Homespun Thanksgiving Quilt

Several of you were interested in the pattern to make this 40" x 40" tabletopper quilt, so let's get started!

For many years, I've "collected" brushed cotton fat quarters in various plaids; the ones I used in this quilt were from a Kansas Troubles line I purchased several years ago, and I'm not even sure what the name of the line was. However, any plaids would work. This collection contained deep wine reds, forest greens, and navy blues as well as a couple shades of brown, but when put together, overall look was autumnal. In addition to the Kansas Troubles plaids, I used a cream brushed cotton plaid for the background and a dark wine brushed cotton for the alternating snowball corners.

I was also asked what I used for the lettering and the method I used to stitch the words on. I used wool in colors similar to the other fabrics, and I stitched the letters down as I was quilting the quilt. Here's a close up photo:

I think that answered most of the questions, but if I missed anything or if further questions come up, let me know and I'll try to answer.

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS:

1 yard total from a variety of medium and dark fabrics
1-1/4 yard of off-white fabric for backgrounds
1/3 yard of dark fabric for snowball corners
1-1/3 yard of backing fabric

CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS:

From the variety of medium to dark fabrics, cut:
49 4-1/2" squares
28 4-1/2" x 2-1/2" rectangles
From the dark fabric (snowball corners), cut:
100 2" squares
From the off-white fabric, cut:
60 2-1/2" squares
96 2" squares
4 4-1/2" x WOF (width of fabric) strips

Piecing instructions will follow in the next post.

I will try to scan the letter templates to a PDF file tomorrow and will let you know when I've done that--I'll be happy to email it to anyone who wants the letters. I have also uploaded two fabric kits to my Etsy shop, made up of the same fabrics I used and already cut in case anyone is interested. Please note, though, that those kits DO NOT contain backing, binding, or the wool for the letters. I've uploaded a separate kit containing the wool I used; if you're interested in a wool kit and the one in my Etsy shop has already sold, please email me. (For the kits, I've only listed postage within the U.S.; if you're outside the U.S. and wish to purchase a kit, please email me.)

Happy stitching!

ADDENDUM: The kits have sold but please don't let that stop you from selecting your own fabric and making this tabletopper!

Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving in Canada--I hope all my Canadian friends are sharing good times with family and friends!

Personally, I am thankful to have water restored to our home. While Soccer Son didn't exactly show up at the break of dawn, he DID arrive a little later in the morning, fixed the pipe, and restored water by around 10:30 a.m. Yay! Yes, as someone said, the bathroom situation was the worst part; at least the water was back on and I was able to take a bath and brush my teeth before it got to be very late in the day. AND--most importantly maybe!--we had enough bottled water for me to make a pot of coffee, so no one had to die.

And speaking of Thanksgiving . . . . Remember that glimpse I gave you last week of my current project? Done!

Originally, I started this tabletopper-sized project thinking it was going to be a kind of homespun Christmas project, but as it evolved, it reminded me more of Thanksgiving than Christmas, so I ended up adding a Thanksgiving "menu" to the border. I think it will look pretty cute on my kitchen table once Halloween is over and done.

I was also thinking I might include the pattern directions in my Christmas class packet as a kind of "extra" project, and I was wondering if you would like me to post them on my blog too?

You know what else I'm thankful for? Tomorrow--besides the fact that it's Thanksgiving in Canada--is Columbus Day here in the U.S. And guess what? My office observes it as a holiday, so I have one more day off! WOOO-HOOOOO!

I hope you find much to be thankful for today!

How Dry I Am . . .

About a year ago, I showed you a photo of my front yard--we were letting everything die so we could dig it up and start fresh with new landscaping. We had set aside money for landscaping and three or four companies came out to bid the job. Then the economy got scary and the landscaping was put on hold. Good thing, too, because Hubby lost his job and that bit of money we'd set aside gave us a little cushion. Late in the spring, or maybe it was early summer--in any event, once the dust had settled from the economic fall out--our thoughts again turned to landscaping.

