Mystery Time!

Right around Halloween, Bonnie issued the fabric requirements for this year's mystery, Easy Street.

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2012/10/find-yourself-on-easy-street.html

 I didn't have enough in my scrap or yardage stash but I do have enough of these Civil War fabrics and decided to use them instead... no buying of fabric needed! So the wait began... and I have kept busy with customer quilts and working on other UFOs... like Orca Bay (last year's mystery that I'm making as a Leader/Ender!)  The clues for the mystery began on Black Friday!.... the idea being it is better to be inside sewing than out there in the crowds!

But life always gets in the way... last year it was my Uncle Tom.  This year... the passing of my husband's Uncle Hen had us driving north on Tuesday for his funeral.  This 91 year old single man has been helping or caring for family and friends since... forever!  I missed the Mason's honor ceremony at the viewing the night before, but he also had a military honor ceremony at the grave site and the church set out a lovely lunchoen for us. He will be dearly missed! For dinner we stopped at a local restaurant to crack open and eat some Maryland Crab in his honor!

Since we were already there, and there wasn't enough time to rush home and prepare our turkey, we stayed for Thanksgiving dinner hosted by hubby's brother, Walt!.  It has been a number of years since most of the family was together and it was good seeing everyone.

I missed the early morning start on Clue 1 on Friday, but with a giant mall across the street from our hotel... and me not sleeping and being up at the crack of dawn... I wandered over and participated in the madness buying 4 tops for me and 6 pants for hard to find sized hubby!

We made it home safely over the weekend and I made a dinner for #1 daughter, boyfriend and grandson on Sunday.  I have last week's customer work to catch up on so I  decided to burn the candle at both ends and got up early this morning to work a couple hours on Easy Street before getting back to customer work.

I cut 18 strips of the constant (pink) and 6 strips each of the background fabrics

I sewed 1 strip of pink to 1 of each background fabric then sub-cut into 2" twosies

Using my Orca Bay as a Leader/Ender I'm sewing the twosies together to make four-patches

29 four-patches done!  163 to go!

Miss Fabulous

This awesome young lady is Madison Hill.  She is a high school senior who loves to compete in the different pageants offered in the area.  Two years ago she looked around and realized that girls with disabilities did not have the opportunity to experience the thrill of pageantry and decided to do something about it.  Last year she organized and held the "Miss Fabulous Pageant"  for ladies, young and old.   Cosmetology students helped with hair and makeup.  Students dug into the back of their closets and donated dresses they would no longer wear and dresses were donated from local shops so that everyone who wanted could participate.  I missed it last year, but that's not surprising....I have a son.

Well, this year the pageant expanded to include gentlemen escorts! That pinged my radar!

CBT the local tuxedo rental shop donated the use of tux's for the event and the guys looked very handsome!
Mary Kay representative Donna Sherrill helped with the girls make-up.  First National Bank representatives (sorry I didn't get their names) took pictures and printed pictures of every contestant to take home a memory.  Many individuals donated time and energy  and numerous business donated various items for gift bags.    Awesome Eagle... the Tennessee Tech mascot joined the festivities also!

Blake being escorted across the stage by Awesome Eagle

There were some 40-50 contestants... male and female... and for several hours on a Saturday afternoon got a chance at their "15 minutes of fame"....  Channel 2 news Nashville sent a cameraman to film the event and interview Madison.

A local church was hosting a youth retreat and came with signs and cheering voices to fill the auditorium.

I don't have time to edit all the pictures now as I'm getting ready for Santa's Workshop next weekend and it's crunch time getting customer's Christmas quilts done.  But go on over to my facebook page and if you tilt your head one way or another you can see lots special  beautiful people with happy faces.

Matthew needed no help from Awesome Eagle to dance his way across the stage!

Easy Street

Bonnie Hunter, scrappy quilt designer estraordinaire,  has announced the beginning of her next mystery quilt, Easy Street.  Check out her blog for more information. 

 http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2012/10/find-yourself-on-easy-street.html

She has listed required amounts fabric in her color choices for this project; colors which I do not have....apple green...turquoise...purples.... gray.... white with black.
But, since this is my quilt, I am allowed to choose my own colors... she gives everyone "permission" to personalize the quilt to suit our own needs.

My scrap stash doesn't come close to matching the size of hers so I have decided to dig into my Civil War fabric collection for yardage ....green, blue, purple... pink instead of gray and cream with black instead of white with black.

