Sarah's Quilt Top

When my mother-in-law, Sarah, passed away a few years ago, I inherited some of her unfinished work and supplies. In the box was a bunch of sewn and pressed four patch blocks that were ready for a project. I have no idea what she was thinking of using them for, but ever since, I have been using scraps from my projects to make more of these blocks to add to the stack.

Finally I decided to fashion a a quilt top with them. I added a white lattice work and little blue center squares. I have the top nearly finished now; it just needs the border and backing. Then I will send it out to be quilted. (A friend does this part for me!) I intend to give this away to someone in the family, whoever has interest in their mom or grandma's work. Hopefully a cherished piece of family art. Or am I thinking too highly of our work?????

Rainy Wordless Wednesdy

Glorified Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I found this wonderful recipe at my daughters house, when I was babysitting my grandson the other day! I tried it when I got home and I have made it once more already, I liked it so much!

It is a variation of the grilled cheese sandwich on Italian bread. I used a loaf that I got at the bakery, but sliced Italian bread from the market would work just as well. Try it you'll like it!

Italian bread

balsamic vinaigrette dressing

provolone cheese

sweet or red onion

butter

fresh (organic) basil

Put a little butter in a frying pan to melt it. Then lightly grill an onion slice for each sandwich. As soon as it is limp, remove it from the pan and save to assemble the sandwich.

Put a little more butter in the pan before grilling the sandwich. Spread each bread slice with the balsamic vinaigrette dressing, lightly. Layer the inside with provolone cheese, the reserved grilled onion slice, a couple of leaves of basil and another layer of provolone. Make sure the vinaigrette side of the bread is the side that will be grilled. Then grill in the pan (with a the little melted butter) until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden.

Serve with a few chips and fruit smoothie and you have a delightful, healthy lunch!

Garden plans???

Our Etsybloggers team blog carnival for today to tell about my garden plans. Well, I would love to have a garden! But I live in an apartment now. I plan to have a pot on the patio with a tomato plant! Some garden!

My daughter is the gardener. She has two gardens: one in her tiny strip of back yard, along the fence at her duplex apartment and another one, a large one, at my other daughter's house. My oldest daughter, Jackie has the room, but has too many other responsibilities to plant a garden. So, my younger daughter, Suzanne, and her husband plant a "family" garden at her house.

My intentions have always been to help with the garden, but it has become harder now, since I no longer live at the house where the garden is. When I had my own home, I had a garden. But life brings changes, and we are no longer able to maintain a residence of our own. So, as to plans, I plan to help as much as possible and pick patio tomatoes from my patio plant.

Late Spring Showers

I was sitting on my bed, contemplating and new project and looking at an array of fabrics, when I looked up and saw the rain out the window. Limbs from the bushes outside the building were swaying to and fro as the drops hit them and the wind picked them up again. I saw drops sliding off the leaves and dropping straight down to the ground below. Everything was getting a through washing. And the sounds: tap, tap, tap, drip, drip, splat, not in a symmetrical pattern. Leaves glistening with the wetness, as well as looking like they were reaching out and up for more! New growth on the branch ends had the look of thriving tenderness in a cloak of new green. As the rain subsided, the leaves seemed to stop dancing and just a few would make movement as the last few sparse raindrops hit them. Tap, tap, tap, I listened for a while, so soothing, then the tapping pattern picked up again as the clouds decided that there were still layers of moisture that they didn’t want to hold.
Tap, tap, tap,
So pleasing the rain sounds.
Drip, drip, drip,
Washing and wetting the grounds.

Tap, tap, drip,
Puddles begin to splat.
Drip, drip, droop,
A flower lays out flat.

Such a great sound,
Such a wonderful respite,
The sights and sounds
Of late spring showers delight.


(written by Linda Pruitt 5/18/10 1:45 PM)

Hi There . . .

Haven't blogged in a while, actually two weeks! Wow! How time flies. I've been sewing a lot, babysitting my grand kids, traveling to Seattle and, of course, working.

Today I wanted to share with you one of my prized positions for my crafting. It's a little bag that my grandson, Paddy, made for me. He made it from paper, tape and twine. (It actually has some illustrated instructions drawn on the front in pencil! Cute! --Hope you can see it out from the picture.) It's a neat little paper wastebasket, that I use when I am sewing. Each time I snip a thread, it is right at my finger tips waiting for the discards! Now more threads all over the carpet and me!

I hung it on the wall right behind my sewing machine! Or if I am working on a larger project that needs more space, I move it to the chest of drawers right next to my sewing desk; it's still handy there . . .

And since I have been sewing a lot, I wanted to show off my latest creation from my line of novelty pillows. This is my Chicory Blue Deco Pillow. I just love the color of wild chicory when it blooms at the side of the road, so I thought I would create a pillow in honor of the under appreciated little flowers!

Actually creating a few more in this line, a pansy pillow and an lovely Echinacea flower pillow. Watch for them in my shop!

Recently, the Etsybloggers Street Team had a Journal swap. (See several other posts about the project.)
Anyway, I got a beautiful handmade journal from Debby of Storybeader. I loved reading her story and finding out that she lives just a few miles from where my mother's family settled when they came to America. It's a small world, really!

Anyway, in the secret portion of the diary, There was an envelope of pretty lime colored beads. It took me a while to get done, but I had purposed to make a little bracelet for myself to remember Debby's generosity and to remember the Journal Swap project. I had enough beads to also finish a pair of earrings! So here are the results:

Thanks, Deb!

Rainy Wordless Wendesday

Sunday Sketches #2

This is the second of my Sunday Sketches. I did this yesterday while I was waiting for my dinner to finish cooking. I enjoyed picking up the charcoal and graphite pencils again! Hope you like it!

(This is a submission for Sunday Sketches. See the list of other participant's sketches at bluechairdiary.)