~ We left supper on the stove – and went for a walk~

“Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn.”
-   Elizabeth Lawrence

 

Lately we will have a day of rain then a day of sun…

Such was the case Tuesday it rained all day, cloudy grey skies and buckets of rain fell.  Wednesday sunny and dry and the forecast for Thursday and Friday well, rain again … hence the reason we left supper on the stove on a low simmer….

The sun and a walk in the park was calling our names…

Seriously, sometimes you  just have to carpe diem~ you know??

   ~this is our Overton Park and it is right across the street from where we live.

~there is a lot of fall going on out there

  ~we were ready to walk and to gather

~the light is so beautiful in the early evening

~we saw fungi and we saw ferns

~ we explored close up

~I love the long views~

~fall only lasts a minute here, so I am glad we got out in it

~and our soup was just fine when we came home to it…

Emma made her nature display and all in all it was a very good afternoon!!   These are the moments you have to make time for. They are there for you to hold on to and cherish – if you can let your “supper” go for a bit..  It can be hard to stop the work that must be done, but in the end it can be so worth it!

Enjoy your fall!

~Moments- Keeping it real~

So, Amy at A Commonplace Life started this discussion last week It really resonated with me. In oh so many ways..

Ok, I have a lot to share in my imperfect world, house etc., but today let me just be real, really real. 

I made this quilt, I worked on it all last week and I finished it up Saturday morning.  I will say I am pleased with the way this quilt turned out.  Really quite pleased.

 

Ok,  so the auction/ Fall Fest is tomorrow, Thursday night.. today is Wednesday.  I just now got the courage to call and say I had an item… WHAT?  Yes, I just got off the phone with the lady in charge of gathering items.. and yes she was really nice about it all..

Ok, so why could I not pick up the phone and call? Craft anxiety. I have it.  I just never really think my things are good enough.  I am certainly my own worst critic.

I know, I am so silly.  I just am a mess really.

I worked hard, I like the outcome, but yet what is it with me?  I just have no confidence in my ability and that is pathetic, really just all around…..I just seem to have a lack of confidence  and I do not like that about myself.

I am not right and  I know that  

My confidence will come one day, maybe I will get it all together maybe by acknowledging my shortcomings I will be able to overcome them and perhaps be able put them in their place, but until then….

 

I’ll just try to keep it real ya’ll.

~ Quilt for Silent Auction check it !!~

~Love love love !!

~ So I got it together this past week and came up with this little quilt ..

I am so happy with this quilt.  I have really wanted to make a solid quilt. My inspiration came to me from One Shabby Chick’s Quilting Festival entry.. I loved that quilt from the first moment I saw it.

I used all Kona cotton fabrics. I improved each color block, and after seeing all of them and studying them it came to me that they all appear to me as wonky crazy doors.. Which I love, this being a quilt for my daughter’s school Silent Auction, it fit.

  ~front of quilt.. light is very difficult today… I was chasing it…

  ~ back of quilt.. love that big block!

  ~ okay, maybe this is too out there, but this phrase was in my mind.. when I think of her school, the children, the faculty, the parents… their mission this is what comes to mind…

~I fought with this blanket stitch, my cranky bobbin and I was down to the last bits of thread…. but I am letting it go~

Here are af few of the “doors” ~

  ~the color is a bit off here, the block is not red, it is more magenta?!

ok, you get the point…

I quilted each color block in a different pattern, but I have to say my hat is off to all of  ya’ll who straight line quilt, that is no easy task! It looks so simple, but it is as hard as the dickens.. Seriously not easy..

I had to back to my first love, stippling  for the main body and I love the overall effect. It works for me.

Matching sham check…

one happy little helper… check check~

We’re good!

Enjoy your weekend!

~Oh my gosh I won!~

Seriously, this is my first time ever to win anything.. it just never happens for me!

 NEVER!!

