Sew and Tell Friday

So, have you had a chance to make the pumpkin gob cookies    yet? (Click on the link for the recipe!)  I made a batch for our company that was visiting.  They look so pretty on my pumpkin platter (that I found at Walmart for $4.50) on top of my new table runner for my kitchen table.

                                                  

I found these leaf place mats on sale at Walmart, too, for $2 each.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, but I bought them anyway.  Then I thought about how cute my leaf tablerunner that I bought from K-mart looked on my dining room table, and I got busy!  First, I laid out my leaves (I really like them kind of turned a little.  It makes it look like they fell off the tree and landed on my table.)  on the table until I arranged them how I wanted them.  Then I pinned them together and took them to the sewing machine where I tacked them down.  Easy Peasy!!!  See those gourds in my little basket?  I found those for a penny a piece!!!  Yes 1 penny!  Here's a few more that I gave to my daughter for her to decorate with in her home.

                                          

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Are you enjoying the Cross Country Quilt Designer Blog Hop?  I am.  It has gotten me in the Christmas Spirit like you wouldn't believe. The projects are wonderful, and the stories that each of them share every day brings back memories of my childhood I had forgotten about.   

It's perfect timing, the blog hop and the fact that Kim has a Christmas Countdown on her blog.  Who knew it was a little more than 40 days away until Christmas???  I sure didn't!  Oh well.  Tomorrow Terry and I are leaving for our annual Christmas Sewing Retreat.  This year we're going back to the Lakehouse.  Hopefully I will have lots of "Sew and Tell " Friday projects for you to see next Friday.  (Be sure to check at Amy's blog to see what everyone else finished for Friday.)

Until then, keep visiting the designers on the blog hop.  I have a list of them on my sidebar, so you can click on their link and it will take you to their blog.  I'll be blog hopping from my I-phone. 

Have a great week!

Amanda

Cross Country Christmas Quilt Designer Blog Hop

If you're like me, you love blog hops and this one is going to be fun!!! (Aren't they all?) 

It's called the Cross Country Christmas Designer Blog Hop.  It  includes all of my favorite quilt designers, plus a few that I have heard of, but have never visited their blogs!

Each designer has a particular day where they will share a free pattern that will be perfect for gift giving or making for yourself.  To find out more information, visit Gudrun.   She's the designer who came up with this great idea!    To add to the fun, all of the designers will be sharing a Christmas memory of long ago and more!  (You will find a list of the designers and links to their blogs at Gudrun's.)

The blog hop starts tomorrow (Monday, November 9) and ends on November 20. Terry Atkinson said that she is going to make a Christmas quilt during the blog hop.  That sounds like fun!  I may do that, too!!!

Have a great evening!

Amanda

Pumpkin Gobs

It's been busy around here, as usual.  Steve's parents and his Aunt and Uncle are still visiting.  Although we've had a fun week, I haven't had time to blog or sew.  

I just looked at the heading of my last post, "Sew and Tell" Friday.  I don't have anything to post about sewing this week, but be sure to check out everyone's sewing accomplishments this week at Amy's blog here. 

Today they are wanting me to make Pumpkin Gobs, little cookies that I discovered when I lived in PA while visiting a pumpkin farm one day.  It's become a fall favorite around here, so I thought I would share the recipe with you!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients:

Two cups of brown sugar

1 cup of shortening

2 eggs

2 cups of canned pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups of flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the brown sugar, eggs, and the shortening.  Add in pumpkin and vanilla.  To the mixture add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice.  Blend well.

Drop on lightly greased cookie sheet whatever size cookie you desire.  Smooth and flaten slightly.  It's important to make the cookies all the same size and that the bottoms are flat.  You will be sandwiching them together with the cream cheese filling after they have finished cooling.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.

Filling:

8 ounces of cream cheese

1/2 stick of butter

2 tsp vanilla

1 pound of powdered sugar

Mix together and spread between two cookies.

Let me know if you bake these.  Hopefully you will love them as much as we do!

By the way, the article in the paper about the postal worker retiring was in the paper on Wednesday.  My name was in bold lettering, so everyone at Quilt Guild yesterday was calling me a celebrity.  It says

"Amanda (then my last name), who was mailing quilting squares, said she's been using the downtown postal station for 13 years.  Unable to get all the squares in the cardboard mailer, (my last name) handed it over to Abney who shoved and squished the material until it fit in the package.  'He's always so helpful,' she (that's me) said.

(My last name) belongs to an online quilt swap.  When the quilter receives her package, she will mail 100 squares to (my last name). "

I don't think the reporter fully understood what I was doing, but the article was great.  It's funny, but, even though that particular postman has been sending my packages and selling me stamps for the past 13 years, I never knew his name.  I do know, however, that Jane received my Red and Aqua Disappearing 9-patch  blocks, so I guess all of his shoving and squishing were okay.  I do remember asking him if that was "legal"!  :)

Have a great weekend, everyone! 

