VROOMANS QUILTS

Thursday, November 29, 2018

More Cookies

Today is the last day of the Virtual Cookie Exchange. I swear you will gain 50 pounds just looking at all the wonderful recipes being shared.

Some lovely holiday traditions may be one that you also have. Don't have a tradition? Maybe start a new one.

A lot of inspirations holiday quilts, projects, and crafts being shared, along with some tutorials and patterns. And a few give aways here and there.

I'm posting the full list so you can take the time to catch all of this:

November 27

Kwilty Pleasures

Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Happy Cottage Quilter

Sew Many Yarns

For The Love Of Geese

November 28

Creatin' in the Sticks

Adventurous Applique and Quilting

November 29

Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life

Kathleen McMusing

DesertSky Quilting

Life in the Scrapatch

Ridge Top Quilt

Cynthia's Creating Ark

Bejeweled Quilts by Barb

Pumpkin Patch Patterns & Quilting

Operation Domestic Goddess

Just Let Me Quilt

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

I would like to thank CAROL for organizing and hosting this wonderful Hop each year at this time. This year was a little change to the game by not just offering a cookie recipe, but also a tradition and/or a holiday quilt.

I will admit that I am not a baker. I was able to handle the job good enough when my kids were young and we made the most basic cookies. I think good cookies are a real art and those that make those OMG treats are true artists. So what's a non-baker doing in a cookie exchange?

Well, there are a lot of no bake recipes out there that help us non-bakers share during the holiday seasons. This is one of my favorites as it has all my fav bits of season tastes rolled into one cookie. You can substitute your favorite nut if you don't like pecans.

The tradition that has been passed down thru our family is putting an orange into the toe of each stocking. My daughter is following still with this tradition with her own children. There are many stories to the 'why' of this tradition, but it had always meant filling the New Year with riches. Oranges were hard to come by at the time of year or even during the war(s) and depression. An orange was a treasure as well as nuts and a little bit of chocolate (same reasons). Also, an orange could be shared. With it's many sections, it could be divided up for many to enjoy - encouraging share with what you have.

I am not one who likes to work with traditional holiday fabrics. I've been wanting to play with Kaffe Fassett for some time and this Hop came to the perfect match. The pattern is The No Bake Jolly Bar Quilt - how cool is that. Jolly Bars are 5" x 10" strips that come in bundles of 42. My Kaffe was 6" x WOF, but it worked and you can certainly cut your own stash.

I had fun quilting this with a lot of straight lines in different color threads matching colors in the prints - and a lot of white thread, too.

As a thank you for visiting and my 'share of the season', I have a give away of a layer cake (no thread) of the collection of 'Winter Flurries' by Connecting Threads. This would make a fun No Bake Quilt or any pattern you wish. Please be sure I have a way to contact you - winner to be drawn on Dec 1st.

Please be sure to visit the other Hosts today:

Creatin' in the Sticks

Adventurous Applique and Quilting

Bumbleberry Stitches

Melva Loves Scraps

Beaquilter

Sewingly Yours,

Sharon

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Monday Making

I have been in quilting mode the last few days. It has been extremely cold, snowy, icy, and having a car that needs repair - house bound has led to the perfect timing for this. Four quilts have been finished and I have two more sandwiched/basted ready for a showdown.

They will wait for tomorrow as today I am heading out to sit and sew with some guild members. We are making a snowman hanger for a community decoration event - the streets lined with snowmen made by various groups as part of the season celebration.

I wanted to share something my SIL made. I think she found it on a DYI site and made a few of them. Those are canning lids - she found silver ones at a dollar store and gold ones at Walmart. The small ornaments are another dollar store find as well as the wired ribbon. She used a special metal glue to hold the lids (the glue they had recommended didn't work). A different seasonal project that is not too costly.

Don't forget the Cookies tomorrow:

Kwilty Pleasures

Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Songbird Designs

Creative Latitude

Ms P Designs USA

Gray Barn Designs

Alycia Quilts

Happy Cottage Quilter

Sew Many Yarns

For The Love Of Geese

I'm going to enjoy 'do you want to build a snowman' with friends,

Sewingly Yours,
Sharon

Friday, November 23, 2018

Special Feline Friday

Today SARAH is hosting a special link-up for us to honor all those wonderful furkids that have blessed our lives. I unfortunately have no photos of past furballs (before blogging), but I do have fond memories.

Growing up on a large working farm, we had a LOT of cats thru the years. They got their morning and night 'milk' ration when the cows were tended to, but then they had to do their duty and catch vermine as another food source. When we poured that milk, it was the only time we knew how many were on the farm!

The patriarch was a Huge (size of a dog I swear) dirt brown cat with all white paws - Boots. He was ferocious in caring for his property, but always there for a skritch behind the ear. He loved to sleep in my one sister's old baby carriage on the porch right next to the door. If he didn't like someone, they didn't get in the house. He, also, loved to swim in our pool.

The matriarch was an odd 'mustard' color gal - Mustard (of course). Barn cats were not allowed in the house, but she got snuck in from time to time. She had fur like a rabbit - so soft; and the loudest purr I have ever heard on a cat. One day she met at us at the door on our way out for school with a large hole between her eyes. Someone had shot her, but that didn't stop her - she lived another 10 yrs after with that 'third' eye.

When the cows went, so did the cats. It wasn't until I had my kids that kitties came back on the scene. Two all black brother/sister act. My kids loved them. Before they turned one, we lost the brother and the sister never got over it. She turned mean toward the kids so she was given to a new home and long story short - became the first cat for the new SHEBA cat food.

Many years later, I adopted my son's cat as he would be gone for some time. Bubba was another dog size cat and just like Boots so long ago - took his task of protecting/patroling the property rather seriously. As tough and rough as he was, when we had someone dump off their very sick and very pregnate cat - he tended her. She died with birthing, but Bubba helped in raising those six kittens and I think the softy missed them as each went off to a new home. He tempted all his nine lives with his daring (I watched him chase off a herd of dear from the yard once and the bear from the bird feeders) and was laid to rest on the farm.

Now I have my rescue kitties which show up on the the blog from time to time. Like all quilter's cats, they take their job helping and supervising quite seriously.

Bella was rescued from a poor situation with her twin sister - whom we lost. She's also been thru two floods and a tornado, so can we say stress? She's been by my side thru many of my health recoveries, so doesn't like it when I am gone too long from her.

Moe was rescued at the same time by my daughter - just up the road from Bella, so possibly they are 'related'. Moe became rather agressive to the new baby at the time and came to live with me. It took time for Bella to accept him and she will from time to time remind him who is the Queen around here. My 'Moe-in-a-Box' is my clown and the most laid back cat.

They are going into their 'winter' years and I promise them a forever home until they cross the rainbow bridge.

Be sure to visit Sarah Did It to see all the link ups. Maybe even join in.

Sewingly Yours,

Sharon