Lucky #16

And the winner is.... #16.

Josie McRazie said...

love it and am looking forward to getting into more of the tutorials! LOVE the Love in Pink and Streak of Lightning!

Thanks to everyone who took an editorial look at my new site. I appreciate it very very much.

Christmas Wishes

Merry Christmas and God Bless every single one of you sweet readers!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Inspired by...

Two this time.

First up is Go Gingham.
She inspired me to pick all of my basil just before our first expected frost and make a giant batch of pesto. It was all packed into jars and put in the freezer so we could enjoy it all winter long.
Isn't that a good idea? I wish I had thought of it myself. Years ago!!


Second is Pinterest...or more specifically pelinchef as pinned on Pinterest.

Doesn't that look so so so yummy??!!
Not to mention the beautiful photography.

Now if you pop over to this blog, you are gonna need a translator, because it is in a foreign language. But if you are like me, you can just skim the photos (if needed) and improvise.
This is where my ready-made pesto comes in. And I have a loaf of my favorite bread dough rising in the bread machine right now. When it is ready, I am gonna take it out and use my best cinnamon roll making skills to make these pesto rolls.

I'll let you know it works out.
Oh yum.

And just in case you need a really good pesto recipe, here's mine. (This recipe actually came from my friend Linda C, who is THE BEST cook in the county and quite possibly the whole world, but I have been using it for many many years. And it is the ONLY one I use. So I really think of it as mine. Even though it isn't.)

Lemon Pesto:
3 c packed basil leaves
3/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c olive oil
1/2 c pine nuts
2 cloves of garliczest and juice of 1 lemon

puree all in a food processor. s&p to taste. enjoy.

Update:
So far, so good.
Ready to rise.
One for now and one for later.

Who Knew??

Do you love pomegranates??
Me too.

Do you hate peeling them??
ME TOO!!

You have simply got to watch this video by Martha Stewart.
It will change your life!!

Ok, maybe it won't change your whole life, but it is sure gonna free up a lot of time.
And eliminate those sore, purple finger tips.
My guy is outside right now picking a pomegranate
(in the dark!!) so I can try this for myself.
How exciting.

Update: It really works!
Martha Stewart ROCKS.

It's Giveaway Time!!

Guess who has a brand new website?
Yep, it's me. And I want to share it with you.
So hop on over there and take a look around. (Link here.)
And while you're there, take note of your 2 favorite patterns. Cause that's what I will send you when you win this giveaway!!

How to enter??
1- leave me a comment letting me know what you think about the new site. (1 entry)
2- let me know if you spot any problems (ie: broken links or spelling errors, etc). (5, that's right, five additional entries for your editorial time and talents!!)
3- write a little post about this giveaway on your blog, and let me know that you did. (1 entry)

Winner will be drawn at random and announced on Tuesday, 12/27.
I hope you win!!

Inspired by...

Pinterest!!
Or, more specifically Fresh, as pinned on Pinterest.
She made (and photographed) these:

Oh my, oh my, oh my.
I knew when I pinned this that it was in my very near future.
And today, the very near future has arrived.

The directions and ingredients were simple enough.
So was the process. Except getting the salt to stick. I had a little bit of trouble with that part.
Mine don't have that pretty dusted look that Fresh's does. But that's ok.

I am going to a Christmas party tonight, and these little beauties are going with me. They are part of the gift for my secret name. Oh, I hope she likes them.

If you want to make some Salted Carmel Pears too, click here for the recipe.

I am also giving her this.

Cute, huh??
This is one of the patterns in the pattern shop. It comes with the words THANKS, MERRY and LOVE. You can find it here. There are also a few kits and ready made pillows left from fall market. You can find those here. (Quantities are very limited!)

Follow THIS LINK for a sweet little Christmas read by Susan Branch.

Block 4: Simple Stars

It's time to add another little bit to the Autumn's Bounty BOM.
This month it will be 3 little stars. And you can download the pattern here.

These are pretty simple, so I don't really have any tips for you.
Ok, maybe just 1.
Make them!!
Don't put them on the to do list.
Don't think "Oh I will catch up next month", or "I'm too busy, it's Christmas time".
No, no. Just make them!!

