Delicious Thanksgiving Brittle, COLOR and Teaching in Seattle with GREAT Girls....

 

Autumn Brittle - Ingredients: 1 Cup Almonds, 1 Cup Cashews, 3/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds, 2/3 Cup Dried Cranberries, 1 1/2 Cups Golden Brown Sugar, 1 Cup Granulated Sugar , 1/2 Cup Honey, 1 Cup Water, 1/2 Teaspoon Salt, 1 Tablespoon Butter …

FDor the rest of this delicious recipe go here

http://www.adventures-in-cooking.com/2010/03/autumn-brittle.html

 

Even babies LOVE the Fall smell of leaves

I was trying to remember my favorite wool provider and I rememberd a wonderful PIN provider who does great work. Here is her site...please come back here when you are done.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/woollyfabulous

 

When a COW gets cold, what do you think they do? They crawl up on a warm car, that's what!

This week I taught at Quilter's Annon. in Seattle (Edmonds). I gave two lectures with lots of quilts and we had a wreath workshop and everyone had a lot of fun.
I sold some quilts at the meetings and that was fun.
It is always fun to go justacross the mountains to see the beauty that only Seattle can provide. My old Friend Barb Lambrecht made a salmon dinner for me and some other friends and she gave us a wonderful trunk show too. Made it across the Pass before the snow hit hard last night.
We did both cotton wreaths and wool wreaths.
Good news, we filled the Cow Class at Aunt Mary's for next February.

Thisis the beginning of my wool wreath and it is almost done now and has many beads, fancy stitches, rick rack and other fun things on it. It is going to be great to hang it for Christmas. I ADORE WOOL!
I am taking a blank one to Germany in two weeks to work on a non-Christmas wreath while I am on the trip. Should be great fun!

It is fun to see what students can do on their own and I love this fruit wool wreath. Great fun.
I like THIS for one of my GO TO wool resources. Weeks does beautiful colors and I have used their wool for many years.
http://www.weeksdyeworks.com/products.php

The3 beginning of a fun cotton wreath with my pattern pieces and some of her own whimsical touches.

Lots of variety in the whimsy....

Could not get photos of everyone's work.

The photo above is of my Hen Party pattern which is in the "Whimsies and Whynots" book I did years ago. This quilt is Barb Lambrect's and hangs in her hallway. It is adorable and reall quite funky in a great way!

Isn't this guy funny? And Thanks for simple things

Thought this was quite funny too.

I am driving to Seattle tomorrow for the Quilter's Annon. guild. I will be lecturing tomorrow night and Wed. morning and hopefully going to Molbacks that afternoon and then to Anthony's with my flight attendant friend Susan who is one of my "Cupcake" friends.

I have so much to be thankful for today and one of the things that I treasure most is my kids. It is a fine thing when your kids grow up to be compassionate. I enjoy seeing their kindness in daily life. This is riches to me.

Got nice letters this week from friends who are making cows, planning story quilts and doing things with their hands. Mel is making handmade Christmas cards for her 90 yr old Mother to send to friends. Isn't this sweet?

Doing things to give is always a good idea. My 12 yr old Granddaughter wants a sewing machine to make clothing and pillows for her room with. She asked for fabric also. I have an old machine her Mom started out with that I will pass along for now. I think she is more the Amy Butler kind of girl than the wilder stuff I do and that is OK because I think as she sews she will see the value of what I do.

It seems the boys in the family "get it" more than the girls...although my Granddaughter who is named after me has gotten it since the beginning. Isn't that funny?

Count your many blessings this week. Not the least of them are friends and something to eat and a warm bed and little things like handcream or a mirror. I have always loved soap that smells good ever since we used to go to motels and we got that Garden Bouquet soap. Remember that?

Hug someone and tell them you care and it will bless both of you.

I will be coming home on Friday and posting photos I take in Seattle. I hope to bring some salmon home to Mark who is keeping the home fires burning.

Have a wonderful week

 

Thankfulness, Story Quilts and Friend's we have made through Quilting and Crafting and Sewing ....

I saw this cartoon today and it really reminded me of where I am now in attitude and place in my life.

I have a little while left before I turn 65 (less than a year). In my mind though I feel about 35. That may seem silly but honestly if I did not know I had kids as old as I feel then I would think I am younger than they are...and in some ways, when I play with their children. I am.

Lately I have been assesing my place in the world lately and how my living is marked by places I go and people I meet. I have far more friends I have met on the road than here where I live. I think when I am home, I have so little time to make friends that I do not try. I hang out with my Grandkids who keep me young and are willing to experiment and have fun making things, going for walks, telling me how they feel at their young ages and just watching them laugh and love. If only people could keep that innocense of sense of joy.

Some of us, though faced with adult things that are worrisome or make us sad, can be filled with the blessings that God has given us every saingle Day. A pile of leaves that you stop to look at and try to count the colors and shapes and markings on them. The smell of Fall which brings your mind back to when you used to fall into a heap of leaves as a kid. Leaves as a kid are not a nuisance...they are an opportunity and I wonder how many adults today seep up the leaves and fall into them and take a big whiff of the crunchy smell and not worry about germs or ruining a coat or messing your hair...or if someone is watching.   Such JOY! Such fun!

Apples are such a part of this time of year and pears too. Apple Crisp, dipped apples, apple pan dowdy, apple crisp, apple brown betty, apple cobbler....lovely raw crisp sweet juicy apples....such a fall treat! And so visual and beautiful too.

