A Lovely Win!

While we visited the City Museum in St. Louis recently, I sat myself down on a bench to collect my wit's and take a breather. Have you ever been there?  Oh my.  I am not sure how to even describe the place.  You will have to Google images of it to get an idea, and even that may not come close.

I was on sensory overload, separated from my family who kept ducking into places and disappearing, and generally feeling anxious and alone.  I pulled out my phone to text my husband and daughter to say I would be staying put , there by the whale skeleton, for a while.

That's when I got a lovely e-mail from Mari of the Academic Quilter ,  letting me know I'd won a giveaway she had sponsored on her blog.  Yay!

Her lovely package arrived a few days after we got home.  Here's what I won!

I love these Moda floral prints,  And, thanks for the bonus needles, Mari!

If you've been to City Museum, I'd love to hear what you thought of it!  And if you have an opportunity to visit, do!  It wasn't my cup of tea, but my family loved it.  And it's something you have to see to beleive.

Blogging Challenge Day Four

Today is my 4th consecutive  day posting as part of The 31 Day Blogging Challenge.  Admittedly,  There isn't really anything sewing or quilting related in this post.

Now, this is supposed to be a sewing and quilting blog, so, to keep things in the up and up, I took a picture of the subject of this post with something quilty.  does that count?

This quilt block is one of a handful that I have, hand-pieced by one of my grandmothers.
An heirloom, for sure.

While we were on our road trip to St. Louis last month, I became slightly addicted to biscuits.  You now, the simple baking soda busicuits, like the ones McDonald's uses in their sausage busicuits with egg? That's the ONLY thing I will eat at McDonalds, because I love those busicuits.  Well, I had one for breakfast at Cracker Barrel on our first morning.  Then, each day following, I had one or two from the hotel's breakfast buffet.  They are just so good.  especially when warm and slathered with just enough butter.

I was delighted when I found a set of busicuit cutters in the Arch Gift Shop, along with my other goodies!  My youngest daughter was pretty excited, too, as baking is her thing.

We decided to give them a whirl this past weekend, trying out the buttermilk busicuits recipe that was attached to the set.  She did all the measuring, most of the mixing and all of the cutting.  She aspires to own a bakery someday, and it would not surprise me if she succeeds!

I think we need to tweak our recipe a bit, as the busicuits were a bit dense and flat, a tad too salty.  They were delicious, even so (I had three!!) and paired perfectly with homemade chicken noodle soup for our first-snowfall-of-the-season dinner last night.

I hope you have lots of good things to eat, and lots of time to sew!

    

Quilty Goodness Everywhere

My family and I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in St. Louis.  We have no relatives there, and had no reason to go, other than needing
some family time, just the four of us.

As much as we love our extended families, it can sometimes be challenging to spend time with them this time of year.  Personalities clash, feeling get hurt, eyes get rolled...it's not all Merry and Bright. And, with my husband's recent work travel and the girls' just general level of busy-ness, I had been feeling that we've not had as much time just enjoying each other as I'd like.

So, I picked a driveable destination, we made our apologies to both families, and booked a hotel room.

We left on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, after the girls' commitments, about 8:00.  We made it as far as Rockford, IL.  It would have been feasible to drive further, but my youngest has to do about an hour's worth of respiratory treatments before bed each night, so we stopped there.  After a good night's sleep and a Cracker Barrel breakfast, we continued on the Springfield.

We spent several hours exploring the Abraham Lincoln museum and house there.  Have you been there? If not, it's worth a visit.  I loved watching my girls connect the dots between this display of Lincoln's life and other Civil War museums and sites we've visited in Wisconsin, Iowa, Tennessee and North Carolina.  And, being in Lincoln's house, holding the railing he held every night on his way to bed was pretty awesome. We all came away wanting to know more about him and his family.  My youngest has even chosen to write a piece about him for her ELA class this quarter.  I love it when history comes alive!

I enjoyed looking at the textiles used for Mrs. Lincoln's dresses.

We made it to St. Louis in time for dinner and a late night swim, and some general relaxing.  Many, many laughs were had throughout the day and it just felt so good to have no real agenda or time constraints.

While in St. Louis, we took in a rather large Thanksgiving Day parade, ate a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in a steakhouse,  wandered the city gardens, visited City Museum, and of course, went to the top of The Arch.

I am sad to say that I did not talk my family into visiting a single quilt shop,  although there would have been several options on our trip.  Time was unscheduled, but not unlimited, and I am trying hard to not buy fabric I don't have a plan for.  at least until my craft room is reorganized and my stash is unpacked, again.        

I don't know about you, but I look at this and see flying geese! 

I did, however, make a couple of quilt related purchases!  The Arch Gift Shop is fantastic!  Not just key chains and t-shirts (though there were plenty of those, too!)  There were SO many books that it felt as though we were in a Barns and Noble rather than a souvenir shop.  I was happy to find The Quilt That Walked To Golden by Sandra Dallas.  I am always up for tales of frontier life, and if quilts factor in, so much the better.  I read through several sections of the book on the ride home.  I loved the accounts of women who traveled West and the quilts they took with them  The photos are fantastic, too.  And, reflecting on the journey those pioneer families took made the drive through Illinois seem not so bad!

