Wool Gathering

Recently I have started working with felted 

wool as well as wool felt (confusing, right?).

Wool felt is a nonwoven product, it is felt like 

we know from when we were kids but made

with wool so it is very beautiful felt.

Felted wool is a woven product,  do you have

a 100% wool skirt or blazer?  That's the kind 

wool I am talking about but then that fabric 

is washed in hot water and dried, you are 

trying to shrink it.  The reason for that is 

when we are doing wool applique work we

want the fabric to be tightly woven so when 

we cut it in small pieces, we don't want the 

edges to fray but to keep its shape.

I find felting my own wool to be very fun.  I

buy old wool garments at garage sales and

thrift shops and cut it apart and felt it.  You

certainly can buy beautiful wool felt, I just

feel it is like a treasure hunt to find the 

lovely woolen garments on my own.

Here are some gorgeous browns and tans.

Lovely blues and greens.

And some grays and blacks.

Once I'm finished writing my current book, 

I will be designing some wool applique pieces.

Stay tuned!

A Gift From Quiltmaker

I just got home and found a little box waiting for me 

outside my front door.  It contained a few presents

and a card from Quiltmaker magazine, thanking me

for participating in the 100 Blocks, Vol. 9 issue.

Well, thank you Quiltmaker!

That was lovely of them.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

It was a beautiful Spring day here today.  It was

sunny but still had a coolness to the air.  Later in

the afternoon the wind started picking up and now

at 7pm, it is getting cold even though the sun is still

up.  We may get a frost tonight so I just went out 

and covered some plants.

Here at our American Homestead, Avalon, we 

believe in making the world a more beautiful 

place and for us, we find beauty in nature.

Mr. Wonderful came home today with a 

forsythia shrub and a few knock-out roses.

I planted some lily of the valley earlier in the

day.  Planting perennials is a great way to add

to the beauty of your home, they return year

after year.

These hostas grew a few inches today.  We have

hostas all over our gardens and they all started 

from just a few plants and years of dividing them.

I got this little pussy willow start from one of

my favorite Master Gardeners.  I planted it 

last Fall and with the terrible Winter we had,

I wasn't sure if it survived.  About half of it 

broke off over the Winter and I've been 

waiting to see some sign of life from it.  And

today, on Earth Day, I saw the first new 

growth ~ it lives!

Grape Hyacinths

A true sign of Spring for me is when the grape hyacinths 

come into bloom.  I noticed the first ones today out in my

little garden by the pond.  

I've arranged them with a bit of soft lamb's ear in a mini

white hobnail vase and they will go on my bedside table.

When I wake up in the morning, the scent of the hyacinths

will be the first thing I notice, even before I open my eyes.

Loving Spring!

Happy Easter!

We spent a quiet Easter Sunday at Avalon,

our American Homestead.  Our Kate came 

home from school for the weekend so I thought

I'd make something vegetarian for Easter dinner.

But Mr. Wonderful had other ideas, he wanted

a ham.  I made some veggie side dishes also.

Tomato/Mozzarella Salad ~ A family favorite.

Cauliflower/Pea Salad ~ this has always been

one of Kate's favorites.  When my kids were little

they loved peas like other kids loved M&M's.  I

considered myself very lucky.

The best scalloped potatoes I ever made.

I wrote Keeper: Delicious! on the recipe.

A spiral sliced ham with a honey crust,

we'll be eating this all week...

After dinner we walked across the backyard

to have the egg cake with my Mum and sister

Trishie.  It was delish!

From our American Homestead to wherever 

you may call home, I wish you a joyous Easter.

We missed you Brennan!

Elle's Kitchen: Bunny Hops

Kate was coming home for the weekend so

I was decorating the house for Easter yesterday.

I decided to mix up a little Spring time cocktail

to go along with the Springtime decor.

First I mixed a bit of honey and water together

and rubbed it on the rim of the glass and then

dipped the rim in green sugar.

1 1/2 oz. Whipped Cream Vodka

1/2 oz. Triple Sec

3 oz. Half & Half

dash of grenadine

Mix ingredients together and pour into glasses.

Add a peep to the edge (bunny peeps would be

better but this is all I had) and a few jelly beans.

My review is, they looked great and festive.  I 

felt the vodka made them very strong, next time

I would try something like a White Chocolate

Liqueur, I think that would make it tastier.

Enjoy!

100 Blocks: Twice is Nice!

When I got home today there was a package 

waiting for me ~ I love presents!

Inside the package were issues of the most 

recent edition of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks

Collector's Edition, Vol. 9 magazine.

Even more exciting is my block was chosen 

as one of the 100 blocks, it is called Felicity

and it is on page 30.

To add to the excitement, my wallhanging

using the block was chosen to be included in

the Designer's Gallery, it is on page 14.

I'm thrilled, what a great way to start off

the Easter weekend!