Happy Halloween!

Halloween has always been a

big deal in our house.  I always

made costumes for my kids,

we had halloween parties, carved

pumpkins and visited local farms

for cider, pumpkins and gourds.

This year is our first year with both

kids living away from home and I

am not even home this year.  While

on the east coast, I did visit a spooky,

old graveyard in my hometown.

They had beautiful old gravestones

from the 1700's.

Wherever you may be ~ have

a Happy Halloween!

Civil War Remembered ~ Block 44

Union

& a Freak Storm

We are quilting along with Barbara

Brackman's 2011 Civil War Quilt.

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

This is my block for this week.

I am visiting the northeastern

United States, just outside of New

York City, and a sudden snow storm

hit the area yesterday.  I'd say that

is taking the frost on the pumpkin

a bit too far...

This was a very early snow for the

area, the problem is the leaves are

still on the trees so as the wet, heavy

snow came down...

so did the tree limbs and

the power lines.  I was in a

house, that was not my own, all alone,

with no lights, no heat, no phone,

no food ~ no fun!

Let's just say, it was a long night.

But today, the sun is out,

the power is back on and I

finally got to sew again.

This afternoon I am meeting

my old friend from grammar

school, we have not seen each other

since the 70's.  Things are looking up!



Chock-A-Block Wednesday

Comfort Quilt

When placed side by side this

block makes a very interesting quilt.

It would be wonderful for a scrappy

project as well.

Cutting Requirements:

Fabric A: Dark

8 - 2 1/4" squares

I made mine 4 - red, 4 - blue

Fabric B:  Light

4 - 2 1/4" x 5" rectangles

Fabric C:  Light

4 - 2 1/4" x 1 1/2" rectangles

Fabric D:  Dark

1 - 1 1/2" square

Make center 9 patch first.

Layout Fabrics A,C, & D

as shown and sew together

in 3 rows.  Press rows 1 & 3

to the inside and row 2 to the outside.

Sew rows together.

Square to 5".

Sew Fabric A squares to

the ends of 2 Fabric B

rectangles. 

Sew Fabric B rectangles

to each side of center

9 patch as shown.

Layout as shown.

Sew rows together and

square to 8 1/2".

Here is another one I did.

And another.

And another.

Building the Empire

East Coast Project

Though I have spent a considerable

amount of time socializing on this trip,

I have also been working as well.

From this pile of fabric I have

created...

the building "blocks" for a new

quilt design.  For now, I am calling

it the East Coast Project but will need

a better name,  I think something

autumnal would be appropriate.

Any ideas?

Enjoying Autumn

I love Autumn!

I love buying pumpkins,

and drinking apple cider,

and having the first fire of the season,

and wrapping myself in a sweater,

and decorating the house.

What is autumn like where you live?

Civil War Remembered ~Block 43

Right Hand of Friendship

We are quilting along with Barbara

 Brackman's 2011 Civil War Quilt.

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com

This is my block for this week.

I'm still traveling and far from my studio.



The Gathering

Here's to Good Friends

Last night a group of very old friends

gathered together, some of us had not

seen each other in decades.  And a

beautiful thing happened, all the years

washed away and it was as if we had

just picked up where we left off.

We laughed and talked and told

stories, old and new.  We knew

each other from when we were

all 18, some of us had known each

other since childhood.  What was

lovely was there was no need to sugar

coat anything, we were all very open

and honest and real ~ and that is the

sign of being good friends.

Thank you and I love you all.

An Unknown Woman

Mystery and Intrigue in My Hometown

Found Dead in the Road,

An Unknown Woman

Meets a Frightful Fate.

In March of 1887, four brothers were

on their way to work when they found

a body of a woman alongside a fence.

The police were called and they found

she had been stabbed a dozen times.

As news spread through the small town,

the curious came out to the site to view

the scene, it is estimated a thousand people

came to the scene that day, but no one

knew her.  The police thought the girl to

be about 22 years old and by the look of her

clothing, she was probably in domestic service.

News spread of the death of this unknown

woman and thousands of people came to the

town to view the body, the Pennsylvania

Rail Road had extra trains stop in Rahway,

the main street was bumper to bumper with

carriages as the curious came to see if they

knew the girl.  The mystery has never been solved.