And one little sneak-peek into the future: Next month will be our last month of just making parts. After that, we will start assembling all of these lovely little pieces into a lovely little quilt.

And one more sneak-peak: a give away is coming very soon!!

A follow-up note: For some reason, Internet Explorer does not always want to open the pdf downloads. I have no idea why. But, if you are having trouble opening the pattern in IE, you might want to try opening it in Firefox. It is a more reliable browser.
And if there are any techies out there who can tell me what I can do to minimize the problem, well then bring on the advice!!!

Wreaths

Way back when I was in high school, I took a class in ornamental horticulture. It was a great class. We did all kinds of things like grow giant cabbages and celery, study citrus diseases, and memorize the latin names of everything green. I remember no latin, have never grown celery again, and I avoid disease ridden citrus!! But there were 2 things about that class that have stayed with me my whole life.

First was a pumpkin field that another student and I planned, managed and made a little money from. I think that adventure was probably what started my absolute love of pumpkins, (and my dread of driving anything blue, with multiple gear shifts, and 2 different sized tires. But that is a story for another day!!)

Second was wreath making. A young student teacher showed up one day, out of the blue, with lesson plans and a permit. She loaded us all up into pick-up trucks and drove us up into the national forest where we proceeded to cut boughs and boughs of beautiful pine and fir. We hauled it all back to the greenhouse at school and the next day she taught us to make wreaths!

It has been a beloved part of my Christmas Season ever since. Except, I use bay now, since it grows prolifically around here.

The process goes something like this:

And they smell as good as they look!

I should have made you a tutorial, but I forgot to take pictures of each step!!

Advent

The Advent season is here!

We love Advent calendars of all kinds.
We have used many over the years, always homemade.
And to us, Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without an Advent.
Of course, Jesus is the reason for the season, so ours always focuses on presenting Christ.
Here are the ones that we have pressed into service this year:

This one is hanging at our house.

This one is at my brother's, made it for my little nephew.

This one hangs at Courtney's.

This one is Becca's.

And this is the newest one. I made it for Kyle, our future son in law.

Each one contains 24 verses about Christ and 24 little candies.
If you would like a PDF copy of the verses, you can download it here.
They are all printed on pretty small tiles, so they will fit into most advent calendars.

Enjoy.

Yellow

Everything is turning yellow around here.

A sure sign of autumn. Even though it is almost Christmas!!

The Euryops Daisies are in full bloom.
And they will keep blooming until mid summer!

The raspberry vines are fading away, in preparation for next spring.

And so are the cherry trees.

And the pomegranates. But isn't their final show just beautiful!

So long November.

Rush Rush Rush is Bad

I needed to get to the post office today. I had a couple of packages to mail. But one thing led to another, and then another. And then all of the sudden it was 4:20! And I didn't even have the packaging yet!!

So I flew down the hill and stopped at the store to get what I needed. But I neglected to bring (or buy) scissors. So, what should have been a simple wrapping job quickly became a chore. And let's not forget that the clock was tick-tick-ticking away.

So, I was standing in the passenger door of my car wrapping up (aka: doing battle with) my packages when all of the sudden I heard a man's voice right behind me. It startled me so badly that I jumped.... and screamed....out LOUD!!

Can you believe it?? It was kind of like:

Or maybe even like:

Now, for the record, this is my standard reaction any and every single time I cross paths with a rattlesnake. Any snake really. And actually, that is usually how I become aware of the presence of a snake. All of the sudden, without warning, I am jumping up and down and screaming like a lunatic. All of that happens, and THEN I look around to see what is going on, and sure enough there is always a rattlesnake near-by.

Except today. There was no rattlesnake anywhere to be seen. Just a nice little old man holding the newspaper. And backing away. And saying how sorry he was to have frightened me.

Good Grief!!

Turns out he was lost and just needed directions.

I repeat: Good Grief!!

So, after both of our hearts started beating again, I was able to direct him to his destination (1 street over!) and then jump in my car and race for the post office. And I got there with eight minutes to spare!! Which would have been perfect, except they closed at 4:00, not 5:00.

