Sister's Choice Quilts

A Little Fall, A Little Christmas

I am definitely caught between two seasons.  I got out a few Christmas table toppers and purchased a couple of tiny faux evergreen trees, but I still have my glass pumpkins out and am burning fall-scented candles.  The one in the photo is by Bath and Body Works and is called "Gather".  I really like that one.  It has a cozy apple/vanilla/maple aroma.  I am generally not so crazy about the ones that smell like food, but this one is good.  I bought one called Pumpkin Peanut Brittle, but even though it smelled good at first, before long it smelled like BURNT peanut brittle, which was alarming.

My reading choice is definitely more appropriate for October, as it is S.p.o.o.k.y.  The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware.  A young woman gets a job as a nanny in the middle of the Scottish Highlands.  The husband and wife are always away traveling, leaving her with four difficult children for weeks at a time.  The house is an old Victorian, that has been remodeled to be a "smart house".  Cameras are everywhere and to turn on a light, lock a door, or close the curtains complicated electronics equipment is required.  Doors seem to always be locking themselves and voices come across the loudspeakers, scaring the liver out of everyone. The grounds are super creepy and there is even a walled "poison garden", where, you guessed it, all the plants are poisonous.  Oh, and apparently there is a ghost.  I have to say I am enjoying it!!  

The meal of the week is Chicken Enchiladas.  I made a big pan for Sara and me to split, and enough leftovers for me to have for two or three nights.  Here is a link to the recipe if you like that sort of thing.

Here it is, all made-ahead well before dinner, ready to pop in the oven.

And here it is just out of the oven, garnished with chopped fresh tomatoes and cilantro.  It was yummy!  

In and Out of the Sewing Room

I am currently working on some little Churn Dash blocks that I plan to make into a table topper for my kitchen countertop display area.  The idea was to select "fallish" colors, but not be too drab.  I've got a huge scrap bin of these colors, and have picked out lots of reds, golds, teal, green and brown.  There will be a scrappy lattice and a scrappy border.  I am hoping the whole project will be around 20" square.  My Churn Dash blocks are 3 inches finished.

It's been a challenge to stay inside.  Our weather has been in the high 70s, with an 80 or two thrown in.  The fall colors in my neighborhood are breathtaking.  I sure do love this time of year. The photo below is a view from my front porch.

The deer have been everywhere lately.  My friend spied a group of nine of them on the way to my house the other day.  

I opened my front door to this sight at 6:30 the other morning!  There are five deer in the photo, but a bigger one had just wandered off to the left out of the picture.  About two seconds after I snapped the picture, they had all turned and bounded off.

My husband and I didn't do much this weekend.  We did manage to have lunch outside at an old hotel near us.  We sat at a table and watched the shadows flicker over our table cloth and little red leaves flutter down-but not in our beer thank goodness.

One thing we did accomplish was pretty amazing.  There is nothing in the way of services up where we live, but it turns out there is a man who is a clockmaker.  He repairs clocks of every kind, and we have four of them that are not currently working as they should.  We drove out to his shop (about 20 miles from us) with two of our sick clocks.  Sometimes when you think you have nothing, it turns out you have just what you need.  He fixed them both up while we waited and it only cost $30 for both.  He is an older gentleman, and I wonder who will follow in his footsteps?  I think the art of clock repair is going to go the way of the dinosaurs.

This wall clock has been above my kitchen pantry door in three houses that we have lived in.  When we changed the time for Daylight Savings a week ago, it stopped working.  I cannot tell you how many times I looked at that empty spot on the wall each day to see what the time was.  I sure am glad my new clockmaker friend was able to put in a new mechanism for me in about two minutes.

This clock belonged to my husband's parents and stopped working a few years ago.  I love the look of it, so I never minded so  much that it didn't work.  It turned out that the problem was some tiny piece that got bent, making the tick tock rhythm off.  It took Mr. Clockmaker so little time to sort that out he didn't even want to charge us.

Hope you had a good weekend and that you are enjoying the season wherever you are.  Happy Veteran's Day to all those who have served in our military.  Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

Comfort Food- Potato Gratin

A gratin is a French technique where ingredients are combined with eggs and cheese and breadcrumbs.  It is usually served in a shallow dish.  A gratin is comfort food at it's best, especially if potatoes are involved.

I found a recipe for a potato gratin on Facebook which I will share with you.  Here is a link.  The precise amounts of the ingredients aren't given, but I can tell you what I did.  You can click on the link and watch the video to see the technique and process.

I boiled six good-sized white potatoes until fork tender.  I slipped the skins off and mashed the potatoes with a couple of pats of butter and some salt and pepper.  I added maybe 1/4 cup of milk to loosen them up a bit.  Then I added three eggs, mixing well after each addition.  I added about a half cup of breadcrumbs to thicken things up a bit. Then I added a cup of mixed chunks of cheddar cheese (mild, sharp and white) and a cup of diced ham.  I spooned this potato/egg mixture into a buttered and breadcrumbed shallow baking dish (an oval one about 7 x 9).  I smoothed out the top and spread a beaten egg over the top and sprinkled on some more breadcrumbs.

