Mountain Musings

Blogger's Quilt Festival ~ Betty at the Beach!

I'm very excited to be participating in the fourth Blogger's Quilt Festival today. Amy's Creative Side is hosting, and there will be hundreds of links posted to quilts and the stories behind them from all over the country...lots to enjoy!

So...a big Welcome to all the new visitors to Mountain Musings who have clicked over from the Festival! Thank you, Amy, for all your hard work in organizing.

I've named my quilt, Betty at the Beach. The pattern is Piece of Cake by Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms, and the fabric is Moda's 1930s layer cake print called Hello, Betty!

Last week we three girls (Granny, Hannah, and Deb) traveled from Virginia to Satellite Beach, Florida, compliments of Vicki over at Two Bags Full, who gave away a free week at her condo!

If you missed the story of how I won the trip, see this post. By the way, the trip was amazing!

We absolutely LOVED our time at the beach, and I had fun taking my quilt to various spots to take pictures. I'm sure the few October beach-goers wondered what was up with this lady and her quilt showing up everywhere!

Well, I made the quilt as a hostess gift for Vicki, my generous blogging friend and left it there in the condo for her to find...she was checking in for the next week on the same day that we were checking out.

By the way, we did get to meet in person--not at the condo but at an exit somewhere in Georgia on our way home (pictures to follow).

This past week we've been trying to get back into the regular routine of life, and unfortunately, it doesn't include watching waves all day!

Check back on Monday for Part 1 of our adventures in Florida and see first-hand the marvelous time we had!

Thanks always for visiting! Now, why not click over to Amy's and read about more quilts in the Festival.

~Deb

Basket Giveaway - 2nd Chance Drawing

Well, we still have not heard from Audrey in Texas, so I drew a new winner out of Granny's basket full of names! And I drew out:

Bobbi!

Congratulations - Mom will get in touch with you after she returns from Florida. :)

~Sarah

84 Degrees, Palm Trees, Having Fun, Wish You Were Here!

I'm sure most of you regular readers of Mountain Musings have guessed that this week Granny, Hannah, and I have been enjoying the warm breezes and sunny days that Satellite Beach here in Florida offers. This is a real paradise! I think I could live here year-round...truly!

Each evening when we talk to Tom, Jonathan, and Sarah back home, we try not to rave too much about all the fun we're having. Last night's conversation included Sarah asking which plants she should cover up in the garden since it's going down to 36 degrees tonight. Oh, my, I think I do want to stay here for the winter!

Anyway, we just wanted to check in and let you know that this island beach is exquisite as well as the condo where we're staying this week. Our hostess, Vicki, who made this week possible with her giveaway, has been wonderfully accommodating and is making sure our time here is the absolute best! Thank you, Vicki!

I'll post pictures soon about our adventures once we're back home and back to blogging. But for now, we're headed back to the beach today. Here's this morning's sunrise taken from our balcony...absolutely beautiful.

On a side note: the winner of Granny's basket giveaway still has not contacted us. If we don't hear from Audrey in Texas by Friday, we'll draw another name for Granny's basket. I know some of you will be keeping your fingers crossed that you'll have a second chance!

~Deb

Sunday Scripture

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."    ~ Psalm 1:3

~Deb

Announcing the Winner of Granny's Two-Pint Basket!

Oooh, we sure wish we could send every one of you who entered Granny's basket giveaway one of her beautiful baskets!

We are very thankful for all of our faithful readers and commenters who encourage us by coming back to read our posts and letting us know that you are out there!

Now....are you ready for the winner's name?

We typed all the names of the commenters (and added names of commenters who received an extra entry) and put them in one of Granny's baskets as you see above.

Then Granny shuffled them really well and drew out the winning name:

Who was it?

Congratulations to Audrey in Texas!!

Audrey, please email us (girotti at wildblue dot net) with your mailing address, and we'll package up Granny's basket and mail it out to you soon!

If anyone who didn't win would like to purchase one of Granny's baskets, you can contact her at the same email address above for prices and different styles of baskets you might be interested in. Please put Granny's Baskets in the subject line.

~Deb

Granny's Two-Pint Basket ~ Part 4

 

Giveaway is now closed. Winner announced soon.

 This is my last basket post. I hope you've enjoyed reading about my hobby. Thank you to everyone who has commented!

I wanted to show you one of the smaller baskets that I make. It's called a two-pint basket because two pint jars of jelly will fit perfectly inside; it makes a very nice gift!

You can also fill a two-pint basket with candy or anything else you'd like. It's a very popular basket for lots of reasons. Here I am in my workshop working on a basket:

Would you like to own one of my baskets? I'd like to end my guest posts by giving away this two-pint basket!

If you comment on this post, you'll be entered to win the two-pint basket I just made. When you comment, let me know what you enjoyed most or learned from any one of the four posts I wrote.

Special Entry: If you've commented previously on any of the three basket posts before this one, your name will automatically be entered a second time in this giveaway. But you need to comment on this giveaway post and let me know you'd like to win the basket.

