I left the house this morning to pick up my Juki machine and it was 64 degrees. By the time I turned around for home it was 49 degrees and tonight it’s down to 25. Honestly I’m glad the cold is actually here and we can get on with life.
We needed a repairman for our LB White heater in the barn and tonight it’s very comfortable for the residents in the barn. Whew – something happens to the heater about once per season so now we’ve done that.
I emptied the rain barrel today, put away garden tools, blew more leaves and the next nice day I’m going to try to blow the leaves out of the rocks in front of the house.
Here’s my finished Color Parade. I am rewriting this pattern to be used with a layer cake instead of fat quarters. It was very windy the day I tried to take pictures and it’s not quilted yet either. Soon – I promise! Soon and very soon!! (Andre Crouch thoughts.)
And my little greenhouse in the basement is presenting me with blooming geraniums!
Reader quilts –
Stay warm, Everybody!
Well, it takes a while for pictures to load on my iPad. So, in the mean time. I’m going to vent about all the ads for Medicare supplement insurance!!!!!!
How many zip codes do you think have all that wonderful coverage? Zero, zip, nada.
I’m sick of them. And every year we have to decipher what we have and what is changing.
Why is old age so troubling? That’s my pet peeve today.
Sorry, I’m venting and sick of it!
Now the pictures are here. They all are grand.
The lady in red is is beautiful.
I needed pops of color tonight.
Thanks
I totally agree with you Jo. Those Medicare supplement insurance ads are so annoying. At least the annoying political ads are over!! Too much money is spent on elections!!
HI Jo, I totally agree. We get Joe Namath and MANY others telling us over and over we need to do…..
UGH!
It is cold in Owatonna also!! At noon it was 65 and at 2 it was 35! It was windy all day and still tonight. It is 25 here too but feels like 14!! I’m happy for the change too. We got a little rain yesterday and last night, the rest will be snow I guess.
For those wondering where Owatonna is…it is about 40 miles west of Rochester in Southern Minnesota.
Your geraniums are beautiful!! The quilts today are beautiful also!!
Your flowers are beautiful!! The readers quilts are really pretty. Hugs,
Took the dogs out for a walk this afternoon and, as too often happens, at the furthest point from my house, boom! The cold front blow in! It was a COLD, windy walk home! High today (must have been when we left the house on our walk!) was 52. It is now a “crisp” 19!! I’ve already bagged up 15 bags of leaves but still have some trimming and cutting down of the perennials to do before winter really sets in.
Hobby Lobby has a great sale going on right now, if you need anything—75% off fall and 60% off Christmas. I needed a couple of tin pails for a snowball toss game I made for my kiddos. Was surprised at how much other stuff jumped into my cart!!
Loved the quilt picture with the lady standing beside it.
Loved todays pictures of quilts and geraniums. The lady in red and her blue and white quilt are both beautiful and I suspect the quilt is hand quilted. It’s outstanding and very well done.
As for you, Mary, maybe now that outdoor chores are pretty much done for the year, maybe you can find some time to relax and have some fun sewing again. How is Rick’s foot/ankle doing?
Our weather here in Colo. Turned very cold today also, and very windy. I think cold weather is here to stay.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Jeanne in Co.
Great photos today. The quilts were lovely – what a great show! Mary, I love your geraniums. We have 3 geranium plants which live in big pots on the front porch all summer and then get taken indoors in winter.The plants are about 6 years old now and HUGE! (Plus, they weigh a ton) Amazing they survive every year, what with cats batting the leaves and the dogs tails hitting the branches as they walk by! Very sturdy, healthy plants! Anyway, stay warm and happy sewing. Oh, and I love your Color Parade quilt. Wonderful!
I love your Color Parade quilt and all the readers’ quilts. I enjoy seeing what others are making. Your geraniums are doing well in the basement. My geraniums and roses are still blooming in the backyard. We had a high today of 59 and there are still several beautiful trees with fall colors but nothing like it was in West Virginia in October.
