Winter at its "fullest"

Our yoga teacher often prompts us to do our "fullest expression" of a pose, be it it forward fold, downward-facing dog, etc.  Well, this winter has been at its fullest expression, too.  We don't seem to get a break from the cold and snow, so that a day in the teens feels like a heat wave.  I have even gone out to dispose of trash or compost in just a sweater on those "warmer" days.  

While this picture is from 11 years ago, our snowbanks are getting similarly high around here.  There are places around town where you have to inch your car out slowly in order to see if anyone's coming.

Yesterday was no exception as I drove downtown in the latest storm, sliding some of the way.  I had arranged for a speaker at the library who was coming from the Burlington area an hour away, and he had bravely said he'd give it a try.  Who was I to wimp out on my 5 minute drive down a major hill?  Only 8 people came to hear his talk on using DNA for genealogy, but it was an excellent program.  The road was "greasy" but I made it down and, later, uphill.  

The temperature started to drop into the single digits all day, so I was glad to be indoors, knitting and  baking a chocolate cake.  Here's my recipe for the very easy Wacky Cake:

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a square baking pan.

  Mix together 1 1/2 c. flour, 1 c. sugar, 1 t. baking soda, and 4 T. chocolate in a bowl. 

  You can add this to the pan and then make 3 indentations in the mixture.  Or you can add the following to what's in the bowl:  1 t. vanilla, 1 T. vinegar, 6 T. oil, and 1 c. water.  Mix well and bake 30-40 minutes.  (I find mixing it in the pan makes it stick, so I generally mix it all in the bowl and pour into the pan.)  Cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.  

You end up with a moist and delicious cake.  I have doubled the recipe and put it into a 9" x 13" pan for potluck suppers.  People love it and don't know how easy it really is.  

Today I'll head back to the sewing room to work on a tote bag.  I've never worked with "soft and stable" before, so it will be an adventure.  Have a great Sunday!

February's color = green

I've spent mornings this week making blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.   First, I made 10 log cabin blocks mostly out of strings in my stash.  While pawing through my greens, I found a few more strings that I added to the bag.  These blocks measure 8" finished.

Next, I made three Traffic Jam blocks, which are really nine patches with the center strips made of 2" squares.  

Yesterday I started working on a table runner made of blocks left over from Double Date.  I am now able to close the green box of fabric now that I have set aside a bunch of fabric to put on the "free" table at guild.  Today I sewed it all together, quilted and bound it.  Next week I'll go down to the florist's to sell this table runner and pick up the Christmas ones that she is probably sick of seeing by now.

I noticed that the quilt on our bed, made back in 2015, has some blocks that are beginning to deteriorate.  Before I put my green box away, I'm going to dig deep to see if there's any matching fabric I can use to repair the damage before it gets worse.

What's next?  Today I cut some very wild fabric from the 1980s into pieces for a tote bag.  The lining will be a pretty pink gingham poly-cotton blend.  I have quite a bit of that poly-cotton stuff that is pretty but I don't like it for quilts.  Tote bag linings seem like a good use.  

Tomorrow IF the weather cooperates (and it threatens not to), I'll be hosting a program on DNA and genealogy at the library.  We have a speaker coming from the Burlington area 45 minutes away, so my fingers are crossed.   We have an alternate date already planned just in case he can't make it.  Winter!

Pixilated

Yesterday I made a push to finish my Pixilated Holland piece.  I'm not sure what I'll do with it, so I have put it in time out in the closet.

I put extra strips on the sides but only squared up the top and bottom.  I am thinking of quilting this piece and then again putting it into time out as I make borders to go around it.  I was considering tulips and windmills, but I also have some Dutch prints that might be fun to add.  And do I want to branch out into some other colors?  And do I want a throw or a bed-sized quilt?  Too many questions!

I doubt if I will ever make another piece like this although I bought the "Vermont" pattern before I got this one.  This version of Holland (by Karen Abrahamovich) used strips that are 1.5" wide.   I feel it looks somewhat out of proportion, but that may just be my faulty memory.  I think the Vermont pattern I have uses wider strips, maybe 2" or 2.5".   I had a lot of difficulty with the angled pieces, particularly the islands in the northwest corner.  But they look OK in the picture taken at a distance, which is a relief.

After finishing Holland I started making green log cabin blocks as part of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge and ended up making 10 8" blocks.  Today I cut out some scraps for some Traffic Jam blocks.  Then it was time for yoga, so I probably won't get those made until tomorrow.  I am happy that the color of the month is green, though, because I have almost as many green scraps as I do blue. 

Ready to dip into the greens

February's Rainbow Scrap Challenge color is green, and I can't wait.  I'm sick of working in blues although I have a blue and white quilt that will be coming back from Marie soon and will need a blue binding (all cut!).  I have plenty of green strings for the log cabin blocks and there are lots of green squares for "traffic stop," too.  I'll get to those in between continuing working on the map of Holland.  I'm more than half-way done with that, but it is tedious and difficult to fit together.  Still, I am determined not to create another longtime UFO.

Friday I finished binding the blue and white snowflake quilt which I will get a picture of next time I'm at guild.   The quilt currently being long arm quilted by Marie is the Triple Barn Star and measures 72" x 72".  She says she's having a problem with the long arm so it will be a couple of weeks before it's finished.  That's OK with me since I have plenty to keep me busy.

I finished reading the latest #1 Ladies Detective Agency book yesterday (it was good, not spectacular) and started on one for my mystery book group.  I'll take it with me today as I wait for Paul at the Retina Center.  Before we leave for Burlington, I'll need to get ready for the cleaning people by gathering trash, starting some laundry, etc.  I always change the towels in the bathroom when they come so it all looks fresh.

