And the winner is.....

Rachell of Claddaghs Quilts and Stars, who had this to say:

hola! I've had a lot of fun scrolling through your blog!
Just beautiful work...especially your Granny Squares and that dreamy "Misty Summer Morning". Any tips for doing NYB ? I'm about to do my first one.
I don't have any Christmas fabric, and a Christmas quilt is on my wish list....this stack looks great! Your quilt reminds me of candy canes and rick rack on homemade Christmas tree ornaments.
Thank you for so much fun!

Congrats Rachell!
And any tips for doing NYB?
Well, yes! Check out my NYB tutorial here.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

Christmas in August!

Today is Day 7 of Quilters Newsletter's Best Christmas Quilts Blog Hop.
If this is your first time visiting my blog- Welcome!! And if not- I am glad you came back!! This is where I write about the "pieces of my life" which is the tag line for my pattern design company, Sewn into the fabric... Of course, quilting comes up every now and again, too!

So, Quilters Newsletter's Best Christmas Quilts 2012 issue is out on newsstands.
But you already knew that, right!!

It turns out that I have a little pattern inside this very fun and festive issue.
Quick, go get your copy and check out page 75! I'll wait for you......

And just in case you don't have a copy yet, here are the specifics:
This pattern is called Deck the Halls, and it is the newest pattern in my line of No Triangle! ZigZag patterns.
It is super easy to piece and the applique is done by machine. Totally beginner friendly! And chevron (zigzag) patterns are super hot right now. So, if you haven't stitched one up yet, give this one a try!

And, in case you need a little Christmas fabric incentive....

How about a fat quarter bundle of 'Tis the Season from Windham Fabrics!
And, of course, a copy of Best Christmas Quilts to go with it!
So much fun!! Aren't you glad you stopped by today?

Leave a comment on this blog post before 11:59 p.m. MDT tonight, August 28th, for a chance to win. I will draw one name at random. One comment per person, please. This giveaway is open to those who haven’t won anything from Quilters Newsletter in the last 90 days. Please include your email address in your post so you can be reached in the event you are the winner.

A big thank you to Quilters Newsletter for sponsoring this giveaway and hosting this blog hop!

Finally, click here if you need more information about following along with this hop.
And here if you want to see the full line of No Triangle! ZigZag patterns.

This Giveaway is now closed.

From Laundry to Mail

Remember this soap bucket?

It is now a mail carrier.

A CUTE mail carrier!

It kinda makes going to the post office a little less dreadful.

What do you think? Shall I post a tutorial, or does it look easy enough?

The Heart of the Season

We are right in the heart of harvest season, here in our little corner of the world.

And that means we are also in the heart of canning season.
Today it is all about tomatoes and tomatillos.

Maybe tomorrow I can trade my jars and rings for a needle and thread.

Brave....Moi??

Oh no no. Not at all.
As a matter of fact, never in the history of ....ever, have the words "That Rana Heredia, she is so brave", ever been uttered. Not even by small and frightened children.

No, I am more of a wimp and a whiner.
But, I am a whiner who likes to hang out by the river. With her feet in the water. And a good magazine. And iced tea. Lot's of iced tea.

But here's the rub....
In order to get to the water, you have to go down. See that rope?

Uh-huh. That's the way down.

To this beautiful and quiet spot. Where I wanted to sip tea and peruse articles written by Martha Stewart and her talented crew and watch the fish and ducks swim by.

So, it was with MUCH whining and wimping that me and Lula made it down to the bottom where we could enjoy our day by the water.
(And just to be clear, my guy carried Lula down. And he might have also carried my chair. And my iced tea. And a couple of magazines. And he may have even stood at the bottom and repeatedly yelled out things like: "Yes you can" "Come on" "You are fine" "You are taking forever, will you just get down here!" "I am drinking your tea and Lula already has her feet in the water"...)

And the way back up to the campsite....you guessed it.
Lucky for me going up is not nearly as scarey as going down!

