A Full Day

Good morning, my friends. It was a day for a little of everything yesterday. We had grocery shopping to do, but I had time to take the first stitches on Block 5 for Home is Where My Flock Is. When I take the first stitches on a new project, I always first use the bits of leftover floss from the last time, and that's what I did here.

At the grocery store, I was on the hunt for some wheat bran. I had some wheat bran flakes in my freezer, but The Google told me the two could not be used interchangeably in baking. So, okay. Picky, picky, picky. And all of that to say that with my wheat bran in hand, I could try this recipe for Honey Date Bran Muffins. I used golden raisins in place of the dates, and so, technically, mine are Honey Raisin Bran Muffins.

The recipe was a little unusual. When the muffins were taken from the oven, I was to allow them to cool for five minutes. Then, I poked eight holes in each one, using a toothpick. Already I'd made some "syrup" using orange juice and honey. I boiled mine for 10 minutes, and never got it to syrup consistency. In retrospect, I was using a small pan for that part...a little 2-cup pan I use for melting butter. Probably, if I'd used a larger pan to give it more surface area, it would have been easier to boil it down and thicken it. In any case, we liked these. Even with the not-syrupy syrup, they were a nice texture and had a nice orange flavor. I'd make them again.

From there, I was ready to do some sewing. I wanted to get a start on this new project, "Across the Wide Missouri." As I mentioned in yesterday's post, this first block was to honor pioneer woman Luzena Stanley Wilson. Just now I Googled her name and found this blurb about her on Wikipedia.  (I think I would have made a terrible pioneer woman.) 

So, this is the first of 11 blocks for this quilt. The pattern book tells us that baskets were an essential household item for women on the frontier. Made of varying weaves and textures, baskets were used for many purposes such as gathering eggs and garden produce.

Paging through the book, I came across this image. There was no explanation for why it was included.

It's a corn husk doll, and it reminded me of the one I'd picked up at the Folk Art Center at the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I fell in love with these little dolls when I saw them. This one was created by artist Anne Freels of Tennessee. You can see more of Anne's corn husk dolls right here.

 Here's how she looks from the back.

Okay, and with the block finished, I moved back to the living room and went to work hand-sewing the binding for the Amish Sampler. When I needed to stop, I'd turned the first two corners.

It was time for dinner by then. I was trying a recipe for some Quick Orange Chicken and Broccoli. I took a picture of mine, but it was kind of boring, and so I swiped this one from the website. (Here at the Three Cats Ranch, we just say no to sesame seeds.)

Originally, I was going to do a different recipe, but then it seemed overly complicated for what amounted to a stir-fry dish. Instead, I made this one. And because I'd had that false start, I was using white meat for the chicken rather than the dark meat suggested. It was good, but I think it might have had more flavor with the dark meat. Either way, it was tasty and easy, and I'd make it again. In our family, we call a dish like this "gunk over rice." 

Okay, so I start the dreaded physical therapy on my shoulder today. I have no expectation whatsoever that it will be helpful. I'm also wondering if I'll even be able to participate in a meaningful way. I guess time will tell, and I'll do my best not to be snippy with my therapist. He/She has nothing to do with the insurance company jacking me around before they will agree to pay for the needed MRI. My appointment is at 2:40 p.m., and so any sewing will have to be done this morning. It'll be close to dinner time by the time I get home, but I'll probably have a little time to make more progress on the quilt binding.

As for other sewing, I've committed to finishing up the final three quilt tops. Looking ahead at the forecast, we're in for coolish weather for at least the next ten days, and so it's doubtful that it will warm up enough for me to set up the sawhorse tables in our garage. Also, I found a good deal on some batting at Michael's yesterday, and so I picked up another king-sized sheet. Hopefully, I'll have enough to sandwich the many quilts on the sandwiching pile.

So, off I go. I'll admit to being curious about what will happen at physical therapy today, but know this: I am not a happy camper about it. It's best to avoid pissing me off today.

Lots of Sewing

Good morning, my friends. The morning is "good" despite being a grocery shopping day. The sky is clouded over and we're expecting more rain, but it's good sewing weather. That makes the day "good" by definition.

It was a productive day here yesterday. I stitched up the 48th Tiny Treasure. This one has stem stitch, fishbone stitch, and satin stitch.

And that was the last one for this go-round on the Tiny Treasures. It'll come up twice more before I have them all finished. Here's the batch I stitched for this go-round.

And here are the 48 (of 72) I have so far.

With that finished, I got busy top-stitching the first of nine blocks for Where the Cows Come Home. This block is called "The Milking Parlor."

After that, I squared up the Amish Sampler to ready it for its binding.

I gave it a black binding. I know I'm going to hate sewing on black fabric with black thread, but it's the best choice for this quilt.

With that finished, I made backs for two finished flimsies. The flimsies have been sitting on my table ever since we got home, and they've been pointing and laughing at me every time I come into the room. Time to make those backs and shut them up. Smitty helped with this.

We had a brief discussion about whether purple was a good color for him. I told him it was. He wasn't so sure.

The purple was added to another print to piece together a back for the Gumballs quilt.

This one:

And you might remember when I purchased this one in Henderson, Nevada.

It's destined to be the back for the final Shop Hop quilt.

