Christmas in October block Swap

[Kassaundra]

I buy earth balance pb. It is natural pb and flaxseed sweetened with agave syrup. It is really good. Crunchy or smooth. No stirring. It is in the health food section of our local Kroger store. Do they have Krogers in your area?

No haven't seen a Kroger in years, didn't know they still existed. Local grocery stores are limited to a small Homeland (old Safeway, and formerly Piggly Wiggly) and good old Wally world, everything else is 30+ miles.

 

[Anna6]

New sewing machines are always exciting, and such a nice one, even better!  Congrats.

Rosie, those boys look like they are having a blast.

I've heard about smores all my life, when I was young my Gma would never have let me eat such "garbage" food (food value wise) (her words not mine)  I think I need to find some GF graham crackers and try them.

My kids are having plenty of smores since we are camping. I am not big on marshmellows so I skip but I do like roasting them over the fire.

 

[Kassaundra]

My kids are having plenty of smores since we are camping. I am not big on marshmellows so I skip but I do like roasting them over the fire.

I don't like marshmallows either, I only like them as "fluff" in fluffer nutter sandwiches. I also like the browned (not burned) "crust" of roasted marshmallows. (they also make great fudge)

 

[OHhappychicks]

Mmmm! Fluffer Nutters and fudge!!! Making me hungry!

 

[fenrosie]

This is to prove they did go in! The one on the steps with the black swimmers is my son.

 

[fenrosie]

Today the kids and I went to York . My daughter had met a boy on the Internet and they wanted to meet for the first time, I had great reservations but it was fine, he was a really nice lad and had both his mother AND father with him!

 

[OHhappychicks]

Today the kids and I went to York . My daughter had met a boy on the Internet and they wanted to meet for the first time, I had great reservations but it was fine, he was a really nice lad and had both his mother AND father with him!

Beautiful pics! Love the old architecture. That had to be a bit scary! So glad it turned out ok. So good to hear that his parents came. Seems so much of the time, parents don't know what their kids are into.

 

[majack]

Ladies! Today I have had the most amazing day. My quilting group, Pearoom Quilters went out for the day. First we went to a quilting shop about 1hr 30mins away which we had never been to before, then went to The village of Hemingford Grey to see the Lucy Boston Patchworks. The old bits of the village are wonderful, suggest you google earth it. It's in Cambridgeshire but I doubt that there can be two villages of that name! Lots of thatched cottages etc.

Lucy Boston wrote the Greene Knowe series of children's books. I didn't know them but the first was written in 1954. I've bought the first one and read a few pages on the coach on the way back. Beautifully written and very funny. The house, Greene Knowe, is the Hemingford Grey Manor House that we visited, the descriptions of the entry hall with mirrors and strange objects and birds nests etc is totally true. The house was built by the Normans in 1130, yes, 1130. It is the oldest continuously inhabited house in Great Britain. It is wonderful. Lucy Boston bought the house just before the Second World War. The locals treated her with great suspicion. How did a lady on her own want to, or have the means to live in such a place that they considered had a poltergeist? In fact the locals avoided walking along the paths in front of the Manor House, instead alwYs going the long way round to the next village. Lucy repaired the manor a converted the area around to magnificent gardens. Things got worse with the locals when war broke out. Lucy was a widow and before his death, she and her husband ended up in Vienna. The villagers knew she spoke German so she must have been a spy! As you know, this part of the UK is full of airfields. She wanted to do something for the pilots so she asked the commander of the local airfield if she could hold a musical evening for the pilots etc, playing records (78 rpm) on her gram hone with the biggest horn you have ever seen. The commander said yes, he would like to send a coach load over. Lucy only had one settee and some dining room chairs. Fortunately some of her friends came over and helped her 'make' seating out of all sorts of things, including the back seat of her car. It's all still there. Well, this turned out to be so popular that she had to hold the sessions every Tuesday and Friday evening. One the most requested songs was played to us. It was quite emotional, I got quite teary thinking of these young men, many in their late teens or early twenties sitting there listening to these musical interludes, so many of them came back again and again and again but then never came back ........

