Sunday, October 30, 2016

A Quilt Finish

Approximately four years after I started this quilt, its finished! The quilt is made using the one block wonder method, as outlined in the book "One Block Wonders Cubed!" by Maxine Rosenthal and Joy Peltzmann. I haven't measured it, but its roughly throw blanket sized.





This one is all mine and is going in the family room for chilly evenings. Jack has already taken a liking to it, preferring cotton quilts to the usually fluffy and fuzzy blankets that I keep around. I may have to accelerate the plans for his quilt (a large medallion applique with medieval themed blocks) so that I don't lose this one permanently, but it feels good to have my crafty projects appreciated.

I've also finished the skein on the dragon scale afghan. This one is only about five feet across, so its smaller than I had planned. It shrunk up a bit once I started stitching the scales, as it compressed and stabilized the foundation chain.



May you have a blessed day . 

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Some New Recipes

Over the last couple of weeks I've been cooking at home once in a while but its been a lot of new recipes. I'm looking for things that let us use ingredients we typically have on hand, that are easy, and are quick.



Here are a few we've tried that came out pretty well.


I left out the dill and red pepper, and made it on the stovetop instead of the Crockpot. I used flatbread that we had on hand instead of tortilla boats. Mine didn't turn out as pretty as Betty's, but we both liked them. I think this would go in the Great Way to Use Up Leftover Chicken category.

Caprese Chicken by Delish.com

The only change I made to this recipe was to replace the fresh basil with basil pesto and I put it on the chicken under the cheese. This was a total win. 

Slow Cooker Taco Pasta by Betty Crocker

This one I made as directed in the Crock Pot, but realistically, you could do this one on the stovetop. I used regular diced tomatoes instead of Mexican tomatoes and left out the cilantro (cause ew.) We weren't sure about this one but it was good enough to eat and the leftovers tasted better for lunch the next day.

Are you sensing a slow cooker theme? One of the things I want to do is come up with some recipes that I can drop in the Crockpot after church on Sundays and not have to worry about cooking dinner that night.


This one was a hit with both my favorite cousin and my favorite niece - or at least, they didn't complain about it. I needed something gluten free for the older one last time the two of them spent the night. I paired it with some roasted potatoes and grilled asparagus. The only change I made was to use sun-dried tomato pesto instead of actual sun-dried tomatoes. The meat was a little dry but there was plenty of drippings to drizzle on top which had a lot of flavor.

I do apologize for the lack of pictures. I find it very difficult to take good photos of food and it didn't feel right to pirate the photos from the sources.

So if you are looking for something new to try, give one of these a shot! I'd love to hear how well they were liked or even how much you hated the recipe.

Friday, October 21, 2016

And the Month Moves On

October is plodding along. I've lost track of the minor disasters that I've had to deal with this month, the most recent of which are Jack getting the flu, my garbage disposal breaking, and one of the headlights on my car burning out. All three of these issues still need to be resolved. Lets just say that I'll be happy to see October go. 

I am having good success with my October goals nonetheless, having successfully completed one of the goals and made solid progress on three more. At the end of the month, I will post a full update. 

This post is mostly just a quick update to share the progress on Frog Pile. Although its not on my goal list, I've really been enjoying stitching this.


I really do believe that taking the time to work on a project, even if its only a few minutes here and there, is keeping me sane. I even have evidence to back up this assumption. For a fascinating read, check out Sew So Easy: The Many Amazing Benefits of Quilting. I've seen similar articles published about other creative pursuits. I have my own personal theory that we are programmed to create - after all, we are made in the image of God, the original Creator. Whether its creating a new invention, a novel, a quilt, or other art, creation is systemic throughout the human race. Something to ponder as I continue to work on my various projects. Remember... Make all the pretty things!

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Slow Sunday Stitching and October Goals Update

Here we are, about a third of the way through the month. It's been a week of house cleaning, appliance repair, and other necessary chores. When I can steal a few minutes, I've primarily stuck to projects that are on my goal list, with one exception.

That one exception was Frog Pile. I made the mistake of drinking a caffeinated beverage in the evening a few nights ago and couldn't fall asleep. So I was back out of bed at 1 am and spent a couple hours stitching on Frog Pile. Big blocks of color - perfect for the sleep deprived stitcher. All of the oranges and reds went in this weekend. This, along with the crochet, will be my Slow Sunday Stitching project.  I will probably put it away tomorrow or Tuesday and pull Princess and the Dragon out again. 


Goal Update: 

1. Finish my quilt. - Not done yet, but I did get this back on my sewing machine and am close to halfway.

2. Finish the current skein on my corner to corner blanket. - After I made this goal, I realized that I only had a few yards left of the skein I was working on. Skein #4 took only about fifteen minutes to complete, so I'm actually trying to get skein #5 on the blanket this month. I measured this morning and its about 4.25 feet wide after 81 rows. I'm estimating that I need it to get to about six feet wide before I start making it taller, meaning I'll need a blanket 110 x 150 rows to fit on the bed. Completion percentage: 20%. 




3. Finish the current skein on the dragon scale blanket - barely started but here it is! 


4. Finish the page on the Princess and the Dragon. I've made a little bit of progress on this.

Before
Current

5. FINISH MY CONFESSOR'S DRESS. I have a wedding I'd like to wear this to in a few weeks so it really totally needs to get done. This is going on what, four years pending? Enough already. - Not yet started. Not good, since this is the only one with a time constraint. 

6. Finish the crochet hook cases that I started at the beginning of September. One down, three to go. Mine is done, now I need to get back to working on the other three. 





Linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching @ Kathy's Quilts