Thanksgiving Cactus

When I purchased this plant a long time ago, it was blooming at Thanksgiving and that seems to be it's cycle. That's fine - leads into the bright colors of Christmas. Cheery day and time.

Snow is on the ground, and here is a jonquil.

I only have three blocks to go! Now the background looks yellow. It really is white! Oh, well. We're doing last minute things for Thanksgiving Day, cranberries, pumpkin pie in the oven, and what all. Tony will be here - for which we're glad - but three people can only eat so much food. We'll still enjoy our weekend. Happy Thanksgiving Day to all who gather near and wide.

Let it Snow!

We had quite a snow storm yesterday. The feathery white flakes came down steadily most of the day until it changed to a fine powdery snow last night. The snow plows came out, as did everyone with their snow blowers and shovels. The neighbor kids were delighted - they loved to knock the snow off of our sundial - it had reached over a foot. Today, the sun is shining, although the temperature only got up to 33 for a few brief hours. We are shivering, remembering the beautiful, warm fall we enjoyed. There are still some carrots and beets resting under the cover of snow in the garden. I didn't get the roses mulched enough, but they are covered in snow, and, if past years are any portend, they will remain so for quite some time. Thank heaven for a warm house, food to eat, and clothes to keep us warm. We are mindful at this Thanksgiving season of the year that there are many in this world who, through circumstances not of their doing, do not have those blessings.

Zinnia Applique Block - for Grandmother's Garden Quilt

I am nearing the end - this quilt requires 18 flower blocks. I wasn't quite content with this zinnia block, so am making one in a different color. At last I've conquered ruching - not so evident in this block. I had quite a struggle with this one. I've decided that one must try something new several times before the "Aha" moment comes and it becomes easier to do. It has been most relaxing to make these blocks. The applique and embellishments are fun to do. I usually do handwork in the evening while we have the TV on. (After all, TV today doesn't have a whole lot to offer in all the hundreds of channels that we receive.)

Another Applique Block for my Quilt - Tulips

The background is really white - I took these this gray afternoon with the light from the room. I've only got a few blocks to go before I am finished! Hooray. It was nice to think about a quilt for a change. We decided to gift each other for Christmas by purchasing a Nook reader each. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to set up the blasted things. Frustration reigns supreme at this moment. I got a message from Barnes & Noble to shut the thing off for 30 minutes and try again. We'll see. All of this came from sitting by someone at Church who had a reader, and looking at the apparent ease of moving around in it, and the difference between carrying bunches of heavy books to Church and one small tablet. Now, I've just got to get the whole things figured out. Laura? We may be calling you again. (This is an addendum - now you can see how lazy I am. I didn't like the color in the first photo I pasted into the blog, so I adjusted it in the top picture. Now, you can see the contrast between the picture more like the original block, and the one with the darker color created by poor lighting.)

Quilt from a Jelly Roll

This is a hurry-up quilt made for a dear friend who underwent a mastectomy last Monday morning. Finding out you have cancer has to require a difficult adjustment, but the move to positive outcome is very important. I had a jelly roll (for the uninitiated, that is a roll of fabrics cut to 2-1/2" . You can make many different kids of quilts out of them, but the easiest is to miter the adjoining strips, vary them a little bit, and sew them together. I really did a hurry-up job, but hopefully, the quilt police will look at my motives and forgive me. The quilting was simple - I did curves in every other row, hoping that would hold everything together. And I free-handed feathers in the border. Some were great, some were so-so, and some very sub-par, but the important thing is, the quilt was made with love, and is backed with soft flannel so that it will be cozy for the next few months. (The binding was really slap-dash. I sewed the first seam on the back, turned it over to the front, added steam-a-seam tape underneath, fused it, and sewed it down with a decorative stitch. I finally caught on to the technique by the third side, but I'll never do it again that way.) My friend was very happy to get her quilt.

Burning Bush Time

We've had an unusually mild fall - one to make up for the late spring. Our 4-year old neighbor, Cayden, loves the red leaves of the burning bush most of all. Once in a while, he will bring a little bag with him, and ask if he can have a few because they're so pretty. The most protected bush (the top picture) turns more slowly than the other one. There is something very satisfying about fall colors, even if it means clean-up later. When we're in the middle of it, autumn is my favorite time of the year.

Fall is Really Here

There are still some apples way high up on the big apple tree at the corner of our property and the orchard next door. Ron picked a bucket full of these little apples - they are very good to eat. We figure that apples hanging over on our property are fair game - and no one ever climbs up way high to pick those up high. They will eventually fall, making food for the deer and the birds in the wintertime. We hate to see the weather change, after such a beautiful October, but in this country, it's inevitable. We've been very busy harvesting and cleaning out the gardens, and buttoning up everything that is outdoors, ready for what is inevitable - winter. In the meantime, there is still plenty of beauty around us, and we appreciate that.