KATHY'S FANCY STITCHING NEWS



Postings and ponderings of a quilting and knitting addict!





Monday, September 28, 2009

MAKING PROGRESS!!

Remember this quilt?  It is really BUGGING me that it is not finished, and I can not work on any new projects with a clear conscience.  What to do?   FINISH THE SILLY THING!

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(Click on the photo to enlarge)

I have made a promise to myself that I will NOT whine any more over this project, but just “Git ‘Er Done!”  I finished attaching 2 more rows yesterday, and that is real progress.  There are 11 long rows, that makes 10 seams to get it all together.  I now have 6 of them done, so only 4 more to go!!

I think this will be my handwork project when we go on vacation next month.  It would be SOOOO nice to come home with those intersections all hand-sewn, and only a few hours at the machine to finish this baby up.  That’s my goal, and I am determined.

BLOG GIVEAWAY COMING!  After we return from our trip I will have a blog giveaway.  WHY?  Because it is fall (YEAH!!!!), and because I am almost to my 100th blog post, and because I have had over 5000 visitors to my blog, and because I just WANT to!

The prizes will involve layer cakes and jelly rolls, so stay tuned.  Check back often to see when the entry starts up.  I’ll start the entry soon and then draw for the winner when I return from our trip.  Details to follow.

Have a wonderful, quilty day, and be blessed.

Kat

Friday, September 25, 2009

WHAT A GREAT GIVEAWAY!

This giveaway is already over... Pat has drawn the winner.

Pat at Silver Thimble Talk is having a WONDERFUL giveaway of some great quilty things. Wander over there, leave her a comment, and get your name in the hat! Someone has to win, and it might just be you (or maybe ME)!!

Kat

Sunday, September 20, 2009

My New Most-Favorite Blog

Well, at least for the MOMENT it is.  But what is NOT to like about Pioneer Woman’s blog?

1.  She has GREAT recipes… To quote a Food Network star,  “YUM-MO!”

2.  She has GREAT give-aways!  WONDERFUL stuff, and she can find the most interesting ways to do her contests!

3.  Did I mention she has GREAT recipes?  Seriously, I made her Cinnamon Roll recipe this afternoon…  YUM-MO!  Next time I think I will leave off the icing because they are plenty sweet without it (I think I will be on this sugar high until about this time tomorrow).

4.  Her life is pretty doggone interesting, and she takes a gazillion photos to prove it.  No shortage of pics on her posts.

5.  Her sense of humor is, well, FUNNY!  All the time funny, and we all could use a good laugh now and then.

6.  And the recipes (and PICTURE tutorials of her making the recipes) are just divine!  Gee, I seem to be repeating myself about her food… must be the sugar-high talking.

So take a tour of her site.  I KNOW you will find something you like!

 

Kat

Sunday, September 13, 2009

It Really IS Coming!

I know… it doesn’t FEEL like it, but it really IS coming soon!  What???  FALL!  It is about 80 degrees outside right now, with about 95% humidity due to a quick rain shower this afternoon… it FEELS like about 98 degrees out there.  So muggy, you could stir it with a spoon.  But… fall is coming!

How do I know?  Just look what was in my yard after the rain…100_1834

A beautiful mix of the first things to change colors really stood out among the grass and dead leaves.  So I KNOW, it really IS coming.

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And our crape myrtle is showing the very last of its beautiful colored blooms, but look at its leaves.  They are almost as beautiful as the blooms!  Yep, they won’t be there much longer because… It really IS coming.

WHEN??  Not soon enough for me!  I (heart) fall weather!   I love it when I can open the windows and let the breezes blow through, when I do not need to run the AC at night to sleep comfortably, when a quilt on the bed feels good to snuggle under because the night-time temps reach the mid-50s.  I especially like fall when it is cool enough to enjoy being on the lake and fishing on up into the day without being miserably hot.  Yep… sweat-free fishing, my favorite kind.

