Something About Nothing

I've reworked the project I started back in November and I really like it.  I took my friend Jennilyn's excellent suggestion of putting in a barn.   I still want to put one or two more borders before I quilt it. I will be teaching a class at The Super Spring Retreat on how to do machine reverse applique next April and this is my class sample.  It will also be on display at Whimsy Cottage along with the pattern  - that is once I get the pattern written.

I finally got around to making up another batch of the No Knead Swedish Cardamom Bread from the Vegetarian Times website .  In fact I made two batches and then instead of cutting the batch into two loaves  I made four loaves.  That's right, I made EIGHT loaves of Cardamom bread today and this is all that's left!  The bread was delicious and the demerara sugar makes a big difference (didn't use it last time).  Oh, by the way, we didn't eat the other 7 loaves.  We shared them with our neighbors and family.  I don't know why I put off making the bread for so long.  It really is easy to make.  The hardest part was grinding the cardamom and once I handed that job over to my strong husband it really wasn't hard at all!

Here is my completed Quilter's Holladay Challenge Quilt. It all started with the fish. I read an article in Quilting Arts Magazine about how to make the fish. I loved him so much I built him a lake from hand dyed cotton and silk organza. I saw an image of an Owl on someone's blog and decided I needed an owl in a tree next to Mr. Fish's lake. The quilt was taking on many surreal qualities with the curly-q tree branches and stars in the sky and soon it all became "the one who got away" from Mr. Fisherman while he dreamed. There is a small dragonfly sparkly button above Mr. Fish but it's difficult to see this far away. This photo is a little blurry and out of color but I think it helps a little with the details. The only prize I won in this year's challenge was the opportunity to stretch my skills and build an art quilt that I love.  Not a bad prize at all.

I just can't help myself.  Our new cat just makes me laugh so much.  It's a lot like having a new child in the house.  We've had to accommadate him with our decorating style just like when the kids were young. . . and I can't always get my work done because he wants to "help," And he is so cute, how can I resist?

My serger and sewing machine are getting a good workout today.   16 Large and 8 Small Produce Bags completed. Just a little over halfway done.

I'm attempting to complete my Christmas sewing  but there is a cat who thinks the world revolves around him. I did manage to get 99% of my challenge quilt completed.  Just the binding is left.  I will post photos once the judging is done next week. I've also cut out 70% of the 40 Produce Bags that need to be made and started sewing them.  Now if I could just get my friend's embroidery machine to cooperate I could get my daughter's fleece blanket project done.

My friend, Juliette, made this wonderful bread and let me have a taste. It is a No Knead recipe from the Vegetarian Times website. It was so delicious I had to make it for my family. I didn't have the Sugar Crystals the recipe called for to be sprinkled on the top and I found that they do indeed add to the slight sweet flavor of the bread.  Despite the missing sugar crystals the texture was soft and beautiful like the other No Kneads I've made and the fragrance of the Cardamom was so Christmasy.  Apparently Ikea sells the sugar crystals so I will have to pick some up the next time I drive south and make this again.

I had an audience today but, thankfully, no help while quilting.

How's a girl ever to get any quilting done around here when she has a helper like this? 1. He jumped under the batting as I attempted to lay it out on the backing.  2.  He crawled around on top of the batting to make sure I got it smooth. 3. He volunteered to pull off extra thread for me while I basted.  I can't wait to see how he helps me quilt it when I pull out the machine tomorrow.

I've spent most of the day trying out an idea I had for a class teaching proposal. Reverse Machine Applique using freezer paper. I really like how the block turned out but. . .   . . . I don't like what I put together with the blocks. While I was throwing it together it was "okay" but after taking photos I see that the plaids not matching up looks really bad.  I wanted to put a blue border after the red but I didn't have enough of any fabric to make it happen and now I hate all the green. The great thing about this project is that I have learned that the seam ripper is my friend and our friendship is about to get stronger. I'll post more after some rippin' and shoppin'.

