Fortunate

I feel  very fortunate to have discovered homemade soap. I wish I had found it when I was younger. I have had sensitive skin all my life, and, nothing I have tried has helped, until, I started using my own homemade soap. I want to share that with anyone else who might be interested in improving their skin, the environment,  their finances, or be more self- reliant and conscious of chemical use in our lives.

2 more for the record

I am still finding pictures of quilts I finished this year. What did I do with them?


I'll Zig you zag - A moda bakeshop quilt

Pops a lot with batiks

I've run into a problem with my sock - the instructions say to use the fish lips kiss heel and I don't know how to do that, so I am studying  how to do it.

I am linking to:
 Patchwork Times
TGIFF
FInished or Not Friday
WHoop Whoop
Crazy Mom Finish Fridays
Fort Worth Fabric Studio
 SewCan She

Finishes

I am going through my quilt pile, to clean, and I think I have some finishes I have not recorded.
Berry Bushel designed by Bonnie Hunter

A quilt I made for a friend battling bone cancer

My daughter is arriving today for an after Christmas visit. She is bringing my 2 Grandsons with her. Hooray.
I am linking to:
WOW
Midweek Makers
Jo's Country Junction UFO
Bee Social
Silly Mama WIP

Dessert and a log cabin

I did finish Peter's log cabin quilt in time for Christmas. And He was so appreciative. He even said it was the winner of Christmas presents ( over a drone from his brother). Every quilter dreams of that reaction to a homemade quilt.

Every year, I swear, I am going to get better at Christmas.... next year. The presents will be more thoughtful, and better wrapped or in some cases just wrapped, more thoughtful decorations, food and shopping done earlier, and the house MUCH cleaner.

We lost a dear friend just before Christmas. Helen Cosgray was a peach with a family that adored her. It was unexpected.
I was asked to help with the dinner. I made this dessert from here.



Salted Carmel Apple Sheet cake

It makes 36 servings

Ingredients for the cake

2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
1 cup (200 grams) lightly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups (200 grams) peeled and chopped Granny Smith apples (about 2 medium apples)

Ingredients for the glaze


1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
3 cups (375 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup salted caramel sauce (homemade or store-bought)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter or oil a 10-by-15-inch jellyroll pan or a 16-3/4 by 12-inch sheet pan.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the butter with 1 cup water and heat until the butter melts. Bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling, remove from heat and add in the flour mixture. Add in the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Gently stir in the apples.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 20 minutes if using a jelly roll pan, and about 17 minutes if using a half sheet pan, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 to 15 minutes.
 

Meanwhile, combine the butter and milk in a large heat-proof bowl. Microwave until the butter is melted. Gradually stir in the powdered sugar until combined. Stir in the vanilla and caramel until combined. Pour evenly over the warm cake. Let set for about 15 minute before slicing and serving.

I am linking to:
Fiber Tuesday
Fabric Tuesday
Free Motion by the River

a new clue and dessert

My Christmas was hectic but family. I have cooked more food in the last week than my husband and I ate all of last year. My family adored a new dessert that I am sharing.
I didn't even step into my sewing room, partially because I had company and partially because everything was stashed in there from the clean up for company. I didn't finish clue #4 for En Provence before clue #5 came out. I have the bright quilt done, but I am working behind on the civil war colorway. Be sure and check progress at Quiltville.

Peppermint Chocolate Delight  - super yummy and easy with no baking, so it doesn't take oven space.

Ingredients

• vanilla wafers (about 2.5 cups)
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 - 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 2 TB milk
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 3 cups milk
• 1 - 12 oz tub Cool Whip, thawed and divided (or whipping cream(
• 2 - 3.9 oz packages instant chocolate pudding
• crushed candy canes

Instructions

1. I used a box of graham cracker crumbs ( a marvelous thing) measured 1 2/3 c. Add melted butter  Press onto the bottom of 13x9 dish. we don't like vanilla wafers.
2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and peppermint extract until well blended. Fold in half of Cool Whip and mix well. Spread over crust.
3. Make pudding by whisking milk and instant pudding in a bowl. Pour over cream cheese layer and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
4. Top with remaining Cool Whip and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Add crushed candy canes right before serving. ENJOY!

the recipe is found here.

It was a huge success - fighting over the last piece - nothing left

I am linking to:

Making Monday

Moving it Forward Monday 

 Patchwork Times

Main Crush Monday

Quiltville

Dyeing for Christmas

cheesy title hey?
I need some bright colored wool for my newest rug hooking project. So it's time to whip out the dye pots. It's been awhile since I have dyed on purpose, so I have to recheck google.
I am aiming for a chartreuse green , using what I have on hand.

