Sashings and cornerstones

We had a wonderful weekend at my mom's.  Finally got up there to have our Christmas celebration.  It was really nice.

When we got home, I did a little bit of sewing.  I started making the rows of sashing and cornerstones for Johanna's wedding quilt.

I didn't get too far on them, but I did get them started.  It was a little cold upstairs and I needed to turn on the little space heater.  When I have it on, I can't use the iron.  The rows of blocks and sashings need to be ironed, so it was easier to sew on the sashings and cornerstones than be cold and press blocks!

I really like the sewing table I made for the 301.  There is so much space on it in all the right places.  If I could find another table similar to this one, I would make a second sewing table.  The table is so much more comfortable than a regular sewing cabinet.  There isn't that small confined space you have to fit your knees under and your legs around.

Common ailment

When people know that you sew, they ask you all the time to do sewing projects.  In this case, the owner of Tilley's asked me to sew the flap down on the front of her bank bag.  She has several that need this done, but can only part with one at a time, so I will have to do them over a period of time.

It didn't take long at all to do.

Can't wait to sew

I get so anxious to get home and sew after a day at work.  There are so many projects I want to be working on.

Last night Ev and I went to the Mexican restaurant in Staunton for dinner. we hadn't been there for a while, because we really liked the one in Litchfield, but it closed.  On our way there we stopped to see if Olivia wanted to go with us.  She did, so the three of us went to dinner.  Then of course, since it was right next door, we stopped at Dairy Queen.  I had a cone that I only ate about half of.  We got Addy her first 'pup cup'.  It was so cute!  All it was was just a sundae cup filled half way with ice cream and two dog biscuits stuck in it.  She loved it!  Thought she was queen for the day, getting ice cream and biscuits!

Yes, we spoil that dog.

Yummy

My breakfast this morning at work looked so pretty, I had to take a picture.  It's just generic oat cereal with a few blueberries and strawberries in it.

I had made a fruit salad a few days ago and didn't use all the berries, so I thought if I brought them to work I would use them in the cereal.  It was quite tasty.  In fact, it would have been even better if the cereal was less sweet, and the cereal really wasn't very sweet to begin with.

Addy

Not the best picture, and I know you have seen Addy before, but I just had to post this pic.  Silly pooch decided, right after we changed the sheets, that she should lay on MY pillows.

She really is a good dog, but sometimes she tries to take over the house.  Who am I kidding, she has taken over the house!  haha.

The quilt that is on the bed is the 36 patch I made a while ago.  It has held up quite nicely.  I am very pleased with it.  It gets used and washed quite a bit.

Loving it!

I am back in the groove, people!  Woohoo!  Worked on Johanna's wedding quilt for almost two hours.  I finished putting the sashing on the 8 new blocks, then pressed all the blocks.  Sewed them into 8 rows of 6 blocks.

Now they need to be pressed again.  But I have to say, I am not finding that to be quite the drudgery that I used to.  Don't know why, and don't care, just rolling with it... haha.

Here's what I completed last night.  Remember, there will be a row of sashing and cornerstones between each row of blocks, as well as borders.

I am super pleased with it.  This NYE mystery was my favorite so far.

Tonight there is a show on t.v. that I want to watch at 8, so if I go up and sew, it will have to be before that.

And in case you thought the air fryer was just a nine days' wonder, I used it last night to make Ev and I a steak to share and to warm up twice baked potatoes and some grilled peppers and onions.  We had that all for dinner, plus some garlic bread.  Pretty good eats for just a Monday night!  Ev might be getting a little bit spoiled... haha.

Coasting along

A few months ago we inherited two nice pieces of furniture that my granfather made for my mother years ago.  They are two end tables for the front room.  We didn't have any coasters for drinks, so I thought I would whip up something really quick.  And I mean really quick.

When I take a quilt off of Gemma, the longarm, there are usually long strips of fabric from the backing and long strips of batting left over.  I'm sure that people trimming up their quilts, even from quilting on a domestic machine or by hand will also have these types of pieces left over.  I know I did when I was quilting in that manner.  They were the perfect width for coasters.

I just cut a couple squares of batting to the size of coaster I wanted, then cut a rectangle of material slightly wider and a bit more than double the length.  Folded the material in half long ways, put batting squares on top, then turned over and sewed three open sides almost closed.  Left a couple inches at end so I could turn them.

