Cascadia Quiltalong

I'm so happy with this little quilt. I finished it Monday. I just couldn't wait for Lori to post the finale.

I tried the solid light and wasn't happy so I pulled some other options. I kept looking in on this for a day and the cheddar was my favorite every time. Does that work for you? Setting out the options and approaching it anew a few times. I had already decided to hand quilt it with the same pattern Lori is doing. Seems like the best option to me.

My DD is taking care of an English Angora this week. I've never seen a rabbit like this.

I can't get over these ears! 

We woke up to snow this morning. It is still coming down. Glad I don't have to go anywhere. This is our first Thanksgiving we will celebrate at home. My DS2 is here on break from school and my DS1 is coming down tomorrow morning. Today will be busy baking pies. I also think I'll get my cranberry sauce made. I found a recipe that isn't too sweet. I think I was going to post it last year and never did...Nope I didn't though I did take this photo.

I got the recipe from The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila. Here is her recipe on her blog Eating from the Ground Up. It's a little different than the one in her book but looks just as good.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the U.S. and hope all of you have a happy holiday season. Remember to take time to relax and stitch. We all need to take the time to refuel and I think most of us quilters find quilting does that for us.

Finishes and Almost Finishes

Step 2 complete of Lori's quiltalong/mystery. Trying not to dwell on how this is going to come together. It's hard waiting for the next step of instructions!

My DD finished a knitted baby blanket for some friends who are expecting any moment now. She used scraps from her yarn stash. I love how it turned out.

I finished one window shade for our family room. I have it opened for my rosemary plant I brought in from outside. Hoping it will survive the winter inside. There were some frustrating moments while making this shade. I'm now working on the other two for this room and they are going only a little more smoothly. It took us a couple hours to figure out how to hang this first one. Good to have that first one out of the way. 

Closed for the night.

Before

And after.

Just need to get a few accessories. I made the curtains from dress fabric I found at a yard sale. We reused the medicine and corner cabinet behind the door and a pretty blue ceiling light we took from the walk-in closet. None of which you can see from this shot. You can see the radiator my DH spray painted black.  The details are very pretty - wish you could see those, too. I'm being very lazy today. I'll try to remember to take some detail shots when the light is good. I slept 10 hours last night and slept in to 8:15. It's rainy and cold and I think I'll stay in my jammies today. Haven't done that in so long. Will have to put my jeans on to check the animals but other than that I'm going to have what I consider a day off. Will work a little on the shades, do some reading, and maybe this evening I'll get out some hand stitching. Hope you find time to stitch today, too.

Quick Show and Share

I'm happy to be able to participate in Lori's Quiltalong/Mystery this time. I always love her little doll quilts. As soon as I saw her post Saturday evening I ran up to my sewing room and started cutting 1 1/2" squares. I don't think I have any repeats here and I tried to keep with 19th century reproductions. Can't wait for the next step!

My first six Dear Jane blocks. I'm trying not to look ahead but just taking one block at a time.

I got the flying geese strippy top put together. Would love to baste it and get quilting but we are expecting frigid temps this coming week and I really need to get a few window treatments done. Our 1920's house has the original windows and they leak like crazy. I have everything I need to make roman shades for the family room. My stumbling block is the directions. I'm having a hard time finding directions that make sense to me. I've hemmed and hawed long enough and just need to jump in and figure it out.

We took a drive in the country a couple of weeks ago.  Color wasn't great this year though still pretty.