So here’s the book by Carrie and Joanna – I don’t have it in front of me but I think this is where Donna’s quilt pattern came from.
Such a beautiful day today – perfect for yard work. Leaves today. This is how we do it – I rake the leaves out of the edges and Rick chops them up with the mower. Somehow this arrangement seems wrong. I will feel this tomorrow for sure but I’m so happy it’s done! I’m having an “ice tea” right now!
We took a ride on the wilderness trail – so sad.
I know most people love fall but I hate it because of pictures like this – it looks so sad and I know what’s coming next. There might not even be snow but that deep cold is brutal.
Plagerism is everywhere it seems. A blog reader who enjoys making bags told me about her favorite bag designer Quiltessa Natalie whose bags have been reproduced word for word and even uses her original photos on a site called Lovable Craft. This is just an FYI for any of you who also enjoy making bags and might come across this stolen website.
Reader photos
Made for her 4 granddaughters from a collection of French General fabrics
You and Rick keep enjoying your (code word), ice tea!! 😅🤣
Shirley from Oregon
I have run across that site as well- they have a pattern from Rosie Taylor Crafts as well.
Heather – shameful
Oh, Mary, I am so with you on fall. I look out my window and see brown everywhere and just yesterday (OK, more like last week) all was green. The trees are bare and will be so until April. I live for Dec 21 when it starts to get lighter longer again! I don’t enjoy winter and cold like I did when I was a kid. I do love soup and Crockpot meals in the fall and winter, though!!!
Diane – yup, brown, dreary, no leaves on trees – ugh. Our grass is still very green however. The next two months of darkness just depresses me.
Beautiful quilts!! I’m always so amazed when I see something being done when the person doing it knows it wrong. You have such beautiful place, in some of the pictures you post it looks like a park. I really like the 2 quilts hanging on the wood fence. I’d like to make one. Could whoever made it tell the name of the pattern please. Hugs,
These two quilts are a version of Mary’s Rambling Rows pattern.
Hello Mary.
Years ago I purchased a leaf blower with a good amount of power (also have a battery powered lightweight blower to clear summer debris after rain and wind) yet not to heavy for me to blow leaves out from shrubs as edges of places the mower can’t reach. It’s been such a good tool and much easier on me than taking. Mower mulching makes cleanup a bit easier too and some say it’s good for the lawn. So we blow and mulch.💨🍁🍂 While the landscape is turning to its faded autumn colors I find it to feel restful in that there is less demand for yard work until snow flies again. I wonder how much snow we will shovel this winter. 😏. I’ll have to look for this quilt book as it looks interesting. Have a good weekend. 🙂
Kim – I’ve had to charge my big blower twice already today – yes, it’s the handiest piece of equipment I own. I got it for my birthday last year! No flowers or jewelry – a leaf blower!
I haven’t seen any ads lately to check out?
I still love fall but we don’t have bitter winters so I can just imagine how folks that live in cold areas must face as winter arrives.
Don’t forget we get an extra hour come Sunday. I don’t look forward to changes all the clocks. But I do love the extra hour
Growing up in Phoenix AZ I LOVED fall as it meant cooler weather was coming. I hated spring because summer was getting close. That stuck with me my whole life, even though I moved away.
Christine – just opposite of Iowa – I understand.
“Ice tea”😂😂. I dread winter, so dark and cold. I love the quilt show and the pets. Foggy here in Idaho rain is coming for the next 5 days. Have a great weekend everyone.
Thanks for including Brody’s picture!
Our fall went from beautiful to ugly, winter-looking in 2 days last week. That was thanks to high winds & cold temps. And we’re in a severe drought now so everything is just looks ugly. These next couple of months add to my depression too. And then we have to set the clocks back this weekend too. I found the perfect words to describe the “fall back” time change “Don’t forget to set your clocks from sunshine & happiness back to misery & despair this weekend”. I can’t even laugh because it’s true! Have a great weekend y’all!
