The weather is nearly to freezing today in Idaho, a fine time to reminisce about warmer weather.  Like last summer when I was seeing poppies everywhere and became obsessed.  During my weekly drives from Utah to Idaho, I was distracted by the poppies off the side of the highway next to the wheat fields.  And there was my local library.

When something chases me like this, it usually means I have to use it in a project to get it out of my system.  So I dug through my embroidery floss and my fabric stash, and a few days later, had this.

Now these stolen shapes and colors bring me a little cheer during the barren winter months.

You can have your own fake summer on a pillow, or tote, or skirt, or whatever–the Poppies Embroidery Pattern is available as a free download!  Full details at the Poppies Embroidery Pattern page.

she sewed.  Today is her birthday, a good day to get nostalgic and show you what creative things she was up to before the quilting obsession took over.

Kathy is a good momma.  She did lots of sewing for her kids. Which was especially lucky for me, being the first.  I’ve still got this brown calico blanket she tied.

What great custom pieces she created!  A knit jellybean jumpsuit for my first day of kindergarten.  (And apparently my birthday. Two birthdays in one post!)

Matching kittie Halloween costumes for my brother and me.  Cleverly made large enough that we could get years of use out of ‘em!

Kathy’s always been a great designer too.  For Girl Scouts’ International Day, she conjured up this Canada flag from scratch. (Which we were clearly, uh, very happy about.)

You can check out even more of her work over on Flickr.  Including a felt shark (notice the sweet beard on my pops), some Easter applique, and finally something for herself: a Hawaiian shirt (catch that Karen O-worthy haircut!).

Happy birthday to my dear mother, the other half of Suppose, the creative genius of the family!

Let’s catch up with the goings on of the Suppose Creative Guild, shall we?  For many of us, the favorite part of guild meetings is show & tell. Here’s a taste of what we got to see at our November meeting.

Faye showed off some intricate paper piecing in this Christmas wall hanging.

Emma Jean made this quilt with one of her daughter’s old dress.  Way to repurpose!

And finally somebody else made something with the ugly fabric from our December party game.  Check out Evelyn’s scrappy scarf that will end up with frayed edges.  Too bad she didn’t use the purple lamé (she claimed it frayed too much).

Impressive festive wool creations from Leanne:

And Jennifer demonstrated a quick and fun way to make coasters, the way we learned on Allsorts, and she added a triangle variation. Great idea for a quick gift as you can make a set up in no time and tie it up cute.

And last but not least, the treats!  Emma Jean brought some delish Apple Bread, perfect for this time of year.  A big thanks to her for sharing the recipe (and credit where it’s due: it came from a 1971 Ensign magazine!).

Apple Bread
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups cooking oil
3 whole eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups thinly sliced peeled apples

Sift together flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Cream together by hand the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.  (Be sure to add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.)  Add the sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the apple slices. Beat well.  Bake in a loaf pan at 325° F until lightly browned and done.  Wrap bread in foil as soon as cool, and it will keep in the freezer very well.