Easy Christmas Project

SO, how's everyone doing getting ready for Christmas? Hopefully better than I am!
I thought I might take a moment to share with you a fairly quick and definitely simple idea for a handmade Christmas gift.

The No-quilt Quilted Christmas Ball

Maybe you've seen these around before... I think I recall seeing things like these in the past.

I've never made them, though. So, far I have these two pictured above and half of another one made.

Cass is also making one of her own to give. It's such a great little project that even an eleven year old can do without any real help.

First step:

gather your supplies:
a 3 inch styrofoam ball,
(8) 3 inch squares fabric,
(16) 3 inch squares different fabric,
(16) 3 inch squares yet another fabric,
a mound of dressmaker pins (figure 2-4 pins per square)
and a nice, hot cup of tea ;)

Next:

push pin through center of wrong side of one of the (8) fabric squares

fold wrong sides together (in half)

now, make this on the ball, poking the pin into
what will be the center of your ball.
Be sure to affix another pin right about where
my thumb is holding the fabric
(into the ball, of course!)

place four triangles in total (other 4 will be used on bottom of ball)
continue by layering from a 16-fabric pile (8 for each 'side' of ball)

If you recall, I said 2 - 4 pins per square... that's because I try to be efficient with my pins (you can call it cheap). Some people like to pin down the corners of each triangle as they go. I find it just as easy to tack them under whilst I layer. 

It's not that difficult, even Cass seems to be handling it, so far. 

We'll see if she is able to keep up with that as the ball gets fuller.

once it looks like this, you'll start filling in between the white ones with more white ones
Remember, it's a circle, so don't place the next point directly between the existing two white points -
round your design!

Follow up with the third layer, 8 of the last fabric choice, layering between the previous fabrics, keeping the roundness as you go.

The last layer you may very well want to pin completely down on all points.

Your nearly finished ball should be somewhat symmetrical with the folds matching up fairly well from "side" to "side".

If you look carefully at my example below, you'll see just what I mean...

mine are perfect-LY WAY OFF !!!

Finally, get yourself a strip of fabric that when the raw edges are turned under, has a suitable width to cover the meeting place of the fabrics as well as all the pins that are there. Press the fabric before applying with hot glue. 

I plan to add a hanger of some sort to these and give them as ornaments.

I think they will make a great gift for bus drivers, mailmen and the like.

*****If this has been totally confusing for any of you... there is actually a good YouTube video of this project find it here *****

Remember that Christ has come to pay our ransom and that we need not feel guilt or shame lest we belittle what He has done for us. So, this season let us boldly pronounce the True meaning of Christmas to all those we meet!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE !!!

Off to the races!

So, the other day I was browsing the local quilt shop's site. They mentioned something about cheering on quilters at the Jelly Roll Race. 

Jelly Roll Race? What's that, I wondered. Thus, the search began. 

I quickly came up with a great YouTube tutorial (here).

I was inspired. I could actually check off a Christmas present in the very near future! Not just any Christmas present... a handmade beautiful quilt!.

Next step was to find just the right fabric.

So, I popped over to  Green Fairy Quilts and narrowed it down to a few. My top pick was 'sold out', but I found it on Amazon.com.

Here it is...

Holiday Medley, by Kansas Troubles Quilters for Moda

 And here's my messy floor!

it's got to be a little messy when you sew, right?

 Heading down the home stretch...

Crossed the finish line - hooray!

This top comes complete with a pair of feet
(and some fingers, too)

Complete quilt top - just like that!

So, what do you think? I kind of like it, myself.

And... I do believe that one of these days... I'll make another :)

Election Day is here!

Unless you've just crawled out from underneath of that proverbial rock, you well know that tomorrow is Election Day here in the good ole' U.S. of A.

Regardless of what some might think, it is important to exercise your right to vote, citizen!

Now, some of you might be downright sure of whom will receive your vote. THEN, there's those of you sitting on the fence (which CAN be a little uncomfortable to say the very least).

I know, I know I'm treading in rocky waters when it comes to discussing politics. However, I just want to think some things out loud with you to affirm my choice as well as helping you to decide. 

Okay, so you're still reading... that's good. We're all friends here :)

Let's look at a couple things that I can say with certainty in which I will not waiver in my opinion...

1.    Same Sex 'Marriage' - 

       a man following God's precepts in this regard is the way to go.