I’ve not done enough fishing this year… but I am hoping to make up for lost time one day next week. I think I will just sneak away from the quilting machine and go, guilt free, and enjoy a day on the lake with DH.   I’m not really sure how guilt-free it will be because I am so backed up with quilting, but I MUST get some time on the lake/river!

I know… I’m dreaming.  But it really IS coming.  I know that in North LA we really won’t have fall temps consistently until about the end of Oct. or early Nov.     Please hurry, cooler weather!

Changing subjects here…  

A MUST-SEE EXHIBIT:

If you live in the Natchitoches, LA area you really MUST go see my friend Suzie Parker’s quilt exhibit at the Art Guild Gallery on Front Street!  She is their featured artist for Sept./Oct. and has about 25 art quilts on display.  I guarantee you will enjoy your visit!!  It is located at the corner of Front Street by the “Big” bridge, just to the left of the corner Coffee House.  They are open from 10 AM – 5 PM every day.  (However, they will be closed the entire week of Oct. 4th to replace the flooring, so don’t go then!!)

Kat

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Happy Birthday to….

ME!  So how will I celebrate?  I made me a birthday cake YESTERDAY, and the party started. 

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OOPS!  Looks like a piece is missing!  I had cake with my afternoon coffee, and cake for dessert after supper last night.  So I think I will have cake with coffee again today for breakfast… It’s my BIRTHDAY, I can do what I want to!!

My MOST FAVORITE EVER cake is a pineapple-coconut.  Since I was very young I always asked for one of these for my birthday, and there is nothing easier to make.

Just bake a butter recipe yellow cake mix as directed (I prefer Pillsbury) in a 9 x 13” pan, then frost with this….

1 large can of crushed pineapple

1 cup sugar (I used Splenda)

1/4 cup flour

Mix these ingredients well in a saucepan; cook on med. heat, stirring constantly until thick.  Add 1 cup shredded coconut (I use a little more… I love coconut) and stir well.  Ice cake and let set for a few minutes. 

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SOOOOO… I’m making my wish list (more pieces to go with my Staxx Ring, which I will purchase when I go to town), and making big plans for Friday.  I need to work today, but my sister and Mom are taking me out to lunch on Friday, then DH is taking me out for seafood buffet on Friday night.  I may forget where the kitchen is located in this house!

Birthdays are wonderful because I get pineapple coconut cake.  I only cook this for my birthday because… I EAT IT ALL UP!  I figure once a year, I am allowed.

Have a really blessed day… I know I will, too.

Kat

Monday, September 7, 2009

Bountiful Blessings!






So what is growing on the farm right now? Most things have gone away with the summer heat... but not THESE things!





YUM! One of our favorite summer veggies is OKRA. We love it fried of course, and then there is okra and tomatoes, and boiled on top of a pot of purple hull peas... YUM! This variety of okra is called "cow horn". Most regular varieties of okra get very tough when allowed to grow over 6-8" long... not these. Some pods DH picks are 12" long and still tender. That means that just a few pods produce a huge pile of chopped okra. Note how tall the plants are... DH is 6'1" tall and they are way over his head! The only down-side... the deer love okra too. DH had to install an electric fence to keep them from eating it all before we got any of it. We have given away bunches and bunches of okra this year and will have plenty more for a long time to come, because it will keep producing until frost.




Another bounty from the woods (actually, from a vine growing up a pine tree in the edge of our yard) MUSCADINES! I LOVE them! I think it is because they bring back childhood memories for me.


My PaPaw would load us all in the back of his truck and we would cruise through the game reserve looking for muscadine vines. He would just pull the truck right up to the limbs with vines hanging and we would stand on the hood and roof of the truck to pick the fruit. Now understand, I was much smaller then, and that was when vehicles were made with lots of sturdy metal!