Not a brilliant time to start a dyeing project, but I need just a bit to finish a motif that I might have sit down time to sneak in the Christmas mix.
Cross our fingers.
I am linking to:
Oh scrap
needle and thread

A FInish

I have a finish. It was blocking the quilting frame for a Christmas finish, so it just had to get done.

I have had very little time for sewing, but this is done to count for 2016. It was a pattern called Monet's star and made with Batiks. I hardly remember more than that.

I am linking to:
WOW
Midweek Makers
Jo's Country Junction UFO
Bee Social
Silly Mama WIP

New UFOs for 2017

Isn't this completely lovely? I was so afraid when I upgraded the pot this fall that it was too late.

I've listed my old Ufos I want to finish in 2017 here. These are the new ones started or purchased this year.

American Beauty Rose is a quiltsmart pattern using interfacing to turn under the edges.

Fancy Forest by Elizabeth Hartman
I have all the blocks made and they were challenging, so I'd hate to see it disappear into the back of a closet.

Happy Birds by Jen Kingwell
my heart isn't into this one but I am part of a group that is finishing it.
I have the center done and the first hexagon border made

wild and goosey by Bonnie Hunter
I have all the goosey blocks finished and need to figure out how I will make the alternate cross blocks. I have spent a lot of time paper piecing these little buggers.

En Provence bright by Bonnie  Hunter
En Provence civil war by Bonnie Hunter
which we haven't had the reveal yet as this is a current mystery at Quiltville.

and my tumbler quilt which was last year's leader and ender challenge from Quiltville

I am linking to:
Fiber Tuesday
Fabric Tuesday
Free Motion by the River
Patchwork Times

more triangle in a square (s)

Clue #4  has been released for En Provence, a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt. She releases each new clue on Fridays. I didn't get a chance to start cutting until late Saturday.

I cut all the bright pieces, and most of the civil war centers. In odd moments I chain pieced one side.

pressed them

and added the second side

and presto changeo

all done!

 A few years ago, Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville had mentioned that she often cuts scraps into 10 in squares or strips to use for backs. They are an easy size to piece, and then the math is easy to figure  how many are needed. I have a box of those that I had cut, but I've never used them. I suppose I wanted them to match a little. They are mostly older very scrappy fabrics, I was not in love with anymore.
Working on Peter's log cabin quilt, I needed just a little bit more than the flannel back I had chosen, so I grabbed some blue ones and it was very easy to work them into a useable strip, and 8 of them would be long enough.

And I made his binding. And it is on the frame.

 Christmas here we come....

I am linking to:

Making Monday

Moving it Forward Monday 

 Patchwork Times

Main Crush Monday

Quiltville

Old UFOs list for 2017

I am working on my 2017 UFO list  Patchwork Times is having a "get it done" challenge next year that might be helpful. These are the old ones....
orange crush - Bonnie Hunter design
all my blocks are finished

Snow - Crabapple Hill design
All the blocks with embroidery are finished, but there will be more after it is assembled.

Mill Girls was a block of the month. All the blocks are finished.

Jubilee quilt
Bonnie Hunter design.
I have half a dozen blocks finished

Peter's log cabin quilt - hopefully, done this year, but if not, definitely next year

 Cactus flower or patch - Bonnie Hunter design
ready to be quilted

I also want to get rid of something every month
a project
fabric,
scraps
commitment
furniture
worn out expectation
etc.

I am still working my way through Christmas movies, so look forward to more time with knitting my new pair of socks.

Stash report

Fabric Used this Week:  8 yards
finished a quilt and passed some fabric on to someone else.
Fabric Used year to Date: 63 3/4 yards

Fabric Added this Week: 3 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 570 1/2 yards

Net Fabric for 2016: 512  yards in the hole

and I think I need to add shirts I buy to take apart for fabric. I added 0
for total of 25

I found this at a treasure mart on a bolt. I have more than enough Christmas fabric, but just couldn't pass it over, so it came home with me. 3 yards

 

I am linking to:
Patchwork Times
Slow Sunday Stitching
Sunday Stash

Resting from Christmas

This bottleneck is off the frame and ready to handsew the binding. I needed to get Peter's quilt on and done by Christmas.

I watched 2 Christmas movies last night. My husband has gone back to work after sick leave, and I just wanted to sit. I need rest this time of year after trying to do too much. But then I don't get it all done. sigh... It has been very cold here - in the single digits, not the sort of temperature I want to go out in any more. So I have more handwork done.
More rug Hooking. After a large rug, this is going very fast.

I finished these Christmas ear warmers for the kids and spouses.

And this is my third try at this pair of socks. new to me is toe up, and Judy's magic cast on, and a stitch called KW2. I think I have it this time.

