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Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Breensgiving 2019

Dining room table


     This past Sunday we celebrated "Breensgiving"  One of my sons came up with the title a few years ago as we celebrate Thanksgiving the Sunday before.  Then on Thanksgiving they can all be with their other families.

Cornbread salad

     I use Pinterest to find tasty recipes,  The first course was a cornbread salad.  I bought a trifle bowl this year, married 43 years and never had one.  The salad looks so pretty in the bowl.  I did use store bought cornbread that I crumbled instead of cubing.  Then all the layers, topped with a ranch dressing made from a Wildtree mix.

Marinated pork tenderloin

     The main meal was a marinated pork tenderloin recipe that my husband and I had had earlier.  We both liked it so much we decided it would be great for Thanksgiving, I don't like turkey so I won't cook it.

Cheesy corn casserole
Cranberries

Mashed potatoes

     The sides included cheesy corn casserole, crockpot cranberries and mashed potatoes.  The cheesy corn casserole was a big hit, nothing left of that.  I thought the cranberries were a bit tart, maybe I would add a little more maple syrup next time.  I did make these a day ahead so I could use the crockpot for my mashed potatoes.  I was worried that the mashed potatoes were going to be too soupy when I started mashing them but they turned out delicious also.  The other sides were Polish sausage, sauerkraut and noodles supplied by my son-in-law's parents.
Cranberry margarita
   
     I also made cranberry margaritas.  For the appetizers we had a cranberry spread that I have made in the past and my son and daughter-in-law made pinwheels.  Dessert was supplied by my daughter and sister-in-law and I made chocolate chip cookies for the grandkids.

Fresh ingredients

     Every year I try to add something new to the table, this year I made cork coasters.  I'll write about them in the next week or two.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Fall Pillow

Pillow for fall

     I am making a series of covers to go on a chair in my family room.  Last week I showed you the Halloween one, this week is the fall one.  I bought this exquisite design from Embroidery Library.  It has over 86,000 stitches and uses 11 unique colors.  It took a couple of hours to stitch it out and used a couple of bobbins also.

Getting ready to make an on-point pillow

     I bought some rust colored wool melton at JoAnn Fabrics.  The black fabric I had in my stash.  It is a crinkle linen blend so I needed to add some fusible fleece to give it enough body to support all those stitches.
Cutting the front to shape

     I chose the exact colors to go with the wool and also the fringe I bought at JoAnn's following the guidelines from Embroidery Library.  I thought an on-point placement of the embroidery would be more interesting.  The first set of rectangles I sewed on were too small, I didn't remember that the height of the rectangle should be half of the base.  I then cut my lining to the shape using my template from Rowley.  I pinned it to the back of the front piece and trimmed around.  I then serged the edges.

Detail of the fringe

     For the back, I cut my piece with the template and then my zipper strip.  I did not line the back or serge around the edges since the fabric had enough body and doesn't ravel.  I felt though on the front I wanted to cover the back of the stitching and the seams from the piecing.

Kaleidoscope of Leaves Square

     I added the fringe to the front piece and then sewed the back and front together.  After removing the chain stitch that kept the fringe together, I had to steam it to remove the flattened part.  A gorgeous addition to my family room.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Halloween Pillow

Halloween Pillow

     I know Halloween is over, but I finally got this pillow finished.  I bought the design from Embroidery Library.  I changed the colors so I could stitch it on black fabric from my stash.

Detail of the covered cord

     I chose the colors based on this striped fabric that was also in my stash.  When cut on the bias for the covered cord, it has a fun spiral look.

Detail of the embroidery

     After I did the embroidery, I cut the front using my pillow template from Rowley that eliminates the dog-ears.  I then serged on a piece of lining to give it more body.  I did the same for the back piece and added a lapped zipper near the bottom. Bias cuts of the striped fabric were used to make the covered cord and it was all assembled.  I am going to make several other covers for the pillow form so I can change it out seasonally.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Fluttering by Floral Quilt

Fabrics from Mill House Quilts

      On my trip up to quilt retreat in March, I stopped at Mill House Quilts.  I wasn't planning on buying any fabric but this large floral print practically jumped into my arms.

Pattern used

     I saw a quilt hanging at Mill House that used a large print and multiple coordinating prints cut into smaller squares.  I bought several other fabrics that would work with the large floral I fell in love with.

Paste up sheet

     I came home and found a pattern in my stash called 'Just Can't Cut It'  Didn't quite have the right amounts but I made it work by adding a different fabric for the border from my stash.  I wound up not using the bright orange fabric as I didn't need that seventh color.

Fussy cutting a cornerstone

     I did use the paste up sheet in the pattern to keep things straight.  I had some of the large floral left after cutting my blocks (but not enough for the border) so I fussy cut some cornerstones for the border.  I used my square ruler to preview the size square I wanted and then cut them out.

Border and quilting detail

Block detail

     The cutting and piecing went pretty quickly once I had planned everything out.  I then went shopping for a backing.  I have been using flannel from JoAnn Fabrics that I prewash in hot water.  It shrinks it up and makes it so soft.  I usually choose a solid for my backs but this time a pretty floral was just the right touch.

Pretty floral backing

    After taking it all to the quilter, I made my labels and then added them and the border once I got the quilt back.

Label 1

Label 2

     I think this may be the fastest I have gone from buying the fabric to finishing the quilt unless it was a gift.  I really like how it all turned out.  My husband did ask what or who this quilt was for.  Silly man, it is just because.  :-)

Finished quilt