Getting My Irish Up

If you doubted I'd be doing any sewing yesterday, I can hardly blame you. I've been all talk and no sew for days. It was another gray day here in Hemet, and so it seemed like a good way to pass the time on St. Patrick's Day. The sun came out later in the day, and we got out for a walk after dinner.

As for sewing, I started the most recent blackwork piece. This is block five of nine for the Heart & Home stitchery.

There's still a long way to go.

And then I decided to get out my greens and put together a little table topper for St. Patrick's Day. Originally, I thought I might do the March Mini from the postcard pack I picked up from Temecula Quilt Co., but then I decided to do something else. Here are my green fabrics. These are the ones I picked up at JoAnn the other day, plus a few more scraps that have been traveling along.

Of course, I enlisted the support of my two helper cats...oh...well, maybe not.

Snzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

Snzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........

Okay, well, no worries. It's a pretty easy pattern. I found this free little mini quilt on Canoe Ridge Creations blog. You can find the link to the free pattern right here. Before I go on, however, I should warn you that there is an error in the pattern. I'll explain below.

It's quick and simple to make. You start with four rail fence blocks.

And you sew those together the same way you'd sew together half-square triangles. Mark a line from corner to corner on two of them. Then put them right sides together, stitch on each side of the line. Cut on the line and voila! Four scrappy blocks from HST's. Clever, no?

And even though you have four, you're only going to use three. I picked the three I liked best.

Now here's where things got confusing. The pattern tells you to cut that background block to 6-1/2 inches square and the green stem is from a rectangle cut 1-1/2 x 8 inches. Then you cut the square in half corner to corner and sew the stem down the middle, then trim to 6 inches square. The problem is that you can't cut that to 6 inches square without having about a half inch cut off each corner of the stem. It doesn't work. And let me tell you...I puzzled over this for about 15 minutes before figuring out what to do about it.

Instead, cut your background square to 6 inches and your stem to 1-1/2 x 8-1/2 inches.

With the longer stem (and smaller square), you can cut the final product to a 6 inch square. I've written to the designer to advise her, but as of this writing, I haven't heard back. Possibly by the time you read this, she will have made the correction.

After that, things went much more smoothly. Sew your blocks together with sashings.

Then add a border.

That's as far as the pattern takes you. It ends up at 16.5 inches square (unfinished). I wanted mine a little larger for a table topper, and so I added a flange using 3/4-inch strips.

After that, I was ready to add the final borders. By then, my helper cat was ready to work. Impeccable timing, Buddy.

So I added a 3-inch border all around, and my table topper was finished. It measures 21.5 inches square. Cute, huh?

I'll use that green shamrock fabric for the back.

It still needs quilting and binding, but I'll wait until I get home for that. It's a little late to use it for this year anyway. Also, I think I have a perfect green stripe at home to use for the binding. I'm calling this piece "Lucky Charm."

Later on, I tried a new recipe. For dinner, I wanted something Irish, but lighter than corned beef and so I made this Irish Potato Soup.

(image source)

It isn't on our diet, but it uses no milk, and so it didn't stray too far. We picked up a loaf of Irish Soda Bread at the grocery store the other day and served it up with that. This turned out to be really good. It takes some time to cook and steam the vegetables (potatoes, onions, and leeks) down until they're soft enough to puree. For that, I use a stick blender. If you don't have a stick blender, you're working way too hard. It's one of the most useful tools in my kitchen. The Irish soda bread was a perfect accompaniment.

And after that, we got out for a walk. The weather has been less than ideal over the past week. If the forecast is accurate, we can expect more of the same into next week. Nevertheless, it has made for some dramatic skies and beautiful sunsets. Last night's sky was full of clouds and the sunset seemed to fill the sky in all directions. When we got out for our walk, I snapped this image.

Day is done.

There's nothing on today's agenda. My step goal has suffered the last few days, and so I'll make a concerted effort to get in my steps today. Aside from that...nothing. It'll be another relaxing day.

We're talking more about our trip home, and w've been following the "bloom report" at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve about 120 miles northwest of where we are now. You might remember we paid a visit to the reserve last year on our trip home from Pahrump. It was later in the year when we visited last time, and so the poppies had already bloomed themselves out. It's looking good for a bloom this year just about the time we head for home. Finger's crossed for good timing, and we might just head out that way as one final stop before we turn the wagons north.