HOW COULD I FORGET???!

I can't believe I forgot to share this! A couple of weeks ago, I entered for chances to win on Mel's Own Place for her "blogiversary" event. She had some really *great* prizes and guess what? I WON! I won the 4th post - Swaps. My prize came in the mail Monday -- look what it is!!!!!!

Fat quarters! My favorite! Aren't they pretty?!?! I love the colors -- and they make me think of my sweet daughter-in-law, Kim. She's a brown and turquoise girl! Mel sent the fat quarters in a cute little pillow, along with a sweet note. Thank you, Mel, and congratulations on your anniversary!!!!

Today is TGIF! Don't forget to check out the Freebies Friday button on the left! They are giving away an inchie quilt book and tool. Fun stuff! Also, speaking of giveaways, check out the Gum Tree button to the left. This is a new group of nine Australian designers, and each one of them is doing some significant giving away, too!

Today is also the first day of our local quilt show!!!! HURRAH!! So much hard work has gone into this event. From the organizers, to the promoters, to all the show contributors -- it amazes me! We had the judge, Kathy Kansier, as our guest speaker at our guild meeting last night. Wow. She's quite fun to listen to and a fount of information. I was impressed with her guidelines for quilt judging, and it made me feel a little better about knowing my quilt probably had no business being in that show! :) What really impressed me about Kathy was that she incorporated her faith into her program. Not in an in-your-face kind of way, but in a way that let you know it had made a difference in her life and was a part of who she was. Neat lady. I'd like to take classes from her. She and her students will have a special exhibit at the Houston show!!!

I'll work tomorrow as a hostess, from 10-12, and then in the booth, from 1-3. Then I'll wander around to my heart's content!!! Oooh, and the craft show is also at the VBC this weekend, so I'll probably stop in there, too. Then, as a special bonus, Todd and I will go again to the quilt show on Sunday afternoon. My husband is such a good partner. The best.

One of my favorite web stores, Pumpkin Patch Primitives, has a new blog. You can check it out here. She has lots of fun projects and fabrics and is very personable too. Enjoy!

On a more serious note, here's a blog to take a look at: Building the Blocks. What an incredible family this is, with a passion for children needing adoption, and helping families fund those adoptions. They have a pretty incredible testimony. You can "click to give" to help a family adopt a precious one. Good stuff. :)

I had orientation for Tate Farms Cotton Pickin' Pumpkins yesterday. Whoohoo!!! Bring on the pumpkin season! I will be working on Saturdays in the admissions office, and sometimes in the country store (which is my favorite). I don't work here because I need the work; I do it because I really enjoy being out at the farm during the month of October! I love the crowds and the color and the air and the smell and the atmosphere! What a super-fun place! Maybe next year I'll see if they will let me have a quilt booth there on Saturdays! Wouldn't that be a fun thing???? I could do fall and Christmassy things. Bet they'd be big sellers! :) Hahaha -- this coming from the woman who's wondering why she put her quilt in the local show! Anyway, all the money I make from Tate Farms will go to outfit our RV and get it ready to take on the road. We are blessed.

Early, early, *so* early this morning, my friend Jennifer left for Nicaragua. She's going with a team up-river to help build a church for a small village -- Asang. That's what they are doing during the day. At night they are going into even smaller villages and sharing their testimonies and showing the Jesus movie. They will be speaking with people that have never heard the name Jesus before! I'm honored to be one of Jennifer's prayer partners. She will be on my mind and in my heart for the next week!!

Merlin found a sunny spot by the door. He's a good fellow and a sweet companion.

It's Friday -- the kick-off to a three day weekend. Yay!

Tenga un buen fin de semana!

:)

And so, today, it's back to work! I really enjoyed my long weekend; especially my day of quilting. I accomplished most of what I wanted to get done. I really like how the tops of these fall table toppers turned out. I played around with the stitches on my Janome last night to see if I couldn't embellish the leaves (and acorns) a little. Good lessons learned last night! I went ahead and added a fourth acorn, and I used a tight zig-zag stitch to make the veins and stems. I know I still want to outline the leaves and the acorns -- I'll probably do a blanket stitch. I'm afraid to do that on the machine, though. I may get some floss and do that part by hand. Makes for a nice evening activity!

This afternoon, after work, I'll swing by Patches and Stitches and get some more of the acorn fabric for the backings, and the brown for the binding. And some more thread. And gosh, their Christmas fabric was really looking pretty when I was in there last . . .

But NO MORE BOOKS!

Then.......I drop off the quilt and apron for the show! I posted an event on Facebook, too. Lots of coverage; we want lots of folks to come out and see how fun quilting is! Then to Stuckey Builders and then HOME! Long day, non? But it should be prosperous!

Toodles!

:)

SEW FREELY MONDAY!

Okay. On today's (so-to-speak) design wall . . .

I wanted to do a really simple table topper (square) for my mom. Then I made it *so* simple I decided to do three, one for my mom, and then one for my daughter and my daughter-in-law. The tops are all pieced, I just have to cut out the rest of the leaves, press 'em and stitch. Then the tops will be finished. I'll back them with the cute, cute, CUTE acorn fabric, and then bind them with the darker brown. Fun colors. The photos don't do justice.

For the last five or six years, I've made it a tradition to send my mom something squirrel-related every fall. This year, will be this cute little fellow:

He's using the same fabric as the acorn bottoms in the table runner. The acorns in the tea towel are the same fabric as the acorn tops in the runner.

Let's see. I also squared up BBS quilt top, and cut out and squared up the flannel back. At least, they are both squared up providing the lines in my kitchen floor linoleum are squared. I had swept and mopped the kitchen floor this morning, so I could lay the top and back on the floor to get them ready for quilting. I'd no sooner got them down when Merlin, my little black cat, just *had* to try and walk on them. Stinker.

