Shopping and More Shopping

I know some of you enjoy seeing pictures of my shopping trips. I took a break from my Christmas shopping and visited The Quilt Merchant near Chicago recently.

 

 

Funny - I have a similar antique headboard and footboard in my basement. I found it at a garage sale and have been waiting to refinish it for the last 15 years. Now maybe I won't . . . .

 

 

 

Don't ask me about this quilt -  other than the fact that it is so stunning, all I know is that it was a block of the month by Sue Daly.   Perhaps your local quilt shop can find the patterns for you.

 

I had to buy this pattern and some wool . . . .

 

 

Valerie, the new owner of The Quilt Merchant, is from France and she's a sweetie. If you are planning a visit to the Chicago area, be sure to stop in.  I really love the way she has everything displayed. (But none of my books, I noticed. What's that about, Valerie?? LOL. You really need to get on this one . . . . everyone loves Kathleen Tracy's books.)

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Then, on Black Friday, instead of hitting the malls, I went to that primitive craft sale at my friend Karen's home I told you about. 

 

 

She had so many lovely handmade things for sale.

 

This year Karen asked me if I'd like to display some of my earrings at her sale. Her husband Bill was kind enough to make me this primitive earring display rack! So cool.

 

Before the Thanksgiving holiday I had been busy making jewelry for friends and family. At the last minute my husband signed me up for a small booth at his company's Holiday craft show - which is tomorrow. (Sorry, not open to the public.) So I've been working feverishly in spare moments this past week trying to make enough items to fill a booth. I thought it was cute that he wanted to show off my handmade things to his coworkers. I've done craft shows before (years ago, before I got into the  book writing business) but never one showing my jewelry. It should be fun. If I am able to, I'll take and post pictures. Later this week I'll put some of the things that are left over on my Etsy shop. 

 

 



Be Thankful

 

 

 

"Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude."  ~E.P. Powell

"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough." ~Meister Eckhart

 

"The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving."  ~H.U. Westermayer

                                       

             Here's some Thanksgiving history

 

"Thou hast given so much to me, Give one thing more, a grateful heart." ~George Herbert

 

“Reflect upon your present blessings -- of which every man has many -- not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”  ~Charles Dickens

 

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.
 

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

I feel blessed to have met so many wonderful quilting friends since I started this blog. And I am grateful for the community we all share. I hope you have safe travels and a wonderful holiday with family!

 

                                           

 

                        Isn't this a cute pilgrim hat cookie recipe?

Ingredients:

Keebler Fudge Striped cookies
Reese's Peanut Butter cup miniatures
Yellow frosting

Directions:

Turn cookies upside down. Frost the top of a peanut butter cup with the yellow frosting. Place the cup face down in the center of the cookie. Draw a square buckle using the yellow frosting.

I Caught Another Bug!

I should be working on finishing up quilts or Dear Jane blocks but - oh no! I've got the jewelry bug now . . . .  I can't stop making cute little earrings. Christmas is coming so I 'm hard at work.

 

 

I just love earthy-looking stones.

 

 

 

 

 

I call these my Peace on Earth earrings because - well, you know. Blue. Earth.

 

Could I love turquoise any more than I already do? It just keeps getting better because I recently found some new turquoise beads. I now have approximately 13 pairs of turquoise earrings, LOL.

 

 

Cool blue and silver - Brrr! My favorite winter earrings. But they just might cool you down in the summer heat too.

 

All these and other earrings are available on my Etsy shop - Oh Kathleen! I also do custom orders. My shop got its name from my oldest sister who always used to say "Oh, Kathleen!" whenever I showed her something I made. "It's beautiful!" she would say. It was just the encouragement I needed, you know? Thank goodness for sisters . . . . I am lucky to have four.

 

(These are actually for my sister, who loves black and does not read my blog, so I'm safe. But I can always make more.)

 

 

Fall Splendor

I wanted to post these pictures before the snow arrives. When I attended the  quilt show at the Chicago Botanic Garden over a week ago I spent some time walking around outside too. It was a perfect fall day and the colors of the leaves were beautiful. Keep in mind this is Chicago so we don't usually get the color some parts of the country gets. This is pretty much as good as it gets. We've travelled in the past to other places in the fall and New England is still my favorite. My constant dream now is to visit Vermont again and check out not only the colors but the Dear Jane quilt at the Bennington Museum.

 

 

 

In the English garden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Near the top of the waterfall

 

When I got home that day I showed the pictures to my husband so he could see how pretty everything looked. Two days later he suggested we go back and take a walk around so he could see. In just days everything had changed. The leaves were gone from the trees and landscapers had scooped them up off the ground. Everything was sort of dull and gray. Such a disappointment! But I was glad I went the day of the show and took the photos of the garden in all its glory. Autumn was nice while it lasted.