binding time...

I am NOT turning the furnace on.
I am NOT turning the furnace on.
I an NOT turning the furnace on.

It's almost ten in the morning on this Tuesday.
The rain is still here, which I am not complaining about.
We needed the rain.

What I am complaining about
is the great difference in heat
that is here in my part of the world.

As in, two days ago it was 95 degrees and humid.
And it seems like my body
had just acclimated
to the 95 degrees with high humidity.

Today, it feels like someone left the freezer door open,
dropped some rain into the mix to make it damp,
then set a fan blowing in my direction!

Really, it is 52 degrees in here.
Well, It really is 52 degrees and damp outside.
So I know that is ABOUT what the temp is in here also,
as I am not turning my furnace on until late October!!!
Did I say before that I was NOT turning my furnace on?
I think I might have.

Ok, enough of that.
I think I have made my point about the weather.
Yes, I am cold.
Sitting here in my twelve layers of clothes.
I have to find some binding to do on some quilts.
That way I can put another layer or two over myself.

Did you know that you can
multi-fold a quilt and lay it over yourself
while you hand stitch the binding on?
And if you stitch very slowly and acurately,
that you can stay double or triple covered for HOURS???

Now to find a way to warm my nose and fingers....

more meanderings

I recently had the opportunity to quilt

this wonderful memory quilt for Annette.

Annette entitled it "Precious Memories".

Each block was house or barn shaped,

and had hand-writing around it...

all of her special memories of her family. 

Especially memories of her Grandma.

 Here are a few close-up pics of some of the blocks and the quilting:

 Can you tell that I really had fun doing the quilting?! 

Check out this line of clothes drying:

 And my favorite:  violets!

 This one, if you look closely in the brown area,

shows those old rotary dial phones

and the curly cord all around for the "party line":

Annette is now binding it and will enter it in an upcoming show...

I'll let you know how it goes...

I'm thinking "Viewer's Choice" ribbon,

at least!!!

It reminded me of all of my special Grandma memories

the whole time I was quilting it.

Thanks for the memories, Annette!

Once in a Super Harvest Moon...

OK, I haven't been writing much lately....sorry.

I don't know why....

I think that maybe I have been, um, 

equinoxing lately.

Yeah, that's it....equinoxing!

I don't know how to explain it.

Not getting a whole lot done, just what needs to be done.

I'm blaming the not getting a whole lot done on this:

a rare cosmic arrangement

that has not occurred in nearly 20 years.

Two nights ago there was the Autumnal Equinox....

11:09 p.m. EDT (0309 GMT Sept. 23).

That is not the rare cosmic occurrence.

This is the rare cosmic occurrence:

At that same time as the Autumnal Equinox arrived,

the full moon arrived...

the weather guys said it was

the "Harvest Moon"...

And, according to some NASA astronomer

named Tony Phillips,  

"Not since 1991

has a full moon occurred on the same night as the fall equinox,

and it won't happen again until 2029."

AND,

This rare cosmic occurrence of

the Harvest moon on Autumn equinox

won't be seen again until 2029!!

Next week,

keep a lookout for the harvest moon.

The Harvest Moon

typically occurs

a few days or weeks before or after the fall equinox.

This year, though,

the full moon occurs just six hours after the equinox,

making it what is called a

"Super Harvest Moon."

So, I'm telling you this:

I think this is what is messing with my ability to get stuff done!

Too many cosmic occurrences!!!

I have done a few meanderings lately,

cosmic occurrences aside.

The key word there is FEW...

Charlene's BOM:

Virginia's cool batiks:

The LQS Book Club donation to Kids N Kamp:

The front of Louise's:

And the pieced back of Louise's:

That is not much to show for the last couple of weeks, is it?

And, I haven't been working on much of my own stuff, either...

Full moon,

Autumnal Equinox,

Super Harvest Moon...

the winds are a-blowin' something in...

Are you feeling the same, subtle pull or push?

The Equinoxing???

Or do you just ignore it?

I am not even looking forward to
the next cosmic occurrence,
if this is what it does to me!!!

cool breezes

The evenings are cooling off - a lot!
The local county fair is this next week.
Already, football season has come!
I don't know what happened to spring and summer.


The signals are saying it's coming into Autumn.


And I am torn...
I really like Autumn.
But I really like Summer, and don't think I am ready to give up on it.
I am still wearing my white shoes, for heaven's sake!


I AM ready for some comfort foods -
making soups and stews, noodles and biscuits,
throwing some flour around on the butcher block...
Chili Cook-Off time will be here soon, too.


I wonder if it would be OK to do my Chili Cook-off this year in white sandals?

Mondays

I

L O V E

Mondays!

You can start the week with positive or negative...

positive or negative thoughts....

Color your attitude!

Like choosing fabric colors for a quilt,

muddy and dark tones, or

bright and clear tones....

It really is a choice...

mundane, tired, & boring,  

or happy, smiling, & brilliant?

I chose the latter.

Mondays, to me, are the beginning of another wonderful week to come.

I look forward to all of the

work scheduled,

projects to be tackled,

fun to be had,

friends to visit,

food to cook & eat. 

Yes, even the laundry and cleaning chores are looking pretty good to me!

Another day to be thankful for all of our blessings!

Another beautiful quilt to wrap around your life.

TGIM !!!!!!

remembering

September 11th......

I was walking in the park with a friend...
we both commented that there was NO noise....

The skies cleared of all air traffic...
the new autumn wind blew across fields and stream....
not even much road traffic was to be heard.....
it seemed that even the wildlife calmed and quieted...

