Fun For Friday - FRANKENSTORM!! and a Feline Rebellion

Happy Friday!
I just finished my Sandy commemorative quilt; Frankenstorm.

I quilted it with a spiral - what else?

It was fun to pick these tiny fussy cuts.  They are 3/4"

The backing has a FQ of this Peanuts "Great Pumpkin" print that I have had for years and years.  I have no idea where I picked it up.

I wish I knew why Linus is having a converstion with himself in the upper left hand corner.  Seems like a weird misprint, very funny.

 

Here is a photo to show scale.  It is 21" x 21".

 

On a recent trip to NYC I picked up this fun christmassy fabric from City Quilter.

I made up some quick Kleenex covers with it.

My coco seems to get all the face time here, but we also live with two sweet cats; Starbuck and Luna.  They delivered a harsh reprimand about never being mentioned, so here is their moment.

 

A quilt I made in 2005 for my daughter.

Starbuck seems appeased.

Have a Wonderful weekend!

Fun For Friday - Giving Thanks

I hope everyone had a wonderful day yesterday feasting and watching football and enjoying family and friend time.

Sharing our feast with coco is one of my favorite parts of the day.

What a good girl, here she is sitting and waiting.

It was gone in about 1 minute.  She's a clean plate club kind of a girl.

A shot of our table before the main event.

Instead of shopping (no way) I'm spending the day getting organized for Christmas decorating and sewing.

This morning I was collecting the turkeys for storage and I thought they made a funny flock.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and Happy Friday!

As The Iron Steams - Season 2 Premier

I can't believe it!  I've had to lay another iron to rest.  It was only 8 months old.  You can see the first installments of the serial HERE and HERE.

In order to provide full transparency, I must admit that I dropped the old one.  I was concentrating on my pressing and thought I was over the board..... It seemed fine at first, but I fear it was just stunned.  In no time it was leaking all over :(

All I could think is "I don't deserve nice things".  So I bought a cheap iron this time.  So far we are getting along just fine.

I've made progress on my storm at sea.  I'm shocked how long it takes to make such a tiny quilt.

Here is a photo to show the scale -

I've sent these blocks to Beth for her House Swap.
There is still time to participate.  Deadline is January 1st. 

This is my "girls just wanna have fun house"

She is also collecting 12 1/2" blocks for charity quilts.

With so many things to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving I want to take a moment to thank all my blog friends and readers who leave me nice comments, words of encouragement, and who have also shared their inspiration with me.

Happy Thanksgiving U.S. friends, and thanks to friends everywhere!

Fun For Friday - Reading as a Sport, Chowder, and a Cheap Trick

When I'm not reading, I read books and lists about Reading.....Huh?

I almost exclusively listen to books on my ipod.  The sources I use are my local library, itunes and audio.com.  I try not listen to my book when I go to bed because I loose my place.

So, instead I read about reading.

Here are my favorite books on the subject:

The books above and below were gifts from my dear friend, Mary B.  We've had many great book talks over the years.

This is a card game that I've never played, but I love reading the cards.

If you google "book lists" or "reading lists" there is a plethera of them on the web.   Also on the web, I'm a member of Library Thing.  Here is my page if you want to see it.



Last weekend my son requested Corn Chowder.  I got this great recipe from Susan McD.  It goes well with a good book on a cold day.

Maize Chowder  - (at our house corn is always referred to as "maize" in November.)

1/2 lb bacon 2" pieces (more if you like more)
4 or 5 red potatoes cut into 1" cubes
1 onion chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (use more for a thinner soup)
3 cups creamed corn
1 cup whole corn
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Crushed red pepper to taste
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 cups half & half  (I use fat free and it works just fine)
Optional:  last time I added cubed cooked chicken

Cook bacon in stock pot
Add onion and potatoes cook 5 mins.
Add broth, creamed corn, corn, and spices
Bring to boil then let simmer stirring often about 30 mins.

Heat half & half in separate pan until it bubbles on sides but not boiling.  Add to soup and serve.

