Wyoming Breezes

Welcome Home II 60 x 73 inches Quilt of Valor #127 I used ten Patriotic Stars , seven of Teresa's orphan blocks , and three orphan blocks from the Two-Step mystery to create Welcome Home II. The orphan blocks were different sizes, so I framed them on two sides and paired them with the Patriotic Star blocks. The result isn't exactly what I envisioned, but I think it looks okay.

Cranberry Socks women's size 10 November 2017 Orange is not a color that I would pair with red and pink, but it doesn't look too bad when knit. The colors remind me of cranberries. Yarn : Match 100 (#55143 - Rustic)            75% superwash wool, 25% polyamid     Needles :  US size 2 Stitch count : 64 stitches for the cuff and 60 after the gusset My great-niece made a delicious cranberry sauce for our Thanksgiving dinner. It went well with the Kalua turkey and the smoked turkey that she and her husband prepared. My friend Julie makes a fantastic cranberry coffee cake. I have a recipe for cranberry bread, but I haven't made it in years. Do you have a favorite cranberry recipe?

Easy Street - light ale Odell Brewery Fort Collins, CO November 2017 Instead of shopping on Friday, we went to a couple of micro breweries in Fort Collins, CO. At the Odell Brewing Company, I enjoyed Easy Street , a nice light-colored ale. Maria enjoyed a glass of Pineapple Cake  and shared a couple of sips with me. It was tasty. Odell Brewing Company Fort Collins, CO November 2017 It was a gorgeous day, so we sat outside and enjoyed the drinks we had selected. Some favored dark ales; others preferred light ones.  The temperature on Thanksgiving was nearly 70 degrees, and Friday was in the mid-60s. It was too nice to stay inside. Cheers from Dwight, Harold, Marilyn, Justin, Stephanie, Maria, and me (the shadow) After Odell's, we went to Snow Bank Brewery , and there had an interesting ale called Cranknbrew - a crisp and clean pale ale infused with a powerful dose of fresh, locally roasted coffee. I liked it. Do you like to visit micro-breweries?

orphan blocks from Teresa C. in Tennessee November 2017 Teresa C. in Tennessee asked if I would accept some red, white, and blue orphan blocks, and the package arrived last week. The photo shows a majority of the blocks she sent. Most are 12.5 inches and others 8.5 inches. Seven of Teresa's 12.5 inch blocks are not shown in this photo because I pulled them for a quilt that I am currently making with the patriotic stars (see Wednesday's post ). It can be a challenge to work with orphan blocks, but once an idea or layout presents itself, things seem to fall into place. Teresa, thank you for sending orphans to make Quilts of Valor.

Friday posts for the next few weeks will feature ordinary or unique items that I consider helpful and/or essential to my crafting (quilting, sewing, knitting, etc.). I am not compensated for this or any other post: I'm just a satisfied customer.  pressing tools November 2017 Accurate sewing requires a good iron and sometimes a spritz of starch. Even though the Rowenta is capable of pressing with steam, I never put water in it. This model does not shut off automatically (my older Rowenta did) which I like because it is hot when I need to press a seam or a block. Before I discovered Rowenta irons, I used Black and Decker models. I liked the Black and Decker irons at the time, but newer models do not get hot enough for my needs. I purchase Best Press (a starch) by the gallon, and use it often: it's an essential product for my sewing room. I like my quilt blocks to be flat and seams smooth because it makes measuring easier and creates a better surface for the longarm quil

Church of the Ascension Hudson, WY November 2017 Exploring the small town of Hudson one afternoon recently, I discovered this church located across the street from the elementary school. I couldn't resist stopping and snapping a few photos of the area. Today is the perfect time to reflect on blessings (big and small) in our lives. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

November 2017 These blocks have quite a history: •  Marilyn gave me the panel in 2015 (post about that here ), and I had every intention of using it before now. •  In 2016, I finished two Quilts of Valor ( Scrappy Lanterns  and Cheerio ), and they resulted in a lot of "waste" HSTs. •  November 2017, the two components were discovered while cleaning, and I decided it was time to create some star blocks. I made fifteen patriotic stars from the HSTs and the panel blocks. Marilyn, thanks again for the fabric and panel.

binding a Quilt of Valor The gentleman who machine quilts the Quilts of Valor is speedy, so over the weekend, I trimmed and bound four quilts. I've started using a decorative stitch to secure the binding instead of hand-tacking, and it's much faster. Thank you, Sheri H. for sharing your technique with me: it's been very helpful. Binding is no longer a chore that I dread.

