Goodbye November

Wow....where did November go?  What a month it was!  The weather has definitely changed over to winter for many this month.  We are thankful to have the warm winds flaming the fires finally gone, but today we had cold winds and rain which, in turn, left us without power most of the day.  We go from one extreme to the other.

Of course, the end of November also means the start of the newest Quiltville Mystery.  I made myself promise to finish last year's On Ringo Lake before I started the newest one.  Quilting and binding were all that remained.

I decided to do the piped binding so I could finish it quickly on the machine and I am pleased with the way it turned out.

So...on to this year's Good Fortune.  As you can see, I am switching up the colors a bit, but they are done and ready for tomorrow's clue.

The last few weeks have been busy with Thanksgiving and enjoying the grandchildren home from college.  We always celebrate our Thanksgiving on the Saturday afterwards so the kids can go to in-laws or do their own Thanksgiving on Thursday.  Why is the timing of cooking a turkey always such am unknown?  DH smokes turkey breasts outside (as that is the favorite here) while I do one turkey in the oven inside.  Seems like the inside turkey is always done too early or too late.  Anyway, the food and the company were both great.  The house was wall to wall tables.  I wish I had photographed it, but the day got away from me.  We did manage to get most of us in for a drone photo, compliments of our grandson.

This is the time of the year when I'm ready to get back in the kitchen for some serious baking.  The smell of homemade bread is intoxicating.  My grandmother's egg bread is my favorite, hands down.

I also tried a new recipe from the Cooking Light magazine.  It was incredible and I am sure there are very few calories since it came from Cooking Light.  It has always been one of my favorite magazines, and unfortunately, it is stopping production.

It's time to add my final month marker to my Temperature Quilt.  I will post a picture of it on my next post as the day has been too dark to get a decent picture.

We have another large dinner party next week so it is back to cooking and decorating this week. 

So Dearly, Part 8

Today is my day to present the final part of my version of the So Dearly QAL hosted by Gosia from Quilts my Way.  I am sure that you will agree that she designed an amazing pattern.

The guessing game is now officially over as to what it will be.  Part Eight was the most complicated with many smaller sections needing to be placed in mirror image.  Paper piecing is really like a jigsaw puzzle to me.

Once all of the pieces were stitched together, it didn't look like much.

That all changed once all of the sections were sewn together.

The fill -in pieces were added and the full picture emerged.

Part 8 is free on Gosia's Craftsy site until December 3rd.  The other sections are still available at a minimum price. 

Although when I began this QAL and had no idea what the final design would become, I think the choice of using neutrals worked well for me.  However, I have seen some stunning and colorful bucks along the way.

This month is dedicated to quilting it.  I have NO IDEA where to go with that.  Anybody want to offer me suggestions? 

The Week That Was

Waking up last Monday morning was perfectly normal and gave us no hint of what was to become of the week ahead.  By the end of the week, we would be through more than we could have imagined.

Our community has suffered greatly.  A city that has consistently been voted in the top safest cities in the country saw the latest mass killing.  So many families have been affected.  One of the young men happened to be the son of one of the gals in my husband's office.

Before we even had a chance to grieve that horrific news, the fires broke out and sent people fleeing their homes.  The first of the fires broke out on the road between our home and my mother's.  The winds were pushing it towards her home.  My sister and I both rushed to her place, expecting evacuation was quickly coming.  With firefighters in her back yard, we watched the flames quickly approach.  Thanks to a grove of avocado trees behind her fence, the forward advance of the fire stopped just shy of her home.

By daylight you can see the blackened hills with a few hotspots.

When I returned home the next morning a second fire was approaching our home from the other direction.  The winds were so erratic and switched directions, sending it to the beach before it reached us.  So many have lost their homes and some even lost their lives.

Due to the fire, a cable tower was lost and we were left living in a different era - no phones, no internet and no television!  We finally had everything restored last night.  Whew.  Those domino games were getting pretty heated.

On the positive side, we had a new baby arrive in the middle of all the chaos.  Oldest grandson and his wife had a darling little girl.

With so many roads closed as well as many shops under evacuation orders, I was able to spend some time in my quiet space.

The Quiltville Mystery fabric selection is out.  I don't want to use orange again this year so this is my fabric pull for this quilt.

My Gridster Bee blocks for Allison (IG quiltstudio62) were so much fun to make.  I'm looking forward to seeing this one finished.

I promised a picture of the Rapunzel costume that my granddaughter and I made together.  She looked gorgeous in it.

I'm hoping for a quieter week this week.  I am looking forward to catching up on blogs and IG too.