What a great blog today! I love the rabbit quilt and would really like to know what the pattern is. A great Easter quilt!
I really hate the in between season…. one day it is 70, the next 40….. My body doesn’t like to have to keep re-regulating itself……(LOL is that a word???) Today it is raining because of the hurricane that hit Florida. I think I will pull out the quilt parts I never finished and start putting them together.
It’s raining here today, too, from the Florida hurricane. It’s okay though — we need it! I did love the quilts and your geraniums. My son gave me a very pretty geranium hanging basket for Mother’s Day. I brought it inside. I think it’s actually 3 plants. Maybe I’ll split it up in the spring and see if I can keep it going. Or should it split it now? Any expert advice out there?
Rain today! Hooray! And college basketball tonight: such fun! Happy weekend, Mary, and all us be sure to say a prayer for all veterans today.
Love your Color Parade and the Geraniums in the basement. Reader quilts again are so
creative – have a good day!
Remember a veteran today!
The weather is suppose to turn here today as well. Yesterday I left the house at 930 and it was so warm if I weren’t going to an appointment I would have gone in to change into short sleeves and no jacket. It staryed warm, the last I was out was at 8 when I went to feed the horse and donkeys and cleaning the barn I actually worked up a sweat! It will be in the low 50s today but go downhill into the 30s for the weekend.
I love the blue star quilt. Stars are my favorite and that one looks so fresh and welcoming. I’m waiting to see your new quilt done, I love your mix of colors and the pattern!
I love all the quilts, but am particularly taken with the acorn and leaf quilt. That gives me an idea for all the fall color fabric I have in my stash. Blooming geraniums are nice. I already miss the colors of my flowerbed. All the perennials are cut down and the beds “to sleep” for winter. I do enjoy the cycle of the growing season here in southern Iowa. Thanks for the flower and quilt show.
You amaze me with how much you get done. Love reading your comments about everyday life around the farm. Gerry from Georgia 💕
Beautiful quilts and pillow. Like the saying on the pillow, don’t think I have heard that one. it is 46 right now and going to drop to 31 tonight. Tomorrows high is 41 with a low of 28. Have had really nice weather so won’t complain. I have a bud on my rose bush outside, keeping an eye on it. May cut it today and bring it in to enjoy. Happy Veterans day!
Thanks Margie. My sister was gifted the pillow for her birthday this week as she loves Hallmark movies like me and is a good cook.
I just love your Color Parade. The fabrics are perfect.
Jane in Ok
Ahh….flowers in bloom and quilts show and tell. I’m looking forward to your pattern and the sew along!
It is cold! brrr! My blood must be too thin! Between the temperature falling out of bed to frigid and the time change my poor body does know what to do…….hibernate? I’m going to my favorite quilt store…Always your Design in Dell Rapids, SD today with friends and then out for lunch! Yippee
When I went to church to set up our craft show yesterday, it was 68 at home. When I left, it was 40. Yikes! Then this morning, our furnace is out. Just had it cleaned 2 weeks ago, so free repair visit today!
The bright side is shoppers will be feeling the Christmas spirit tomorrow at our Christmas With a Cause sale. Global vendors and local craftspeople with all proceeds going towards worldwide missions. Everyone in the Des Moines area is welcome to come – Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Urbandale.
Stay warm, but I think we will yearn for these temps along about mid January!
I just went outside and took pictures of my primroses all blooming through the pile of leaves I put on them already for the winter. Unbelievable. Bright colors popped through making me move the leaves and see so many opened up again. They are so confused. But today rain comes in so I am making a pot of vegetable soup. Have a beef bone to boil once I get back home from grocery shopping and meeting a friend for breakfast first. Lovely show of creations!
I live in Humboldt,–located in north central Iowa. I was interested in reading about everyone’s reaction to the sudden temperature change yesterday! And that wind! Makes me cold just listening to it! I loved seeing your blooming geraniums, Mary! How lovely to see that in the month of November when we’re all freezing.
Love your new quilt, Mary. You quilt and all the others were a feast for the eye and a nice variety.
