bag it

 I was looking at the leftover scraps from the last quilt top I had finished 

and wondered if I could remember how to make a tote bag.

It seems I could and I did!

I was given this vintage print I used for lining my bag.

I love a pretty vintage print.

~b

hot

 When I'm looking for a small project hot pad holders fit the bill.

I had a small pile of leftover scraps and a bag of quilt batting ends so...

~b

cast iron

 Happy Monday! How was your weekend?

I was in the mood for some cast iron cooking...

Southern fried apples, honey soy sauce pork chops and herb skillet rolls.

I love cooking in my cast iron pan, there's just something about it.

Both our mother's did a lot of cooking in theirs.

My mother's pan was as smooth as glass.

Mr. b's mother always stored hers in her oven with the grease last used in it. 

She came through the dirty '30s.

We also took a country drive in the family sedan. Not this one.

I got some great shots of our neighbors old car collection

which will soon be headed to auction.

~b

Friday Post Card

\

"I can smell autumn dancing in the breeze. 

The sweet chill of pumpkin and crisp sunburnt leaves."

                                                -unknown

~b

Up Bird

It's pheasant season here in South Dakota.

Which is great timing for this quilt I am working on.

My sister sent me these pheasant shots. 

She is a great upland photographer and has sold hundreds of her books to hunters.

~b

jam

 I have been wanting to make cranberry jam

and I finally found some whole cranberries in the store this weekend.

Homemade jam called for homemade sourdough bread.

One thing always leads to another.

~b

Friday Post Card

Have you picked out a pumpkin yet?

~b

Journals part 2

One for her and one for her bff...

These little mini quilts satisfy me between piecing large quilts.

Crazy about dinosaurs?

I used the cute selvage edge of this fabric to put a name on.

Dakota Man cut out the wood shapes for me to tie to the journals.

~b

journals

 Bet you can't make just one...

                                                                                            I can't!

 I wanted a journal to record our bike trips.

And now I need to go because I'm making

 two more notebooks covers for Christmas presents.

~b

I put a spell on you

 Halloween embroidery with a hex...

I cast a spell on these then filled them with sleeping powders.

DIRECTIONS: Place one under your pillow before retiring

 to quarantee a night of uninterrupted sleep.

Yes...I enjoy scaring small clhildren.

~b is for Broom Hilda

Boo

I have to admit I enjoy halloween and crafting items for it.

Boo is a primitive black cat sitter and is perfect to tuck in anywhere.

~b

I was inspired yesterday to paint.

Bringing the leaves indoors...

~b

Norm and Nanette

 I tucked my Norm and Nanette quilt into a corner of our camper to take pictures of it in the Black Hills. Mr. b is really patient when it comes to my quilt pictures...I think he enjoys the hunt for locations as much as I do.

My quilter in North Dakota did a beautiful job quilting it 

in gnomes and other garden shapes.

I had to purchase background and backing fabrics 

but the gnomes are all fabrics I had on hand.

This was a fun quilt to make...I love it!

~b

falling leaves

 One of my favorite things to do with fall leaves is press them 

between the pages of a good book 

to be discovered years later when I reread the book.

I collected the leaves below over 20 years ago 

in the great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

"Love the trees until their leaves fall off,

then encourage them to try again next year"...

..

~b