Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits

If you've ever eaten at a Red Lobster restaurant, you know what these are! I found this copycat recipe on www.recipezaar.com. I've told you about this wonderful web site before- it's fantastic! You can search for a particular recipe, like "cheese biscuits". Or you can search for recipes with a particular ingredient, like "cheddar cheese". In this case, I searched for a restaurant-- "Red Lobster". When you search for a restaurant, you get copycat recipes for some of their popular recipes. Unfortunately, I haven't had much luck with small, local restaurants. But the large national chains have lots of entries. Anyway- this has become a family favorite. I think the Old Bay Seasoning is the key. If you aren't familiar with Old Bay- it comes in a yellow can with a red lid- you can usually find it with the spices and seasonings, but it's sometimes in the seafood area of the grocery store. It's particularly good with seafood, but lots of non-seafood things (like these biscuits) benefit from the concoction. There's no seafood in it- just a unique mixture of seasonings. My husband always adds it to tuna salad and I like it with eggs.

RED LOBSTER CHEESE BISCUITS
makes 12 biscuits
heat oven to 450 deg.

2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (I used regular salt)
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes

Mix Bisquick, garlic powder, milk and cheese until well blended
Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes

While biscuits are baking, combine butter, garlic powder, Old Bay, parsley and salt and melt in microwave for 20 seconds.

When biscuits come out of the oven, immediately brush the butter mixture onto the tops. Keep brushing and use the mixture up.

A Dozen Bags- Cable Ready Bag

For those of you who have been long-time readers of my blog, you may remember my "Dozen Bags" project. In January of 2009, I started a bag a month that would utilize a free pattern- either my own or one found somewhere on the internet. The bags would be quilted, knitted, or whatever. Well... I think I got up to 4 bags and then life happened. This has been a crazy year for me. I got behind and the project pretty much got put on hold. Well-- I'm going to pick it back up here. I am not on track for a bag a month- that ship has sailed. But I'll keep going until I do 12 bags. I'd love to sprint to the finish and get them all done in 2009, but I'm not sure that will happen. We'll see.

I made this bag when we took our drive from Oregon to NJ and back. I got a LOT of knitting done on that trip! (You'll see it all in future posts). My greatest love is quilting, but knitting makes a great travel hobby.

This bag is a free download on the Lion Brand Yarn website. They have tons of great patterns on their site for knitting and crochet. This one is called the Cable Ready Bag. You need a really chunky yarn. It calls for Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick. I made it with the same colors called for in the sample they have. You could certainly make it in one solid color, as well. It's a great project for learning to do cables because the yarn and needles are so big- easy to see what you are doing.
I have a few tips for you if you plan to make this bag. The patterns is written pretty well, but there were 2 spots that made me think a little. When you have completed the front and back of the bag (which are identical), the pattern tells you to sew the sides and bottom. But it doesn't tell you how far up the side to sew. If you sew all the way up, you won't be able to get anything into the bag. So I went up to the last color change, or about 3/4 of the way up from the bottom.
When you're at the top and ready to deal with the handles, it's really very easy, although the pattern was a little confusing. It's just a matter of taking the crochet hook over the top and grabbing the next stitch off the knitting needle, then going inside the hoop (under) and grabbing the yard from underneath for the next stitch. This wraps the yarn around the handle.
You'll eventually get all the stitches off the knitting needle and then you continue on to wrap the handle. I have 2 pieces of advice here. First, count your stitches so you put the same number on both handles. Second- cram as many stitches in here as you possibly can. I think I did 150 on each handle. Really, really stuff them in there. When you think you're done-- keep going. I mean it- I stuffed and stuffed. Now that I've been carrying the bag for a while, they are loosening up and I'm so glad I wrapped it so tightly.

You can get the handles at most craft shops. The size called for in the pattern is perfect.

I have not lined mine yet, but I need to. My nail file and pens keep making their way through the knitting. If you like to knit bags but don't like lining them, a tip here is to make a drawstring pouch for the little stuff. Your wallet and paper items can go in an unlined bag just fine, and all the little stuff can go in the little drawstring bag. This also makes it easier to change bags AND to find things in your bag.

If you're new to knitting cables, it's surprisingly easy. There are lots of tutorials online. Here's just one of many. I'm sure you could find a video tutorial on you- tube. Basically, you knit a few stitches, then put a few stitches on a holder or double point needle and hold them either in the front or back of your work. Then you knit the next few stitches. Finally, you knit the stitches off the holder. You are holding a few stitches off the work and then adding them back in. It crosses them over. If you see it done once, the patterns are usually pretty easy to follow.

