Socks soar......

That may be an exaggeration, for my first sock anyway. I have been working on these socks for...well.....over a year now.....off and on.....with the help of my friends at Gauge Knit, http://www.gaugeknit.com/ , several books,Youtube and a DVD. You can see that I have started my second sock and I am anticipating that it will go much quicker. I can't remember what yarn I am using. Just remember that I was inspired by Jane Brocket, http://www.yarnstorm.blogs.com/ . There is no design involved, just straight knitting, as the yarn makes the pattern as you knit. Very nice. I will make a minor adjustment to my second sock, but all in all it has been a lot of fun and I have learned a lot about knitting and circular needles. I also have quite a bit of sock yarn in my stash now, so I have to keep going! Happy knitting!

It's raining......

Just a little rain, but we're not complaining. With that out of the way.....I've been working on some hand applique' this past week. The blocks pictured above are from the book "Carrie Hall's Sampler" by Barbara Brackman. I'm doing this quilt through a block of the month from http://www.commonthreadsquilting.com. I love the colors that have been chosen for this quilt and can't wait to finish it even though we are only halfway through. And yes.....that's a Blackbird Designs block in the upper right corner from their book 'Birds of a Feather'. Have been working on this quilt for some time and am trying to finish it as well. These are great to stitch when I'm 'watching' TV at night. Like last night when I watched 'Gone with the Wind'. Forgot how long that movie is.

It's a treat.......

'Trick or Treat' quilt is finished and hanging in my hallway. I used a machine applique technique and started it, I think, in February. It has a total of 158 basket blocks plus the appliqued setting triangles. I made mine smaller than the original pattern in 'When the Cold Wind Blows', by Blackbird Designs, so that it would fit on my wall. It also makes a nice 'topper' for the queen size bed in my guest room. This quilt has moved to the top of my all time favorites! I hope you enjoy it.

Another treat.....Last night I saw Glen Hansard, from the movie 'Once" and Sam Beam, of Iron and Wine, at the Paramount Theater here in Austin. It was a benefit for the Midwives Alliance of North America and it was a great evening of beautiful accoustic music. If you haven't seen the movie, Once, or heard any of the music by Iron and Wine, you should check it out. They are very talented song writers and musicians. It was a wonderful treat!

I bought some great accent pillow covers to put on my sofa yesterday at Pottery Barn, but the inserts have goose down feathers (not so much of a treat) and I'm allergic to them, so I am out and about today searching for 'fake' goose down inserts for my cushions. Hope you have a great day...........

Finishing projects......

While I'm finishing my quilt over the weekend, I thought I would show you a quilt that I finished last year. This was my first hand applique quilt that I worked on for over a year while taking classes from my friend Janice. We worked on our own Baltimore Album quilts and it was a lot of fun to see everyone's finished quilts. Each one was very different color wise and some were more detailed than others, but they were all beautiful. Janice generously shared her knowledge about applique and helped to build our confidence for future projects. Her work is beautiful and precise. She also hand quilts most of her quilts. We all love to see her finished projects.

The blocks in my Baltimore album have some kind of family reference for each of them. The Texas wildflower basket in the center is a symbol of my Texas roots. The other blocks are a reminder of various family members or places I have lived. I hope you enjoy it.

It's been raining.........

The rain has been really nice since we have had very little rain the past couple of years! Worst drought in 25 years. So, we are very excited to see the rain.

I finished piecing the 'Trick or Treat' quilt this morning and will prepare it for quilting over the next few days. Will post the finished quilt soon. The watermelon quilt, pictured above, is a small quilt that I recently finished. I 've had the pattern for a few years, and I was in a 'watermelon' mood this summer, so hence the quilt. The pattern is by Cabbage Rose, Barbara Brandeburg and the book is titled Company's Coming.

It's been a lot of fun reading your comments on my blog. Several different countries are represented and I love reading your blogs about what you are working on. A couple of blogs that I visited over the past few days are http://www.dorryvanbeers.blogspot.com/ from the Netherlands and http://www.linenandraspberry.blogspot.com/ from Australia. Take a look, they are really nice.

I also saw my first Harry Potter movie at the theater this week. I have seen #s 3,4,&5 on DVD, but I really enjoyed seeing the most recent one with my friend, Rhonda and my daughter. They are both Harry Potter fans and Rhonda and I share a mutual admiration for Alan Rickman so that was reason enough to go see the new one. I also recently saw the 'Dateline' program on J.K. Rowling where a reporter followed her for a year while she was writing the final Harry Potter book. Very insightful as she revisited many of the places where she had written some of the books.

I'm off to walk F.H. around the block. He's my bassett hound for those of you that haven't met him yet. Take some time to do something creative today........

'Trick or Treat' Sneak Peek......

Here's a little 'sneak peek' at the quilt I mentioned below. I haven't quite figured out how to add two photos to one post yet......I'm workin' on it. There are approx. 180 squares. I made mine smaller than the original pattern as I will hang mine on the wall, but it should make a nice size to lay on a queen size bed as well. Back to my sewing machine.

I've been working on a new quilt by Blackbird Designs called Trick or Treat. I finished sewing the blocks and will start sewing the setting triangles today. Anyone that knows me, knows that I love anything that the Blackbird Design team does. I have done more than one quilt designed by the ladies, but I must say, I have never done one pattern twice........until now! That's right.....a couple of years ago I made their Midnight Silhouette pattern, but changed it up a bit. Last weekend I was in my favorite quilt shop, Common Threads in Waxahachie, Texas, and they had this same pattern put together in a kit, and I couldn't resist doing it again. It will look very different, and I can't wait to get started. I have posted a photo of the version that I did the first time, and when I complete the second one, I'll be sure to post that one as well.

Welcome to my new blog. I've been working on it for a few weeks, off and on, to make my photos larger. I love following blogs and one of the best things about them are the photos. So, this time, I wanted to make sure I had the best layout for my photos.

I had a conversation with my quilting friends yesterday about blogs. The concensus was that blogs are a great way to connect with people that have the same interests as you. Therefore, you may be a quilter, knitter, crafter, or reader. Some of you may be friends and family. Whoever you are, I hope you enjoy my blog. I will try to keep it more current than my last one.

You can also find me on Facebook and Twitter from time to time.

The photo in this post is a Blackbird Designs pattern, Justice for All, stitched on Birds of a Feather linen, color Meadow Lark, 28 count. The tea cozy in the header is also a Blackbird Designs pattern, by Maggie Bonanomi, Live Each Season, stitched on R&R Reproductions linen, color unknown, 35 count.