Sister's Choice Quilts

Reading Slump?

Have you ever been the victim of a reading slump?  There is nothing worse, really.  Wanting to pick up a really engrossing book and not having any idea where to begin is just torture.  Well, never fear, I have some ideas for you!  Four of these books are quite long, and one is rather short.  I love a nice juicy long book in the summer, when I have loads of time to immerse myself in another world.  On the other hand, if your time is limited, try the shorter option.

Life is transformed for an impoverished but genteel war widow and her spinster daughter when they are forced to take in lodgers.  Their world is about to experience quite the shake up.

A story told by the wife and four daughters of an evangelical preacher who takes them to the Belgian Congo in the 1950s.  A suspenseful epic drama of one family's un-doing.

Bessey Buckley, a street wise fifteen year old, takes a job as a maid in a nineteenth century Scottish manor house where things are definitely not as they seem. 

First in the Seven Sisters series.  Six baby girls are adopted by a fabulously rich Swiss businessman.  Upon his death, each girl is given the details as to where in the world she came from and encouraged to return there to explore her roots.  I love this series of books where each daughter returns to her origins and discovers who she really is.

I am a broken record on this book.  Still holds first place for best book of the year for me.  Less than 300 pages, it is the gripping adventure of two college boys who are traveling on a remote Canadian river by canoe.  These boys are tested by fire, white water and violence, and you will not be able to put the book down until the last page.

The only disadvantage to choosing a book to get you out of a reading slump, is that after reading it you may have a book hangover, which calls for a whole other blog post!

New Favorite Candle

I have always loved candles, especially scented ones.  For a long time I have enjoyed Yankee candles, but a year or so ago I started buying candles from Bath and Body Works.  The fall scents in particular are my favorites--apple, cinnamon, clove, pumpkin, fall leaves etc.  I moved on to Christmas last year and enjoyed peppermint, evergreen, pomegranate, cedar.  For spring and summer I have been searching for something I loved, and discovered French Baguette and Paris Cafe (coffee scented).

My most recent find is one called Bonfire S'Mores.  Oh my goodness.  It actually smells like graham crackers, a bit of chocolate and slighted burned marshmallows.  Really.  It is so wonderful.  I close my eyes and it feels as if I am sitting under the stars camping out.  It is on sale right now for $12.25, about the most I am willing to pay for a candle I am going to burn up in a few weeks.

If you enjoy scented candles, do give it a try while it is discounted.  And if you get a chance to buy French Baguette or Paris Cafe, I don't think you will be disappointed!  A lot of the new fall scented candles are on sale right now for $14.95, so do take advantage of the sale.  You don't ever want to pay full price for these candles.

A Taste of Summer

I have been working sporadically on the binding of my Liberty Road quilt.  It's been a pitiful effort.  Oh well, it will get done when it gets done.  This summer, I tell you--it has been one long lazy one!

We were at the pool all morning.  Today was Team Picture Day.  They had a professional photographer come and take pictures of the whole team and also the kids individually.  Eva was pretty dead set that she would wear her swim cap and goggles, but was talked out of it fortunately.

I have to tell you my petunia story.  Despite our hot climate, this is the best year I have ever had for petunias.  As you can see, they are still going strong.  This is the third amazing bloom I have had off of these plants.  You want to know the secret?  Once they have nearly finished blooming, I put them out in my front yard where the deer can get at them.  Without fail, within 24 hours, the deer trim them down to practically nothing.  I take the pot back into the fenced back yard where the deer can no longer get at them, and they grow back better than before and bloom again like mad.  I have done it twice with incredible results!  Who knew deer could actually do something useful?

This is another combo I have had good luck with this year.  These are Vincas and Verbenas.  I can leave these right out in my front yard because the deer do not care for them.  The lady at the garden center told me if a plant has a bitter milky sap, or if the plant smells bad, the deer will leave it alone.  Geraniums are pretty deer proof too.

Here is one of the books I am currently reading.  I have recently discovered the very prolific author Rhys Bowen and really enjoy her.  In Farleigh Field is a WW2 mystery set in Kent, England, on a large country estate.  If you are missing Downton Abbey, you might like this book too.  The British army has taken over most of the Earl's estate and his family of four daughters is coping as best they can.  A parachuter falls to his death on the property and it seems that he may not have been British.  Much intrigue ensues.

So that is all the news I have to report.  As you can see, things are pretty simple around here!  Have a great weekend everyone.

 

Two Blue Quilts

Amidst the craziness that is beginning to define this summer, I managed to dig out two quilts that I simply must send out for quilting.  The one above I think I made ten years ago believe it or not.  Yes, time to get that baby quilted.  It is half square triangles set into stars and arranged, well, arranged the way I arranged them.  I know the fabrics are totally from my stash.

You all may remember Aurora.  Sweet little blue stars from a pattern by Laundry Basket.  This one is more recent.

