Aubrey & Jamie

Summer is the time of weddings, and this summer was no exception. The weddings of friend's children makes for special memories. Aubrey and Jamie were married by a pond in a garden setting in the shadow of a beautiful, old barn. Nearby, blueberry harvest was in full swing! The contrast of pickers and festive western attire created both unity and contrast.

From the smallest of the guests, you could feel the joy and excitement as you waited for the bridal party to arrive.

Soon, girls dressed in buttercup yellow and brown cowboy boots were escorted through the lawn by handsome dudes in boots and vests. 

And then the beautiful bride, Aubrey, was escorted down the aisle by her loving father. Aubrey was radiant!

Vows were repeated along with laughter, tears, and a sweeping kiss! Congratulations to a lovely and loving bride and groom! Wishing you much happiness and joy in the years ahead!

Well-Intentioned Words

"The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention . . . A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words. ” 

― Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.

Bluegrass Country {TEA} Adventure

Adventures in Bluegrass Country are bound to be special. Especially when they involve a tea friend! Recently a family wedding took us into the heart of bluegrass country. The festivities were fun and the wedding beautiful! After the event we had a couple days to "rest up" before we headed home again. And what better way to "rest up" than to visit with a lovely tea friend. We drove to a nearby town where we met Linda from Friendship Tea for lunch. Our meeting place was the Historic Boone Tavern Hotel and Restaurant. It is included on the list of Historic Hotels of America along with the finest. It's also included as Best Historic Hotel of Kentucky {2011}. As such, you can correctly conclude that it exudes charm, beauty, and grace.

How fitting that a fine silver tea set graced a table in the lobby. Linda is responsible for the etiquette and instruction in preparation of tea in this lovely establishment. Our server skillfully prepared a lovely cup of Boone Tavern Blend loose tea...and it was perfection in a cup! Each sip was relished and doubly appreciated because Linda sat at the table with us. The Historic Boone Tavern Hotel and Restaurant of Berea College has their own tea blend, aptly created and blended by Elmwood Inn Fine Teas of Danville, Kentucky. It is rich and full-bodied. I enjoyed it immensely. Linda kindly gifted me with a tin of the blended loose tea so that I can continue the enjoyment once I returned home.

As we chatted, Linda filled us in on the history of the hotel and of Berea College. We were extremely interested in all she had to share. Berea College was founded before the Civil War by abolitionists and reformers whose purpose was to promote the cause of Christ. Students who reside at any point of the Appalachia's may apply for enrollment at Berea College. Enrollment is free to the student in exchange for a minimal hours of gainful labor over the course of each week. Student industries include woodworking, pottery & ceramic making, broomcraft, textile weaving, and jewelry making. The student's craftsmanship is displayed in a school store where their talents meld with other artisans from Kentucky whose products are also displayed and sold. The concept of student work in exchange for an education is one I think is admirable and is one that I believe other educational establishments should consider.

It's only fitting that the hotel decor included a nod to the fine horse gentility of the area. It was obvious that Bluegrass Country is a place where horse culture is alive and well! Beautiful farms, stately barns, acres of rolling hillsides and pastures, and genteel folk made us fall in love with this beautiful state. I was charmed by the black barns, many of which had large, painted quilt blocks displayed at a focal point someplace on the barn's exterior. Each quilt block was unique and in some way represented the farm where it was displayed.

There is so much more to share about Kentucky. Another time, another post. For now, simply recollecting a wonderful time shared with Linda will set the tone for future reminiscing. Linda exemplified SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY at its best.

Quilting in October

The local ladies of the quilt guild have been busy! It's been six weeks since there was a group sewing day, so the "show & tell" was filled with many projects for the October meeting.

Chris shared instructions for making pumpkin decor for the holidays. Super simple and super cute! All you do is wrap a roll of paper towel or toilet paper in pretty, seasonal fabric. Tuck into the top of the roll. Then, add a stick and some silk leaves. Wah-la. A pretty and colorful centerpiece or vignette piece is the result.

Of course there was a lot of talking as friends caught up with one another.

Our "block of the month" charity quilts are all done now. As a group we made more than a dozen of them. Each is quilted and bound now and ready to give away. This was an amazing group project!

There were many seasonal quilts shared at the October "show & tell". Chris shared her Halloween quilt. She is an gifted quilter!

Judy showed us her Halloween table runner. She is our "paper piecing" expert, and this runner did not disappoint! She gives each project she completes such fine attention to detail.

Louise shops at Tuesday Morning shop for fat quarters and jelly rolls at discounted prices. She shared two table runners she made using Halloween themed fabrics.

And Roxy showed us her current project; a hand-quilted table runner. She used silk leaves from the Dollar Store for the center of the runner. She said to remove the plastic "veins" so just the silk leaf remains. Then applique onto the fabric. Oh, so very pretty! And what a great idea!