Here is a cheap trick that I love.   I buy cute seasonal 8" paper plates at the party stores, dollar stores and recently the Christmas Tree Shop.  Aren't they cute?
We use them for dessert around here and they are great for entertaining too.

To get the biggest bang out of my cheap plates, I stack them up alternating the designs.

Fun, right?

So grab a book, a bowl of chowder, and a cute plated treat and enjoy!

odds and ends

Happy Tuesday - Just popping in with a post of randomness.

Here is a little quilt that I had hanging and I don't think I've shared it before.  It was made for a Brownstone Guild Challenge in 2009.

The challenge was called Literal Translations.  So you were to make a quilt based on a block name or a setting, i.e., Ohio star, barn raising, irish chain, bow tie, etc.

I did "Log Cabin".  It is raw edge appliqued and string pieced.

The backing is funny pig and holly fabric that I won at a fabric exchange.  It still makes me laugh.

Today I'm working in my "Frankenstorm" quilt.  It is really fussy working with this tiny pieces.

Look how much it has shrunk after sewing!  I'm not a great paper piecer, so this is a little bit of a challenge for me.

Last week I picked up a few Christmas Plants - Amaryllis, Paper Whites,

and for a change of pace, a Christmas Catcus.

Look at this lovely example of a red  and  white Christmas cactus quilt.  I found it on line Here.

Does this dog look guilty to you?

After the heat came back on, there were a lot of quilts to  put away.

Have a great week and I'll see you Friday.

Fun For Friday - lucy, doll quilts, and houses, oh my!

Happy Friday!  and it is a happy one.  During the nor'easter we only lost power for 12 hours, whew.  I am still keeping my NJ neighbors and friends in my thoughts and prayers!

I met a group of men at a local restaurant who are here from Oklahoma.  It was a pleasure to say Thank You to them in person.  It was hard to be out power, but it must be hard for them to be far from home and working in the cold.

On to some fun!!

We have had a lovely little house guest:  Lucy Rabbit

Here are a few photos of our visit. 

She has been on a world tour since June 2011.  You can see her full visit with us here at Lucy's World Trip.  You can also see where else she has traveled.

Two fun events are going in Bloglandia -

Taryn, of Repro Quilt Lover is hosting a fun on-line show of doll quilts.  I have a few posted including these:

More Fun at Beth's blog:  Love Laugh Quilt.  She is having her 3rd house party.  You can send her house blocks for a chance to win some to build your own neighborhood.  She is also collecting miscellaneous 12" charity blocks.  So nice!

Here are a couple of my favorite house quilts that I've made.

This one includes blocks from friends.

I made this one for the NQA show auction in 2010.

Thank you again to all my friends who have sent me such nice notes and checked in with me during this stormy time!

Have a great weekend!

Pioneer Days!

Thank you so much for your emails and messages checking on us here in northern NJ after Sandy.  We were out of power for a full week.  Now I know why pioneer women of the 19 century kept journals.  Everyday seems the same!

My thoughts are with all my friends and neighbors who still may be out of power.

Here was our first stash of supplies.  We had to go out for more fire wood, candles, and ice.

Luckily we were able to eat out to get hot food.   Thanks Five Guys - you complete me.

Thank you to my friends who took me in for a meal, cup of tea and to charge my devices.  Your sheltering friendship really helped me through.

Here are some of the flying geese blocks that I exchanged with Jill and Susan.  I think I'll be going with this setting.

I did lots of hand applique' while listening to Winter of the World, by Ken Follet.   I finished the first border and got a really good start on the second.

To see more visit the Jubilee Quilt blog here.  In the post you can see how I made the pattern and prepped the vines and stem for applique.

On Sunday and Monday before the storm I started this miniature quilt to commemorate Sandy, aka Frankenstorm!
It is the Storm at Sea Pattern - appropriate right?  lol

The pieces are quite small.  This is how far I got when then the lights went out.

Now I'm off to cast my vote and bask in the heat of my cozy well lit home.  The Nor'easter is on its way tomorrow, so the candles and flashlights will remain on hand.