Sister's Choice Quilts

New Fall Table Decoration

I was inspired this weekend to create a new table decoration for fall. My inspiration came from a YouTube video by Jennifer Decorates. Jennifer Davenport is a professional designer from Tennessee who creates the most beautiful decor. Her channel has loads of DIY ideas. She made her table decoration from items she recently purchased at Hobby Lobby. I couldn't get to Hobby Lobby, so I went to a Michaels store near my dad's house. I found just about everything at Michaels, including the cornucopia basket. Her things from Hobby Lobby were cuter than what I got at Michaels, but it isn't that noticeable. Honestly, I think Hobby Lobby would have been cheaper too. 

The main idea I copied from her is that I wanted a neutral fall color palette, with no strong oranges in sight. I think my cornucopia works on the batik leaves table runner I finished last fall. The runner does have stronger colors than the table arrangement, but I like the overall paler look.

I encourage you to take a look at Jennifer's YouTube channel for some great ideas. I promise you will pick up a tip or two you didn't know. 

The runner is from the Maple Leaf pattern by the Pattern Basket. I made it just a year ago, and of course I changed things up. Here is a link to my post where I shared about making it. Interestingly enough, California was on fire then too. This is becoming the new normal. The situation in Lake Tahoe sounds dire right now. Lines of cars are trying to evacuate and get to Nevada and away from the Caldor Fire, which has gotten away from the firefighters. Prayers for everyone affected.

Carried Away Buffalo Check Table Topper Finished

It's done and it's cute. It was fast and fun to make too. Here is a link to the pattern if you think you need to make one.

I still want to make the Christmas version, which is little presents instead of pumpkins. I need a little break though. I had forgotten that I really do not care to work with solid fabrics. Is anyone with me on this? It seems like they show any easing in the seam allowance and tend more towards pleating and irregularities. It is probably operator error, but I never seem to have those issues with print fabrics. And if you don't line up your seam intersections to the thread, it stands out like a beacon.

When it's quilted it won't be an issue, but it bugs me anyway.

Anyway, this little table topper is around 30 inches square. It has a cute farmhouse vibe to it that will look adorable on my dining room table. There's no reason you couldn't play around with the size of this and make it a long rectangular runner, or even a thicker rectangular runner.

Now to get it sent out for quilting if I am to have a prayer of getting it back in October. 

 

Buffalo Table Topper Progress

I had a great day yesterday. Eva was on campus for workshops all day, so I had an unstructured schedule. I treated myself to a pedicure and a Subway sandwich and then got to sew for a couple of hours. I worked on some more of the buffalo check rows and the stars for the table topper I am making from the Carried Away pattern. I haven't had a day to myself in ages, so it was very enjoyable. 

This is Carried Away's photo. Mine should look fairly similar. I want to do the Christmas version as well.

I have to share another Carried Away pattern called Pumpkin Run, which I think is just adorable.

I think this pattern is so stinkin' cute and want to make it immediately! I just ordered the pdf pattern and think you should too! I am going to rotate the pumpkin placement so they face horizontally.

You just can't have too many Halloween table runners.

 

Quickie Update

Just the quickest update today. I spent Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and part of Sunday with my dad. One of my sisters is on a family vacation and my other sister and I had to cover her days with our dad this past week. I am always trying to come up with things to tempt him as far as meals go. He has such a light appetite and is overwhelmed when given a big plate of food. He doesn't care for a lot of carbs and prefers his food to be pretty simple. I can't tell you how often I serve him something and he says "I just can't eat all of this".

This past weekend I kind of gave up. I decided not to fuss at all, but just to serve the simplest plain, cold food. The photo above was our lunch on Saturday. We had raw carrots, radishes, organic cherry tomatoes, cut-up fresh pineapple, and half a sliced peach. And for dessert, we split a peanut butter cookie.

After our cookie discussion last week, I was reminded of how much I loved peanut butter cookies and how I never get one anymore.

We both loved this lunch, which was pretty perfect.  The peach was kind of mushy, but everything else was great. Why is it so hard to get a good peach?

And I have to say, the pineapple was amazing, but for me, that peanut butter cookie really hit the spot. And Dad ate everything on his plate!

Oh,  and I reminded him of Grandma Tillie, and he remembered her vividly. I mentioned her gentleman friend "Mac" and said that no one ever made his relationship to her clear to me. All he said was, "Oh, no, they wouldn't have". And that was the end of that discussion, except for him saying "Goodness, I had forgotten about him. Haven't thought of him in years". Right, like about 70? They say you aren't really dead until the last person who remembers you is gone.