Lastly, I had to put a tag and a sleeve on the back of the Grand Hands quilt, to get it ready to turn in TOMORROW!!! I can hardly believe the quilt show is this coming weekend!! I can't wait to see what other women from our guild have done! We have lots and lots of talented women (and men) in our group. Should be an incredible show. I'll take lots of pictures!

So. There's my day. To see what others are doing with their design walls, check out Judy's Patchwork Times blog! There's LOTS of quilting going on out there today! I do love Mondays!

For now, back to the cutting board . . .

cya!

:)

LAZY DAY?

Well, it certainly started off that way. I was not motivated to do much of anything this morning! We slept in late -- it was nearly 7:30 when we got up this morning! Then we lounged around drinking coffee and discussed all the things we *could* do, until about 10:30. The day really did get off to a slooooooow start! But then I wrote my list and headed off to the grocery store, and things picked up from there.

I was reading Hanne's Quilt Corner blog and she has a picture of a beautiful hexagon quilt she's worked on in today's entry. It reminded me that I still have not shared pictures of the unfinished quilt top that belonged to my Grandma Wadleigh, which my aunt sent me last month. Here it is! You can see from the closeups that not only did she hand piece, but she fussy cut a lot of the hexagons. Whew. I'm not sure when I'll get around to finishing this up! I'm a more than a little anxious about it -- I don't want to mess it up! It's very dear and precious to me!



As I was sorting my magazine clippings this week for scanning, I came across a recipe for "Scotties" that looked pretty good. It was a nice change of pace from brownies. I tried 'em out today -- they were very easy and are very tasty. I will send the plate in with Todd for the crew at Station 6, tomorrow! Here's the recipe:


Scotties

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

1. Heat oven to 325°F. You'll need a 9-inch square pan lined with nonstick foil (let foil extend 2 inches above pan on opposite sides).

2. Put sugars and butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, 5 minutes or until butter is melted and sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let cool about minutes.

3. Whisk in egg, then whisk in remaining ingredients until well blended.

4. Spread in prepared pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until sides being to pull away from foil and pick inserted near center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. (Batter will rise, then fall. Edges will be higher than the center; that's okay.) Cool in pan on wire rack.

5. Lift by foil ends onto cutting board. Cut into 6 strips, then cut each strip into 6 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.


Mmmm, mmmm, GREAT!

Let's see . . . what else? Oh yeah. I remembered I have a gift for my Secret Pal this week. I hate spending money I could be spending on my Pal on the gift bags, so I've challenged myself to use things I have here at home to cleverly wrap the gifts I leave for her. She's a big John Deere collector, so this week I pulled out some leftover fabric I had from the Grand Hands quilt and came up with . . .


TaaaDAH! What's the saying? Necessity is the mother of invention!

Last but not least, here's a glimpse of what I'll be taking in this evening and tomorrow afternoon between church services!


October's issue of Quilter's World


The September/October issue of Southern Lady


and the Halloween issue of Celebrate!

Can you say, "Happy Camper!"?? That's me!

:)

OH WELL!

It's FRIDAY! Hooray for Friday!!

I couldn't do it. I had to tell my sister that I was working on something for her. I even sent her a picture. I can't keep quilt secrets!! (Except that big one I kept from my mom!) Here it is...

I absolutely love the fabrics in this! When I saw the rooster print (from the French Country Rooster line from Clothworks), I thought immediately of my sweet sister and KNEW I had to do something for her with it. The pattern is actually one Thimbleberries (I think) did a long time ago for use with a snowman and lights--sorta country-Christmassy--but it lends itself well to whatever applique I've wanted to do. I did it with different horses, and I'll do one with cats in the near future. This time it's a rooster with the cupola and probably sitting hens in the corners. Love it, love it, love it!

You know, for years I've been saying that I'm not the kind of quilter that buys fabric just because I like it . . . when I buy fabric it's because I've got a specific project in mind. I'm not a stash builder or a fabric collector. I'm not fabric frivolous.

Or am I????

I've recently purchased quite a bit of different fabrics (a lot with a specific project [vaguely] in mind) and last night I got the urge to pull out my fabric bin and fold and sort everything I had.

Um. That was a bit bigger project than I thought it would be. I was quite frankly AMAZED at the amount of fabric I had. And even more amazed to hear myself exclaiming over my finds (which I OWN) as I sorted and folded. I was having a moment of duality. On the one hand, I was so enjoying the feel, color, and prints of each piece of fabric. On the other hand, I was ever so amused with myself.

La. One of the quilters of whose blogs I read, recently commented that she was on a mission to not buy more fabric until she'd used all her scraps or stash or something on projects. I thought, Hey! That's a good idea for me -- I've got *lots* and lots of fabric, big and small amounts. I should do that! And so last night I resolved I would not buy another scrap of fabric until I had used that stash that I'd built (and am, I have to admit, a little proud of).

After today, I mean. After all, today was the day to turn in my blocks to Patches & Stitches and get this month's installment. I feel obligated to support small, local businesses -- especially quilt shops. What could I do? If it makes me feel better, I do have a specific project in mind, that I plan to start on my next Sew Freely Monday.

Yum.

:)

TGIT!!!

Are you frantically trying to figure out if you missed a day or if I missed a letter?

No! Thank You, God, it's Thursday!

I realized this morning that I've really always liked Thursdays. I'm not sure why. To the best of my knowledge nothing spectacular has happened to me on a Thursday. I wasn't born or married on a Thursday. My children weren't born on Thursdays. I really couldn't pinpoint one singular event that would cause me to not just *like* Thursdays, but be really excited that it is Thursday.