Lee made several pretty quilts using panels as the focal point. Toni machine quilted them and the result was "wow"!

Froggy shared the rag quilt she made for her new grandson. Cheerful!

Judy showed us her Seahawks quilt! Timely!

And Chris shared her amazing "basket quilt". So many tiny triangles all stitched together!

Friendship. Sharing. Sewing. Lunch. Community. It's amazing what can result when those who love quilts are bound together by common purpose.

Teacup Rose & Friendship

It feels so good to have a friend on whom you can depend. A friend can help to mend a heart, boost you toward a brand-new start, clown with carefree schoolgirl glee, share a quiet cup of tea.

Jan Miller, Pals

Thinking of my tea-loving, kindred spirit friend whom I've been friends with since high school. Thank you for this beautiful teacup, RuthAnn.

A Stitchin' Good Time

Our quilt guild met today for our scheduled sewing. Karleen started things off with a short business meeting and then we had "show and tell". Although it's summer and we had fewer in attendance, there were a lot of beautiful quilts to enjoy.

Mary showed us a Mystery Quilt she made awhile back. It's beautiful, isn't it?

Her granddaughter is graduating high school next week-end, and she made this lovely "film" quilt for her. What a wonderful surprise it will be! The pictures she chose to print on fabric are of her granddaughter, friends, family, and special buddy. That buddy came to check things out today. Adorable!

Karleen calls these the peacock quilts, because the prints are peacock themed. They were stitched by one of her friends and quilted by one of our guilt members. Both of these quilts are gifts for an upcoming family reunion. Someone sure will be lucky to receive them!

Louise is the first in our guild to complete this year's Mystery Quilt. It is gorgeous!

And we had a little visitor today named Joaquin. He kept himself entertained by playing Minecraft on his iPad while his mother cut out quilt blocks.

As is customary, we all looked forward to potluck and all the yummy foods that people brought. The conversation was just as good. My tea thermos came with me today, filled with Yorkshire tea. It was a good day.

Cheery Cherry Macaroons

Cheery Cherry Macaroons are a wonderful meld of pecan and almond, coconut, and cherries! Perfect with a cup of tea or packed into a lunch box, they are a special culinary treat. Thanks to my friend, Nancy, for sharing this wonderful recipe.

Cheery Cherry Macaroons

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 2 cups coconut

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients except maraschino cherries, pecans, and coconut. Beat at low speed for 2 - 3 minutes. Then stir in maraschino cherries and pecans. Drop by teaspoonful into the coconut and roll cookies into 1" balls. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until light brown. Remove from heat and then allow to stand on cookie sheet for at least one minute. Remove from cookie sheet. Enjoy!

The Tea Towel Swap

The washing of dishes does seem to me the most absurd and unsatisfactory business that I ever undertook.  If, when once washed, they would remain clean forever and ever (which they ought in all reason to do, considering how much trouble it is), there would be less occasion to grumble; but no sooner it is done, than it requires to be done again.  On the whole, I have come to the resolution not to use more than one dish at each meal.

Nathaniel Hawthorne - 1844
 [written while Mrs. Hawthorne was away!]

The tea group, Afternoon Tea Across America, conducted an embroidered tea towel exchange several years ago. Some are requesting that we do it again, so I thought I would find pictures of some of the tea towels that I stitched or received so that any newcomers might see what we did. Each month, each participant would exchange a hand-stitched tea towel with their assigned partner. These heart tea towels were the first ones that I stitched.

This tea towel was one I stitched for Val for our November exchange. I chose a Christmas theme in keeping with the holiday season. I enjoyed stitching in "redwork". The towel is hemmed and then trimmed with red, checked bias tape and narrow lace trim.

Stitched for Karleen

This tea towel is stitched on linen. Usually I embroider tea towels on thin "flour sack" fabric, so it took me awhile to get used to the feel of the needle through linen, but I ended up really liking stitching on linen once all was said and done.

Here is the same pattern, but stitched on flour sack type fabric. The stitched design has been colored with colored pencils which were heat set after stitching.

And yet another of the morning glory pattern. This was stitched on cotton and colored with wax crayons and then heat set.

I stitched many primitive teacup tea towels. Each was unique with details that varied. This one has my initial stitched in each circle.

The vintage lady tea towels were stitched on linen. Vicki was my swap partner for each of these months. I found that stitching faces was a bit more challenging than flowers. But I really liked how these turned out.

A button on the top completed this teapot tea towel. I think this may have gone to Patricia.

Another teacup tea towel. This time stylized tulips were stitched instead of roses. I think this was an Easter exchange.

Same pattern, with colored roses and a new design in the teacup.

Stitched by Val

Stitched for Gwen

Stitched for Val

Stitched by Patricia

Stitched by Val

Stitched by Sandra