And The Winner Is...

Sally!

Congratulations to you.

Just leave a comment and I'll get with you for the details.

Thank you all for participating and for your patience.

There's No Place Like Home....... There's No.....

Mom clicked her heels three times (well not literally) so we're finally home. Can you believe it!!! My mom is 78 years young and had valve replacement this past Tuesday week and is home now sorting through her giant stack of mail.  I am so proud of her. We know what really helped was our strong belief in God..... that's number one and we had a great orientation a few days before surgery explaining what to expect, what she'd need to do to get better sooner and some of the setbacks to looks for.  Usually this is explained "right" before the patient goes into surgery...... well as you can imagine.... no one retains that kind of information when you're in the throws of surgery prep. 
Mom also had a very positive attitude and wonderful family support.  I really want to thank all of you who've been sending warm thoughts and prayers our way. We felt everyone of them!!!!!

So, I haven't forgotten the little matter of the give away which I will do a drawing in a day or so and one lucky person will get 20 great nine inch squares to add to their stash!!!

Update on Mom

Thank you all for your prayers and warm thoughts. Mom is doing quite well and will be home soon. The nurses and staff have been so kind to her which makes things go a lot smoother.
There is still time to leave a comment to get in on the 9 inch square give away.

Off The Grid Give Away

While Mom is convalescing at home from surgery, I'll be out of pocket, off the grid, taking a hiatus, out of contact....... sorry.....
from the blogging world.......... but I'll be thinking about you all and I may even get to peek at a few of my favorite blogs before long.  In the meantime, it's occurred to me that I've not done a give-away in awhile. So when I get back to blogging in a week or so, I'll be giving away
20 (twenty) 9 inch squares of some of my best fabrics. I've got some wonderful pieces that I found when looking for something else..... some of you know how that happens.
Here's a photo of the 20 squares that someone will be adding to their collection. All you'll need to go to get you name in the "HAT" is to leave a comment on this post and as soon as I get a chance to check in I'll draw a name and get the winner posted!!

Gook luck, in advance.

Atlas

This is my favorite mason jar...... LOL...... It was my grandma's believe it or not.  It's the only one I selvaged from her canning things, so that makes it around 50 years old.

 Each year that I make pickles I use this Atlas Mason Jar. I know one of these days I may not have it for whatever reason so I'm posting it for prosperity.  

BTW, the pickles are a hit. I've made two batches..... that's 12 pints plus this quart jar.  My family is already asking for more. Maybe next week I'll get in another canning session but for now, it's back to sewing up a storm.

Look at this photo. I took this the other day in the back forty..... just happened to look up and there it was.  Notice the mushroom in the hollow of that tree....... I'm thinking this has to go in a mini quilt...... I'll do some drafting, thinking and studying, pull out some doable fabrics..... oh, I'm really getting excited!!!!

Progress....

Well, I've now gotten the 36 blocks made so I'll need to square up each block to 8 1/2". Then I'll be able to sew everything together.
I made 2 blocks at a time because I had to continually look at the original block....  one wrongly turned HST and there would have been lots of ripping in my  life..... as it was I only had to rip one block.
I will take a small break in order to can another batch of cucumbers.... stay tuned.

This Is What I Get For Listening To Myself!

This is Design Wall Monday so don't forget to pop over to Judy's to see what everyone else is up to.
The other day I posted about doing a new project using border fabric and went in search of a design or two in my numerous quilting magazines......... So I'm looking and browsing and contemplating and .........  well, I didn't find a design yet but.....
But, I did find something else to make from this old Quiltmaker's magazine....... OMG, as soon as I saw this design I thought of my hundreds of 2 1/2" squares that are still in a bin (although I've been using them steadily, they seem to multiply).  All I needed to make were some 625 or so HST..... piece of cake.  This is what I get for listening to myself to hunt for a design in a quilting magazine..

