Creative C Collection

Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending.

                              ~Author Unknown

Friday!  The last day of the work week - on to relaxation, crafting, traveling, or to whatever you may have planned for the weekend.  I didn't get any sewing of any type done yesterday so I am going to fall back onto one of my other plans for today's post.  Back to the alphabet.  So today is all about the letter C!

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Photo Of The Day

California Coast near the town of Cambria

Yes, I know this isn't my backyard  (wouldn't it be nice if it was?).  Could I find anything in my backyard that started with the letter C?  No, except maybe a clump of dirt or a crushed flower - not something for a nice picture.  Cambria is known as "Where the Pines Meet the Sea".  Cambria enchants visitors with its historic architecture, distinctive shops, art galleries and walking trails along Moonstone Beach. Cambria is also home to a gourmet food and wine experience that is shaped by local farms, seafood and wineries.  Free of chain stores and brimming with charm but no place to shop for quilting supplies.  A wonderful place to go for relaxation and a beautiful view.

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I went around the house looking for things that started with the letter C - trying to stay with craft related objects.  This is what I found....................

Cutter, Rotary - We would all be lost without our trusty rotary cutter.  I'm having to cut my hexagons by hand and can't imagine having to cut an entire quilt with only scissors.

Cubby holes - for storing all of those much needed sewing notions!

Clippings of Cotton Christmas fabric - not many scraps big enough to save but I did manage to salvage a couple out of this mess

Cotton batting - here are two of my favorites:  Warm & Natural and Warm & White

Cords - And all of these are needed for my sewing area - sewing machine, two lights, router, and a heavy duty extension cord for the iron

Camera - This is a clipart of the camera I use - couldn't hardly take a picture of the camera I was using now could I.  But where would we be if we couldn't document all of our creations!

Cutting mat - This is an Olfa self healing cutting mat - the smallest of the three I use

Clips - for holding the binding in place.  I am cheap and use hair clips - works just fine for me!

Chocolate - an absolute necessity for every quilter!  MMMMMMMM!!!!

Counted Cross Stitch - This is the Christmas Stocking that I'm working on for my SIL.  See how close I am to completing it?

Chair - A supporting, comfy chair is a must for all of those hours sitting in front of the sewing machine!  This is mine and it has lots of back support and those all important wheels to enable sliding across the room.

Coffee - good for the caffine kick or to have a cup and relax.  I get my one fix in the morning and then it's decaf for the rest of the day.

Computer - Now would I be able to work on this blog without one?  Not to mention all of the internet shopping, blog hopping, tutorials, and advice I would miss if I didn't have one of these machines!!!!  Gee, whose blog is up there on the screen?  LOL!

Catalogs - Another great resource for shopping or to find out what the newest and latest gadgets are.

Candy Corn - Not a necessity but something nice and sweet to have this time of year.  I probably wouldn't have bought any if I didn't see it in so many blogs - they started up my yearly craving for this sugary treat.

Crochet and Crochet Hook - I crochet in the evenings while watching tv.  All of the crocheting creates afghans that are donated to Project Linus.

Colored Pencils - Helpful when designing quilts or arranging color layouts

Charts - This is a chart for the Christmas Stocking I hope to finish before the end of the month (Yes, I know that the end of the month will arrive in 9 days - I better get stitching!)

Countless magazines - I know that this was a stretch for the letter C.  This is a stack that I still need to go through to cut out the pages I want to save in binders.

That's it for my trip through C-ville.  I also thought of Crafts, Coupons, and Calendars but thought I better stop before you were just completely bored, and that's presuming you are still reading - lol!  How many more crafty C words can you think of?

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GIVEAWAY

Just a quick reminder to enter Leona's giveaway!  She has so many great things included for this giveaway.  Check it out at Leona's Quilting Adventure today.

Green Fairy Quilts is having a giveaway of Breakfast at Tiffany's fat eighth bundle.  Winner will be announced Monday night, October 25th.

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Final Thought

The weekend is only a few hours away.  Ours will be a busy and an enjoyable one (more in my post on Tuesday).  The forcast is great - cool weather and the possibility of a few showers - who could ask for more?  Hopefully you will get some of that much deserved down time in along with a lot of fun.  I will leave you with this quote:

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop to look around once in a while you could miss it.

~From the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Friday is here - enjoy the day!