Turned them right side out and stitched a square through all layers, after closing up the area on the side where I turned them.

Here they are, along with some pieces of the quilt for Johanna that I was working on.  As you can see, they are not uniform in size at all.  I did not care about that.  I just want to protect the furniture.

I also hold no illusions that these may not really be coasters, but are actually chew toys for Addy.  We shall see... haha.  And that, my blog friends, is why I did not take oodles of time making them perfect.

Back to it!

Since the blue New Year's Eve Mystery is going to be Johanna's wedding quilt, I decided to make it wider than originally planned.  I needed to make and additional eight blocks.

Since the blocks are scrappy, using different large blocks for the centers and corners, I felt it would be best if I used materials that were already in the other blocks.  If I used all new fabrics, there would be no scraps of that type in the original 40 blocks that are done, and the new ones would stand out.  Luckily I was able to find enough scraps in my stash from original fabrics used.

The blocks came together fairly quickly after all the pieces were cut.  All additional eight blocks were finished over the weekend.  I need to put sashing strips on the sides and then will arrange them in their final layout.

Probably have to shoo Miss Addy outside while I do that.  Would like to use our bed for the layout, and I really don't need Addy "helping", hahaha.

Going to just begin making Nick's wedding quilt with the additional eight blocks, I think.  It's not that big of a deal, and I know I have the fabric for it.

New journal

To some it is just a simple composition notebook, but to me it's my quilting journal.  This year I am really going to try and keep up with it and write more than just a snippet or two about projects.

I wrote six pages about our trip to Bloomington!

Not sure if I am getting sick or what, but haven't been feeling too good lately.  I went to bed at 6pm last night and just couldn't get warm.  Hopefully it was a one day deal.

My new pressing and cutting board

I am pretty pleased with myself right now.  I made a new little travel pressing and cutting board!  A while ago I had it in my head to do this, and had a couple of pieces of plywood cut to size.  Well, they have been just sitting around, staring at me, for long enough.  I finally got one of them turned into a travel board.  Here, mostly in pictures, is what I did.

I gathered up my supplies.  The above picture just shows what is needed for the board without a cutting mat on the back.  If you decide to do that part, you will need a mat and spray adhesive.  Pictured above are the piece of plywood - mine is about 14"x14", some batting, material to cover it, scissors, construction stapler, and staples - make sure they are not longer than your plywood is deep.

Lay the board on your batting.  My batting was about 4 pieces of a sample stack of batting types I picked up from the Hobbs booth in Paducah one year.  I used only the all cotton pieces.

Trim around the board, leaving about a quarter inch of batting all the way around.

I was going to use plain muslin, but decided I didn't have to!  I picked out a print that I have always liked, that I had in my stash.  I liked this one so much, I had bought a bolt of it from Miller's in Arthur.

Cut your piece of fabric about 3 or 4 inches larger all around the square.  Layer as follows:  material (right side on table), batting, then board.

Bring up one edge and staple to secure.  I used five staples on one side.

Bring material around on opposite side, pulling snug, and staple as you did the other side.

Bring material around on sides and staple.  I folded the corners in a bit and stapled down the excess.

This picture does not show it, but I did trim the excess bit sticking out.  You don't really have to.

Ta-Da!

Now, if you have an old cutting mat that has seen better days, you can make one side a cutting board.

Fortunately, where this mat was cut through it still left enough for me to cover the back of the board.

To be honest, this was the hardest part of the whole project - cutting the cutting mat!  I used old scissors for this job.  I just cut it to fit the back of the board.

I glued it down using spray adhesive.  All done!

I may make a second one just because.

A finish for Sandy

Sandy came over to the office with show and tell today!

She made this really cute quilt for one of her daughter's who is having a baby.  It has Dr. Seuss material in the blocks.  The back is made of minkee fabric.  It's very soft and cuddly!

Monkey Business

Mary cut the big blocks and pieced together the nine patch blocks for this quilt over the weekend.  The big blocks have monkeys on them and the nine patches coordinate with them.  She went home and put the top together!

I think we are both inspired to do more quilting right now.

More projects

The main thing that I worked on while in Bloomington was the New Year's Eve Mystery quilt.  I decided that it would be Johanna's wedding quilt.  Here are some of the squares that will go in it.