Have fun with this bag. I have a few more in process- we'll eventually make it to 12! For those of you looking for the ones I did earlier in the year, look over to the right side of the blog and click on "A Dozen Bags" on the list of labels.

How a Sewing Machine Works

Do you ever wonder how the needle goes down and picks up the bobbin thread and magically makes the sewing machine stitches? You HAVE to see this!!!

Cream Cheese Pecan Pie

It's been 24 hrs and I'm still full! I had a wonderful day with family yesterday. My favorite dessert on Thanksgiving is always the pumpkin pie, but I liked this one, too. This is a twist on the traditional pecan pie. You make a cream cheese filling, similar to cheesecake filling and spread it in the pie shell. Then you cover the cream cheese filling with broken pecan pieces and top it with a karo-based filling. When you bake it, the fillings magically separate. The karo filling ends up on the bottom and the pecans end up on top with the cream cheese in the middle. This stuff is killer rich! It would be good done in individual tart shells, too. Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Pecan Pie

Preheat oven to 375 deg.
Prepare one 9-inch pie shell

8 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat above ingredients until thick and creamy. Spread in bottom of pie shell. Sprinkle with:
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup dark Karo syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat eggs in mixing bowl only until blended. Add sugar, Karo and vanilla; blend well. Gently pour over pecans.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes- until center is firm to touch.

Debbi's Sunflower

Here's another quilt made by Debbi Lamb. My goodness! Debbi certainly has been busy! Debbi's latest finish is a sunflower wall hanging. It's an applique embroidered 3-dimensional sunflower. The pattern she used is "Sunflower" by Lunch Box Quilts.
I love Debbi's fabric selections. What a bright, cheerful quilt! Debbi is a long time customer of Alderwood Quilts. I was speaking with her earlier this week and I told her that I no longer think of her as a customer. She's a friend who happens to buy things from me sometimes. You can see more of Debbie's quilts in the Gallery on my website.

I'd love to see YOUR latest project! Send me a photo and tell me what you're working on. It will give you an extra entry in the current giveaway. And, if it has Girl Scout or Boy Scout fabric in it, you'll get an EXTRA entry!

Judy and Jane made Pillowcases!

Judy Carpenter and Jane Reynolds purchased lots and lots of one yard cuts of Scout fabric from me a little while ago. Curiosity got the better of me and I had to ask them what they were doing. Aren't these pillowcases cute?

Judy and Jane have known each other for over 30 years and have been quilting for about 15 of those years. They get together once a week and make things for themselves, for gifts, and for charities. How cool! They enjoy each others' company and keep the bonds of friendship strong while creating beautiful things.

They belong to the Franklin County Quilter's Guild in Vermont. I looked at the guild website and had fun browsing through their show and tell pages.

Nice work, ladies, and thanks for sharing! If you win the giveaway, you'll have to share the wave ruler. :-)

Debbi's 4-patch Kaleidoscope

Here's another great Kaleidoscope quilt. If you liked Melinda's kaleidoscope yesterday, you'll also like this one made by Debbi Lamb. She took a class at her LQS to get her started on this one.


You can see in the closeup that it's a take on the Stack n Whack technique. You stack repeats so that if you put a pin down through them, the pin will land at EXACTLY the same spot on each repeat. You then make a simple 4-patch with the 4 exact same pieces. Debbi said that the class taught her how to cut the fabric to make the most of the yardage and get the most interesting cuts.

If you are attempting a Kaleidoscope quilt, you want the busiest fabric you can find. Just one fabric made all of these wonderful 4-patches. Look at Melinda's quilt (yesterday's post) and Debbi's quilt and you can see that they used vibrant, busy fabrics. Debbi told me that she really didn't even like the fabric she used, which is why you don't see it in the border on her quilt. But she loved what it did when it was turned into a kaleidoscope! Also notice that both Melinda and Debbi took care to use "quieter" fabrics for borders, cornerstones and sashing. If you give your eyes a place to "rest", it really makes the busy patches "pop".

OK... now that I've seen both of these quilts, I just HAVE to make a kaleidoscope!

Thanks for sending the pics, Debbi! And thank your photographer (aka DH) for us for taking a photo with you in it! I'll put another entry in the giveaway drawing for you.