The REALLY exciting purchase, though,  was  the Catenary pattern by Carolyn Friedlander.  Just look at those arches!

 My eyes went right to it when I entered the gift shop and I knew instantly it would be going home with me.  What a perfect way to commemorate our trip!  There was a sample quilt hanging above the patterns, and it was just lovely.  I wish I had snapped a photo, because the quilting was unique.  I have some thoughts and plans about how to proceed with this quilt, and my mind keeps returning to them, so I must be on to something!

This has been my third consecutive day posting, as part of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge.  Pop over here to visit some others who are taking the challenge too!

Sewing for Others

A couple rectangles of donated upholstery fabric, 44 inches of nylon webbing and about half an hour of sewing time, give or take.  Multiply that by a room full of volunteer sewists age 9 to a lot older, and you have a very productive sewing day!

The stack of finished bags, about halfway through the day.

Today I joined a group of 4-H members, moms and leaders to make simple tote bags for local food pantries and shelters.  A large amount of heavy fabric had been donated to one of our County leaders.  She put out a call for help to get it made into bags.  The food pantries in our area are trying to encourage food recipients to bring reusable bags, to cut down on the cost of providing plastic bags.  This fabric will make a sturdy bag that will last a LONG time!

Unfortunately, neither of my 4-Hers was able to go.  They were both off doing what they love best - karate for one, show choir practice for the other.  Spending a day sewing, chatting and helping kids learn to sew sounded good to me, though, so I went without them!

The bags sewed up quick!  It was so nice to zip through straight seams and a simple boxed off bottom.  Very little pinning and no seams to match!  Finishing four of them  (with time in between spent helping others as needed) felt GREAT, since I'm so accustomed to projects lingering on forever!

I got a little fancy on this one, using a decorative stitch on the top edge.
Putting the handles on was, by far, the most time consuming part.

We finished about 30 bags today and another 20 or so were taken home by volunteers to be completed.  I brought 4 so my girls can sew them up.

I'm so glad I went!  Simple sewing for a good reason and a little pleasant conversation thrown in the mix was just what I needed!

The 31 Day Blogging Writing Challenge

As I was scrolling through my Bloglovin' feed this morning, I noticed a few of my blogging friends have decided to try something called The 31 Day Blogging Writing Challenge.

It is exactly what it says it is - an effort to blog each day for the entire month.  I know myself and my schedule well enough to know that this will never happen.  Plus, this ain't exactly my first December, ya know?  I am well aware how nutso its going to get!

But, when I clicked over to Cheryl's site and read her posts about the challenge, I decided to jump in.  She stresses that it's OK to miss a few posts, and the whole point is to build habits that will take you into a new blogging year.  It's just a fun way to get a jump start.

So, I'm in! I didn't learn about the Challenge until this morning, and it's already December 2, so I won't make all the days this month, but I sure can aim for 4 or 5 posts a week!  In all honestly, I just fell out of the habit, and this seems like a fun way to get back at it.

Plus, the link up at Cheryl's site is full of new-to-me blogs.  It will be fun to meet some new bloggers, and maybe gain a reader or two, too!

If you are up for it, you can link up a post here.  Let me know, so I can be sure to follow your progress, and we can encourage each other!

And for the sewing part of "Sew Much For Free Time," here's the extent of my sewing today!

I finally got around to putting two star patches on my daughter's karate uniform!  These signify that she's gone through two 12 week "rotations" since earning her Black Belt!  Tomorrow, she will perform with the Demo Team at the graduation ceremony for the newest class of black belts.  So, the patches NEEDED to go on.  It took  four minutes.  Seriously, why do I procrastinate these simple little things?

I've got plans for my next three posts, so please check in often!  I just might make a go of it this time!!    

A Little Bit at a Time

Life continues to fly by at a breakneck pace.  It's already Thanksgiving, and I haven't put away the Halloween decorations yet!  This month we've celebrated both of my girls birthdays (they are 11 and 14 now!!), welcomed my husband back from a lengthy trip to China, re-started piano lessons and some other things that were put on hold because of our participation in a musical and have put a focus on cooking together and spending time a a family.  It's been a lovely fall, and I've been so happy and at peace in our safe, comfortable home.  Life is good, no matter how crazy and stressful it gets.  There is so much to be thankful for.

I have made some time, fairly frequently, for sewing, but it's usually only thirty minutes at a time.  A little is better than nothing, however, and even half an hour goes a long way toward helping me maintain that peaceful, easy feeling!

Early this month, I spent a few very happy hours creating a cute little Autumn mug rug to send to my Quilty Pen Pal, Rose.  We had decided to swap rugs AND mugs this month, and, as she always does, she spoiled me with some wonderful extras when she sent mine!

How perfect is that Happier When I'm Quilting mug???

I started Rose's mug with some scrappy orange strips, angled off at the corners with stitch and flip HST's.  Then I added some rick rack vines and applique stems.

A quick binding and some simple quilting finished it off.

