The annual retreat/reunion at Missouri Star is winding up today and it looks like they had a ball getting to know each other and meeting the Doan family. I think Jenny Doan always makes thing fun.
Knowing that I wouldn't be able to attend the reunion this year I set out to make a few little door prizes and had such a good time making them. Here are the thread banners ~~
These were made with my embroidery machine and were ITH (In The Hoop) projects. I hope the recipients like them.
I'm thinking of making Plus Sign quilt next. So far I've pulled fabrics from my stash and I need to get busy cutting out squares.
Have a happy Sunday!
As requested (Pam), here's the recipe for the Pumpkin Dump Cake I baked yesterday. I got the recipe from the forum at Missouri Star:
Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 pan.
Mix together (by hand is fine) 1 can Pumpkin (15 ounces), 1 cup evaporated milk, 1 cup white sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour this mixture into the bottom of the pan.
Sprinkle a dry yellow cake mix evenly over the top of the pumpkin mixture and then sprinkle 1 cup of chopped pecans over the cake mix.
Melt two sticks of butter and drizzle over the top of the cake.
Bake 60 minutes. I took mine out at 55 minutes because the top looked like it was getting too brown. This cake is best served warm with whipped cream or ice cream. Your house will smell so-o-o good while this is baking.
I took the Girls out for a walk early this morning and Fall is definitely here ~~~ at least for today.
I wish you could smell how wonderful the house smells with a Pumpkin Dump Cake baking. I can smell the cinnamon, pumpkin and pecans baking together. Later today with some sweetened whipped cream we will have our first taste of Fall.
I also took the Summer quilt off our bed this morning, washed it and packed it away until next Summer. An old favorite is on our bed now. I didn't make this quilt but it's one of our favorites just the same. This is a quilt I don't mind the Girls sleeping on without protection. It washes beautifully and has served us well for many years. The Fall colors are easy to live with ~~
I have a large batch of stew meat cooking in the slow cooker and some homemade dinner rolls are rising. Jeff is going to be thrilled with his dinner. I haven't done my usual amount of cooking lately and it felt really good to be in the kitchen again.
Wishing you a fantastic Monday!
It's become our Saturday routine lately to pack ourselves and the Girls up and drive 90 minutes to our apartments to work. We are hoping we will have all the work done and everyone settled in so we can enjoy some free weekends this Fall and Winter.
We get to meet such interesting, and sometimes frustrating, people. A few of them over the years have become dear friends, a few have passed away and some come and go without imprinting our lives. It takes all kinds to make our world go round. For many years I watched the I Love Lucy sitcom. Believe me, the portrayal of the landlords (Fred & Ethel) had no basis in reality at all, but it made for an entertaining program.
Fall is so close you can taste it. It's the perfect time to gather together some friends for a bonfire and homemade goodies. A huge pot of chili or gumbo and cornbread sounds wonderful. Have you ever noticed how everything you eat outdoors tastes extra good?
My health has been a real concern lately, but I'm on the mend and beginning to feel like myself again. I straightened up the sewing room Wednesday, a sure sign I'm feeling better. I'm planning on getting back to the seeing machine real soon. it feels so good to be feeling better. Thanks to all of you who sent your well wishes and encouraging words.
It's time for me to pack our cooler and hit the road. Thanks for stopping in ~~~~
Wishing you a blessed weekend!
The first Gobble banner is done. This will be the one I keep for us because it has a few imperfections. The ribbon legs and feet are fiddly to work with. Over all I think these are cute, although quite time consuming with lots of tight trimming and rethreading of the machine. I found this wonderful machine embroidery design at: www.BigDreamEmbroidery.com. Adding the wording was my idea and was simple once I figured out how to do it correctly. I've never been a real banner person, but these are a fun way to use up some fabric scraps. You need to click on the picture to see the details of the turkeys.
We continue to have storms that have caused flash flooding in some areas, large hail, high winds and loud rolling thunder and lightning strikes. It's hard to know when it's safe to keep our electronics plugged in.
I will put a roast into the slow cooker today and let it take care of itself. With some potatoes and green beans it will make us a good dinner with little effort.
Wishing you a wonderfully creative day!
Fall is in the air around here. Today is a drizzly day but we had a glorious weekend. The trees are just beginning to turn color and the acorns are falling. It won't be long now ~~
Making/using/giving/cuddling quilts is my primary creative passion. For a couple years now I've also been playing with and enjoying my embroidery machine. I bought it thinking I would make an occasional quilt label. After I discovered online embroidery designs I've become mad about machine embroidery. Here's a little turkey banner I'm working on. It will eventually spell out GOBBLE. The turkeys will be strung together with ribbon and will become part of our Thanksgiving decorations.
These little guys are about 5 inches tall. This is a type of embroidery called In The Hoop (ITH) which means you make the entire thing in the embroidery hoop. There is a lot of trimming involved. You can see the buttonholes for the ribbon.
It will soon be time for pumpkins, candy corn & caramel apples, flannel shirts & socks, hot apple cider, bonfires, boots, flannel pj's and extra quilts on the bed.
Back to the sewing machine....
Have a blessed day! Life is Good ~~ Life Is Sweet!
Hi Everyone! I sure have missed chatting with you here on the blog. I've been dealing with a health issue that has kept me down for a few weeks. I'm beginning to feel a little more like myself the past three days.
Our weather has turned cold....the furnace kicked on this morning and I slept in flannel pj's last night. It's time to bring out the quilts and socks.
I have been spending a little time at the sewing machine each day to make prizes for the Missouri Star Reunion group who will meet later this month in Hamilton, Missouri. Sadly I won't be able to join them this year. I will post pictures of what I made them after the retreat begins so they will be surprises for the door prize winners. I think it's always nice to be surprised.
It will soon be applesauce time at our house. Every Fall I make a large amount of homemade applesauce and freeze it for our use the rest of the year. We will make a trip to the orchard for our two bushels of apples some time soon. Applesauce making was a ritual I enjoyed with my Grandma Nan for many years.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend! Barb
September has long been my favorite month. It's the month when the yellow butterflies that signal Summer's end arrive in clouds. I have always called them 'end-of-summerflies'. September mornings are cool and afternoons are still plenty warm. The garden spiders are spinning their intricate webs to grace our property and I start to look forward to Fall activities. It will soon be time to make applesauce and apple butter and plan for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I was a smartie this year and began working on a few small Christmas gift items early. Everything is tucked away in a box and awaiting the finishing touches.
My embroidery machine has been working overtime for a few weeks now. I'm eager to get back to piecing a new quilt. It's all good.
I'm working on putting together a nice Giveaway for Fall.
Enjoy the weekend!
