Mountain Musings

Cookie Fail

Yesterday I attempted to make some chocolate chip cookie bowls, following the directions found here. Aren't they cute? I knew they would be a hit with a certain cookie loving brother!

As you might have guessed, they didn't quite turn out like those pictures - hence the title of this post. My dough seemed so sticky, even with plenty of flour when rolling it out AND chilling it in the freezer for a little bit. Being sticky, it was difficult to wrap around the muffin pan, but I finally got it done. Then when they were baking, the dough spread and became one huge cookie, dripping off the sides. Even when having sprayed the pan with non-stick spray, it was just impossible to get the bowls off in one piece. Out of a dozen, only one was intact.

All the broken pieces still tasted good though! Add ice cream and toppings, it hardly mattered whether the bowls were in one piece or not. :)

~Sarah

W-I-P ~ Synchronized Squares Quilt-Along

The sewing that's occupied most of my time this past week is the Synchronized Squares Quilt Along. I'm using a Lovely layer cake and first posted about it here.

I sewed a lot over the weekend when the rest of the gang went fishing and left me home alone. That's okay....I like playing inside with fabric instead of outside with all those mosquitoes. But I did miss the thrill of seeing Hannah and Sarah catching fish...only small blue gills...they threw them back.

So now I've gotten all 36 blocks sewn, and today I laid them out on Granny's bed so I could jockey the blocks around and make sure the colors were arranged just right.

Here's one view:

And this is a closer view to see some of the lovely designs in this line of fabric by Sandy Gervais:

When I first started this quilt, I followed the preparing and cutting instructions exactly. Then the stitching instructions were posted, and I went right along.

That's when I realized that this was going to be a scruffy/raw-edged quilt once washed. To be honest, I just didn't think that this Lovely layer cake quite fit with the raveled/scruffy theme of the pattern.

I wish I had known before getting this far along, but by this point it was too late to switch in mid-stream.

Hannah and I came up with the idea of using a satin applique stitch to stitch around the raw edges for all 36 blocks....a task which has added extra time to this project--not to mention tons of extra thread already!

After debating what to do and asking suggestions on the Flickr forum, I almost decided to keep it scruffy...but then decided to go ahead with this stitching plan, and now six blocks are finished--30 more to go!

Hopefully, I'll be done with the quilt top by tomorrow's deadline to post on the Synchronized Squares Flickr group.

I'll post the completed quilt when it's all done. I can't say this has been the most fun project to work on, but maybe once it comes together it will have a pleasing look. I hope so.

~Deb

Bloomin' Tuesday!

I'm joining MsGreen Thumb Jean for another week of Bloomin' Tuesday.

Here's what's blooming this morning in our Virginia garden: phlox, daisies, black-eyed susan, and white coneflower are all showing their colors. Nothing unusual or exotic, but I love all these traditional flowers.

Phlox:

Black-eyed susan and white coneflower: 

More coneflowers looking over into the garden:

Red, White, & Blue...red begonias in the wagon, white daisies, and blue hydrangea:

You can find other blooms from all across the country over at MsGreen Thumb Jean's here.

Be sure and check back next week....I have an exciting story to tell you about Knockout Roses!

~ Deb

FWQAL ~ Farmer's Wife Quilt-Along

I tried my best to stay away from this quilt along. I really did!

Every Wednesday when all the quilt-alongers post their new blocks for the modern Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt I'd ooh and aah and want to jump in, but I always hold back.

I've checked Amazon for the book and read all about it, and I've checked the Farmer's Wife author's website. I've read all the info over at Fussy Cut blog where all the startup information is posted! I did everything but actually join the group.

After all...I have way too many UFOs that need to be finished.

Yesterday the mailman brought an early birthday present from my quilting friend. Look at what I opened! How did she know? I love it!

Have you heard of this book? It was inspired by letters from farmers' wives in the 1920's, and it's made up of 111 six-inch blocks. Every block is made with templates found on a CD in the back of the book. Sounds quite involved, doesn't it?

The group is now posting Week 4 blocks, and here are some beautiful examples. The FWQAL Flickr group is here if you'd like to see lots of other blocks being made.

The whole idea of a modern Farmer's Wife quilt is so intriguing to me. Now that I have the book and LOTS of scraps to use for the pieces....guess who'll be jumping in?  I might go at a slower pace than the rest of the group, but I'll be sure and post progress reports.

Who else wants to quilt along with me?

~Deb

Bloomin' Tuesday!

Hello again! We've had some days of thunderstorms lately here in the central part of the Shenandoah Valley, and the flowers are thriving! I have some new blooms to show you, so I'm joining in for Bloomin' Tuesday over at MsGreen Thumb Jean's.

Hydrangea ~ lots of purples and blues on this acid-loving plant. I'm pleased that this particular hydrangea has done well because it was a Mother's Day gift several years ago. I love it!

I'm sure once someone tells me the name of this plant below I'll say, "oh, sure!" But right now I can't come up with it. It's different from a previous week's speedwell plant, although it looks similar. Anyone know what it is?

Below: my friend Jean gave me this feverfew several years ago, and it pops up just any old place--on both sides of the fence, too! It looks like a miniature daisy and seems to be a happy little plant.

