Growing

There are lots of things going on, and growing on, around here. Despite my best intentions, my "to do" list is one of those things that grows out of control, like Kudzu, and thwarts all attempts to keep up with posting here. Gregory has turned eleven years old this month. Eleven! One thing that doesn't seem to to grow is available time: that shrinks! Seriously. How can it be November already? Here's the birthday boy and his sister, who's growing at the same break-neck pace as her brother. 

She spent the night with us last week; we were entertained with an interpretive, dramatic, reading of "How The Elephant Got His Trunk" after dinner. 

My list of UFOs is growing once again (even with all of those completed tops being rounded up and out of the BOM bins from years past) with the addition of two more Blocks-of-the-Month that I've signed up for (I'm unable to resist) this fall. This is one of them, "Lady's Scrap Basket", so far I've got Unit One completed, along the way I discovered a great little tool for dealing with those pesky "folded corner" triangles, it's made by Creative Grids. ↓

Rather than drawing (and then sewing on) the line, one simply aligns the "Folded Corner Clipper" with the strong diagonal across the corners of the stacked pieces and trims away the excess beforehand, stitching 1/4" away from the cut edge. It works really, really well. Thanks for this tip, Annie! 

My DIL sent this photo the other day. Gregory decided to mend a tear in his pants by himself. He raided his sister's sewing box for the needed items and set to work before it ripped any further. I couldn't help but think of this  very similar illustration from "Sam Johnson and the Blue Ribbon Quilt", maybe it's just the red hair. 😉

A recent retreat weekend saw something else take shape and grow: Great Granny Squared. It's one of those quilts from the always-growing "to make" list that finally rose to the top. I already love it and it still needs two more borders, it will only grow more and more lovely. I'm using Lori Holt's Bee Basics fabric line, it's a bright and cheerful day-brightener. 

A quilting friend finished this top while we retreated together, isn't it great? The pattern is one that's fat quarter friendly: "Inkling" by Patchwork and Poodles. This one really piqued my interest (like I have any business starting something else new!!). 

I have everything, except for the vine border, stitched on this sampler; at long last! It has been temporarily stowed now as and my needle, linen and hoop are being redirected toward Christmas stitching. One more growing obsession... and SEW it goes! 

These are golden days right now, it's hard to keep up with things indoors when it's this glorious outside!

What's going on ( and growing on) at your house?

Life is Good!

Mums The Word...

... well, actually autumn is the word; the chrysanthemums have been planted and there's most definitely been a change in the weather; cooler, breezy days have replaced the heat and humidity for a refreshing new perspective. 

I baked an apple pie this past week from the fruit that I picked while visiting New England the week before. It turned out great, no so with the InstantPot recipe for baked apples that I found. Even though I followed that recipe to the letter (the accompanying photo looked so enticing) the apples EXPLODED! Groan. After fishing all the peel out of the blown-up apple debris, I placed the remaining mush into a strainer; what was salvaged might just have been the best homemade applesauce that we've ever had- making the very best out a complete mess! 

We had a few friends for a socially distanced porch dinner and the kitchen table became a Little Free Lending Library, there was something for everyone. 

The advent of fall marks yet another birthday for me, they just keep coming faster and faster each year!

A new addition to the back of one of the chairs in our bedroom is this Bull's Eye quilt. My mother insisted that I have it. With much encouragement she began piecing it after she had suffered a stroke in 2000, I cheered her on for several years as she gained back dexterity and confidence; after she got that top together (and went on to piece many more) I quilted it for her. Sadly, her macular degeneration has reached the point now where she can no longer sew. Receiving this quilt was bittersweet, but I will treasure it because of all that it represents. I believe that it looks right at home in its new setting! 💗

Life is Good!

Golden Glow

This is the view outside my kitchen window this morning. At this hour of the day, with the sun at this angle shining through the autumn-tinged foliage, to stand in our kitchen is to know the reality of being bathed in a golden glow. This is a Kingdom moment, this is what sacred feels like. I am in awe.

Life is Good!

On this, the eleventh day of November, I am deeply thankful 

for all veterans who sacrificed mightily for my freedom.