Our temperatures dropped during the night, so it was like waking up to a new season. But i sure enjoyed all the lovely days we had these past few weeks.
Mary,
11o out, but no new snow up here in Idaho! The pond is getting thicker ice!
Thanks for the basement blossom pictures! And for all the readers’ quilts!
We’re waiting for some cold weather here in San Antonio as well. We’re still using our air conditioner! I have to laugh at myself…the first time that I read through the blog entry I forgot to click an advertisement! That didn’t take me long to fall out of the habit! I did remember and came back and did it!
Those are wonderful pictures! I envy you your basement garden!
It was rainy and very windy yesterday from the tropical storm and today it’s cloudy still. But temp is 68 so not winter here yet. We normally don’t get winter until after Thanksgiving and yes, it is hard to have the Christmas spirit when you still wearing shorts! hah! Love the quilt show. I wondered if buttonsbug would share the name of her acorns and leaves pattern? I do love that one. Thanks and have a blessed Veteran’s Day! Helen in south Georgia
Marilyn in Placerville, CA Love your post, especially seeing your geraniums. I lost all of mine last winter. Really like the Acorn and Leaf quilt. Would love the pattern.
Thanks, Marilyn! This is a Fig Tree & Co pattern and is probably available on their website.
Thank you!
i found this at figtreeandcompany.com. it’s called Acorn Woods. How sweet! I am going to buy the download. Hope I can find some appropriate fabrics too. It uses 2 charm packs but I am going to work on my fall stash, which is pretty extensive. I do love this blog for finding new patterns! Thanks, all. Have a great day!
Thank you! Think I will do the same.
🌺 Beautiful Geraniums. My Grandmother Jackson, who lived here in Western NC, she always rooted Geranium pieces in jars with a little water over winter in her cellar. She saved Fern plants & split them up the next spring into 4 plants each. Her cellar was small but full of many flowers over winter to put back on her big front porch every spring. I love flowers too. Your reader quilts are very beautiful. I really like the one with the lady standing beside it ~ so pretty. Stay warm & cozy. ☔️🌻🍂
HI Mary and Everyone, Your Color Parade is just stunning. It looks like Keeper thought he should get under it to stay warm. All of the other quilts are beautiful, too.
Kathy in NY–That is just how I feel. I also want to sit by the fire and READ. My Free Little Library is SOOO full and so is my garage. I thought November was going to be my ” say No to any MORE than I already do and quilt”, but….. always more to do.
We are having much needed rain today, but it’s warm and going to be about 65*. But, tomorrow, the cold comes in for us. QUILTING and College football day:)
I love that almost all of you are putting down where you live. I like to know what the weather is where you are.
Stay warm:)
Yes Diane, I too like to snuggle in with my books and cozy movies for the winter.
My sister loved loved loved the pillow. I made it so she can remove the pillow with the flaps overlapping in back so I have to be thinking of a spring time pillow for her next.
Beautiful Quilt! Cold here in southern MN too!!
I’m with Kathy in Western New York! And I loved all the other photos too!
Ha ha ha Charlotte! Amen to peace and quiet and some chocolate chip cookies.
I love your Color Parade quilt. I bought a lot of that fabric line too, but have used some of it along the way, so there is probably not much left. Our weather here in middle TN has been nice, but we have a misty rain this morning, and cold temps coming tonight for the weekend. My two Thanksgiving cactus plants are blooming, and I have little buds starting on the 4 Christmas cactus. Always enjoy seeing pictures of your home and animals as well as the quilt show.
We got, and are still getting, some rain from the Florida storm. Your geraniums remind me of my Mom’s, she would winter them in her basement in NC and bring them out in the spring and have geraniums until they went back into the basement. Love your Color Parade and a glimpse of your doggie behind it. Cute. Carolyn in GA
Carolyn – I have started doing things that remind me of my grandma or even my mom and her sisters – some of it is good but not all! Haha!