Melinda's Magical Slice and Dice

Look what Melinda did! Melinda Fulkerson sent me this picture of her latest quilt. She used a pattern called Magical Slice and Dice by Robin Gallagher (her sister) of Two Wacky Women. Melinda says she loves it because it's very bright and cheerful.

Melinda gets 3 entries in the current givaway because she asked me to enter her (1), she sent me a picture (2) AND because she used Girl Scout fabric (3). See the light pink setting triangles? Melinda didn't even realize that fabric was from Robert Kaufman's Girl Scout collection until she put it in the quilt. You can see more of Melinda's handiwork by checking out her blog. I'm a regular reader of her blog- it's full of inspiration.

I love the Slice and Dice. There just might be one of these in my future. It reminds me of the kaleidoscope quilts published by Quilt Moments. I just this technique!

Thanks for sharing your latest quilt with us, Melinda. Who else out there wants to send me a picture????

Nancy's first Hand-Pieced Quilt

One of my blog followers, Nancy Bird, sent me this photo of her latest quilt. For sending me this photo, she gets a second entry in the giveaway!

Nancy has had a lot of life changing experiences in recent years. She was a victim of Katrina and now finds herself in Many, LA on 18 beautiful acres. The good part is that she will soon have a beautiful new sewing room in her little slice of heaven. The bad part is that she has to wait patiently for a place to use her sewing machine. Nancy always swore that she'd never hand piece a quilt top. Feeling sorry for herself, having to wait to sew and missing quilting, she decided that, even though she didn't want to hand piece the quilt, it would be better than not quilting at all. So, Nancy got some charm packs and hand pieced them. With this design and the charm packs, there was no need for a rotary cutter or mat- just lots of hand sewing. Guess what!?!?!? She loved it! Nancy surprised herself that she loves hand piecing so much. And she never would have realized it if it hadn't been for the fact that her life took so many difficult turns.

I'm do glad that Nancy has a new found love of hand piecing. Nancy is such an inspiration. She has the capacity to see the good in whatever situation she finds herself in. Nancy doesn't blog often, but I always enjoy reading her posts- especially the ones that show her talent as a poet. Check out her blog called A Little Bit of Heaven.

And remember- if you want to enter the latest giveaway drawing, just reply to the giveaway post or send me an email. If you send me a photo of your latest project (or any project) I'll put in a second entry for you- and if the project is made with Boy Scout or Girl Scout fabric, you get 3 entries.

Great Pizza- the next day!

I'm filing this under "recipes" but that's really cheating. There's no cooking going on here. I'm passing this tip along because it's just really great! A friend of mine, whose son worked for a pizza place told me about this. She always had leftover pizza that her son brought home from end-of-the-night unsold pizza. The manager passed this along.

Don't you just hate microwaved day-old soggy pizza? First problem- you bring it home from the pizza place wrapped tightly in foil (usually). It's better if it comes home in a box. You put the hot pizza in foil and you get instant soggy. So-- when you get the pizza home, if you can possibly remember to do it, take it out of the foil, blot it with a paper towel, and then put it in whatever you want- a baggie or a plastic container, or even back in dry foil. I like to wrap it in a paper towel and then slip it- in the paper towel- in a baggie. If you skip this step, it's ok, but it does help.

When you want to warm the pizza to eat it, first put it on a plate on a paper towel (you can use the one it was wrapped in unless it's wet) and microwave it to get it warmed through. You know your own microwave and it depends on how many slices you have. Just don't over-do it. Just barely get it warmed up.

Then- here's the part that works the magic- put it in a frying pan on medium heat. Don't walk away- keep an eye on it. You want to leave it on the heat as long as you can WITHOUT burning the bottom. It just takes a few minutes. Just keep watching the bottom. This gets the crust back to crispy. You won't believe the difference!

I tried just heating it on the stove and skipping the microwave but the bottom got dark before the pizza got heated through. The bottom was crisp but the middle was still cold. You CAN just use the stove if you're more patient and you do it on low heat. I like the combo method of microwaving and using the frying pan best. Get it? Combo method? Combo pizza? OK- bad joke. But really- you'll love this!

Ouch!