Giveaway ends Friday, October 15, at 6 p.m. EST.

I can't wait to draw the winner's name! See you next Friday evening on the blog!

~Granny

Previous posts in this series:

Granny's Walnuts ~ Part 1

Granny's Baskets ~ Part 2

Granny's Workshop ~ Part 3

The Happy Scrappy Quilt Giveaway ~ M-M Studio

I'm sure most of you who frequent quilting blogs have already heard about Marie-Madeline Studio and the wonderful fabric they sell in their shop.

And I'm sure you know about their quilt giveaways!! Well, there's a giveaway going on right now through October 15th on their blog! Head over to Marie-Madeline Studio and enter to win the Happy Scrappy Quilt!

~Deb

Granny's Workshop ~ Part 3

Do you think it would be hard to make a basket? Granny makes it seem simple, but we know it takes a lot of hard work! In this post she'll show you what goes into making a basket--in this case a Mustard Basket.

Granny: "Yesterday morning I got up early and went out to the garage to work. I used sandpaper and sanded down 25 solid oak strips that I got this weekend to make handles for baskets I'll make this fall.

After I sanded them, I soaked all 25 to make them soft enough to bend and staple to form handles. There will be different sizes of strips for various sizes of baskets I'll make. Bending and stapling handles is hard work; I hope Jonathan will do it for me this week after he gets home from work.

When I first start a basket, I pick weaving strips and measure them the right size, cut them, and then soak each one before I lay them down to form the bottom of a basket. The picture below was taken in the kitchen where I was working before I set up my own workshop in Deb's garden shed.

Here I am with Sarah. She's holding down the strips as I get them lined up perfectly:

This is the basket after the bottom is formed around the handle with weavers coming up the sides:

These next photos show us all weaving part of the basket:

Hannah helped me with finishing the top:

I always run sea grass around the top and lace it in:

Here's the Mustard Basket all completed and being dipped in the walnut juice:

I recently finished these three baskets. Here they are before they are dipped:

And here they are drying in the sun:

I have one last basket post for you. Check back on Friday, and you'll see. You won't want to miss it!"

~Granny

Previous posts in this series:

Granny's Walnuts ~ Part 1

Granny's Baskets ~ Part 2

Sunday Hymn

Abide With Me

Words: Henry F. Lyte, 1847/Music: William H. Monk, 1861

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

~Deb

* Photo: Sunday morning fog near Rockfish Gap...taken this morning from the car window coming down Afton Mountain on our way to visit a home church in Dillwyn.

Granny's Baskets ~ Part 2

No...Granny's not a basket case, but she sure has made hundreds of baskets over the years! Congratulations to Chris who guessed Baskets as the answer to the walnut quiz. And congratulations to all those who suggested dye or stain.

Granny's our Guest Poster today and will tell you how her basket hobby got started:

Granny: "I started making baskets about 30 or so years ago after reading a local newspaper advertisement about basket-making classes. My neighbor and I decided we'd give it a try and see if we could do it.

We went to class once a week for two hours, and it took about three classes to make a basket since we were just learning.

My first basket was an 8-inch egg basket, and it looked just like one my daddy made about 80 years ago.  My daughter in South Carolina took this picture with her cell phone and emailed it so I could show you (sorry it's blurry). Here's my daddy's basket:

I guess I got the knack of making baskets from my daddy. He got sticks from the woods and would sit there and whittle out a basket when he was curing tobacco at the barn.

After I got the hang of making an egg basket, I made a "granny basket" and started ordering material to make more.

One day I saw a man at the farmers' market in Raleigh selling his baskets, and I asked him to cut me some long strips of white oak. I measured exactly how wide and tall I wanted each handle made, and from then on my husband would cut, bend, and staple the strips for me so I could make my own handles.

I've made other baskets, too: magazine basket, Jeremiah basket, two-pint basket, ribbon basket, egg baskets of all sizes, market basket, cottage basket, mustard basket, potato masher basket, candle basket, trash basket, and utensil basket. It depends on the size how long it takes to make each basket.

I've been in craft shows in South Boston, Williamsburg, Callands, and Lynchburg and won blue ribbons several times for best displayed table. I went to the Fair in South Boston and won a blue ribbon on all my baskets.

I've had lots of people come to my house to buy baskets, and one girl bought one of everything I've ever made; she has a house full of my baskets!

  All the baskets are handmade out of ash and white oak. They're all different...some have colored weavers, some I've painted apples and hearts on, but all are dipped in walnut stain.

I've loved making baskets and still like to do it...although I'm not as fast as I used to be.

Next time I'll tell you about a basket I made recently with Hannah and Sarah and show you some just finished and stained baskets drying in the sun."

~Granny (as dictated to Deb)

Previous post: Granny's Walnuts ~ Part 1

Next post: Granny and the Girls Make Baskets Together ~ Part 3