So, I chose to do the 6 inch square with the sewn "X" thingy to get eight HSTs... this way I get a variety. Once I cut on the "X" and this across and straight down the middle, I get 8 HST to square up.
I'm loving the whole process so far..... this will not be going in the UFO box..... LOL

Five down, thirty-one to go. Stay tuned!

Happy Mother's Day - Weekend

To:

Mother

Mom

Mommy

Momma

Maw (It's a Texas thing)

A Mother......

When you're a child she walks before you, to set an example.

When you're a teenager she walks behind you to be there should you need her.

When you're an adult she walks beside you so that as two friends you can enjoy life together.

Author Unknown

Happy Mother's Day!

Onward

I've pulled fabrics from my stash for my next project.  Of course I have no idea what I'm going to make but these fabrics are speaking to me... saying, "Use me!"  Not one to disappoint.... I'm going to comb though my quilt magazines today. Surely, I'll find a way to use those fabrics!!

The large floral blue fabric above is a border fabric and you know how much I love working with border fabric. You can get some great looks for border fabric.
Note the paisley border fabric I used in the scrappy blocks. And look that the wonderful black/white border fabric I'm holding onto ... LOL
Stay tuned to see how things develop and be on the lookout for border fabrics because there's nothing to be afraid of when used them in your projects.

3-Day Pickled Cucumber Recipe

This recipe is a sweet to bread and butter recipe and I won 1st place at our County Fair a few years back with it.
A little story about this recipe. As most of you know, I taught fourth grade for many years in the town that I graduated high school. One day I was on my teacher's conference time when our school nurse, Ruth, came in with a jar of pickles and an assortment of crackers. She offered some to me and as you know, teachers will eat at any opportunity...... hehehehehe
The pickles were absolutely delicious and so crisp I wanted to eat the whole jar. The next week I got up the nerve to ask Ruth for the recipe. She smiled and said, "Rather than giving you the recipe, I'll should you how to make them."  I was so excited about that because I'm the kind of person who needs to see it and do it to learn it....... LOL
We made a date for early summer.
I gathered Mason jars, lids and a couple large spoons with no real idea of what else I'd need and met up with Ruth. She was so generous to give me the necessary cucumbers and great step by step instructions.
It's a good idea to read up on "cold canning" which is not really cold. Here's a link. I will place another link below so that you can compare and get ideas of what you'd rather do.
So without further delay, here's the recipe.

• 2 gallons of thinly sliced cucumbers (20 to 36 cumbers depending on the size)
• 2 cups lime (I use Ball Pickling Lime... this is just to give you an idea of what to look for)
• 1/2 gallon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 4 lbs. sugar
• 1 Tablespoons salt (no iodine)
• 2 Tablespoons pickling spices (I use McCormick Mixed Pickling Spice..... just to give you an idea of what to look for in the spice section at the grocery store)
• 2 bags of ice (you may only need one bag but it's best to be prepared)
• 1 six inch square of cheese cloth and a twist tie or string
• Canning pots and utensils
• Mason Jars (I used pint and quart jars)

1. In a huge metal container, mix lime and 1 gallon of water.  Stir until lime is completely dissolved. Carefully add sliced cucumbers and let stand for 24 hours.  Yes, that's 24 hours. I have found that the cucumbers tend to float so I place several old dinner plates on top of the whole thing and then place a loose cloth over that. There is no need to stir during this procedure.
2. After the 24 hours are up, rinse cucumbers 6 to 8 times or until water is clear. Be careful with the cucumbers to allow little breakage.  
3. Layer rinsed and drained cucumbers with ice in  metal container and cover with loose cloth. The ice is now cooling and stopping whatever the lime did.
4. While the cucumber and ice is sitting, mix 1/2 gallon vinegar, 4 lbs. sugar, 2 TLBS. salt and 2 TLBS pickling spice which you will wrap in that six inch square cheese cloth and tie closed with twist tie or string. Stir every few minutes or until sugar dissolves.
5. Drain ice and water from cucumbers and pour the sugar solution over the cucumbers. Let set for 12 hours or more. More is better, in other words.
6. Now, the real fun begins. Place the cucumber/sugar mixture on burner and cook for 35 minutes (bring to a boil and lower hear).
7. While boiling cucumbers, prepare water bath for jars. (See cold canning instructions online)
8. Spoon cucumbers with brine (sugar mixture) into hot jars, seal and place into water bath for 10 to 15 minutes.
9. Remove and allow to cool.  Don't be alarmed when lips make a popping sound. This is a good thing.

