It's Quilt Show Time!

Our local quilt guild's annual show starts tomorrow. I don't envy all those quilters scurrying around trying to get the show hung and the vendors set up--I've been involved in that before. But I haven't been a guild member for the last two years, so now I can just pay my admission and enjoy the show! I kind of miss being a member, though, and may well join up again at the beginning of the year. Among other benefits of belonging, the guild brings in fantastic speakers seven or eight months out of the year and it's well worth the membership dues.

One more day of work to get through before the weekend, but two of my quilty peeps from the office (Teri and Jacquie) and I are going to take a loooooong lunch "hour" tomorrow and go over to the quilt show--it's quite close to the office. I'll try to remember to take my camera and get a few photos to share. I'm really looking forward to seeing the quilts. And the vendors! Goodness knows I have plenty of fabric and quilty stuff already, but you never know what treasures you might find, right?! I'm pretty sure there will be a few.

(Oh, and a side note to Teri's mom--who's also a quilter and who reads this blog occasionally: Now you know what your daughter's up to when she's supposed to be hard at work! But maybe she'll find a treasure or two for you too!)

And I finally have a chicken quilt photo for you. I've added all the sashing and just have the borders left to do. It's already bigger than my design wall and I had to take the photo at an angle, so it's not great, but I'm loving the way this quilt is coming out. (Ignore the stuff at the top of the design wall--that's my temporarily-abandoned Christmas List quilt in progress.) I've had such fun with this chicken quilt that I just dug out three Christmas patterns by Pieces From My Heart that use the same technique. Oh! And while getting the link for you, I found three more patterns I just HAD to order--at this time of night, I'm kind of weak. I know exactly how Vicky feels when she's up in the middle of the night punching buttons. ARGH! So, anyway, the photo:

I think I may need to hold off on quilting this one until after the holidays--there are just too many projects to get done between now and then, and I know I won't put a chicken quilt on our beds any time soon.

Finally--if you're still with me and haven't gotten lost in one of the links I've given you--I wanted to mention that Ms. Marcie of Patchalot More fame has posted directions for another small Christmas project. Remember her Trees on the Table from last year? She designs fun and lovely patterns, and this one looks like it will be perfect for a fairly fast project to decorate your own home or give as a gift. Check it out HERE.

Happy quilting!

Another Day, Another Dollar

Another day of work, but at least it was payday. Not a bad paycheck either for only having worked about four or five days of the pay period!

I suspect that about 75 percent of you reading this probably popped in to see whose name I drew for the Apple Hill cookbook and mug mat, so I'll announce the winner right up front here: Penni of Cabin in the Woods Quilters. Congrats Penni! Email me your mailing address and I'll get this in the mail to you this week. Penni commented that she picked apples this weekend, and if she put her three young pickers to work, I suspect she has quite a lot, so the cookbook will probably come in handy!

Remember that thing I said yesterday about not having time to do things around the house before work? I lied again. Today I got up a little early and made a peach pie for the office with my last five peaches. I didn't have time to bake it before I left, but since we have a complete kitchen at work, I just loaded it in the car and headed to the office. Unfortunately, once I got there, I realized it had been leaking peach GOO between the top and bottom part of the seat all the way to work. ICK! Luckily I have leather seats and was able to clean it up pretty well, but it really wasn't the way I wanted to start my day! Eating a piece of hot peach pie straight from the oven wasn't too bad though.

The good news? I remembered to bring my camera home. The bad news? I'm in the middle of adding sashing and cornerstones to the chickens, so it wasn't a good time to take a photo. The maybe-good, maybe-bad news? This chicken quilt is going to be larger than I was thinking. I probably should have gone with my original nine-block quilt idea if I wanted a wall hanging, but I just couldn't stop making the darn things! I don't mind though; it's a fun quilt to make and a fun quilt to look at! I'll try to get a photo tomorrow.

I'm glad you could stop in for a chat!

Back to Work

There are two things I don't like much about going back to work: Hearing the annoying alarm clock going off in the morning, and not having time to putter around the house, easing into the day, and tidying up in the morning. Oh! Make that THREE things--getting up when it's not fully light out isn't something I'm real fond of either.

