What's Up Wednesday: Experimentation

I've been doing some stitching around here but even more cooking.  Over the summer I didn't cook much at all, to the point I believe my family wondered if I had forgotten how.  It's nice to spend some time in the kitchen....not as nice as spending time in my lab....but nice nonetheless.

Southern Banana Pudding

I experimented with some recipes I found on Pinterest, and happily my family approved.  That has not always been the case.  The Herb Roasted Citrus Chicken was a big hit as well as the Southern Banana Pudding.

before grilling and baking

Nothing beats my husband's filets though.  These roasted sweet potatoes aren't as good as the sweet potato casserole made at Thanksgiving time, but the lack of butter and sugar is probably better for our waistline.

hexagon stitching

 Hexagon stitching is going on in the lab.  Just when I think I've mastered the y-seam, I realize I haven't.  It's frustrating, but I am determined to finish this quickly so I can move on to other projects.

latest quilt book

This Quilt Essential book just arrived in the mail.  I can't wait to find a free minute to open it up and start reading!  Anyone else have this book?

Thanks for stopping by!

What's Up Wednesday: Amelia Island

This morning I sure did miss my custom made omelette for breakfast.

Four mornings in a row I enjoyed a yummy lump blue crab and shrimp omelette.  

It wasn't until that last morning that I realized splitting the omelette with my son and partaking of more fresh fruit was the way to go.

The morning before Beryl hit we strolled through downtown Fernandina Beach.

I love visiting book stores, especially when they are locally owned.

Don't you love this No Parking sign?  Got to love the church's sense of humor!

Today will be spent unpacking, doing laundry, and paying bills, but maybe I can find some time with my sewing machine.  A girl can dream, right?

Random Musings on Food, Family and Quilts

When I got back home from visiting my parents, I put on my Facebook page something to the affect of "back to reality and being a mom rather than being a daughter" which I don't think anyone got based on the few number of Comments/Likes ;-)  

I was trying to point out how it was a nice change being taken care of (role of daughter) for a few days rather than being "in charge" (role of mother).  

Got Pink?

I spent more than a few hours on the couch reading, napping, chatting and watching TV under several cozy and comfy quilts.  I hadn't seen this quilt since I sent it to my mom (was it really a year ago) for Valentine's Day (only because I didn't finish it in time for Christmas).   It was like seeing an old friend ;-)  I spent most of my time under this quilt!

 It is a good feeling to know that the quilts you make for others are being used and appreciated.  I saw quite a few quilts on display (on a sideboard, over a couch {or two}, on a bed, on the wall) that had been made over the years by various family members....they tend to add up after a while ;-)  I also saw up close and personal at least two quilts my new-to-quilting sister had made, and I noticed her very straight and perfect quilting lines....how does she do that?!

Granny Harper's gumbo, Harper's Sauce of St. Lawrence, boiled jumbo shrimp and Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

Other than being lazy, the main event was what my sister termed the Harper Gumbo Throwdown!  which involved Dad teaching us how to make our grandmother's seafood gumbo.  After years of searching (and the help of St. Anthony, patron saint of lost items),  Granny Harper's original recipe was found.  Michelle did all the cooking while I took notes....you know all good cooks are kind of vague with their ingredients and instructions ;-) My dad had made up a batch of boiled shrimp to go with his yummy Harper's Sauce of St. Lawrence (closely guarded secret family recipe).  Talk about some good coastal Southern food!!!!  My sister did take some pictures of the cooking lesson (with people to prove that we did make it), but you'd have to go on Facebook to see them...think I need to introduce her to Flickr.

One of 8 Katrina Story Quilts

My camera and I seem to be estranged these days....thank goodness cell phones now have cameras....never leave home without one ;-)  I saw these two quilts on display in the Gulfport airport right after going through security (can you say full body scan?).  I snapped a few quick pictures with my phone, but I've had a hard time finding much information online about the original exhibit.  You can't really see the details of the quilts that well, but they are made with children's art work.  Each drawing was individually scanned onto fabric.

"Rebuilding Our Town" Katrina Story Quilt

The Lynn Meadows Discovery Center (Mississippi's First Children's Museum) worked with Gulf Coast elementary students in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina giving them an outlet and opportunity to express their emotions about the hurricane and providing others with insight into their feelings.   The top left of this Katrina Story Quilt has the words "We are rebuilding our towns, our churches and our schools, our houses and our yards, our roads and our stores." Almost six years after the hurricane, even though most of the area has been rebuilt and strengthened, you can still see evidence of Katrina's destruction.