I repeat: Good Grief!

It is just never good to be in a rush. And apparently, it is also not good to ask a stranger, who is wrapping packages in her car, for directions. I'm just sayin'....

PS: I did not take those 2 photos. I downloaded them from my favorite free photo site. And how perfect was it to find a corgi and a black cat, since I have both!

Inspired by...

Stone Gable.

I love the art of Tablescape.

And I want to be a "tablescap-er".

Now, to be honest, I can set a nice enough table.
And I have set many over the years.
But they are not gorgeous. They are not tablescapes.

But this year I started following a blog called Stone Gable.
And, my oh my can Yvonne set a gorgeous table.
So I have been studying her techniques.

Number 1 on the list seems to be using too many dishes.
So for my Thanksgiving Feast I gave each guest 3 plates and 1 bowl.
This was a palty little number, compared to what happens over at
StoneGable, but it was all I had. None the less, it was enough to
require my guests to ask me what they were excepted to do with
all those dishes!

Number 2 on the list: a show-piece of some kind at each place setting.
So I filled mini pumpkins and gourds with daisies from my yard.

Number 3: a beautiful centerpiece.
Something that really makes a statement.
So I rounded up every little piece of "fallness" that I could gather,
and placed it down the center of the table on a quilted runner.

It turned out so pretty.
Thank you, Yvonne for the inspiration!!

Click the link in my sidebar if you want to see Yvonne's handiwork for yourself.

Inspiration

Who inspires you?
What inspires you?
Is it color? Texture? Smell? Love? Loud boisterous gatherings, or being alone with your thoughts?
Does it come on all of the sudden or grow over time?
Does it hit in the middle of the night when you are trying to sleep?
Do you get out of bed and do something about it??

I have been wanting to do a series of blog posts about being inspired.

Inspired by my girlfriends.
Inspired by quilters.
Inspired by other bloggers.
Inspired by the Pinnners on Pintrest.
Inspired by my favorite magazines.
And the list goes on and on.

So today I am going to start that series. And let's see where it goes. Maybe you will find yourself inspired too!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a blessed day with families and friends!

Preparations

The Pie...

The Stuffing...

The gravy...


Oh yum!!
I hope your prep is going well and smelling good too.
Hugs

Settlin'

While we were in Houston, we had to split up our little pets. Each had their own sitter. And it worked out pretty well.

But they are happy to be home. And together. Just the two of them. Napping to the fullest.



I wish we were finding it so easy to come home and settle back in!
Some how the hustle and bustle of getting ready, and getting there, and being there, and then getting back home again has left us out of sorts. "Settled" seems to be elusive (or at least gradual) for now.
Maybe tomorrow....

Block 3: Aunt Addie's Album

Well, well, well.
It seems like we are about due to add a little bit more to our BOM.
Are you ready?? Are you all caught up?? Looking forward to a bit more??
I hope the answers were yes, yes and yes!

This month we are going to add three more blocks.
Aunt Addie's Album.
It is an old favorite that has been around for a long long time. But, if you don't make a lot of traditional blocks or stars, it may be new to you.

Click here to download your copy of the pattern.

There are no big tricks for these blocks other than keeping some good contrast between the two fabrics that make up the star points.
The background fabrics can be all the same or all different, but be sure to keep them in your chosen color family. (What I mean is that you need to use the fabrics you chose for the "background". Mine is black, just like the string blocks.)

If you are new to the BOM, you can click here to get started from the beginning.

Happy stitching!

My Nemsis!

Wondering why in the world I would have a nemesis?
And why in the world it would be the lovely Jennifer Sampou??
The designer of FABULOUS fabric.
Well let me just tell you....
(previous post)

Losing is Bad

I know I have been MIA.
For a while.
A long long while.
And I am sorry about that.
But I am almost ready to resume my regular life.
Market goes for another week, and then I will have some stuff to share.
Like the new pattern line.....ohhhh, ahhhhh.

