Monday, September 26, 2011

Quilting designs, Bargello, Potatoes, Zucchini

Here are some of the new designs. Click for a full size picture. Cute dragonflies - perfect for kids quilts.

Pretty floral pattern.

Great movement to this one - really suits the Bargello quilt.

And here - can anyone tell me why some of my potatoes look like the wrong part of the "This Is Your Brain On Drugs" commercial?
ZUCCHINI REPORT

Picked  3
Eaten  1
Given Away  0
Frozen  0
In Fridge 4
Compost  0
Total YTD 73

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Flower Bed Update & Rainy Day

If you are bored, and wondering how the front flower bed is growing in...

Yesterday was nice in the morning, then turned into a rainy afternoon & evening.  I was making supper (more on that in a minute...) and noticed that Sadie had a seriously one-eyed look about her.  No wonder she can't catch a Frisbee to save her life.  I got out the dog scissors and trimmed her up a little so she can see again.
Supper yesterday was leftover spaghetti and leftover biscuits, at 3:30 in the afternoon.  That is even earlier than the early bird special, I'm thinkin'.  All that starch made me very sleepy, and the early supper allowed me to have a nap from 4:30 - 5:30, then go back to work until 8:30.  Rainy days are good.  :-)

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Pieces of Baltimore, Stash Report, Z. Report

This is Pieces of Baltimore, a pattern by Pam Bono.
The floral blocks are beautiful.
Quilting these is challenging, but I get great job satisfaction when they are complete.
I have been remiss in posting a Stash Report for the last few months.  This is a combined July and August report.
STASH REPORT (July & August)
Used this month  5.1 m
Used y.t.d.   53.55 m
Added this month  2.25 m
Added y.t.d.  21.25 m
Net 2011  - 32.3 m  yay - lookin' good!!!  I have actually finished - yes, finished, a UFO.  Check the UFO page for details & pics.  My shoulder is a little sore right now from patting myself on the back.

There was no zucchini report last week because there was nothing to report.  Nothing in, nothing out.  THIS week, however...
ZUCCHINI REPORT, Sept. 18
Picked this week  5
Eaten this week  2
Given away  0
In the Fridge  2
Frozen  0
Compost  0
Total picked YTD  70
Once again, my math is really bad.  This does not compute with the last report - somehow I have lost track of 3 zucchinis.  Maybe Sadie is eating them when my back is turned?  Perhaps someone is composting them without my permission?  I have been lamenting the poor crop of zucchini this year, but when I look at how many I have actually picked I guess I should not complain.  Today I harvested all the white onions.  I'll let them dry out a bit before I stash them down in the fruit cellar, then I'll pull the red onions and give them the same treatment.  I used one of my early cabbage to make two Cabbage Roll Casseroles and a small coleslaw.  Cabbage is kinda like popcorn - when you start slicing it up you get more and more and more and more and....

I also had Red Hat day this week.  Sue organized a trip to the Walden Galleria Mall.  Do you know what store is in that mall?  DESIGNER SHOE WAREHOUSE.  I've had a smile on my face ever since.  :-)  I was very good and limited myself to two pair.  I was even good at the Cheesecake Factory where we had lunch (appetizer Samosas, then one slice of cheesecake.  And I left some of the whipped cream on the plate).

Sunday, September 11, 2011

the Kawartha Retreat

I just love going up to Margaret's.  I was very (!) productive.  This is my Thursday night finish.


Here is my Friday finish.  They were both just borders, but still - they have taken me a very LONG time.  Now they are ready for quilting, which will happen, um,... hmm.  Not sure.

This is how we spent Friday afternoon and Sunday morning.  In between we went to the Bobcaygeon quilt show and fixed one of the toilets.  OK.  Well, Sue fixed the toilet.

Thinking that maybe we would like to have this lifestyle all the time (keeping up with the Margarets, you know?) I decided we'd all pitch in two bucks and try to win the lottery.  Bummer.  No luck.  But we had a lot of fun for 24 hours talking about how we'd spend our share.  Many of our ideas involved underpaying someone to do our quilt piecing, clean, cook, harvest the wild rice in the lake, babysit grandchildren, and other assorted jobs so we could spend our days out in the boat.
As usual, we ate particularly well.
Thurs. supper:  cold meat, cheese, assorted salads, baguette, fresh tomatoes, I.C.B.I. Zucchini Crisp with ice cream.
Fri. breakfast:  yogurt with fruit, and banana bread & peanut butter.
Fri. lunch:  leftover Chinese food from Thursday's lunch (which I missed).
Fri. supper:  Red Curry Peanut Noodles, I.C.B.I. Zucchini Crisp with ice cream.
Sat. breakfast:  Steel Cut Oats with fresh fruit.
Sat. lunch:  we ate the lunch special at the quilt show.
Sat. supper:  Salmon Crunch Pie with salad, blueberry macaroons.
Sun. breakfast:  Eggs Benedict.  OMG, I love you Sue!!!!
Sun. lunch:  Chicken Quesadillas, banana bread.

A few of our completed projects before we pack up the cars. 
Thanks Margaret.  You are definitely the hostess with the mostest.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

More Quilts for the Studio Tour

Here are three more quilts that will be on the Dundas Studio Tour - the weekend of October 1 & 2.  You can see more of this quilters work at mrgquilts.com.




This afternoon I am heading up to Margaret's in the Kawarthas for a nice long weekend and a wee rest for my brain.  On this past Monday I had Floyd upgraded to brilliance by adding the Intelliquilter system to him.  I will be in hock for a couple of years, sadly, but now I can consider myself a dominatrix - ha ha I can just order him around and push the 'start' button.  Whips and chains optional.  (For those of you who don't know, Floyd is my quilting machine.  Calm down.  I am making a joke.)

You can check the UFO Challenge page for an update.  Sort of.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Sampler Quilt, Allergies

This is a great sampler quilt made by a gal from the local quilt shop.


I quilted this with an overall feather meander.

Love quilt backs.

This stuff is my new discovery.  It saves me from scratching my eyeballs out.  I don't care about clogged sinuses, or sneezing, but please God, give me relief from itchy eyes.  In the spring I had to suffer through the tree pollen or grass pollen - I'm not really sure.  Right now it is ragweed making me crazy.

In my last post I was planning the making of the plum sauce.  Heh - note to self:  should really cook more tidily. Cooked sugar takes a long time to clean off the stove.

Zucchini Report
Picked this week:  11
Eaten this week:  10  I made several zucchini loaves and a
pan of (I Can't Believe It's) Zucchini Crisp
Given away:  0
Compost:  0
Freezer:  0
In Fridge:  2