It's a book!

After a year and a half of work I finally got to hold

my first book in my hands.  This is the advance copy.

A very exciting moment in my life, I must admit.

It seems providential to have arrived on the eve of

our trip to Spain, like I'm being told that it is time to 

refuel.  Tomorrow I'll be off on another adventure, 

seeking inspiration for projects to come. doing some

of the stitching for projects for book 2, hopefully having

some time for rest and relaxation and I pray, to find

temperatures above freezing...

Stay tuned!

Threads of Memory ~ January

Portsmouth Star

We are quilting along with Barbara Brackman's

Block of the Month, Threads of Memory.

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com

This is how I made my block. it may

differ from the original.  If you want 

to use a fussy cut in the corner units

this is not the method to use.  It is 

best to use a fabric that will blend 

easily for the Fabric B.

Fabric Requirements:

Fabric A: Fussy Cut

1 - 4 1/2'' square

Fabric B:  Blue

4 - 2 1/2'' squares

4 - 2 1/2'' x 4 1/2'' rectangles

Fabric C: Green

2 - 3 1/4'' squares - Mark

a diagonal line on back.

1 - 6'' square

Fabric D:  Red Print

2 - 3 1/4'' squares

1 - 6'' square

Fabric E: White Print

2 - 6'' squares - Mark a 

diagonal line on back.

Make Half Square Triangles:

Pair Fabric C and Fabric D 3 1/4'' squares

with right sides together.  Sew 1/4'' away from 

each side of the drawn line, cut on drawn line.

  Press seams to the Fabric C and square to 2 1/2''.

Make Corner Units:

Layout a Half Square Triangle and Fabric B

2 1/2'' square as shown and sew together, 

press seam to the Fabric B square.

Layout above unit and Fabric B rectangle

as shown and sew together, press seam to

the rectangle.  Square to 4 1/2''.

Make 4 of this unit.

Make Quarter Square Triangles:

Pair 6'' squares in the following combinations:

1 - E/D        1 - E/C 

The first step is the same as making a Half

Square Triangle:  sew 1/4'' away from each

side of the drawn line, cut on the drawn line.

  Press seams to the darker fabric.  Mark a 

diagonal line on the opposite diagonal from the 

seam on the Fabric C/E units.

Take care with this step, you want to pair the

E/C and E/D units with right sides together.

You want the 2 seams to butt up against each 

other and lock in place, pin along the seams.

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

line, cut on drawn line.  Press seam open to

reduce bulk.

With Quarter Square Triangles there is a very

specific way to square up.  Place the diagonal line 

on the ruler on the diagonal seam that runs from 

top right to bottom left, also for this size QST, 

place the 2 1/4'' mark on the ruler in the center

of the unit as shown by the arrow.  Now trim the 

top and side.

Rotate the unit and place the 4 1/2'' lines of 

the ruler on the left and bottom edges as shown.

Trim top and right side.

Make 4 of this unit.

Layout units as shown and sew together in

3 rows.  Press the seams in rows 1 and 3 to 

the outside and the seams in row 2 to the

inside.

Sew rows together and press seams open to 

reduce bulk.  Square to 12 1/2''.

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

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

A New Project for the New Year

I'll be having fun with my friends from all

around the world this year as we participate 

in Barbara Brackman's Threads of Memory

Block of the Month.  A new block will be posted

on the 3rd Saturday of each month.  Check in

here for a tutorial each month.

Inspiration

Sometimes inspiration can be found in

your own backyard.  Need some color

or pattern inspo ~ look to nature.

Here are a few visitors to Avalon 

today, they inspire me all the time.

I Was Frantic...

Another shooting occurred yesterday on an

American campus, it also happened to be the

campus where one of our kids attends school.

I was happily posting yesterday's blog about

soap and travel when I brought up my facebook

page and read a post about a shooting at Purdue.

This was at 12:36pm, I immediately started

calling, texting, messaging on fabebook and I

couldn't reach Kate.  I called Rob, I called my

sister, I put on the local news.  Both of the 

anchors on Channel 12 had kids at Purdue too

and they had already checked in.  We are so 

connected in today's world ~ where was my Kate?

Kate's major is in the School of Science so she

certainly could have a class in the EE building.

Tornado sirens are blasting, texts are flying

all over the place.  And nothing...

