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!

Where Are You?

I guess you have really gone into hibernation when 

even facebook is asking you, "Where are you?"

I'm here!

Though my mind may be placing me in some exotic

and exciting locale, in reality I am busy at work.

So far, I have written 16 chapters for Book #2 and

I have completed 20 of the 21 projects.  I'm hoping

to complete the first draft of all the chapters by next

week and then I will have to shift my attention to 

prepping for International Quilt Market which starts

one month from today ~ yeeps!

I will be promoting my first book, American Homestead

Quilts at Quilt Market this year so at least all of the 

projects are finished and ready to hang in the booth.

I will also be bringing along the feltwork patterns and 

a new product that will launch this year in response

to all the requests I received from my customers 

last Fall in Houston ~ stay tuned for more info.

So there is a little catch-up of where I have been and

where I will be for the next month.  I'm hoping life will

get a little more exciting in June.  I still have travel 

blog posts to write from my trip to Spain in January

and February, time is just flying...

Enjoy Spring (if it ever really comes)!

Happy 91st!

Today is my Mum's 91st birthday.  My sister 

and I enjoyed a lovely dinner with her.  She had

people calling to wish her well, birthday cards

 arrived, flowers were delivered, we had cake 

and then opened presents.

One of the presents I gave her was handmade

by me, a tea cozy for her teapot.

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Oh Not Again!

Just when we thought Spring was finally here, 

the snow shovel was stored in the shed a few

days ago and the winter coats were placed in

the back of the closet...  Our local weatherman

told us today it will be in the 20's by morning.

Oh yippee. AND there may be snow.  What?

I just ran outside in the rain to pick bundles of 

daffodils, just in case they don't make it through

the cold snap.  At least I'll have some Spring

inside for a few days.

Astronauts and Sorority Girls

We headed out bright and early today to 

drive through the beautiful farmland and

cross the state to visit...

Purdue University.

It was Mother's Day at the Sorority House.  

We got to mingle with Moms and daughters, we 

were treated to a lovely lunch and the best part

was being able to spend time with our Kate.

It was a perfect Spring Day and the campus 

was filled with people enjoying the beautiful

weather.  It was Spring Fest today, the 

Boilmaker was driving around campus.

Tonight there is a reunion of alumni who

have become astronauts.  Purdue has 23

graduates who have become astronauts.

This frathouse was welcoming back one of

their brothers to campus, Gene Cernan, 

the last man to walk on the moon.

Of course, another graduate was Neil Armstrong,

the first man to walk on the moon.

I am amazed at the amount of time the students

of today spend on their studies.  We are always 

hearing from our kids about the multiple all-night

study sessions that they have weekly, yes, weekly.

Did you know that Purdue is ranked number 8 in 

the list of the 16 colleges and universities where it

is the hardest to get an "A"?

Feathering the Nest

The animals we see on our hikes always keep 

us entertained, especially the squirrels. For

one thing, there are so many of them and for

another thing, they are crazy!

This guy was feasting on a treasure that was

probably buried beneath the snow all winter.

This guy had been drinking from this big puddle.

I was shooting this from a distance and into the 

light so I thought he was still drinking and it 

wasn't until I got home and saw he had turned 

around to pose for the camera.

These two were so busy, they were stuffing 

their mouths with leaves and trying to run 

up the tree without losing the leaves.

I was distracted by the one still on the ground

when Mr. W yelled, "Look where he is going!"

Into a little hole in the tree, it must be Spring

cleaning time.  I wonder if babies are on the way?

We will keep an eye out for them...

It's A Start!

Weeks ago, I ordered some seeds online.  They

are varieties I can't find in my local shops.  There

is a lemon cucumber, an interesting eggplant and

a tomato that is the size of a red current.  You may 

ask, why would you want a tomato the size of a red 

current?  I found this tomato plant a few years ago

at the annual plant sale of a local master gardener.

She always tries new things but last year she didn't 

have any left by the time I got to the sale.  The tiny

tom packs alot of punch.  I would snack on them as 

I was working in the garden and found they were 

great to throw into a pasta salad or couscous and

they were an absolute surprise in egg salad.  What 

is great about them is the small size, the taste and

the fact that they are added whole to the salad and

they then do not add extra moisture to the dish.

Back when I had more time, I had my own 

potting trays and grow lights, I would mix my

 own potting soil mix, oh, those days are long 

gone...  So, I am trying one of these store bought

trays filled with peat pellets.  I had to gradually

add 10 1/2 cups of water to make the pellets

enlarge.  Then you drop the seeds into little 

indents in the pellet and cover with the peat.

I thought they seemed awfully water soaked.

Well, I'll let you know if anything grows.

Fingers crossed.

My Happy Place!

After a long, hard Winter of unrelenting cold,

too much work and too little time out of doors,

we hit the trail today.  I love how the soft early

morning sun makes everything look so pretty.

Someone has added some bottle gourds 

for birdhouses.

The white leaves catch the light so beautifully.

Why are they white?

The mosses and lichens are a brilliant 

green, they seem to glow against the

brown of the fallen leaves.

I love the dappled sunlight as it comes through

the still barren trees.

The river is very high due to the April

downpours showers.

We got to catch up with old friends.

And Mr. Cardinal serenaded us from

the treetops.

A Day With Our Guy in Bloomington

Today was a beautiful Spring day in the 

American Midwest.  A much appreciated

Spring day after the long, rough Winter

we have experienced.

We headed a few hours southwest to 

visit the beautiful campus of Indiana

University in Bloomington.

Our guy in Bloomington, Brennan was

being honored today as a Founders Scholar.

There are a lot of smart kids at IU, well 

over 3000 students were being honored 

today at the Honors Convocation.

Here is our guy shaking hands with

the representative from his school.

Afterwards, there was a reception outside

around the fountain.

At the library there was a book sale and since

it was almost the end of the day, we were told

you could fill a box for $2.  Yeeps!  I regret I 

didn't buy one of the big old dictionaries, I have

always wanted one of them on a stand in our

house and the price was certainly right...

Then it was off to explore campus and 

enjoy the fabulous day.  IU is a beautiful

campus and it is fun to walk around and 

admire the architecture.  Look at that 

gorgeous blue sky!  It is the kind of sky 

that my British friend Lucie Anne used to 

call a lovely American sky.

I had never noticed these lampposts before.

This quote generated a long discussion

of life-blood.

Then it was out through the Sample gates

to find some ice cream.

I love a good ice cream shop with an 

inventive ice cream maker.  I tried

dark chocolate with basil and blueberry

with lavender.  I was disappointed that

they ran out of the Drunken Pig flavor ~

bacon, maple syrup, bourbon and pecans.

Interesting...

Tons of people were out and about in

Kirkwood today.

We kissed our guy good-bye and headed home and

were delighted with this spectacular sunset.