I know this seems like a lot of work but you will not regret it if you're a fan of sweet pickles.  

Enjoy immediately, share with family and friends or store in a cool area until you're ready.   

Whew!

Where have I been? What have I been doing?  Well, not working on the above photo. Some of you may remember that project from months ago. Nope, I've been in my garden, weeding and picking cucumbers. Now, I'm knee deep with the 3 day canning process for sweet, delicious pickles. Trust me, they are yummy!
I'll be back on tract with quilting stuff by next week..... cross your fingers on that one!

Thanks Guilitta!

Guilitta is a blogging friend from Germany. She has managed to light a fire under me..... LOL
I had promised to make a template for those who were following me on that Broken Dishes project.  Well, as usual, life got in my way and the thoughts of developing a template to share was pushed to the back corner of my tiny, little mind. So thanks to Guilitta, I'm back on track and ready to share the
"Broken Dishes Worksheet" PDF, as I'm calling it.
Make sure you pop over to Guilitta's blog to see what she is up to.

String Challenge

This quilt some of you have seen before. It's from a black/white and focus fabric that Jackie sponsored a couple of years ago (sorry, I don't have Jackie's link at the moment but will post it ASAP). I'm posting about again because I finally, this morning, got it bound and it's now going to a wonderful teacher friend of mine.

My focus fabric is the rose floral that I found when I visited a quilt shop in San Antonio, Texas with my good friend, Jerri who has passed away but this fabric always reminds me of her...... she's the one who located it in the shop and shouted over several isles....... LOL
I used b/w strips from my stash and my friend, Kathleen quilted this wonderful quilt for me.

This is a view with four b/w corners sewn together and below with the rose fabric sewn together.
The quilt was "not" sewn on point but the black center strip given the illusion of on-point.

Finally, here's my little friend the honeybee pollinating my garden..... go little bee, go!!
Can you see the developing cucumber there?  I see canned sweet pickles in my future... LOL

1898

• In 1989 Cheerleading was founded at the University of Minnesota.
• The U.S. battleship Maine sank prompting war with Spain.
• The sci-fi novel War of the Worlds was  written by H.G. Wells.
• Robert Allison was the first to purchase a commercially manufactured automobile at the Winton Motor Carriage Company in Cleveland, Ohio.
• Potatoes were worth their weight in gold because of their vitamin C content. Miners actually traded gold for potatoes.

What does this have to do with anything??? It's just trivia but ......................

on May 2, 1898...............


Edwin E., my granddad was born.
Though he has passed away many years ago, I will remember his voice, his pet name for me, Rhondee and all the wonderful life lessons he bestowed on me.

Happy Birthday Granddad!!!

Leafing Through The Year - BOM - Block#5

Block #5

Leafing-BOM & Broken Dishes

May BOM is ready.

 Just click on the Leaf #5 on the Sidebar to get the pattern or click HERE.
Enjoy!!

Remember these scrappy blocks. They were a few posts ago.... I got side tracked with the Granny Squares.
 Now, I'm back and have auditioned a couple of ideas. Below is the very scrappy connection..... I don't know about that look.

 Next, is the more solid look for connecting blocks..... hummmmmmmm!!!!

 And finally, this is the setting I chose, have squared up and sewn together.

 I've called this "Broken Dishes" which may not be the correct name but I like it.  I made nine scrappy blocks which used some of my bagged scraps.
I love the whole process of digging out locating and using the ruler, drafting the lighter edges of the block and figuring out the connecting parts.
The quilt measures 56 1/2 inches square and I don't think I'll be sewing a border on this one. I like the way it just stops.