From there, I had to decide what to do next. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I wanted to sew together the Raggedy & Friends quilt. But then, looking at my white board, I realized I had three quilt tops to sew together.

Okay so...Raggedy & Friends. I have all the blocks and a back for this. I could finish it off and put it in the pile to be sandwiched.

But then...what about the Kittens in Teacups? They've been getting into mischief as kittens will do. Probably, I should finish them too. I have all the fabrics I need for this, including a backing fabric.

And what about Land & Sea? All the blocks are finished for this scrappy quilt too. Perusing my stash, I'm sure I have enough fabrics to piece together a back as well.

Okay, so I'll make it my mission to finish all three over the next week or so. (I hope I have enough batting for all these quilts.)

Today, though, I'm determined to get a start on this new project. Yesterday, I spent some time reading the book.

Here's a portion of the introduction from the book. I was even more excited to start it when I realized it was about the women who crossed the plains in covered wagons.

The first block was about this woman, Luzena Stanley Wilson. Her husband had planned to leave her and their children behind on their Missouri homestead, and she basically said, "F*ck that!" She wanted to go too.

It was an arduous journey. Below are two journal entries she wrote.

And this will be her block. The pumpkin in the lower right will be added when the whole quilt is sewn together. For now...just the three baskets. That should be pretty quick, and then I can start sewing together the quilts listed above.

It was late in the day by then. I filled the birdfeeders. On my way, I noticed the Bleeding Heart is blooming now.

Also, there are blossoms on the plum tree.

And the azaleas are starting to show some color.

Okay, and so grocery shopping is next. For sure and certain on today's agenda, I'll get a start hand-sewing the binding for the Amish Sampler. It's clipped and draped over the arm of my chair.

Also, I'll start working on Block 5 of Home is Where my Flock Is.

With all of that going on, there won't be much time for getting into trouble today. What are you doing to stay out of trouble?

Building a Barn

Good morning, my friends. Our chat will have to be quick this morning. We're donning our suits of armor in an effort to get Sadie to the vet this morning. She needs her immunizations. It's hard to believe, I know, but this little kitty turns into a bearcat when she's being forced to do something she doesn't want to do.

We still have a few more hours to live. If you don't hear from me tomorrow, you'll know Sadie won the battle.

Yesterday started with me stitching Tiny Treasure #47. This one has stem stitch, stem fill, lazy daisy and a French knot.

There's just one more to stitch. If I play my cards right this morning, I might be able to finish it before we need to go.

From there, I went straight to work finishing the final four panel blocks on the Amish Sampler quilt. The quilting is finished now, and it's ready for binding. I'm hoping to get the binding sewn on by machine today.

Here's how it looks from the back.

Here's a little closer look at the back.

Okay, and there was time in the afternoon to start on the first block of this new project. It's a little weird working with this spiral-bound pattern. I'm having to flip back and forth in the pages as I work. I finally used a paperclip to mark the important pages.

The first block I'm making is "The Milking Parlor." I'm using my scraps for this project, and so I'm trying to match the fabrics in the picture with what I have available, being mindful of contrast.

The first step was to make the block background. The blocks are large at 14 inches square. They'll be trimmed down some eventually, but I'm advised to leave them as is until I'm ready to sew them together.

Usually when I'm doing applique, I'll fuse directly to the background. For this project, I'll be using a teflon pressing sheet to create the applique. This is another way the pattern is rather unconventional. The pieces are not numbered in the order they are to be applied, and so making them first on the teflon pressing sheet gives me flexibility to change things around if I need to.

I started with the small building, pressing it to the upper corner of my pressing sheet, and then I just left it there while I created the barn.

The drawings I'm tracing from are reversed for applique, but I noted the tree was not. It doesn't matter for this block, but I'll pay closer attention from here on.

With that finished, I could add the small building.

And then the silo.

With it all fused together, I could peel it up from the pressing sheet, and then fuse it to the background.

Now, it's ready for top-stitching. I'll do that first today. I like how the picture from the pattern shows the top-stitching done in a dark brown thread. It gives it a rustic appearance, and it adds contrast. So, I'm going to do all the pieces for this block in dark brown, except the windows. I'll do those in black.

Doing the top-stitching will be at the top of my sewing list this afternoon. Mainly, I want to get it out of the way so that I can square up the Amish Sampler and get the binding sewn on. Next on my list is to make backs for two finished flimsies. If I'm going to have to sandwich quilts soon, I want to do as many as I can. 

As I'm thinking about this, I'm realizing that I can sew the Raggedy & Friends project together and add it to the mix. Just now, I realized I don't yet have an image of all the blocks laid out together.

Already I have a backing fabric for this project, and so I might as well add it to the pile.

That's a lot to contemplate for a single day, and I doubt I'll get this far. But I'll just jump out there ahead of myself and say that when I have those three quilts ready to be sandwiched, I'll be ready to start another new project...this one:

It's another pattern I've had on my shelf for years. Time to get it going.

All right. I need some breakfast, and then I think I'll have a little time to work on my slow-stitching. As for packing Sadie into a kennel this morning, all I can say is wish us luck. Maybe I'll be back tomorrow if I haven't been reduced to shreds of flesh and bone.