I was planning to catch up on my blogging in chronological order but I've decided to start with my recent accident. SOOO many people have written to give me their best that I thought I should make sure everyone knows I'M OK! And... so is everyone else... or at least I'm told they will be. A week ago, I was involved in a 5-car accident on our local highway. Four vehicles had to be towed away, 2 are totaled. Three people were injured but all will recover. The highway was closed in both directions for about 45 minutes. I was VERY fortunate! I had enough time to slow my car down a bit before impact. A driver fell asleep at the wheel and entered the oncoming lane, causing multiple collisions. My heart goes out to the guilty driver. We all make errors in judgment, and I am told that the driver is remorseful. I can't begin to imagine how it must feel... not only to be injured, but also to be at fault. I know in my heart that there was no intention to cause any harm. My car had the least damage (it is not totaled). While I was treated to an ambulance ride to the hospital (woo, hoo!), I am doing well. I do have a sore foot and leg, and some back muscles that are not happy- and a lovely seat belt bruise. The days right after the accident were a little tough- everything hurt. BUT... all are much better than last week and I am getting good care. I am now a huge fan of massage therapy!

My admonition to everyone who will listen.... if you feel drowsy behind the wheel.... pull over and take a cat nap or get out and jog around a parking lot. DO NOT think you can make it just a little longer. If you are already drowsy, you are already a danger to yourself and others. People love you. They don't deserve to lose you for a senseless reason. And you deserve to live another day. Take care of yourself- and those around you- if you're tired, stop the car!

I'll get my car back after Thanksgiving- good as new, I'm told. And-- I just have to say this-- the insurance companies (all of them) have been wonderful. I'm not kidding- everyone has been great to work with. I might feel differently if everyone involved didn't have good coverage, but hey- things really have gone smoothly.

I also have to say how impressed I was with the emergency responders. I was literally surrounded by volunteer fire personnel, EMT's, ambulance people, and police. We live in a small town close to a state forest. Out here, we really depend on our local volunteer fire fighters and EMT's. These guys and gals are nothing short of amazing! We don't live close to a hospital or any emergency centers. But we do have a great emergency team at our local fire station. I never realized how fortunate we are before this incident. If you're a professional or volunteer emergency responder- anywhere- my hat is off to you!

And- not one, but THREE people stopped and offered assistance and gave me their names as witnesses. You always hear that people these days don't want to get involved. Well that's not what happened here. People chose to get involved. WOW!

I'm taking it easy (really!) I've been resting a lot (really!) I'm having Thanksgiving at my house but I'm accepting LOTS of help (really!). My husband, kids, daughter in law, daughter in law to be, nieces, friends, doctors, massage therapist, and even my blogging buddies have been wonderful. I feel loved and cared for, and that's a very good way to feel. Thank you all for your kind words and your concern.

I'm Back!

I've been a baaaad blogger. I haven't posted for months! So much has happened and I have so much to share. We cleaned out, renovated, and sold 2 houses (one on the east coast and one on the west coast), we drove to New Jersey (from Oregon) to pick some things up from my late father in law's house, I've been knee-deep in a HUGE sewing project, and I was in a multi car accident (I'm ok). There's so much to blog about! Sprinkle in some quilting and a few recipes, and I won' be at a loss for anything to blog about for a long time. With so much going on, I've just had to prioritize and have not had time to devote to the blog. I'm going to be regular again, though.

So- let's start with a give away! I'm giving away a Wave Edge Ruler and a Wave Lotus pattern. These rulers are really cool. You can use it for a wavy edging or for wavy seams within the pattern. The pattern included in the giveaway will get you going, and there are complete directions included with the ruler.

To be entered- all you have to do is ask. Reply to this post, OR send me an email. Either way- just tell me you would like to be entered in the giveaway and I'll put your name in the hat. For a SECOND entry, send me a picture of your latest project. And, if it's made out of Boy Scout Fabric or Girl Scout Fabric, you get a third entry. This is low tech. I put your name on a piece of paper, fold it, put it in a bowl, and ask someone to draw. I was once asked if a previous winner could win again. Sure! International entries are welcome, too.

Good luck!

The Winner is...... NANCY!

Nancy (whose blog is "A Little Bit of Heaven") is the winner of the Serendipity Sunflower goodies. Nancy- send me an email with your mailing address and I'll ship it right out to you!

I looked at your blog, Nancy. You posted that you are stuck for inspiration. Well-- let's hope this gets you un-stuck! I think you could take a section of this pattern and make a pretty little table runner with the fat quarters I'm sending. With that little project, you'll be on a roll!