There was a time, BQ (before quilting) when I loooooooooved to garden--that's what I spent most of my spare time doing. So I know a bit about gardening and landscaping, even if it's not what I chose to spend my time doing anymore. And all those bids and plans we'd gotten? Well, I wasn't too excited about them, particularly when it came to the plantings. So I thought and thought, and talked with Hubby, and we decided what we'd prefer to do was hire Soccer Son to do the muscle work and I'd select the plants and do the planting. Soccer Son liked that idea because the economy had not been very kind to him either, so the thought of a little money in his pocket was an attractive proposition.

When our weather finally cooled down a little a few weeks back, Soccer Son and Hubby got started on the job. They rented a rototiller and Soccer Son dug up the yard. During the past week, he's worked on leveling the area where we want to put in pavers, and Hubby went out on Friday and picked out the pavers and the other materials they'll need and arranged for everything to be delivered on Monday.

This afternoon, Soccer Son came over and started digging a couple post holes for supports for a pergola. After a little bit, as I was sewing in the Sweat Shop, I heard Hubby yell, "Sh*t! He broke the water line!"

So we have no water now.

I had planned to go out to dinner with a couple girlfriends tonight, and just before I left, Hubby came home with the necessary plumbing supplies. I told Soccer Son the water HAD TO BE FIXED TONIGHT by the time I got home. Guess what? It's not. It got dark outside and they were having a hard time seeing what they were doing, so they quit.

Before you ask, yes, I did mention to Hubby before the job started that he needed to get the utility companies out to flag the yard so we wouldn't interfere with the utilities. Did he? No. Why? When one of my friends asked him, he said "Because I didn't." Good logic.

It's funny how cranky a person can get with no water. Not much to drink. No bathroom facilities. No water to brush one's teeth or wash one's face. And I don't EVEN want to think about what's going to happen in the morning if I can't make coffee. It's not going to be pretty. All I can say is I hope Soccer Son's planning to be here at dawn; otherwise, someone might die.

Recipe--Pumpkin Nut Muffins

Yum! I had a couple of requests for the recipe Hubby made last night, so I decided to share. Hubby was kind enough to send me off to work today with 1-1/2 dozen of these and my coworkers loved them as much as we did!

PUMPKIN NUT MUFFINS

2/3 c. shortening
2-2/3 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin (16 ounces)
2/3 c. water
3-1/3 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
2/3 c. coarsely chopped nuts
2/3 c. raisins
1/2 c. shredded coconut

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Either grease cupcake pans or use cupcake papers--the recipe will make about 2-1/2 dozen muffins.

In large bowl, cream shotening and sugar until fluffy. Stir in eggs, pumpkin, and water. Blend in flour, soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir in nuts, raisins, and coconut.

Fill cupcake pans/papers about 2/3rds full. Bake approximately 35 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool muffins and top with cream cheese frosting if desired. To make frosting, beat 8 oz. of softened cream cheese with 1 pound of powdered sugar. Add 1 tsp. vanilla. Add approximately 2 tablespoons of milk, a little at a time--enough to make frosting smooth.

Now, sit down with a muffin or two and your favorite warm beverage and enjoy Autumn!

Once Is Not Enough

It was another beautiful fall day here in Northern California, and yet another friend of mine from work twisted my arm behind my back and frog marched me out to her car on our lunch hour. She then drove me to Sloughhouse (me screaming in protest all the way) and made me buy more pumpkins and such. Okay, yes you're right--not all of that is exactly true, but it's certainly the story I told Hubby when I popped my car trunk tonight and he saw all those pumpkins in there. (The first thing he said was, "You bought more pumpkins?," and I told him no, I actually STOLE them and he should have seen me with them all under my shirt, trying to get them out to the car before I got caught.)

Not ALL of these are from today's trip--there were still a couple on the table from Tuesday, because I need to redistribute pumpkins in the house and haven't gotten around to doing that yet. (Although to be truthful, there were a few more bought today and distributed already.)

You'll recall, I think, that I mentioned when I went out to Sloughhouse the other day, that I'd forgotten a couple things I'd planned to get, right? Well, here are two of them.

The BIG orange pumpkin is a gift for Soccer Son, and the fairytale pumpkin is a gift for his Lovely Wife-To-Be-Someday--when they were over last weekend, she really liked the two fairytale pumpkins I had. I wish the Wild Child lived closer, because I'd fill my trunk with pumpkins for her too! Sadly, I can't but I'm wishing her tons of pumpkins! (In the photo, there are also green beans, hot red long peppers, jalapeno peppers, and a bag o'corn for SS & his LWTBS.)

