Winter Stitching and other Happenings

I've been as busy in the sewing room this month as an active puppy will allow me to be! Never a dull moment around here. I've begun cutting out all the pieces for "Stars and Snowflakes" by Wendy Sheppard. 

The trial block is shown here, under construction. I hope to have this all cut and prepped to take along for stitching together at an upcoming weekend retreat. While preparing all the pieces for this one I managed to finally gather enough folded triangle leftovers to constitute a 9" block. I can't throw any of these triangles away, even the 1.5" itty-bitties! 

Yet one more block for the bulging, overflowing, orphan block bin. I need to get all of these blocks out and stitch them together soon! Something I keep telling myself. 

This donation quilt for a child received a mini Cloud Stipple quilting design to bring it to life. It's really sweet with the small character panels, and quilted up quickly; I really loved working on it. 

Augie has become quite the little sewing room companion. He sits in my chair with me whenever he can. 

He also has his bed and toys in here, which helps when I'm at the longarm! 

He's grown quite a bit in the past 6.5 weeks!

He thinks that his job is to prune all of our houseplants! The training is going okay; he's slowly learning. We didn't attend puppy class this past week due to a reported case of Giardia; I didn't think it was worth it to risk him being exposed, just in case. So, he's learning new things as a home schooler right now; first lesson: time out for tearing up plants! That's a tough one!

Speaking of plants; this beauty, an Amaryllis bulb Christmas gift, is putting on a show in the kitchen right now... 

... while these forced forsythia branches are brightening up the family room! A harbinger of things to come!

Our youngest grandchild finally had her "official" birthday celebration last week. 

They're all double-digits now. Sigh. I'd better hang on to our Augie baby as long as I can! 😉

Life is Good!

The Great Cookie Bake-Off

I haven't decorated any cookies for a while. It's time to make some snowflakes, snowmen, Valentine's hearts and other winter-themed cookies. To be honest, the reason that I have been a bit reluctant to return to this hobby craft obsession is because the recipe that I have been using for the cookie itself hasn't been my absolute favorite. It worked, it was sturdy enough and well-accepted but I kept thinking, in the back of my mind, that I needed to find a better, more delicious and delectable, cookie. One that would hold up to the vigors of royal icing and yet was delicate enough to melt in the mouth. Is this an unreal expectation?  I don't know, but nonetheless the experimentation has begun.

This recipe proved to be a good one, really good. I am linking to it here in case you would like to whip up your own small batch. The very fact that this one made only a small amount, perfect for my experiment, was the main reason that I chose it. It was, as indicated, both crisp and soft at the same time. Because there is no icing I did lightly sprinkle the tops with sanding sugar. It passed the taste test but I still feel there's room, maybe a teeny bit, for improvement. 

I returned to my tried and true cookie recipes; this cookbook was one from the early days of our marriage. I tried two sugar cookie recipes from this one, the book was a gift from my mother in 1976. 

This one tasted delicious but didn't stack up-- the sides spread during the baking process. If it can't hold its cut shape consistently it is not a contender for cut-out cookies. However, I did take these with me on retreat this past weekend and my fellow quilters were more than happy to eat up the results of my ongoing experiment!

Again, this recipe (#2 from the vintage book) did not hold its shape either, the sides spread. The flavor on these didn't  measure up either; they tasked okay blah; the whole purpose of my experimentation was to provide a cookie that is more than a mere vehicle for the decorative icing. 

That's three recipes and lots and lots of munching! How many experiments allow you to eat your rejects? Mr. Goodneedle suggests that I stay with the first cookie I tried, the small batch. I'm too full of cookies right now to think straight. I have one more to try, it's a tough job but someone has to do it!

Life is Good!

...and oh, so delicious...

The Baton Is Passed

Like a quilt relay race, the baton has been passed to the next team, my run is done! Here I was on Saturday, handing off my part by demonstrating the proper way to bury a knot. The hand quilters at Bailey's Chapel UMC took to their leg of the race like well conditioned athletes, they were eager to begin; and off they went, all the while with their eyes fixed on the finish line.

The team basting quilt #2 for hand quilting.

To read more about this centennial quilt project
 click here.

Everyone was ready to take a turn, even their Pastor.
I'm cheering them on now from the sidelines, 
smiling every stitch of the way. Go team, go!
Life is Good!

Three Excellent Adventures

Quiltkeemosabe and I had excellent advenure #1 on Friday. We took off bright and early for the Capital City for our scheduled volunteer stint monitoring the Carolina Longarm Association's booth, and selling raffle tickets, at the Got To Be NC Festival. We reconnected with old friends there and made some new ones too; we made a few sidetrips along the way, and stopped for a late lunch on the way back home; all in all it was a wonderful day. We always have fun together, it doesn't matter at all what we're doing; we can be stopping at the grocery store or going on a weekend roadtrip or retreat together, when Quiltkeemosabe's along it's a great time. Over the last 21 years we've been through many advenures together, I am thankful for this friend who's always there for me and with me; a friend who's ever ready and willing to listen to my problems or complaints, or there to cheer me on, a friend who'll take a stand on my behalf or happily jump in the car and go along for the ride wherever it happens to be headed!  Here's to you, my friend; thanks for your friendship through the years and here's hoping we have many more adventures side by side, you help to make my life's journey a joy-filled one!

Saturday saw excellent adventure #2. Working with the saints at Bailey's Chapel and seeing not one, but two, quilt tops become reality!  With a small crew assembled, including their Pastor(r), everyone worked tirelessly all day long amid the hum of sewing machines and easy conversation until that last stitch. I will meet with them again to baste the tops together and get the first quilt loaded on a frame for hand quilting. 

Excellent adventure #3 could also be called the joy of discovery... or rediscovery as this case may be. While looking for a bin in which to transport all of the pieces and supplies for the previous adventure I emptied the contents of a large container that resided beneath my cutting table to find the beginnings of this quilt top from 1998. Along with the mountain of scraps and this assembled pinwheel section were my handwritten notes detailing my plan to set these 6" blocks together (with 1.5" sashing) 14 across and 15 down to create a king-sized quilt for our bed that would measure 116" X 108.5".  My first thought yesterday was "yeah, right; I'm not sure I want to spend the rest of my days cutting HST's...".  But then, a lightbulb went off... "I wonder" I thought, if I happen to have a the right sized die. Oh, yes, I do; Accuquilt to the rescue!  Then and there this one passed the "can I reasonably finish this?"and "is it worth finishing?" test in my own mind. Meet my newest project: "Light of Day". The name represents what this fifteen year old, instantly vintage, quilt has had shined upon itself, it has stood the test of time and is ready, at long last, for the Light of Day! This one is going to become my R.A.W. (Row A Week)  project, look for a completed top summer's end. What a wonderful weekend this one has turned out to be!

Life is Good!

From my notepad Note Quotes for Quilting Friends:
"A messy house is the sign of a happy quilter."