Going Coastal

On Thursday I'm getting on the Amtrak Coast Starlight train and heading up to Portland Oregon. I took the train once before, from Philadelphia to Washington DC, but I was by myself and think I napped most of the way.  I barely remember it. This time I'll be sharing a sleeper car with my youngest sister in a space the size of Harry Potter's cupboard under the stairs, and I imagine there will be lots of giggling and snorting into the wee hours.  Portland, bless that beautiful city, will only be about 75 degrees when I get there.  I will be leaving 100 degrees behind at home. I might have to dig my jeans out of the "winter" side of the closet.
I finished 5 squares on my popcorn stitch blanket so far.  I know the picture is only showing 4, but it was hard to photograph an odd number, so you get the idea. I'm hoping to make a few more on the train.
 I had some help from the dog going through my scrap bin to make several nine patch blocks.  I want to set them on point but I'm having a difficult time deciding on a background color.  Usually I reach for a cream color (safe), but I feel like all my quilts are starting to look the same. I might need to take a chance on this one and branch out of my comfort zone.
Lastly I'm making a linen project bag to take on the train, and I decided to work a cross stitch motif on the front, found in Alicia Paulson's Embroidery Companion book.  Since she lives in Portland, I thought it would be a fun reminder of my upcoming trip.  Have a great week wherever you are!

Easter

Hi everyone!  Hope you are enjoying a beautiful Easter week.  I didn't do much decorating besides the obligatory wreath on the front door, fresh roses from my yard and what you see here.
We are going to my SILs house for lunch on Sunday with my husbands family, then to dinner at my niece's with my family.  I bought a new dress from here, anticipating a long hot day with lots of food and driving.   Running around in skinny jeans sounds like torture doesn't it?  Ugh, I just can't do it anymore, even too much jewelry makes me feel hot.  So wearing a tent dress with sandals is a comfy alternative (surprisingly, this dress is actually flattering, and the linen fabric feels good).

All three of my kids will be home and the pool is open for business. Fresh lemons from my sisters tree (mine all froze this year ) have been juiced for poolside lemon drops, the laundry is done, the groceries bought and put away. I have a manicure and pedicure scheduled for tomorrow(nothing says Spring like pretty painted toes!! ), so I'm ready for the Easter bunny.
Have a great weekend and I'll see you on the other side :)

Bunny embroidery pattern : free on Pinterest
Yo-yo puffs: rescued from a very old quilt bought at the flea market years ago
Roses: Alchemist climbing rose
Doily: Mandala from this pattern, and following final rounds from this blog

Project bag

I made a linen project bag and added a row of granny squares front and back, along the bottom.  A little bit of sewing and crocheting, just the way I like it.  We finally got some rain last week (52 days since the last rain here), but only overnight.  The sound woke me up, and I laid there and enjoyed it for a while before falling back to sleep. Since then the pear tree in the backyard has begun to blossom, and then the bees appeared out of nowhere. They are so noisy, that when you stand under it, the tree sounds as though it's humming to itself.
A new butternut squash soup was a hit, with the addition of a chopped apple, paprika and chili powder.  I never would have thought of those two spices in a butternut soup, but it was really good.  However, if you're going to add Hot Hungarian paprika like I did (all I had in the pantry), you may want to put in less than the recipe calls for.  I had to finish my soup off with the cream (not a bad thing, I must say) to take the sting out of it.
We are going to a Superbowl party today.  It's cold and cloudy.  A storm is on the way, and I would rather stay home in my pajamas, work on some embroidery, and watch the game from my own couch.  Instead, I guess I'll go put on a bra and some makeup so I don't scare anyone.

Here are the links to

Butternut squash soup recipe

Crochet granny square  
For the granny square there was no tutorial so I just copied the picture as best I could.  Round 1 is 12 dc's.  Round 2 is 2dc, ch1 in between each dc from previous round.  Round 3 is the same as round 2.  Last round is 3dc, ch1 ( in between dc from previous round).  Do this twice, then make your corner with 3dc, ch 2 3dc. Repeat all around. I used Knit Picks Dishie yarn with a G hook.

orange and white linen fabric

Fall field trip

Every fall I try to visit Phillips Farms in Lodi, also home to the Michael David Winery.  Outside, I usually grab a wheelbarrow and load it up with pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. Then it's on to the cutting garden (see my header pic), where you can pick your own bouquets.  Inside, they serve lunch and have a wine tasting bar (this is why my daughter decided to join me.)  I made her pay by posing for a picture.