       God ordained marriage between a man and a woman, ONLY

       not because He made any mistake,but because it is His design.

2.     Abortion - 

        murder is murder. An unborn baby is a baby... (that's why we call him an "unborn baby"!)

        This argument is all well and good when an expectant mother is gunned down killing her and/or her unborn child. Justice is sought in the courts for both lives, being equally important.

3.     Welfare type benefits - 

        2 Thes 3:10 says if a man WILL NOT work, he SHALL NOT eat. 

        Of course this doesn't apply to those truly incapable of working. It is our job to care for the widows and orphans and the like.

4.    Borrowing - 

       "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender."

                                                               Proverbs 22:7

         and by the way, has anyone seen that commercial of a roomful of Chinese in a lecture with the speaker (in Chinese w/ subtitles) talking about how America now works for China? It's futuristic - 2036 AD. Very disturbing.

5.     Quality of the Man - 

         Which man more holds to principles that set him above others? 

          Will the man you choose more concerned with the perception of our country or the perception of himself?

         Will the man you choose be more or less likely to be concerned with talk show appearances & beer SUMMITS  (not picnics!) on the White House back patio?

          How about his VP? Is he well-mannered?  Would he use profanity in front of the entire county? 

         (yes, Chris Christie, you also are guilty of this, SO knock it off!)

So, as for the economy... great economic strategists battle over what to do. Although, the whole borrowing thing should be enough said about that. I mean how high DO numbers go? I don't want to find out! 

Personally, if you can't tell after reading this far, I know how I will vote - based on my few points as well as the fact that after 4 years of unfulfilled economic promises, it's time for a new guy to give it a go. 

Mr. Obama at least fibbed once, that's plain to see - he IS seeking re-election yet did NOT fix the economy

“If I don’t have this done in three years, then this is going to be a one‑term proposition.” - Barack Obama (www.glennbeck.com)

Hoping I didn't REALLY offend anyone, I'm done. Ready for bed, Ready for a new day. Rest assured God's choice will be in office this January to serve whatever purpose He has in store for us!

Remember, we are blessed and privileged to be in this great land, 

SO GET OUT THERE TOMORROW AND VOTE!

Sunbonnet Sue & Overalls Sam

Howdy all!
I got to do a little sewing yesterday. It was great to get "Jan" out and get her humming again. Yup, THAT's it! "Jan". Do you remember I had asked the question of what to name my New Home when I first got it? Well, just now as I was typing that sentence, it came to me - Janome was the actual manufacturer sooooo, JAN short for Janome! 

The name "Flora" popped into my head yesterday (out of nowhere), however Cass' 1980's Singer is getting that name. It's plain white , so we dressed it up with some floral and dragonfly stickers. It's a whole 'bunch' cuter now!

About the Sunbonnets - a month or so ago I got the nudge to try my hand at a little embroidery. I have a quilting magazine that's all about Sunbonnet Sue and figured it a good spot to look for something to trace. It was. I picked this bouquet holding couple, traced and stitched it up using the outline, lazy daisy, and I think it's called the wheat stitch. I even took the liberty of a little extra detailing like Sue's bonnet band and apron trim, as well as giving Sam a pocket & flower and the little wheat at the bottom of his pant leg (to coordinate with his life's love).

Sewing yesterday consisted of strip piecing various fabrics to frame out this cute couple. Nothing too elaborate - but BOY, is it CUTE!

After a little squaring up, I think it'll be a wall hanging, maybe a pillow. We'll see!

Thanks for reading. Have a blessed day!

Bye, all!

Not Your Mother's Baked Beans

So, I've never been a fan of baked beans. Don't care enough for the thick-ish sweet sauce to withstand the starchy beans. For the most part it's no kidneys, no limas, not even butter beans however cute the name may be. However, I must say I know that your tastes change as you age. Take onions for instance, never used to get'em to my lips. Now, how can you have a hoagie without them and have it taste nearly as good? And of course they're wonderful in a salad... back to the beans..

I caved in some years back now and started making chili for my family. A friend of mine makes hers nice and loose with hardly any beans. I modeled mine after that somewhat. Nice and loose with yummy tomatoes (another item I've recently come to enjoy), but I switched up the kidney beans for small white beans - much more tolerable!