I popped it into a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.

I loved the fact that making this did not completely total my kitchen.  Basically, you use one big pot to boil the potatoes and combine all the ingredients right into it before spooning the mixture into the baking dish.  No mess, very little fuss and lots of stick to your ribs good eating.

So, here is an idea.  This would make an amazing make-ahead side dish.  Leave out the ham, and this recipe would be wonderful with a steak or roast of any kind.  You could assemble it earlier in the day and bake just before serving.

Hope your week is going well.  Eva has a rotten cold, and when I picked her up from school today she was pretty miserable.  We got out some ointment for her raw red nose, a big soft handkerchief that had been washed a million times, and made a cup of chamomile tea.  Undoubtedly we will all be sharing this ailment in the next week or so.  Sigh.  Monday is a holiday here in the US (Veteran's Day).  If you know any vets, give them a hug and a thank you.

Jumping the Gun?

Sara came to my house yesterday, all excited, having purchased this cute lantern Christmas decoration.  Now I have to have one too.  It lights up and there are sparkly swirly "snowflakes".  I love it.  Is it too early?  Well, maybe.  Maybe not.

I didn't tell her, but I am ahead of her with my holiday decor.  I bought two of these gigantic candles from QVC.  $24 for two of them!  Bargain of the century.   They smell like candy canes and are so festive.  Now, I am not actually planning on putting up the tree and burning this candle in the next week or so, but I am considering decorating before Thanksgiving this year.  Thanksgiving isn't until the 28th for goodness' sake, which I think is late.  If I am going to all the trouble to drag out all my holiday decor, I want it up for at least four weeks.  And it can't stay up a minute past Dec. 31. 

And believe it or not, this Lost-Her-Quilting-Mojo GIrl is thinking of doing a Christmas quilt project.  Earlier this summer, 3 SIsters came out with a beautiful red and white collection called Cinnaberry.

How pretty is that?  They have what they call a project sheet called Holly Berries to go with it, to make a super simple quilt out of basically, half-square triangles.  Some quilt shops are selling the project sheet for $2, but it is online for free. Here is a link to the pattern.

You probably already have a collection of reds and backgrounds in your stash, so this could be a "free" quilt if you have the materials on hand.

How easy would that be to stitch up before Christmas?  It is just half-square triangles set on the diagonal with some setting squares.  It finishes at 63" square.

Although the kit (if you can get your hands on one), comes in one of those beautiful Moda project boxes.  Just sayin'.

I tell you, friends, I am getting in the mood... 

September and October Book Recommendations

I have read some wonderful books during September and October, and I am so excited to share my favorites with you.  Grab yourself a cup of tea or coffee and settle in for a long post.

My reading lately seems to be leaning towards coming of age stories, which is a genre I have always enjoyed. This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger was a five-star read for me.  The book is a coming of age story about four children who escape from a nightmarish orphanage for Native American kids in the 1930s.  They take a canoe down the river to what they hope will be freedom from abuse and a brighter future.  Along the way, they meet many strange and outlandish people, some of whom mean them no good.  Life lessons are learned along the way, and I found myself gasping in dismay and shouting with encouragement as I turned the pages.  This book is reminiscent of Huckleberry Finn, which I also loved.  I highly recommend this one.

One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow by Olivia Hawker was a marvelous book.  You can read it for free if you have an Amazon Prime membership, and I strongly urge you to take advantage of it.  Set on the Wyoming frontier in the 1850s, the story has a very far fetched premise but was hugely entertaining and thought-provoking.  In the middle of nowhere, far from any towns or other people, there are two neighboring families.  In the first few pages, the husband of one family shoots the husband of the other family dead. He turns himself in to the sheriff in the nearest town, over 20 miles away and gets sent to jail for two years.  Why the light sentence?  Let's just say he had his reasons for committing the crime.  The circumstances leave behind the two men's wives and their children.  The women are filled with rage and remorse, respectively, but know they need to band together in order to survive the harsh winter and not lose everything, including their children.  Talk about conflict!  Can the two women work together in order to hold their lives together?  Oh my, this was a nail biter.

A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier (author of The Girl With the Pearl Earring) is a book I picked up when I was in London this September.  The American cover is different from the one shown above, so search by title if you are looking for it.  I have loved the author's other books and couldn't wait to dive into this one.  Set in England, after WWI, this story features a spinster named Violet, who is one of the "surplus women" left after the War, when so many men had died and there literally were not enough partners for all the women left behind.  She lives with her demanding and difficult mother and yearns for a more independent life for herself. Violet gathers all her courage and moves to the town of Winchester where she finds work as a poorly paid typist. In her free time, she meets up with a group of women who are embroidering kneeling pillows for the cathedral.  There is lots of sewing going on and much discussion of embroidery stitches in this book.  You will also learn about bell ringing at cathedrals, and see how Violet finds herself in the new life she has chosen.  I enjoyed this book but found it rather slow going and low key.  I recommend it if you like a book that is more character-driven than plot-driven.