Tuesday is donut day at work. The attorneys have a weekly meeting early on Tuesday mornings, and the newest attorney is in charge of bringing donuts. My very thoughtful Boy Boss has been making sure lately that when I come in on Tuesday mornings, my favorite donut is waiting for me at my desk. So today being Tuesday and my first day back to work, I was anticipating that donut. In fact, I took my camera to work so I could get a donut portrait to share with you! But guess what? No donut!

Apparently the newest attorney forgot to bring donuts today and Boy Boss was sent out of town for a court appearance anyway. ARGH! Not that I missed my donut, mind you--oh no, save your tears; all was not lost! The Donut Attorney made a late run to the donut shop. Still, the Tuesday morning donut-loving joy wasn't quite what I thought it would be, so I have no photo of my chocolate raised donut for you to drool over.

In fact, I have no photos for you tonight at all. Why? Because I left my camera in my desk drawer. So I can't show you the progress on the chicken quilt either. But I can tell you that I got the blocks trimmed up and the sashing and cornerstones cut. I can also tell you the blocks look mighty nice stuck up on my design wall. But you'll have to take my word for it, because that darn camera's still at the office.

And what else can I tell you about my first day back at work? Well, I actually have some big news. Girl Boss found out this afternoon that she passed the Nevada Bar Examination! Woo-hoo! After last year's HUGE and very emotional celebration when Boy and Girl Bosses passed the California Bar, today's good news was a little bit anti-climatic, but it was a great accomplishment and a big relief nevertheless.

All in all, it wasn't a bad first day back. Now if I can only get through three more mornings of waking up to that darn alarm clock, I think I'll survive!

Certifiably Crazy!

Well, my vacation has come to an end, I'm sad to say, and it's back to work in the morning. I DO enjoy my job, but I enjoy being home and "playing" more! But I have another vacation coming up before too long--Thanksgiving week--so I'll just tough it out between now and then. And that reminds me: I hope all my friends in Canada had a happy Thanksgiving! I know you celebrate your holiday on the same day we celebrate Columbus Day.

And it having been Columbus Day today (Monday), guess what? Goodwill had another 50% off sale! Woo-hoo! I didn't really MEAN to go thrifting today for the sale, but I had my Christmas List class at the quilt shop and since I had to go out anyway, I thought about stopping at a Goodwill store on the way. THEN I remembered the sale, so Hubby and I hopped into his van and went to visit a couple stores.

I'll share a couple photos with you of my "finds." This one probably got me most excited--

This HUGE pot has a lift out rack for canning jars. I used to borrow a friend's canning pot, but she moved away some years back, so I've just made do with what I had on hand. Since I have a freaking BUSHEL of apples to do something with--a large part of which will probably involve canning applesauce--I couldn't have found this at a better time! The $5 price wasn't bad either! It still has part of the label on the side--I'm not sure it's ever even been used!

I found this crocheted lace something or other. I'm not sure what it was originally--maybe a tablecloth--but it appears to have been cut on one side. Still, I think it will make a nice lacy table covering or even a bed covering or throw.

And although I'm not really looking for any more Halloween stuff, I couldn't resist adding these somewhat fierce-looking owls to my collection.

Finally, I bought another candle stand. I lied when I just said I wasn't looking for any Halloween stuff, because I guess this qualifies. I WAS looking for something to hold some pumpkins, and this seemed perfect. These are on our patio table, which is visible from the sliding glass door leading into the kitchen/dining area.

Also decorating our patio pumpkin-wise are these two: A pot man Hubby made--

and a large pumpkin atop a small chair I found at the thrift store some time ago.

And, yes, I'm still obsessed by chickens! First thing when I got up this morning, I stumbled into the kitchen and microwaved a cup of coffee and then headed into the Sweat Shop where I picked out five more fat quarters. I traced another chicken template onto freezer paper and cut five more chicken blocks. The only problem was that once I got them all cut, I realized I had cut the wrong pattern. What I had were chickens with hearts in the centers. ARGH! See, I'm really not at my best in the morning!