A Is For ....................

"Ask not what your fabric can do for you, but what you can do for your fabric"
                                                                      ~author unknown

Today is Tuesday!  In all its grandeur I found myself stuck in a blog fog.  Couldn't think of anything new, useful, or eventful.  So today I'm trying something different and will incorporate this idea occasionally - 26 times.  How do I know it will be 26 times?  Because I'm going to go through the Alphabet, one letter at a time.  Now this won't be in consecutive days, but will fill days where I have nothing much new.  Today's letter is:

Photo of the Day:

This a bunch of Asparagus that we purchased at the Farmers Market on Saturday.  Did you know that Asparagus is a member of the Lily family?  Asparagus grows from a crown that is planted about a foot deep in sandy soil.  Under ideal conditions, an asparagus spear can grow 10" in a 24 hour period!!  After harvesting is done the spears grow into ferns, which produce red berries and the food and nutrients necessary for a healthy and productive crop the next season.   An asparagus planting is usually not harvested for the first 3 years after the crowns are planted allowing the crown to develop a strong fibrous root system.  Asparagus is a nutrient-dense food which in high in Folic Acid and is a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C, and thiamin.  Asparagus has No Fat, contains No Cholesterol and is low in Sodium.  The information was collected at the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board.  I do find it a bit amusing that there is no reference to what odor it can create in your urine - what we commonly refer to asparagus as "pee stinkers". 

Here are some of the A words I thought of today.......

As far as quilting:

Amy Butler - all of the fantastic fabrics she designs, the patterns, the premium thread collections, books and kits, and so much more; all to make us drool.
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Adhesive Spray (something I haven't used yet)

All Cotton Fabric

Autumn Leaf Quilt Block

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Amish Quilts with their bold colors and dark backgrounds, not to mention the perfect hand quilting.
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Allrecipes.com - my favorite resource for recipes
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And some of my favorite Authors and their books:

The Aloha Quilt (Elm Creek Quilt Series #15) Jennifer Chiaverini

The Alpine Advocate (Emma Lord Mystery Series #1) Mary Daheim

Arkansas Traveler (Bennie Harper Series #8) Earlene Fowler

A is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone Series #1) Sue Grafton

Along Came A Spider (Alex Cross Series #1) James Patterson

A Good Yarn (Blossom Street Series #2) Debbie Macomber

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Allspice seasoning

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So today, in honor of A, I will pass on my way of preparing Artichokes: 

Boiled Artichokes

Ingredients:

Artichokes - 1 per person

Big Pot of Water

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Mayonnaise or Butter

Preparation:

1.  Fill a large pot with water.  Add 3 Tablespoon Oil Oil to the water.  Bring the water to a full boil.

2.  Remove the stem from the artichoke so that it can sit fairly level.

                            

3.  Cut off approximately the 1/8 of the top of the artichoke

                            

4.  Clip off the tips of the remaining leaves - this will prevent you being stuck while eating

                             

5.  Brush the leaves with a small amount of lemon juice, especially the cut areas

6.  Put the artichokes into the boiling water.  Cover pot.  Boil for approximately 1 hour or until the base (where the stem was cut) is easily penetrated with a table knife)

                           

7.  Remove artichokes from pot.  Serve while still warm.

8.  Prepare your dipping sauce:  I like melted butter with just enough lemon juice added to give the butter a little zing.  My husband like mayonnaise with lemon juice added for tartness.

Enjoy your cooked artichoke by carefully removing the leaves and dipping into your favorite sauce.

Giveaways:

There is a great giveaway over at The Quilting Booklady.  She is giving away 3 sets of 3 charm packs to 3 lucky winners for now having 100 followers.

Another giveaway is happening over at Stitched in Color.  Check out the fat quarters that are being given away here. 

Jaybird Quilts is having a sensational giveaway!  She is giving away some just released fabrics and so much more.  This ends Thursday, so don't delay.

It's less that a week until the end of my second giveaway.  Don't forget to enter - just click this link HERE

Final Thoughts:

You don't have to worry that I will bore you with a new letter each day.  This will just crop up periodically.  But the next time, I'm sure you have already figured out it will be the letter B.  Tomorrow I will share my latest flower for the FGQ.  Also I will have a picture of the progress made on the Chubby Stars Quilt.  I hope your Tuesday is terrific!