Countdown to Christmas

by Sweetwater for Moda.

Holiday Happenings,

 designed by Monique Dillard, published in the BHG publication,

'Quilts and More.'

This is my Labor Day weekend project.

I plan to teach it as an introduction to quilt piecing class this fall. My schedule will not permit a full beginning class until 2012.  I have opted to make it a square instead of the long runner seen in the photo.

Advent calendars were always one of my kids' favorites.

It felt good on Friday to hit the trails again.  Only 31 days until we leave for the 13,000 ft mountains of Peru.  I was surprised how winded I got after being away for less than 2 weeks.  We will head to Ouray this next week to get even higher in hopes of building up some excess red blood cells.  I'll need all I can get!

While hiking, I found yet another member of the Gentian family that I will add to my Wildflower page.  I captured a picture of the Fringed Gentian in full bloom.

It is now my second favorite wildflower after the Fairy Slipper Orchid!

The texture of this little mushroom enticed me to play with my macro lens.

And some early fall color...

I am using the new blogger interface.  Uploading photos seems to take forever, but the rest of it is user friendly and a lot cleaner looking from a graphic design standpoint.  Haven't figured out how to access my pages though...may have to switch back in order to add to my wildflower pages.

Hope everyone is having a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend!

Harvest Time...YUM!

I returned to Colorado and immediately dove into my 1880 sampler blocks.

Nothing like the US Open Tennis Tournament and a little time with Bernie! 

 Just two more blocks and I will have all the patterns written through October.  One more row is actually ready to set, but I will finish Autumn Houses first.  I also have a pattern for a trio of mini quilts that I am itching to get started on. 

My flower garden is in its full splendor and my vegetable garden is quite prolific!

The zucchini is just about to turn in to a delicious chocolate bread, the carrots and green beans will be savored with dinner tonight, those little yellow heirloom tomatoes are in my belly, and the larger red ones will be on my sandwich for lunch.  Last night I used up my Japanese eggplant to make croquettes.  I am a big fan of eggplant and even my husband enjoyed these.  The recipe can be found here.  The only thing I changed was to add some fresh basil from the plant dear Kathy gifted me and I used Parmesan flavored Panko bread crumbs. 

I received a comment from a non-reply blogger (mkrlar) requesting a tutorial on how I prep for applique, especially making those sharp turns on the windows of Autumn Houses.  I would love to share my tips, but I would need to do so using video. 

 I wonder...can that be done and shared? 

 Anyone know how? 

Wordless Wednesday

Fall, please come soon!

We returned home this weekend to a wall of unbearable heat....116 degrees. 

But I shouldn't complain...I'm not on the east coast dealing with Irene.

I pray everyone there remains safe.

Needless to say, I spent a lot of time indoors this weekend and finished this adorable shop sample by Country Threads...Pumpkins 4 Sale #220.

The girls at TOWQS have it kitted.

Also spent some time trying to applique the leaves on the willow tree in the very last block for my Autumn Houses quilt.  Learned a valuable lesson...don't change something that is working.

I had been using DMC 50wt machine embroidery thread for most of the applique, using just these 3 colors. 

Don't ask me what made me decide to switch to a 60wt. green Mettler thread, but I did.  The small stitches I needed to use were impossible.  So I switched back to the DMC and now those points are much easier to accomplish! Good thing, because I have over a dozen more of them to do!

Our dive trip to Florida Keys was a success, for the most part...

boy, their mosquitoes were obnoxious! 

Our daughter and her fiance.

Our son and his newly dive certified girlfriend...GO SARAH!

The younger crowd and my husband did a few deep dives to wrecks and had a blast.   I got up close and personal with a harmless 8ft. nurse shark and survived the onslaught of the moon jellyfish that plagued the surface of the waters.  But, I count our blessings that Irene left us unscathed.

That is me!

I am anxious to return to the mountains this week.  My favorite time of year, Fall, should be arriving there soon.  September is full of joy for us...our daughter will put her feet in the sand on Coronado Island in San Diego and exchange wedding vows with the love of her life! 

I have chosen a pattern for a wedding quilt, but it is all hand pieced, so they may get it on their 1st anniversary, OR maybe their 2nd.  

Hexies, here I come!

Changing Gears

I realized that I have an appointment with a machine quilter at the end of September, so I figured I had better change gears and get back to some hand applique.

Here is the last block for Autumn Houses by Bunnyhill.

The shapes are all pressed and glued down and now I just have a few hours of hand sewing to do.  Most of the other blocks are done.  Still have to finish the willow tree in the top row, a maple leaf in another block and some embroidery.  Then I can piece them together and add the borders.

Needless to say, finishing this one has become my top priority.

Hiked the Highline trail on Thursday and was treated to an afternoon thunderstorm; but before the rain and hail started, I was able to capture pics of 5 new wildflowers for identification.

Amazingly, 3 of them were variations of the Gentian family.

All of the pictures were cataloged on my wildflower pages, but I had to share this one of the Fringed Gentian.

These were only about 6" tall. 

We head home to Arizona on Monday.  The kids and their significant others are coming with us on a diving vacation.  I have all the blocks for my 1880 sampler set up for automatic postings and hope it works correctly.  See you all in a few weeks.

Back in the saddle again...

My break from my sewing room gave me a boost of enthusiasm and I managed to get 4 more blocks for my 1880 sampler made and the patterns written. 

I need to get ahead because the next 3 months will be very busy. 

Using the leaders and enders method, I am also getting closer to finishing Pinwheels for Caroline.

Here are some of the best results from my photography lessons with my cousin.

I also used Picassa to soften the edges of the photos. 

Low Blue Mist Penstemon 

Scarlet Paintbrush

Western Paintbrush

A Blog Hiatus

Took a little break last week from blogland. 

My cousin from Texas came for a visit and we have been hiking and taking wildflower pictures to our heart's desire.  I learned so many new things about my camera from her!

I'll be back in my sewing room today hoping to get closer to a finish and more sampler blocks.

The weeds in my gardens are calling as well.