I had always heard of this story growing up but

had never seen the gravesite.  The other day I

visited the cemetery and with the help of the friendly

caretaker I found the gravestone.  It was nice to

see someone had left her a rose...

Back to School

Yesterday I visited my old college campus.

  Things have changed so drastically, I was

a bit lost...

I went past my old apartment, the

infamous 303B, the site of many fun times.

I went to my old college hangout with my

old college boyfriend,  boyfriend from my

college days.  We talked about old friends,

old times, dreams and love and hopes for the

future.  In some ways, the conversation topics

were not that different from the ones we

had so many years ago...

Chock - A - Block Wednesday

Blockade

 

 

Fabric Requirements:

Fabric A: Blue

 5 - 3 1/4" squares - Mark

a diagonal line on back.

Fabric B: Red

5 - 3 1/4" squares - Mark

a diagonal line on back.

Fabric C:  Blue & Cream

2 - 3 1/4" squares

Fabric D:  White with Red & Blue

2 - 3 1/4" squares

Fabric E:  White with Blue

2 - 3 1/4" squares

Pair 3 1/4" squares in

the following combinations:

1 - C/B - press to the C fabric

   1 - A/C - press to the C fabric

  2 - A/E - press to the E fabric

  2 - A/B - press to the A fabric

  2 - B/D - press to the B fabric

Sew 1/4" away from each side

of drawn line.  Cut on drawn line

and press seam following the

guide above, this will help you

achieve more precise points.

Square to 2 1/2".

Make 4 Patch Units:

Layout 2 4-patches as shown

and sew together in 2 rows.

Press seam in row 1 to the left

and seam in row 2 to the right.

Then sew rows together and

press this seam open to reduce

bulk.  Make 2 of each 4 patch.

Square to 4 1/2".

Layout 4-patches as shown and

sew together in 2 rows.  Press seam

in row 1 to the left and seam in row

 2 to the right.  Sew rows together and

press this seam open to reduce bulk.

Square to 8 1/2".

Here's another one.

 

Here is a Blockade quilt.

By changing fabric placement you

can get an entirely different look.

Taylor Ham

Pork Roll

I'm back in New Jersey and that means

I am enjoying Taylor Ham.  This is a

food product that is unique to New Jersey

and Philadelphia.  Ask anyone who has

moved away from Jersey and they will

tell you they ask people who are coming to

visit them to bring along some Taylor Ham.

A number of years ago, my brother, in typical

"my brother" fashion, brought me the food

service or deli size fabric wrapped roll of

Taylor Ham.  Not wanting to waste it, we ate

it and ate it and ate it...  Then I couldn't eat

it anymore ~ I had reached the limit.  You

couldn't even say the words Taylor Ham in

front of me.

But enough water has passed under the bridge,

and I'm enjoying it once again.  I like to make

1/2" slices around the edge of the slices, so when

I pan fry them until crisp around the edges, they

stay flat and don't curl up.  I enjoy mine on a

roll with cheese, ketchup and thinly sliced raw onion.

Yum!

Revisiting

Milton Lake

I'm spending a few weeks in my hometown and

 today I visited a place where I made a decision

that changed the course of my life.

Three months away from our wedding date, Rob

 was offered a new job.  We didn't know where we

would get transfered to, we just knew it wouldn't

 be here.  We had to make a decision rather quickly

and went to Milton Lake, a place where we often

went to watch the swans and birds, and discussed

the pros and cons of this move.  We have always

been planners and this seemed like the perfect

time to make a life-changing move.

I've never been a 'townie".  I see people who have

lived in the same town and have the same friends

that they have had since high school and every

weekend they go to the same bars and have the

same conversations and frankly that leaves me cold.

Though I love to come home and reconnect with my

old friends I really needed to move on and broaden my

horizons.  And it was a great decision, we have fashioned

 a life that is filled with the homey, happy life that we

have in the American Midwest, coupled with an

everchanging life of adventure around the world. 

Forget drabness.  Anything but drabness!

~ John Graham