Thanks to ALL who commented on my website. I will definitely take the information you gave and make good use of it. I will be incorporating some of your suggestions, and keeping the rest in mind for future modifications. Of course, nobody can please everyone, but I honestly do want to listen to customers and make the website as user-friendly as I can. Some changes are not practical, or so says my ace web guy. Your comments have been most enlightening and I thank you all. And by the way- there is never an expiration date on this offer- please, please, please always feel free to comment on the website- good, bad, or indifferent! Thanks, again- My blog readers are the best blog readers in all the land!!!!

Button Blanket

I completed this project in August. I bartered with a friend of mine. She did me a huge favor and I made this for the Boy Scout Order of the Arrow Chapter with which she is associated. It turned out to take a LOT more time than I anticipated, but I like it so much I think I'll make another (smaller) one to hang in my front entry. This is a picture of the whole piece.
Here's a closeup of the head and torso of the thunderbird design.
Here's a little closer shot of the wing and tail.

The red applique and black background are Pendleton Wool. If you haven't heard of Pendleton Wool, there's a whole history there- dating back to the early settlers of Oregon. I took a drawing of a Thunderbird, modified it, projected it onto a large paper, traced it and modified it a bit more. I then transferred that design onto the red wool and appliqued it onto the black wool. That was the easy part! I then hand sewed about 3000 buttons around the design. My original plan was to sew the buttons on by machine. My estimate was that it would take me a weekend to do that. HA! I soon discovered that it took longer by machine when the buttons were all different sizes. Some had 2 holes, some had 4 holes, some were thick, and some were thin. And they certainly didn't go in a straight line. I am pretty fast at hand sewing and it turned out to be faster to put the buttons on by hand than to keep messing with the machine with every button. I did discover self threading needles during this process.

The blanket is made to be worn. That's why there is a protective cotton piece at the top middle, where it will rub on the neck of the wearer. The person wearing it drapes it around himself, with the design showing on the back.

The First Nations People of the Pacific Northwest Coastal Region wear button blankets when participating in ceremonial dances. The designs have deep meaning to those who wear them. Masks and carved cedar headpieces are often worn along with the blankets, while a story teller brings the dance to life. The black and red artwork is typical of Pacific Northwest Native American art. Beautiful art in this style is found from Oregon to British Columbia. To see and learn more, check out www.lelooska.org. The masks carved from cedar are awesome, as are the rattles, boxes, totem poles and other ceremonial and decorative pieces. As an aside, both of my sons did their Eagle Scout project for the Lelooska family. Paul led a group of volunteers to clear an acre of land to be used as a parking lot for visitors and Steve built a wood shed behind their ceremonial longhouse. The Lelooksa Family provide educational programs and they have a wonderful museum of Native American artifacts.

My blanket is far from authentic (me, being an Irish girl married to a German!), but I was pleased with how it turned out. It is about 5 ft high and about 6 ft. wide. Men and women wear the the blankets, but this one is large for most women. It took me about 250-300 hrs to make. I sewed most of the buttons on while riding in a car. It's amazing how much you can get done if you use every 20 minute block of time you can find. Many Boy Scout ceremonial teams respectfully use Native American themes, and this is why I made the blanket for the young men who participate in the Order of the Arrow, which is an honor camping and service organization within Scouting.

Mischievous Magicians

Is this cute, or what! A customer/friend of mine, Debbie Lamb, sent me this photo. It's made with fabric from the "Treats" and "Spellbound" Halloween collections. If you like it, the fabric is on my website and you can get a free pattern. There's a Boy Scout quilt on my website- same pattern. It's called "Scout's Honor". Just substitute the Halloween fabrics- or any fabric you like. The solid blocks are great for large prints or focus fabrics. Re-size it to suit your needs. It's really quick and easy. This is a great example of how a quilter can take a simple pattern and make it look amazing by selecting great fabrics in great combinations. This is just squares and 9-patches and some borders. Debbie has a great eye for combining fabric. And she loves Halloween fabric and confesses that she has a huge stash of it. I love, love, love this, Debbie!

Giveaway for opinions!

We're looking at modifications to the Alderwood Quilts website. Many customers comment on the look and ease of use of the site, but we're always looking at ways to improve to serve YOU better!

I placed a poll to the right- could you please do me a favor and add your opinion? Currently, we don't ask customers to "scroll down" to view products. But we are adding to inventory, and that will mean that you will sometimes have several pages to work through to see all of the products in that category. Would you rather scroll down a long page, or page through several pages without having to scroll down? I don't want people to miss things lower down on a page, but I don't want people to miss things on other pages, either. Which is easier for you?