I am really liking the way it is turning out.  I have all of the squares finished and am putting the sashing strips on it now.

After it is done, I have the pieces just about ready to be cut for a second one.  It will be for Nick's wedding, and will be in different colors.

Accomplishments

Here's a pic of Mary holding her quilt top.  She made this using a really easy pattern of just one size strip set in an interesting way.

And although I did not finish this in Bloomington, I did come home and finish the last nursing home top!  I quilted it on Sunday afternoon and Monday night I put the binding on it.  I am glad it is finished!

Relaxed, refresshed, and recharged!

That's how I feel!  Despite the ice storm warning, Mary and I decided to go ahead and make our trip to Bloomington.  The storm was supposed to hit my area in the afternoon, so I left early to get ahead of it.  Mary left at the same time and we met around 11 at the hotel.

Before I get into the details of our trip, I do want to say that the ice storm did not reach my hometown area until Saturday and then it was not bad at all.

When we got to the hotel, the desk clerk kindly let us check in early, which was great.  We set up our little sewing areas and got busy!

Mary sits to the side of the big table in the room, which we use to cut on.  I sit next to the couch.  Before we started sewing, we had to make a trip to the nearby Wal Mart.  She forgot to bring her table and I needed a different chair than the one the hotel provided.

Above is Mary's set up.  She brought her Featherweight (Olga).

This was my set up.  I brought my Featherweight (Grace), too!

This is the third time we have stayed at this hotel.  It is a really nice place to stay and has everything you need right there.  If we forgot anything (like a table or a chair!) there is a Wal Mart within a block of the hotel.  There is also an Aldi even closer, so we just went there before we settled in and got our snacks.

The room has a refrigerator and a microwave, so we were all set!

Doesn't this sound fun...not!

An ice storm warning has been issued for the region in effect from 3 p.m. Friday to 3 p.m. Central Standard Time Sunday.

The winter storm watch is no longer in effect and has been switched to an ice warning, the National Weather Service said Thursday afternoon.

The forecast is freezing rain will overspread the area Friday afternoon and evening, with significant ice accumulation is expected from Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon.

Accumulations predicted are one quarter to one half inch of ice.

Temperatures...upper 20s to lower 30s.

Winds...northeast 5 to 10 mph.

Impacts: The wintry precipitation will likely result in hazardous travel conditions...especially on bridges… overpasses...and untreated roads. parking lots and sidewalks will become slippery well. damage to trees and power lines is also possible.

The National Weather Service continued: An ice storm warning means that a severe and dangerous amount of ice accumulation is occurring or expected to accumulate… especially on untreated surfaces...such as sidewalks… driveways...roads... and parking lots. the heavy ice accumulations will make travel dangerous or impossible. if you must travel...exercise extreme caution...and begin your travel with a full tank of gas...and carry a winter storm kit which includes a shovel...flashlight...cellphone...food and water…and blankets of extra warm clothing. ice accumulations and winds will likely lead to snapped power lines and falling tree branches that add to the danger.

Dinner time

I did not feel like cooking last night.  Told Ev we should just order a pizza.  He agreed, so when I got home, I put on my comfy jammies and cuddled up in the recliner with the cat.  Then Ev says, let's go out!  So, I got dressed again and we went to Crossroads Diner.  Both got fried chicken dinners, which were absolutely excellent.  Went home and put my jammies back on and resumed cat cuddling.

Tonight I am going to try and make sausages and meatballs in the air fryer, then make sandwiches with grilled onions, peppers, spaghetti sauce and cheese.  Might even make a few fries in the air fryer to go with them.

Triangle this

Our block for the Paducah swap started out being a square in a square.  None of us has begun making the blocks (surprise...).  Today we changed it to a friendship star block.

Now, it is no secret that I am not a huge fan of triangles, but I am tolerating them more and more as I get older.  One way that I do them is to use paper templates such as these:

I am in no way taking credit for this idea, but would like to share it.  I drew out on graph paper 3-7/8th inch squares with a diagonal line and quarter inch dotted lines on either side.  You sew on the dotted line and cut on the solid lines.  Makes up some pretty nifty half square triangle blocks in a short amount of time.

Soup's on!

With the temperature being below freezing, it seemed like a good weekend to make vegetable beef soup!