So, I pieced one block and decided it would bug me forever if I added "heart chickens" in with my "star chickens," so I started over again but with the RIGHT pattern this time. By the end of the day, I had five more chickens in my "coop"--

(. . . and a Ziploc bag with heart chicken parts--maybe another small quilt one of these days!) I really only needed four blocks, but there was one block I made the first day that I don't think has enough contrast, so I made an extra block today to replace that one.

Some of you asked about the pattern. It's called Barn Chicks and it's in the Buggy Barn book Certifiably Crazy. Their pattern uses country tones of red, blue, brown, and yellow, but I wanted to get a little crazy with mine so I used the black, white, red, and yellow. A couple of you also asked whether the stars are appliqued on. No, they're all part of the piecing. Pretty cool, huh?!

Time for me to go to bed--after all, I have to set my alarm to get up for work in the morning. Oh, and if you didn't stop in yesterday, check out that post and leave me a comment there if you want to be entered into my little giveaway. Thanks for visiting!

What Do Chickens, Apples, and Peaches Have in Common?

They're all right here on my blog, of course!

First the chickens. They're coming along wonderfully, if I do say so myself! I've finished the first 12. Yes, I said the FIRST 12. Because I've decided to make 4 more blocks. They're addicting, I'm telling you!

Next, peaches. Kim shared her recipe for making jam with me, so this morning, I whipped up a batch of peach jam. I ended up with six jars (one is missing from the photo below because I already gave one away--to my mother-in-law and father-in-law who came over for dinner tonight) as well as another jar that I didn't bother to seal--it just went directly into the refrigerator for immediate use. Yummmmmm! Thanks Kim!

Finally, apples. Remember I mentioned at the beginning of my vacation that I thought I might have a little giveaway? Well, here it is, coming up in this post--finally. I wasn't anticipating bringing home that box of peaches and thought I'd start on the apples right away, but they've been delayed until now.

After I finished the peach jam, I baked an Apple Hill cake. I have this handy dandy apple peeler, corer, slicer gizmo that helps me quickly make just about any apple recipe, and in very little time, the cake made it into the oven.

We had some for dessert tonight, topped with whipped cream. Again, may I just say yummmm?! Since the Apple Hill folks now print the recipe on free handout maps, I'll share it with you. I hope they won't mind.

APPLE HILL CAKE

In a largish bowl, combine 2 cups of sugar, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, and 2 eggs. Add to that 4 cups of diced (or sliced) apples.

In a separate bowl, mix together 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, and 2 tsp baking soda.

Add the dry mix to the apple mixture. (It should look about like the photo below.)

Pour batter into 9" x 13" greased baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Eat. Eat any way you like--hot, cold, with ice cream, with whipped cream, or plain. Just eat it.

And here's the giveaway part. Leave a comment telling me you want to be entered, and on Wednesday night I'll draw a winner (the winner will be announced on Thursday's post). And what am I giving away? This "vintage" Volume 1 Apple Hill Recipes book--containing this and other apple recipes--and a spiced mug mat. I actually found the book at the thrift store a few weeks ago and it's in pristine condition--much nicer than the apple-splattered one that's been a part of my fall baking for the past 15 years or more!

Good luck!

Today I Made Chickens

Cluck, cluck, cluck!

I spent the morning today getting ready for class--selecting and pressing fat quarters and tracing the chicken template onto freezer paper.

Then I went to class. I love this technique! It's so much fun seeing the chickens come to life and getting a peek at the next block, which is always something of a surprise!

In class, I cut all the pieces for 12 blocks but I'll probably only use 9 in the quilt. Unless I change my mind and decide to keep making chickens. I made three chickens in class.

And, of course, I couldn't stop making chickens, so I came home and made three more.

Now that I've done a few, they're going faster, although there are quite a few pieces in each block. I've sprinkled chicken blocks throughout this post. They aren't squared up and trimmed yet--that will come when I've made all the blocks.