Ok. Enough groveling and excuse making.
I really just wanted to check in and complain.
Because that's what I do.
Complain.
Ok, not really. But I have some new followers and they might think that.
Since I am just popping in to complain.
On a Sunday.
From Houston.
What a whiner.

So here's the deal.
This is my booth here in Houston.
I am number 2054.





Isn't it a fab booth?!

My guy isn't impressed with it at all.
He still can't believe I had him pack a door and a tree.
To haul "all the way to Texas"??!!
And don't even mention that pumpkin topiary or the big trunk.

But who cares what he thinks.
This is a prize winning booth!!
Come on man, get in the spirit!
Give me a "W". Give me an "I". Give me an "N".
Yeah!!
Ok, enough of that pep business.

Anyway, I know that they judge the booths after hours.
So every night before we leave, I sweep the floor and tidy and fluff.
Oh, the anticipation.
I can hardly stand it.

So, today they made the big announcement.
And wouldn't you know it, I was busy talking to shop owners and I missed the whole thing.
Did I win?? Did I??
Maybe my guy heard it.
But no, a few minutes later he appeared asking me if I had won.
He too had missed the announcement.
So he headed off to find out.......

And guess what?
I wasn't even considered for a prize because I have a half-booth.
WHAT!!!
All that sweeping and fluffing and door hauling, and I wasn't even considered.
This is such a bummer.
Half booth. It's like being sub-human.
Not even considered.

Oh well. Better luck next time and all that jazz.

And if you would like to read about more of the "Bad" things I like to complain about, click here.

Block 2: Little Strings

Hello Hello
Are you looking for Block 2?
Well you're in luck, because I just happen to have Block 2 sitting right here waiting for little ol' you!

It is called Little Strings and looks a lot like this:

It's kind of a nod to my current (and very tiny, miniscule, hardly worth mentioning really) obsession with string quilts.

You will need to make 3 of these in your chosen background color.

A few notes that you might find helpful:
~Do you see that little strip of white/gray. I regretted that very much. Don't do that.
~Do you see that there are lots of different black prints, but there is no huge difference in scale or shade. Do that.
~And don't be afraid to use a different color as your background. The first one I made was this black one, and the second one I made was tan. And they are both cute.

I guess that's it. If you have any questions or problems send me a little email (rana@sewnintothe fabric.com) and I will try to help.

Harvest Time

Finally!
We are finally picking things out of the garden. Actually, this harvest was from a few weeks ago, but I am just now finding time to mention it.

And just like that we had more than we could eat quickly.
So most of the green beans went into the pantry.

And the overgrown zucchini?

Double chocolate zucchini cupcakes.

And tortilla soup.
Oh yum! It was a good week at the ol' dinner table.

Introducing Autumn's Bounty

A Free Block of the Month!

Autumn is nipping at our heels, and you know what that means:
Pumpkins
Gorgeous Leaves
Back to School
Crickets
Hay Rides
Corn Mazes
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Spice Lattes
Nippy Mornings
Halloween
Cider
Mums
And, of course, the perfect quilting weather!

So, let's celebrate it all with a fun new BOM.
This pattern was inspired by my quilting girlfriends.
We are taking a year off from our usual round-robin quilt projects and doing this mystery BOM instead.
Join us if you want to. It's gonna be fun. And did I mention, it has an Autumn theme.

Block 1: The Pumpkin

Grab the BOM Button!

<center> <a href="http://piecesofranaslife.blogspot.com/2011/09/introducing-autumns-bounty.html"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGSW-vHpB0INm_AUaIhlF7Z7lv8GlmswiSRZWmnu7wmJMDt6VskVVZFH5yCe-ijwjSnWFbcr9FSEW91DCC8evwJkKTKNbZGPl52qPskAnNm9-krriPErQE0lZqj_ACe8ucN6lcn_B_zvXL/s230/freeBOM+copy.png"/></a></center>

Update: I was recently made aware of the fact that I did not come back to this post and link in Block 4. Oopsies!!

But, in all honesty, I will probably not remember this faux pas a month from now either!!
So... please remember I will post the next block on the second Monday of every month. And don't get left behind!!



Did you hear about our new POM??!!
If not, you can check it out here and here.