Wish Upon a Star

Betty has been stitching away at her little stars and has a lovely collection of them now.

All told there are about 100 and she is creating rows of 10 so far. They are just precious - four inches in size and, with the soft pink and cream and large florals, the epitome of romantic. A few delicate plaids just add to it.

She's designing it as she goes and not quite sure where she takes it from here, but there are still a few more stars to be made. It is destined to be another spectacular creation.

It's another perfect example of the joy of hand stitching a quilt - blocks pieced in moments here and there then tucked into a tin, and before you know it, you have a beautiful collection....M

Pumpkinpalooza

Pumpkin pie is the Official Cookie Tester's favourite, hands down, and this Thanksgiving he will have lots of pumpkin to choose from as I've been trying out a few new recipes.

When we were at Fibrefest we enjoyed a pumpkin cheesecake brownie at lunch. It reminded me of a recipe that I got from my good friend Rhonda years ago - Betty Beeble's Brownies - only these had pumpkin in them. Pumpkin and chocolate. Oh my! My mission in life for the last month has been to find a recipe, and find it I did.

The recipe makes a nice big pan, which was a bonus; I opted not to top it with the walnuts but might give that a try some day. I think I'd put them right into the chocolate batter though rather than sprinkling them on top.

And, because I had leftover pumpkin and cream cheese I tried a new Pumpkin Squares recipe from Lucy Waverman, basically a pumpkin pie filling overtop a shortbread crust, drizzled with a cream cheese frosting. These are fantastic! and both the crust and the filling can be made in the food processor, which is a bonus.

Finally, inspired by my talented niece Julia, I made these little paper pumpkins for the table using a circular paper punch. I trimmed about 1/8" from the bottom of each circle before I sewed them together so that they would sit flat on the table.

They are just about 2 1/2" high and I've got a box of them ready to take to dinner tonight.

So between the pies and the brownies and the squares and the table decos, I think we're covered on the pumpkin front. Happy Thanksgiving everyone; we have so much to be thankful for....M

Time for Mistletoe & Holly...

The Holly Bazaar is on the horizon (mid November) so I'm trying to get my items ready for it sooner rather than later. I keep a tray with the makings of the little red heart decos and felt birds in the study so that I can work on them while I watch TV if I'm in the mood, so I hauled it out and started to work.

I had three or four heart decos already made, and several more cut and prepped, so there is now a lovely little dozen in the finished column. I may make more but don't have any cut out right now.

And my bird population is up too - eight little red fellows are now ready for their bow and their eyes so that they look like the one in the front and then they will be finished too.

I've also got a little baggie full of light blue birds cut out so they are next in line. I'll need to find a good ribbon for this little flock. Progress is being made....M

A Nice Little Collection

Tempting as it is to want to dive in and sew together Fly Away Home, I am trying to sew up a few projects for the Holly Bazaar and the Madonna House Gift Shop first. Hopefully my flying geese will be the carrot that I need to move the smaller projects along quickly. Happily, I now have a small little pile of success; I finished making three more bibs, so there are five ready now.

There are two pink versions...this one...

and this one.

I backed one with a pink print and the second one with this pretty blue - it is a lovely combination.

And then there is the turquoise with the tiny hearts if someone wants a stronger hit of colour. It's backed in the same turquoise.

All together they make a nice little bundle.

I've been craving something baked and chocolate lately and have had a zucchini ready to make into something for seemingly forever, so at lunch I whipped up a Chocolate Zucchini Loaf; chocolate and cinnamon are such a great combo. I split a slice with the Official Cookie Tester while it was still warm and 'OMG!' could be heard as he left the kitchen, so I guess he likes the combo too....M