Distractions

The barns are getting tiresome at this point, and I still have at least a couple more sessions with them. Yesterday I tried as hard as I could to avoid them. First I made muffins using the remainder of the pureed pumpkin from last year's CSA share.

They aren't beautiful, let me tell you. Most didn't rise, and a few even fell in the middle. Don't know what I did wrong, except that I forgot to throw the recipe away before I made them. It's now safely in the recycling bin. Nevertheless, they are tasty little buggers, so all is not lost.

Then, as long as I was in the kitchen, I roasted and skinned some peppers for last night's dinner. And then, as long as I was in the kitchen, I blanched and froze some more greens. And then, as long as I was in the kitchen, I made these Quick Pickled Hakurei Turnips. 

If you're unfamiliar with Hakurei Turnips, they look like an anemic radish, and they have a smooth white skin. They taste good raw, and I'm told they are good boiled and mashed like potatoes. Still, I never know what to do with them. I've added them to soups, and that was fine. But since I was trying to distract myself, I made these quick pickles, and they are delicious! My recipe came from Marisa McClellan's book, Preserving by the Pint, and so I can't share it here. There are plenty of similar recipes online if you find yourself in possession of some of these interesting turnips. 

By then, I'd completely run out of things to do in the kitchen, although it would have been possible to do some cleaning. Nah. So then I went upstairs to take a shower, and got distracted by Eliza. Since I had the new silk thread and small sewing machine needles, it seemed like a good time to practice quilting kitty paws and micro stippling. Here's what I ended up with.

The bottom one was stitched first. I was afraid it was too small and would get lost in the stippling, and so I made the second one larger. And, hey...sometimes I surprise myself. Not bad at all. Here's how it looks from the back. 

There was still a little bit of the smoky monofilament left in the bobbin, and so I switched to the clear about halfway through. You can kind of see the difference at the top. My experience with monofilament in the bobbin tells me that it's important to wind the bobbin slowly and to only fill it halfway. It tends to tangle and stretch if you go too fast or too far.

Okay, so then I couldn't think of anything else to keep me out of the sewing room. Housework? Nah. So I got to work on the next section of the farms. First, I made the horse.

Then I traced and cut out the cat. (My favorite.)

Then I made the barn. The barn has 21 pieces, 10 pieces in the quilt block alone.

And then I made the field behind and fused it all to the whole piece.

A few of you have congratulated me on my choice of fabrics, but I can't take credit. This is from a kit, and so I'm using the fabrics provided. Also, I'm tracing and cutting them myself. This isn't the laser cut set. So now I'm down to the bottom of this section. If I can't think of enough distractions today, I'll start working on the sunflowers and pathway on the bottom left. It's getting close, but not close enough. I'm ready to work on something else. 

Today I got wind of a linky party going on right now from Bernie at Needle and Foot. 

Oh my gosh! Who doesn't love a chance to show off Ye Quilts of Olde? Here are some of the Autumn and Halloween creations from my past. This one is very creatively entitled, "Cat on a Pumpkin". It was made for a doll quilt swap. I believe my partner and I decided to make one another something with cats.

And this one, also creatively titled, "Scarecrow" and made for the former monthly Doll Quilt Swap. The theme was "Harvest". This one has raffia at the neck, hands, and feet of the scarecrow.

Here's one called the "Grim Ripper" made in a single afternoon. It was a free pattern from Fons and Porter. No misspelling there. She's holding a seam ripper.

Then this table runner called "Corn Flowers". Do you see the candy corns there? (My favorite nutritious food.) This pattern is from Sticks and Broomstraws.

Finally, this "Leafpeeping" table runner. The pattern for this runner can be found in the book, Skinny Quilts, by Kim Schaefer.

You must have plenty of Autumn and Halloween quilts to show off. Head on over there and link up!

Today I really am heading into town for my flu shot, and then I'll probably get back to the barns. It's close enough to being finished, that I'll probably just keep going. Or maybe I'll start quilting. Or maybe I'll do something else. 

Safe passage to any of you in the path of Hurricane Matthew. I can say with certainty that my son Matthew had nothing to do with this. Joking aside, please stay safe and dry.

ICYMI: There's a giveaway going on, along with the launch of a stitch-along. Don't miss out. Giveaway ends on Friday. Click right here to enter.