True Wealth

Every now and then, my dad calls to tell me how rich he is.

This is the same man who periodically reminds me that he's trying to figure out how to be born to wealthy parents so he'll be set for life, so you can rest assured he's not talking about an investment portfolio or bank balance. No, when my dad says he's rich, it usually means he has an abundance of some delicious food at home, often stockpiled in the freezer.

Maybe live crawfish mailed in from Louisiana, just for a crawfish boil with his daughters.


Or enough of the best Utah peaches (yes, he has copious notes from various taste tests to prove it) in his freezer to provide peaches on his oatmeal all winter long.

Or the first strawberries ripening on the variety he read has the best strawberry flavor ever, but can't be commercially grown because they deteriorate too quickly. (For best results, pop it straight in your mouth once picked.)

(His strawberry starters.)

Yes, when my dad says he's rich, it almost certainly means food, and lots of it.

So tonight, I feel rich to have lots of my favorite, favorite crackers (recipe here) warm out of the oven.

Note: Even with a double batch, I think they're going to disappear quickly. I may have possibly eaten half a baking sheet since starting this post.

Hiking the Hudson...

What I want to remember about today:

That I really wanted to go hiking and we made it happen, in spite of... having to bail on the early hike, missing the train to the later hike, rushing back home for our hiking book and nearly missing the next train, and then discovering that the last train to our hiking destination was the one we missed. Grrrrrr.......but I remember thinking "it's going to be ok" and it was better than ok.

Going up....and up....and up...

Breakneck Ridge

All of the people scrambling up the rocks with us. Everyone seemed to be out on this gorgeous fall day!

Watching the mile-long train across the river, (or was it only a half-mile? a lively debate ensued), while eating a morning snack of bananas and Oreos.

Lots of talking with husband-o, as always...then a bit of solitude on the wooded trail heading back. Nice to stop for a chat, a hug and a reminder to root for the home team!

Go team!

The lonely, lovely stone architecture left from an abandoned dairy, especially all the arches of what must have been a beautiful, large multi-story home.

The light on the stream, the sun shining through the trees, the layers of color...sky, mountain, foliage...

The sugar maple leaves in town. (Right, Alexis? Sugar maples?)


Hot chocolate in town before we headed home, tangy-sweet Ida Red apples with ricotta salata cheese and watching the sun set over the Hudson.

What do you want to remember about this weekend?

Craft Hope Quilt & Limitations

When I decided to make a quilt for Craft Hope's project 5, I knew I'd be working with limitations, if for no other reason than my quilting budget's on the skinny. Along the way, I was reminded that limitations can be great at sparking creativity!

I knew I needed to use mostly fabric I already had, so I pulled out a scrap bag and started with a collection of funky pastel string scraps.

When it didn't make enough blocks, what else could I use? Other backgrounds? Nope, sticking with the scrap bag white.

Could I cut those blocks in half to make them go further?


Hmmmm....in spite of my flying geese love, like the squares better in this case.

Then, there's the "didn't measure twice and no more yellow fabric" limitation I created for myself.

That little strip of color made a big difference. I added it to the other "extra" blocks as well.

This morning, borders. I was quite sure I didn't have anything that would work. I've already been through my stash, but before I ran to the quilt shop, I looked again.

Odd. I tried this for one of the extra block in the middle and thought the color was wrong, but it works for the border.

Each step of the way involved experimenting, trying things out, searching through my stash. The limitations forced me to look at lots of options, come up with new ways to do things and then make decisions of what would be best for this quilt. I loved the creative process and the end result is turning out better than my original plans. I'm having so much FUN integrating a mix of fabrics, working with a balance a movement and stillness and finding new ways to use the focus fabrics! Who knew that limiting my options would improve both the process and the final design so much?

Hooray for quilting on the skinny, huh?

Giveaway winner....

Whose name did hubby draw last night?

Hooray for another excuse to visit V. Special delivery coming right up!

p.s. If you are looking for another yummy giveaway (it's all honey, honey), check this one out!

A Finished Object...and a Giveaway!

Since several people asked, here she is, start to finish.

The part of the fabric that talked its way into my stash...

I just couldn't resist the little dancer!

The quilting...


I was at a loss for how to quilt this. Then, while I was practicing on the little quilt sandwich Shelly gave me, stipple-like quilting just started coming out. It felt good and easy and I instantly knew that's how I wanted to fill the space on this project. Well, it wasn't so easy to do to fill all the varying spaces, stopping and starting, coordinating hand, foot and eye, but when it all worked, it looked like this.

How it looks on my entry table...


And the big picture....

(It's not quite that wonky on the left end. I've got to figure out how to take these pictures better!)

And the giveaway....


It's my 150th post and I want to do something fun. I found this slightly flawed, but endearing book of children and doll quilts on a clearance table. I bought one for me and one to giveaway. And today's the day! I'll draw a random winner on Monday night. If you want to comment, but don't want the book, just say so and I'll keep your name out. I'm sure those who do want it would be thrilled to increase their odds. :)

Have a lovely autumn weekend! It'll be a rainy and busy one here. How 'bout yours?

Making me happy these days...

Harvest Corn on the table.


Quilting (free-motion quilting, mind you) on my new machine...and a Halloween table runner that is almost done. Subway commuting = finishing the binding today!


Yummy brownies.

M.I.A.

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I posted here! Life just came up and living it was more important than blogging about it. This time has been.

Delightful...

...sewing with V & Shelly. Honestly, playing in Victoria's scraps and getting machine quilting tips from the amazing Shelly??? Fantastic fun! What inspiring gals! Thanks for letting me crash the party!

Bittersweet...

...going home for my grandmother's funeral. After many years with Alzheimer's it is a relief to know she is no longer suffering, but hard to know she is now completely gone from us, especially from my grandfather. It was wonderful to celebrate the wonderful woman she was and to gather with family (including my sister, who's been in the Caribbean! Hooray!!!).

Purposeful....

spending some time focusing on my home, including printing and hanging photos I like.

Creative....

plugging away on unfinished projects, a bit of sewing, some knitting.

Adventurous....

...going from this...

...to this.....

I think I'll be knitting more warm scarves to keep my bare neck warm this winter! Oooooh, it's chilly!

Reflective....

...attending a women's group, reading great books, talking to loved ones, writing in my journal a lot and thinking about the changes I am seeking. Good me time.

In any event, I'm home again, missing blogging and thinking of you all!