Remember  Amy’s Quilt Festival?
I posted about my Nie Nie quilt.. well, as I was reading her post listing all of the winners, I almost fell out of my chair!
I saw my name!

Turns out I won a few goodies from  Quilternity  I am so excited!!!
Like this little helpful tool… wait until you see what I am working on… I really could have used this! Also, a set of 5 hand dyed fat quarters!!  

Are you kidding me?     

Thank you Quilternity and thank you to  Amy for hosting the Fall Quilt Festival, it was so much fun!

Remember it is never too late to learn a new task or to develop a new interest. If you think you want to learn to quilt, just go for it! It is easy, rewarding, forgiving and in the end you will create something beautiful.. what’s not to love?

 

Ps, doesn’t that coffee look super great???

It is not just a latte, no it is a a Pumpkin Pie Spiced latte from The Yellow Door Paperie oh my stars.. heaven in a cup and that is for real!!

So good!

   ~ and I made this recipe from the Soup Swap

So good! By the way, that is parmesan and steam on the picture.. I don’t know why, but lately I have been putting parmesan on everything.. what’s up with that?

~ Autumnal ramblings and a GIVEAWAY!! ~

I pulled out my fall runner yesterday that I made last year~

   partly because it is getting cold and well, because it is October and there is  no time like the present…

When I noticed a little theme going round….

 

You can tell by the activity around here the temperatures are beginning to drop, all animals have claimed their spot~

Any of our three dogs may be found on a couch  either cuddled up or  just curled in a warm ball …

The kitties are no exception … they have been spent all of their time sleeping and bathing each other on my fall runner.  Of course as soon as I just pulled it out they think it is just for them, well of course they do.. they’re cats!

We brought in some of the roses ~  surely they will not be around much longer.. 

Emma gathered a lonely walnut, maple leaf and set out some of her great grandmother’s sea shells to decorate the flowers.

I love these antique tea roses, pictured are Mrs. BR Cant, and Mrs. Dudley Cross along with a few blooms from our Vitex/Chaste tree. Lovely!!

Speaking of our garden,  wait until you see the giveaway information below it is awesome!!

First a little recordkeeping~   I saw my last hummingbird on Monday, the 12th.. This is important  as I like to keep a record my little friends coming and going’s.  I am always so sad to see them go.  It will be a long few months until they are back.. see you in March little friends..  Godspeed.

   ~sorry so blurry!

 

Speaking of  knitting, did you see this giveaway by GardenMama? She is featuring handmade items by Down in the Meadow  Wow, I am in awe~ what fantastic work! You have to go and check it out. The giveaway ends tonight so hurry! Of course I am late to the game..

So cute!!!

I need to be sewing but all I want to do is sit and knit.. that’s it.

It might be a problem, but for now~ not so much!

~ Dinner ideas and thoughts of many quilts ~

“There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on 
the feelings, as now in October.” 
-  Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

I am loving this October!! We are on a two week fall break which so far has been lovely even though the grey and drizzle.   Fall is my most favorite of seasons.  Soup is always on my mind and yesterday was no different. I made a vegetable soup that was awesome!  If anyone is interested I can write more about it, but just know that is a powerhouse of goodness!

 

 

I am always in search of dinner ideas.. you know it is hard to come up with something good every single night..

I have made this pizza before  and it is easy and really good.  Last night I made another one and I basically used leftover baked chicken, basil from the garden, olive oil and cheese along with a mix of whole wheat and white flour.

 

So easy and so delicious, even Miss Picky Pants ate it!

I am working on my Scraps to Treasure project. I am slowly working on it.   The project was due October 1st.  Needless to say I have been delayed in a horrible horrible way. It is slow going at times but I am hoping to get into a groove very soon.

I have been commissioned  for a baby quilt by my cousin. She reports that she has really enjoyed her Sand and Sea quilt that I made for her baby Elio, (he is gorgeous!) so much that she would like me to make one just like it from  these fabrics!  Aren’t they cute?? Yay!! I am so happy to do this…!!