Life came to a standstill that morning....
nine years ago...
as four planes were commandeered...
as the towers fell.

remembering those lost.....
honoring heroism....

peace in the summertime

I recently had the opportunity to visit Middle Bass Island in Lake Erie, above Ohio...

I walked daily, enjoying the island atmosphere:
the gardens,
the slow, vacation pace,
the sound of the waves crashing against the shoreline,
the birds circling lazily,
the boats trolling by,
and, if the wind was blowing the right direction, the sound of the horn from the ferry reverberating across water and island.
The best part of the island atmosphere was the architecture...
the old, Victorian houses with all of their gingerbread trim just intrigued me to no end...

While I was there, I read a book:
Island Passage by Sherry Hartzler -
a story about a family,
in their house that was based on that exact island.

So, as I took my walks everyday, I looked and looked at all of the houses on the island,

in that old section of buildings facing the east side of island.

Was it the one with the mansard roof,

or the one with the green gingerbread trim?

Maybe the great, pink, happy house?

Maybe the one with the complete wrap-around porch and beautiful, heirloom flower-beds? 

I walked around that side of the island so many times,

each time trying to find

"the house" from the story -

trying to place the family and the porch and the sounds of the water from the imagination in Ms. Hartzler's writing.

I'm sure that people that saw me walking,
not really watching where I was going,
thought that I had issues...
stumbling around and almost walking into shrubs,
and off of the paths. 
I felt that I had almost beaten my own trail around that side of the island...
I never did think I found the exactly right house,
but, I kept looking,
imagining.

fortune cookie

Today's smile thought.....

My son shared
that he had Chinese food the other day
and his fortune from the cookie was this:

"Ask your Mom"

Great fortune, don't ya' think?
He said he tacked it on his wall.
I didn't ask which wall...
nor did I ask what he used for a tack!!!
I don't think I want to know :)

That fortune made me think...
I do value other's opinions. 
I ask about color choices and block layouts in quilting.
I ask what sounds good for dinner tonight. 
I seek the thoughts of family and friends about all kinds of things.  

Maybe that should be an everyday fortune...
"Ask".

Then, not only ask, but listen.

Thanks, everyone, for letting me "ask".

***The Fortune Cookie thought

reminds me of the time I made

(or tried to make)

fortune cookies...

I think I have great hand/eye coordination and am a fast and dexterous worker & like small, detailed work, but these were laughable!!!  The really do "set" in 10 seconds, so you can only two per baking sheet... and then I still only got one folded most of the time!!!  It was a great laugh in the kitchen.  I like the taste and crunch, so just baked them and ate them without the folding and fortune!  (they could also be called "Frustration Cookies"!!!)
Here's the recipe if you want a great laugh/time in your kitchen!
A Fortune Cookie Recipe from Paule Deen
Nonstick spray
2 egg whites
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons water
Pinch salt
Fortunes written on strips of colored paper
Special equipment: silpat

Directions
Cook's Note: using a silpat makes it easier to remove the cookies from the sheet tray.
Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

On a half sheet tray, spray a silpat with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl whisk egg whites until foamy. Add the flour, sugar, almond extract, water, and salt to the egg whites and beat until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour or spoon 1 tablespoon of batter onto prepared silpat and spread with the back of a spoon into a very thin 4-inch circle. Repeat on the other half of the sheet, making only 2 cookies per sheet tray. Bake the cookies on middle rack of oven until golden brown around edges, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and working very quickly, with an offset spatula, remove cookie from baking sheet and place a fortune in the center of the round. Fold to create a half circle. Bend pointed edges of cookie toward each. This should be done quickly since the cookie will become hard and brittle within 10 seconds. Let cool.

quilt show, stitching & wool

The Circleville quilt guild show was this past Thursday, Friday, Saturday.  And it was a hit...  in my opinion.  Many, many quilts and wall hangings in the show.  So many, in fact, it was hard to photograph, the rows were sooooo close together.  In fact, I did not take a single photo, sorry!   But congrats to all the gals who not only entered, but won ribbons!

I worked the show as a vendor for one of the LQS on Friday...
During a couple of slower times vending, I demoed the hand stitching for redwork...
(at least that was my excuse for stitching!!!!)

and I stitched on my Quilt Barns blocks :

A "barn red" quilt block  stitched on the two pieces pictured above...

and a barn block stitchery about complete...

The block fabric is cut 10" by 10", so not a large piece when finished.

The pattern designer, Beth Ritter, advises the use of fusible fleece backing, so you don't have to use a hoop and you don't have to worry about dragging threads across the back of the stitchery.  (the LQS carries these Wellington House Designs if you just have to have one.)

I have never used this fusible fleece for stitching through before, so I'm trying something new to me.  But you can tell from the picture, that I'm still using my hoop.  I like the  stitching tension better, I think. 

Also at the show,

I picked up some more wools:

All of this for under $40.00! 

And wait until you see what I have planned

for the great brown toward the bottom of the stack!

I'm thinking pincushion!!!

But I am trying to contain myself and not start another project until I get something completed!!!!

OK, back to work/fun for me!

Quilts are a-callin' for some meandering...

Happy day wishes from me to you!

laboring...

Many quilts, many labors.....

The last couple of weeks have been hectic around here...

what with birthday party surprises, a holiday, and a little vacation....

But, you'd think Christmas was a'comin',

by the number of quilts that are arriving to be quilted!

So, a photo gallery of quilts

that passed through the doors

in the last couple of weeks:

< A quilt by Vickie...

A quilt by Glenna..... < A quilt by Judith.....

a quilt by Wilma......

a quilt by Virginia......

Aren't they all just gorgeous????

Makes me want to work on one of my own!

What with this being Labor Day weekend and all, I just might!

Happy Labor Day weekend to you....

hope you are laboring as you wish.....