I'd love to stay up all night and keep making chicken blocks, but I have things to do tomorrow, so I can't, darn it! Hummmmm. I wonder what the next chicken will look like? If you haven't tried this way of making blocks before, try it! But be forewarned--like all highly fun things, it's addictive!

The BEST Kind of Day!

Today was the kind of day I enjoy most!

Our weather was nice and chilly--something that seems WAAAY overdue about this time of the year. It was awfully windy, but I can live with that, especially since most of the day was spent indoors. Still, it was warm enough to keep the windows open much of the day.

Hubby took my car in for a smog check and a nice wash and wax, and while he was gone, I straightened up around the house, set out a couple new candles I purchased yesterday, and transferred all of our apples and the remains of the peaches into something other than the cardboard boxes they came in.

When the tidying up was done, I retreated to the Sweat Shop for a little quality "me" time. Oddly enough, although I've been on vacation for a week now, I've really gotten very little sewing done. If it was just me on vacation, that's probably ALL I'd do, but this is Hubby's vacation too, and when I'm having a grand time in the Sweat Shop, he's usually a bit bored, so we've done a lot of things together and not so many things apart.

In the early afternoon, I took a break from sewing and baked a peach pie. My photo makes the pie look a bit anemic--I think the flash washed out some of the color in the crust. But it really turned out nicely and the juices were still bubbling when I took the photo. My supply of peaches is dwindling quickly.

In the late afternoon, Hubby and I went to see a movie--Flash of Genius. It was a decent film and just what I expected. And it seemed like a good compromise between a "chick flick" and an action-packed "guy" movie. Not extremely memorable, but an entertaining story. Afterward, we came home and ordered a pizza for dinner.

Not a very exciting day, was it? But that's exactly what I liked about it! Busy enough but in a lazy sort of way. I finished off the evening putting the borders on the witch quilt. I still have to applique the words on now that I know what space I have, and there's a fair amount of embroidery and embellishment to be added, but it's really starting to look like a quilt top now. I wonder if I'll have it done by Halloween? Well, it wouldn't be the first Halloween quilt I finished on Halloween!

Tomorrow I have a quilt class at Bear Paws & Hollyhocks--Lindy will show us the Buggy Barn method of layering fat quarters, cutting, switching pieces around, and sewing them back together. I think I understand it from reading the books, but I've never made one of their patterns before, and some of my friends have said it's easier if you take a class first. So, that's what I'm doing. And that's yet another reason I'm happy we didn't go away for our vacation--I would have missed the class! I've picked this pattern to try--Barn Chicks.

I spent a good bit of time Thursday evening picking fabrics out of my stash and, where the fabric pieces were larger than fat quarters, cutting them. By the end of the evening, I decided I didn't really like my selections very well, so I've decided to start over. The pattern calls for red, blue, green, and brown fat quarters, and those colors just weren't exciting me. I've decided on black, white, red, and yellow. And instead of making 16 blocks, I'm going to make mine smaller with only 9 blocks and 1 extra for a pillow or something. The class goes from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m., so Hubby's on his own for dinner--but at least we have leftover pizza, so I know he won't starve!

I hope you're enjoying your weekend too! Thanks for visiting!

Flu Shot Day

Today was flu shot day. Have you had yours yet?

Each year, my office arranges to have a nurse come and administer shots to any employees who want one. The only two years I didn't get a shot, I got the flu, so I'm a big believer in getting this done. The flu is no fun at all! So that's how Hubby and I started our day. And this nurse was really excellent! I didn't even feel the needle, and--so far--my arm is not at all sore.

Of course, going through the trauma of getting a shot deserves some kind of reward, so Hubby and I drove up to the foothills, to Nevada City, to have lunch.

When you get a shot in the arm, they tell you to make sure you use the arm a lot because that will help absorb the medicine and will keep the muscle from getting sore. Well, I don't know if you can really tell from the photo above, but the streets of Nevada City at a bit hilly. Foothills, remember? And guess who got to push Hubby up and down hills in his wheelchair? Yep, I certainly used that arm. Both of them in fact. I also took the opportunity to tell Hubby that if he gave me a hard time about buying stuff we had no room for, I could make sure we had a little more room in the house by letting go of the wheelchair on a downhill slope.