I am contemplating trying to put together a quilt for a Silent Auction for my daughter’s school… however I am so undecided on ideas. I am a little unsure if anyone would be interested in such a thing.  I am kind of leaning towards an all solid Kona cotton quilt if I decided to do it, but I am still thinking on this idea.  I also don’t have much time….

Also,  Jade from Craft Hope has project 5, and this is a really good one!  This project not only helps little children, but also children that are here close to us all.  I am excited about this one!

I have lots more to chat about but it will have to wait. I hope your day is blessed!

~Fall Quilt Festival 09~

It is Fall Quilt Fest over at Amy’s Park City Girl blog
I was excited to join. 

This is not my best quilt, not at all, but it is extremely important to me, and it has taught me many things..

I believe that as we do, we become better. Especially with quilting, I seem to learn with every project.

The quilt I am choosing to show is one that I made about 1 year ago… Do you remember Nie Nie? Stephanie Neilson? She was in a horrible plane crash with her husband Mr. Neilson, and his flight instructor/friend Doug. The Neilson’s are well on their way to recovery but unfortunately Doug passed during that first night…
There was a huge outpouring of support and many benefits held in their honor to help with the medical expenses and all of the costs associated with such a tragic event. I felt that I needed to do something to help, no matter how small or insignificant it might be.

Hence this lovely little quilt. This one I am really happy with, it is completely randomly pieced~ improvisational style, I loved the colors, which I chose based on the thought of Arizona or the west, the sky, the sun, the desert, the mountains.  Sunset colors bold and simple.. the purple color, I don’t know, I think I thought it just needed that. Maybe it was a symbol of a desert flower…. I can’t quite  remember but anyway…

 

 

 

I think it all worked  out just fine.

Even though I did not pre-wash my dark colors, oops!! The color ran and I thought all was lost, however I spent so much time making that quilt, I just washed and washed it.  The stains mostly came out and I debated whether or not to send it… basically people were so sweet they said send it. They also reminded me that because it was handmade, the imperfections only make it sweeter and give a reminder that we are not perfect and never will be. It is simply impossible.

So, off it went..

 

 

And guess what? It sold immediately! Of course all items did, but still, it did sell!

Mission accomplished.  I felt great. This one act really changed my thinking, yes I love to create, but I don’t need all of the things that I make. You can only give so much as gifts, etc. So, now I craft with a little more purpose and I like to incorporate giving into my life. Great projects exist out there… Craft Hope, Mountain Baby Blankets, Iraqi Bundle of Love, Mama to Mama these are just a few..

  ~the back..

 

 ~ you can see my free motion quilting is kind of all over the place…

  ~ my corners appear a mess!

But, my point is, just do what you do, you never know where your journey will lead you, nor will you know how it will affect you.

I believe we came full circle this very week, as I watched Mr. and Mrs. Neilson on the Oprah Show !! Wow, she looks amazing, her husband looks wonderful as well.  Her spirit is as strong and lovely as ever, and I am truly touched by that!  I am so inspired to not only be a better mom, wife, but also to keep doing what I love because it is important, it really is..

~Soup Swap~

 

Jessica at Turkeycookies is hosting a soup swap!

Yum!

Fall is here and the weather could not be more cooperative. It is cold and damp, 63 degrees and the sky is a moody grey color.

My daughter’s most favorite soup is this Irish Potato Soup she loves, loves loves it and she requests it every fall once the weather turns. It is my pleasure to make it for her, I have never met a soup I did not love, this one does not disappoint.

It is perfect every time! I used 4 leeks instead of 3, I also use them from tips to stem, in other words, the whole thing.  I also put in more potatos then called for, and I added about a 1/2 cup of milk to thin it out a drop. Topped with cracked pepper and parmesean cheese~ YUM!!

The only thing you need to add to make it perfect and darn I don’t have a loaf made is this~