Unless . . . maybe just maybe . . .

This is the day that the LORD has made?? He made all days, I know. But just think, way back to the beginning . . . He did some incredible things on each of the 'first' days. On the first "fifth" day, or Thursday, though, He made all manner of creatures to live in the oceans, and birds to inhabit the air! I love birds! They bring so much interest and enjoyment; between their song, their beauty, and their antics, they are well-rounded entertainment! And fish? My husband *loves* to fish! It's where he is headed right this moment!

I can't imagine what this day -- this Thursday -- would be like if the Lord hadn't seen fit to do on the original Thursday what He did. I wouldn't have enjoyed the cheery call of the wren this morning, or the dozens of sparrows making a mad dash from my boxwood hedge this morning as I passed by, and my dh would have headed into work as normal, instead of heading to the lake with his dad. How blah. God, You are SO good!

This *is* the day that the LORD has made; I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!

Viva jueves!

:)

THOUGHT PROCESSES . . .

May I make a confession?

I've really been struggling about just what books/magazines/media would make the shift from our 3,000+ square foot home, to our 300 (maybe) square foot RV, with a 3,000 lb weight limit.

Really, REALLY struggled!

We're tossing all the dvd clamshells and putting all the dvd's into one of those books made just for that. That's condensing. We'll no doubt do the same for our cd collection. I reported earlier this week that I was scanning my magazine clippings into pdf files, and I think I've resigned myself to doing that for the intact magazines I was planning on keeping too. Instead of keeping any of my quilt magazines, I'll go through and scan the projects or articles that I really want to be able to reference (some day way on down the line), and toss the bulky magazine. I think I'm going to keep my Tea Time magazines intact. They are more of a collection; I've got every single issue that's ever been published. But, as time passes, I may even just scan those, too. So, see? I've struggled, yes, but I'm also conquering. I am woman, hear me roar!

And then there's my precious books . . .

Hey, I've come a long way. I've sorta-kinda gotten over the book thing. This is major. MAJOR! I have a *huge* collection of books. Shelves and shelves and shelves. Books double-stacked on shelves and shelves. Books stacked in random spots. Books stacked in hidden spots! I love to read, and I love to buy books. Lots of all kinds of books. Have I mentioned I have a lot of books? Cookbooks, fiction books (then there's the whole break down of those), historical books, crafting books, hymnals, children's books, reference books, Bible study books; there really are a lot of 'em.

L O T S.

But. I have sucked it up and decided that with the exception of my Bible, one or two really good Bible references (that I can't get on cd-rom), and my Mitford series books (including the cookbook, the beside companion, and the rest), the books go. Or rather, they don't go with me on the RV.

Ooops. Then there's my quilting books. I'm taking 'em. I AM TAKING THEM! It's not like I have a whole lot. I've put a moratorium on purchasing them. No, really -- I just last weekend put down two books that I had in my hand and was ready to purchase. Discipline, right? As it is, I only have enough to fill a shelf that's right at a single yard long. Not bad, eh? Especially for one like me who is a BOOK FANATIC! I think it's pretty incredible. So incredible that the books themselves deserve to make the move.

Have I talked me into it yet?

It means I probably can't take any shoes. Oh the sacrifices I have to make.

I prefer flip-flops anyway.

:)

LOVING IT!

That it's Tuesday morning, that I got so much accomplished over the weekend, that my boss was in a great mood this morning, that it's fall . . . what's not to love?!?

While I was scanning clippings into my computer, I came across a very darling pattern for a fall table runner. It's very simply pieced, but it has big leaves and acorns appliqued down the center. Very cute! The leaves and acorns would be the perfect use for the fall fabrics I got last week -- I just need a plaid for the border. I've probably got something on hand that would work for the center. It's nice to have gotten my 'stash' to the point where I can say that (and not have it detriment some other project I've purchased it for -- which I have done)! I'd like to make a simple runner for Jocelyn, Kim, and my mom. Of course, I told the girls last year that the first one to have family Thanksgiving at their house would get the pretty runner I made last year! :)

I'm really tickled with the project I'm working on that I can't talk about. It's fun to see tangible evidence of what started as a simple idea. I love playing with fabric and colors and shapes! I think perhaps I was born to quilt. LOL!

I need to square up the pieced top of BBS quilt and cut out and do the same for the flannel back. I'll get it to Becky this week! Whoohoo!

This afternoon I'll go from work to Stuckey Builders and take care of his books. Then I'll stop and get us something for supper. We were going to have sloppy joes, but I cannot find the freezer bag of it anywhere! I've been through both freezers twice -- all I can think is that I bagged that up with Jocelyn's stuff. Ah well -- nothing that I had in there sounded good for tonight. I may have to settle for Chinese. *grin*

I can hardly write without including a picture . . . last night I went to sit on the porch for just a bit to watch the storm that was passing to the South. As I came out the door, I saw the big, white, fluffy tail of Bernadette walking into the cluster of evergreens around the storm shelter. She wasn't rushing -- just taking her time, swishing that tail of hers. Bernandette is one of our three skunks. She's the most beautiful -- mostly white -- sparkly white -- with very, very long hair. She's definitely the prima dona of the bunch! Anyway, she left before I could get a camera shot of her, but I did turn on the fairy lights and sit on the porch for a while. I'll upload the picture later, when I get home.

Enough for now!

Hasta luego!

:)

SEW FREE MONDAY!