We were disappointed to find our favorite restaurant, Country Rose, was closed--hopefully only temporarily!--so after wandering around town and doing a little shopping, we settled on Lefty's Grill.

The food was okay--not as good as Country Rose, but adequate, I'd say. Before leaving town, we stopped at the local candy store to stock up on a few choice chocolate treats! I think you're supposed to get a treat after a shot, right?!

And to recover from the disappointment of not getting to have lunch at Country Rose, Hubby and I stopped at Cabin Fever Quilt Shoppe in Auburn on the way home. Patti and Don Henderson, the owners, are friends, so Hubby kept busy chatting with Don while I shopped. I came incredibly close to buying this kit:

The pattern is on the cover of the Quilt Sampler magazine that featured Cabin Fever--it's from a year or so ago, I believe. So, knowing I still had the magazine and thinking about the stash of fabrics I already have, I decided to pass up the kit for now. I'll think about it for a few days, though--I noticed that the kit is listed on the shop's website (in fact, that's where I got the photo!), so I could always order it later--as long as I don't wait too long!

I swear Hubby and Don talked, and talked, and talked! And lest you think I exaggerate, just to give you some frame of reference, I got tired of shopping before Hubby got tired of talking. At some point, my mind drifted off, and I started thinking about milkshakes. Well, I WAS getting thirsty--all that shopping will do that to a person! So I left Hubby talking and wandered down the street to an ice cream parlor, only to find it closed and the building for lease. ARGH!

On the way home, though, we stopped at Baskin Robbins and got milkshakes, and they were darn good too! All in all, although there were a couple little glitches in our day--getting shots and finding a favorite restaurant closed--any day that involves a stop at a quilt shop, shopping in quaint, cute shops, visiting a candy store, and drinking a milkshake HAS to be good!

I hope you had a good day too! Thanks for stopping by!

The Fruits of Our Labors

Someone asked whether I was happy we had decided to stay home for vacation, and I really am! This is soooo much better than driving around from place to place and sleeping in strange places.

Today was our day to stay home and catch up on a few things--like chores. But at least I won't be coming home from vacation to a house that needs to be cleaned and laundry that needs to be done, and that's a good feeling!

The first "chore" I did today was to rummage around under the bathroom sink and pull out a hair highlight kit. Since I did that major shave and all yesterday, I figured I'd go all out and do some highlights in my hair. It turned out okay--not great because I'm not real patient with doing stuff like separating out eight strands of hair at a time, but I think it's okay. And if I decide after a few days that it's not, I'll go down to the store and get a box of all-over color.

While the highlight color was developing, I got busy cleaning house. Of course, that took longer than the hair, but I managed to jump into the bath and wash the color stuff off and then clean the bath too. It's all good.

In between chores, I worked a little on the witch applique, basting letters. Here's a photo of that center panel--the letters are just pinned on for now because I'm not certain what I'm going to do to the border blocks yet and I may have to trim down the center panel, so I thought I'd wait until I'm sure of the space available. The rest is done, though, other than various embellishments and embroidery I'll add later. (I'm kind of thinking about naming her Dottie. Any other name suggestions?)

Speaking of quilts, Shasta wrote me this morning to tell me she had finished her Happy Jacks quilt! I'm so pleased that someone used my directions and made a quilt--and hers turned out great! Click on over there and take a look.

Then tonight I heard from a no-blog friend, Synthia, who sent me a couple photos of the Happy Jacks quilt top she's been working on. Here's one of the photos:

Synthia's thinking about adding leaves and vines rather than Jack O'Lantern faces. I think it's terrific, and I'm looking forward to seeing it when she finishes!

I was supposed to go to Thimbleberries Club this evening, but as the time approached and I thought about driving across town in work-hour traffic, I decided to skip this meeting and stay home and play with peaches.

