Sister's Choice Quilts

Practice Makes Perfect

I tried again yesterday to make an acorn mug rug. I do like this one better than the first one I made. I think the coordinating fabric frame sets off the acorn better. Isn't that fabric adorable? It is Bee's Life by Tara Reid for Riley Blake. I do love a bee-themed fabric.

It turned out bigger than I typically like for a mug rug. It is more like a sandwich and cup of tea mat!

The block pattern is from Lori Holt's Farm Girl Vintage book and is called "Little Acorn".

Wish me luck. I am off for four days with my father...Yesterday my sister couldn't get him up out of his chair, which was not good.  We have ordered one of those lift chairs that are as big as a Volkswagen. I sure hope it helps. It arrives on Tuesday. It seems as if every day brings a new challenge.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Acorn Mug Rug

I was in the mood for a new mug rug yesterday, so using one of the cute block patterns from Lori Holt's Farmhouse Vintage book, I made up this little acorn block. Now that I've made it, I think it would be cuter if I had framed it in a fabric other than that background print. It is too much light fabric and I think the acorn design would stand out more if it were framed.

I may have to try out another version of this today and see what happens.

This is where the magic happens. My little desk with my new mug rug ready for a cup of tea (or a glass of wine, depending on the time of day). My nephew works at a garden center and gave me that philodendron plant for Christmas. It was a great specimen back then and has gotten even better over time. The leaves are so green and shiny. And how cute is my lamp? I got it around 15 years ago at a little boutique shop. It is really one of a kind and I never get tired of it.

Even though it is over 90° here in Northern California where I live, I have been in a fall frame of mind. I made a great recipe for our dinner last night, from the Half Baked Harvest website. Here's a link to Cider Braised Chicken with Carmelized Onions and Mushrooms. It was truly outstanding and had all the fall vibes. I will definitely be making it again.

This is the recipe author's (Tieghan Gerard) photo, not mine. But I have to say, that looks pretty much how mine turned out. I served it on a bed of a wild rice/white rice blend. I also cut the recipe amount in half and I still have enough to feed my husband and me for two nights. Tieghan has several cookbooks out, and if you follow her on Instagram, she puts out great recipes almost daily.

I hope your week is going well.

 

Well Hi There

Hello to all of you! I return from my break refreshed and ready to tackle all sorts of fall projects. I finally got all of the homeschooling detritus off my dining room buffet. That sure has been a dumping ground for the past two and a half years while I was homeschooling my granddaughter Eva. 

I am enjoying my little fall vignettes here and there around the house. I love to switch things up a bit when the season changes. Our local hardware store has a big section of seasonal decor and I found such a pretty fall wreath for my front door there. I know I paid twice as much for it as I would have at Hobby Lobby, but I saw it and liked it and splurged.

Lastly, I got out a copper pumpkin I have had forever and put it on my front porch. My mother gave me that thing years ago and I cherish it. When Halloween is over, I just turn the jack o'lantern's face to the back and use it through Thanksgiving.

My father has been quite unwell for the past month or so. He just never seemed to bounce back from the fall he took, even though he didn't injure anything specifically. My sisters have arranged for all sorts of caregivers to come in and help us out because he really isn't able to do much of anything for himself. He has someone to bathe him a couple of times a week, a physical therapist to exercise his limbs and an occupational therapist who has been great at showing him how he can help us dress him, etc. It makes such a big difference when you are caring for a disabled person if they can help just a bit to roll over, lift their legs, and so on. It has been quite a challenge, but I think things are improving somewhat.

I hope you are all well and are enjoying the delights that early autumn brings!

Taking a Little Blogging Break

I am going to be taking a little break from blogging until the last week of September. When I return I hope to get back to my usual quilty and bookish content. 

Things have been rather hectic in my personal life these past months, with many family responsibilities vying for my time. With luck, things will settle down a bit over the next few weeks and I can get back to my hobbies and other interests. Thanks for your patience, and I'll look forward to "talking" to you again the last week of September!