Ooooh, was this one ever perfect for Halloween week!  How about that gorgeous cover, too?  This book is only $4.99 for the Kindle edition on Amazon and is a real bargain. The Familiars by Stacey Halls is set in 1612 in Lancaster England.  The main character is a wealthy noblewoman named Fleetwood Shuttleworth (really, is not that one of the best character names ever?) who is expecting a baby when the book begins.  She has had several miscarriages and is fearful that this pregnancy will end in the same way.  She finds herself a midwife named Alice that she likes and trusts and finds that her health is improving under the woman's care.  The only problem is, the local magistrate is on a witch hunt and has included women healers in his frenzied accusations and roundups. Fleetwood is determined to prove her midwife's innocence and give birth to a healthy baby with her assistance before time runs out. Lots of action and suspense in this book, as well as the overriding question:  Can Alice really be trusted?

Another gorgeous cover.  The Garden of Lost and Found by Harriet Evans was just so good. Another bargain right now on Amazon: $5.99 for the Kindle edition.  Set in 1919 in England.  Liddy Horner is shocked to find her artist husband burning his best-known painting "The Garden of Lost and Found" in the garden of their home, Nightingale House.  His fame and fortune were largely the result of this nationally beloved work and it is incomprehensible that he would do such a thing.  The story is told over three generations, and by the end, you will understand the artist's motives and actions.  Poignant, engrossing, mysterious and captivating.   I loved it.

Two books by the same author.  If you enjoy what I call "women's fiction" you will love Mary Ellen Taylor, if you aren't already familiar with her.  Winter Cottage and Spring House both are set in the same place and have many of the same characters.  The two residences in the book titles are being renovated after being unexpectedly inherited by one of the characters.  Lots of description, forays back into the past and the lives of the previous owners, and some romance.  Sweet, easy reads.

Last but not least The Dutch House by Ann Patchett.  I have already reviewed this one, but can't help but mention it again.  Wonderful book.  One of the best I've read this year for sure.

As always, I hope you enjoyed my book reviews and if you end up reading any of them, Happy Reading!

 

Let's Get Back in the Sewing Room, Shall We?

It's been a minute since I have done in sewing, but after a few days without power, I thought I should be more grateful for my electricity and actually use it.  I got up to the sewing room yesterday and brought out an unlabeled project that I started back in May.  Five months ago.

When I opened the box, I literally thought "What on earth was I making?"  I had to look up my blog posts to refresh my memory.  Honestly, if that isn't a good reason to have a blog, I can't think of another one.  It turns out, this is the Temecula Quilt Company's Sew Along that they did on "One Block Wednesdays".  The instructions can be found here.

I have been so lacking any quilting mojo for months, mainly due to the fact that I have way way way too many bed sized quilts.  I think in the future, I need to make more smaller projects, and maybe work on one or two large quilts per year.  This will be a big one, but I have to say it is fun and kind of mindless stitching.  I listened to some book podcasts while I sewed and spent a nice couple of hours.  

Happy Halloween!

Quick, Before the Power Goes Out Again...

I have to post this quickly, as our power has been shut off since Saturday night, and just came back on (it's Monday around 11:00 PM).  They tell us they are shutting us down again tomorrow until Thursday or Friday, so I need to get this up or I will miss my chance.  I cannot even begin to tell you what a pain it has been to have no electrical power for all these days.  Every Costco, Home Depot, Lowes is sold out of generators.  We have one on order but it won't come until later in the week.  California is a total disaster right now between the areas that are on fire or are without power. I have my milk in an ice cooler, haven't had a shower, cannot flush my toilets or run any water, and will kill for a coffee.  It is harsh my friends, and I am not exaggerating.  I am about ready to move to Canada, I tell you.

Anyway, we managed to have our annual family Halloween Party and I wanted to share some photos of the costumes.

Our family came as a circus group this year.  My husband was the ringmaster, I was a clown, Sara was a tiger and Eva was a little acrobat girl.  We actually tied this year with our arch-nemesis group, my niece's family.  They came as the Adamm's family.  The baby was supposed to be Uncle Fester, but he refused to wear the bald head wig.  I am sure they would have won, otherwise.

Here is a close up of Sara and me.  She won big time:  Best Effort and Best of Show!  Her makeup was amazing, and she stayed in snarly character all night long.  She didn't go to art school for nothin', right?

Here are some other highlights:

Lady Liberty

The Donald, in the suit many say he belongs in.  I wonder how hard it was to wash that fake tan makeup off.

I am blanking on who my nephew is supposed to be, but he was passing out real McDonald's Cheeseburgers all night long.  If you know who is he is, please tell me.

My hippie cousin and his pirate wench wife.  He actually looked exactly like my brother in law's brother from Washington State, and people kept saying "Oh is that David, down for a visit?".  It was pretty funny.

Pirates were a popular theme.

This is Slash from Gun's n Roses.

And this gunslinger and his gal are pretty funny.

And here's my dad, living proof that at 94, you are never too old to get into a costume and enjoy the Halloween fun.

There were plenty more fabulous costumes, but I either didn't get a good shot or missed the photo completely.  Apologies to those I missed. Darn.

Have a happy Halloween everyone.  Wish us luck out here in California where pretty much nothing is working right at the moment.