There just is no better jelly than muscadine, but my favorite thing is just to pop them in my mouth and eat them fresh. In the past we have not gotten many from the vines here, but since we now have PJ the guard dog (yeah, right... she might LICK you to death, but she certainly won't attack) it seems the possums and coons have not raided our muscadine vines this year. However, if one falls to the ground, PJ eats it! She is such a fruity dog... she eats the pears that fall from the trees, and she also ate the figs that fell.




So that is the latest scoop from the farm... have I flung a craving on you for okra, peas, and muscadines? Life in the country is good!



Kat











Saturday, September 5, 2009

Honoring Veterans

What a wonderful day! The state of LA is in the process of thanking all LA veterans by awarding them a LA Veteran Honor Medal. On Tues. Sept. 1 about 300 local LA veterans and many of their family members attended a special ceremony held in our area. It was very touching to see these veterans from the ages of about 20 - about 90 years old gathered in one place to receive thanks for their sacrifice on behalf of all of us.


After the opening events of invocation, pledge to the flag, and singing of the "Star Spangled Banner", Bobby Jindal, Governor of LA gave a short speech and then presented each veteran with a special medal. DH accepted the medal in memory of his dad, O.W. Ellzey, Sr. who passed away in Feb. of this year. Mr. E. bravely served in the US Army in WWII. (Please excuse the not-so-good picture of a picture below.)



Several other men and women I know also received medals that day. The only disappointment... the event was not well publicized and many vets did not even know of this ceremony.
But to ALL those out there that served our country in the Armed Forces, THANK YOU for serving and sacrificing for us. I thank your families for the sacrifice they made, in carrying on with family, work, whatever needed to be done while you were serving. I fully understand this... my son went overseas in 2003 with his Army Reserve unit.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE FOR OUR COUNTRY!

Kat

Thursday, September 3, 2009

WHY Did I Buy THAT Fabric?



I must admit, that is exactly what I thought when I got this piece of fabric home. The colors caught my eye, I wanted something bright and cheerful to try out a pattern we call 4-Patch Posey. It is similar to a "Stack 'N Whack" except you only need four layers of identical fabric, and they are cut into squares rather than diamonds and triangles. But I digress....





Truthfully, the fact that this Michael Miller "Full Bloom" fabric was at a GREAT sale price at the quilt shop was a big determining factor. And the fact that I was "trying" this pattern was another. But still, when I got it home I asked that question. It just was not my colors, and to say the fabric is busy and bright is an understatement!




But about 3 days later I found out why I bought that fabric. I found out about a sweet lady diagnosed with cancer. My first thoughts were to make her a comfort quilt. But what colors to use? As I dug through my fabric stash I pulled out several pieces that could be used (but not this floral fabric). Then, after talking to my sister about color choices here is what I found out... she likes BRIGHTS... orange, purples, blues, greens, anything bright.

WOW! So you see, this fabric was for her, even though I did not even know she would be needing it or what she would like at the time the purchase was made. Now THAT my friends is being led by the Holy Spirit, and not even realizing it at the time!!


So the quilt is made, the binding is being hand-sewn now, and soon I will pass this quilt on to a lady with a huge battle ahead of her. And yes, you do need sunglasses to view this, but I think she will love it. Along with the quilt will go a matching pillowcase (which may be used to hold the quilt if she wants to carry it with her to snuggle in while undergoing treatments), and a copy of the Dottie Osteen book, Healed of Cancer.

(Back of quilt... hand dyed fabric made in a class
taught by Jamie Wallen
Quilting pattern, "Primrose Swirl" by Dave Hudson)

Do YOU have something in YOUR stash that you are wondering why you bought it? Maybe it wasn't for YOU, but to BLESS someone else with!!


Kat

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Encouragement

Do you need encouragement today? Then visit my sister blog, Enjoying the Journey. The new post there will give you strength and hope for today.

I'm on the road again, but I will try to post the pictures and ponderings I have collected these last couple of weeks as I go. Going to the "Big D" (Dallas, TX) for a church conference.

Kat
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