A Few More Things I've Been Enjoying Lately

I kind of dropped the ball on listing some of my recent favorites for you all. I promised to share a few more items I have been enjoying this summer so here we go. These clothing items are not bargain-priced, but I have always believed that finding something well-made is worth purchasing because you will have it for years. With the exception of the bra mentioned below, I have worn all these items for several years.

These are Chico's "Girlfriend Jeans", which have been around for countless seasons. I have them in a couple of denim washes, black, and white. Chico's sizing is different from other stores. It is a psychological thing they do. Their sizing runs 0, .5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 and higher. 0 is equivalent to a regular size 4, .5 equals a size 6, etc. I wear a size 1.5 which is equivalent to a regular size 10. Anyway, once you wrap your head around their sizing system you are good. They go up to a size 20 and come in petite and tall as well as regular.

I like several things about these jeans. One, they fit great. Two, the fabric is quite substantial (even the white jeans are completely non-see-through). Three, they are not super skinny in the fit. I love my skinny jeans, but these have a perfect fit through the hips and legs without being skin tight or unflatteringly baggy. Goldilocks "just right".  Extremely comfortable. Don't know if you keep up with fashion trends, but things are trending away from super skinny jeans. These are usually $99, on sale now: buy 2 and they are $79 each.

Soma is a lingerie company that is owned by Chico's. In malls, the two stores are frequently adjacent. They have marvelous sleepwear and all styles of bras and underwear for every size and shape we women come in. I know I have done favorite bra posts before, but this Enbliss Bralette by Soma is probably my all-time most comfortable bra ever. No wires, no hooks. You pull it on over your head. The lack of hooks and high sides means there is no back fat or bulges at all. Whatsoever. You will look smooth as a teenager from the back in this thing. The lack of wires means you can wear it all day in total comfort. You can even sleep in it and not think about it. 

Is it feminine and sexy? Nope. The lack of underwire means you don't have the uplift and support of a bra with wires. It may not be the bra for really large bosomed gals. However, for me, there is enough support so I still look good under my clothes and the supreme comfort makes up for the lack of frills. It does come in a gazillion different colors.

You want a snug fit in this bra so it doesn't move around and holds the girls in place nicely. Sizing is XS-XXXL. This bra fits very snuggly, so you will need to size up. It's a good idea to try it on to get the right fit. Once you figure out your size (which will be a lot bigger than you think you need), you will not go back. The cups have thin removable pads that make this the perfect bra for under tee shirts. It comes in a racerback style also. It is a good deal right now at Buy One, Get One for Half Price.

These Brittany sandals are from an Israeli company called NAOT. I have several styles by this company and love the comfort and fit of them. I wear them April through October in my climate. I bought several of mine at Nordstrom, but other shoe stores carry the line as well. I think they are considered "comfort" or walking sandals but in my opinion, they have more style than most in that category.

I like this style so much I have it in three colors. The pair I wear, I have had for four years and they still look great. I liked them so much I bought them in navy suede and tan suede as well.

This is the coziest sweater you will ever own. It is the Barefoot Dreams Cozy Lite Circle Cardigan. I got mine at Nordstrom, but I have also purchased them on QVC. They come in all sorts of styles, and the sizing is very inclusive. I usually get size Large. You feel as if you are wrapped in the warmest, softest cocoon of a sweater when you put this on. Perfect for airplane travel, wearing around the house, or out to do errands. There is a good color selection.

I got this Zip Up Jacket style on QVC in dark grey and in cream. I wear it all the time with jeans and like the shorter style. You can get it on QVCs easy pay plan, which spreads out the payments. Obviously I haven't been wearing my Barefoot Dreams sweaters in our 100-degree weather, but come cooler days, they will be on regular rotation again.

Hope you enjoyed these clothing favorites. If you have tried any of them, let me know how you liked them!

Baby Steps

I snagged an hour yesterday and scooted up to the sewing room and got my fabric cut out for the Buffalo Check Halloween Table Topper by Carried Away.

Easy to follow instructions and I had a sense of accomplishment that I even achieved that much! 

I completed the first four checkerboard rows. The difference in shading between the white and the "light" fabric is subtle, but you can definitely see the difference. Next up are the star blocks, which will feature that crosshatch fabric in my first photo.

This project should go quickly, so that achievement will do wonders for my sewing morale!

Eva and I are getting through the second week of homeschooling just great. Today our fun project was to make a pink pom pom pig. She was sure pleased with how it turned out! Not sure what in the world she will do with it, but she sure had fun making it.

Thanks for all the reminders of great retro cookie recipes in the comments to yesterday's posts. I will be making molasses cookies for my husband soon. I sure wish Eva liked peanut butter cookies, they are my favorites, but I never make them. Remember "Ranger Cookies"? I think that was the name. They had everything in them: coconut, oatmeal, walnuts, m & s. Gosh they were good.

Cookies!