And yes, as a matter of fact, I DID buy more corn today. My friend who made me go happened to mention corn chowder soup, and I thought that sounded mighty good--in fact, that's one of the reasons I didn't fight her too hard about going.

By the way, as I'm writing this, I can smell the batch of pumpkin muffins Hubby's baking up tonight. Heavenly! The ironic thing, though, is that when I was cleaning out the kitchen cupboard the other day, I found we had a ridiculous amount of canned pumpkin--something like FIVE CANS! So, even though I have all these pumpkins sitting around, the muffins are made with canned pumpkin.

Do you like pumpkin muffins? With cream cheese frosting? If you're anywhere in the area, stop by and have one--or two! Just remember--as far as Hubby knows, I was kidnapped at gun point and forced to buy pumpkins today or risk certain death, okay? Thank you!

This blog post brought to you by the Pumpkin Rescue Foundation. Please adopt a pumpkin today!

Hmmmmmm . . . . .

What's this? Something new being created in the Sweat Shop? Yes, indeed, and it's very demanding of my time, so I'm heading back in . . . .

An Autumn Trip to the Market

Yesterday I told you a friend and I were planning a trip to a local (just out of town) farmer's market/fruit and veggie stand. Unfortunately my friend couldn't make it today, but I decided that getting out in the beautiful 75 degree weather for a little drive was still the perfect lunch hour plan, even if it meant going by myself. And when I arrived? Tons of pumpkins greeted me!

Pretty cool, huh? I didn't take home any of the varieties of squash you see piled into this wagon, but aren't they a delight to look at?

Check out all of these weird gourds! I brought home a few--I just couldn't resist!

I thought about buying a couple dried gourds too (and maybe some of those corn stalks in the back there), but in the end, I didn't--I just brought home a photo.

I took this photo while I was waiting in line to check out. I realized I'd been so busy shopping, I'd forgotten to take many photos, so I took one more.

Of course, I HAD to bring back little pumpkins for my work "kids," Boy Boss and Girl Boss II. Boy Boss drew a face on his already. I gave him a pumpkin last year and I think he still had it in July!

Did you think I came home with just pumpkins? Nope! Corn on the cobb, Roma tomatoes, and green beans came home with me too. Sadly, I think this will probably be the last of this season's corn--and fresh picked tomatoes and green beans too.

NOW I'll show you the pumpkins--and gourds and squash, and who can even tell what's what? Probably the farmer who grew them, but I'm just going to enjoy them, whatever they may be!

That BIG pumpkin up front? That's Hubby "gift"--he'll carve it for Halloween.

And you know what? Remember my friend who couldn't make it today? I'm going to tell her that if she wants to go later this week or next, I'm up for another trip. I know it's hard to believe, but before I went to the market, I had a mental list of pumpkins I wanted to get, and somewhere along the way, I lost the list. I'll let you know if I go back.

You Can Never Have Too Many . . .

PUMPKINS!

At work today, I learned that one of the women I work with had been to a local farmer's market over the weekend--just one farm, open all year long, with a TON of stuff in an area outside of Sacramento called Sloughhouse. She came into work talking about all the wonderful pumpkins, gourds, and squashes they had. She, though, bought only a few of the small, weirdly shaped and lovely colored squashes; she admired some of the pumpkins but said she just didn't have room.

Now I know some people just can't stand "clutter" and I'm one of them in some ways--but not when it comes to decorating. I don't like clutter on my desk or work surface, but I love to look at all kinds of stuff around me--and that includes pumpkins! I kind of think you could live in a closet and still have room for a pumpkin or two in the corner.

I posted that photo up there--it's a little arrangement I put together last year--just to show you an inexpensive idea for displaying pumpkins. For that display, I picked up some inexpensive candleholders from the thrift store--three candleholders at different heights and styles but with similar finishes. I also like to tuck small pumpkins into bowls in my hutch in the kitchen or stick them on the floor next to furniture where I know feet won't step--like right up against a desk or bookshelf.