. . . leads to a picture postcard setting and the kids still had to go to school. They were very disappointed but after a very long weekend with a house full of people I'm grateful for a few minutes of peaceful quiet time. 

My family doesn't look anything like this drawing but the artwork depicts the idyllic feeling we all strive for at this time of year.  A table full of the bounties of the earth surrounded by the people we love.  These are the events of life that memories are made of. I'm looking forward to having my children home, as well as my sister visiting for the weekend and my mother-in-law and brother-in-law up for the Thanksgiving meal. These are the days of my favorite memories.

Do I really need to say more?

When I posted my gratitude for light I assumed the electricity that makes it work. Last night and today we were blessed with a LOT of snow! This beautiful snow caused electric outages of over 10,000 customers. The church across the street and many of our neighbors were part of that 10,000. Our ward decided to go ahead and have Sacrament meeting in the dark. The back of the chapel was closed off and members were encouraged to move up to the front and cuddle close to keep warm.  The building was still fairly warm until the end of the meeting but the Spirit was definately warm throughout. After church our power at home went out.  We had been lucky enough to have power to shower and blow dry our hair before church.   It was a gentle reminder to be grateful for the power we receive that helps to make our life a lot easier.  It was also a reminder to be grateful for promptings the day before that tell you to pre-make cold chicken salad for dinner the next day.

There is so much that inspires me to create better, to do better, and to be better. There are hundreds of blogs with such talented people that inspire and teach me.  These talented people range from designers to magazines, writers to everyday folk and published artists to friends.   A few of my favorites are: http://quiltingarts.com/ http://melanietesta.com/ http://lyrickinard.blogspot.com/ http://judyperez.blogspot.com/ http://alijoy313.blogspot.com/ http://orangeismyfavoritecolormostdays.blogspot.com/ http://chickpeastudio.typepad.com/ http://amyscreativeside.com/ http://artfabrik.blogspot.com/ http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/ http://twelveby12.blogspot.com/ http://the12by12project.blogspot.com/ http://mellyandme.typepad.com/melly_me/ http://noimpactman.typepad.com/ http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/archive10/index.html

My daughter has been sick all week and she has been kind enough to share her germs with me. Feeling tired and sick makes me appreciate my bed. I wish my bed looked like these. Perfectly made.  Coordinated.  Lots of nice pillows.  But when it comes right down to it all I need is a place to lay my head that cushions my body and makes me feel all warm and snuggly.

It's really hard to say which modern convenience in my life I am the most grateful for.  This one is very helpful especially when the sun goes down. This one just make life a little easier.   This one keeps my ice cream delicious while this one helps me get to the fabric store. I've lived without these next two before and could manage life without them again but I just love living with them.  But when it all comes down to it I would have to say that these are the two modern conveniences I am grateful for on a daily basis.

Once upon a time I kept a diary. The diary looked something like this one: Inside the diary there were only a couple of lines for each day. When I remembered to write I wrote brilliant things in terrible handwriting.  Things like, "Today was great!" I guess I thought I would remember that day forever. As I grew older and learned more about writing in a journal I wrote down a few more thoughts, feelings and day to day activities. I have quite a few of these beautiful books: I bought them because they were cheap and gave me a lot of room to write in.  I was very diligent in my journal writing for a long time. Even after I married and started having children I kept my own journal as well as a journal for each new baby.  The baby's journal was started as soon as I found out I was pregnant and I did my best to document the pregnancy and the child's life until they could write for themselves.  Apparently some of my children are more intelligent than others because my last

No salaries, just blessings are the pay they receive.  I don't think I can ever say enough about how much I appreciate all the work these faithful people do to help those around them. And yes that handsome guy on the right belongs to me and I know how many hours he dedicates to the people around us.  Thank you!

I am grateful for cats who provide not only hours of entertainment but . . . unconditional love.