Sister's Choice Quilts

Sewing and Baking

I am having so much fun with these little village blocks from the Fat Quarter Shop 2015 Designer Mystery kit. This is the Schoolhouse if you couldn't tell. Love the little flag and bell tower.

Fast forward seven years to the 2022 Designer Mystery project for block #6 designed by April Rosenthal. That plaid was a biscuit to work with, I tell you. My seam ripper really got a workout until I saw on the FaceBook group that someone had the bright idea to cut the plaid on the diagonal so the wavy mismatching lines weren't an issue. I blatantly copied their idea and am much happier with my results. Sorry about the bad lighting in the photo. It was way early in the morning when I took it.

I finally finished 20 of those star center blocks. Would you believe that the weekly assignment back when that kit arrived each week was to make 20 blocks per week? I'm lucky if I can finish 4 of them in that time!  No wonder this project is taking me six years. My grand total so far is 180 blocks, so only 60 more to go. 

Our Tuesday afternoon baking project was these cupcakes. Eva and I watched how-to YouTube videos until we felt confident enough to play with a piping bag and various decorating tips. I loved using the tip for the results on the top left. It looks like little cacti, which isn't very Christmassy but was super fun to do. We had fun making these, and at least our first attempts did not resemble the poo emoji, so that was good.

Plugging Along

This is the most recent block in the free Sewcialites 2 sew-along Fatquartershop is hosting. I can't remember the name of the block, but it is 6th in the sew-along and was designed by Camille Roskelley. I am using the Flower Pot fabric collection by Lella Boutique and making the 9-inch blocks. I had so much leftover Christmas Morning fabric from the Among the Stars Again sew-along that I decided to make these blocks in the 6-inch size until my fabric ran out. That doesn't look like it will happen anytime soon, and I am sure enjoying these smaller blocks. Here are the six blocks have made so far in that size and fabric line. 

I did a small variation in the sixth block. Can you spot it?

I actually really like it! And it was quicker to make with less matching of points and seams like the first version.

I also made more of the 3 1/3" square in a square blocks I need for the border of the Cozy Up/Family Reunion quilt I am making. To tell you the truth I am bored out of my mind making all these little blocks. 64 of them I need. Almost there, but then I have to sew a tiny lattice strip to each of them for the border. I sure would like to get this off my design wall.

This is what happens when you work on umpteen projects at once. A whole lot of nothin'. Oh well. "Process not product", right? 

Hope your week got off to a great start!

Home Alone

This weekend I felt a bit like the kid in the movie Home Alone. My husband, daughter, and granddaughter all went to Disneyland without me. Actually, Sara had planned to drive down alone to the park in Southern California with Eva, but my husband decided that wasn't a great idea. He offered to drive them down and accompany the two of them to the park, and they accepted his offer. I suppose I could have gone too, but the weather was horrible at home and I did have Ozzie to look after. It was simpler for me to hold down the fort.

I did some sewing, a lot of reading, and watched two Hallmark movies and the new Three Pines series on Amazon Prime. I made cranberry coffee cake and drank boozy coffee (as you can see above). Boozy coffee is a Keurig pod of Cinnabon-flavored coffee and a splash of Frangelico liqueur. My diet was terrible, but I slept like a log and Ozzie and I got along all right. It was pouring rain all weekend, so taking him out to do his business was a bit of a production, but we got through it. That dog sure does hate to get wet. 

Someone is bound to ask, so the two Hallmark Christmas movies were "A Midnight Kiss" and "My Big Fat Family Christmas", both of which were really good. Midnight Kiss was about an event planner and My Big Fat Family Christmas was about a Chinese American family who lives in San Francisco and throws a big party every Christmas. They were light, fun, and cute. Where do they find such attractive people to star in those movies?

The new Three Pines tv series, which is based on the Louise Penny novels was very enjoyable. I look forward to more episodes. I think Alfred Molina was very well cast as Inspector Gamache.

I finished the book "Gingerdead Man" and give it 3 stars. I started another Christmas-themed novel called "The Twelve Slays of Christmas" which I liked a lot better. It is set on a family-owned Christmas tree farm that is not just for cutting down holiday trees, but serves food and has all sorts of Christmas-themed entertainment. A town busy body ends up dead and everyone is a suspect. It is a fun and very atmospheric holiday book if you like that sort of thing. I finished it yesterday evening and give it 5 stars. If you are looking for a great book to read during the holidays, this could be it!

All in all, it was a great weekend. I got a teensy bit lonely, but the junk food and tv helped....

The family brought me back a Mickey gingerbread boy, so I guess my diet will have to wait.