I am linking to:
 Patchwork Times
TGIFF
FInished or Not Friday
WHoop Whoop
Crazy Mom Finish Fridays
Fort Worth Fabric Studio
 SewCan She

Lost and Found

I started this quilt probably 4 years ago for my youngest son. And He hasn't forgotten for a minute that I haven't finished it. Earlier this year, I lost it. It was evidently buried in some wayward pile of UFOs. But, for Christmas, He said that is what He wants.  I procrastinated in the first place, because I wanted to make it weighted, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it properly. But, I just need to finish it for him and be done with it. So I dug, and dug, and found it. Now it is time to add the last border.

He helped me lay it out. He is 6'4" so we made it long, but it isn't wide enough. I think I have found something that will match the scrappiness of the quilt but still look nice and masculine. He loves the red centers for the heart of the home. Funny, what He will be sentimental about sometimes. I can be certain He will make a big deal of it when He gets it, which is always appreciated. I think I will have fun with the back and put weird things on it for him. Time is running short, so glad I finally found it.
I am linking to:
Oh scrap
needle and thread

More leaders and enders

Super surprise from my oldest son. My favorite Christmas cookies came in the mail. He loves them too, so He is still on the look out for them each Holiday season. There were four packages in this little box. They freeze well , and I love the gesture.

I am caught up on the mystery quilt, so I started looking again at my leader/ ender project. I am ready to add the second row of pink hourglasses.

I have worked on some more hourglasses for my swap partners.

And I found this treasure at a thrift store

I am linking to:
WOW
Midweek Makers
Jo's Country Junction UFO
Bee Social

Keeping Up

I am playing keep up with the holiday fast approaching. If you notice the large section of gray near the needles on my scarf, I will tell you that those gray skies are seriously messing with my sanity. I don't mind snow, I mind the days without sunshine. The older I get, the more I miss sunshine, and turn into bah humbug.

 

I do enjoy watching Christmas movies, no matter how lame. So I can get more done on my rug hooking project.

I finished November and December swap hexies last night while watching Merry Kissmas.
Both are destined for the UK. I mailed the November hexies without a photo.

My quilting room is a mess with fabric flying for the EN Provence mystery quilt, and Christmas gifts. I have one of my quilts stuck on the quilting frame with no idea how to quilt it. And I have 4 customer quilts waiting that they don't want until after Christmas. I look forward to the start of a new year with new quilting goals. I have already been moving some of my WIPs to UFO status and setting goals to finish them. I've read about some quilters who do One Monthly Goal at Elm Street quilts and I am interested in the Rainbow Scrap challenge. What do you do to stay motivated.


I am linking to:
Fiber Tuesday
Fabric Tuesday
Free Motion by the River

greenery and purple

Pantone has released their color of the year for 2017

I have been sewing 4 patches for Clue #3 of En Provence. I developed a system for making the 4 patches. It isn't so much the color I wanted to get in a certain order, it was the nesting of the seams. I found  that finger pressing to the dark with both dark at the top, I could rotate the one on the right and it would nest, and feed the top seam to the top.

After a while it became a rhythm. press, press, flip, and sew, and repeat.

 I want to feed them this way so that the machine helps to push that nesting a little bit tighter.

 

I have finished 168 lavender and purple 4 patches for Clue #3
The quilt in the Bonnie colors is up to date. I need to do Clue# 3  for the civil war version.

At this point, I am going to wait to do the civil war version. For one thing, I am sick of 4 patches - I have done 610 of them. And I am afraid to cut strips from my fat quarters, and then need a bigger size than I have left, later, for other units. Civil war colors are not what I have on hand in scraps. sigh....

I am linking to:

Making Monday

Moving it Forward Monday 

 Patchwork Times

Main Crush Monday

Quiltville

Wool enhancement

A friend at guild is downsizing and offered 2 bags of wool to me. I was thrilled.

Some were recycled but most of them are from the bolt.

The plaids are my favorite. They add so much interest to a rug.

I haven't counted it yet, and I'm not sure I will include wool in the stash report, because I don't have any way of figuring how much I use in my rug hooking.  But, it still has to have a home and be managed so that it doesn't reproduce and make a mess. Who am I kidding?

It's cold and snowy here. After church and a nap, I need to catch up on my knit the sky scarf
 and work on my sock while I watch my favorite Christmas movie "The forgotten Carols". Sounds like a perfect winter day.

 Stash report

Fabric Used this Week:  1 3/4 yards

Fabric Used year to Date: 55 3/4 yards

Fabric Added this Week: 0 yards
Fabric Added Year to Date: 567 1/2 yards

Net Fabric for 2016: 517  yards in the hole

and I think I need to add shirts I buy to take apart for fabric. I added 3
for total of 25

 No More shirts for a long while! or at least until I start using them. I made an exception for these since they were 4x.

I am linking to:
Patchwork Times
Slow Sunday Stitching
Sunday Stash