As in, "So free to SEW on Monday!" Catchy, non? I think so. I also think this is the first of many such wonderful Mondays! Know why? Because as of this week, I no longer work on Mondays! Hurrah! So (sew) I shall dedicate Mondays to days of quilting and the like! Isn't this absolutely wonderful??? It makes me SMILE!
What a super weekend I've had! It started Saturday morning. Todd chose not to work overtime, but to spend the day with me! Yay! We headed to Madison and the Cracker Barrel there for breakfast. From there we were going to go to Decatur to a quilt shop (don't I have the most wonderful husband?!?), but when I called them, they didn't have what I'd hoped they would have. Seemed a shame to drive all the way out there for something I could get in town, so we headed back to Huntsville and Hancock Fabrics.

It was my lucky day. Hancocks had solid flannel quilt backing - 108" wide. Yay again! When the clerk cut it for me, he commented that it was a new item -- they'd only just put it out within the hour. Wow! While I was there I found some really pretty autumnal fabrics that will make GORGEOUS applique leaves! I'm finally finding my fabric fetish, I think. There were lots of fun Christmas fabrics, too, but I held off! There's time . . . sorta! Are they pretty? They all have sparkle! Here's also the fabrics I got in the mail this week. I love mail ordering!!!



Anyway, from Hancocks we headed home. From there it was a domestic day. We picked the rest of the apples from our trees and then I picked tomatoes and the last of the cucumbers and a couple of cantaloupes, while Todd picked tomatoes and raspberries! He stayed out in the yard, tending to the garden and watering plants and trimming bushes and putting out birdseed. He also re-hung the bird feeder tray outside my yellow room window! I love to watch the birds while I sew! Plus Todd informs me that the squirrels are back -- perhaps they'll find their way to it too!

I high-tailed it into the kitchen and put up stewed tomatoes and green peppers, baked a pan of brownies, baked a raspberry cobbler, and got dinner ready; home made meatball subs, potato wedges, and a recipe from Eating Well magazine that my daughter had recommended to me -- Corn & Tomato Saute. It was really good! We had cobber & vanilla ice cream for dessert. Bliss!

After dinner, we camped out in the living room. Todd was going through his RV helpful hints book, and I was scanning. So many years ago, I got the bright idea to clip articles, ideas, recipes, etc. from magazines and filing them -- so I didn't end up saving a whole magazine for a couple of pages of interest. Great idea, right? Not so much, when you're moving into an RV that has a limited weight capacity, and my 'saved' clippings were already close to 50 pounds! Egads! So *then* I got the bright idea to SCAN all of my clippings, and store them appropriately on my laptop! They'd be a LOT lighter, and a lot easier to access, to boot! So, that's what I did.

And we watched the game. The GAME. The season opener for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Whew! They sure didn't want anyone to get comfortable, did they? What a four quarters! They played Virginia Tech, which is rather funny; my nephew Ben (the B in BBS quilt) is a freshman there. We texted back and forth throughout the game. Happy ending. For our home, anyway!

We topped off Saturday night by retiring to the RV. Yep, we slept out there! It was a good night's sleep. :)

Sunday we headed to church at Lighthouse, came home to eat dinner, headed to WalMart and Tractor & Supply, and spend a quiet evening with Todd playing xbox, and me scanning. And once again, we retired to the RV for the night. I could get used to it! (Ha ha, I know!)

Today finds Todd back on shift and me in the yellow room. Guess what?? I FINISHED IT! I need to square it up, and then it's off to the long-arm quilter!! Whooo whooo!

Now I'm going to finish piecing the gift quilted wall hanging. And some more scanning. Oooh--and probably some more reading. I finished the last of the Mitford series this morning; I'll start the Father Tim series (of which there's only one book right now) next. Lemme see; I think that's it. There's a pot of Constant Comment on the warmer, and a brownie for an afternoon pick-me-up. Life is good.

Sew Free Monday. Amen & amen!

:)

MR. MOON!

Todd surprised me with two containers of yellow mums! Yay! Fall is truly one of my favorite times of the year! Anyway, I came home from work to see them sitting so prettily on my front porch. It was like getting a smile and a hug all wrapped up in one. I dearly love happies! And my darling husband is so obliging. Again, I am blessed.

Last night coming home I almost hit a deer. She jumped *right* out in front of me! Luckily, I was so entranced by the moon, that I really didn't have time to react. This is a good thing. My natural inclination would have been to swerve, or slam on the brakes or some other dumb move. As it was, she leaped out in front of me, and lickity-split, leaped onto the shoulder and into the field! Good think that big, beautiful full moon was there!

As I drove down the road to our home, I had such a sweet memory of driving through the tobacco fields in the fall in Maryland. Crisp cool air; the yellows, browns and oranges so prevalent to the autumn landscape; little indicators of the earth mellowing and preparing for harvest. Isn't funny how a quickly one can be transported back to a distant memory? And more than a little ironic. I sometimes have a tough time remembering what I did yesterday, but I sure can dredge up those memories from my childhood!

Enough of the reminiscing. Memories . . . light the corner of my mind!

:)

CELEBRATION!

This is the day that the LORD hath made . . .

And it's also the day He saw fit to bring my youngest baby, James Edward Panter, into the world. Twenty-two years ago!

And now my baby is getting ready to be a daddy. Circle of life!

Last night James and Kim came over and had supper and cake (ice cream cake, in a bowl, per James), and celebrated. I cannot get over how blessed I am.

He really didn't want me taking his picture. Mom's privilege. LOL!