All the Christmas Things

I am so enjoying my house this holiday season. As I write this post, I have the entire place to myself and I am relishing the quiet and peace. That is my little reading nook in the photo above. I spent some time in that chair finishing "Hester", the book I described in yesterday's post. It was really good. The ending felt a bit rushed to me, but I was quite satisfied with the book overall.

I have the house to myself because my husband, daughter Sara, and granddaughter Eva drove down to Disneyland! Sara was planning on taking Eva on her own, but my husband didn't think that was the best idea, so he offered to go along and drive and pay for things. That was an offer she couldn't refuse. So Ozzie and I are holding down the fort and quite content with the arrangement. 

I didn't spend much time sewing yesterday because I felt more like reading to tell you the truth. These little blocks take a minute to put together because of the center star block unit being so tiny. Somehow since 2018 I have managed to amass scads of them in spite of that.

I have well over 180 at this point. Supposedly, my goal is 240. The blocks are 6" finished, so that would be a darned big quilt. I need to figure out when I can stop making these blasted things.

Ozzie and I are living the life of Reilly. I made biscuits and gravy for dinner (an unhealthy meal my husband wouldn't touch if he were here) and watched a Hallmark Christmas movie (which would have put my husband to sleep in two minutes). The weather has been rainy and blustery all day long, and we are ready to turn into our cozy beds now.

Happy Friday!

 

Decorating Frenzy

Sorry for my spotty posting schedule this week. I have been in a decorating frenzy over here. Luckily I have had lots of help getting things out from my personal Christmas Elf, Eva. The runner on my dining room table is called Christmas Pines, by Pattern Basket. I probably altered the pattern to fit my table. As I recall, I bought the pattern just for the tree block and then took it from there to make what I wanted.

We put up several trees during the holiday season. This one is in my front room/library next to the chair where I like to read. We have a collection of Waterford crystal ornaments that I put on it. They are best seen close up, because they are clear.

We are having our first winter storm, and it has knocked all the remaining leaves off the trees. This is so cool: when I went outside to take this picture a little hummingbird flew right up into my face to see what I was up to. You can just see him in the lower right part of the picture. 

This is our main Christmas tree, in the living room. My husband's precious collection of glass ornaments is on it. That took awhile to get decorated, I tell you. 

Today my plan is to sew for a bit, and do lots of reading. 

This is the book I am currently enjoying. Hester by Laurie Lico Albanesse. It is described as "a hauntingly beautiful- and imagined- origin story to The Scarlet Letter" by Nathanial Hawthorne. The main character is a highly talented embroiderer, which could resonate with many of you. Isn't that cover gorgeous?

Hope to return tomorrow with some sewing to show you!

It's a Quilt Shop and Christmas Reading

It's a Quilt Shop! How cute is that? The Designer Mystery 2015 Block 6 is a quilt shop. What a perfect addition to our village.

It's coming along, my little village. My tiny star blocks are progressing too, but gosh, they are slow going. Very fussy to make those little 2 1/2" center stars.

My friend Sue and I always like to buddy-read a book or two during the holiday season. This time we chose a cozy mystery called "Gingerdead Man" by Maya Corrigan. It is a light read, not too intense or gory. Cozy mysteries tend to rely on poison or other not-too-bloody means of offing the victims. This book has a lot of characters to keep track of (that's my only complaint so far). I am about three-quarters of the way through it, and I sure don't have a clue who done it. Have any of you read this? It is part of a series evidently, but you don't need to have read any of the previous books. 

Do you enjoy reading holiday-themed books during Christmas? What do you recommend?

Long Weekend Afterglow

Did you have a chance to sew this weekend? Nothing like Thanksgiving weekend for family activities, decorating, shopping, and relaxing. The family gathering was a small one, the shopping was done online, the decorating has definitely begun, and the relaxing included some sewing. I whipped up this runner in a few hours on Saturday. It won't be quilted in time to use this year, but it sure turned out cute. Extra points if you can spot the camouflaged Ozzie in the picture.

I had a honey bun and some yardage from a Bonnie and Camille collection from a few years ago (At Home). I have wanted to use it forever but never had the right idea. Isn't that black accent just right? I ended up using my Creative Grids log cabin trim tool and did the Courthouse Steps variation. Those blocks took no time at all. If you have that ruler, dig it out and make something fast with your scraps.

Are you sick of eating turkey leftovers yet? We are, so on Saturday night I made my favorite ham and potato soup. I think it is the best thing I ever ate. Seriously. Make this soup. I've made it many times and would take it to my dad's, and he enjoyed it too. I made it exactly as shown, except I may have added more potatoes than the recipe called for and then had to add more broth. It is very forgiving. And delicious. 

Lots to share with you all this week! Hope you all had a great weekend.