Saturday I made a big pot of it.  The kitchen warmed up nicely and the whole house smelled good.

It's loaded

That's as far as I got on the last nursing home quilt this weekend.  It is loaded on Gemma and ready to be quilted.  Temp in basement was pretty cold, so I plan to work on it through the week after work.  It is supposed to warm up a bit over the next couple days.

I sewed a bit more on the New Year's Eve mystery quilt.  Pretty sure that one is going to be Johanna and Ben's wedding quilt.  And I think I will make one in different colors for Nick and Olivia's wedding.  It's a pretty pattern and works up fairly easily.

Nick and Olivia were over Saturday night for dinner.  We had tacos then played a game of Cranium.  Pretty fun!

Friday night we went out to eat with Johanna and Ben for her birthday celebration.  Just went to Tilley's but had a good time.

One Degree

One degree.  That's what my phone said the temp was this morning when I got out of bed.  BRRRRR!
I didn't want to get out of bed, because it was nice and warm under the covers, and especially since Addy was snuggled up against me.  But, alas, I have to go to work to make money to buy fabric.  haha.

Today is my darling daughter's birthday.  Going to see if she wants to go to lunch.

Last night I used the air fryer to make breaded chicken patties (frozen, precooked) with cheese on top of them and to warm up two twice baked potatoes.  We also had some brussel sprouts.  I think Ev is getting a little spoiled because I have been fixing him a plate lately!  It's easier to just take the food out of the air fryer and put it on plates, rather than dirty another dish to set it on the table.  Tonight I am giving the air fryer a rest and making tacos.

Ev is supposed to work tomorrow, so I plan to get that last nursing home quilt finished.  It is a straggler because the gal it is for is in a nursing home an hour away and no one was going to be visiting from our area until later this month.  I need to get it at least quilted this weekend because next weekend I will be going to Bloomington.

Bread pudding from hoscah

Over the holidays I made a couple loaves of hoscah.  They looked great, but were a bit dry.  I had put raisins, dried apricots, and dried cherries in them.  I think the dried fruits pulled too much moisture out of the dough.  Next time I may rehydrate the fruits before adding them.  Here was the hoscah:

It did make pretty good toast.  I took a loaf to my great uncle, who appreciated it.

So after having it around for a few days, I decided it should be turned into bread pudding.  Last night, while Ev was at the doctor for his annual check up, I made a pan of bread pudding.

No, it isn't very pretty, but it was very tasty!  It is such a simple, homey dessert.

Better late than never

Yes, I know it is January and my tree is already down, but I wanted to get at least one picture of it all decorated up on the blog.  You can see the kids' bags all lined up in front.  I made all five out of the same material this year, just because it was easier.  There were no complaints, so either they didn't notice or didn't care.  Probably both.  Haha.

Woke up to snow this morning.  Sure made everything look pretty.

Right now the temperature is 13 deg. F.  brrrrr!  Oh, and the high is supposed to get to 15.

Tree is Down

Ev and I took the Christmas Tree down last night.  It was a pretty tree this year.  The tree lot we go to was pretty picked over, but we found a good one.  Ev is taking the bare tree to his buddy who has a fishing pond.  The guy throws it in the water for the little fish to hide out in.

Used my air fryer to make dinner last night again.  I made a steak and french fries in it.  Had corn and a salad to go with it.  Was pretty good eats.  The fries were wonderful and crispy and the steak was tender and juicy.  I'm having a bit of an issue with getting the basket out of the unit.  Called the manufacturer today and they are sending a replacement basket.  Pleased with the service.

Tonight we will probably go to Tilley's for pizza.

Back To Work

After eleven days off, I am back to work.  It was very nice to have all that time off over the holidays, but it sure went by fast!

Christmas was really good this year.  The kids were over for a meal and to open presents.  Everyone got what they wanted, and then some!  Pulled off some great surprises this year, which was really neat.

One of the gifts I got was an air fryer.  I am pleased with it, so far.  Last night I made a whole chicken in it.  Turned out pretty good.

The night before New Year's Eve the kids were over again for a meal and game night.  We played Cranium and dice.  Had a lot of fun doing that.  I would like to do more evenings like it in the future.

Started sewing the New Year's Eve mystery quilt.  I think it is going to look good, just from what I can tell so far.