We will also be tweaking the home page sometime after the holidays. No big changes are planned, but we'll just make a few little changes to make it more fun for you to visit the website. If you have any comments or suggestions- either praise or "constructive"- I really would like to hear it. I'd also like to hear what fabric lines you would like to see us carry. Have some opinions? Bring em' on!

Call me during the day (Pacific Time) at 503-324-9400 or send me an email.

To give you a little incentive, I'm doing a giveaway. If you reply to this post, call, or send me an email with feedback about our website, you'll be entered in the giveaway. The lucky winner will receive a "Fresh Sunflower Wreaths" pattern and a pack of 8 fat quarters from the Serendipity Sunflower collection. I'll do a random drawing on September 14th. Even though the drawing ends on September 14th, I always appreciate feedback.

And- speaking of entering my giveaways- I was asked if you could win more than once. SURE! If you've already won one of my giveaways, your chances are as good as anyone's to win again.

Can't wait to hear from YOU!

More summer wanderings

I took a short trip to Crater Lake with my niece, Meredith. Crater Lake is one of the most beautiful spots in Oregon.
We hiked along the rim at sunrise. Look closely- a bear cub was there before us.
Standing on the west side of the rim trail watching the sun rise. Aside from getting up at 5am to drive up there, this was awesome!
And standing on the east side of the lake watching the sun set.
Lava beds in central Oregon.

Summer Wanderings

Isn't this the cutest birdhouse you ever saw? It's kind if a bird condo for all sorts of birds. Way cool! There are bunches of these around the rest area near the beach at Cape May, New Jersey.
I was in Cape May for a day in June while visiting relatives in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Several people were fishing from the shore line and I was just relaxing in a chair with a sudoku book. zzzzzzzz........
Last weekend, my DH and I took a drive to Fort Clatsop, Oregon, where they have a re-creation of the camp where Lewis and Clark wintered. I love history.
And I found a surprise in the Fort Clatsop Visitor Center. There was a quilt made by school children to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Oregon. I couldn't stand far enough back to get a good photo, but you get the idea.

Sad News about Kathy Sandbach

I just learned some sad news about one of the quilting world's bright stars, Kathy Sandbach. Kathy is suffering from Frontal Temporal Dementia and her children are selling some of her work to fund her care. She must have been a wonderful mother, because her children are standing by her in her time of need. I was touched to read that they are selling her quilts, not only to raise money, but also to put them in the hands of people who will cherish them. It's a way of spreading their mother's legacy. Learn more about Kathy's condition and how to help at C&T Publishing.

I have a friend who is suffering from frontal lobe atrophy and I know first hand how difficult it is to watch someone suffer from a disorder that manifests itself in gradual personality changes over several years. It's so hard to know if the behaviors are those of the person, or of the disease. By the time you realize that there is a problem, you've spend a lot of time being irritated with them for bizarre and sometimes hurtful behavior. They do things that are inappropriate or out of character and you don't understand why at first. When you realize it was not their fault, you feel guilty for having been angry... which of course was not your fault, either. It's really tough. My heart goes out to Kathy Sandbach's family, and to other families who are caring for loved ones who are suffering from similar disorders.

If you ever took a class from Kathy, or read one of her wonderful books on machine quilting, it would mean a lot to her family if you posted your thoughts by signing the guest book on C&T or on Kathy's old website.

This is a wonderful opportunity to thank our Maker that we have the ability to sit here and read and comprehend our favorite blogs.

Cold Compress Pillow with Lavender and Flax

Isn't this pretty? Well- it's as useful as it is attractive! This is from Lorraine's post on the Rabbit Factory. (It's her picture, too) Lorraine's DH has low back pain and she made this pillow filled with flax seed and lavender. She freezes it to use it as a cold compress pillow. I think I just found a new use for my dried lavender buds!

I enjoy reading Lorraine's posts regularly. I just love The Rabbit Factory patterns. I have one on my website (Licorice Allsorts) but I think I need to add more. What do you think? Check out the Rabbit Factory and help me decide which patterns I need to add to my website. The Rabbit Factory blog also has a really pretty applique BOM going. Be sure to check it out! I guess I never mentioned how much I love bunnies, too. A blogger who loves quilts, lavender and bunnies- how much better can it get?

