Before I go on, can we all take a minute to feel sad about the hellscape of Smitty's life. He still can't go outside, and he's ready to commit furi-kari over it.
It was made only slightly better by the opportunity to provide drag for my free motion quilting experience.
After giving the kitty some snuggles and chin skritches, I could get on with quilting the border. The Pinterest and I decided on this heart-shaped feather. It was just a slight change from what I'd done in the sashings.
When the border was finished, the quilting was finished.
Here are a couple of pictures taken from different angles, so you can see how it looks.
And here are a few pictures of the back.
The red binding strips are cut, and so I'll get the binding sewn on by machine today. There's also a new Tiny Tuesday block, and so I'll get that one finished too. Aside from one short housekeeping chore, it's a mostly sewing day. Also, it's a CSA pick-up day, and so the afternoon will be half taken up by vegetable management.
Speaking of CSA veggies, last night I tried something with one of my less-than-favorite veggies...the fennel. I've never met a candy I didn't like, unless it was licorice. Fennel is dancing awfully close to the edge of licorice in the opinion of my tastebuds, and so I haven't found many ways to cook it that I like. Giada De Laurentiis has a pretty good recipe in this Roasted Fennel with Parmesan recipe. So far, that's the only way I've found to like it. However, my fellow CSA members raved about this recipe for Fennel and Sausage Risotto last year, and so I decided to give it a try. So this was last night's dinner, and it was downright tasty. The not-fennel ingredients hide the licorice flavor enough to make me think it isn't there.
I deviated from the instructions just a little. Instead of using a separate pan to cook the rice, I moved the sausage and fennel to a bowl, and then finished up making the risotto in the same pan, adding the fennel and sausage back in at the end.
Today I'll be trying another stumper from the CSA, the kohlrabi. I have a recipe for making kohlrabi pickles. Since they have a cabbage flavor, it seems like pickles might be something to try. Also, another of my fellow CSA members recently posted a picture for slaw made from kohlrabi and fennel. It might be a way to kill off two difficult vegetables in a single dish. I'll report back later on both.
This morning I'll do some slow-stitching, and then I'll do a little work in the garden before getting back to my sewing. It's going to be another low-key day...my favorite kind.
9 comments:
You might like the new vegetables book from Cooks Illustrated. Was cheapest from Amazon. Several pages on fennel. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1945256737/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
"My friend, The Pinterest"...I'm almost crying I'm laughing so hard. But the quilt looks great, so your friend did not lead you wrong. As for the veggies, we grew up eating peeled, chunked kohlrabi on veggie trays. My brothers and I always scarf that up first if my mom provides it, even now, as adults...We do get a few strange looks from our spouses, though. (But we love it!)
We’re feeling the pain of Smitty and Sadie while the threat of coyotes exists at your place. Darla and Alfie haven’t been out either, but they’re afraid of those squawking scrub jays. So they’re content to watch the bird channel from the safety of the patio screen door. I hate licorice too. Yuk! if I had to live on licorice, tea and cucumbers, I’d rather just lay down and die. And your quilting is awesome, too! I’m tucking away some of those ideas for myself!! 😉
This quilt turned out spectacular, your quilting is the icing on the cake! Fennel, bah humbug
The quilt is beautiful. I love the heart feather quilting too. Hmmm, I have always thought of Pinterest as that clinging friend that does not want you to spend time with any of my OTHER friends. Or the Wolf that leaves crumbs on the path to lead me to new places with no end in sight. Poor kitties. Can't go outside. With all our rain I know exactly how they feel!
xx, Carol
The quilt turned out so nice. I like the fabrics you choose for both the front and the back. Your quilting looks great too. I've never tried cooking with fennel, but that risotto sounds yummy. We eat kohlrabi by peeling it, slicing, and sprinkling it with a bit of salt. I've never tried cooking with it, so it will be interesting to see what you come up with. Poor kitties. I feel for them!
Love the red and black you used for your quilt. So close to finishing! Hooray.
I'm back! I was a bit behind after taking my b'day weekend off from the Colleges where I usually read Cat Patches so I can see the photos on a nice big screen. I read to catch up, but, alas, didn't comment.
Pooooor Smitty! Hopefully as I read the rest of this week's posts, the Coyote Man will have come out & done his job so the kids can play in the backyard again.
The Home & Heart quilt came out fabulously! Congrats!!
The risotto looks delish - I mean, really, sausage & rice, it must be good!
Home and Heart turned out beautifully! I've been slammed at work, so not much computer time the last couple of weeks, so I'm way behind on blog reading. I need to go back and see why Smitty can't resume his mighty hunter cat role outside.
Post a Comment