Besides pumpkins and flowers, we left with a bottle of wine, heirloom tomatoes, a hunk of raw milk cheese, and the best ever blackberry/peach pie, which we ate that night for desert, and finished off the next morning for breakfast.  I keep thinking about that damn pie. I want to go back and get another one.  I'm having pie withdrawals.  Pie dreams.  Please sir, may I have some more...pie?
The first three letters of my blog spell Pie.
Good grief.  No wonder my jeans are getting tight.
Afterwards we went into town and stopped at a lovely shop called the Antiquarium.  I bought a few handmade decorating goodies.

Check out this pumpkin.  There were so many to choose from, all made using home decorator fabrics and embellished in the most creative ways.

This one is made from a linen blend material and has a champagne cork for a stem. Kind of sophisticated for a squash wouldn't you say?

Despite all this galavanting about, I did manage to finish a small embroidery piece.  It's a free pattern from here, as seen on T.V.  Pinterest.

I trimmed the finished square to 8 1/2 inches, and added 2 1/2 inch triangles to the corners, creating a snowball block. Then I sewed on 3 1/2 inch borders.  Whoopie!  Christmas pillow in October.  Done.

Soggy Saturday

I woke up to gray skies outside my window this morning.  The wind and rain have all but stripped the little heart shaped leaves from my Redbud tree.  Some of you might think I'm crazy, but I love this weather!  How about bundling up for a long walk, and when you're done, some cocoa in front of a fire!

I have been super busy getting ready for Thanksgiving this week.  We are now up to 26 guests!  I'm going to need a whole flock of turkeys (and more wine!).  However, this arrived today and got me all distracted.

I received my floss order from Sublime Stitching.  They come in yummy colors with fun names like  "fainting couch", "cookie sheet", and "velvet curtain".   I ordered the Prism, Flowerbox and Parlour packs.  Somebody knows how to market this stuff!

Should have a Tah-Dah any day on my blanket.  Just weaving in ends and finishing the border.  I may  have to add one of these labels.

I have so many projects that could wear this.

Bringing hexies back

I've had this old quilt for about 15 years now.  I found it at the flea market in the bottom of a box, where it sat worn and stained and forgotten.  It was no longer usable as a bed quilt, but over time, I have been  carefully cutting around the holes and stains, preserving pieces for other projects.  I even covered a footstool with it once.

Would you look at all those tiny stitches?  That's a lot of work, never mind piecing all those hexagons, which are only about 1.5 inches each.  I could not buy enough patience to make something this amazing.
So I made a pillow out of some of the scraps.

I added some stitching with my sashiko needle.  I LOVE this needle.  I bought it online sometime last year (can't remember where), and have used it every time I want to create a big running stitch.  It's really easy on the fingers too.  Go get one.

I sewed down the quilted strips on my machine, leaving the edges raw.

Inspiration for this pillow came from these little pretties.  I actually found an etsy shop that sells embroidered Sari material (kantha style), and have ordered a stole which looks to be made up of about 4 or 5 different colored pieces.  I am hoping to use it to make pillows like the ones pictured in the West Elm link.
In the meantime, I started piecing some hexagons using a 3.5 inch template.  Yep.  I like it.

These are big and easy.  Each flower measures about 10 inches across, so it shouldn't take too many to make a throw sized quilt.  How long it will take me is a different matter. 
I have be seeing Christmas makes out there in blog land and on Pinterest lately.  Is it time to go there?  I suppose we need to get started soon.  It's hard to wrap my head around the holidays when the weather forecast here calls for 100 degree heat and boob sweat of epic proportions.

If anyone wants me I will be in the house with the air conditioner thermostat set somewhere between Iceland and the North Pole.

Big Zig

My zigzag quilt is done.  I had to wait for the wind to stop blowing so I could take it outside for a decent picture.  It was still pretty breezy as you can see.