And just so you don't think that I am such a big fat baby that I carry a stuffed animal around with me, I would like to remind you about the 2012 Sock Monkey Bingo game. "At the river" is one of the squares!

Granny Squares

There is an old -fashioned quilt block that I just love. It is called Courthouse Square.

It seems to have been revived as of late. But now, it appears to be known most commonly by the name "Granny Squares", because it reminds so many of us of the old crocheted afghan pattern that we all grew up with.

I had a mini-jelly roll hanging around and decided to transform it into a Granny Squares Quilt.

What do you think??
My bff loved it so much, that it is now living at her house!

A Start and a Finish

Let's start with the finish.

This quilt has been in my UFO pile for many many years.
It was inspired by a friend of mine who once made 4 little quilt blocks for me that she said were inspired by the colors of a misty summer morning. Doesn't that just sound so beautiful? She used soft blues and greens and yellows and pieced them into log cabin blocks. And in the process, she inspired me to be inspired.

So, this quilt is called Misty Summer Morning. It is made with purples and blues and grays and yellows and white. And the NYB block is framed up to look like a rising sun seen through a window. It makes me happy, in an early morning-full of promise-kind of way.

It turned out just exactly as I had imagined!

And now for the start.
I doesn't look like much does it!?

But I am hoping it will turn out just exactly as I have imagined!
I'll let you know.

Put Up

This week's canning is done!

I ended up with 22 quarts of tomatoes, 9 quarts of Italian tortellini soup, 13 rice bowls (packed into pint jars), 1 gallon of roasted anaheim peppers, 4 pints of pickled jalapeno rings, 1 pint of pepperoncinis, 2 quarts of chicken stock, 2 dozen zucchini muffins and 2 dozen zucchini mini-muffins. Whew!

This is my first time freezing unbaked muffins, so I really hope that it works out like I think it will. I did surf blog-land to find out how other folks were doing it, which is one of the best things about the internet...A wealth of experience at your finger tips!!

Here is my new favorite recipe for zucchini muffins. I think that they are the best ones I have ever eaten! Give them a try and let me know what you think.

Zucchini Poppy Seed Muffins:
2 c flour
3/4 t salt
3/4 t soda
1/4 t baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c oil
1/2 c buttermilk
3/4 t vanilla
3/4 t cinnamon
3 T poppy seeds
1 1/2 c of zucchini
Bake in regular size muffin tins at 400 for 18".
(Of course, I used a very generous measurement of zucchini. And whole wheat flour-Prairie Gold, which is THE BEST whole wheat flour in the world. It is grown by Wheat Montana . You can check them out here.)

Happy Baking.

The Day's To-Do List

The morning's harvest.

Well, not the tomatoes. We have no tomatoes.
Plants....yes. Green tomatoes....yes.
Red, ready to pick and eat tomatoes...no.
These tomatoes are a gift from my mom.
Thanks a million, Mom!

Now, my day is going to be all about "putting up" all of this produce.

Giant zucchini and Armenian Cucumbers.

I am thinking soup, bread, rice bowls and salad.


Pepperoncinis.

I am thinking pickled, like Mezzetta.


Bell Peppers.

These will just go into the fridge for my guy's AM omelets.

Green Beans.

I am thinking soup and rice bowls.

Jalapenos.

Definitely pickled, for future nachos!

Yellow Squash.

Yep, soup and rice bowls.

And this guy....

Well, he is gonna keep me company.
I have worked with him before. He is an excellent helper.

And in case my guy Jason gets tired, my boys Troy and

Eddie are waiting to jump in an keep things moving along.

Turns out, good help isn't all that hard to find after all!

August POM

It's pincushion time again!

This month's feature is Spiced Pears.


These pincushions are sweet and shapely, just like the real thing! They stand about 3" tall and have a little button on the leaf. They look lovely in both spring and fall colors. And, I can promise you that all of your sewing girlfriends will want one!

You can access the patterns here.

Happy Stitching!