Solid Foundation 61 x 73 inches Quilt of Valor The center of  Solid Foundation  ( Quilt of Valor #126 ) was made with "bricks" from my 3.5 inch x 6.5 inch scrap bin.

120 inch measuring tape Friday posts for the next few weeks will feature ordinary or unique items that I consider helpful and/or essential to my crafting (quilting, sewing, knitting, etc.) A long measuring tape (120 inches) is an extremely helpful tool for quilting. It makes measuring the quilt for borders much easier and more accurate than a traditional 60 inch tape measure. While this tape is convenient for measuring large quilts, I can't find a good way to keep it contained when I'm not using it. Do you have a favorite measuring tool? P.S. I didn't realize the link to the Stars over Scott (yesterday's QOV) pattern was not correct. It's been fixed.

Scrappy Stars I I Quilt of Valor #125 60 x 70 inches Another quilt made from the 6.5 inch scrap squares bin and from backing trimmings (background fabric) of other Quilts of Valor.  I chose not to put a border on this quilt. Pattern: Stars Over Scott by Jamie Jane Elfert (free pattern) Scrappy Stars II is QOV #125

Tool Box cowl #2 November 2017 I was able to knit another Tool Box cowl with the scraps. I knit fewer rows in the stockinette sections because I only had 12 grams of each color, and I used nearly every gram. The cowl is only 8 inches high, but still enough height to be an adequate neck warmer. unblocked cowl has circumference of 24 inches I don't think I'll block this cowl. Tool Box #1 can be seen here and here .

Razzle Dazzle socks women's size 9 November 2017 The yarn for this pair was obtained in the Grab Bag special I ordered from Mary Maxim in September. I love the bright colors. This yarn had one of the longest pattern repeats of any yarn I've ever knit, and I lucked out and came pretty close to knitting a matching pair. Pattern :  Ribbed cuff socks Needles : US size 2 Yarn : Red Heart - Heart and Sole (Razzle Dazzle #3965)

trimming half-square triangle blocks November 2017 The   hourglass blocks that I made for  Time in a Bottle  used only a fraction of the stack of 6.5 inch squares, so I needed to reduce the stack even more. I pulled 84 assorted blocks from the stack, and then cut squares from some beige fabric that was trimmed from a quilt back. The 84 colored squares were paired with 84 beige squares to create 168 HST (half-square triangle) blocks. I trimmed the blocks to 5.5 inches to be used in another Quilt of Valor.

Time in a Bottle Quilt of Valor #124 61 x 71 inches

Tool Box cowl 12 inches high and 25 inches in circumference November 2017 I finished the Tool Box cowl on Saturday and blocked it on Sunday. The kit was purchased on Craftsy: color way - Purple Martin. The teal section (second from the top) was not included in the kit but was knit with some scrap Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn. I have enough of the kit yarn remaining to knit another cowl because I was unsure if the kit had enough yarn for the larger cowl size.

Colorful Cousin November 2017 When I cleaned my sewing room last week, I unearthed the unblocked Colorful Cousin shawl . It was finished in September but got pushed aside and forgotten. Sunday, I gave it a good soak and finally got it blocked. The colors are vibrant (much to bright for me), but I will find someone who loves it. Knitting notes can be seen in this earlier post .

trimming hourglass blocks November 2017 Last week, I worked with squares in my 6.5 inch square scrap bin. The stack of squares was nearly four inches high. I pulled out 60 dark squares and 60 light squares and made 120 hourglass blocks for a Quilt of Valor. Sewing and trimming the blocks took a couple of afternoons/evenings. Since the Daylight Saving Time ended on Saturday evening, I've decided to name this quilt, Time in a Bottle . I listened to Jim Croce a lot in the 1970s, and hearing his voice takes me back to those days. What singer brings back a special time in your life?

Cinde P. plans a Fiber Retreat at Togwotee Lodge twice a year when the Lodge is officially closed (between seasons) in November and April. This year's November retreat was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I considered going to the retreat in the past, but life always seemed to get in the way. Sue asked me a couple of weeks ago if I wanted to go with her for just the day - Saturday. I agreed. WYDOT webcam of Togwotee Pass Friday, November 4, 2017 Then Thursday it began to snow in the mountains, it continued to snow on Friday, and on Saturday, the snow was still falling.  The roads looked pretty dicey on the WYDOT webcams and. . . Togwotee Mountain Lodge webcam Thursday, November 3, 2017 the webcam at the Lodge didn't look any better.  I've lived in Wyoming nearly all my life and have driven in some nasty conditions during the winter, so I tend to avoid being out on the roads when they look like this. The weather report for Saturday predicted even more snow on th