Sister's Choice Quilts

Red and White Sampler Quilt

Have you made a red and white quilt? I have made a few of them, and never get tired of that color scheme. The one above is a sampler quilt I did as a sew along a number of years ago. I do recall that I got the idea for the setting from something Carrie Nelson did.

What I can tell you without any hesitation is that I sure wish I had added a border to this quilt. It came out an awkward size, which would have been mitigated if I had put on some borders. It works well as a hanging quilt, but I sure wish I could use it on a bed during the holidays. It would be such a cozy, festive touch.

If you want to take part in a sampler quilt sew along at some point, don't be afraid to tackle a two-color quilt. It would be beautiful in red and white as I have done, or perhaps blue and white, for another classic color combo. What a fantastic scrap-buster this quilt was. 

I have lots of wrapping done, and just a few more things to go. My shopping is all finished except for a couple of stocking stuffers. Still waiting on a couple of deliveries, which of course means more wrapping. 

Our son Ahren is arriving this week from Ireland! We are so excited to see him. They are having some super cold and even snowy weather in Dublin lately, which can throw a monkey wrench into travel plans. Ireland doesn't get snow often, and when it happens, things tend to shut down. So I won't relax until he is safely here!

My posting may be spotty over the next couple of weeks, with a house guest, some entertaining, and last-minute holiday tasks. I'll do my best to keep you updated on our doings. Hope things are going well for you and your holiday preparations. If you travel, be safe!

Lots of Wrapping Going On and Another Christmas Book

Well, we got started on our Christmas present wrapping. How novel, not to wait until the last minute. In the past, we have always wrapped gifts in our master bedroom, which created chaos and left the room a total disaster for days on end. I do not know why we never thought to set up a folding table in the middle of our front room, which is a library/office space. 

That's what we did yesterday and it was brilliant. Sara came over and spent the night with Eva and we plowed through so many packages. It was such a better setup than trying to do it in the bedroom. Our wrapping station isn't in the way of anything else, since we watch tv and "live" in another room.

If you enjoy reading a book set during the holidays during Christmas season, I have another recommendation for you. Christmas By the Book by Anne Marie Ryan is a charming choice. It is about a bookstore in a Cotswolds village, and how it affects the people in the community. I am loving it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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!

I Needed Another Christmas Table Runner....Not

Sometimes the creative urge cannot be denied. I have had this sweet pattern for a Buffalo Check Christmas table runner for a year or two, and have been meaning to make it. I used scraps from my stash and yardage of a white, taupe, and darker tan. The pattern is by Carried Away Quilting and was easy to follow. I did have to press all the seams open, and let me tell you, I was very tired of doing that by the time I finished the project. I don't know what it is about pressing seams open. I know things turn out better and lie flatter but I just resist it for some reason. 

Here is a close up of the two units that make up the top. The trees were easy peasy. So was the star for that matter. The only caution I have is that you have to have your wits about you or it is easy to put the wrong color neutral in a place where it doesn't belong. And if that happens, you lose the checkerboard pattern. My seam ripper and I got reacquainted while I made this little project. 

Busy week for me, how about you? I am meeting up with a friend this morning, then I need to go home, work on a writing assignment, and then make cranberry relish. My husband has been so excited about having pumpkin pie, and came home from Walmart with two jumbo cans of Libby's pumpkin. Each can makes two pies. I guess I will make those on Wednesday, along with prepping my dressing. I am going to try something different this year. I will make my dressing as usual, then put it in the crock pot to finish cooking. It will free up the oven, which is a plus.  Have any of you ever done that? One Thanksgiving I made my mashed potatoes in the morning, and put them in the crock pot to stay warm. It worked great! I only have one oven, which is a problem when you need to cook sweet potato casserole, keep the turkey warm, and cook dressing. How do you all manage all the dishes on Thanksgiving? 

Weird Weather and Product Review

Honestly, we are getting some weird weather. It seems like a few weeks ago it was in the 90s. On Tuesday night it hailed, and then snowed! We might get snow at our altitude, but in early November it is pretty unheard of. And my goodness is it ever cold. Like you don't want to forget your jacket when you run out to the store or to pick up the kid at school.

Eva was feeling well enough to go to school, so that is good. She still has a bit of a sore throat but is fine otherwise. 

I am making progress with the square in a square blocks for the Family Reunion quilt. I will be glad to wrap up this project. Not much more to go. 