Now, for the 'baked beans'. My sister-in-law's husband just loved his co-worker's wife's beans. Pfeww! What a sentence!  Anyway, he loved them so much that he got the recipe. We were visiting this past Sunday and they served them. They were good - not your mother's baked beans. They're kind of like a chili but sweet and with BACON!

yummy!

I did make a couple of adjustments like decreasing the sugar, changing the beans and subbing out canned baked beans for beans and extra ketchup.

Here's the final product:

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. bacon

1 large onion

1 1/2 C brown sugar

1 1/2 C ketchup

3 T vinegar

1 can pinto beans w/ liquid

1 can small white beans w/ liquid

1 can small pink beans w/ liquid

1 can french style green beans w/ liquid

In a large dutch oven (I used my 12 inch cast iron deep skillet), cook bacon until crisp, add the hambuger and cook thoroughly, add onion and cook until translucent. Drain well.

Add to meat mixture the brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar and all of the beans.

Stir to combine.

Cover and put it in the oven at 350* F for an hour.

There ya' have it!

Enjoy!

p.s. Let me know what ya' think about 'em!

Up, up and away!

Well, who would've thought yesterday while typing to you

that my husband was receiving an invitation for us to go up in this balloon?

picture taken from Warren \County Farmers' Fair Brochure

Of all times to not have an SD card in the camera! I left in a rush after typing yesterday's post and neglected to take it with me :(

Thankfully, the camera holds a few shots without a card...

Off to Fred's house. Fred's the pilot, by the way!
To fill you in, every summer at the fair/Balloon Festival, our family helps out by way of setting up, chasing and then packing up balloons for any pilot that may need help. Most of the time we're with

Fred (Balloonatics & Aeronuts)
or
Kenny (Balloons Over Orlando)

FILLING THE BALLOON

A LITTLE LOOK AT THE INSIDE WHILE IT'S
FILLING UP WITH AIR

THIS IS FRED, VERY FOCUSED AS SHOULD BE!!!

THAT'S US OVER THERE ON THE MOUNTAIN
OR AT LEAST OUR SHADOW :)

PICTURESQUE OXFORD FURNACE LAKE

SOME OF THE BEAUTIFUL SCENERY AROUND
OUR NECK OF THE WOODS

It was such a wonderful night for a flight! Living where we do we could see both the NY and Philly skylines. NY was very distinguishable, however it didn't photograph very well, too hazy. Awesome, nonetheless!

For a good portion of the trip we were up a mile or more (a little unnerving when I started the "what ifs" in my head, but I didn't allow myself there for long).

Just before we landed we needed to fly THROUGH some trees in order to slow us down... that was really neat! When we came out on the other side of this one tree, Oxford firemen were there to cheer us.

Bet you thought I was going to say RESCUE us - we just happen to fly next their firehouse!

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU, FRED! for all the wonderful times that we have had in and around the balloons. Looking forward to many more.

My family is very blessed.

Did ya' miss me?

Hey there everyone!
I know it's been a TERRIBLY long time. 
Summer seemed to fly right on by.

Here we are again... the start of a new school year for my kids and a time for me to get back into a routine of some sort. It will be good again to have some time to myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT one of those moms that "can't wait for them to get back to school". I think that it's horrible to wish your children out of your house. They'll be gone all too soon. Nevertheless, I should have some alone time... time to talk to God, get into His Word, do my chores without interruption and maybe DEFINITELY do some fun stuff, too!

So, this summer I spent some time driving back and forth to French Creek Bible Conference where all three of my children spent their respective weeks at camp. In addition to their own weeks, Wyatt spent an extra week working in the kitchen and another week as counselor at Cass' conference. Our family spent Labor Day weekend there, as well.

We actually began the summer with a trip to Seeley's Bay, Ontario with a stopover in upstate NY on the way home. It was nice to get away together. And the dog, too,  is now an international traveler!

Another big highlight was the Farmer's Fair where my daughter was in the Princess competition once again this year. She came in 2nd Runner-up last year with her performance of 'God Bless the USA'. A little stiff on stage, wasn't quite her best. This year she gave it her all with a rousing performance of 'BoogieWoogie Bugle Boy' in the style of the Andrews sisters. With her stuffy head and runny nose she still pulled in 1st Runner-up!

