! And I've got some gorgeous stencils to quilt with -- I think I've collected a different one for each block.

Okay, so there it is -- everything that I'm planning on. Who knows what will come up, though. (I'm pretty sure I'll also be working on a turkey head this week!) I (usually) love (usually) surprises (usually)! Be sure to visit Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times to see what other talented quilters are working on this week!!

Happy Monday!

:)

messing around . . .

Before I got EQ last year, I started following their blog, Do You EQ?, just to get a little insight into the software (and I think because I entered a giveaway to see if I could win a copy of it). I started paying attention to with a little more depth after I had gotten EQ7 for my birthday and subsequently realized that they posted blocks and fabric downloads! Then I realized that they also host a BOM that is also part contest . . . they post an EQ created block and you make it, send in a picture of it, and you get an entry to win whatever the prize of the month is. This month it's a copy of Digital Essentials.

The BOM block for this month was August Amusement, and several different colorways for it can be found HERE. When I first saw the block (especially the layout of the third colorway they provided), I thought it would look really pretty in the colors I'm using for my P&S BOM, and so that's what I've been playing with today . . .

It's just bits and pieces right now. And it looks very, very similar in style to the candle mat I just finished piecing! Perhaps there's something about those straight strips and big centers that appeals to me?

I tried other combinations too -- but the lighter batik just washed away. Whether or not I'll sew it all together is another story. Ha! I probably will, just so I can have another orphan block just lying around. Ha! again. I really think I'd like this block doubled in size, so I really could use it for table topper. The nice thing about EQ is that I can take that same block, change the dimensions, and get the correcting rotary cutting instructions for the new size! Ha HA!

One last photo . . . our outgoing guild president was so sweet. She made each lady who'd served on the board with her one of these cute little pincushions! I was very touched that she included me, especially since I was just there at the very tail end of her presidency!

Isn't it darling? I've been using the sundae dish for thread and fabric scraps -- pretty convenient and it looks fun, too.

Ah well, enough is enough. I need to get moving on this week's to-do list! And y'all need to head on over to Judy LaQuidara's Patchwork Times and check out the creativity flowing all over the place on Design Wall Monday!

:)

who knew?

That Civil War blocks would be so addicting?! Not like I've gone overboard and committed to anything, or bought [more] bucket loads of fabric so I can make them . . . perhaps I should stop right there. LOL!

It all started with our Stitcher's block swap. The block we're swapping is not itself a Civil War block, but we agreed that we'd use only Civil War reproduction fabrics for it. I did not know how much I loved Civil War fabrics!

That got me pursuing the history of Civil War quilts and in that pursuit, I found Barbara Brackman -- a wonderful quilt historian-- and her two blogs. One is Material Culture and covers quilt/fabric history in general. The other, Civil War Quilts, is a Civil War block of the week blog, commemorating the sesquicentennial of the Civil War . Up until two weeks ago, I just looked for it every Saturday and read the story.

Two weeks ago, I posted THIS entry; it was a turning point. Today when I checked the CWQ blog, I found the Star of the West block. And I wanted to make it. And so I did . . .

Hmmmm. That *was* rather fun. It's a little late in the game to be creating blocks from a year-long block of the week (I mean this was block number thirty-five), but I am enjoying playing with the fabrics and if nothing else, it's an exercise to improve my piecing (and cutting) skills. And I'm doing something I love to do. Does it get any better than that?!

Speaking of getting any better, I was lamenting over what fabric I'd use for the back of the candlemat I pieced earlier this week. In a search for fabric for something else, guess what I stumbled upon?

Yardage of this Pumpkins Gone Wild print. I think this print, which I picked up a couple of years ago, may have been what started my fabric-crush on orange.

It was meant to be.

:)

two to go . . .

First order of business this morning is to wish my darling son-in-law, Jason, a most happy birthday!! We will be celebrating tonight, and Jocelyn took a good portion of yesterday to create from scratch a cake to outshine all cakes. Between the cake and the frosting there were seven sticks of butter. And it will have a chocolate ganache filling. Oh my!

Yesterday I finished up my July BOM so I can turn them in today for the L-A-S-T installment! I'm so excited that I've finished every single block and turned them in on time -- that's never happened before in my BOM history!

I really enjoyed creating both of these blocks -- I like the 1" strip that runs through the middle. But my favorite of the two is the top block. I love stars -- they just look so fancy!

Now all I have to do is decide on the staging for these pretty little blocks . . .

Purple or orange?

And again,

Purple or orange?

I know I like the second one better in the purple, but on the star I'm undecided. It really could go either way.

So, off to Patches and Stitches and the last two blocks I go! I cannot wait to start playing with block order for this quilt!

Ciao!

:)

Oh. My. Goodness.

And I've not even tasted of it yet! But it sure is beautiful to behold, if I do say so myself. Of course, I didn't come up with the recipe, I just followed it very, very carefully!! The true test comes after dinner tomorrow, when Todd and I slice into it for dessert! Shoot, if it didn't need to refrigerate for at least two hours before serving (and Esther notes that it's better when refrigerated overnight), I'd load it up in the car and take it to Station 6, and we'd get into the darn thing right now! :) Ha! At least that way I wouldn't have to worry about eating more than one piece!!!

I was very impressed with the whipped cream/sour cream frosting. It was superb. Very light, and not overly sweet. It will probably be the perfect compliment to the marmalade and the very dense cake. Man, with five eggs, four egg yolks, a cup of butter, a cup of oil, and a cup of buttermilk -- talk about rich! It needed a light frosting!

There are some things I would do differently next time, if there were to be a next time (which there probably won't be, since I'm not taking the Kitchen Aid mixer on the RV).

For instance, I would definitely only purchase name brands. I didn't purchase name brands for the heavy whipping cream or the marmalade. I don't know that it'll make any difference, but something niggled at the back of my brain that if you want to bake the finest product, use the finest ingredients. File that.

I don't think I did a good enough job tapping the air bubbles out of the cake batter pans, before I put them into the oven. It didn't seem to pose a problem, I just think I could have done better.

I would use a little more marmalade next time. Twelve ounces didn't seem to be quite enough to nicely cover both of the inner layers and to lay a nice showing on the top.

Other than those things, I believe it was GREAT! I can certainly now understand Esther's reluctance to make the darn thing, though. Good gravy, what a time consumer!! I remember in one of the books, Esther (Bollick) fumes that no one eats cake any more, much less bakes them from scratch. I don't wonder why!!!

Still . . . it did look awfully grand and impressive, sitting there on the counter. I will try to remember to take a picture of it before we slice it tomorrow night!

I think I'll try Lew Boyd's chocolate cake next.

Bon nuit!

:)