Finally, at 12:55 pm Kate messaged me on 

facebook.  She said she was in Potter, the 

building next to EE and in the library on

lockdown with the doors locked.  It had been 

a long 19 minutes.

When I finally spoke to Kate after she was 

released she said she had a 12 o'clock class

in Potter, so she had walked right past the 

EE building next door.  When they got the 

text from Purdue about a shooting the professor

locked the door, they had a guest speaker and

the class went on.  They were released at 1:30pm

and as they left the building they saw LOTS of 

police and homeland security and helicopters

overhead.  They didn't know if the buses were

running so they called a sorority sister to pick

them up ~ they were scared and shaken.

Once home the sorority said they were not 

supposed to leave the house though Purdue

resumed classes.  Finally, Purdue cancelled

all classes for the remainder of the day and the

next day.  

Later, I asked Kate if she had heard the sirens

or shots.  She said they hadn't heard anything 

while inside.  I asked why she didn't call us right

away.  She said the text was Shooting reported 

on campus, EE building, avoid area, shelter in 

place.  They didn't know a person was shot, it 

could have been that shots were heard.  When

they came out of the building, they were shocked

at all that was happening around them.

By later in the day, they were allowed to out.

Kate and her sorority sisters attended the vigil

last night.  

As we breathe a sigh of relief and are so thankful

that our child is safe, we also know there is a family

that is experiencing the worst day of their lives

and our heart goes out to them.

Now a note to Purdue and all other

schools:  Part of your readiness training

needs to be that you instruct all teachers

to have the students contact their families

immediately when something like this 

happens.  It was all over the news and

we had no word from our child.  Almost 

every student has a phone these days and

if they don't, someone would loan them theirs.

Prepping For Travel

Mr. Wonderful & I are heading off to spend a 

few weeks in Spain later this month and I'm 

starting to prep for the trip.  I have been seeing

these natural soaps and solid perfumes on Pinterest

for a long time but I never got around to ordering.

Today they arrived and it was a bright spot in a

cold and snowy day.  I always buy new soaps when

I'm on vacation and I enjoy going to the local 

markets in search of them but I couldn't resist

ordering a few fruity bars.  Mainly, I was looking

for natural, solid perfumes, they are just so much

easier to travel with.  They weigh next to nothing

and the containers are plastic or tin so there is less

chance of breakage.  I bought an orange perfume 

and soap becasue the destination is Spain.  Every

time I peel a clementine, I hold it up to my face so

the oils pop all over and sigh, "Ahhh, it smells like

Spain!".  As soon as the package arrived I had to

open the verbena perfume, it is lovely, it's much

like the L'Occitane Verbena products or the scent 

that comes from brushing against the lemon

verbena plants in my garden.  

Now to get my gear together, grab my passport

and euros and throw some clothes in a suitcase

and I'm ready to go!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/daisycakessoap

Setting Goals, Meeting Goals

I have so much going on in my life these days

that I find I have to make lists to remind myself

of all the things I have to do.  Then I break those 

lists down and try to figure out when I am going

to accomplish all of the tasks at hand.  This 

weekend my goal was to make these 3 felt table-

toppers.  They have been made before in the same

colors for the pattern covers but I need them for

trunk shows and trade shows.  I knew it was going

to be cold and snowy this weekend so I set 3 days

aside to accomplish this task.  I sat in front of the

fire and watched the new season of Lilyhammer

among other things and by early last night I was

finished!  They are ready to go out into the world.

I'm heading to Spain for a few weeks later this

month and though it is vacation, I am the type

of person that is incapable of sitting and doing

nothing.  So,  last month I had packed up my

 little travel kits to take with me.  It is a baggie

with the felt pieces and a little picture of a

finished piece (so I know the right place to put

the right stitches) and also my ring of floss, pins

and needles and a thread cutter.  I make up a lot

of these kits and stuff them in the front pocket

of my carry-on and pull them out as needed.

I've stitched on planes, trains, in cars and when

I have some time in the evenings and I want to

relax.  I'm sure I'll be stitching on my balcony

in Spain where if I look to the left I see the

mountains and if I look to the right I see the

Mediterranean.

While the kids were home for Christmas the 

weather was awful and we ended up spending

a lot of time hanging around watching movies

and I was stitching.  I ended up making all the 

kits I had prepped for Spain!  I made 35 new

pincushions/ornaments.  

Now I have to add to the list:  make new kits.