Here she is in her homemade 'military' uniform complete with hand-crafted garrison cap. I found the pattern on Ehow.com. The skirt used to be a pair of hunting pants. I had taken in and old blouse and shortened a store-bought tie. I love how easy it was to pull off her authentic hairdo - hairnet and bobby-pins! 

she actually started facing backwards then turned around like this while marching

the music picked up and so did Cass and her 'jazz hands'

now, if you manage to flip through these fast enough, it's almost like being there!

tu, tu, tu, toot, diddle-ee-ada

'he's the boogie woogie bugle boy  of Company B

'they made 'im  blow a bugle for his Uncle Sam'

'it really brought 'im down because he couldn't jam'

instrumental 

'he puts the boys to sleep with boogie every night'

dah, dahh, da-da, da-dahh

Look at that smile - she had a GREAT time!

Okay, sorry for all the pics, but I'm a proud mama, what can I say?!

Well, now that my two September babies have both celebrated their birthdays and we have a couple weeks of school under our belts, I'll get at that routine like I mentioned earlier. Back to some sewing and baking and cards with the girls! AND of course finding some time to share with you all    ;) [wink]

no pic of Sawyer's cake but here's  Cass' cake

Gardening

Finally, I made some time for a little gardening! And oh, how happy I am to know that one of my beds is up to par.  Now if only I could keep the neighbor's stinkin' cats out!!! Mulched or not, they still come and dig in the soil and leave the nastiest little presents  {euwwwww yuk}

Here in another bed is a Siberian Iris. This was started I think two years ago from splitting one that had been given to me by my mother's friend, Margaret. I can't remember NOT knowing Margaret. She's no longer with us as she passed away several years ago now due to Cancer. I used  to stop in and see her from time to time or she would come over here.  We'd chat about gardening or our families. I'm fortunate to have reminders of her around my house. There are plants in the flowerbeds that came from her and the valance I have around my front porch was originally her idea. Her house in the neighboiring town and mine were the only ones around with a valance on the porch. People have told me how much they like mine and asked me if I had ever seen the one in S'ville. "Oh, yes", I'd say. She was my inspiration. {sigh} Sometimes I really miss Margaret.

You'll have to excuse the weeds. Isn't it pretty? I like them so much better than traditional Iris. The blades are so soft and delicate and grow in this compact "bush" which looks nice even after the blooms are gone. See the little gnome my mom gave me? She surprised me with it several years ago when she drove up. We were eating at a Cracker Barrel in Florida and I spotted this in the store, but couldn't take it on the plane. I really like her even though she is now faded and this year I found that the top of her hat has a hole in it!

Back to the cats... my husband bought Critter Ridder (Havahart) made mostly of black pepper oil. I spread it around the bed and alas, they still dug in the soil. SO, if you have any solutions perhaps maybe homemade repellants or the like, PLEASE leave me a comment. Happy gardening to you all!

A Little Getaway

Welcome to a new week. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. I did!

Friday evening I dropped Wyatt (16) off at Trinity OPC in Hatboro, PA for 'preview weekend' for our church camp. He is a counselor for the
4-5-6 camp (that's grades 4,5,6) at French Creek Bible Conference.

After dropping him, I headed back over the river to south Jersey for a visit with my godparents. They graciously put me up for the night. I then spent all of Saturday with them. Aunt Linda and I visited a couple quilt shops near their house and had lunch at the most adorable restauant. The menu was not your typical fare... much more "gourmet" than most. I had a yummy  veggie burger (called Garden Burger), served with a beautiful side salad. Of course, I had ordered fries, too not that I needed them!

This is the entryway into the room where we ate...

and this is the room where we ate. It's actually an enclosed porch.

Beautiful place, huh?

If ever in Mount Holly, NJ you just have to visit

Robin's Nest Restaurant . You won't regret it!

Before lunch Aunt Linda showed me the local shop in beautiful Historic Burlington, NJ where Uncle Lee quilts when he's not quilting at home. He's a terrific quilter! He even runs one of the shop's many longarm machines that are available for use.

I'm ashamed to say that I didn't remember to take any pictures inside. There was much, too much to see and it slipped my mind. Here's one shot from inside the car...

To see better pics and much more, click this link for

Olde City Quilts' website.

Now this little shop in Mount Holly (around the corner from Robin's Nest) has a wonderful display of fabrics.

The Village Quilter has many quilts on display as you can see here and kits made on site to make your own. 