In the meantime, I think I need to try mixing some of my dried lavender buds with flax seed and making a cold compress like Lorraine did. After several hours of harvesting, my lower back is often in need of a little relief, too! Thanks for your inspiring posts, Lorraine.

Circle of Geese

I just found a new blog and had to share it with you. I was reading Rachel's blog at 2nd Avenue Studio this morning and she posted this really cool block by Christina at Sometimes Crafter. I've always enjoyed reading Rachel's posts and now I look forward to adding Christina's to my reading list.

This photo is the July block from Christina's BOM. (It's her picture, too) Her work is very creative- fresh and contemporary with good traditional bones. And the best part is that it comes with a very well done tutorial on paper piecing. I think I'll do her BOM series- looks like it will be a great group of blocks! Christina also has some yummy-looking recipes on her blog. Take a look!

Sock Summit

For those of you who are new to my blog, I should explain that my passion is quilting, and my "take along hobby" is knitting. I take knitting on vacation and in the car. When I'm at home or work, I quilt whenever I can. My niece is visiting and she is a knitter. Meredith (niece), Karen (friend) and I spent a wonderful day filled with all things knitting last Saturday at the Sock Summit.

Last weekend, for 3 days, the first Sock Summit was held in Portland, OR. Knitters from all over the country were in hog heaven... or maybe "sheep" heaven. The world must be full of naked sheep, because there was a TON of wool there! The focus was socks, but there was much, much more. They had sweaters, hats, scarves, gloves and the world's largest sock (in progress). Vendors from all over the world had absolutely scrumptious yarns to drool over. The patterns were unique and creative. My head was spinning faster than the spinning wheels! The photo above was one of my favorite pieces. It was made from scraps of sock yarn. This is my new goal- to collect scraps of sock yarn to make one of these. I have 2 nieces who knit and they have both given me their sock yarn scraps to get started. It might take years- but I'll show you when I have something to show. I don't knit as much as I quilt, so it will take me a long time to collect this many scraps of sock weight yarn. Anyone out there have any sock yarn scraps that need a good home?


This just tickled me. It's a fish. It was hanging from the ceiling and I just had to share it with you.

And for those of you who have little dogs and dress them up, I just wanted to show you how people dress BIG dogs. We have a golden retriever, but he'd never sit still for this. He'd chew up the hat in 30 seconds flat.

If you want more information on the Sock Summit, they have a website. I have no idea where they are going to have the Sock Summit next year. This was the first one, and I don't know if it will stay in Portland or travel around. Selfishly, I'm hoping it stays here, but it would probably be best for the show if it traveled. I heard someone mention Toronto, but I have no idea if she knew what she was talking about. They had classes and panels of well known knitters and designers. I hope the show evolves and expands to include more classes (short ones as well as longer classes), more classes on things OTHER than socks, and more demos and displays (I didn't see much of that). They had great vendors and I loved talking to shop owners on the show floor. My experience is mostly with quilt shows. What I enjoy mostly about shows in seeing what's new and networking, although I know that the vendors need to sell product. The most successful shows are the ones that do a good job of blending both of these needs. The Sock Summit is off to a good start. I bought a lot of yarn and several patterns, and learned a lot from others who were there.

Can't wait for next year!

Big News!

Our younger son, Steve, and his girlfriend, Emily just stopped by with some news! Steve took Emily skydiving yesterday and when they got back on the ground, he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. We're thrilled! Steve and Emily are very happy and we love them both. We're so fortunate! We have 2 sons. Paul married his sweetheart, Cady, last summer. Cady and Emily are two of the best daughters-in-law that a mom could ever hope for. They make my sons happy and for that, I am very grateful.

Almost done!

Just a few more rows to harvest! I really should have the lavender all out of the field by now. but it's been a super busy week. The lavender that is still on the plants is looking a little unhappy. The rest will be dried and I'll take the buds off to sell in bulk.

My lavender farm is pretty small compared to most. I have 300 plants- mostly grosso and gros bleu. But it's about all we can handle. I planted tiny little lavender plants in the fall of 2007. My first harvest (Summer, 2008) yielded about 75 bundles. My second harvest (Summer, 2009) yielded 450 bundles!!! I wonder what next summer will bring.

Cat flea spray

This photo was taken from a craft by Jessica Wilson posted on craftzine.com. Click here to be directed to her craft project. She tells how she makes this potion for lavender and lemon to spray on her cats to control fleas. She has great pictures, too. It's a good site. Thanks to blog reader Judy LeVang to alerting me to Jessica's project!