Dog Beds and Stash Report

Many thanks to those of you who wished me luck on that UFO Challenge 50/50 draw.  I won.  :-)

Sadie's doctor has many dogs of her own and asked me to make a few dog beds for the crates.  I followed instructions by Vicki Welsh at Field Trips in Fiber.

DOG BED TUTORIAL

Chop up leftover batting into 2 inch-ish pieces.  Use the back side of your cutting mat so you don't trash the good side.  It's not like you need the lines to do this.

Fill up a large box, more than once.  I was using several years worth of leftover trimmings, both poly and 80/20.

Make a form about the size you want for the crate, PLUS three inches (to allow for the finished depth of the filling). Sew channels in the form. Make sure they are large enough to generously fit your fist & arm.  Stuff with chopped up batting.  I made divisions of 3 x 3 pillow sections.

Sew up pillow sections to close.

Finished.

Now that I have that Bunny Hill UFO finished I have something positive, I mean NEGATIVE to report. 

STASH REPORT

Used this month     13 m.
Used YTD             28.25 m.
Added this month       .25 m.
Added YTD           19.25 m.
Net 2012               (-9.0 m.)
 
Today I collected a dozen little 9-patches leftover from a 2011 project and will start making up blocks with them to be used in a donation quilt.  Probably for chemo patients, since the Caledonia guild is having a challenge for that project.  Stitching on that will happen in between my little explosions of RAIN DANCE.  Everything here is so dry, the grass is gold and crusty like it normally is in late July.  Poor DH is repairing hoses and replacing nozzles every few days, it seems.  When I harvest my first batch of snow peas tomorrow I know it will all be worth it. 

Bunny Hill Designs finished

Yaaay!!

Completed, and only, like, a year late.

Ovals, outlining, and corner fillers in the applique blocks.  The same corner filler motif was used in the brown triangles.  The yellowish squares have a basket design.

The backing was pieced.  That floral print is a lightweight chintz that I bought, oh, about 12 years ago, intending to make a tablecloth for the patio table.  Well, three patio tables later I came to the conclusion that I was never going to get to that particular job.  So...

Fur Baby Inspection Team

Today I was wishing that I came from somewhere else.  Somewhere where they eat insects.  I was working on my second cup of coffee, about half way through it, when I realized mid gulp that there was something, um, solid in my mouth.  Immediately STOP all muscle movement and run to the bathroom sink and spit.  Euuuwww.  A fly.  Really.  gag, gag, gag.  I hope YOUR day is going a little better than that.  Gross.  Ick.

Sunday Stitchin'

This is my Bunny Hill UFO from last year. I paid $10 to enter a UFO Completion challenge at the Binbrook Guild. If this is complete by our June meeting on the 25th I get in the 50/50 draw that is being set up using the $10 entry fees.  Wish me luck!!

Guild Challenge and Gardening

Wednesday was our year end meeting for the Caledonia guild. Pot luck. Yum. Tons of healthy salads AND tons of not-so-healthy desserts. A perfect combination.

Our challenge this year was to take a book, any book, and use page 12 as inspiration for a ... something.  I made a telephone table mat.  Cute, eh?  Not.  one.  single.  friggin.  vote.  sigh.  Must avoid challenge try harder next year.

This week's schedule was:

• catch up all leftover late quilt jobs
• finish the garden
• quilt my own Bunny Hill quilt.   

The catch-up part took me until Thursday.  Today I got out to the garden with the zucchini and cucumber plants.  I've been waiting until the cucumber beetles and the squash bugs decided to go somewhere else for their seasonal buffet.  Hopefully I have waited long enough and they are all over at the neighbours'.  Today's supplies included a big pile of newspapers. Thankfully, DH was his usual, um, forgetful self on garbage day and the newspapers didn't go out to the recycle truck.

Problem area covered in weeds and grass with roots as thick as my toes.  I am NOT hoeing and digging this crap all summer.

Solution:  cover problem area with thick layer of newspapers, then top with mulch.  In this case, the mulch is from our grass clippings pile.  Issue dealt with. Mostly.  By this time it was almost noon and I was hot, sweaty, smelly, (attractive sounding, no?) and hungry.  There is more to do but I got the worst of it.

Nauseatingly healthy salad. Garden lettuce, broccoli, blueberries, strawberries, feta cheese, eggs cooked just shy of hard, and my homemade dressing.

