Actually no, I've not been quilting . .

While the colors of Fall are slowly encroaching along with cooler temperatures,

I've been diligently checking off the pre-winter tasks which should have been done in 2010. And once again, I'm almost out of time.

However, hope abounds! Today Mr. Fixit finally showed up to work on the faulty siding.

And Ms. Painter will be here on Friday with her crew to begin the final process of pressure washing and painting the rest of the house; alas, the part I could not reach.

After that all I'll need to do is pull all of the windows in order to sand and seal their exterior side.

As you can imagine, Ms. Dolly is taking it all in stride, catching catnaps and in between following Mr. Fixit around to inspect all work being done.

It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

To market, to market . . .

. . . early Saturday morn.

This time, I took Dolly through the winding roads of Eastern Tennessee. We got to the Mennonite market in time to rescue the remaining tomatoes, 3 small baskets of peppers, onions, potatoes, zuchini, sweet potatoes, cantalope, lettuce, bread, and of course sticky buns.
Here is one of the delivery wagons parked by the receiving dock.
On our way home through the gorge there weren't nearly as many rafters and the water looked chilly. We stopped for a brief walk at Lake Ocoee Inn.

By midnight I had canned 16 pints and 9 quarts of tomato medley. This time I ran all of peppers and onions through my hand crank grinder, just like dad and I did years ago when we made relish.

On Sunday, I gathered the remaining cucumbers from my garden and sliced them up along with several onions. They are waiting in the fridge for me to make more pickles tonight.

Presently, the only thing left to can is applesauce. I'm on the lookout for the right tree. If you spot an unsprayed, "hurry before the possums get 'em" apple tree, do send me a shout won't you!

Until then, keep stitchin' . . . .

Guess what I was doing on my weekend vacation . . .

Stewed tomatoes and tomato vegetable medley: 23 pints, 10 quarts.

Bread and butter pickles: 21 jelly jars, 5 pints, 2 quarts.

Times I washed my hands: 274

Times I washed dishes: Lost count!

The left over veggies were chopped into bits and layered with salt for chow chow. I've never made this before, but will use the same vinegar / sugar / spice combination for bread and butters.

The Ball Blue Book has a recipe entitled "garbage relish"! It includes everything left in the garden such as green tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc. You'd chop it up and make relish with it.

Maybe folks still do. But, since I don't care for relish, I'll try chow-chow. Same principle, different brine recipe. Things can get interesting in my kitchen! Wanna come for supper - LOL.

Here's Dolly wondering just when, if ever, I'm going to leave the kitchen.

Since the rain came, I did not get any more exterior painting done as planned. Nor did the pup get a bath, but there's always next weekend.

Oh wait, I've ordered 2 more boxes of tomatoes . . . ut oh.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

Contrary to the east coast,

our weather was picture perfect on Saturday, so we loaded up the coolers and set off for . . .


the Mennonite Farmer's Market in Delano, Tennessee.

This is one busy market in the middle of pretty much nowhere off of a road called Needle Eye. (I know you'll love that.) The trick is to be there when they open as shelves empty fast.

The homemade bread was delicious. The plums, tomatoes, peppers, and cantelope were so fresh and crisp they sparkled.

Driving home I took pictures of the beautiful Ocoee Gorge, home to the 1996 summer Olympic competition. The river was full of rafters and boy was it a lovely day for it.

The board on top of the bus is to hold the rafts. They go and pick up the rafters at the end of their run.

By Sunday evening, I had processed 7 quarts and 15 pints of tomatoes, onions, peppers, thyme, and basil. Chopping everything by hand made for a long day, but it will be worth it when the snow flies.

Despite the busy weekend, I stayed tuned to Yahoo news and thought often of all of my east coast friends and family. Thank goodness, everyone is safe and well.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .

From the left upper corner, page 74,

of the book, "A Gallery of Amish Quilts" . . .

comes yet another basket block idea. This one uses 10 HST's per block.

I began by sheeting up a 16" x 19" piece of blue and red. Then drew out a grid of 2-3/4" squares. (If you're not familiar with the technique to speed sew HST's, please e-mail me directly.)

This is my test block and I'm still working out the kinks, but I'll share all of the measurements next time.

Until then, keep stitchin' . . .