Monthly Meeting of SSQSG

Halloween afternoon was spent in the company of some very talented women--the ladies of my Small Scale Quilt Study Group.

This pincushion was from a class offered at The Attic in Mesa, AZ.

Tamami will donate this ornament to raise funds for Breast Cancer Research through a charitable auction held at the Attic. I learned that the technique she used is called hardanger.

Kristine made us all green with envy over her stash of goodies obtained during a shopping spree at Primitive Gatherings.  And between working furiously over the last month with all the insurance claims our nationally broadcast hail storm caused, she managed to piece not one, but two broken dishes quilts and a Lori Smith quilt.

Pauline was busy with Schnibbles quilt tops.

Lin's 'Peonies' came back from the quilter...

...and she shared a few other finishes as well. 

The silly pumpkins are a Kim Diehl pattern.

Betty has been busy making ornaments, one for each of her children, their spouses and their children.

 My favorite is the little lamb for her granddaughter. 

Kathy's granddaughter will stay warm and cozy under the quilt Kathy is making for her.  

 Kathy also finished the applique on her miniature version of 'Orange Peel Quilt' by Kathy Tracy.

Last night we dined on the best fritters made with butternut squash. The recipe can be found in the October 2010 issue of Sunset magazine.  I shouldn't share it because of copyright laws, I guess, but I highly recommend it. YUM!

Eye candy and my new best friend!

Kathy was the first today to share at SSQSG.  Here is her quilt for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.  Betty taught her to hand quilt today, so this stunning quilt will be well worth the monies it will raise to find a cure for a cause near and dear to her heart.

Next Kristine shared her SAL blocks.  Love the orange and green color scheme.

And look at this stunning quilt!  Oh, I have quilt envy.  There are something like 32 pieces of fabric in those log cabin blocks, and the effect is amazing.

And now for her mom's blocks.  These are from Galloping Pony.  I can hardly wait to see what Pauline does with these beauties.

Merumo was busy while on the road to California.  She finished her Primitive Gatherings candle mat...

and this lovely autumn one as well.  Lin loves the wheat shafts!

And if she hasn't accomplished enough, she is also experimenting with the primitive stab stitch applique method seen here.  I would say the experiment was a success.  We all wish we had her energy and color sense!

And Betty has finished her miniature applique from Lori Smith.  It has a southwest feel about it to match her southwest territorial home here in AZ.

Lin is diligently and faithfully testing my Autumn Bounty pattern.  Here are her schoolhouse blocks.  We picked fabrics for her turkey track blocks today, so keep an eye out for them in the future.

 I am so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful and talented group of women.  And while I was wiling away the hours in the company of these fascinating ladies, my new best friend had cooked up a scrumptious meal for hubby and I.

Tonight we dined on tender and flavorful beef stroganoff.  I simply came home after sharing and shopping in a quilt store (yes, you can be envious) and steamed some broccoli ( a staple in our diet) along with some yolkless, no fat egg noodles for a tasty dinner. I am desperately trying to slim down to a reasonable weight, which means no more chocolate chip cookies for me.  Sigh.

Here is my crock pot recipe, adapted from Pam Buda's at Heartspun Quilts:

Add the following to a crock pot and cook for 7 hours:

1 can Campbell's golden mushroom soup

1/2 can Campbell's french onion soup

1/4 cup water

4.5 oz jar of sliced button mushrooms

1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp crushed dried tarragon

about 1 lb. of sliced lean beef strips

Prior to serving I thickened it up a little with some corn starch and then added 3 big dollops of light sour cream.  Both of us loved the flavors in this one.  As my husband said, "It's a keeper."