Tomorrow another friend from work and I will take a lunch hour excursion to the farmer's market. (You can see where we're going HERE.) It's about a 20 minute drive each way, so we won't have much time to shop, but I don't think we'll NEED much time! I'm going to put my camera in my purse right now so I'll remember to take a few photos to post. And maybe, over the next few days, I'll come up with a few more pumpkin ideas to share. Have you hugged a pumpkin today?

A Little Lesson

A few people asked about the quilting I did on the witch quilt--the swirly "sky" background quilting. It's pretty simple to do--really! And I'll show you how.

Set your machine for free motion quilting--feed dogs down (or covered), stitch length "0," possibly adjusting your foot pressure depending on your machine, and changing your sewing foot to whatever you like to use for free motion quilting--I use an open toed circular foot on my Bernina and a closed circular foot on my Juki.

Start near the edge of the space you're going to fill in--see the dot on the paper below? That would be my starting point. My first loop identifies or marks the space I want to fill with the first "swirl."

I then continue sewing in a spiral to the center.

I loop around in the center and follow the path back out, sewing between the first stitch lines.

When I get to the outside of the swirl, I start the next "swirl" in the open space next to the first one.

At the center, I loop again and stitch my way back out. I then continue the curve to reach the next open area. I try to keep my swirls a uniform size, although some deviation just adds interest, I think.

Keep filling in, moving from one swirl to the next.

By this point, I have quite a few swirls and have filled in the space, or maybe I've boxed myself into a corner, so I'm ready to stop and move onto another area.

But before I do, I look at what I've done and check to see if there area any areas that may need a little more quilting to fill them in--I see a couple spaces, so I travel to them by quilting over my earlier stitches or, if they're too far, I just stop and restart.

If I end up with areas that are too small for a full swirl, I might continue the line from a neighboring swirl or--if it's right up against the border--I'll add some half loops.

I hope this helps! If anything's not clear, just ask and I'll be happy to explain further. And, if you haven't seen it yet, for more quilting "lessons," check out this blog--365 Days of Free Motion Quilting. Very cool stuff with video demonstrations and everything! Enjoy!

Another Saturday Night . . .

The sad thing about Saturday nights is that it means the weekend's half over. But the weekend's been really nice so far! This morning, I began by sleeping in and then making orange cinnamon pancakes--recipe courtesy of Kelly Ann who mentioned in a comment last weekend that she was going to make some. I hope she won't mind me telling you, but all you need to do is add grated orange peel from one orange and a teaspoon of cinnamon to your regular pancake mix. I also substituted the juice from the squeezed orange for some of the liquid in my pancake recipe. Yum!

I wanted to show you the If the Hat Fits quilt I made from the Frightfully Crazy book from Buggy Barn. I finally got it all done Friday night and hung this a.m.

And a couple of close ups so you can see the quilting--

Soccer Son and his lovely wife-to-be-someday came over tonight--I invited him to come cook us dinner. Having a kid who can cook pretty well is a good thing to have. He'd mentioned a week or two ago that carne asada tacos are a real treat, so when I stopped at Trader Joe's earlier this week, I bought one of their marinaded carne asada bags o'beef and brought it home and invited him to cook it. While he BBQ'd the meat and fried the taco shells, I prepped all the other taco ingredients and then we sat down on the patio for our feast. Yep, he was right--they really are a treat!

While we were having dinner outdoors, it started to sprinkle--lightly and not for long, but just enough to tell us fall really IS here. Funny that just last weekend, we were still running the air conditioning because it was around 100 degrees outside!

Oh, and look what came in the mail!

I finally opened the Amazon box tonight and promptly dropped the book right on my foot. Now I'm pretty sure the pain I experienced is nothing compared to all the horrible things that have happened to Claire over the years and are surely going to keep happening to her, but it did hurt a bit. No, I'm not going to dive into the book just yet--I'm in the mood for something a little lighter (figuratively and literally) so I think I'll hold off for now, but it's nice to know it's here when I want it. If you haven't read the Outlander series . . . well, I just don't know what to say except run right down to the bookstore and buy the first book--Outlander.

Now, it's on to the rest of the weekend . . . .