I didn't do a whole lot on BBS quilt yesterday; I framed it out in the black borders; that's all I had time for. This morning I added the six-inch borders down the length. I'll sew that up tonight! I did talk to Becky, who is going to quilt this bad boy on her long-arm quilter. I did not know that with the long-arm machines, you don't have to put the quilt top, batting, and backing together -- the machine feeds it together! WOW! I finally understand the charm of long-arm quilting! You can tell I'm still such a newbie quilter! :)

I got the fabric and fabric swatches in yesterday's mail! I got some Moda charm squares -- autumnal looking and festive; a yard each of acorns and Indian corn; and 2 yards of a Moda Christmas print - red and green and stars. fun, Fun, FUN!

Today I am going with my friend, Jennifer to one of my favorite places for lunch - Emma's Tea Room! Yay! I even have a coupon for a free pot of tea. Whoohoo!

Today is also Friday. FRIDAY! And it kicks off a three-day weekend! Hooray!!

Happy Birthday, James!

Happy Labor Day weekend, laborers!

:)

ps -- I added a link to TGIF giveaways! Check it out!

SUPER-CHARGED!

Or rather . . . I was. I feel deflated due to headache, right now.

But last night, at a ladies conference featuring Lisa Harper with Kim Hill leading the worship -- it was awesome!

I did get up and work a tad on BBS quilt; I got the borders all cut, and did something I've never thought about doing . . .

I sent an e-mail to inquire about someone else doing the quilting for me!!! I think it may be the only way that quilt makes it to Virginia when my sister would like to have it there!!!

Okay. I really am spent with this headache. No pictures, no talk . . . I'm outta here.

Bon soir!

:)

HO HUM . . .

So, this morning I got up *really* early to have my quiet time, and then Todd & I had coffee together before he left, just before seven. Then, since I was ready to go and had an hour to kill, I headed to the yellow room!!! You know what that means . . .

I was almost late for work! :)

I went ahead and cut out the fabric for the block and border of the next quilted wall hanging I'm going to do! It's a present, so I can't talk too much about it here, except to say it's SEW cute! I got a bunch of fabric in yesterday, that I'd mail-ordered. What a fun collection! Mixed with some pretty prints I already had, this project is really going to be fun. I can't wait to post pics! I guess, too, I should just zip my mouth on that one! I'll be spoiling it in no time. I *do* like to talk about my projects, though!

Jocey's wedding pics are finally up and online! I was so hoping I could post a few here, but not yet. The thumbnails are too small to be able to see. Pooh!

My sister called; she must know I need a major event in order to get me cracking on a quilt! She wants to use BBS quilt in a display at their Boy Scout booth at the Montrose fair. I have to have it to her by the first weekend in October!!! I betta get busy! I ordered several swatches of solid flannels today, and they should be in before the week's end. I'll pick one and get the back of the quilt done and get it quilted! Yikes!

Wouldn't it be fun to be able to do things "quilt" full-time? Ahhhhhh!

Que sera, sera!

:)

MORE GIVEAWAYS!

Okay, so I'm finding all these fun blogs! Here's one ... Mama Spark's World! She's got a "400th Post" giveaway going on right now. Right now! It ends tomorrow (September 1st) at noon, est. Check it out! The prize package is some darling Christmas fat quarters!

Right above that post she's got one with a very darling wall hanging in it. Cats. I do love cats.

Enjoy!!!

:)

WHAT A WEEKEND!

First, let me repeat the four confessions of love:

1) God is perfect love.
1 John 4:18
2) Nothing can separate me from God's perfect love.
Romans 8:38-29
3) God pours His perfect love into my imperfect heart.
Romans 5:5
4) Accessed, I can love anyone through anything.
Philippians 4:13

What a good way to start off a glorious morning! I need to keep this in the forefront of my mind today, tomorrow, and the rest of the week! If God can be for me, who can be against me??? HA! Take that.

So . . . this weekend. I did finish the bulk of BBS quilt. Yay-rah! There's still the sashing that needs to go on, which will add about nine inches on all four sides. I'll get there! I promised a picture, so here it is. Phew!


I also said I was going to make that chocolate cake on Sunday. I had to laugh. I consider myself a fairly decent hand in the kitchen. I've been at it for a long, LONG time. I've baked cakes from scratch many times. I love making new desserts and trying new recipes. *Never* have I had such a tough time as I have with the two cakes I've tried from the Mitford cookbook. Egads! The first cake looked simple beautiful, but tasted just mediocre. This second cake absolutely FELL APART! I do not know what happened. I did everything the way the recipe said to do it; I used the best and freshest of ingredients; I waited until the cake had thoroughly cooled before trying to position and frost it. Nevertheless, it simply fell apart. It looked like a huge earthquake fault line had run through the stinking thing! No, really. It looks like California sliding off the rest of the continent. Just look at it!

But oh. my. goodness. It tasted HEAVENLY!! I am not kidding, it was goooooood! The cake was feather-light, and the frosting was . . . well . . . ganache. My favorite! It really doesn't get any better than that. Even Todd agreed that it was simply terrific. I had to take pictures to show; it was only fair. Besides it's great for a laugh!!


It really was rather timely, too. The lastest issue of Eating Well came out this week. The first page I turn to when I get a new issue is the back page, which always has a funny story-like editorial on it. This month's story is about a girl who is a great cake baker and attempts to bake a cake for her boyfriend, who cannot do glucose and sugar and all kinds of things. Anyway, she uses all these special ingredients, bakes the cake and begins to frost it. As she spreads frosting, the cakes begins to crumble underneath her efforts. She piles the frosting on to hopefully 'glue' the cake together, but to no avail. I laughed when I first read it, but I'll admit, I really couldn't envision the scene. I must have read it with a tad of superiority, for God truly gave me empathy in my own mess. I was laughing as hard as my cake was cracking! Julia Child I'm not.

But let me repeat . . . it was GOOD!

