Honoring Women's Rights ~ Week 44

A bit of "Taking Care of Business"

On July 1 Google Reader will cease to

exist, so if you follow this blog on Google

Reader we will no longer be connected.

I took the advice of other bloggers and

went to  www.bloglovin.com and just clicked

a button to switch to that site and I get to

keep all the blogs I follow very easily.

Then I added Bloglovin to my favorites

list so I can easily access them.  I hope you

will do the same or something similar so

we can easily stay connected. Thanks ~ Ellen

 

Star of Hope

 

We are quilting along with Barbara Brackman's

Block of the Week, Grandmother's Choice.

 

 

This is how I made my block, it

may differ from the original.

 

Fabric Requirements:

 

Fabric A: Red

4 - 3  3/16'' squares

 

Fabric B: White print

2 - 4 1/4'' squares - Mark a

diagonal line on back.

 

Fabric C:  Blue

1 - 4 1/4'' square

 

Fabric D: Green

1 - 4 1/4'' square

 

Fabric E: Fussy Cut

1 - 3  3/16'' square

 

 

Make Half Square Triangles:

 

Pair 4 1/4'' squares with right sides

together in the following combinations:

 

1 - B/C     1 - B/D

 

Sew 1/4'' away from each side of drawn

line, cut on drawn line.  Press seam to

the darker fabric.  Use for Quarter Square

Triangles.

 

 

Make Quarter Square Triangles:

 

Mark a diagonal line on the back of the

B/D Half Square Triangle unit going from

the opposite corners from the seam.

 

Place a B/C and B/D Half Square Triangle

together with right sides together.  When you

pull back the corner along the seam it should

look like the photo above.  Sew 1/4'' away from

each side of the new drawn line, cut on drawn

line and press seam open to reduce bulk.

 

 

Now we must square this unit to 3  3/16''.
(To halve 3  3/16'' would just be going too
small so we are using a generous 1 9/16'')

This is a bit tricky since we now will have to

deal with small measurements.  I have marked

my ruler with tape to show the intersection of

the 1 9/16'' lines .  Place the point where these
2 lines intersect on the middle of the Quarter
Square Triangle (where all the fabrics meet in
 the middle). Make sure the diagonal line of the
 ruler is on the diagonal seam line. 
 Trim the top and right side. 

 

Now rotate the block so the untrimmed

edges are on the top and right sides.

Square up the block to 3  3/16.

Make 4 of these units.

 

Layout units as shown and sew together

in 3 rows.  Press seams in rows 1 & 3 to

the outside and seams in row 2 to the inside.

 

 

Sew rows together and press the final seams

open to reduce bulk.  Square to 8 1/2''.

 

Check out everyone's work on Dustin's Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/grandmotherschoice/

 

 

American Homestead is now

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Why?

 

When we can, Mr. Wonderful & I like

to get up early and go for a Bike, Hike, Bike.

 

 

We bike along our town's new bike trail

to our favorite hiking trail and then bike

home again.  The trail is lovely and it reminds

me of the lanes through the tulip fields in Holland.

 

 

We pass by pretty houses decorated for

our holiday next week.  The birds are

singing, we even hear a rooster cock-a-doodling...

 

 

We started noticing there were other

visitors along the bike path.

 

 

Each time we go we see a few more

creatures have been added.

 

 

I find it to be a little creepy,

especially after they have been

in the rain.

 

 

Is this some new "thing" like yarn

bombing or is it unique to our trail?

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's Your Sign?

 

I love old trade signs.  These signs were

from a time when many people could not

read and identifying the type of business

had to be done visually.  This is part of the

sign collection of the Carnavalet Museum

in Paris.  Any guesses as to the types of

business?

 

 

 

 

 

This could be mine!

Another fun thing about travel...

 

 

This morning I finished reading Dan Brown's

book, The Inferno.  As in most of his books,

you are globe hopping with the main character

Robert Langdon.  We started in Florence and

then Venice and ended up in Istanbul.  That was

when it really got interesting for me because I was

there just a year ago.  So, I thought I'd share some

of my photos so you could see what these places

actually look like.  This is the Obelisk on the

Hippodrome.

 

 

Here is the Hagia Sophia at night as they

would have seen it.