Neat to Eat ~ Gestreken Mastelle

In the city of Gent, in Belgium, is one of the

smallest storefronts I have ever seen.  It is 

the space of a closet ~ by that, I mean the 

closets of our youth, not the closets in today's

McMansions.  I "discovered" it by scent, I

could smell that irresistible aroma of butter

and cinnamon, it made me think of an apple

fritter.  I turned the corner and came upon

this young man.  He was a good looking guy

with a fabulous sales pitch ~ he could sell ice

to eskimos.

Gestreken Mastelle are traditional treats in Gent.

They sort of looked like a flattened bagel.  In the

old days you would cut the bun in half and add

butter and brown sugar and heat it with your

clothes iron.  The name means "ironed buns" in

Dutch.  This guy was using something like a 

panini press and you can get them now with all

sorts of savory fillings, like salmon and brie.

We had been climbing through castles and

churches and cobblestone streets and a

snack seemed like the perfect thing.  We got 

out our euros and then noticed everyone in the 

crowd had their euros out as well.  Needless to 

say, it would have been a long wait and we 

needed to move on.  So, sadly, I didn't get to

taste this treat ~ but it is a reason to return

to lovely Gent someday.

Elle's Kitchen: Healthy Potato Soup

With the weather turning colder and a crock

full of potatoes, it seemed to be a perfect time

for Potato Soup.  I turned to Pinterest, my new 

go to spot for recipes, and I started searching.

I have to admit I was shocked at how unhealthy

many of the recipes were, some called for scads

of butter or a pint or two (!) of heavy cream, my

favorite gasp moment was the recipe that called 

for an entire brick of Velveeta.  Yeeps!

Obviously, it was time to refine the search to

healthy potato soup recipes...

Ingredients:

2 - 3 potatoes - dice in 1'' cubes

with peels on

1 large cauliflower - cut florets in 

large pieces

32 oz. vegetable stock (or chicken)

1 tabl. butter

3 -4 cloves of garlic - peeled

1/2 teas. black pepper

1 teas. salt

1 bay leaf

a pinch of red pepper

3 tabl. sour cream

Toppings:

sharp cheddar - grated

scallions

bacon

Combine all the ingredients except the sour 

cream in a stockpot, cover, bring to a boil and

boil on high for 18 minutes.

Remove from heat.  Remove the bay leaf.   Add the

sour cream and puree with immersion blender to 

desired consistency. [If you do not have an immersion

blender you can puree in batches in a blender, just take

care because it is hot.]

Top with toppings and serve.  It is nice to

have a toppings bar so everyone can add their

own.  Our vegetarian is home from school and

she certainly wouldn't go near the bacon.  We, 

on the other hand, love it - you can go a little

crazy with the toppings since the rest of the

soup is quite healthy.

Dixie Diary ~ First 2014 Finish!

I have been participating in Barbara Brackman's

Block of the Month, Dixie Diary.  We

did a block a month throughout 2013.  Some months

I got the blocks done promptly and some months it

just didn't happen.  Prepping for Quilt Market and

working on my first book took a lot of my time this

year,  But by December, I was all caught up and I 

designed and pieced the top.

I was so excited to finish the quilt before the end

of the year and with weeks to spare.  In case you 

don't know, our name is Murphy and in typical

Murphy's Law fashion, just as I was free motion

quilting the final block in the quilt and dreaming 

about what movies I would watch while binding

it and what snacks I would reward myself with

for being such a good Block of the Month

 participant ~ poof ~ Crazy Janie, my sewing

machine said Nooooo, I'm done!  She locked up 

completely, the wheel refused to move.  I took

her to the hospital.  My daughter was coming

home from Purdue about this time and I told

her to bring home her Project Runway machine

from the sorority house, thinking I could free

motion quilt with that.  Ahhh, no.  Also no to

quilting on the featherweights ~ let's just say

I spent alot of time with a seam ripper...

Meanwhile Crazy Janie, was still in the hospital.

She needed a part and with 2 major holidays

and wild weather all over the country, there 

were delays.  Mr. Wonderful & I braved the

ice and snow last Saturday and picked her up.

She now purrs like a kitten.

So today, I put aside making samples and 

spent the day finishing the quilting on the 

last block and adding binding and hand sewing

the binding and I'm done!!!!  

Now I'm looking forward to the next project

due to start later in January.