Pin It Weekly #300

Yay! We made it! 300 PIW posts! And, yes, still pinning. Want to know the stats? Go here. Want to see what's pinning? Stay for a spell.

Still stuck on patterns!

also windmills, the old fashioned ones with beautiful skies

Everything Louisiana!

Merry Christmas

And for the first time, photos of our family Christmas.

Thanks for visiting!

Pin It Weekly #299

Wow! Did you see that number up there? 299! That means 300 by the end of the year. Are you impressed? 

animal kitten calf kid foal

This game started way back in 2012. It was pretty sporadic at first. The idea was fun, though and eventually it worked itself into Pin It Weekly. I'm do a much better job of that "weekly" thinking, but admittedly I miss the occasional week. Sorry about those missed opportunities. But let's not dwell on them, okay? Instead let's dwell on the seven years. Seven years!

book novel text read paperback tome codex folio 

Today on my Pinterest there are 180 boards. 

Buttons

35,870 pins.

Buttons

2.2 thousand followers.

and moat dungeon

castle fortress

1.7 monthly viewers.

Celtic patterns OR M, for Mary 

And that includes you!

fine art masterpiece sculpture painting

Thank you for visiting.

pattern template guide template plan

I hope you've enjoyed the years of pinning much as I have.

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Anniversary

Richard and I are celebrating our 40th anniversary today. We had the boys and their families over for a big Sunday lunch and then babysat Milly for a few minutes. All this to say I'm skipping today's post in lieu of the exhaustion. I'll catch you next Sunday. 

Pin It Weekly #180

Happy Thanksgiving! I understand that not all of my readers celebrate Thanksgiving the way we do here in the U.S., I think that most of the world celebrates or gives thanks for their blessings. So I hope that it's appropriate to share a few Thanksgiving pins. Well, actually, I am sharing my typical Thanksgiving dinner menu with you via Pinterest pins.

Baked Turkey

Pork Roast

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Carrot Souffle

Pecan Pie

Richard's parents and all of the children and grandies are coming for supper, and they generally bring along a dish. I expect salad and rolls. And while I posted Carrot Souffle, Adam is going to fix that dish using carrots from his garden. We'll be fixed up with more than enough to give thanks for, and I'm not talking about food. 

Happy Thanksgiving

eureka!

See this?  All these parts?  Looks like a chopped up car, doesn't it? It's not.  It did sound horrible, however.  Rather like a car that had thrown a rod.

Clacking and clanging and whirling all at the same time.  But nothing else was happening.  This baby was definitely not filling up.

So Richard finally decided to give me a hand.  He took it all apart. Spread it all over the studio floor.  Left it there.  Didn't bother to tell me the possible outcomes.  For example, could or would it eventually be a working machine again?  

This is where it ended up today.  An "oh, by the way" moment with my husband informed me that the motor has broken bushings.  Ah, thank you, darling, for the information.  I didn't mind stepping over your pile of broken vacuum and tools for an entire week.  Really, thanks for taking a look.  You're such a huge help.

Guild Newsletter Article....Me!

Straight from our guild newsletter!  Written by Mrs. Helen Mire (Thanks Mrs. Helen)

One of our Designers Extraordinaire!! …

Mary Evangeline Bourque Marcotte   

Mary has been quilting since her first child, William, was born 35 years ago. Her other two sons, Adam, 32, and Rory, 30, also enjoy her craft because she has quilted for each of them and also for their wives, Stacy, Jenny, and Meggan. Quilts also adorn the beds of each of her seven grandchildren, Dusty, Alayna, Lane, Jolie, Marley, Catherine, and Sophie and sometimes they even drag those quilts around with them.

Mary was born in Cottonport and raised in Plaucheville. She graduated from Plaucheville High, and now she lives in Evergreen with her husband, Richard, of 36 years.  Richard grows vegetables on about 4 acres and sells these fresh vegetables to the public. Her parents, Riley Bourque from Maurice, LA, and Ellen Lacombe from Moreauville, finally settled in Avoyelles with Mary and her seven sisters after moving several times during Mary’s young life! Mary’s mom always quilted, especially after she retired.  Mary’s grandmother also quilted and she learned many quilting techniques from both of them.

A teacher here in Avoyelles Parish for the last 25 years, Mary was a school librarian at Marksville High for ten years, but is now back in the classroom at Bunkie High. She teaches English to 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grade students. When she retires, she wants to quilt and travel. Mary loves to design, because she started out that way. “I didn’t start out with patterns, but just created blocks,” she says. “As I started becoming more and more interested in quilting by  reading, seeing other quilters designs, and visiting quilt shows, I realized I could do that and I would come home and make my own designs.” 

“I found a quilt top my grandmother made in my mom’s house after mom passed away.  I copied her pattern and made a few quilts using that pattern. My niece had a photo of my Dad’s barn and I wanted to create a quilt of the barn to honor him, so I enlarged the photo, made a pattern, and used fabric and thread to add details to create this quilt. I presented it at one of our meetings, and it won a Blue Ribbon in Wall Hangings at our last Quilt Show. I also created a quilt of the Cotton Gin in Cottonport. I use muslin to separate the strips for an interesting pattern in the scrap quilts I demonstrated at our Guild meeting. Use just scraps to create the strips.”

