Valentines Hearts, Roman Blinds, the Current Book

Here are your February hearts. 💟

This was the bedroom in the process of being painted.  My left knee still hurts.  Ow.  My friend said "You turned 60 last year, didn't you?  That's when it starts." (as in breaking down)

This past week I finished the Roman Blinds.  Next up will be the side drapes, and then valances.

This is the current book at my bedside.  See the comment above about my knee. 😉

House Quilt, Slipcovers, Cucumber Pot

I had to interrupt the slipcovers for a few days because this House Quilt had a deadline.

I find house blocks to be challenging but fun.  The background sky & stars were quilted with stars and wind, and the trees have a tree design stitched over them.

This little row of geese got feathers.

The skinny borders were stitched with 'L's and 'E's, the wide piano key border was diamond x-hatched.

Tractors in the bottom green blocks.

Here's the 6-cushion couch, all slipcovered.

This is the 3-cushion couch.

If you are looking for some beautiful hand crafted furniture/woodwork, this couple owns Shaker Roads.  Check out the web site.

The cucumber pot I planted up is doing really well.  There are also 2 cayenne pepper plants in here, and 2 oregano plants.  

When Sadie figures out those are CUCUMBERS I may never get any.  That's one of her favorite food groups.  Hopefully she doesn't eat one of the cayenne peppers by mistake.  :-)

Clear the Decks

Mmm... pretty sampler!

Feathers in conjunction with straight lines and diamonds.

Feathered wreath inside the sampler blocks.

This is about 14 miles of welt cording.  OK, I'm lying.  It's only 3000".  Two hundred and fifty feet.

I have cleared the deck of quilting jobs over the next 2 weeks so I can make two slipcovers for a couple of 3-seater sofas.  One has 3 seat cushions, and the other has 3 seat cushions AND 3 back cushions.  One cushion down, 8 to go...

At the May guild meeting in Binbrook I scored a dozen Dresden Plates.  Sweet!  A former member had sent in several piles of 12.  I would gladly have taken another dozen, but I had to be NICE and SHARE.  Pfftt.

Out in the garden I'm starting to harvest lettuce.  And chives, of course.  We had a couple feeds of asparagus and now I'm leaving it to go to foliage for the rest of the season. The past several years the cucumbers have been the sh*ts terrible.  Some fungus has apparently moved into the garden soil and makes the vines wither up and die, so I'm trying a new plan this year.  I have moved a very LARGE pot on to the patio and I've put the cukes in there, along with a couple of cayenne pepper plants.  We'll see how that works out.  I also put a 14" pot for an assortment of lettuce, cilantro, chives, dill, and garlic near the back door.  It makes it much handier when I'm at the stove and just need a wee bit of whatever.

A large Rubbermaid tote full of raspberry canes was donated to me, so DH planted those yesterday.  Yum - I can't wait to start harvesting those babies!  If I don't eat them all fresh off the vine I may have to try the Chocolate/Raspberry Jam from Judy Laquidera's blog.  LINK

Last weekend I got the outside doors painted.  Today, if it doesn't rain, I'll be tackling the trim.  I had to visit the paint store for another liter of primer because the old can had turned a weird pale green colour.  And, I will finish two more cushion covers.  I am working the weekend because the Beach Girls are coming to visit for a few days.  As a rule, our get-togethers involve lots of talking and giggling and often includes a bit of falling-asleep-on-the-couch.  We will be heading to St. Catharines for QUILT CANADA.  If the gods are smiling, Diane will be taking home another big fat ribbon to hang on her wall.  We'll see...

Quilts, Box Cushions, Leek Roundup

Log Cabin. Yum - love the blue & yellow.

Garden Quilt. Cozy flannel-ish backing.

New upholstery on the box cushions for my nephew's window seat.

Now for the (last) Friday Report.  It was a beautiful day, around 13c.  This nice weather won't hold for much longer.  It was time to dig the leeks.

Approximate leek count:  120

Avoid the playful distraction

Arm myself with the steel toed boots.

Chop off the bulk of tops with handy-dandy hedge clippers.  Lee Valley Tools, I heart you.

As a lazy gardener, I will leave the leaves as on-ground compost.  The rabbit-bastard(s) will enjoy the greens after they finish up with my cabbages.

Three hours later.  Thirty leeks have been put aside for Jean & Jane, the rest are in the bag.

Time for a cocktail and hors-d'oeuvres.  Two parts vodka, one part mandarin orange liqueur, generous glug of orange juice.  Two ice cubes.

Can you tell I've been eating alone this week?  Soup bowls and sandwich plates.  This is the new 'stealth' dishwasher.  OMG - so quiet!!!!

OK.  Back to work.  Cut off the roots and the dark green parts.  Slice lengthwise and swish around in a sink full of water.  In my lovely NEW 9" deep sink.  I heart my new sink, too.

Drain,  Chop.  Line cookie sheet(s) with wax paper.  Freeze leek bits on cookie sheets.  The whole house will have a noticeable odour.  Wait 24 hours, then bag the frozen leeks.  I use leftover milk bags because 1) they are free, and 2) they are a nice heavy food-grade plastic.  For you non-Canadians, yes, we get our milk in bags.

The garden is pretty much empty now, except for a huge batch of volunteer cilantro which has sprouted, and some lettuces which are also volunteers.  I may put some cloche hats on the lettuce and see if I can harvest a couple heads later in December.  I have nothing the lose, right?