The mug I sent to my pal is a one of a kind!.  My daughter and I spent an afternoon at a paint your own pottery place, and this is what I painted!   It was fun to play with colors and stamps, and it turned out pretty much exactly as I hoped it would!

Now, I'm working on adding on to a round robin project that Rose and I have had going on for a while.  I made the center Swoon block, and Rose added a beautiful border which highlighted the angles in the original block.

I am bringing back the light aqua from the center, and adding still more angles and HST's.

  I enjoyed sketching out my ideas and figuring out what would work.

My quilt math is a little shaky, however, and my border is coming out a bit wonky.  But, truely, I'm not going for perfection here.  This project is about color and my favorite fabrics and sharing something fun with a long distance "sew-l sister".

When I finish this round, it will go back to Rose for what I think will be the final addition.  I want to keep this mini, so it can hang on my sewing room wall.

As I sew, I'm making more HST's for my Hello Fall quilt.  Unfortunately, I had to buy more of the background solid, and I can't find an exact match.  The Kona "bone" is a few shades creamier than it was when I bought the original yardage.  I am hoping that the variation in color will just come across as scrappy.  I'm looking forward to having enough squares to get this quilt put together soon!

It won't be TOO soon, though, as we are heading out after school today on a little family road trip!  We've decided to break with tradition and travel to St. Louis instead of trying to cram in several extended family dinners this year.  It will be just the four of us, and I can't wait!  I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate, and peace and happiness if you don't.  There is so much to be thankful for! We just have to find it.

I am linking up with Brooke at Silly Mama Quilts for the WIP Link Up and with Lorna's Let's Be Social at Sew Fresh Quilts .

Back to Blogging

I am finally back, after a month away!  What a month it's been!  My time has been mostly consumed by rehearsals, costume construction,  miscellaneous preperations and two weekends of performances!  My girls and I had a fantastic time sharing the stage in a local production of The Music Man!  New experiences were had, good friends and fabulous memories were made.

My youngest daughter, in particular, is all set to do it again next fall, and I hope she does, but, for my self, I'm not so sure.

I love these two so much.  One of the teensemble in the show snapped this back stage picture and sent it to me.  Not great quality, but it shows all the love and goofiness they share.

I loved the experience, and being back on stage for the first time since high school felt good...but I realized how much I value my time!  It's hard to give up weeknights, Sundays and two "show" weekends!  Not much, err...NO sewing (except for costume construction) has been done in the last month.  And that makes me sad.

I had high hopes that I'd get back in the sewing room as soon as the play was done, but instead, I've spent my evenings this week at 4-H meetings, choir concerts, basketball practice and a much needed and well deserved outing with my co-workers..  But that's OK.  My girls had to put their regular activities on hold for the play, too, and we all need to get back into our routines.  We have a day off of school on Friday, (ooooh, I am so ready!!!) and I have some quilty plans!

The universe seems to be sending me little signs that it's time to get back to my sewing machine too! Or, maybe it's just the position office. I've received fabric in the mail twice in the last week!!!  How fun is that??  One package arrived from the west coast, and the other from the east coast!  Perfect!

The first package contained a Patchwork Christmas Table Runner Kit from Jordan Fabrics in Grant's Pass, Oregon.  I must confess, when it arrived, I was a bit confused.  I hadn't ordered anything (too busy for even THAT!!).  It wasn't until I opened it that I remembered I'd won a giveaway hosted by  Kathy at Sparkles, Sprinkles and Everyday Crap!    I love Kathy's blog, and I ALWAYS enjoy exchanging emails with her after one of us comments on the other's blog.  She makes me laugh, and I appreciate her candor.  I know for certain we would be great quilting buddies if we lived close together!

I think that this table runner will be a gift for my mom.  I've never worked with a kit before, but the idea of having everything measured and cut is VERY appealing.  Sounds like the perfect way to get back into the swing of things!!!  There are A LOT of options for runners at the Jordan Fabrics site. Take a look. I'll bet you'll find something perfect for someone on your holiday making list!  And, with the hard stuff done, you can finish one before Christmas!

Thanks Jordan Fabrics, and Thanks, Kathy!!

From the east coast, came another package, that once again had me scratching my head at first!  I guess the benefit of being toon busy to remember the details is that sometimes you end up with fun surprises!!

Back in early September, I signed up for another Book Exchange, organized by Bernie at Needle and Foot.  Bernie is another blogger that I feel a real connection to.  She is generous, kind and so very encouraging to other bloggers and sewists.  She is ALL about making connections.  She hosts Book Exchanges, in which she selects a book, reads it, and sends it to another quilter.  She includes a few fat-quarters that relate in someway to the book.  The second quilter reads, choses fabric, and sends it along to the next person on the list.  I participated in the first Exchange this summer, and I'm excited to announce that my second book arrived today!  Gloria, who lives in North Carolina, sent me a collection of GORGEOUS fabrics along with The Double Bind, by Chris Bohjalian.  I read the first few pages last night, waiting for the choir concert to start, and a few more today in my lunch break.  I'm already hooked!

Oh my, it feels good to be back here in this blogging space!  Now I just need to get some fabric in my hands!  Stay tuned!