Wyoming Breezes

Misawa in Winter Misawa AFB Misawa, Japan 1981

non-slip sewing machine foot pedal pad December 2016 Anyone who sews regularly knows the frustration of having the foot pedal creeping further and further away. I found a quick and easy solution - a non-slip Foot Pedal Pad. The non-slip fabric is actually shelf liner from the Dollar Store - a clever and inexpensive material for this project. I made two of these: one for the sewing group gift exchange and one for myself.

Circle K Extension Club late 1950s or early 1960s Mom was a member of the Circle K Extension Club for many years. The group met monthly in the members' homes: the photo was taken at our house (my mom is seated with her arms crossed). The group had a program booklet that had a reusable cover - purple with a large, gold circle with a large "K" in the middle that intersected with the circle. The pages (one for each month) were secured with a leather lace, tied with a knot. The program booklet listed the monthly hostesses, the monthly program and presenters; additional pages listed the officers and contact information (phone numbers) for the members. It was a social group, but they also had various lessons and programs at their meetings, and once a year, they prepared a display booth for the County Extension Day. The booths were judged, and the groups were awarded certificates accordingly. The event was usually held in a school gymnasium, and in addition to the booth ...

I don't like to make resolutions, but I do like to think about general goals (dreams) for the new year. I tweaked a form I found online and added my "wishes" and "dreams" for 2017 in the designated stars. I'll check my progress in May or June. The blank form is provided below if you want to join me - nothing too technical - let's just have fun. Print the form, write your ideas, take a photo and share on your blog. If you have the capability to edit on your computer, then go for it! Dee, mentioned on her blog that PicMonkey is a good resource for adding your goals to the template - might be worth trying. (click to enlarge to print)

Rockets' Red Glare 57 x 74 Quilt of Valor I have two more patriotic panels and hope to make them into quilts within the next two weeks. Rockets' Red Glare is QOV #107

Peace on Earth Good Will to Men "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" I heard the bells on Christmas day Their old familiar carols play And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth, good will to men And I thought how, as the day had come The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along the unbroken song Of peace on earth, good will to men Till ringing, singing on its way The world revolved from night to day A voice, a chime, a chant sublime Of peace on earth, good will to men In despair I bowed my head "There is no peace on earth," I said "For hate is strong and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men" I heard the bells on Christmas day Then pealed the bells more loud and deep "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep The wrong shall fail, the right prevail With peace on earth, good will to men" ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~  1863                     ...

In two earlier posts, I've shared whimsical and traditional nativity displays from the Nativity Walk held at the Riverton LDS church. Many of the nativities on display were from other countries or cultures, no doubt obtained while on missions, and it's appropriate to share them in this Foreign Friday post. Christianity covers the globe and so does God's love for His people.  Merry Christmas

Last week, I shared some whimsical nativities that were on display at the Nativity Walk in my community. Today, I'm sharing some more traditional scenes. I loved seeing many depictions of this familiar and blessed family all in one place and knowing that during the three-day event the Lord opened hearts and planted the seed of faith.

Mom's Rice Pudding Recipe One of my favorite winter comfort foods is my Mom's rice pudding. While it can be made in any season, I always associate it with winter, and make it at least once a year. The recipe in the photo is written in my Mom's handwriting and is a copied page from a recipe book that Mom and I prepared from my niece Brenda one Christmas. When the family gathered for a reunion in 2006, it was decided to prepare a recipe book filled with family favorites, and I made sure the rice pudding was included. Brenda shared the handwritten page for The Book as Marilyn and I often call the loose leaf notebook of complied recipes. The broken toothpicks are a trick that I've started using: the recipe says to bake three hours, so I break three toothpicks and stir every thirty minutes (removing a toothpick piece when I do). I add the raisins in the last hour. Baking rarely takes three hours (I think it depends on the humidity) and sometimes it only takes two ho...

by Nancy L December 2016 Last week, the sewing group had a holiday party with a carry-in lunch and a gift exchange. The exchange was fun with a friendly chatter and a few gifts changing hands several times. To begin, we drew numbers; the first person selected a wrapped package and unwrapped it. The next person could "steal" the opened gift or select another wrapped package. If your gift was stolen, then you could steal another gift or pick an unwrapped gift. As more gifts were unwrapped, the stealing began in earnest, and gifts changed hands many times. I am thrilled with my "stolen ladies" - a collection of five blocks, dyed by Nancy L. and made into a table runner. table runner The runner adds color to my sofa table by the garage door, and welcomes me into the house when I return. It makes me smile to see it there.  "Stolen Ladies" runner by my door Thank you, Nancy L. for this gorgeous table runner! It's so beautiful, I don't ...

knitting to an audio book of  Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly While knitting on large projects I usually listen to audio books. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly was my most recent "read." It's a non-fiction book about the black female mathematicians who worked as human computers for the U.S. military during World War II and into the 1960s. The work they did was highly technical and helped in the development of many aircraft designs and then into the Space Age.  I'll be honest: I was very disappointed in this book, not in the subject matter which was interesting but in the actual writing. The author did a great job of gathering information but didn't do a very good job of determining what needed to be included in the book. Her editors did a great disservice to the story by not cutting a LOT of the irrelevant material that takes the readers down many unnecessary rabbit holes. Frankly, I grew weary of the story by Chapter 15, and by the time I ...

Dairy Cows Southern Japan April 1980 It's been said, that you can take the girl off of the farm, but you can't take the farm away from the girl. I grew up on a dairy farm and knew my mother and brother would enjoy seeing photos of this Japanese dairy barn and the cows. The cows were well tended, but I didn't understand why they all had nose rings, as I had only seen nose rings on bulls at home.

Hanging Kitchen Towel December 2016 Mary asked that the items for the Sewing Group gift exchange be sewn this year. I considered many projects, but decided to make the hanging kitchen towel. The yellow bandana fabric is a Martha Stewart kitchen towel, and because it was quite long, I cut off about four inches. I found the idea and tutorial  here . The pattern for the top must be created, but she does give the dimensions. Note: I used interfacing for the whole top section and not just where the slit is cut, as I wanted more stability for the edge. I included another item in the gift box, and will share it in another post.

Completed Project Peace Cowl December 2016 This was such a fun knit that I couldn't refrain from knitting more than the recommended one, four-row repeat each day. i-cord bind off The i-cord bind off was a new (to me, at least) technique, and I was surprised just how easy it was. It seemed to take forever on the 318 stitches around the edge as well as the 318 stitch cast-on edge, too. I picked up the stitches on the cast on edge, but some of the others in the KAL started the cowl with an i-cord. I used a double-point needle to do the bind off because I didn't have to fight the weight of the cowl and the remaining stitches on the circular needle. i-cord edge on the other side, too Pattern :  Project Peace Cowl  (Ravelry link)  by Christina Campbell Needles : size 6 US Yarn :     Regia 6ply Tweed - Bordeaux (6 grams of the 150 gram skein remain)     Regia 4ply Silk - Marine Blue (the i-cord only used about 14 grams) Size : my fi...