Yesterday I mapped out our March trip south, and now I'm getting excited about going.  We leave around March 10 and return two weeks later, more or less.  It all depends on the number of stops we make going home.  One will definitely be in Columbia, SC, to visit my friend Libby.  And we're contemplating a stop near Hershey, PA, to join cousins in the area.

Steadily working

Yesterday I finished knitting a little hat, got ready to bind the blue and white rail fence/snowflake quilt, and ignored the Holland quilt.  Working on the latter is quite intense and I just didn't feel up to that level of intensity.  It is a frustrating quilt because no matter how precisely I cut the pieces (all 1.5" wide), they don't always seem to go together evenly.  I took one section apart and added 1/4" in the middle of the row which helped considerably.  I'll try to get back to it today after grocery shopping and errands.  If not, there's always tomorrow.  And this is how UFOs are born!

On the other hand, I knit the little hat using leftover yarn in three days.  I'm waiting for new yarn for more hats to arrive from Knit Picks, and I also want to get some yarn to make a red Norwegian-style "Melt the ICE" resistance hat.  I bought the pattern through Ravelry, but it calls for circular needles which I hate to use.  So I'm going to have to adapt it to straight needles.  I'm sure that during WW II, some Norwegians used straight needles anyway.  

If I get a chance today I'll cut the binding for the snowflake quilt.  I was given some blue striped fabric that will be perfect for it, even if it is a poly blend.  Marie did her usual beautiful quilting job on that quilt, made from blocks I won in a raffle at the state quilt guild meeting this fall.

Yesterday we had a visit from a very nice representative from Budget Blinds.  He measured our north-facing front windows and the bathroom window for "waffle" shades which I hope will make those areas a little warmer.  It will be six weeks or more before they can be installed, and by that time it should be a little less chilly out.  Still, I am looking forward to a more "modern" look in both places.  

Four blossoms now

 

My amaryllis continues to amaze!  It now has four blossoms on one stalk with another ready to open and another stalk with three waiting to open.  I didn't do anything special but put them in a pot with potting soil.  I worried I was neglecting it by not watering often, but the tag said not more than once a week, and that's what I do for my other plants.  I had one years ago that only had one blossom, so this is just wonderful for me.

Today I'm baking and keeping as warm as possible.  It's six degrees (F) below zero right now and a big snowstorm is on the way.  I made chocolate chip cookies and blueberry bread.  That may be "it" for today although I'm not sure what's for dinner.  Maybe mac and cheese with salad?  I also did a couple of loads of laundry.  That's a whole lot more than I did yesterday which was mostly finish reading a book, The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan.  I enjoy books set in Scotland, and she does it so well.  Light but fun.

I was happy to receive a picture of a baby quilt I made out of "strings" yesterday.  And the baby, Murphy, looks very cute, too.   Guess she's a future ski bum because she lives out west.  She's Paul's sister Pat's first great granddaughter, about six months old.  The mom wanted a "neutral" quilt, and I just happened to have this on hand.  

Otherwise, I would have whined about making one from scratch.  I don't understand why young moms want "neutrals."  My niece in Holland, bless her heart, was very happy with the pink floral quilt I sent her as her new baby's room is pink.  Jules was born right before Christmas.

As for quilting, I'm working on the Holland quilt by Karen Abrahamovich.  I'm making the 32" x 32" size, but I'm not including the heart, "windmills," or "tulips," just the shape of the country.  I will turn that into the center of a medallion quilt and surround it by Dutch-themed, pieced blocks.  

It's another blue and white scrap quilt, and I'm all of a sudden sick of using blues!  This pattern size requires 1.5" strips which are a little tricky to work with and the positioning is a bit intense.  But I'm about a third of the way through, so it shouldn't take much longer (if I keep at it).

Two UFOs done!

 

Good morning!  It's actually warmish here by Vermont standards, in the 20s.  Apparently, we're going to have a little snow later.  I'm heading to the quilt shop to drop off another quilt to be long armed and to pick up one that's ready for trimming and binding.  Marie is a speed demon.  Sometimes I wish it took her longer, but I know she thinks hard about what she's going to do with a particular quilt and can't stand to wait before working on it.  

I did quilt this sampler myself, though, with my walking foot, and am pleased with the result.  The pattern is called "Optimism" by Aby Dolinger who ran a block of the month during 2025.  I only made 12 of the 16 blocks and then used cut offs from the blocks for the two borders.  

I love the red binding, and the back is soft, pieced cotton.  I'll be giving it to a neighbor who is moving to a nursing home as soon as bed is available.  She is younger than me, so it's a real tragedy.  Paul and her husband go out to lunch frequently as a sort of respite.  

And here is what I'm calling the "Orange and Black Sampler," which includes blocks of the month from my local guild.  I made blocks in the color prescribed for the lottery each month last year and then another for myself in the orange/black color way.  I used the polka dotted fabric for the back and added a solid(ish) black binding.  Quilter Marie was impressed by the border, which was just made of 4" blocks divided by a solid 1" strip.

I still have a lot of the polka dotted fabric (which shows up as gray) left for future backs as I bought almost a full bolt from a friend who was closing her shop.  I think I paid $8 for the bolt!  I am planning to make another quilt this year using a black background and bright colors, so I have already decided what to use for the back!

Both pictures were taken at the guild meeting Tuesday night.  In winter, it's hard for me to take outdoor photos because they involve Paul holding the quilt on the porch and me standing in snow with my phone.  We are too wimpy for that these days!  But, at guild, we are lucky that one of the members always takes photos to post on Facebook for people who missed the meeting.