Hi Mary, if Sandi wanted to make a scrap quilt like in today’s post, l suggest she cuts lots of short ends of fabric 2.5 inches wide, decide on a width she wants the quilt to be and just sew strips together. Study the photos, take screen shots with your camera, and go for it! Less stress than following a pattern too. Brody and Mary’s dogs look so happy, lucky to have great owners! Take care everyone, best wishes from Sandy
Racking leaves makes my ribs so sore I can hardly move the next day, so I know what you mean. Now, my hubby blows them into a pile with the blower, then takes the front-end loader and moves them to a compost pile. Horray! I don’t have to do it anymore. Or, he goes round and round a tree with the mower and blows them around the tree’s base.
Brody reminds me of a little dog we once had. The same intelligent dark eyes with a bit of an attitude. He had some Terrior in him and they seem to always have an attitude.
Keeper likes the leaves.
Sue – oh, speaking of attitude! Hazel has more than her share!!! We did lots of blowing and mowing but many spots needed some extra tlc – one more day or so and we’ll be done
Yes, that is the book. Carrie and Joanna each do their take on a block. I used Carrie’s quilt photo (layout diagram does not have as many cornerstones and sashings) and Joanna’s Christmas table mat with the tiny flying geese. The pillow top is in there too, and if you are really ambitious, Carrie included a pin cushion of Pirouette with 40 finished hsts. That is not on my radar.
i enjoyed my iced tea (aka margarita) at 5 today and toasted you and Rick.
Donna – how lovely that you toasted us! Ha!
have any of you investigated the lights designed for helping with light deprived depression ???
This is my favorite time of the year. no more triple degree temperatures. Skies have a more vibrant blue. Less yardwork equals more time with the sewing machine.
Brendalynne – I should
My Texas raised son used one while going to school in Minnesota. He said it helped. I got my youngest one when he moved to Iowa and was working nights. Now I use one in my sewing room on dreary days. It may be the placebo effect but I think it does help.
Concerning leaves…. we have about 30 trees on our acre lot and they produce a LOT of leaves. My husband and now his hired help get them to our curb through various means…. raking, blowing etc. THEN the town comes by with a vacuum truck and sucks them up and takes them away to the town compost site. It is a terrific service. Still a LOT of work but it looks so good when done!
Beth – wow! That is a very helpful service to get rid of all those leaves! A couple of our maple trees hold their leaves till January!! So it never looks really perfect.
I taught high school for 35 years and fought it daily. Teachers who required research and writing scanned the students papers & had a program to analyze it for plagiarism. I think social media has made the problem monumental.
I too do not like the time change, dark hours and cold,windy weather. I want the time change to be set and not changed-I don’t care which way either. It has been proven that is doesn’t save energy but costs lives with more heart attacks and traffic accidents. This is one thing our government could do w/o costing tax dollars😉 Thank goodness for quilting to pass the time and still be productive.
I went to a quilt store in Cincinnati yesterday. It is a nice store, Stitches. It reminds me of a general store. A customer was talking to a clerk about being recently widowed and returning to quilting after being a caretaker. In the classroom, was a group of ladies finishing their lunch , talking and laughing and returning to their projects. They were talking about people who share too much on Facebook. We need more places to interact with people and even strangers in a pleasant respectful manner. I signed up for a quilting class in December not because I couldn’t do the quilt by myself but because I wanted to be with quilters. I also like Quilt Beginnings in Columbus so I am sure I will shop while there.
Marcia – I noticed my auto correct didn’t fix my spelling of plagiarism! Ugh. I agree about dst – I hate it. I love to be up early in the summer when the sun is coming up – but not at 7:30!! And after a full day of work I want evening to come sooner rather than later!
I grew up in western North Dakota. No matter how cold or windy, we bundled up and went outside most days even if for only 5 minutes. Just walking up and down the driveway, or making trails in the snow for the little critters. Of course a little shoveling or sweeping the sidewalk didn’t hurt us either.
