If today is Wednesday I must be in Tobermory

Tuesday, oddly enough, has run right into Wednesday.  It took me two days and a bit of seam-ripper use, but there are now 22 pillowcases ready for the serger (which I left at home).  After my glass of wine I will have to figure out what project to work on.  The UFO Challenge for September/October is the Double Wedding Ring and since October is getting close to being finished, that will probably win.  The poor thing hasn't left it's box since I was here LAST October.  Fabric should get a bit of attention at least once a year - don't you think?
I may need to have a little talk with the Blue Jays, too.  This is my SECOND retreat where I have been watching baseball on TV.  I'm all on board if they win the world series, but is it really necessary for them to do it during my girlie-sewing-drinking-eating time?
Oh, b.t.w., since I know you are curious - last night was mac 'n cheese, and tonight we are having turkey.  And yes, I went for a walk yesterday AND today. ☺

The Railing

The railing is starting to fill up with projects.  None of them are mine.  Yet.
Yesterday was my day in the kitchen, so I made Oatmeal Bake with blueberries & peaches for breakfast.  Lunch was unplanned, so Diane fed us smoothies.  I made afternoon hors d'oerves (bacon tarts) to sop up the alcohol from the cocktails (the Derby made with sweet vermouth, bourbon, grand marnier and lime juice).  Then supper was salmon, potato wedges, sweet potato/carrot puree, ceasar salad, and dessert of apple cake.  I had trouble squeezing into my pants this morning.
This afternoon I am going for a walk.  Honest. 😉

the Annnual Tobermory Retreat

I spend a week every October with my longarm buds... the Beach Girls.  We come up to Tobermory, on the shores of Lake Huron, and spend five nights in Carol Anne's wonderful cottage.  Normally we are enjoying the food, or the cocktails, or the scenery.  But she has really brought some CLASS to the place this year.
Yes.  It's a heated toilet seat.  The 3 am pee will be so much more enjoyable this year.  And if someone disappears, we will know where to look first.   😆

The Quilt Show BOM 2014 and Apple Pie Help

This was the most wonderful, fun quilt to work on.  And before you ask,

• NO I DON'T HAVE THE PATTERN.  I'm pretty sure you need to be a paid member of The Quilt Show, and it was a limited-time block of the month.
• If you click on the photos it will take you to a film strip with the large version of the pics.

I did stitch-in-the-ditch on every. single. bit. of applique.

For the background quilting in the two borders, I treated them as one border and added the geometric square design to the feathers to tie them together.

I added some cutesey little elements, like the rabbit behind the sheep.

Where the letters had large round-ish spaces I placed the flower motif that was used around some of the appliqued circles.

The patchwork blocks were treated just like I would quilt them in a sampler quilt.

Last week I was telling you about the apples my wonderful neighbours gave me.  I made three apple pies on Thursday and zipped them right into the freezer.  I always make 'em three at a time because it takes one whole box of lard to get six single pastries.  Since I would prefer to give the dog a bath if I had a choice between that and making pastry, and that is not a fun job, I just get it over with.

Yesterday I made three more, and DH stuck around to help with the apple prep, while I did the pastry.  I explained to him that each pie required six cups of sliced apples, and in my head I figured about eight apples per pie = almost exactly what I had left in the bags, with a couple apples left over.
I should have been WATCHING him.  He did two lots of six cups each.  Then I think he decided "oh, f*ck it" (sorry - garage language) and put ALL the rest of the apples in the last batch.

Do you see how HIGH that left hand pie is???  Poor pastry was stretched to it's limit!

Embroidered Applique and Winter Prep

This is one of those quilts where there is not a whole lot of decorative quilting. 

The bulk of this quilt is just stitch in the ditch.  (hah.  "just")
.

 

You can see the quarter-square blocks were quilted with continuous curve.

This is such a pretty border design.  I pulled the little flower motif out and used it in the blocks, too.  This design has a nice wave to the bottom edge, so I suggested to the quilt maker that she might want to scallop the outer edge. She gave me the hairy eyeball at that idea, but seemed to come around by the time she left.

Pretty, pretty, pretty.

The applique is the star of the quilt, so I kept the quilting very quiet, adding only where necessary to keep the empty spaces to a reasonable size.

Some of the design space was taken up with straight line quilting around the edge, and echoed at 1/4".

DH and I spent some time in the garden today, starting the pre-winter cleanup.  This is the last of the green beans, getting a 10 minute steam.  I've frozen them in the past, but they are just ... (can I say crappy?) that way.  This year I am going to dehydrate them.  They will take up much less space.  I can put 'em in a glass jar in the pantry and throw them into soups or stews or casseroles.  We shall see - hopefully they will be better this way.

Tonight was the first ROAST BEEF DINNER of the fall season.  Yum.  With mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots & onions.  All summer long we eat pretty light meals, mostly chicken or sausage with fresh veggies.  Fall and winter seems to be the time for the B's:  beef, bread, and baked goods.
After supper I made an Apple Betty. (oh, how clever - another 'B'!)  Two of our wonderful neighbours have each brought over a grocery bag of slightly wormy organic apples for me, because they know I like to can and bake, and I will put them to good use.  In the next week or two I will be helping myself to the slightly wormy organic pears from the roadside tree nearby.

If you are looking for a delicious dessert using apples AND pears, try this Autumn Fruit Flan.

OK, now, everyone, sing along with Joni Mitchell: 
Hey farmer, farmer
Put away that DDT now
Give me spots on my apples
But LEAVE me the birds and the bees
Please!