While Bonnie was on QuiltCam last night I sent her an email with a picture of my fabrics to ask if they would be suitable and was pleasantly surprise to hear her say they would be perfect!

Wooo! Woo!  Thanks Bonne, you made my day!

Now I work on customer quilts and other projects (like last years mystery, Orca Bay) and wait until November 23 and the release of the first mystery clue.

CCQG "Southern Charm" Quilt Show

This weekend was Cookeville Crazy Quilter's Guild Quilt Show.  I forgot to take a picture of the Guild member's challenge entries, Southern Charm, but hope to get a copy from someone in the guild who did. 

The gymnasium floor was covered with racks of quilty goodness everywhere you looked!

 There were 11 vendors from quilt shops located throughout middle Tennessee and "my" Nolting dealer from Ohio, Mike Holodnak.

Look at all these wonderful door prizes,  hand made by Guild members

 

For the Guild's 20th anniversary members made Turning 20 quilts, seen here hanging from the loft railing.

I didn't have time to run around and take pictures of all the beautiful quilts and booths but here are pictures of some of the items for sale, made by Guild members.

 

 

 

Throughout the day, members gave demonstrations using a variety of quilt tools

 There were several presentations called "Project Turnings" showing just a few of the many projects members have made throughout the years.

Scarecrows

Twist & Turn Pillows

Turning Triangles

Looking through the Gate

We were very pleased with the turn out and heard many complimentary reviews.  I look forward to a bigger and better show in 2014.

FCE Community Craft Day Fun

In the doghouse

BabyGirl

Toby

See these two lovely angels!  They look so innocent now, but two weeks ago....grrrr!
BabyGirl spent the night in the yard with Toby (an outside dog) while my daughter took a trip to Knoxville with some friends.  I opened the door in the morning with their food bowls to two very excited puppies .....jumping up and down like kangaroos and barking their heads off.  They knocked me down ... hard.... into the carrying crate...  which now needs to be replaced.  I felt it, but got up and went about my life, not very happy or comfortable.

After several days and nights of aches and pains, waiting and  thinking it will get better, I finally gave up and went to the doctor.  It turns out I am very lucky!  I am one of about 10% of the population who can fall and end up throwing the pelvic bones in the direction they went (sigh) and I was lucky to not have herniated the disk at L4.  The disk is basically badly bruised, swollen and inflamed and putting pressure on the sciatic nerve... lovely!

So I have been taking it easy, doing necessary chores like cooking and laundry, and sewing in short spurts, but not accomplishing much.  Mostly just taking it easy.  Last night I finally was able to sleep through much of the night, so I'm getting close to back to normal again.  Follow-up appointment with the doctor tomorrow.

Quilt Cam Time

Whenever Bonnie Hunter is home and has some free time, she goes down to her sewing room in the basement.  She turns on her camera and chats with us, answers questions and encourages us to sew along too.  Sometimes it is spontaneous, other times are planned in advance and announced on her blog.  But always, it is lots of fun... sewing with hundreds of your closest friends all around the world!

I have sat and sewed with her in the past, but today is Saturday and that means a trip to the local Farmers Market to purchase my third bushel of apples this year.  I have to peel, core and slice apples to place in the dehydrator and dry so that I have enough dried apples for fried apple pies to eat throughout the year and for the fair next summer.

So this is where I spent the afternoon... in front of the computer, chatting with Bonnie, green bag full of apples, trash can for peels and cores, tray and slicer and the the dehydrator trays.  As I fill each tray I make a run to the kitchen and add it to the dehydrator.  Quilt Cam time lasted about 3-1/2 hours .... and with Bonnie as a distraction... just long enough to fill the dehydrator with 9 trays of apples.

After 12 +/- hours of drying, I fill quart size ziplock bags with 6 oz of apples...that is enough apples for a batch of 25 fried pies.  So far, 69 pounds of apples giving me 17 bags of dried apples will make approximately 425 fried pies for the fair.

This last bushel of apples I have to process will be for pies for the family this winter.

A new favorite...

I have found a new favorite place to eat.

Niels' Little Restaurant.... featuring German food.

Food like my grandma used to make.

Schnitzel, Spaetzle, Red Cabbage, Streudel...

and then the occasional special

Rueladen, Rhotkohl, Spaetzle

Flank steak stuffed with mustard, onions, bacon and pickle  YUM!  Red cabbage and german noodles and gravy!

Sauerbraten, Rhotkohl, Spaetzle

 Marinated beef and gravy. double YUM!  Add red cabbage and german noodles and the meal is almost complete!   You have to have dessert too!