I have an idea to decorate the upstairs guest room in blue and white.  I love to make blue and white quilts, but they just don't fit into the decor of the rest of my house.  How nice to have a nice blue and white oasis for guests to enjoy.  There is an antique rocker in that room that is upholstered in blue, tan and white fabric, so it will all go nicely together.

That is the plan anyway.  Between swim practice, swim meets, and various other Eva activities I need to get the backings sorted out and the quilts in the mail.  Wish me luck!

Sushi!

My son in law knows how to do things right.  He hired a professional sushi chef to come to his house and prepare five hours of sushi for 16 guests.  It was amazing.  Just imagine this happening in your own home and not a restaurant!

The sushi master brought an assistant and they made the magic happen all evening long.

There were oysters.  I have gone decades proclaiming that I would never eat a slimy icky oyster.  I was persuaded to try one and now realize my life has been wasted.  Years that I could have been enjoying this incredible delicacy down the drain. I could weep.  I cannot even describe how wonderful these were.

This was the freshest albacore tuna you can imagine.  Yes it is raw.  Yes it was delicious.

How is this for a presentation?  It was so cool!

These are yam chips that were used to scoop up fresh seviche (more raw fish marinated in lime juice).

Seviche.

I mean, really?

My son in law is a winemaker, so of course his wine was served.  Heaven.

Naturally to show respect for the occasion, I had to dress up.  It was just so special.

I wore a Japanese scarf as a wrap, and arranged my hair in as Japanese a style as I could manage.

The amazing thing is that I actually own blue chop sticks.

It was such a fun evening, and I am so grateful to have been able to enjoy the food, the fellowship and the incredible experience.  It was a once in a life time event for sure.

This and That

I am working sporadically on a couple of different projects.  Honestly, I have it on my calendar to sew at least one hour a day, but it just has not been happening.  I seem to always be going for a walk with my friend, reading a book or taking Eva to swim practice.  Despite my lagging attention, I am making some progress on my two projects.

I went gangbusters on these little units over the weekend, but still need to press about 300 of them.

On another subject entirely, I was out watering my herb garden yesterday and noticed something very weird growing around my herb plants.

Some sort of fungus is growing around the base of my sage, oregano and thyme!  Ick.  Have you ever seen such a thing?  I want to dig it all up and throw it away.  I am thinking it is something that was in the potting soil, do you think?  The soil is in a raised wooden box, and was used last year (not changed out this year).  No fungus last year.  If you know anything about this sort of issue, please do share!

Short Line

This is just a quick post on a quilt I have been enjoying lately.  It is called Short Line, and is a pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.  It was made with fabrics from various American Jane (Sandy Klop) collections, designed for Moda.  

It is a gorgeous quilt and although I have had it for nearly ten years I have never gotten tired of it.  This one is a real winner.  It was made from 1 1/2" strips of fabric-making it a great choice for honey buns.

You can also make it with larger strips (jelly rolls).  This version was made from 2 1/2" strips of French General fabrics, and made quite a large quilt.  If you can get your hands on the pattern, it is a great quilt to make in either version.

Quilt Joy

Do you remember me telling you about my young friend who made a quilt top for her older sister around five years ago?  She procrastinated getting it quilted and it just sat in her closet for all this time.  It became a family joke that she would never finish the thing and was the source of much teasing

As time passed, her sister married and moved to Georgia, and just last year had a baby.  The girls talk often, but long distance, and have missed each other very much.  In nearly every phone call, her sister would tease "So, where's my quilt?"

My young friend decided enough was enough, and recently asked me for help connecting her with a good long arm quilter.  I passed on some information to her and she contacted the quilter and made arrangements to ship the quilt out to be quilted.  She got it back in no time, and was very pleased with the results.

She made a label, I attached the binding for her, and she hand sewed the binding down herself.  Her sister arrived for a much anticipated visit this week, and you can see the moment of presentation in the photo above.  Sister looks appropriately delighted, but just look at the expression of pride on the face of my young friend (on the left).

Now that is priceless.  If you ever have the opportunity to mentor a young quilter, say yes.  It is one of the most rewarding things I have done.

Happy 4th of July

Ozzie and I would like to wish you all a happy and safe 4th of July if you live in the US, and a happy Thursday if you don't!  We plan to go to a barbecue with the family, and my corn salad that I posted on a week or so ago has been requested.  I told you it was good!

Ozzie isn't too keen about all the racket the fireworks make, but he plans a restful day up until the festivities begin.  I will spend the day making corn salad and reading my book.  Talk to you tomorrow!

Free Half Square Triangles

I have been snagging an hour or so every now and then to work on some blocks I started a few months back.  I am trimming off my triangles, but not tossing them.  Oh no, this time I am being frugal and turning them into half square triangles.  I used to scoff at friends who would save all their triangle trimmings to use in some other project.  It just seemed like too much bother to me.  But these are pretty big triangles, and I thought it would be a shame to waste them.

I am chain stitching the hsts and trimming them down to 2" squares.

Eventually I will sew them into some sort of quilt.  

I have about a gazillion of them.

Otherwise, I am spending most of my time with this gooney bird.