Upon looking at the cartoon again, I want to give myself permission to laugh, and do silly things, and come up with ne ideas with girlfriends to experience life. I think sometimes as you get older invention, spontinaiety and living in the momet becomes harder. But Honestly, this is what makes you a better artist, a better friend, a happier person, a sharing person who wants to give of yourself. This is what kids see and it comes naturally.

So, as Thanksgiving time comes along, think of what you can be truly thankful for each day that is simple and not complex. Take joy in people, in nature in the ability to create and imagine and do something with your hands and eyes that bless others.
     Story quilts are about these things. Moments in time that you can take and make them last so that once you are gone, your memories will be lasting for others to see and enjoy. Every artist whould do some kind of a story about something magical and lasting and happy that they are thankful for. Because in the end, when you are gone, you will keep making other happy and wouldn't that be a lovely thing?
    Have a blessed Thanksgiving month, day by day.

Note-
Please continue to pray for my husband who is ill. We need prayers.    AND
I am on my way to Seattle to do two lectures for Quilters Annon and a wreath class. Hope to meet some of you there!

ALL kinds of things in this Post!

Need I say more?

Cat from the Out of the Box with Easy blocks book...

Flower from one of my Flower Power workshops

Folk art quilt I did with Freddy Moran

My Quilter;s Retirement Home Story Quilt

Paointing I did with  credit card and paint....

Hoochy Mama and Flower Power Blocks. sold two and only a few left now....

Kim,s darling bird

Flower and Bird from my workshop

Beginning of quilt from my workshop

Flower from Flower Power Workshop

Flower from Flower Power Workshop...

Story Quilt from Sante Fe Guild  -story quilt class (isn't it wonderful?)

Flower Power blocks....Oregon guild workshop with Mary Lou

Story Quilt- designed by Mary Lou and made for JACC OPPORTUNITY QUILT

 

People wonder what else is in the Cow book. There are directions to do darling faces and these faces were done by Charlotte from Florida (one of the Bunny sisters).  I think it is fun to do your friends and family and there is a quilt in the book that each of my group the Cupcakes did...four girls and one guy. Very fun! WHO would you make?

I remember seeing this sign back East and loving it....I LOVE to smile and try to think of story quilts and other fun things to sew that make me and other people smile. Isn't smiling better than a frown? You bet!

Here is a photo and my feet of a lady with an alligator purse...called "Plaid to Meet You"...wonder what that quilt would look like today if I made it!

One weekend long ago I created a collage for a fabricline that did not get printed...it is too bad because it was very fun and had a Princess theme...as in little Princess's and YOU and I! In my longer story quilt classes I purchase REAL tiaras to hand out and it is fun to see girls wearing them all week long...everyone is quite stunning!

 

Julie Snow sent this photo of the Racy Cow...isn't that great?

For all of you ladies who have a special kitty you love...my Grandson whose cat is his favorite laughed out loud when he saw this! :0)

I LOVE this photot sent to me by a friend of her Granddaughter making the cake from one of my books. I need to find the letter again for her name. Note the Disney ears! I LOVE photos like this and she will have this little quilt for many years to come and won't that be wonderful? I wish I had kept things like that too!

I don't know who the aritst is but isn't this little girl cute? I just love sewing wiyth my Grandkids!

I took this photo in Galveston at a meeting when I was teaching a couple of years ago. I do not have her name but I love this as a story quilt and can't you just "get" what she means by this? She must love cats too!

Just found thisd little photo mix up of Quilts from the Book "out of the Box with EASY Blocks"...this is the infamous "COW book. Order it at Marylouweidman.com and get a fat quarter a cool postcard or two and a cow pin!
Marylouweidman.com

Just found this little angel quilt and am taking it on the road to Seattle to see if anyone wants to buy her. I have other quilts that we are putting on my website when I can figure out HOW. I have the directions but very little time. Sigh.
Lots of fun though.

"Speaking of Easy or "hoochy" piecing, I have these owls from one of my yahoo groups swaps. I gave out a simple pattern that everyone hoochied and look at these! Awesome right???
I now have six books I have found that are the "Hoochy Mama" quilts books. I also have five "Quilted Memory" book that are for sale.
If you write me an email I can send them out with a chunk of fabric and a cow pin or maybe another surprise pin, and a super postcard.
Hoochy Mama book is $20. just like the Flower Power one. You can go to my website and order any book and then just write in "I want Hoochy Mama instead or I want Quilted Memories instead. I can charge them through and send them off with the good stuff. :0) The Quilted Memories is $24.00.
Hoochy Mama is hard or almost impossible to find now. I only have a limited amount. First come, first serve.
Hoochy Blocks below both for story book borders and other things....Easy and Fun!

Above my friend Rebecca took Hoochy or Easy piecing far with great colors for fun!
Below my friend Sue Cresse made me this fabulous chair which sits in my sewing room for special guests....isn't it wonderful???One of my most favorite things!

And below are my samples that are now full quilts that I did when I taught a class in Nebraska for a guild. You might consider hiring me for your guild or shop and we can have alot of fun!

Sample of a students work in my workshop...

I have to end this with my Number ONE student...my Grandson. He wanted to work with wool because he said it was soft. So while I worked on the wreath I am doing below, he worked on this adorable face block! Pretty cute.

The beginning of my wreath for my wool and/or cotton wreath class.

Hope your day is a happy one with color and friends and great expectations. Give a smile away to someone who doesn't have one. :0)