Edit:  My thoughts  and prayers go out to the soilders and their families who were either killed or injured in the attack at Fort Hood.   My dear blogging friend, Cherri House, has a son, Luke, who is stationed at Fort Hood.  Luke wasn't killed nor was he injured, but Cherri has a special request on her blog I thought I would share with you.  May God bless all the families affected  and everyone at Fort Hood. 

Sew and Tell Friday

First of all, thank you to everyone who left a comment or facebooked me wishing me a happy birthday.  I had tears streaming down my face as I read them!

                                     

This is my grandson, Cameron, and I sharing the birthday Sombrero at the Mexican food restaurant where our families took us to dinner to celebrate our big day.  I got a Wii, a purse, a quilting book, money to shop for fabric, and a night out to the movies with my son. 

I got several things accomplished this week for Sew and Tell Friday.

  

                                                          

About three years ago I made valances for my family room and "not so formal" formal living room.  I decided a few months ago that my valances needed the side panels to go with them to sort of dress things up a bit.  So, I bought 10 yards of fabric and 10 yards of lining and got busy!!

                                                  

All in all I made 8 panels.   I really love the look and  I think it makes everything look complete.   This photo is how the curtains look in my family room.  As you can see, I now have a large screen TV on top of my entertainment center, which can seem sort of , well, not pretty.   I'm all about making things look as pretty and the curtain panels were exactly what it needed. 

The other project I got completed this week were the 25 blocks for the Red and Aqua Disappearing 9-Patch Swap.  Here they are as 9-patches,

but I forgot to shoot their picture once I got them all cut into their little 6 1/4" squares.  They looked so cute! 

I have to tell you this story.  Today when I went in the post office to mail my little 100 squares I sort of had a hard time squeezing the little cuties into my $4.95 flat rate package.  My favorite postal worker (big, tall, doesn't smile much, has that "oh it's you again" look on his face, but he's really sweet) squeezed them in all nice and neat.  As I was writing the check to pay for everything, there was this lady standing to the side.  I heard him say, "Yes. She told me you were coming in this afternoon."  "Yes, this is my last day".  I said, "Are you retiring?"  He said he was, and I said, "Awwwwww I will miss you!!!"  He got this odd look on his face and said, "Really?"  I said," Who's going to take care of me when I do swaps?  You're always so sweet about it!!"  He just smiled.  So, the lady standing to the side just so happened to be a newspaper reporter.  She said, "Since you're such a fan of his do you mind if I do an interview with you?"  So I did and it will be in the newspaper on Wednesday.  I'll let you know how it goes.  I just hope she doesn't make me sound stupid. 

Thanks, again, to everyone for all the happy birthday wishes.  It was a great birthday.  I apologize for not responding to your e-mails, yet.  On top of sewing curtains and 9-patch blocks, I was also super cleaning because Steve's parents and his Aunt and Uncle drove in from Shreveport, LA today to stay for a week. 

Be sure to check out all the other Sew and Tell Friday sewers at Amy's. It's always fun to see what everyone accomplished for the week. 

Have a great weekend!

Amanda

Fall Decorating Idea Tutorial

This is an idea that was inspired by one of my favorite magazines, Country Living.  I'm always on the lookout for something quick, affordable, and easy to create. 

                                            

  Here's what you'll need:

1 Hurricane Glass Candle Holder (I got mine from Dollar General for $2.)
1 orange candle
1 bag of candy corn
a piece of twine

Fill the bottom of the candle holder with candy corn.

Place the candle in the center, and add more candy corn to support the candle to keep it from leaning to the side.

                                             

Wrap the piece of twine around the candle holder and tie in a pretty bow.

For Halloween you could add a spider ring to the twine and sit it on a table runner.

                                

Every once in a while I forget that I put the spider there and I jump when I see it.  So, if you're deathly afraid of spiders, just skip that part. 

For a Fall table scape you could sit them in between pumpkins as I have done here.

                                      

I found these pumpkins 50% off at Hobby Lobby.  I also found the sunflower floral pick 50% off there, as well.  The quilt on the table is one that I made several years ago (and wondered why in the world I made it).  Last year I was looking around my house for a fall themed table cloth and I ran across this quilt (from the bottom of the stack) and it went perfect with my pumpkins.  The adorable leaf table runner I found on sale at K-Mart pulls everything together.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.  I love to decorate my home for the seasons/holidays and sharing my ideas with you. 

Today is my birthday.  This is the first time in many, many years that my husband has been home for my birthday. We usually celebrate on a weekend that he is home, and I end up spending my actual birthday alone.   Tonight we're celebrating with my kids and grand-kids so it will be loud and fun!!!  I can't wait!!!