Feline Friday - 11/7/14

A few weeks ago, when Momma had a three day weekend thanks to some guy way back in 1492, GrandMomma came over for her first quilting lessons on her new Janome. I took charge and made sure that GrandMomma didn't work too hard and took breaks. I also had to fur her quilt top.

Momma and I shared her seat. Yes! That is her butt in the red sweatshirt and I didn't really want my photo taken cuz she was hogging most of the seat. Geesh!

When Momma got up I kept her seat warm for her. You can see that my chunky monkey sissy kept the ottoman warm by the front window. Who knows what my little sissy was doing...probably hiding from me!

GrandMomma will be back this weekend to sandwich her quilt. I hope there are leftovers for me cuz I like sandwiches!!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Feline Friday - 12/7/12

Last Sunday was Cookie Day with Mom. We made Candy Lassies, Sugar Cookies, Ginger Krinkles, Stained Glass Windows, Pineapple Cookies and something else that I can't remember. It was a long day!

We also had Squeaky to provide Moral Support! And yes, she had her little tongue sticking out!

Inquiring minds want to know ... what have all you other little kitties been up to this week?

My parents went to ...

Remember those t-shirts that say "My parents went to (fill in the city) and all I got was this t-shirt" ??

Well...my parents went to Australia and Hawaii and "all" I got was a boatload of gifts!!!! And since their luggage was delayed coming home I still haven't seen the books and things they bought themselves.

They also took lots of pictures for me (Australian lighthouses and Hawaiian quilts and such) which I have yet to see.

On the left is an iridescent purple bracelet of freshwater pearls and a foam plumeria hair clip from Waikiki. I mistakenly clipped the plumeria to my left side before Dad told me that meant I was married. You can bet I moved that sucker lickety-split! The cookie cutter includes a recipe for Kahlua spice cookies and Kahlua frosting - Yum!

I love the feel of tea towels and use them almost exclusively now a days. This black and white version of Aussie animals is very graphic and endearing. I hate to get it dirty from daily use...but don't want to "save" it in a drawer either.

I bet you are saying that this doesn't look very appetizing. OK the eggs and ham do but what is that purple thing??!! Trust me it WAS yummy. Mom & Dad went to a luau where they were served these rolls made with poi.  Not only was it purple, one of my fav colors, but it tastes like the Hawaiian bread sold in grocery stores. I tried nibbling but it didn't last long...

This bone chine tea cup/infuser is from Sydney. Mom said she had a hard time picking which design to get me but the lavender was a perfect choice and it's very delicate given it's size. I just picked some of mom's lavender flowers to make lemon/lavender tea cookies - both the plant and the cookies are a favorite of mine. Maybe it's time to start my own lavendar garden.

And if you have a new tea cup, you need some new tea!!!  The kiwi tea was from the New Zealand Airport (Just one of their many stop overs - why they needed 11 flight segments is beyond me!) and the rest are from Australia, altho a few say made in New Zealand. I've tried the kiwi twice and it's just divine. Today I am trying the Mi-Chai. The irish breakfast and Lan-choo are loose teas, the rest are bags. Mom sealed the boxes in a plastic bag for the flight home, opening the bag smelled like candy!

Thanks Mom & Dad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Night & Day table runner

Mom and Dad are going on a trip and Mom purchased two of my table runners - one as a wedding gift and the other as a hostess gift. I have no idea which is which but, of course, one wasn't quilted when she decided she wanted it, in fact it had been sitting for quite some time while I ruminated about how to quilt it. I had already quilted random straight lines in the border and needed something to match so when I reviewed the pattern book (Night & Day by Eleanor Burns) I found just what I needed: double swirls and more straight lines in the stars.

I know these are pretty washed out but they show the texture pretty well. There isn't a lot of value difference in the green and purple batiks so I would choose different fabrics next time but I still like this runner.

You can see on the "front" pic to the left that I am still working on the binding. I went back to my fav method with 2" strips and sewing it down by hand with an applique type stitch.

Civil War quilt update

Remember the old t-shirts, My parents went to the beach and all I got was this t-shirt?

Well, my parents went to Pennsylvania and Maryland and all I got was six 1/4 yard cuts of Civil War repro fabrics. Just what I asked for!!!! Strangely enough, the store they went to wouldn't cut fat quarters of the CW fabrics, altho they do it for other fabrics. Since the Civil War quilt uses mostly smaller pieces, the quarter yard cuts will work fine.

I had Mom pick one of my outstanding patterns to use the blue fabric (which doesn't photograph nearly as vibrantly as it is in person) and this is the resulting block:

11 - London Square

This weekend Mom strongly hinted that she would like my Civil War quilt when it's done. I hesitated thinking of how long it's going to take to finish it and how much I like the CW fabrics that I had never used before. Then it dawned on me that I could make two at the same time. To me the longest part of doing each block is picking the fabrics so making 2 blocks won't be that much more work. Of course, I will need more fabric BUT I just got a call from the LQS that I won the monthly drawing for a $25 gift certificate. Is that great timing or what??!!

Design Wall Monday on Tuesday 7/6/10

It was such a busy 4-day weekend but I didn't seem to accomplish much other than this tote bag for Mom's pending trip to Ireland. Do you think the oppressive heat had anything to do with it? Today's high was expected to be 94F and the rest of the week will be in the 90s as well. Last summer we had ONE day in the 90s. I know we aren't as hot as DC but I live in an rural area that doesn't normally have AC. Thankfully my house is generally 10-15 degrees cooler than outside.

Anyway, this bag is a copy of the Wizard of Oz bag I made but with one long handle to go over a shoulder and 3 interior pockets for Mom's "stuff." I again used texture magic for the red bottom and quilted multiple crosshatch patterns so that some areas were denser than others leaving a really nice texture. You can see that I started with a 19 by 27" piece of red and texture magic that covered most of my ironing board but ended with a much smaller piece (that I forgot to measure...sorry!). I find the steaming part very tedious, especially with a heavy iron full of water. I do however love the final result and it's very worth the expense and effort. I noticed that this red piece shrank a lot more than the yellow for the other tote - is that due to the quilting pattern or because this is newer (and improved?) textureMagic?

(quilted)                                 (steamed)

We be Jammin!

Strawberry season is winding down here in WNY and it's the perfect time to make strawberry jam! Last night Mom and I made 7 batches of jam which worked out to be 22 jars. I only needed 4 since I just have a small freezer. The rest will be consumed at their house - apprently Dad lives on the stuff :)

I was the offiical stirrer and bottler so I don't remember the measurements but... mashed strawberries are stirred into sugar and then allowed to sit for 10 minutes with an occational stir. Then the pectin, mixed with lemon juice, is continuoulsy stirred into the berries for 3 minutes. The whole sugarry concoction is then transferred to the jars and allowed to sit at least 24 hours before putting it in the freezer so it can gel. Mom wants me to make sure I tell you it's freezer jam! A few leftover berries will be consumed for dessert tonight and I can't wait..

Surprise!

This past weekend my brother, SIL and I threw a surprise 40th Anniversary Party for my parents at the Castile Firehall. I think the biggest surprise was for the three of us 'cuz Mom and Dad didn't figure it out!

We had about 30 guests, excellent beef on weck and a cake decorated by my SIL, Kristie, to replicate the original. Kristie and I took turns sneaking into their house and office while Mom and Dad were on vacation to make copies from the wedding album and slide carousel and get the Christmas address list.


It was a fun evening for all, we FINALLY surprised Mom and Dad and the fire hall is finally clean. How long do you think that will last?