I ended up with six large jars of brandied peaches. I originally had seven, but the weirdest thing happened. When I had finished processing the jars and was lifting out the second batch of three jars, the bottom of one of the jars separated off, and all the peaches ended up in the water bath! I suppose the jar must have had a crack or flaw, but I would have expected it to crack when the jar was heated during sterilization. Oh, well, it's not like I don't have six more jars. And about a third of a box of peaches left! (Plenty left for a couple pies and/or cobblers!)

Hubby, by the way, wasn't a slacker in the kitchen today either. If you look at the photo of the canned peaches, to the right you'll notice a glass pumpkin filled with cookies. Yep, Hubby baked cookies this morning. Good man.

Tomorrow morning we get our flu shots, and then I think we'll head back up to the foothills (but not to Apple Hill this time) for lunch and to wander around. Thanks for taking the time to stop in and see what I'm up to!

The Massage

Today we had our full body massages. We each--Hubby and I--had an hour-long massage.

I was a little apprehensive this morning and not really too excited about the whole thing. For one thing, I had to shave. ARGH! Then there's the question of undergarments. What to wear? Go bare or pull on some grannie panties? I've had several chair massages in the past, and of course the question then doesn't really arise. I've also had a half-hour full body massage, but that was with the same massage therapist I'd had before. Today we were going to a SALON. To someone we didn't know.

The Wild Child had purchased gift certificates for Hubby and me for Father's Day and Mother's Day, so the choice of a massage therapist wasn't up to us. I was somewhat familiar with the salon since I had taken the Wild Child there for a prom hairdo eons ago, and I knew it was one of those trendy, contemporary places staffed with young boys and girls coiffed and dressed in fabulously unkempt style. So, for modesty's sake, I opted for the grannie panties. I was pretty sure it was what would have been expected by these younsters anyway. Funny thing is, though, that it had been quite awhile since these particular undergarments had seen the light of day, and whatever elastic had once kept them from falling down seemed to have given up. All morning I was pulling and tugging and adjusting!

Finally, what concerned me most, I think, was the thought of staying in one place and doing nothing for an hour. That's just not me. I HAVE to be doing something, even if it's just reading a magazine. How could I lay in a room for an hour and do nothing? Really, I needn't have worried. And, for the most part, I KNEW that in part of my mind--that I didn't need to fret about shaving, underwear, and doing nothing for an hour--but I guess I had to worry anyway.

Hubby went in for his massage first, while I wandered down the street to Starbucks and sat outside in the gloriously crisp Autumn morning, drinking my latte, reading a book, and watching people passing by. After a bit, I wandered further down the street and browsed around an art supply store. I would have explored further, but I was afraid I'd be late getting back to the salon, and with my somewhat dicey underwear threatening to fall down at each step, I didn't want to be in a position to have to hurry too much getting back.

Then it was my turn. And it was lovely! The bed was heated, the lights were dim, a flannel sheet and light blanket covered the bits and pieces of me not being kneaded and rubbed, and flute music played softly over the sound system. Until the flute music stopped, followed by silence, and then A-Punk by Vampire Weekend came over the speakers.

I actually like A-Punk quite a lot, but it's not restful music for a massage. While the therapist excused herself to see about the music, I tapped my fingers and wiggled my toes in time to the song. She apologized, and the rest of the session was completed without music--apparently some glitch in the sound system. And, by the time my hour was up, I didn't really want to move.

So, now I know I can stay in one place for an hour without doing anything--and enjoy it! Maybe I'll do it again. The massage really wiped me out for the rest of the day, though. When we came home, we had lunch and then I took a nap. And slept deeper than I can remember doing during a nap before. I'm certainly glad we didn't have any other activities planned for our day, because I don't think I would have made it! Cooking dinner was about as strenuous as it got for me today; the rest of my waking hours were spent either reading or appliqueing and watching TV.

We have no activities planned for tomorrow except a few chores and things to catch up on around the house, and I have a Thimbleberries Club meeting tomorrow night. I DO hope I have a little more energy tomorrow to do the things I want to do, but at least it's our vacation, and relaxing is most definitely allowed!