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. 

Sewing in 2018

There is always endless stitching in my mind so I am not one who makes resolutions about what I am going to accomplish each year.  Perhaps that comes with age.  I just enjoy working on what I choose and go from there.  Are there a ton of UFOs that are calling???  Absolutely, and perhaps I will accomplish a few this year.

This week I have continued to work on On Ringo Lake.  I have about 70% of my blocks sewn together now.  Once I finish them I will start sewing them into rows with their sashing.  I have so enjoyed the process.  Here is the most recent photo when I was working on them the other day.  It has been fun to see the other links this week at Bonnie Hunter's Blog.

My additional fabrics arrived which allowed me to finally assemble the first blocks of my 2018 Temperature Quilt.  As I said, this year I am doing the Square in a Square pattern to reflect my daily temperatures.  The square reflects the high temperature and the outer sections reflect the lows.  You can find other Temperature quilts on Instagram at #sistemquilt18, #tempquilt18 and #temperaturequilt2018.  Again, my sister's temperatures in Alaska make for a very different looking quilt when compared to mine.  You can see hers at IG @alaskanquilter.

These are the color ranges for my area.

January was off to a warm start, but with the storm just passing through I am sure I will soon be adding more green.

The storm was badly needed, but our worries of damage in the recent fire area were valid.  Sadly, there has been lost lives, homes and property today.  The first confirmed death happened to be a friend of ours and the founder of our grandchildren's academy.  Both he and his wife were washed away during the night. His wife managed to survived the incident. The images on the television are hard to imagine and difficult to see.  Please keep all those involved in your thoughts and prayers.  

Temperature Quilt 2017

Happy New Year!  I can't believe the holidays are now behind us.  Have you started shopping for next year yet?  It will be here before we know it.

The end of the year also meant the end of recording temperatures and making blocks for my Temperature Quilt 2017.   I was saddened to see it come to an end, but really like the finish.

This was a quilt that I did along with my sister (IG alaskanquilter).  Needless to say, my temperatures in California are considerably different from hers in Alaska.  This was her finish.  I loved her colors and I also thought  her use of geese flying north or south depending on temperatures above or below freezing was brilliant.

We've had requests to do a QAL for a Temperature Quilt 2018.  After discussing it with each other, we have decided to do it.  Last year we used the Flying Geese pattern and are thinking of doing either a Square in a Square or a Pinwheel pattern for 2018.  We would love to have everyone join us.

I will post the Kona colors that we used, our temperature breakdowns, details and instructions in a few days.  Between Alaska temps and California temps, we should be able to cover most temperatures.  Of course, you can use any colors and fabrics that you would like.  Meanwhile, please keep a log of your temperatures until you are ready to sew.

In other sewing, the big reveal for On Ringo Lake came out for New Years.  The last few clues were fast and furious so I've been plucking away on block construction.  I really love the way it is coming together.

I'll be back in a few days with all of the details for the QAL.

Goodbye 2017

It's hard to believe that we are saying farewell to 2017 already.  It sounds like many in the states are sending it off in a deep freeze.  The snowy pictures have looked beautiful, but I am not envious of the temperatures.  They would, however, add a new dimension to my Temperature Quilt project.

I love this quiet time after all of the holiday entertaining.  The house is all decorated and there is no preparation that I should be doing.  I can look around and enjoy this Christmas season completely guiltless.

This week has been a lot of clean up from Christmas and houseguests, but I have been determined to try to stay on track with my Bonnie Hunter QAL.  It has taken me the full week to get the clue done this week, but here they are - with 11 to spare!

I think we should soon be assembling all of these parts and I am looking forward to seeing them all come together.


We had another wild and wonderful Christmas with everyone here.  There was not a lot of time for pictures as it is rather chaotic, but I will share one picture that I took mid-room as we were gathering to open gifts.  I know crowds like this are not for everyone, but it is a joyful part of our life.

I wish for an exciting, fun and blessed 2018 for everyone.  I'm looking forward to following along with all of you in the upcoming year.  You are each so inspiring and never cease to amaze me with your creativity.  Thank you so much.

Winter Solstice

December 21st.....winter solstice.  Not being a winter lover, I love this day as I know my days will now be getting longer.  I know there is still lots of winter days ahead, but it is reassuring that summer will be here before we know it.

As with others, the week has been super busy as we prepare for the arrival of Christmas.  The wrapping is finished and the baking has started.

With stolen minutes here and there throughout the week, I have managed to finish Clue #4 and am ready for the next one.

A few small gifts were also made this week.

Little boxy bags for carrying little items.

A couple of Crazy Cat potholders.  Pattern by Made By Marney.

With guests arriving tomorrow, I doubt that I will be back on the computer until next week.  I wish all of you a blessed Christmas.  I hope you can enjoy the time spent with family and friends in peace and love.

Mid December Stitching

Life seems to be settling down a bit from the crazy pace of the last few months.  The days are drawing closer and I'm finding a few spare moments here and there for some stitching.  There is something relaxing about the time spent sewing.

I still have a few small projects to finish before Christmas, but I hope to get those done in the next few days.  Meanwhile, sewing a few minutes at a time helps to get the clues to the Bonnie Hunter Quiltville Mystery, On Ringo Lake, done.  I have managed to keep up - so far.  Clue #4 came out today and I had to give it a try.  I love these pieces - both the design and the colors.

The last few weeks have used the salmon color so I was happy to move away from that color.

