Pajama's and a quilt are ready to send to a grandson for his 4th birthday!

The flannel pj's are a "smiling monkey" print on yellow. Yellow is a great color for B3 and it seems that monkey's are really "in" right now....and appropriate for a cute someone who climbs and clowns a lot!

The quilt, for the "big boy" bed is a simple, colorful bright "4-patch" pieced by my mom, this little guy's great grandmother,....we send it his way with lots of love!

Cooler weather and the season of zucchini make it time for baking!

The photo above is of the recipe found here! I'm looking forward to trying this one as it makes one loaf and will be just what we need here, for the 3 of us....it is called a breakfast bread...yummm!

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Supper tonight is Portuguese white bean and kale soup....another cool weather favorite!

When I make soup, I read several recipes and then improvise or play....using what I have on hand. White beans, kale, sausage, chicken broth, carrots, potatoes, onion, fresh thyme, canned chopped tomatoes....and I may serve it with some wonderful bread, or even tortilla chips, as I have a real affinity toward them!

Sketched and scanned.....



Painting is such fun....but so is quilting, and knitting and cooking....oh well!

A chilly October morning.....I pull out my paints.

This is the "Last Bouquet" as the frost will change things tonight!

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Painting takes my mind off of these colorful (two-toned red) shoes.....which are perfect for an artist and even have my name on them! LOL!

Right now, my size is unavailable....we will see.....

http://www.onlineshoes.com/womens-el-naturalista-n284-otono-lila-leather-p_id219887

This caught my eye since I have alwas loved "paper dolls"....



"The world is round," said Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, "so that friendship may encircle it."

Enjoying a wonderful week here in Minnesota with our new grandson, !

The October weather is fabulous and so is this sweetie!

My son and DIL and baby 
 took me out for coffee at a local garden center/decorating center/coffee shop......fun!
Here is the little guy....almost 6 weeks old!

After a day or so of slow life...resting with the sinus or cold thing....I was back to "busy"!

These sweaters were finished and sent to the grandchildren, pink for the twin girls and orange for their older brother!

I am still enjoying working on my "Mitered Crosses" knitted blanket. [ I did discover that as often happens with my distractable mind, I made more work for myself by not completely reading how to knit the colorful mitered center crosses....it could have been done with far fewer loose ends if I had followed her directions!LOL!] Also, I am practicing with my non-dominate hand and knitting the lavendar background in the "picking" rather than "throwing" method of knitting....so there is an even greater irregularity here, the true "handmade" look!

These two art quilts have just been given labels, "Morning Mist--Springtime in the Ozarks", and "Wild Roses". Both have been donated to an art auction for the local women's shelter.

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Now I fly to meet my new grandson, a month old....5 weeks! I can hardly wait and will be back with photos from Minnesota!

Here is a collage I made for a friend....it says, "art saves our dreams". So true!
Autumn is a time when I love to do "art" (and other creative activities) non-stop.
Even on days like today, when I am "under the weather" and still planning to go in to work my shift at our local fabric store....it is hard for me to just rest until time to go.

Perhaps a new collage should say, "rest saves our dreams too!" I found some wonderful thoughts on this here.

Ann Voskamp can really express the underlying reality of each moment!

Enjoy! [Then rest!]

First day of autumn, yesterday was a wonderful, perfect equinox day!
Mom, our friend, Paula and I set out to have a little fun at a local quilt shop. Here, near the shop, we are in a city park with an antique railroad car.

The night before, we had been at the Quilt Guild meeting and were given a dark red solid fabric to use in a challenge. I had jumped right in and started this but now needed a fabric for the outer edges of my "Seeking Balance" contemporary design ....

This one, from the shop's sale fabrics should work very well! It is a" RED, White and maybe a little BLUE" challenge....well, mine is quite a bit blue. I am loving indigo again.....


There was also this yard of purple Amy Butler "LOVE" (retro 60's!) fabric. I think a skirt for my granddaughter could be just what it needs to become!

Today, inspired by all the exposure to quilting....I am going through my stash, trying out fabrics which might set off this hand-pieced and appliqued block of a blackbird on a "Russian sunflower".


And, THE package came today!...I now have 21 balls of medium indigo "TRUE BLUE" cotton yarn to use in knitting this "Cornish Knit Frock" [ from "Indigo Knits" by Jane Gottelier].

Indigo again---A knitting book from our library on Indigo Knits (by Jane Gottelier, British knitwear designer) is all about knitting with indigo dyed yarn. This one (below) caught my eye!