This is a shot of last night's sunset, which was simply gorgeous:

In case you're wondering about my plethora of photos today, I got a new camera yesterday, and it's so much fun! It's a little Canon, with a big BITE! It's got lots of pre-set options, one of which is "SUNSET". I just happened to have found this option as the sun was setting in the backyard.

Opportunity taken!

I also took pictures of myself, Todd, us together (using the timer and a cool little flexi-pod that came with it), and Merlin!

Then I went back and took pictures of my first paper-pieced project. I actually took a class at Patches & Stitches and this was our classroom project. I took my completed pieced center and made it into a pillow. Cute, non? It was a great class -- the teacher was Barbara Black, who I really enjoy -- and I've paper-pieced several times since then.

This morning I checked on one of my favorite blogs, Mel's Own Place, and found out I had WON one of her giveaways from over the weekend! I am so excited!! Her button is further down on my blog on the left side. Check it out quilt lovers! She's lots of fun and a *fount* of information! I think I may have ended my "cook your way through Mitford" phase. Yesterday rather did me in. Perhaps I'll focus on quilting and outfitting the RV for now. Goodness.

Carpe diem!

:)

FABRICS . . . YUMMY!

Oh how I love Saturdays! I regret to say that I didn't finish as much on the quilting end as I would have liked, but I *did* have a day of accomplishment, nonetheless!!

I started out this morning by stewing and freezing all the tomatoes Todd had picked from our wonderful garden! I also added some peppers he picked yesterday as well. I was able to put up a couple of quart containers. I put about 3 quarts of tomatoes in brown paper bags, so they could ripen. 'Maters freeze better when they're mostly red!

I also baked and put up some acorn squash that Jeff had brought into work from his garden. I didn't know this, but they have seeds like pumpkins - and you can roast them just the same way! I've got the seeds soaking in salt water for roasting later.

After that, I cleaned up the kitchen, and Kim came over! I wanted to take her to Hooked on Quilting, so she could look at baby fabric with me! I think we decided that we need to wait until we know the baby's sex; especially since she definitely wants to theme the bedroom! Gosh there were lots of beautiful fabrics -- fun and darling and precious and soft. Yay for babies!! Then we headed over to look at the holiday fabrics. Whoa! Kim found some really cute Moda fabric for stockings for James, her and the baby. I found lots of beautiful things, but brought home a sampling of just a few. I also got a Moda panel for a table runner that was *so* cute! It goes with a kit I already have for a wall-hanging. So darling!

I noticed that three of the four fabrics I got today have the glittery gold in them. Really, I don't do it on purpose. I'm *drawn* to it! I do believe I'm becoming a fabric collector. I guess there are worse things! Gotta stock up while I can!

The fourth fabric I got was the chicken coop wire. Isn't that great? Oh, so much fun!

Kim and I had cake, ice cream, chips & dip while we were at the quilt shop. Both the shop owner, Cindy, and Mrs. Martha were there today, so we got chatted up and down both sides! I really do like giving my business to local small business owners. They are personable and remember my name, and that goes a long way with me. And they said sweet things about my Kim. Kim is definitely one of my "joy to love" people.

Finally we were able to head back home. I think Kim went on to do some grocery shopping, and I stayed PUT! :) I finished watching Matilda, then headed for the quilt room. Time passes so quickly when I'm working (on something I truly enjoy)!!! Next thing I know, it's after six! But, much to my delight, I have finished piecing the top of BBS quilt, with the exception of the outer sash! Whoohoo!!! I still have to cut and sew that, and then I can send it off for quilting! What a JOY! I'll post pictures of that later, after batteries are charged. Six sets of batteries, and not a stinking charged set in the bunch!

This was Day 6 of Week 1 of the love Bible study. She asked that I name some folks that I needed God's help in loving. I listed the one name that I knew from the get-go belonged there, but then another name popped into my mind. This was a person I'd thought about all week and how difficult they had been and how hard it was to get near them. BAM! You think I was supposed to make the connection earlier? I am so thankful I serve a patient God. One who waits for me 'get it'. Father, help me to remember Your patience with me the next time I am dealing with someone who's having a hard time 'getting it'. Allow me to think back on this day and how lovingly You waited for me to see it as You wanted me too!

Can you believe that Monday marks the end of August? September and fall are almost here! And tomorrow I'm tackling the chocolate cake!

Sweet dreams!

:)

GUATEMALA CUTIE

This little beauty is my adopted prayer concern from Guatemala. Isn't she simply precious?! I don't know her name yet, but I should soon. Oh my; what a privilege and honor it is to lift this cherished baby up to the Father!

I got her photo/name through Mission Firefly, a local, non-profit organization that is headed by a group of local men and women who have a passion for being about God's business and have chosen to "get out of the pew" and into the world! There's a link to their website on my page. Check it out!

Speaking of links, there are lots of links to explain on my page! I'm a huge fan of things "tea" like tea parties, and afternoon tea, and tea rooms. One of my favorite tea rooms is Emma's, a darling little shop nestled on the edge of Five Points. Rebekah is the owner, and the shop is named for her daughter, Emma. Their menu is absolutely *wonderful* -- I believe Rebekah's sister is the head cook. I have not had a soup or quiche there that wasn't remarkable. And, the veggie sandwich is quite yummy! My favorite part is the pages of teas to choose from! Heaven! There's also a little gift shop that has all kinds of fun tea things. If you really want to feel like a girlie-girl, this is definitely the place to have lunch! :) I just got a September e-letter from them; in it was a coupon for a large pot of tea -- on Emma's -- if you bring a girlfriend for lunch! I'll be there!