It was snapping in the wind like a ship's sail, and at one point it flew right over my head.  So I stood underneath it and took a picture.

Kind of like a pretty patchwork tent!

It measures 78x78 and was made with Denyse Schmidt fabric from Joann's, along with Kona Snow and Strawberry.   I'm not quite sure how I'm going to quilt this.  I'd like to try free motion quilting, with maybe some kind of meandering loop or squiggle, but I'm not very good at it and I'm thinking all that white fabric is just going to scream "Look at her crappy quilt job!"  I know, once you throw it in the washer and dryer it comes out nice and crinkly and hides a multitude of sins, but I've not done anything this size on my machine without my walking foot.

I guess it's time to pull up my big girl socks and just get to it!  Does anyone have some patience I can borrow?  I'm going to need it.

You can find a tutorial for this quilt at Moda Bakeshop.  It was made by Jeni from In Color Order, a very cute and inspirational blog (and her little bunny George is adorable).  Check it out!

WIPs, UFOs and BOMs

When I saw Cuckoo's post about her WIPs,  I though it was high time I at least made a list of what I've been working on.  I need to get this stuff out in the open.  Sometimes projects have a way of gathering in dark closets, under beds, and on top of shelves (Right.  Like they put themselves there).   Most of what I have are Works in Progress.  I am actually working on them (ahem). 

I made 2 quilt tops last week.  The big one measures 68x68, the mini me version is 32x32.  I used up my Heirloom by Joel Dewberry fat quarters.  The pattern is from In Color Order, and was honestly the quickest quilt top I've ever made.  The little one is currently getting some hand quilting, the big one is waiting for a backing fabric.

Here is a crochet project that went from blanket to cushion cover in 5.3 seconds.  I'm just not feeling it.

This will be South Bay shawlette in a gray Tahki cotton.  I saw one similar on Pinterest.   It's still in the early stages, and hasn't imprinted on me yet, so I wouldn't feel guilty about ripping it out and flinging the yarn back into the pile. 

More neutral crochet, this being something that is actually finished, but just needs a belt to complete the look.  I won't show you more than this, if it turns out ugly then you didn't see it here.  Just check out the inspiration over at Resurrection Fern. (scroll all the way to the bottom on this one until you find the bag.  It's a long post)

Here is an UnFinished Object, or UFO.  I've given up on my Swoon quilt for the moment, at least out of the fat quarter bundle I had planned on using.

The measurements for cutting are so tight when using a fat quarter, there is NO margin for error, which of course is why I'm talking about it.  I blew it on the first block.  If your fat quarters are cut wonky, you can't use them.  Better to make this with yardage.  Maybe I will have a go at this later.  I also have 2 crochet blanket UFOs not pictured here, and will probably wait until I actually finish them before posting a picture.

More crochet WIPs, this time using up a big pile of Stylecraft DK, that has been lurking in the back of my closet.  Very bright and colorful.  I'm almost thinking there should be a neutral or white in there somewhere for the eyes to rest. The hexagons are big, about 7.5 inches across, so the blanket comes together quickly.  The pattern is from the July/August edition of Crochet Today magazine.

Only two more things, I promise, then you can go.  I'm cross stitching a pillow cover on blue and white gingham.  The pattern is from Embroidery Companion by Alicia Paulson.  Gosh I love this book.

This is really fun, although I think I do neater work on linen or an even weave fabric.  My stitches are kind of all over the place, so we'll just call it charming and old fashioned.

Have you ever joined a BOM, or Block Of the Month?   I should never, ever be allowed to sign up for one of these again.  Ever.  I am really bad at this.  Last year I joined a Sue Spargo BOM, and I worked like gangbusters the first three months.  After that, whenever I received my new packet in the mail for that month, it went into a box.  I don't know what happened!  It was supposed to be finished up for Christmas.  Besides feeling guilty, this thing cost some $$$$'s.!!  Must. Finish. !!

  I really enjoy her web site. This pattern is done in wools, cottons, and velvet, with lots of little embellishments and embroidery.  Now that I've taken it out and looked it over, I want to work on it again!

O k, I'm done.  For now.  But there is this one other closet...........