A friend of mine had started a lovely quilt for her newest grandson.  She did such a nice job on the applique and was in the process of hand quilting it, but has been knocked down a bit by some medical problems.  Knowing she was not going to be able to complete it for Christmas, she asked if I would machine quilt the borders for her to finish it off.  I wish that I had the time to hand quilt it to complement her work, but the quilt is now finished and ready to be gifted.

It's hard to believe that the year is almost over and my Temperature Quilt is now in its final days.  November was a colorful one with some record breaking temperatures.  December has been exceptionally warm too.  I don't know why my one blue is showing up so dark in the photos, but I'll try to capture the whole year when the lighting is better.  It surely looks different from my sister's geese since she lives in Alaska.  You can see hers at IG alaskanquilter.

Puppy time is also consuming a lot of my free time.  One of us is definitely getting trained.  This little guy is such a love and wants to be wherever I am at all times.  Writing my Christmas cards, he was right there with a nose on my knee.

Sewing.....he sleeps in his bed right next to the sewing machine.

Computer time??? lol  It's tough to use the keyboard when he is sleeping on my wrist.

I'd say he is adjusting to his new home quite well.

The Thomas fire is still burning in our area with nearly 1000 structures now burned down and two deaths - one of a young firefighter yesterday.  Full containment is not expected until January 7th.  Our quilt guild and many others are joining the Ventura Modern Quilt Guild in making blocks for quilts for the victims.  It is an easy block to make if anyone is interested in participating.  This is from their website.

Make it STOP!

I'm so ready for the winds to stop and the fires in the area to get under control.  It has been a couple of wild days around here.

The home that was my parents for many years burned to the ground yesterday in Ventura.  The heroic efforts of firefighters stood no chance with the incredible winds we were experiencing.  So many memories are now left in our minds and in the ashes.

I am just so grateful for the fact that my mom chose to move closer to my sister and myself.  To get that middle of the night phone call to evacuate would have been terrifying.

Tonight is suppose to be even worse as far as the winds go.  I am praying for the safety of the firefighters and for all of those who have lost their homes, including my niece and nephew.

Needless to say, sewing has taken a back seat this week with all that has been going on here.  I did, however, play around a bit with some geese and nine patches.  I was just trying to see what another colorway in Bonnie Hunter's mystery would look like.

Mystery Time

It's that time of the year again when we get to sew along with Bonnie Hunter and her Mystery.  On Ringo Lake is being done in the colors I love so I am thrilled to be sewing along.  The first clue came out last Friday.  I could hardly wait to start, but we always celebrate our Thanksgiving here on Saturday.  Setting tables, cleaning and cooking for 50+ took precedence until Sunday.


I decided to do just a couple of 9 patch blocks on Sunday before the cleaning started.  Somehow, once I started it was like eating potato chips and I couldn't stop.   They went up quickly and I had them all done before I knew it.

After that, I still did not want to face the cleanup so I sewed up my Gridster Bee block for December.  That finishes up the bee blocks for this year, but I am so glad the bee will continue next year.  I'll be linking this up with Quilt Fabrication's 100th Midweek Makers celebration.

Yesterday was a day for cleaning.  All....day....long!!!!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving with the kids all home from college for the long weekend.  The weather was unbelievably warm too.  It was in the mid 90s on Thanksgiving and still in the mid 80s for our celebration on Saturday.  It felt especially good to those students returning from the Midwest.

We did our annual group photo of the kids and grandchildren - missing just one grandchild this year.

Us with our five chidlren

Son #1, DIL and family

Son #2, DIL and family

Son #3, DIL and family

Son #4, DIL and family

Daughter, SIL and family

Now it is time to transform the house to a Christmas décor.

Here, There and Back Again

It has been another bit of traveling for us last week.  We flew to Omaha, rented a car, took one granddaughter out for dinner, drove to Kansas and took two more granddaughters out for another dinner before driving up to Iowa to spend some time with my relatives.

One thing I love about traveling at this time of the year is the beautiful colors of fall.

Since my roots are from the Midwest, it was fun to visit some of the old homesteads.  Both of these homes were built by my father and it was nice to see them still looking good.

We also took the time to visit Boys Town while in Omaha.  They have a fantastic museum on the grounds that was fun to visit.  If you have never seen the movie, Boys Town, you should consider watching it.  The original Oscar for the movie was displayed in the museum.

We avoid busy roads while driving so we can enjoy the countryside and this trip was no different.  One small road landed us in the middle of Hamilton, MO.  I had no idea until we had arrived in the town that it is home to Missouri Star Quilt Co.  Wow!!!  It was amazing.  They had great murals.  We only stopped for a few minutes as we were working our way to Iowa.

A nice spot for DH to bask in the sunshine as it was 29* outside.

While in Iowa we stayed with my cousin on their farm.  Again, it was quite chilly for us with highs in the mid 20s and low in the teens.

My cousin's farm in the heart of the Amish community.

Sunrise over the cornfields.

Driving back to Omaha for our flight home, we passed through Madison County - home of the covered bridges.  This poor one had seen better days before burning.  

Winterset, IA. is the birthplace of John Wayne.

John Wayne birthplace

This week has been an exciting and busy one for us as we added a new member to our family.  Needless to say, he is getting lots of love.

I haven't had much of a chance to sew this week.  I can't imagine why, but I have made a couple of pulls for the upcoming Quiltville Mystery QAL which starts next week.  I'm leaning towards pull #2 as it is a bit more green.  What do you think?