Mary, your greenhouse flowers are so lovely! You now have me humming “soon and very soon”–it”s a timely song to remember. I’m off to find Andre on YouTube.
MaureenHP – I love that song! Margaret and I have played it
It seems like everyone’s temperature is dropping – rapidly. If anyone is interested, tonight 20/20 (CBS) at 8:00 CDT will have a program about an elderly bachelor farmer near here who was robbed and killed in his home. They are supposed to report on what a kind, quiet, and loving Christian person he was. It should be very good.
Jane – thanks! I want to watch for sure!
Jane – and where’s “here”?
Love the colors in your quilt Mary. Too bad you have to go down the basement to enjoy your blooming plants. I have successfully over wintered bare root geraniums in a paper sack – many years ago. Thought I would try again about 5 years ago. 4 years later I found them! Oh well. Have a great weekend everyone.
MAN, the same thing happened here today!! We were in the mid 70’s to 80’s the past week and today started off in the 50’s, been mid 40’s most of day and near freezing tonite (and will be like that for the next week or so). I hate winter…ugh. Some beautiful quilts again today!!
It is a relief to have Mother Nature make up her mind, so we can indeed get on with life. I’m happy to have summer tucked away and everything is winter ready. It’s time to lean into winter and enjoy the holidays the best we can. The photo of the pillow was my youngest daughter’s mantra as Thanksgiving time rolled around, mine too, but this year this quote brought tears to my eyes and my heart sunk. My beautiful 41 year old daughter died suddenly last month and will no be here to enjoy the season. The simplest joys in life that I value so much are those I feel I’ve lost right along with her. She had just finished harvesting from her small garden and was elated to see how her garlic had grown so beautifully. She laughed at a hidden zucchini found late and already the size of a watermelon. She loved the quilts that I made for her and was one to carry on family interests and traditions as she raised her young twins. So I’m glad the winter season has arrived to keep me company while I grieve my loss and I too am thankful that I don’t have to deal with my yard and flower gardens for a few months. I need the rest and comfort of a winter landscape.
Oh, Kim ! We are all so sorry for your loss- I simply can’t even understand your grief- and the holidays coming up without her. So sad, Kim. I’m so sorry.
Kim,
You have my sympathy. I cannot imagine what you are going through. Prayers for you and your family. I have lost parents, but never a child. But I did lose a very dear sister-in-law at the age of 49. She was a very close friend.
I love this blog and the pictures and comments. Thank you again, Mary.
Thank you for your kind words, Jeanine. I’m sorry for the loss of your dear friend and sister-in-law. My oldest daughter is lost without her little sister, so I can imagine you felt that too and often still feel that way.
Oh Kim, I am heartbroken for you enduring such a loss. She sounds like a very loving special young lady to value so much around her. We are all here for you during these holidays coming up as the difficult moments bring remembrance. Again my condolences for such a tragic loss for a mother.
Thank you Kathy.
There are no words that can ease your heart, but know that others are praying for you. One snowy day a cardinal may appear and may it remind you of the love you shared.
In sympathy, Kris.
Thank you, Kris. A cardinal is always a reminder of the beauty in life.
Jeanine – it’s a group of true friends, isn’t it?
Please tell us about your Juki sewing machine, make/model, likes/dislikes, etc.. I have been contemplating getting one.
Susan – ok – I’ll tell you all about my Juki soon!
Love your blooming geraniums and your quilt on the line and the readers’ quilts. What is better on a cold evening than enjoying all of these beauties?
And eventually Nevada’s election will be over soon.
❤️
I have new tomatoes on my plants along with blooms! They won’t last long, it’s supposed to get down to freezing this week. One minute it’s 80° the next it’s freezing.
KIm, I had tears in my eyes reading about your daughter. I am so sorry and cannot imagine what you and your family are going through. Please know that your blog “family” cares and is holding you in our hearts. So sad.
Yes, Kim, we have a daughter about the same age. I can’t imagine how hard this must be for you and your family. Please know that we are here for you, saying prayers for you. Jan in MA