Below: the thriving and ever-invasive gooseneck! I've pulled so much of this out every year, and it still comes back with a vengeance! But I do love the shape of the flower head so I don't eradicate it completely.

And last for this week is the Russian Sage that I mentioned another week. It is now in full color and welcomes visitors down by the lower garden gate.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing what's blooming around here this week.

Check out other blooms over at MsGreen Thumb Jean's.

~Deb

Knitting Down by the Depot

This morning Sarah and I drove downtown to join the crowd knitting for World Wide Knit in Public Day at Rachel's Quilt Patch. At least we thought it would be a "crowd" knitting at the old 1860 railroad freight station.

You can see some of the old cabooses that are permanent fixtures there in the parking lot:

We arrived soon after 10 a.m. and registered to hopefully win one of four gift certificates being given away to WWKIP participants. Being the first and only ones there at the time, we had our choice of where to set up our chairs:

Sarah worked on knitting a sock while I experimented with some SoHo Summer yarn by Jo Sharp in Bisque that Rose sent me from Australia. Thanks again, Rose!

We knitted for about 15 minutes before two other knitters arrived and set up their chairs across from us.

We didn't know these ladies, but our foursome chatted and knitted awhile before Sarah and I left and headed out for errands later in the morning.

We never found out if other knitters showed up after we left, so if not, Knit in Public Day was a very sparsely attended event this year.

And making the morning really worthwhile, I received a call from the quilt shop while we were still out and about informing us that Sarah and I had each won one of the gift certificates! Now that was easy!

We wonder if the other two ladies won the remaining two certificates! We'll probably never know!

We're thankful for a wonderful day and such a nice giveaway, and all we did was sit and knit in public! Fun! Anyone else do any knitting today?

~Deb

Giveaway Over at The Muncks Quiver

Our blogging friends, the Munck family, are having a Summer Giveaway to celebrate 700 posts. Congratulations, The Muncks Quiver!

Why not go over and congratulate them and enter for this beach towel and sunscreen. They'll even monogram it for you. If I win, I think "Ethan" would look great stitched on it, don't you?

Tell them you found out about it here at Mountain Musings.

~Deb

WWKIP Day

Saturday is World Wide Knit in Public Day in our area. Actually, the event is held this year from June 11 - 19th--a week long celebration for knitters all over the world to get out of the house, knit in fresh air, and maybe even meet some new neighbors.

Sarah and I will head downtown on Saturday morning with our yarn, needles, and folding chairs to knit a bit--in public--just to say we did it!

Any knitters out there who'll be doing the same thing?

~Deb

A Musical Weekend

Our family enjoyed quite the musical weekend:

Saturday a few of us attended the dress rehearsal for the Shenandoah Christian Music Camp's Choral Festival, which was the evening before their real concert. Our friend, Sarah, had told us about the event, since one of her brothers was participating in the choir at the conclusion to a week of camp.

Several different combinations of students sang, including a children's choir. Even the youngest ones did so well with their selections!

The choirs presented various psalms, hymns, and spirituals, including a brilliant version of Were You There that was woven with scriptures mentioning "trembling."

The evening concluded with members singing their way down the aisles to the stage for some final numbers as an entire group.

 

Sunday afternoon our whole family was treated by Dad to a concert as part of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival. It was Granny's first time at such a concert, and she was pleasantly surprised.

We heard concertos by Bach, Mozart, and Haydn, as well as some solo piano preludes by Chopin and Rachmaninov.

I'm not sure how the cellist played her challenging pieces all by memory!

We had an enjoyable time as a family on these special musical outings.

~Hannah

Bloomin' Tuesday ~ The Homestead

This week I'm joining MsGreen Thumb Jean's Bloomin' Tuesday with something a little different--some gardening beauty located about an hour and a half from Mountain Musings.

A couple of weeks ago the girls and I visited friends for the day, and after lunch we all traveled to The Homestead located in Hot Springs, Virginia. The Homestead is quite the glamorous place--a popular honeymoon and anniversary resort in our area.

On the way there we drove in rain and fog and couldn't see the mountains at all. By the time we arrived the weather had thankfully cleared and was perfect for strolling the manicured grounds.

I enjoyed all the greenery--these shade gardens were planted with a variety of beautiful hosta:

The colorful rhododendrons were beautiful around the property:

I always like taking pictures of signs to document everywhere we go. Here's a sign telling us about the Spa Garden:

And here's the garden maze with many garden statuaries and also where we put our tootsies in the warm springs bubbling up (left foreground):

Here's the pool taken from the opposite direction. The pdf found here provides an interesting read on the "healing thermal waters" advertised for rheumatism, gout, and nervous diseases:

Well, time to head back home. One last view of the grounds to remember our wonderful afternoon: 
Thanks for touring along with me....not as many blooms this week but some lovely scenery for sure.

And if you want to come to Virginia and spend a night at The Homestead, let me know when you're in my neck of the woods, and I'll come over and stroll around with you!

Next week we'll be back at the Mountain Musings' flower gardens...check out more blooms over at MsGreen Thumb Jean's.

~Deb