I have a product review for you all. I am always looking for seam guides I can attach to my sewing surface to help me keep to a scant quarter inch seam. I have tried several with good results and recently saw this advertised somewhere.

So, I didn't really care for it. I will tell you why, but if any of you use it and like it, please explain why in the comments. My problem with it was that even with the little positioning tool I was not able to line it up properly. Also, the sticky strip guide was too short for my way of thinking. It is hard to see in the photo, but there is a pale blue plastic thing with a hook you wrap around your needle when you position the sticky strip guide. I must have been doing something wrong because I could not get it anywhere near a quarter inch.

This is Lori Holt's Seams So Easy seam guide. I like this one. See how long the seam guidelines are? That's a plus. The cutesy flower petal shape serves no purpose, but that is what Lori Holt does. The cuteness factor is important to her.

This no-frills seam tape by Cluck Cluck Sew works great. It is inexpensive and you get a lot of it. I've used it and once you position it as shown in the photo above it is a great success.

Do you use a seam guide? It is especially helpful when you have to make a lot of half-square triangles and don't want to draw dozens of diagonal lines on your fabric. I use mine a lot and think it is a time saver and leads to better accuracy.

Please share your thoughts on seam guides in the comments!

 

 

Relaxing Weekend

Eva and I got the Halloween decorations put away and brought out a few Thanksgiving things. Daylight Savings Time started, so it feels like it is dinner time, but it's only a quarter past 3.  My photos are all kind of dark, and that is what it was like in my house at the time.

Eva's dad and his wife have gone away for the week, so she will be staying with us all week long. Yay! It's a treat for us to have her for so many days. Sunday we made cornbread and attended a basketball team pizza party. I did get some sewing done on Saturday and somehow managed to spend a heck of a lot of money on new fabric.

Aren't these just beautiful? They are selected pieces from the Isabella collection by Minick and Simpson. This summer there is going to be a basket quilt sew-along in faded patriotic colors and I had to jump on this fabric to be sure I got some before it sold out. That's what I told myself anyway. I will put it away soon, but right now I am leaving it out where I can fondle it.

How gorgeous is this large-scale print? It will be my border I think.

In other news, I re-made my Sewcialites 2, Block 2 for the third time. I just could not get the colors right. Here they are in order of my making them:

One, on the left. Two, on the right.

Final version. I sure can't keep doing three versions of each block. I need to get my act together.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Buffalo Check Table Topper

This little Halloween table topper is "Buffalo Check Table Topper", by Carried Away.  It comes in a Christmas design as well, included in the same pattern. The Christmas version has little wrapped presents rather than pumpkins. It is always fun to put out new seasonal decor, even though my table runner cupboard is starting to overflow!

The quilting design is an overall pumpkins on the vine pattern that I think is perfect. I used Moda solids for the checkerboard effect and leftover Fig Tree scraps from a Halloween-themed layer cake.

My dining room table is better suited to a long narrow table runner, but sometimes I like to use a square one for variety. My buffet is in the background, cleared of homeschooling detritus for the first time in almost three years.

Have you got your Halloween decorations out? I figure we only have about three weeks to enjoy them before they go back and the more subtle Thanksgiving decorations come out. And then, of course, we go full tilt boogie with the Christmas madness. By January, I will be ready for a minimalist look with nothing cluttering any surface of the house!

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween Decor, Check

Eva and I got the Halloween decor put out yesterday. The coffee table has a new wooden tray that is completely covered up by fall floral picks and some new velvet pumpkins. 

The mantel looks pretty much the way it always does. Cast iron crows, glass pumpkins, a stack of orange-covered books, and some flameless candles. Actually, even though I do basically the same thing every year, it is cozy and pretty.

Without a doubt, this metal haunted house is Eva's favorite Halloween decor. She rigs up blinking mini lights inside and arranges her favorite Halloween figurines on the outside. Of course the crowning touch is the sign saying "I'd turn back if I were you".

Have you got your Halloween decor out yet? We only get to enjoy it for three weeks or so, so I am always on board to put it out in early October. Come November, I am done with it, and keen to get back to more neutral orange and rust fall decor for Thanksgiving.

I do have a new Halloween table topper to put out this year, on my dining room table. I need to get the binding on it today, so I hope to show a photo tomorrow. It is truly a super cute pattern and I know many of you will want to make it. It was easy, very Halloweeny, and I know we will enjoy it for years in the future.