Quick Update

Just a quick update to tell you my father is in the hospital. His doctor is concerned about kidney failure. We have observed that he has not bounced back from his fall two and a half weeks ago, and has progressively shown signs of significant weakness, loss of appetite, and lethargy. My sister Kate and I took him into the emergency room at Stanford Hospital on Sunday, and he was put on intravenous fluids and admitted for observation.

The good news is, that the IVs have really caused him to perk up and to be much more lively. He also has been eating fairly well. Nice to know hospital food is better than our home cooking. lol We hope he will come home today and it will be up to us to be sure he consumes enough fluids to keep his kidneys doing what they are supposed to do.

I know he is getting the best possible care. Having access to a top-tier medical facility is really a blessing. I will keep you posted on his recovery.

How's It Going? It's Going

We are making some changes in my father's domestic arrangements that we hope will make things more comfortable and accessible for him. We have set up a television in his bedroom for one thing. Along with a comfortable armchair. One of my sisters ordered a smaller "adjustable bed" for him. He can raise the head of the bed up for a more comfortable sitting position, which hopefully will also enable him to sleep better. So far, he doesn't seem super impressed, but we have our fingers crossed that these improvements will help him recover from his recent fall. My other sister is taking him to see his doctor today, and it will be so helpful to have her evaluation. We are thinking we need to hire a caregiver to come in daily to help with hygiene matters and other things.

How about some fun quilt-related content?

This pattern, "Lady Tulip" is by Laundry Basket Quilts. I bought it, not to make the quilt as pictured, but for the block patterns contained in it. I seem to make so many sampler quilts lately, that it is nice to have options for other blocks if I don't care for the ones offered in the sew-along. These blocks are all 6", except for the one in the center, obviously.

I recently bought this new Lori Holt book, "Scrappiness is Happiness", which has 32 ideas for scrappy quilt projects. Who doesn't love a scrappy project?

Lastly, I picked up this book by Anna Dineen called "You've Got a Point", which looked intriguing.

I haven't bought this one yet, but I will, just for the quilt on the cover. It is the latest from Red Crinoline Quilts, "Tucked Away Treasures".

If I ever have a chance to start a new project, there are plenty of ideas here!

Hope you are all having a good week. Wish me luck with my dad. I'm up to care for him this Friday through Sunday.

Life is One Big Juggle Lately

Life seems to be one big juggle lately. I am trying to get all my work assignments for September done this month (along with my normal August workload) in anticipation of being in Ireland next month. I've been trying to get my clothes planned for the trip, an activity I normally enjoy. Lastly, my father's recovery from his recent fall is not progressing the way we had hoped. I won't go into detail, but it has been a challenge for my sisters and me.

Anyway. Would you like to hear about my travel wardrobe? I love putting together clothes for a trip. I pick a basic neutral and one or two accent colors. I seem to always pick black as my neutral, and am switching things up this time. This time my neutral color is navy. Navy handbag, navy shoes, jeans of course, and tops in cream, navy, light blue, and grey. I am really pleased with the way things have come together.

I am usually not much for busy prints, but how pretty is this blue floral sweater? It goes with dark jeans, mid wash jeans, and white jeans. It is lightweight and I can push the sleeves up if it's warm (but I'm going to Ireland, so that's unlikely). I love it. I got it from Talbots.

This slate blue sweater and knit pants are from JJill. The sweater is also lightweight and will be comfortable to wear on the plane and when I am lounging around the house or a hotel. The top and pants are an exact match, which isn't showing up so well in the photo. The top is oversized and the pants have an elastic waist. Yay.

This cream sweater is the same as the slate blue one above. I love a scarf to change up the look of an outfit. There are several shades of blue in this one, which makes it look nice with jeans of different shades. A scarf also elevates the look of a super casual outfit I think.

So, there are a few of the items I'll be packing for my trip to Ireland in September. Nobody seems to dress up much anymore, so I expect jeans will be fine for most of our activities. We have tickets to a couple of theatrical performances, and I do have a slightly dressier outfit for those occasions. On a side note, in the first photo, the navy rain jacket on the far left is from LLBean. It folds up teeny tiny into the left side zippered pocket of the jacket! Great for packing and for tucking into your purse just in case. 

Playing around with clothes for the trip is fun and has been a nice distraction from the more serious things going on in my life right now.