Lucy Boston's Patchworks are stunning, absolutely stunning. They are not quilts, the blocks she made over paper piecing were appliqued to a backing. Of course, she had few fabrics available after the war and what there was required points from ration books so wouldn't have been wasted on patchwork. She used what she could get, including ticking, tea towels (not rationed) etc. every tiny piece was fussy cut, stitches Twenty to the inch even when she was 90y.o. I feel to honoured to have seen them. I have tried to find something on the web and I found the best thing for you to have a look at is dovegreyreader.typepad.com for Monday June 30, 2014. This lady also has other links to follow. Another thing to put in is Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses. This is particularly famous in the U.S. and Japan. Please, please look for these. I promise if any of you get over to the UK I will take you here. Ohhhh, I could tell you so much more...the gardens... Diana Boston, our host, lunch at the Cock inn....

 

[OHhappychicks]

Ladies! Today I have had the most amazing day. My quilting group, Pearoom Quilters went out for the day. First we went to a quilting shop about 1hr 30mins away which we had never been to before, then went to The village of Hemingford Grey to see the Lucy Boston Patchworks. The old bits of the village are wonderful, suggest you google earth it. It's in Cambridgeshire but I doubt that there can be two villages of that name! Lots of thatched cottages etc.

Lucy Boston wrote the Greene Knowe series of children's books. I didn't know them but the first was written in 1954. I've bought the first one and read a few pages on the coach on the way back. Beautifully written and very funny. The house, Greene Knowe, is the Hemingford Grey Manor House that we visited, the descriptions of the entry hall with mirrors and strange objects and birds nests etc is totally true. The house was built by the Normans in 1130, yes, 1130. It is the oldest continuously inhabited house in Great Britain. It is wonderful. Lucy Boston bought the house just before the Second World War. The locals treated her with great suspicion. How did a lady on her own want to, or have the means to live in such a place that they considered had a poltergeist? In fact the locals avoided walking along the paths in front of the Manor House, instead alwYs going the long way round to the next village. Lucy repaired the manor a converted the area around to magnificent gardens. Things got worse with the locals when war broke out. Lucy was a widow and before his death, she and her husband ended up in Vienna. The villagers knew she spoke German so she must have been a spy! As you know, this part of the UK is full of airfields. She wanted to do something for the pilots so she asked the commander of the local airfield if she could hold a musical evening for the pilots etc, playing records (78 rpm) on her gram hone with the biggest horn you have ever seen. The commander said yes, he would like to send a coach load over. Lucy only had one settee and some dining room chairs. Fortunately some of her friends came over and helped her 'make' seating out of all sorts of things, including the back seat of her car. It's all still there. Well, this turned out to be so popular that she had to hold the sessions every Tuesday and Friday evening. One the most requested songs was played to us. It was quite emotional, I got quite teary thinking of these young men, many in their late teens or early twenties sitting there listening to these musical interludes, so many of them came back again and again and again but then never came back ........

Lucy Boston's Patchworks are stunning, absolutely stunning. They are not quilts, the blocks she made over paper piecing were appliqued to a backing. Of course, she had few fabrics available after the war and what there was required points from ration books so wouldn't have been wasted on patchwork. She used what she could get, including ticking, tea towels (not rationed) etc. every tiny piece was fussy cut, stitches Twenty to the inch even when she was 90y.o. I feel to honoured to have seen them. I have tried to find something on the web and I found the best thing for you to have a look at is dovegreyreader.typepad.com for Monday June 30, 2014. This lady also has other links to follow. Another thing to put in is Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses. This is particularly famous in the U.S. and Japan. Please, please look for these. I promise if any of you get over to the UK I will take you here. Ohhhh, I could tell you so much more...the gardens... Diana Boston, our host, lunch at the Cock inn....

OOOO! Sounds so wonderful! I love that that type of stuff! I'm going to go check it out! Thanks for sharing majack!
I just was online and looked up the Manor! Gorgeous, lovely, spectacular! I saw the gram-o-phone horn! It is a very large one! I checked out the Patchwork of the crosses. Those are very beautiful quilt blocks.

 

[RustyHen]

majack, I first learnd of the Green Knowe series when I was a Librarian ,before I retired, very interesting for young readers. I will be sure to check out the web sites you mentioned. I have tried a Patch Work of the Crosses block. Lucy Boston made them look so wonderful, I just have to look and look at them online.
I envy you so much to have seen them in person, and to view the whole area too, just too wonderful for words.