Streudel with cream

I was halfway done when I remembered to take the picture!  Yummy warm struedel!  This one is cherry, but I have also had peach, mixed berry and apple!

Saturday Morning Adventure

I was up early this morning and off to the Farmers Market to purchase another bushel of apples to dry to make fried pies for next summer's fair.

With my purchase loaded into the van  I headed home, but decided to stop at  couple of yard sales on the way.  I picked up a set of salt and pepper shakers for my daughter and several skeins of yarn to knit a baby blanket.  Then I spied a familiar shaped box over on a table piled with computer and electronic stuff.

It's a Universal Sewing Machine!  Serial No.  S44709.  I'll have to search for the website to check the serial number to find out how old it is and where exactly it was made.   It is very heavy!....not the feather weight that I really want, but a pretty new addition to my collection.    The box it sits in is rotted a bit where the screws  are supposed to go.  Everything seems to turn and move very nicely.  Because the wires were dried and cracked and would have to be replaced, I talked her down to just $30!

I'll have to make a trip up the plateau to Montery and see my favorite Singer repairman to replace the wire.  I might be able to take the box apart and replace the one rotted board (or I'll have my woodworking brother do it for me when I see him at Christmas... wink wink) 

I've got the apples (some of them) sliced and in the dehydrator and now I'm off to dinner.

Road Trip

Yesterday I was up at O'dark thirty to meet three of the talented ladies from our local FCE club for a 2-hour ride to join ladies from the Ashland City FCE club for a day of teaching crafts to members and the community. It was a dark and rainy morning but, by the time we were closing in on Nashville, the rain had stopped and the sun was poking through the fading cloud cover.   I missed the turn from 24-155 but luckily Betty spoke up from the back seat in time to for us get off at the next exit.  We got turned around to go back to the missed turn, but poorly marked roads had us missing it again!  The roads have been under construction for some time and although the work is done, I guess they don't have all the signs set yet.  So another turn around and with 4 pairs of eyes watching we found the correct turn-off. We arrived at the church 15 minutes before starting time, grabbed our bags out of the van and each set up at one of the empty tables. Other tables were set  with pumpkins and fall decorations for lunch while the counter was filled with crockpots of chili, soup, cornbread, snacks and desserts.  It looked to be a fun day!

Janice quickly opened her bag and in short order had her embroidery floss and huck-toweling ready to teach Swedish Weaving Bookmarks.

Betty's bag was full of yarns and beads to make snowman and angel Christmas ornaments

 Pat was teaching notepad folders using manilla folders, cardstock and decorations

I set up with my precut kits to teach my mini-purses using sewing machines borrowed from the local FCE.

Tammy and Charity, other ladies from our FCE group taught Christmas ornaments and embroidered pillows. 
The local FCE members taught classes in "painting" with crayons (tape a row a crayons to the top of a canvas then melt them with a heat gun and the melted crayon drips down the canvas for a unique piece of artwork), cement/glass/tile stepping stone, basket weaving and an assortment of halloween and christmas ornaments.  It was a fun-filled, busy day but that meant I didn't remember to take pictures.   Hopefully someone else remembered to take some for the scrapbook.

A quick stop at McDonalds for a drink and some fresh out of the oven chocolate chip cookies (we timed that stop just right!) and we were on our way home.  Even though we were now aware that the roads were poorly marked, we missed the turn again! and were almost into the city before we noticed. (I gotta stop talking and driving!)   Pat used to live in the area so rather than driving in circles again she found us a local back road and we picked up 40 over near the airport instead.

A short time later Betty speaks up from the back seat...  "You know, we will be driving right past the exit for Joann's.  Do you think we could stop so I can get some yarn?"  With four crafty women in the car... well there was no driving by!  Of course we'll stop!

Yarn was 25% off and Pat was showing us this specialty yarn and telling us how easy it would be to make up some scarves with it... we could even have one done by the time we got home!  So, of course, we all bought several skeins of yarn and a crochet hook and with the sale price and the bonus of extra coupons given us by another customer we all walked out happily to the van.  Doors open, crochet hooks in hand, Pat gave us a quick lesson.  

Sure enough, Betty and Janice each completed a scarf in the back seat by the time we arrived home.   By now it was getting dark and the temperature had dropped so we quickly unloaded into our own cars and headed home... picture taking opportunity forgotten again!

I didn't want to forget the scarf lesson so as soon as I got home and washed up I settled down into my comfy chair and made my own scarf.... actually 2 of them, before going to bed.