“I have attended the Houston Quilt Show for the last seven or eight years. I have also been to the Gulf South Show several times and a couple of times to the show in Beaumont, Texas, and of course to Krotz Springs and also once to Shreveport. If I hear about a quilt show, I will certainly try to get there,” she says. “Donna Mayeux and I went to classes given by Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims,” she says proudly. “Sure learned a lot that weekend!”

“I will miss going to our Quilt Show this year.  I had already decided which quilts to put in the show and certainly hope we continue it next year. Many people visit our show and this is a great opportunity to encourage tourism in Avoyelles Parish, so I know there will be many disappointed people this year.

“There are many opportunities to build your stash and also learn about quilting right here in Avoyelles Parish by attending our Guild meetings. We have many talented quilters who are willing to share their passion for quilting with us, so I feel we are blessed to have this Guild in my community. 

“I have written on quilting in an online magazine, The Quilt Pattern Magazine.  I have a blog named Fleur De Lis Quilts at fleurdelisquilts.blogspot.com. Check out the tutorials on my blog on many different subjects. Over the summer, I created the Louisiana Block for American Made Brand, which is a fabric line by Cloth Works. I will always continue quilting and enjoying the good life here in Avoyelles,” she says as she smiles broadly!

                  From Mary’s Blog Spot:  AMB Louisiana License Plate  

Pin It Wednesday #45

Happy Thanksgiving!  I don’t have to cook tomorrow since our family celebrated early.  (Our oldest son works off-shore and is away right now.)  We’ll be visiting with Richard’s family.  

Here’s wishing you a wonderful day with family and friends. 

Family Fun Night

Editing note: For some reason, this post didn’t go out, so I’m resending.   Dinner was last night. 

Whew!  What a great time!  When someone calls and says please make a gumbo for us, it’s hard to resist.  When two sisters gang together, it’s impossible (not that I really wanted to say no to them).  Guess what?

photo from Google images 

A few of my sisters came by for gumbo with rice, sweet potatoes, and cornbread.  Yes we like our starches.  Actually, we like just about anything, but the more fattening it happens to be, the more we tend to like it. 

That means we had both pecan cake and bread pudding for dessert.  Oh, and one sister brought along real butter from the Amish store to slather on the sweet potatoes.  Can you say rich?  I can definitely attest to the fact that there is absolutely no more space in my system.  I am full , stuffed,  and moaning.  I should say we enjoyed the company as much as the food.

straight from the farm

Since I’ve shared my recipe for Chicken and Sausage Gumbo, I’ll share how we bake sweet potatoes.  It’s easy.  First choose your sweet potatoes.  They should, of course, be fresh and firm. Wash the potatoes in cool water and remove any small roots that may still be attached and cut off the tips on each end.   Set the potatoes on paper toweling to dry.  I like to pat the potatoes dry; then cover the outside with margarine or oil.  I simply use my hands to spread the margarine and try not to put too much on each one.  This helps to release the skin when the potatoes are completely done.

right to the table

Bake at 350 degrees for two hours.  I test the potatoes by sticking a fork into the largest ones.  The center should be soft and squishy.  The skin should be easy to remove.  I enjoy the potatoes without any condiments, but Rich always adds butter, sugar and cinnamon to his.   Any potatoes that are left over can be wrapped in foil or placed in freezer bags and frozen, so I always bake a large pan and freeze the extras individually.  They are easy to warm in the microwave.  And are just as good.  

Happy Thanksgiving,

Mary

Winner and Thank YOU!

We have a winner!  And because I don't remember how to download or copy the "True Random Number Generator" box, we'll just have to deal with having the results shown outside the box.  Sorry about that all, I did my best to (almost) make it fit.

So, the winner: Deb of Quilting and Other Crafts!

The email I sent to her follows:

Congratulations, Deb!  You are the winner of the Fleur de Lis Quilts and Accessories giveaway.  You've won a free Christmas stocking.  Because your comment noted that you like red and white stocking, I'll need another day or two to make it.  But if you send your address, I will get it mailed by Friday, surely.  Because I need to make your stocking, I'll give you an extra day to get back to me.  Please respond to my email by Thursday afternoon at 5:00.  If I've not heard from you, I'll have to choose another winner so that I can get the stocking out in time Christmas.

Congratulations again,

Mary  

I'll keep you posted on the outcome of Deb's stocking and if (or when) I hear from her.  Thanks again to everyone who entered the giveaway and also to everyone who is now a follower.  That number has increased to 195 and for the first time since I started the blog in November of 2010, there were over 60 comments on one post.  You guys ROCK!  Thank you again for participating and for visiting.  

Finally, a huge thank you to Michele at the Quilting Gallery for putting together the giveaway and doing all the work required to host such a huge endeavor.

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:24Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Edited to add Deb's response to my email:  

Wow!  Thank you so much Mary!  I'm excited to see what you put together...

Thanks again and Happy Holidays,

Deb