When the shopping list for the week was made up over the weekend, we'd planned to do the grocery shopping on Tuesday. Then, in a moment of courage and heroism, we decided to do all of our errands on Monday. Staying home yesterday made it all worthwhile.
We're home for quite a while, although Mike often drives into town for this or that thing. Yesterday was for D-cell batteries. I'm mean...who even uses D-cells any more? I've noticed gopher activity in the peony bed again. If the gophers eat my peony tubers, I'm going to be pretty darned mad. So, the D-cells are for these stick-em-in-the-ground posts that emit an occasional buzzing vibration. The batteries are supposed to last 6-8 months, which will take us into next spring easily. Take that, Varmints! And all of that to say that I'm feeling blissed out at the prospect of not going out again until next week sometime.
Of course, I started the day with some slow stitching. You never doubted it, right? I stitched up the next crow among the murder of crows. They're starting to get noisy.
I'm guessing I'm about 2/3 of the way across this now.
It's probably time to think about making up the next block for the Pieces of the Past quilt. These are colored with crayon and so it takes some time to get them ready for stitching. These are the blocks I have for this quilt so far.
With my slow-stitching done, I had a couple of housekeeping chores to finish, and then I readied myself for a day of nothing but sewing. When I made my way into the sewing room, Smitty came down from the clubhouse. Apparently, he volunteered to be my sewing cat for the day. He was a little sleepy and needed to wake up.
After he had his cup of coffee, he was ready to get to work. (Yes, coffee. He isn't a savage, you know.)
With his help, I sewed together the third "flower" block.
And then, I made the four blanks.
That makes 6 of 7 rows complete. I laid out the blocks, and here's how they look so far.
The triple Irish chain is one of my favorite traditional quilt patterns. I've had it on my to-do list for a long time. This was started in April of 2019, and I'm pretty happy to have it this far along. Even the "blanks" for this quilt take quite a bit of time, and so that was about the end of my sewing day.
Next up, I'll be making the next block for the Shop Hop 2.0 quilt. These are the blocks I have so far for this quilt:
So, I traced out the name plate for the next block.
While Mike and I watched the evening news, I stitched it up. Now it's ready to be sewn into a quilt block.
I can recommend having some ears beside you when slow stitching. The job goes so much more quickly.
So with our scaled-down Thanksgiving feast scheduled for tomorrow, it's tempting to get a head start by making a few dishes ahead today. I'm not sure if I'll do that since a scaled-down feast will take a lot less time. I'll have to see how the day plays itself out. By the way, a few of you wondered how I do the slow cooker frozen turkey breast. Well...nothing could be easier. Here are the steps:
1. Thaw the turkey breast. Remove the wrapper, and check inside the cavity for any surprise packages. (I once cooked mine with a packet of gravy inside.)
2. Place the thawed turkey breast inside the slow cooker and lid the top.
3. Turn the slow cooker on low. Depending on how hot your slow cooker is and the size of your turkey breast, it will take 6-8 hours to cook.
Easy, huh? I've done dozens of turkey breasts this way, and they make the best hot turkey sandwiches.
Okay, so maybe some cooking...lots of sewing. That's a good plan for the day before Thanksgiving. How are you spending the day?
18 comments:
No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers. ~ Laurie Colwin
I have that Jenny's flower pattern on my list next to my (beloved) string blocks on papers...that is all I've planned for the next month and the New Year--i am trying to take it easier...I need to get back to butterfly
x-stitching now that the Am. Girl Dolly quilts are all finished up...
And of course, cleaning my messy messy room up...
I hope that you have a delicious feast and a wonderful Thanksgiving Day,
Hugs from afar, Julierose
I will also be alone--just me--again this year cause of Covid though this time!!!!--I am working on finishing up a couple Chmas gifts cause tomorrow I plan to start wrapping some gifts that have to be mailed on Tuesday(pay day) so they get where they are suppose to be --by Christmas--so it will be a fun day for me--!
At least you have kitty's to help keep you company while you work and eat!!!
luv, di
I wonder whether those posts would work on our burrowing rodents? Please do update with a report on whether they actually keep the varmints away. Jenny's garden is lovely but sooooo much work, you know I am only blowing smoke when I claim that I'll make it some day. But I DID finally make your cranberry walnut bread - it will not last until tomorrow's dinner, I think we're about half way through it and it is still warm. Major yum.
Thanks for the simple directions for cooking the turkey breast in the Crockpot. I have one thawing in the fridge and hadn't thought of doing it that way. Just the hubby and myself for Thanksgiving this year also. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
We did our first turkey breast in the crockpot early this year, and I'll never go back to roasting them. The crockpot version was so tender and juicy, just perfect. Baking pies tomorrow morning before heading out for a tiny family feast. Have a great Thanksgiving!
I'm not a fan of turkey - a mood food. I prefer the method of picking up one hot and fresh out of the deli - HA!! My son will pop in after he's done with work (yeah, working on TD) and he just wants a pulled pork sandwich and I have the pulled pork out of the freezer - fresh buns from the local bakery. Neither of us do sweets. A couple rounds of cards with coffee after and then I'm sure he will beat and want to get home.
Love, love today's quote!! That's how I always feel, maybe that's why I like cooking.....
It was a "standing all day in the kitchen day." Everything is ready except the turkey. Boy, the legs get tired. Our daughter and Son-in-law will join us for the meal. It is a very small gathering. In the kitchen I essentially prepped 2 meals. Our neighbors generally join us for thanksgiving. Since we are concerned about large gatherings that is not happening. The neighbors traditions did not include Thanksgiving growing up so we adopted them for the annual celebration. This way they enjoy an American traditional cuisine without having to learn a different way of cooking. They like the pecan pie for dessert. At other times of the year we get to enjoy their kitchen output of Indian cuisine. It’s a win/win.
Jenny's Flower Garden is so pretty, and it's coming along really well. Happy Thanksgiving to you and Mike. Enjoy all that good food today. I hope those vibey things work (darn gophers).
You always make such great progress in your sewing! What did i do the day before Thanksgiving? I made cinnamon rolls, and 2 loaves of bread. Just had to use up the quart of potato water we had awaiting this project.
I cheat and use a JennieO turkey breast. I cook it in the crockpot from frozen (about 4 hours). It always turns out great (today, included). Happy Thanksgiving!
My Guy may need to check out the crock pot turkey breast. Our limitation yesterday was oven space for all the various things. Hope you got in a very nice nothing but stitching day. I'm hoping for something along those lines today as well.
Love seeing all your hand stitching projects! Those crows are really coming along quickly!
You have some lovely projects to keep you busy for awhile, I love the crow piece you are working one.
Great projects you have to work on. I need to go get some more of those D batteries, those blasted moles are driving me batty! They are in the back and front yard, I have tunnels all over the place. I have put mothballs down the holes, they push them out. I have put bait down the moles, they push them out. someone told me about gum, it is supposed to block their intestines, but I had more activity than ever. I tried spraying the grass with something they don't like. You walk across my lawn and you sink into holes. I think I have communes in both the front and back yards. I have tried flooding them out too~ Good luck on your problem though~
I hope you enjoyed your pared down Thanksgiving. Your Triple Irish Chain is gorgeous. I hope to make one of those someday also.
Your Pieces of the Past quilt will be awesome. The embroidery blocks you have alread made are just wonderful.
Happy Slow Sunday Stitching!
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