Tomorrow will be a day of serious quilting. And, evidently, some serious quilt shopping. One of my quilt links is to "Hooked On Quilting" which is in Fayetteville. It really is a fun shop because the owner, Cindy, carries LOTS of novelty fabrics! She has a whole room of baby/children prints! It's *so* much fun to browse for fabric there! Cindy offers quarterly (only now it's bi-monthly) birthday parties where she gives her birthday girls and their guest a HUGE 25% discount on their purchases!!! My sweet friend Tina's birthday was in July, so the birthday fete is tomorrow for July/August. Tina can't go, because her mom's birthday happens to be tomorrow. But she called Cindy and asked if she could send her guest without her. Cindy said, "Sure!" Yay!!! With Christmas and a grandbaby on the way, I have LOTS of reasons to shop!!

I also want to get tomatoes put up tomorrow. I'm going to stew them with peppers from the garden and garlic. I think I'll just freeze them. Sunday, I'm going to bake Lew Boyd's chocolate cake. I started Light From Heaven last night; once I finish it, I'll only have the Father Tim book and the little books to go before I put Mitford up until this time next year (and in anticipation of the release of the next book)! It's probably time--I need to focus on quilting!

I sent Tate Farms (another of my links) an e-mail yesterday; I will be able to work Saturdays for the Farm during Cotton Pickin' Pumpkins time! YAY!! It's such a fun place to be in the fall! Just think -- in a couple of years, I'll be bringing my GRANDBABY to visit the farm! What an exciting thought that is!

Tonight Todd and I are having friends over for dessert and to play Rook. It's been so long since I played, I hope I remember how! Should be a lovely evening -- a nice way to cap off the work week.

Funny story: one of my Spanish-speaking co-workers asked me if I knew what "dormir" was. I took a guess and said sleep -- because sleep in French is dormir. He said yes and said he slept 'muy bien' and asked how I slept last night. I don't know 'so-so' in Spanish, but I knew that in French my response would be, "comme-ci, comme-ca". He looked at me puzzled for a minute (because he wasn't sure if I'd tried to say something in Spanish or if I'd said something in English he didn't know) until I told him that it meant 'so-so' in French. He walked away repeating it in French, pleased to have learned a new French word. I have to laugh -- we'll have the craziest speaking group of tri-linguals here that ever was!

Tenga un buen fin de semana!

:)

QUOTE THE RAVEN . . .

My title doesn't have to match the body of the post, does it?!?

So, here are pictures of BBS quilt, as I piece the top together, finally! I will make a concerted effort to finish this on Saturday, so I can have it quilted. I'm learning a lot about putting pieces together so that dimensions are kept intact. It doesn't look so hot from the flip side, but from the top, it's looking good! Don't pay attention to my messy quilting room. Whoops!

A couple of things caught my attention in Proverbs this morning. (One thing was actually from yesterday's Proverb.) Let's see . . .

* Like one who takes a dog by the ears, is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him. Proverbs 26:17

I've never taken a dog by the ears, but I'd be willing to bet that no dog would enjoy it too much. This speaks to the type of person that does pull a dog's ears, huh? Not a nice thought. How often, though, do we jump into the middle of situations we have no part of? Bottom line: refuse to get in the middle of a fight that's not mine.

* Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Proverbs 27:5

This one struck me because of the Bible study I'm doing right now on love. I have to develop the connection, though. It's speaking to me; I just can't coherently explain it yet.

* A sated man loathes honey, but to a famished man any bitter thing is sweet. Proverbs 27:7

A (wo)man who is starving for a word from the Lord will be happy to hear anything He has to say, even if it's rebuke. Thank You Lord for speaking to me! :)

* A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, the naive proceed and pay the penalty. Proverbs 27:12

Wow. This goes along with the thought that we need to pray daily for God's protection from evil. And to "flee evil".

As a post note to yesterday: I brewed a pot of French Vanilla tea yesterday afternoon. I used water from the Brita pitcher. I do that when it's just me. Todd doesn't really care, so he gets the water from the tap. No biggie -- it's just that when it's me, I like it from the filtered pitcher! Anyway, I was pouring my second-to-last cup and realized that there was not enough tea left in the pot to pour a final cup (unless, in fact, I *was* pouring my final cup, which I didn't want to be doing). So I figured I'd just add enough water to make up that last cup. No biggie. And since it was just adding a little water for the last cup, I just got it from the tap. Again, no biggie.

Wrong.

I was *astounded* by the difference in the taste. I could very much taste the tap water. Ugh! Up to this point, I thought I was just whimsically using filtered water, but that there probably wasn't a whole lot of difference. I was *so* wrong! Nevermore. Nevermore.

The Raven.

:)

BLEH, I SAID!

Bleh.

I spent most of this day feeling that way. I don't think it was something I ate; on the other hand, I don't think it was the H1N1 flu, which everyone near me worried about. Except Merlin -- he licked my face while I was napping, so I know he wasn't too concerned. Ah, the comforts of a cat!

I'm feeling a little better . . . just . . . foggy. Which might actually be an indicator it's sinuses. Oh the joy!! :) No, really -- at least I'm breathing, right? Count it *all* joy! Harrumph.

I did stop and pick up some black thread, so I can continue working on the BBS quilt. I've been searching fabric shops (online and in person) looking for the perfect flannel to back it with. Is that bad juju, backing a regular cotton quilt top with a cotton flannel? It just seems to me that it would make for a nice, warm quilt, that a boy (young man) might be more willing to wrap up in on a cold day. If anyone is reading and has a notion about this, please let me know!