 

 

And how it looks in the daytime.

 

The book describes the interior of the

Hagia Sophia accurately.  I have studied

this building since I was a teenager...

 

...but words cannot prepare you for the

beauty you behold when you walk into

this space.  It is something that must be

seen in person.

 

 

This is the ancient cistern of Istanbul,

known as Yerebatan Sarayi or sunken

palace.  I stayed on this street when I

was in Istanbul and wondered what was

beneath my hotel.

 

 

The Head of Medusa in the cistern.

 

 

One of the spice shops of Istanbul.

 

When you travel, the places you visit become

a part of you.  So, when you see those places

in the news or films or books you can put yourself

right in the action.  You know the scents, you can

hear the sounds of the city, you have walked the

same streets and that is priceless.  I read a quote

recently that said, "Travel is the only thing you  buy

that makes you richer." ~ I agree!

 

Remember tonight... for it's the beginning of always.

 

 

 

Elle's Kitchen: The Summer of Pie²

Strawberry Pie

 

 

We are just at the end of Strawberry

season in our neck of the woods and

I had to be sure to include a Strawberry

Pie in this year's Summer of Pie!

 

 

Ingredients:

baked pie crust, cooled

strawberries, stemmed

8oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

2 tabl. raspberry liqueur

apricot preserves

 

 

Mix cream cheese, confectioner's sugar,

and raspberry liqueur until well mixed.

 

 

Spread cream cheese mixture in

bottom of pie shell.

 

Top with strawberries as shown.  Melt

a bit of the apricot preserves in the microwave

and brush on top of the berries to make them

glisten.

 

 

Chill and serve.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me Time ~ June 25, 2013

I was back with my friends at 

Me Time today for a few hours of fun.

Look at what I found at the shop today.

Connie's interpretation of my felt ornaments.

She added beading ~ they are gorgeous!

An owl pillow someone made.

An applique piece.

Someone is making a project with 

fabric they brought home from Hawaii.

I was prepping some felt applique

for a new quilt pattern.

Honoring Women's Rights ~ Week 43

A bit of "Taking Care of Business"

On July 1 Google Reader will cease to

exist, so if you follow this blog on Google

Reader we will no longer be connected.

I took the advice of other bloggers and

went to  www.bloglovin.com and just clicked

a button to switch to that site and I get to

keep all the blogs I follow very easily.

Then I added Bloglovin to my favorites

list so I can easily access them.  I hope you

will do the same or something similar so

we can easily stay connected. Thanks ~ Ellen
 

 

Gentleman's Fancy

 

We are quilting along with Barbara Brackman's

Block of the Week, Grandmother's Choice.

 

http://grandmotherschoice.blogspot.com

 

 

This week I made the block according to the

given directions even though I am triangularly

challenged.  I could have made this with half

square triangles but you would not have been

able to fussy cut.  My block is wibbly-wobbly

but it is finished!!!  Did you hear my screams

all the way in Australia?

 

 

Sew a Fabric A small square to opposite sides

of the Fabric D fussy cut square.  Press seams

 to the outside.

 

 

Sew Fabric A small triangles to the remaining

sides of the Fabric D fussy cut  square,  press

seams to the outside.  Square to 4 1/8''.

 

 

Sew a Fabric B small triangle to each side

of a Fabric C large triangle as shown, press

 seams to the outside.  Trim dog ears.

Make 4.

 

 

Sew a Fabric A large triangle to the top of the

unit we just made as shown. Press seam to the

Fabric A triangle.  Do this to all 4 units.

 

 

Sew 2 small Fabric A triangles to the above

unit as shown, press seams to the outside.

Trim dog ears.  Make 2 of this unit.

 

 

Sew 2 of the above units to the center diamond

in a square unit.  Press seams to the outside.

This is the center diagonal unit.

 

 

Sew the 2 remaining triangle units to each side

of the center diagonal unit, matching seams.

Press to within an inch of its life ~ with starch!

Square to 8 1/2''.

 

Check out everyone's work on Dustin's Flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/grandmotherschoice/

 

American Homestead is

now on Facebook.  Please

"like" my page!

 

http://www.facebook.com/americanhomesteaddesign