Note: To print the patterns..........right click on each page and do a save to your picture file and then you will be able to print out the page from your own printer. If you have trouble with this, send me an e-mail and I will send you the pdf file. As noted before, blogger offers no option for loading pdf's. Photo of the finished ornaments is on the front of the pattern.
This rather large hay bail turkey sits at the west end of Main Street in Henderson, MN and right in front of the Sibley County Historical Society Museum. I just think it's so fun!! He is no danger of ending up on anyone's dinner table. Hope you are all looking forward to a fine meal with lots of family and friends. Our kids and grandson will be joining us and we each have our part - Steve cooks the turkey, I'm the pie baker and mashed potato maker - real mashed potatoes (I fell down on the job last year when I didn't cook the potatoes in time and we had to eat instant mashed potatoes - won't happen this year!!), Collette and Daryl are making green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole, and Devlin is bringing bread. His girlfriend Stacia will be in Iowa with family. And Jacob will be busy playing with cars and toys and Kaiser will be cruising for crumbs! :-) We have much to be thankful for and family is at the top of the list. We are also blessed with food on our table, sufficient clothing and shelter for our needs, and so much more. My heart was truly warmed when yesterday I received word that many of our donations from the Sew and Share group have been so welcome to those who lost so much in the flooding in Iowa this past summer. Many are still not in their homes and so what I have is so much more than they have. We made only a dent but at least we made a dent!!! There is still a need for larger quilts, queen size so if you are reading this and have a quilt you would want to donate, please e-mail me. It doesn't have to be a machine quilted fancy quilt. Nope, a lovely patchwork tied quilt that will provide winter warmth is all that it takes. Let me know if you have one you could spare.
Must run and frost a cake for the coffee time after this evenings Thanksgiving service at the church. And while I'm at it, I'll remember to grab the peanut butter ball recipe (I got it and added it below). There is, oh, so much to do at this time of year that sometimes, I "short-circuit" and forget things. Well, that's my excuse anyway. :-)
Sandi
Peanut Butter Candies
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 tsp.vanilla
1 - 16 oz pkg. powdered sugar
1 - 6 oz. pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
2 tblsps. solid vegetable shortening (Butter flavor Crisco)
In medium bowl, mix peanut butter, margarine or butter, vanilla and sugar with hands to form a smooth dough. Mixture will be very stiff (and may be somewhat crumbly). Shape dough into small balls. Place on wax paper or parchment paper covered tray and then refrigerate while you prepare chocolate coating. You can also make the peanut butter balls one night and do the chocolate dip the next night. Use double boiler to melt chocolate and shortening together (I don't have a double boiler so I am just very careful to melt the chocolate and shortening very slowly). When the chocolate mixture is smooth, it's ready for dipping. Remove peanut butter balls from refrigerator and insert toothpick into ball and dip into melted chocolate and coat 3/4's of the ball (so that the peanut butter ball "peeks through"). Place on the wax paper/parchment paper surface and remove pick. When all are coated, place in refrigerator for 30 minutes and then they are ready to eat. These are a bit of work but they are really good. They also disappear really fast!!! The original recipe was given to me by a neighbor back in the 80's and I think it came from one of the women's magazines of that time. Have fun and enjoy the goodies!!!
The package came from Marian in Australia. I couldn't wait to open it......................
and it was the Doll quilt swap! The quilt that Marian made is perfect for me! I love 30's and this will look so nice in a doll cradle in my green bedroom with all my 30's quilts and vintage toys and teddy bears. There were also two fat quarters, some floss and a great Australian patchwork magazine. I am so pleased. I don't have a blog address for Marian so I will be sending a thank you to her via snail mail. :-) 
That's us - forty years ago on November 24th, 1968. I barely remember the historic moments that took place that year because first, I was in school, then I got a job and then I got married and I was all of nineteen!! The photo is faded from having hung on the wall at my mother-in-law's house. I wanted to scan a better one from our album but it is a "landscape" photo and I cannot figure out how to scan, copy and rotate it and then get it to upload to blogger. I don't like the way this one looks because it doesn't "fill the frame" so when my son comes out for Thanksgiving dinner, I am going to ask for a little help in the scanning and uploading of old photos. I wanted to post pictures from our trip to Turkey but I am doing something totally wrong because they scan in too small and my not so young brain has been taxed to the limit tonight. Sooooooooooooooo..............