BUT, the benefits – breathing the fresh clean outdoor air, rosy cheeks, sparkling eyes, and a mental alertness. Along with that comes a renewed daily appreciation of the blessings and comforts of a warm house with windows glowing, the hot cocoa/tea/tody, casserole in the oven or supper in the crock pot.
I do enjoy winter. Summer heat just wipes me out and I’m a wet noodle with a melted brain. Guess I’m a rare one!
That puppy is sooo cute! Love the quilt show today.
Linda, you are not a rare one. Many in Maryland are glad to see cooler weather and less humidity especially after this past summer. I like the coziness of winter and get more quilting done in the winter even though we have air conditioning.
Mary, I love the pictures of Keeper, Hazel, Brody, Penny and Lucy!
I’m dreading the early dark, too! I have to get the yard work done during these last few days of nice weather. We talk of going south for a few weeks in winter to escape but then decide not because “what if”…. furnace malfunctions, cattle waterer malfunctions, etc.
Fall is my favorite season! The brilliant typical autumn colors we all know and the contrast with the deep emerald green grass; then settling into the more subtle dull golds, browns, grays-blacks, even some maroons in shrubs, the dark greens of the evergreens; followed by some blankets of snow (that covers up all the hoarder-neighbors’ crap!).
Even better – I can go outside without passing out from heat and humidity, the electric bill drops and the biting bugs are gone! Hallelujah!
i get a bit of the Seasonal Affective Disorder, for about a week before Christmas and through about mid-January. But I also get it around the summer solstice. I’ve looked into the lights for the winter but haven’t tried any yet. Until then, the public library covers what I need while I wait the doldrums out.
Hello Mary! I have been absent….we had an awesome time in Michigan with our son and family. (I do not believe in broadcasting a farm sitting alone without its owners!). Our granddaughter mentioned something yesterday afternoon about missing the plane, I said well, I guess we would just have to buy a car and drive, or rent a car, or we could just stay and live here….perfect! was her instant answer to that! So precious! 😂💕. We went for grandparents day at their school. The elementary do a very nice program in the morning and the middle school and high school student serve the lunch and dessert with the band and vocal choir perform. A very special day.
On Thursday jay and I helped cut up 2 1/2 bushels of apples for applesauce. They had done 5 bushels on Monday also. The family gets together and does it together which is nice. And we watched Levi who is 1 1/2 run around….he is BUSY! He’d grab an apple, then he’d put it back, we’d cut out the bite and on it went 😂. It smelled so good! Of course, we ate slivers of yummy apples while working. Friday Heather and I went to the Dutch store for our candy fix I filled the cracks of our suitcase with bags of Dutch peppermints and licorice 😊!
Mary, I agree with the sun lamp thing in the winter. I have one of those bulbs in the lamp by my sewing machine that goes on when my iron is on. It could help. Your kitties would like it too.
I tried to keep up with the blog while we were in Michigan, but I was pretty busy until Levi was down for a nap and then I needed a little snooze too. So now it is catch up. Love you. Have a nice weekend!
Joy – oh, you’re smart not to advertise your absence – I’ve heard some horror stories! Sounds like you had a really fun time! I’m sure you wish they were a bit closer.
Joy – I left a comment earlier but I’ve been thinking about all those apples and applesauce – can one family eat all that applesauce before next Apple season? It’s a lot!
I’m still shaking my head about the doctor suggesting iced tea instead of beer. WHAT??? We enjoy ‘iced tea’ as well. ( or a glass of wine! ).
I liked autumn when we lived where the seasons changed. I loved to rake leaves and my kids would jump in the piles I heaped up. However, once all the leaves fell the scenery was pretty bleak. I knew what was coming too and I didn’t like it.
I too suffered from SAD. I would feel so ‘down’ and couldn’t understand why. I had a loving husband and my adorable little children. Then we moved from Minnesota to Florida. Well, hello!! Glorious sunshine nearly every day and I realized it was the gloomy, gray days that were depressing. Several moves later we landed in the desert southwest. The summers are blistering hot but we have a/c and a pool so we cope. And you don’t have to shovel sunshine.