Eva and I do a cooking project every Tuesday and this week we made Sugar Cookies.
Melt-in-your-mouth-delicious sugar cookies!

My Great Grandma Tillie made sugar cookies all the time and they were such a favorite of mine when I was growing up in Michigan. Hers were kind of puffy and each one had a big fat raisin on top. Just one. Grandma Tillie also wore crimson nail polish and lived with a man named Mac, whose relationship was never completely clear to me. I'll have to ask my dad about that. Grandma Tillie was my mother's step-father's mother, so Dad may not know or remember. Now that I think about it, Tillie wasn't a blood relation to me at all.  She and the neighbor ladies used to sit and play cards in her kitchen on hot summer days. They always took off their blouses and played in their bras or slips. Good grief, the things I recall in my old age.

I recently bought a new cookbook that has 100 cookie recipes. And every one of them looks delicious. I wish Eva liked nuts, because the fact that she doesn't eliminates many of the recipes. There are bar cookies and drop cookies and roll in a ball cookies. I would like to start at Chapter One and just work my way through the book. One recipe that sounded good was a S'Mores Cookie. It had a graham cracker base, then a chocolate layer, then a marshmallow topping.

Do you have any memories from your childhood of special cookies?

New Fall Project in the Planning Stages

Just look at this adorable table topper by Carried Away. It is two patterns in one, and I want to make both of them. The first one I plan to tackle is the Halloween/Pumpkin version. I have all the fabrics on hand, which are mostly scrap-sized. When I bought the pattern, I noticed that the exact Moda Solids you need for the checkered design were listed on the back of the pattern instructions, so I went ahead and ordered a couple of yards of the light grey and the darker grey.

FYI, you need 98 Bleached White, 178 Etchings Stone, and 128 Stone. The other fabrics are from a layer cake of last year's Fig Tree Halloween collection. They have a new one out now that would also work great.

I was itching to get started right away, but I caved in and did my starching first. It is so darn hot here, that my fabric was dry in about 20 minutes, I swear. Look how hazy the air is from the drift smoke from the fires. The air quality has been "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" which is me, with my asthma.

I am quite excited to start a small manageable project like this little table topper. I am overwhelmed with all my bigger ongoing projects, so will switch gears for a while. It is getting me down not to have finished anything in so long. When I finish this little project, maybe I will start on the second one, which is little Christmas presents instead of pumpkins. Then I will have two little quilts to send out for quilting. I love having a new seasonal project to display.

Hope your week got off to a terrific start!

 

Around the House

I've trotted out some of my late summer decorations, which I have been enjoying. The temperature has been in low 100s, so that's a thing. I tell you when it is that hot, it is hard to drum up enthusiasm for anything. My husband had a significant birthday this past weekend so we had some family over for a little celebration, so that was fun. 103 on Sunday, expected 105 on Monday. Enough already. It is so hot that gearing up an appetite to eat anything is an effort, much less putting out the effort to feed and entertain people. And don't get me started on the bad air quality. I can barely breathe.

Eva started school this past week, but nothing much seems to be underway just yet. It will probably be another week or so before we really get settled in. So far, we are organizing our supplies and materials. Today we may make some pom pom creatures. She has a pig in mind that she is dying to put together. Not too academic, but we will ease ourselves into things, right?

I have made a recent order to FatQuarterShop and bought myself a gigantic spool of Aurifil thread. One of those cones. I had the presence of mind to write the date I started using my last cone of thread and it turns out, it has lasted me an entire year. $35 worth of thread used up in a year. I can live with that.

I have been trying to organize myself and plan out some table runners and small projects I would like to make during the fall and holiday seasons. I will share more about that soon.

Hope you all had a great weekend. Thanks for sticking with me while I figure out things lately!

Another Simple Summer Meal

This is another super simple summer dinner that we had recently. It took no time at all and was delicious.

The dish is called Caprese Chicken and I found it on the Delish website. 

Here's what you need to make it:
Two boneless chicken breasts, cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, balsamic vinegar, and some garlic.

Making it could not be more simple. You don't really need a recipe, but feel free to check the link for details. First you cook seasoned chicken breasts for about 6 minutes on a side and then remove from the pan. Next, add balsamic vinegar and minced garlic to the pan and saute for about a minute. Toss in the cherry tomatoes and season with salt. Saute for around 6 minutes. Add basil. Tuck the chicken pieces back in the pan. Cover the chicken and tomatoes with slices of mozzarella. I covered the pan and let it simmer for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese. Sprinkle with more basil when you are ready to serve. I put thick slices of French bread in a basket to use to soak up every drop of that delicious sauce.

In the heat of our summer, I am all about making as little a fuss in the kitchen as possible. If you try this recipe, let me know how you liked it. I've got it on repeat!