Since I started blogging, I don't think I've gone this many days without writing at least some little thing. However, I've been busy sewing and such. I'll get to the "such" in a post later today. In the meantime, here are the results of my sewing.........
In addition to sewing on the little quilt, I also put the finishing touches on this Holly penny rug that I designed. This will go off to my Secret Santa Swapper along with a couple of other goodies that I will tuck in the package. Unfortunately, the colors don't look as nice in the photo as "in person". Perhaps I'll try another photo with a different background. Anyway, my Holly penny rug is made of wool. The beige oval is a lovely cashmere wool that I found several years ago and bought a good length of. I really wish I had bought more!! I haven't talked much about my penny rugs but my friends nearby know that even though I enjoy quilting, the thing I really like to do is make penny rugs! I offered my first class and design at our local Michael's store several years ago. That was long before I knew about woolfelt and I searched for "country" colors in the acrylic felt but never got the nice look that you do with woolfelt or wool fabrics. Then I began teaching penny rug classes at a local quilt shop and woolfelt was one of the products they began carrying. I loved the look and feel and the ease of stitching. And I loved that if a flower petal wasn't quite right, well, you just trim it up a bit, something one can't really do in traditional quilting. I taught designs offered in patterns the shop featured for almost three years. Then in 2003, I scaled back on my teaching as family health issues took precedence. During the years since, I have drawn sketches, stitched up some of those designs and have many more (over three dozen) just waiting to be taken from paper to an actual textile! My pattern line is Pleasant Memories and come December, I'll be sharing more on my penny rug designs and the patterns that will soon be available. And there's more to look forward to as next week, I'll be telling you about a "Tea and Stitches" little delight that I have planned. Years ago when I worked for a computer company, I had a boss who talked about "delighting the customer". He was a very good boss and well-liked by his staff. (I was fortunate for the most part when I was working in the "corporate" world to have good supervisors and great co-workers!!!) That "delight" conversation has stayed with me and I hope to "delight" you next week when I introduce "Tea and Stitches". It will actually have a connection to that Redwork pincushion I made for my mother's birthday and that I keep telling you I'll be posting the tutorial!! Stay with me. Sometimes, I may be "all over the board" with my projects and plans, but I can guarantee you, it is never boring around here!
Yes, it was a good day. Some might not call a day that is cold (about 25 degrees) and windy and no sun a good day, but I didn't have to go out except to walk the dog today so weather didn't bother me. I got to stay nice and cozy at home as it was my turn for Bible Study. I had baked a cake, had the coffee on and we had a good afternoon. That's the cake on the right. Looks better than it tasted. It's just a dark-chocolate cake mix with fudge frosting. That was to plain so to give it some added flavor, I smashed (yep, smashed) a box of peanut brittle and sprinkled it around the cake top. My friends all said it tasted really good but I am not so sure I liked it although it seemed like a good idea at the time.
When we finished, we all pitched in to fill the stockings from our "Sew and Share" project. I was lucky last week and found Halloween candy at Target at 75% off and bought several big bags. We filled each stocking with a coloring book, colors, three gel pens and lots of candy.
In addition to the stockings, I had also purchased (from donated funds) hats and gloves to go with the many scarves made in our Sew and Share group. Total of twenty six sets with twenty going off to Iowa and six to our county. This project is coming to a close and I will finally get the last of the pictures posted on the Sew and Share blog sometime this coming weekend.
End of a good day! Night all........
But that wasn't all, because next was this cute zippered bag and embroidered Raggedy Doll that looks a lot like one that is setting on a shelf in my sewing room!
And then I realized there was still more in the box! Look at this cute zippered tote! I love the sewing machine applique!!
And then I unzipped the bag and look what was inside!! Do you agree that Anna was very generous!! I have sent my thanks her way and plan to send a snail mail card, too, as I am very appreciative of her sewing and sharing gifts!!!
I have been really busy with "things" and am just a little disorganized these last few days with a few too many things to do. That is often normal for me. This is a very busy week and I'll not get to a really good post for at least a few days. 
And here's his story and he's stickin' to it! Hee, hee.