Jelly Roll Quilt & Garden Preserves

Last week I finished the quilting on this jelly roll quilt (my own!) so I have to get cracking on the binding.
The 'paying' job of the week (now moving into two weeks) are the drapes. Hopefully they will be completed by Tuesday 5 pm. That's my target, anyways.
Last week in the kitchen:
Monday - freeze 8 cups of green beans.
Tuesday - make 2 loaves of zucchini bread and freeze 18 cups shredded zucchini.
Wednesday - huh. I got nothin. I think I picked tomatoes with the intention of making sauce later this week.
Thursday - Red Hat day - lunch in Normandale, crepes in Port Dover & visited 3 quilt shops. Make 5 jars of raspberry jam. Had to pick the raspberries first - our neighbours are on vacation and told me to help myself - TAKE ALL YOU WANT is a direct quote.
Friday - had lunch with my brother and gave him one of the zucchini loaves. Then I went to the local quilt shop where I gifted Anne with a jar of raspberry jam, went to the library, then drove in to the city and took Mom for a walk. It was a gorgeous gorgeous day and we had a lovely mother/daughter visit.
Saturday - the tomato sauce night. When I checked the recipe I realized I needed 5 1/2 cups of chopped carrots. Definitely not enough in the fridge. Shite. Must go out and dig some from the garden. Shite again. It is POURING rain. On the plus side, I get to wear my funky rubber boots.
However, by the time I got back in the house I was soaked to the skin, to the extent that I felt like I'd been thrown in the pool with my clothes on. Even my lovely boots were full of water. The neighbours must think I have a screw loose.
Here is 100 roma tomatoes, 8 large onions, 1 bunch celery, 4 green peppers, a zillion carrots, and 4 1/2 hours. Hmm. $2.99 for a large jar at Fortinos looks better all the time. I was actually feeling resentful (even though making this stuff is ALWAYS my idea, and DH was helping by cutting the onions {cry, cry, cry} and then putting everything through the food mill, in spite of him wanting to watch a race on the big-ass TV). First, my evening glass of wine was seriously delayed. Alcohol and bubbling hot product on the stove is not a good mix. Also, I have the drapes in progress in my workroom. I could have been making money instead of sweating my arse off. Although, in REALITY, it was Saturday night and I would not have been working. Still ... But now that it's Monday, I'm no longer resentful. Everything except the celery & garlic came from the garden so this stuff is almost 100% organic. Even the seasonings came from the garden (oregano, basil, sage, rosemary). And it really smells delicious - I know I'll enjoy it in the cold dreary winter months.

Lawn Swing part II and seasonal salads

First job is to hit the garden. I picked a lovely bouquet of daisies, black eyed susans, phlox and lilies. Harvested a head of lettuce (mmm, Boston lettuce - my absolute favorite), four small beets and my first zucchini of the season. My new seasonal thing is to bring in the lettuce, disassemble and wash it, then put the leaves in my Tupperware lettuce keeper (I looove my Tupperware). I (ok, ok, it is usually DH) make a LARGE batch of salad 'guts'. You know, the peppers, celery, cucumber, carrots, etc. These go in their own Tupperware. The guts are usually enough for three or four salads, so I make a fresh salad each evening by tearing up three or four lettuce leaves and adding guts, feta cheese, nuts or sunflower seeds, maybe some strawberries or blueberries, and dress it with a homemade dressing. Mmm, mmm, mmm.

On to the swing... much progress today. The seat cushion:
When I make the boxing strip with the zipper, I include a little pocket that the zipper tab hides under. This stops it from wearing a hole in the seat BACK which is behind the seat.
I had to put fresh padding and 'underpants' on the arms.
Then little slipcovers.
Looking pretty nice...
All that is left to make are the skirt pieces and the pillows. The poor old gal is in desperate need of paint so later this week I'll take it all apart, wirebrush it, prime the rusty spots and paint it black. There are so many layers of paint on this thing it's actually funny.

Refreshing the Lawn Swings

I have two lawn swings - one is a cute little cedar love seat. The chair pads are hand-me-downs in purple & blue that don't really match anything. Seriously, nothing in the world.
The other is Mom's antique that she bought used when my oldest brother (who is now... 66?) was a baby. I did the cushions on this for her about 15 years ago. The fabric is quite hole-ey and leaves fabric crumbles on you when you sit on it.
Fabricland had their outdoor fabric on sale last month so I chose a blue/green floral. When you are doing upholstery/cushions use a T-square to get a nice 45 degree edge. You'll need to square up again periodically, since this is fabric after all, and it shifts & shimmies.
A long straight edge is what you want for marking your cutting lines.
Before you make a single cut, draw a picture with all of your required pieces, the cut sizes, and then plot it on paper. You may discover that moving your pieces around will make better use of the fabric and you'll have leftovers for pillows.
Fifteen years ago I was afraid of welting. Seriously. I make tons of the stuff now, since cushions, slipcovers, and light upholstery are things I do for a living. This is 26 yards - it took me 1 hour 15 minutes.
Day 1 - all pieces measured & cut, the welting is made, two cushions for the love seat are finished, and the welting is stitched to the seat pieces for the big swing.
Hopefully I will have a Day 2 update for you tomorrow morning.