"Hi" Aunt Linda! Thanks again for everything - I had a really nice time visiting with you and Uncle Lee. We'll have to do it again sometime soon!



New recipe time!

It was a very dreary day here in NJ.  It rained most of the day.

On the upside... while running a few errands this morning, I stopped at the thrift store and found one of those cool umbrellas that have a duck head for a handle.

Isn't it cute?

and only 3 dollars!

When I got home, I remembered that I had rhubarb in the fridge SO,

with the weather the way it was, I thought...

what a perfect day to bake a pie!

Yummy! Rhubarb Custard Pie!

It looks a little like an omelet in this picture!

Although this was a new recipe,

I still baked two and oh boy, were they good!

Here's the recipe:



The custard is made up of 3 eggs, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix all that together and pour over a pound of rhubard cut into 1/4 inch chunks mixed with 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt (place this mixture in an unbaked pie shell).

Bake the pie for 45 to 50 minutes @ 350 degrees F.

Go ahead and give it a try. Leave me a comment - I'd love to hear what you think of it!



Hello again!

Remember me? It's been a looonnnggg time, hasn't it?
Well, I can't even give a good excuse - just that time has been flying by and that it's been chock full of busy!
I actually did finish all of the blocks for Cass' quilt. I finished them within a day ot two of my last post.
There's a total of 45 blocks. I have some strips cut out of muslin for the sashing, but that's all the further I got.

So, the other day I pulled out the featherweight and put together three more blocks from the shop hop.

It's a little difficult to see the prints on the lighter fabrics.

And looking at them just now... there's a BIG mistake on the one block (lower).

Apparently, when making my flying geese, I neglected to pay atttention to which fabric to put on which corner. It doesn't become obvious until you put it together with the rest!

Here, let me show you a better picture...

See how the upper left and lower right blue squares are surrounded by paisley print triangles...

Oh, oops! there's the problem!

The flying geese on the left and right sides should have the light corners reversed.

Maybe some day when I feel like ripping all of that apart it will be fixed.

But until then, this is the way it will be!

Hopefully heading off to Aunt Linda's Saturday for a visit and a little sewing,

maybe a visit to her local quilt shop.

I'll try to remember my camera for future posting.

Bye for now!

Cass' Quilt

Well, I've been making some progress on Cass' quilt. I had a dozen blocks done yesterday.

After just a little while THIS afternoon,

I managed to complete a total of 26.

These go together so quickly. No more cutting just now.

Just two work stations:

SEWING  and  PRESSING

Here's my girl looking so cute!

She really likes this material and is looking forward to her finished quilt.

I will be getting back to some Granny Square soon... I just want to get these completed first. Mostly because I have a definite goal in mind, but also because it's such a quick quilt to make.

Some simple sashing and before I know it I'll have the top done!

The Granny Squares don't have a definite purpose, yet. But, they're certainly fun to make!

So,  I promise... I haven't abandoned them!

Naming the machine was brought up in the last post. My daughter had a suggestion which oddly enough was then suggested by Chris. That name would be "Lola".

Chris didn't explain why, but Cass' explanation was that Lola was close to Lilo which reminded her of the Disney film "Lilo & Stitch". Get it? Stitch?!

Chris also thought "Alice" from the "Brady Bunch". Now, I don't recall Alice ever sitting in front of a sewing machine, but I kinda' like it.

Well, time for me to go to bed... Nice chatting with you! Goodnight!

Domestic Bliss

Today I thought I would get a little bit worked on Cass' quilt. A month or two ago, I ordered a Jelly Roll of "Domestic Bliss"

(by Liz Scott for Moda) from Green Fairy Quilts 

Just look at it. It screams "tweenager" !

For those of you unsure of this term... it pretty much means "pre-teen".

Never really liked the term myself, but HEY, it fits here!

SO, after talking to Cass a little, I paired up the strips.

Here's about half of them...

I sewed all the pairs together down the fabric width.

It was "sew" nice to use the NewHome.

It's such a great running machine - perfect little stitches!

Maybe she deserves a name.

I'll have to think on that one for a bit.

Anyway,

this is what I now have completed.



the strips on the machine are not yet sewn

There are nine of each pairing cut 4 1/2 square.

I'll probably arrange them something like this...



I'll be talkin' to ya'!