I read something in Proverbs 26 today that really caught my eye. The first eleven verses refer to qualities/characterizations of a fool; a dog returning to its vomit, one who binds a stone in a sling (think about it for a second), an archer who wounds everyone (this could mean two things), and so on . . . and then, in verse 12, it states that there is more hope for the fool than one who is wise in his own eyes. I finally caught that today. To carry on for so many disparaging passages about a fool, only to say he has more hope than one who sees himself as wise? Wow. That I could read and re-read that Proverb and have it just speak to me today is further proof that it is the living Word.

I'm nearing the end of Jeremiah. Woe to stubborn. I want to plead with them to wake up and smell the coffee!! Why do they refuse to see? Why did they persist in their own way? Oh. Never mind. I have only to look to my own stubbornness to realize the answer. Father, please don't harden my heart to Your commands. Thank You for the saving grace of Your Son!

I'm on to Shepherd's Abiding for my current read. I looked at Jan Karon's website yesterday -- the newest in the Father Tim series doesn't come out until October 2010! Good gravy. I guess it'll give me another year and I can re-read the series again just before it comes out; it takes me about six weeks to finish all 10 books. That's my plan.

Speaking of which, I'm using my infirmity to call tonight a book night. I made a pot of French Vanilla tea. Tea, a good book, and a cat. Sounds like the perfect storm. Hasta la vista.

Baby.

:)

Addendum:

Shepherd's Abiding is probably my all-time favorite of the Mitford series. I adore Christmas and its season; perhaps that explains it.

I found a picture of the Patchwork Puppy -- I forgot that the mommy of the puppy's owner sent it to me!! I'm ready to make a new one for Fowler -- good thing I've got a photo pattern -- placing all those multi-colored squares was tedious enough the first go-round! I do *really*really*really* enjoy quilting. But I do NOT enjoy trying to put pictures in this blog!

BARK!

:)

WEDDING QUILT!

Ahhhh . . . the infamous wedding quilt! Jocelyn didn't want a guest book -- she wanted her guests to sign quilt squares. In theory, it's a great idea! Here's just a teaser from it.



















The hydrangea print will always form a complete square. Signatures went in the neutral fabric. I would *never* have gotten these squares finished for the wedding if my dear friend Tina hadn't joined the cause! Plus my sisters trimmed each block.

Joc did such a beautiful job picking out fabrics and keeping with her wedding colors! I'd like to use those fabrics in a quilt for me. Really yummy!

The last picture is the CAD drawing I did when I was making the pattern and putting the blocks together in different forms. I think I put it together about 5 different ways, and let Jocelyn pick which one she liked best. Option 3. Who'd have guessed? In another year or so I'll have all the signed blocks pieced together and have it quilted!



Finit (or not)!

:)

The cake . . .




Gosh, it really was pretty, but I was *so* disappointed in the taste!! I had so geared myself up for this OUT OF THIS WORLD cake -- and it fell short. I wouldn't even put it in the top 10 I've done. It was good, don't get me wrong, but it sure wasn't worth the time, effort, or money that went into it. Lesson learned. I have to say, though, I wonder if it's something I did? The frosting was very good and a great compliment to the dense cake and sweet marmalade filling. But the cake itself was a little on the dry side. And that really surprised me, because you pour this orange juice syrup over it, before it's cooled, to soak in. I was very careful to follow the ingredients and directions to the tee. I dunno.

Poor Todd -- I had really built this bad boy up. He didn't hardly eat anything during the day, so he could afford to go back for seconds, he was prepared for it to be so good! He ate it; but again, it wasn't his favorite. We'll see if the guys at the station eat it.

I will try the chocolate cake next. Let's see what Lew Boyd brings to the table. Hahaha!

We finished up The Return of the King in the RV last night. Todd had figured out how to change the picture so that it covered the entire screen. That was nice! I took a hand towel and some soap over. I really am ready to be there. I want to start moving in. The thing is, we're only taking the bare minimums; the stuff we use on a regular basis. We can't take that stuff over until we're ready to be there all the time! It's quite funny. And truthfully, we can't live in it until we get it leveled out. I think that's very important for the well-being of the RV. Todd is going to split the cable so we can hook it up over there. Fun!

I really want to be able to cook and function in our new space. I need to remember, though, that God works ALL things in HIS perfect time. What is it He's teaching me during this time of waiting? I get ahead of Him *all* the time. So okay, now that I've acknowledged it, I need to be content where I am, and use this time in a way that pleases Him, instead of wasting it wanting something who's time hasn't come!

Easier said than done, but I shall persevere, nonetheless!!

This is a busy week. Tonight I'll go to Stuckey's, tomorrow night Todd's on shift, Thursday night we're going to the Mission Firefly informational meeting, and Friday is open. Saturday, Todd is on shift, so I believe I will be quilting, quilting, quilting!!! Yay-rah! I will work on the 4 BOM squares that I've got, and probably on Ben's quilt. I need to remember to pick up some black thread so I *can* work on Ben's quilt! :) Also, Saturday is the July/August birthday party at Hooked on Quilting . . . I was supposed to go with Tina (she's a July birthday), but I don't think she's going. Boohoo. I'd really like to get some baby quilt fabric, and the backing fabric for Ben's quilt! Plus, Christmas is right around the corner! Ah well; my birthday is coming up too -- I'll take advantage of the discount then!

I'm doing this four-week follow-up study by Beth Moore called Loving Well. I'm enjoying it immensely. God IS love. Love is His very being; His character. God is love, just as I am woman. No emotion I have or circumstance I face changes the fact that I am woman. Same thing goes for God -- nothing changes the fact that HE IS LOVE! What an amazing realization to make and understand!

I celebrate; God is love and He loves me!

Hurrah!

:)