It is the "Cornish Knit Frock". I have just ordered yarn [originally from South Africa, where they are known for working with indigo (and at 60% off!--Elann yarns)] to knit this one.....

And if you have a young "pirate' who needs a jacket, check out this!

Perfect for "Talk like a pirate day".....September 19th!

We're having a cool overcast day with light rain.....after a VERY hot summer, this is wonderful!
My life today with scraps and zinnia's is a jumble of color! I love it!

Using the antique Singer featherweight, I am making "string pieced", 60 degree triangles. This is done by first cutting scrap paper into 5" (or you choose the size!) equilateral triangles. Then fabric strips or "strings" are sewn down to the paper foundation. They look messy but are fun and trim down to be just the perfect unit for making a scrappy 6-pointed star quilt.

You can find a tutorial here for making the foundation pieced triangles. It was generously posted earlier by Crazy Mom Quilts!

Well fed and peacefully sleeping......my newest grandson in his father's arms...

(Being born at the end of summer allows for an outdoor photo shoot when one is only a week old! Photo by Matthew Skalski of Minneapolis. Great work, Matthew!)

Oh, yes, Grandma loves those dimples!

Beautiful, beautiful "Silk Garden" yarns by NORO......an update on my knitting project.

I've been knitting the small mitered squares which will make the Mitered Crosses blanket when they are sewn together.....

You can find a lovely example of the blanket here . And order the pattern too!

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If I have any yarn left over, I plan on using it to accent this altered sweater. The pullover was found in a trift store, cut open off center and will have decorative buttons too.....more to come!

The "busy-baby" summer continues in our family!


While daughter Laura was busy juggling her twin daughters Sophie Jane and Nina Kate, (cute!!, huh?).......

our son  and DIL  delivered a perfect grandson!!!

I can hardly wait to meet little guy! [and another trip to see those smiling, cooing granddaughters would also be fabulous!]

[Many thanks to family members who took these photos!]

What gifts!
Peaches from a local orchard and fresh basil from the garden of a friend!

Not only do they make a pretty picture together, but, I remember seeing recipes which combine them....

....after reading through several (they use way too much sugar!) I have a plan!

Peaches are chopped and put into a bowl. The basil is chopped and heated in a small saucepan with 3/4 c. water and 3 T. honey. just 'til it simmers.

Pour over the peaches. Cover and let flavors blend for an hour or so.

Serve over pound cake and with vanilla frozen yogurt! Yum! Luscious!

Grandma time----Nina Kate and Sophie Jane.

Love those darlings!!!! [these photos were taken the day after I left last week!]

Beautiful zinnias have been the best thing from the garden this hot summer!

A friend gave me seeds for the green zinnia variety. That new color certainly "cools" down the bouquet!
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For months, I have been reading about making mozzarella and ricotta. I have collected the supplies, citric acid, milk, thermometer, rennet, pans and all....finally Saturday I was ready!

It was my first try, and a long story.....I ended up with some curds, and finally.....

.....RICOTTA!

A lot of ricotta (and at least 3 quarts of whey).[ I agonized over a great way to use that whey (hate to waste anything! And decided since using it in baking wouldn't happen until the weather cools and I didn't have room to store it in the freezer or fridge....that probably using it for a bathtub treat would do...I did read that drinking it could make your skin glow and remove redness! so many possiblilties!]

This beautiful ricotta (below) was used with an eggplant to make Rachel Ray's Eggplant Lasagna.

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Another thing I have been wanting to do was to piece a "Russian Sunflower" block. In honor of our drive across Kansas this summer. [And because my friend Lizzie found a entire wonderful scrappy quilt top of this pattern in a flea market recently!]

It is an old Kansas City Star pattern and I found it in a book called, The Sister Blocks" by Edie McGinnis.
My block......

Lizzie's quilt top....

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One more topic.....where had the shine in my hair gone to???? Even with gentle natural hair color products, there were days when I felt like I now had straw on my head!

Thankfully, I found this wonderful product which makes it glow! A spritz or two on dry hair and wow!

And this one, which Good Housekeeping loved in their recent tests......it makes the hair stronger, softer and shinier!!!! ...... I feel much better now!!!!

The twins today..... (actually this past weekend!)

Nina napping (above) and sweet Sophie (below)

In the crib together....

Big brother "Boogie" (... nickname because he love to dance and perform).
At 3.5 years already thinks that "Girls like me if I have my shirt open...." [Has he been reading the Abercrombie and Finch catalog????
Is this the end of civilization as we have known it??? He goes to a Christian pre-school....where did he pick this up....the Disney channel???? Probably!]