Progress?

Let me get this out in the open first.  Sometimes, but not too often, I make huge mistakes.  My recent baking of squash bread was an absolute disaster!  I set the timer for what I thought was 60 minutes, put two loaves of bread in the oven, and went off to look something up on the computer.   

It smelled good at one point, and I thought the time was nearly up.  Then, much to my surprise, my oven started making a very odd noise, one I'd never heard before.  When I went to check, the display said "F2" which I took to mean "fire" because the kitchen was somewhat smokey.  I looked to turn off the oven but it had already shut itself off.  I got the bread out and immediately took it outside to cool in the driveway.  Then I opened all the windows and turned on the exhaust fan.  Phew!  Crisis averted.

Later, I got the bread out of the pans and cut all the burnt parts off the loaves.  What was left tasted surprisingly good.  I had planned to make a loaf of regular bread in my bread machine, but somehow I had lost my appetite.  It was time to stop cooking and start sewing.  I have been cutting fabric for Double Date in advance, so it's easy to sit down for an hour or so and work on paper piecing the blocks.

I'm finding these to go together more easily as I go along because I've developed a routine.  Paper piecing can be rather tedious, so I just work on a few each day.  This means the quilt will take some time to finish.  But that's OK.

I like the way the blocks look together, and I hope to pick up a few more green fat quarters soon to augment my stash.  I have made a dent in my larger pieces of green, but I need some lighter shades for variety and sparkle.  I'm not sure exactly how many blocks I will need to make - 56? 64?

My sewing room will be off limits for the coming week, so I'll work on what's cut up today and tomorrow and then put most of my tools, including my ironing board, away.  

The air conditioner will need to go in the window so Paul's sister Pat doesn't roast.  She'll be here while getting her lake cabin habitable for the summer; we aren't sure how long that will take, but it's fine.  I'm hoping she will help me go through some of my quilts to give away to family members at a memorial event for her late husband June 28.

Sashiko is finished

I finished the long-time sashiko UFO Saturday at quilt guild.  I really enjoy working on sashiko and will look for another project soon.  I finished the embroidery some time ago and added batting and a border.  I decided to hand quilt it, but the quilting is pretty invisible.  It will hold it together as it hangs on the wall over my desk.

Next on my list is sewing the binding to the back of the Lily wallhanging.  I finished quilting it yesterday and immediately sewed the binding on.  But I thought it would look more finished with the binding hand-sewn, so I'm taking my time, doing one side a day (or so).   I'll take a picture when I'm finished, but it measures around 39" x 39". 

I also made three mug rugs out of the scraps of the Lily quilt.  I decided I would make a few this year out of scraps from various quilts I finish.  

Next on my list is that set of placemats made out of a green and beige quilt I made my brother Axel in 2005.  I have eight 12" x 18" placemats and four mug rugs to bind.  He can give some away to friends or hold a dinner party.  That last seems pretty far-fetched as he has a small apartment.  I'll mail some when they're ready and keep the rest for when we visit him this summer.

Meanwhile, the purple shawl I'm knitting is coming along, albeit slowly (on #4 needles), and today I went to the library for a bit of aerobic walking in a group and baked a blueberry buckle when I got home.  After dinner tonight neighbors are coming over for a little poker, and we'll cap the day off with the buckle.  I have tons of blueberries in the freezer, so I will bake another one Friday to take to friends in Burlington where we'll celebrate Valentine's Day together.

Distracted by food

I have read quite a few blogs and talked to a few people about not getting a lot done over the last few weeks.  The election and its aftermath seem to have taken the wind out of some people's sails, including my own.  One blogger said she was "driven to distraction."  I haven't been reading or sewing as much as I normally do.   When I do sit down and read, however, I am really enjoying Louise Penny's latest, The Gray Wolf.

Although I haven't been quilting as much as usual, I am about halfway around the wide last border of the Dresdent quilt.  It's pretty easy quilting - straight lines down the pieced and plain sections as in piano keys.  It's a fairly big quilt (72" x 72") for using a walking foot, but it's happening.  If I knuckle down I can have the quilting done in another week... but will I?  There's no deadline, really, but I would like to make a few drawstring bags for gifts I should be mailing soon.  Yesterday I wrapped all the presents I'm sending to my sister in the Netherlands, and I hope to get that package out this week.  Last year's package arrived way past Christmas, so I want to get it in the mail sooner.

I also want to start on a Sasquatch quilt for Chris.  I have the Elizabeth Hartman pattern, Legendary, which I plan to modify quite a bit and add a border made with a panel of mythical creatures.  I think it will be fun and fairly quick to do.  If I don't get it quilted by Christmas, I will simply wrap the top up and promise to get it finished by his birthday in January.

Mostly, I've been cooking soup and working with sourdough starter.  I bought the little container of starter at King Arthur Baking a few weeks ago and fed it religiously for a week.  I hate having the "discard" so have been searching for recipes to use that and also have been reading up on various ways to maintain the starter without so much discard.  I have a loaf in the freezer and plan to make another later today using the "no waste" method.   This light rye bread was really good.

Last Friday I spent much of the day cooking a huge kabocha  squash Chris brought from work.   It tastes great but has a very tough skin, so I cooked it in the crockpot for 5 hours.  Then I peeled it, removed the seeds, cut it into smaller pieces, continued on the stove before mashing it.  I have another one in the garage that I'll deal with eventually (before it freezes).

 Chris arrived yesterday with a frozen whole chicken, so I got a loaf of bread out to give him.  The chicken is now defrosting in the refrigerator because there's no more room in the freezer.  I'll cook it Wednesday (if it's defrosted by then) and we'll probably eat it for the rest of the week.

Back to sewing

Today I'll be working on some Drunkard's Path blocks for my Green Tea and Sweet Beans quilt, a Jen Kingwell pattern.  It's slow going but will eventually get done.   I bought several yards of a beige-ish print for the background and am using scraps for the pieced blocks and some wool for the applique.  

I don't know if I'll make the same appliqued border.  We'll have to wait and see.   Amy Stewart, an author I enjoy, says she's a very "imprecise" person who likes to paint outside the lines and do her own thing.  When I read that, I realized I am a pretty imprecise quilter, too.  I start a pattern but then diverge somewhere along the line.

This week I also made the guild block of the month (one for the lottery and one for myself), a few gift bags, three tote bags, and some disappearing four patch blocks for a demo I'm doing in January.   After  last week, when I was lighting up the library, I am happy to be back dabbling in my sewing room and in the kitchen.  

This morning I tried a new recipe for easy Christmas treats - M&M Pretzel Kisses. 

Yum!  You can't eat just one and they go pretty fast, so I'm going to have to make another batch.  This will require another bag of Hershey's kisses, but that's OK.  I know some guys who will love them.  I used red and green M&Ms today, of course.  Over the weekend I hope to make some shortbread, too, and put it in the freezer.  It's fun to be getting into the holiday baking routine.