Howdy, Pardners,
I’m “Pickle Pete” and this is my sidekick Mat (no relation to Mr. Dillon). I am the fastest quilter west of the Mississippi. Born a purebred Gherkin, I was raised and pickled in the valley of the Jolly Green Giant. My tools are at my side – scissors are ready for cutting into the stash of fabric at my feet and my rotary cutter is ready for some strip piecing. With my ruler tucked in my measuring tape belt, I am ready to put Mat to work. And like a magician and his lovely lady who never suffers a cut when he saws her in half, my trusty sidekick, Mat, is “self-healing”! Now it’s time to whip up a quilt for my horse “Jalapeño Pickled Pepper”. My boots are “made for walking” out to the barn where I keep my sewing machine tied up. It runs like a mighty stallion when I start sewing my blocks together. And if I run out of thread, I just unfasten a new spool from my belt and “off to the races” I go. I sew so fast, I leave my neighboring quilter’s in the dust. And when the dust clears, I have a finished quilt top to show for it. I keep it green and lay my quilts out in the grass to pin the batting and backing in place. Then I lasso my neighbor “Sweet Pickle” to help with the machine quilting. She’s my little darlin’ and always comes through when I’m “in a pickle” to get a quilt finished. With one last cloud of dust at the sewing machine, I stitch the binding on the edge of my quilt. I pull the needle from my hat and whip stitch the binding in place. Jalapeño stands ready for the quilt to be tossed on his back and we ride off into the sunset. Ever the faithful sidekick, Mat waits patiently at the barn for me to return to work on my next quilt.
Riding the Trail of Stitches,
Pickle Pete
©Copyright Sandra E. Andersen
October 3, 2007 6:25 p.m.
And now, I'll bet you'd like to meet "Sweet Pickle". She's a bit shy but she tells it like it is. Here she is..................
Hello, Folks,
I’m “Sweet Pickle” and I’m glad to meet y’all. You know, that Pete is quite a talker but I’m the one that gets the quiltin’ done. Without the horsepower that drives my Corral A-1 quilting machine, Pete’s horse would just have a blanket on his back. No clouds of dust for me. I just keep a steady pace ‘til the quiltins’done. Got a bluebird sittin’ on my window sill and my friend, “Thyme” to keep me company so I am one happy pickle. Stop by and visit anytime. Show me your quilts and I’ll show you mine! Hugs and kisses to all you good folks!
Sweet Pickle
©Copyright Sandra E. Andersen
November 14, 2008 1:30 a.m.
Now, folks, I have made you smile and I have made you cry with some of my posts and you may have found some very boring, but I really hope you giggle when you read this post. And if you LOL that would be even better!!
Now on a little more serious note........While I drew the sketches for Pickle Pete and Miss Sweet Pickle on the first two weekends in October last year - and I wrote Pete's story then, too - I had to lay them aside because family life took front and center. By the third weekend in October, my mother was seriously ill and we weren't even sure she would survive. But we were blessed and my dad was relieved that "ma was all right". Both my folks loved old western movies and talked of going to Roy Rogers and other cowboy movies as kids. So, if anything inspired me to draw a pair of quilting pickles, it would be my mom and dad and watching those old flicks, listening to tunes and thinking of them. And my dad would sure think these are funny! I hope you do, too. Have a great National Pickle Day and put on a big pickle grin for the entire day!!!
One last thing, please don't copy my sketches or alter in any way for your use without permission from me the author/illustrator. If you do, the Great Pickle will haunt you. Surely if there is a Great Pumpkin, there must be a Great Pickle. One of these days, I'll sit down and color the sketches and who knows, I might have a "Pick-aso" exhibit. :-)
Sandi
In the photo above, I used woolfelt for all the pieces (measurements given below). In the original pattern and kit, I used cotton fabrics and fusible web and embellished the piece with glitter trim. The little piece measures approximately 8 x 10" and fits perfectly in a picture frame.
All you have to do to print out these pages is .........right click on the picture and save to your computer, then you can print out the pages. If that doesn't work, though, just send me an e-mail or leave a comment and I will send you the pdf file.
If you are using woolfelt for your project, cut........
On Monday, I went to my mailbox and found this envelope from Lee in Australia and inside was this lovely package and card. This is one of four or five ornament swaps that I am in (I love Ch
ristmas ornaments).