I much prefer spring over fall even though it means the summer heat is around the corner. The naked trees and grey skies are very depressing. And I hate being cold and bundled up in lots of layers. Fall does mean the start of hockey season which is one reason to be glad it’s here. By the way the Hockey Hall of Fame is using our picture for one of their auction items – a tour of the resource center and luncheon. I’ll send a screenshot and link to it. We went September of 2022 and enjoyed it so much. Toronto in September is beautiful. We tacked on a trip to Niagara Falls too.
And last but not least – a two story greenhouse! I would make it my sewing studio / greenhouse / library combination and have three things I really enjoy all in one!
Susan – what a nice picture of you!
I loved reading everyone’s comments about the subject of season changes. I live in Georgia where we get seasonal changes but usually the winters are not too bad, but there have been exceptions over the years. I too get the SAD effect when it starts getting dark too early. I asked my eye doctor if it is safe for me to use one of those lamps because I have glaucoma, and she okayed it. I haven’t bought one yet but this has reminded me to search Amazon and get one to try.
Summers here can be awfully hot and I tend to feel the heat terribly, so I stay in the AC as much as possible. I handle the cold better that the heat. I love the spring and fall except that is when my allergies flare up the most. Wearing a mask outside really helps in that department. In my early marriage we lived in Miami, which was okay but I did really miss the change of seasons, especially at Christmas when it just didn’t seem right for it to be warm. Anyway, I have really enjoyed reading the comments today and love the quilts and the beautiful pets. Thanks so much for offering us this wonderful place to share!
Penny and Lucy are so pretty and looking so comfy. Did they find a sunbeam? Keeper is a hoot; just plop down in the leaves and enjoy the day. When I read Sue’s comment about Brody, I thought it said he had “terror” in him. He doesn’t look too scary to me. Oops, yes, “Terrier” seems to make more sense! Sounds like my brain had a bad “spell check” moment!
Did anyone else catch a Temu ad on Mary’s blog with a poster that pictured a black cat and the headline, “When visiting my house, please remember…” Worth a chuckle.
Thank you for the colorful quilts this week, everyone. And thanks to the reader who mentioned putting SAD lights near her sewing machine. I think I needed that this summer when we couldn’t get out due to health issues in the heat and humidity. Sounds like a good idea for winter, too.
Hey everyone! Penny and Lucy are my baby girls, sisters, both FIV positive but should still live a good, long life with care. I love them to bits but I still miss my Emily 🐈⬛ so much, they are making it better though. We saw the most beautiful fall trees going through Tennessee, Kentucky and up to Michigan last week. Being in Northeast Texas sometimes we get them too but the wind 🌬️ will take them away quickly. I love Fall, a respite from our burning 🥵 hot summers. It’s the start of all my favorite holidays, Halloween 🎃 being tops. No more yard work or mosquitoes 🦟! We rarely get snow so the snowmageddon / Texas power failure was kinda fun for us. 12 “ of snow ⛄️, most I have ever seen! Thank you, Mary, I will get my eyeglass case square finished for the next step tomorrow 🤗. Miss Greta and Miss Gracie are adorable 🥰! And cheers to you and Rick with my second glass of “ iced tea” 😉🍷
Pamela – yup, Rick and I are having our ice tea tonight after a long day of outside work!! I know you miss Emily still but those two little girls look like so much fun!!
Mowing up the leaves is exactly what I did yesterday. Most of the remaining leaves, i.e. those in non-grassy areas, will be raked into the side road where people are not supposed to drive, but they do. It’s really a “cut through” for electrical and phone lines, but some idiot put gravel on it.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I had a few minutes to finish the last QOV top for the year. Wooh hoo. These tops will go out to Alycia in Colorado.
Hang in there Mary, when it’s frigid out, you can quilt til you wilt. Take care.
San / Western North Carolina