12/8/12

Busy Day

So much happened today, and it will be another busy day tomorrow.  First, I embroidered the butterfly for the Gardener's Journal quilt.  These are tiny little motifs...just 2 ½ inches by 2 ½ inches.


After that, I chased down Little Chief Muddy Foot of the Never Wash Tribe.  


He wasn't very happy about getting his feet cleaned, but then, I wasn't happy about his muddy footprints all over my floors.


Then I started in on the week's laundry.  Smitty made sure I got every last piece out of the hamper. 


Once we had that going, I decided to try out a coffee cake recipe I found this week.  It turned out really good, and it was easy to make.  Without going into great detail, here's what you do.

First you mince up some fresh cranberries along with some granulated sugar.  Set that aside.


Then you make a streusel topping from brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, and finely chopped walnuts.  Set that aside.


 Then you mix up the cake batter and spread it into a well-greased 9 x 13 pan.


Then you smooth  the cranberries over the top of the batter.


Then you sprinkle the streusel over the top of that.


Then you bake it.


Then you eat it.  Yum.  The topping gives the cake top a nice little crunch.


If that looks good to you, you can thank Isabelle Boucher over at Recipe by Crumb:  A Food Blog.  The recipe is right here.  Is it time for breakfast yet?

After that, we went out and bagged the wild Christmas tree, if by "wild" you mean, "grown on a tree farm". 


The tree farm is all of one mile or less away, and so this was a quick process.  They sell Noble Firs for $10. What a steal!  Then we came home and put it up.  We haven't decorated it yet.  We're waiting until tomorrow so that Smitty can get used to the idea of having a tree in the house.  Baby's First Christmas, you know.


Then I finished up the doll quilt I've been working on for the past few days.  This is for the December doll quilt swap.  My partner doesn't read my blog (at least, I don't think she does), and so I can show it to you here.  This quilt is from Janet Kime's book Christmas Cats and Dogs.


 The theme for the December swap is "Signs of the Season" and this is the quilt I made.  This quilt is called Catty Canes.  It is 22 inches wide and 20 inches long.


The faces are machine stitched with silver metallic thread and the eyes are from silver hot fix nailheads.  I had to redo one of the tails because her method of paper-piecing them was a little different from the way I learned.  I ended up with a reversed tail, and it wouldn't work when I tried to stitch it to the quilt.  Once I figured out her method, I was up and running again.

The quilting is all stitch in the ditch around the cats and the stripes of their tails.  Then I did a little stylized Christmas tree motif of my own design in the border.


I still need to sew the binding on, but then this one will be in next week's mail.

And now...I'm just waiting on one more load of clothes to come out of the dryer, and then it's time for my jammies.

Tomorrow, we're meeting Erik and Mae to look at a house they're thinking of buying, then we'll have lunch with them afterward.  Then...Matthew will be coming in by train tomorrow afternoon and staying with us until he finds a place to live when he moves back to Portland.  A place to live is the only thing standing between him and his move at this point.

How about you?  Is your weekend as busy as mine is?

16 comments:

WoolenSails said...

I got in my jammies a long time ago, lol. Once I am home for the day, they are on, think they should be standard wear;) Love your kitty piece, that is a fun one.

Debbie

The Slow Quilter said...

And I thought I was busy. That coffey cake looks yummy.

Junebug613 said...

yummy! It was fun imagining itty bitty Smitty prints everywhere. Especially since I didn't have to clean them up... LOL The doll quilt is cute!

Sher S. said...

WOW!!! you are busy. That coffee cake looks yummy but too much for one person. I hope Mr. Smitty enjoys the tree. I'm sure you know to keep them out of the water and not to put ornaments at the bottom...we had 3 fur kids here for 8 yrs and when my dd moved to Michigan...one was given to a new family and the other two went with her. Miss those little rascals. Hope you have a wonderful day Sunday.

Lynette said...

Haha! I can just see him getting his feet washed. And HOW COOL IS THAT to have a Christmas tree farm so close by? :D

Sheila said...

Can we expect to see Smitty sitting in the tree in your next post? :) The coffee cake looks delicious.

kc said...

busy, busy girl...but then, it does keep you out of trouble! Smitty and your Kitty Canes are just too adorable for words (and I'm a puppy person!!). I have long ago given up on the paw-less floors....in home or in camper, prints are a fact of life. In fact, I have an embroidery design of prints lined up in a track, and words that say, "my cat (dog?) walks all over me"


Your cranberry cake looks yummy - I'm doing much of the same. I made a batch of turtles, candied pecans, pistachio/choco chip cookies, and half of an appliance cover. Bet you're wondering how one makes half a cover? Simple...it got cut out & quilted, just not put together.

Last night we walked the neighborhood looking at all the pretty lights. Puppy loved that, and her new reflective color made me feel much better about her being out with us. Might be a false sense of security, since most people come flyin' through too fast to stop at the stop signs, so I doubt they'd see or stop for her if she did manage to get away...

Today should bring in some luggage wraps, maybe put together the appliance cover, and I think some fudge or maybe coconut macaroons.

Hope whatever you do brings you joy!

Diane Wild said...

I agree with Sher S. The coffee cake looks wonderful but more than one person should have. Maybe half would freeze well. Yes, busy weekend, also. Trying to finish up gift sewing and projects and the doll quilt. Add a few inches of snow to remove from the driveway and my day is filled. We are lucky to have our days filled with satisfying projects.

Rosa said...

Your cranberry cake looks delicious and your cat is just adorable!!

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

First Christmas tree for Smitty? I used to tie my tree to a large nail in the wall using twine (now I tie it to the banister). It's saved the entire ornament collection several times when my cats used to climb the tree! The cat quilt is darling!

Snoodles said...

What fun to help them house shop! We are in the throes and agonies of moving our youngest into a loft apartment....can't they stay with us forever? LOL Love your projects and the photos of Smitty!

Anonymous said...

The coffee cake is making my mouth water! Glad to see Smitty is still helping you out. You are really busy, glad I'm not that busy here.

Anonymous said...

I love this Caty Canes quilt! what a brilliant idea!
My weekend was busy but not as busy as it should have been (which I'm glad for...). We went to have a word with Santa, in case he didn't get the message of what Hana is wishing for and we had to leave the tree hunt for next weekend.

Angel, Kirby and Max said...

My cats do not go outside, just into the garage. THey would not want to have their feet washed, either.

The cake looks yummy! Might have to try it!

I have not seen that book, but love the cat quilt!

quiltzyx said...

Yummy looking coffee cake! And I even have cranberries right now...and almonds to substitute for the walnuts.
Great pic of Smitty peeking out from under the tree - love that one.
The doll quilt is FAB! What fun!!

I'm fighting off a cough right now, but I did finish a trial/sample mini quilt. My BIL & sister want me to make a quilt for them. Judy & I saw a pattern that she liked, so I made a couple half-size blocks to see what it looks like. It's about the size of a large placemat - too small for a table runner. Maybe they can use it for Elizabeth's dishes?

Anonymous said...

Love your candy cane cat quilt. Have you seen the book, "It's Quilting Cats and Dogs" by Lynette Anderson? It has some really cute embroidery and cat and dog motifs.