I'd like to find out more about the eight original Katrina Story Quilts.  The one link I found that seems to have the most information (http://www.quiltersbuzz.com/2007/02/the_katrina_story_quilts_displ_1.html)  fails to open.  I'll have to do some research on this.

Have an amazing day!!!!

Sorry for the long post....next one will be shorter ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

See you next Monday....

Other Blogs

Do you follow any non-quilting related blogs?  I know they must be out there, but I can barely keep up with my quilting blogs, so I have stayed away.  I am easily distracted ;-)  {Technically I follow The Pioneer Woman, think she is great, but I am overwhelmed by the huge amount of information on her blog and rarely visit.  However, I thoroughly enjoy following her on Twitter....she cracks me up!}

Thanksgiving Turkey

I mention this because the subject came up last night when I was picking up my daughter at the airport.  I was chatting with another mom, discussing how quiet the house was the four days our sixth graders were away, talking about how we missed them, and commiserating about the fact that they will be off to college before we know it.  (Actually, I do know a little something about that since my oldest has already left home and my middlest is a high school senior so will be heading off to college soon.)  Susan joked about how we need to get a hobby, and I am sure you can imagine how the conversation progressed from there ;-) 

Unfortunately for me, Susan isn't a quilter, but come to find out, she is a blogger!  I had no idea....she lives right down the street from me and I never knew.  Imagine the conversations we have missed!  She blogs about food at Sauce and Sensibility.  I checked it out this morning, and I found myself getting extremely hungry ;-)  There are some yummy looking recipes on her site along with  fantastic photos (taken by her husband).  With the holidays approaching, I figured this is a good time to try new recipes and an opportunity to explore and discover some food blogs.

Are there any non-quilt related blogs you have discovered?

This quilt needs to be quilted this weekend so my son can take it back with him...it will be his girlfriend's Christmas present.

Have an amazing weekend!!!  I'm going to hug my "long lost" daughter now ;-)

Rainbow of Colors

It's amazing what can be accomplished on a long road trip....especially when husband prefers to do all the driving.

I finished the small color wheel embroidery project over the Thanksgiving break.  Contributing to this accomplishment is the fact that my Mom spoiled me by doing all the cooking and playing with the grandchildren.  I cooked a little bit.

This left me with lots of time to embroider while riding in the car on the long drive to and from and watching college and NFL football on TV over the Thanksgiving weekend.  I have an idea of what I want to do with this piece of embroidery, but I am also open to suggestions.  Do you have any?

Can you see the detail of the stitches?  My camera wouldn't focus on just one stitch.  I wanted to show my favorite.  It is the raised chain stitch.  If you look closely, you will see it in red at the bottom corner of the picture, as well as in dark purple and light purple.  Other favorites are the wheatear stitch and the zig zag chain stitch.  All of these stitches as well as many others can be found at the Hand Embroidery Network.  I also had to get creative with the division of the colors.  I accidentally used a permanent fabric marker to draw my lines on the fabric.  To hide the lines, I did a serpentine stitch (not sure that is the technical name) using both of the colors that meet in each section of the color wheel.  If you look closely, you will see the backstitching in the red with the purple weaving in and out.

As I've mentioned before, this is  FUN!!!!!   My original plan was to take the large hoop project on the trip, but we were tight on space so had to settle on just taking the little one.  I am itching to work on the large one but will probably have to wait until after the holidays.

Have an amazing day!!!!

Sew & Tell Friday #8

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving!!!  Anyone braving the crowds for Black Friday?  Not me.  Only did it once...hope not to repeat the experience.

On Monday, I finished the third coin quilt.  If you haven't already, you can click here to see how I solved my too short sashing issue.

This Friday as part of Sew & Tell Friday, Amy asked us to share some of our yummy Thanksgiving recipes.  Here is a family and friend favorite:

Sweet Potato Casserole - The Mississippi Cookbook

4 cups cooked sweet potatoes                                           1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 cup butter                                                                       1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cups sugar                                                                      1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

4 eggs, slightly beaten                                                       1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Add butter, sugar, beaten eggs, spices, milk and 3/4 cup coconut to the cooked potatoes.  Save 1/4 cup coconut for topping.  Mix well.  Pour into greased 7 1/2 by 12 inch baking dish.  Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup coconut on top.  Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.  Serves 10.  NOTE:  RECIPE STATES BAKE FOR 35 MINUTES.....MY OVEN TAKES MUCH LONGER...SO ALLOW FOR EXTRA TIME.

I forgot to take a picture of the casserole until we started eating...oops.

Enjoy!!!!  Check out all the other Sew & Tell Friday finishes and recipes by clicking on the sidebar button.

Have an amazing weekend!!!!