A few weeks ago, my friend Cindy made me smile when she sent this package filled with fabric. I didn't know she was sending it so it was a real surprise. That's right, made me smile. We have been friends for almost ten years. Wow, time flies. She's "down-sizing" so shared her "stuff" with me knowing I might find some new life for it. I can hear Cindy smile when she tells me about her daughter, Kaite, and then it makes me smile. :-)
The election made me smile for a number of reasons and so as not to get political because some of those I voted for won, so I smiled big and others didn't, so I smiled small smiles because I was glad all the campaigning was over. Just knowing there will be no more political ads for at least a few weeks is cause for some really big smiles.
I've been doing some smiling this week as I work on my patriotic crazy quilt piece because it is coming along nicely. No, it wasn't done by Election day as I planned, nor did I get it finished by Veteran's Day but I'm pretty sure it'll be finished by Inauguration Day!! Hee, hee. I write my goals in pencil so I can erase them when I don't quite make the schedule I set for myself. :-)
Another blogger that makes me smile and a whole lot of other quilting bloggers is Nanette of FredasHive. When she designed her little Christmas cottages, I doubt she realized how much fun they would bring to so many people. Mine came in the mail today and are pictured below. They come from the east to west in the U.S. and from Europe and Australia. Now is that fun or what? I have two ideas for setting the blocks but will do some playing with the blocks before I make up my mind for sure. Will add the other twelve that I made to these or perhaps make two separate quilts. I had so much fun making the Christmas cottages that I started some Halloween ones that you can see in the photo above. I changed the window placement a bit by cutting 1 1/2" strips to go on each side of the windows and I cut just one 4 1/2" strip for that bottom of that section instead of 2 1/2" squares.
As you can see, I've been busy and I am lovin' it. I made a lot of trips home to Iowa this past couple of years plus our move and everything else so projects sometimes got laid aside. I've been doing some more unpacking this past week and finding all sorts of stuff that made me smile.......my box of sweatshirts I was looking for, my Christmas books, vintage quilts and old quilting magazines. It's like shopping but I'm not spending money! Boy, that's a really good reason to smile!!
In addition to unpacking boxes, I unpacked this chest that my mother-in-law gave me and brought it upstairs to my sewing room. I want to use it for storing the small quilts that I have made. She won the little chest in the early 1930's. It was a raffle in a store window and her dad bought tickets for her and so did her uncle and she won it!!
Just a couple more things and then I'm done with the smile topic. Earlier this afternoon, I was giving a little sewing lesson to our neighbor girl and I was thinking about supper. I had hamburger cooking but wasn't quite sure what I would do with it. Then I came up with this concoction and it tasted so good that, of course, it made me smile so I have to share it with you. 
ons then spread (like frosting a cake - see photo above) over ground beef mixture. Repeat for second pie plate. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until top of cornbread is golden brown. Every oven is different so judge your time according to your own oven.
So, that's about it for tonight. Oh, except one last thing. Now that the cottage exchange is done and my Stitching Angel gift arrived in Australia, I need to focus on a couple other swap projects. I am working on ornament swaps and also something special for Chooky's Secret Santa swap. Then yesterday, I started working on the little Doll Quilt for that swap. Here's a little peek at the fabric I bought for this project. It just made me smile because it's so bright and cheerful. It's kinda Christmasy but I also think you could use this right up through January.
That's all, folks. This was waaaaaaaayyyyyyyy long, but I have been so busy and it just makes me so happy and yes, I am smiling as I write that. Hope you have many things to smile about in your day today!!
Today there will be services around the country in honor of all service men and women. A service will be held here in Henderson in the afternoon, and I will sing the National Anthem and God Bless America and remember my dad. I'll also remember our friend, Danny, who lost his life in Vietnam and all those who gave their lives for our country. We are blessed that they served for us. 
As you can see, Kaiser has no problems staying warm and comfy. I, on the other hand, was not warm and comfy so had to go in search of a warmer sweater. That's when I realized, I needed to do something about my closet. I am amazed that we have lived here not quite two years and I already need to "thin out" the stuff in my closet. Some of the stuff needed to be "thinned out" because I am not "thin enough" to wear some of it anymore. Get what I mean? Then I keep some things for sentimental reasons but I think it's time to pass the sentiment along, so I got a bag and started filling it with .......a jacket, slacks, shoes, sweaters, knit tops, a lovely suit, a gorgeous jacket for somebody's night out, purses, etc. It'll all go to the county thrift shop and someone else will get some good use out of it all. None of it's worn-out or out-dated, it just doesn't fit right. A thought here - I've discovered that you can really like something and it can look great on a hanger and then look awful when you put it on. I needed the folks from "What not to wear?" to come to my closet. :-) But enough "clothes talk" ............ How about a cool picture?