LATEST DISCOVERY

Crocs (you know, the shoes) are ridiculous.  I finally broke down and bought a pair.  Seriously.  $35 for plastic shoes that are covered in holes.  That is a ridiculous price.  And they are very unattractive.  They don't keep your feet warm, dry, or clean.  Which makes me wonder what the hell good they are?  The only thing they have going for them,... ok, TWO things:  they are easy to slip on, and they hose off without doing any damage to them.  because they're plastic, silly.  Even the dog has no interest in running away with them.

Little Miss Muffet & Quilt of Valour

I love whimsical anything and I also love embroidery. This quilt was so much fun to work on. She looks like a little Betty Boop in training.

On Sunday I was awake with the birds. I figured I could either go to church (where they would have nooo idea who I was), or I could do something charitable and community minded.  So, I quilted this QOV made by one of my customers.  It is not very often that I have a quilt off the frame by 7:30 in the morning.  OK, it has never happened. 

Yummy - flannel backing.

Are you curious are about my lunch? Amish Friendship bread (from a friend, too!!) with almond butter, and a smoothie made with coconut milk, yogurt, banana, blueberries, honey.

Braid Quilt & Healthy Cookin' Recipes

Here's a shot of the full quilt.

Border quilted with swirls and curls.  This reminds me of fiddlehead ferns.

Teeny quilting in the pieced sashing strips.

Feathered wreath in the focus blocks.

Ooh, and the backs are always so pretty!

Here is my lunch and my supper from yesterday. Salads and a hard boiled egg for lunch.

Salmon, long grain & wild rice, salad for supper. My green salads usually leave a bit to be desired.  Once I hit three ingredients it's done.  This has garden lettuce (I think it is romaine), red peppers, cucumber, and bonus blueberries.  The dressing is homemade, from my niece Mel's recipe.   Technically it is for spinach salad, but both DH and I really like it, so I make up a jarful and we use it most of the time.

This type of meal (high fibre, low fat and/or good fat) is pretty normal for me, so I dunno why my LDL number is high.  Just the luck of the draw, it seems. The doc says my other numbers are VERY good, so he's quite happy to go along with me avoiding cholesterol meds for the next year. We can re-evaluate in 2013. He also told me, with a little smile, that all my exercising will raise my HDL (which is already nice and high) but will probably not lower my LDL.  Gee, great. Thanks.  And, for the record, I've already hit my 150 minutes for the week, so I can be slothful until Sunday.


Mel's dressing - single salad bowl listed.  A jarful is in brackets.
Dijon Mustard 1 Tbsp. (1/4 c.)
Honey 1 Tbsp. (1/4 c.)
Cider Vinegar 2 Tbsp. (1/3 c.)
Olive Oil 3 Tbsp. (1/2 c.)
Combine all ingredients and shake vigorously.  If you make a jarful, keep it in the fridge.

I cook salmon the same way every time.  A coating of brown sugar, then a healthy dose of Spicy Pepper Medley by Club House.  Wrap loosely in foil and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

The zucchini salad recipe can be found at food.com , but I'll save you the work of looking it up.  **I reduce the sugar to 1/3 cup.

Yummy Zucchini Salad

Servings:  8

• 2 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup relish
• 1 - 2 cups canned chick-peas
• 3/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, toss together the first, six ingredients.
2. In a jar with a tight fitting lid combine the rest of the ingredients; shake well.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour ; a day is better.
4. Serve with a slotted spoon.

Saturday Stitchin'

What I'm listening to (purchased on the cheap previously loved at The Beat Goes On)

Oh, such a pretty, girly, braid quilt.

I'm loving the curls, but I thought I'd get a second opinion.

I have dived (grammar???  I dove???) right in to the exercise nonsense for my cholesterol.  Thursday - nice day, walk/jog for 40 minutes.  Friday - pouring rain & cold outside, torture machine for 10 minutes.  Saturday - cool & rainy/cloudy, walk/jog for 30 minutes.  The record-keeping will be done on my work calendar because the daily squares are nice and big and it's in my face every day because I work (or at least I'm in my workroom) every day.  DH is very impressed that I've kept it up for three days so far.  If I'm true to form, this will last for a month or two and then the slacking off will start.  Especially if my bloodwork shows good results. I remember getting annoyed and rolling my eyes at Mom when she decided that since her blood pressure numbers were good she could stop taking her meds.  I will be just the same.  sigh.