This was the sun setting last Tuesday afternoon. We were still enjoying warm weather that day but it was so warm that those of us attending Bible Study that day, all agreed that it couldn't last. When we saw each other at church this morning, we all commented on how quickly the weather did it's turn-around. Time to think of soup in the crockpot and warm bread from the oven!
Speaking of food, look at the lovely dessert that Arline served us at Bible Study last Tuesday (I was busy posting retreat pics and never got to this one). Arline is a collector of teacups and I chose to sit at the plate with this lovely pink tea cup and saucer. Each one is unique and has a story. I have a few tea cups but none as lovely as Arline's are. The dessert she served was a peach/pecan concoction that was delicious. I had not been to Bible Study for a couple of weeks because of preparing for and then winding down from the retreat so it was a joy to be with all my friends. As always, we start with food and friendship, then it's a lesson and sharing thoughts. Good food for the body and the soul!
In the picture above you can see the chapel that it in the center of Villa Maria. Lovely isn't it? 
I wanted to show you this piece as it hangs in the dining room at the Villa. Double click on the photo for a close-up and you will see that it is done with wool. The picture doesn't do the piece justice. There are several items at the Villa that are donated by visitors. I would love to tell you the name of the artist who did this piece but there was no name with it.
Just before I went to bed Saturday night, I laid out the paper-pieced blocks that everyone did so they would be ready for the lucky winner on Sunday afternoon. And I had four final doorprizes that were going to go to the last four names in the "Lucky Duck" wicker basket.
Here are three of the final four prizes. You'll see later what the fourth one is. :-)
After morning brunch we only had a couple more hours of sewing time. All the big projects had been packed and everyone was just working on last minute stuff. I finally found the pic of Barb and her basket. She made this one and another one with a solid fabric instead of the pieced squares. Those baskets are so cute. Thank you Ayumi for designing the pattern and sharing it with all of us!!! The Library becomes like home when we are there. We get so settled in that it is hard to pack up and go home!!
Our last two hours of sewing time just flew by and pretty soon it was time for an afternoon snack before everyone left for the drive home. Kate had given a call to home and learned that the weather was windy, wet and there was blowing snow falling so everyone started seriously packing up so we could enjoy our snack and final thoughts and doorprizes.
So, who won the doorprizes. Well, Carol M. won the fall fabrics in the oval box with the tin lid and Arlis won the fabric wrapped package that was a pretty journal for special quilting thoughts. Barb was thrilled to win the glittery fall fabrics that came from JoAnn Fabrics. That left only one doorprize and one name in the basket and that was Kate.
I had filled a small basket with all the scraps from the paper pieced project plus a few more fall and Halloween fabrics....................
and as she took them out to look at them .................. and she got to the bottom of the basket...........she was so surprised..............because she got the lovely ugly fabric but the bonus was a ten-dollar bill (and it was real) to go out and buy some lovely fabric of her choice. Oh, did we have a good laugh over this!!!! The deal is that she has to make a small totebag with the leftover ugly fabric and bring it back when we meet at the next retreat and she is to put a length of ugly fabric in the bag for one of us to win! Oh, we do have fun!!! We laughed some more when Collette's name was drawn for the paper-pieced blocks. She wasn't sure she should take them but everybody encouraged her to keep them and bring them back finished at the next retreat.
Once everyone else had left, we sort of relaxed and sewed just a bit and organized our stuff as we packed so it wouldn't be such a mess to unpack and put away once we reached home! It had been a lovely weekend but the wind was bitter and light rain was falling so packing the car was not all that pleasant. We really hated to leave but took comfort in knowing that we'll be back again soon. 
Turn out the lights...........it was time to go home...........it was dark and cold but we talked about our next retreat all the way home (a two hour drive) and we are so excited about what we have planned for our friends in September of 2010!
