Day of Rest

Good morning, my friends. I trust you've all had some time to recover from the weekend. My Sunday was spent mostly in the kitchen, although I did manage to get just a few things done in the sewing room. 

After writing yesterday's post, I went straight to work making a Lemon Meringue Pie. I've done this enough times to feel confident about getting it right, but it is still quite a production. I'm using the recipe from America's Test Kitchens, and you can find an identical recipe right here. It has a nice crust because it's rolled out in graham cracker crumbs, and so it doesn't stick to things like most pie crusts. The pie dough mixed up in a food processor, then chilled before it's rolled. Then, there are a few more steps before it goes into the oven for baking. Then, the filling is made, then the meringue, and then it's baked again. When it's all finished...Voila!

That's pure pie perfection right there. We each had a piece for dessert, which left four pieces. I sent two home with the kids, and there are two more for us. The rest of the dinner went fine, and it was a nice evening. Mike enjoyed his day.

This morning, a visitor showed up in front of the house. She was considering what a tasty snack she could make from my geraniums.

When she spotted me through the window, she wisely decided to move along. The geraniums are safe. Apparently, however, she wasn't put off by the pinwheel. She probably thinks we put it there for her private geranium-eating party.

Smitty was not the least bit concerned by this intruder.

Sadie, likewise, felt no reason to get her furs in a fluff.

Okay, so what's on tap for my NBS day? Well, first off, a few of you with sharp eyes caught the mistake in the Painted Ladies. I'll admit I looked twice at this too, but then dismissed it a little too quickly. The top block in the third vertical row is turned upside-down. That section is what creates the house's door. It's a partial block, but it still needs to be flipped the right way to make the diagonal "roads" work.

It's an easy enough fix, but I wish I'd noticed it before I sewed the rows together.

Also, another Tiny House has been released. I'll probably give this an hour's time today.

When my hour is up, I'll get to work making Blocks 11 and 12 for the Whimsical Garden quilt.

There was just a little time in the afternoon to get ready for continuing my next project. The patterns for the Whimsical Garden quilt are printed on both sides of the page, and so I need to copy them to make them suitable for tracing. Also, they are too large to fit on a single 8-1/2 x 11 sheet, so I needed to copy them, and then piece them together. Now, my patterns are ready to work with. I'll start adding fabrics today.

When those blocks are finished, I'll be at the end of my list of WIPs. The next section on my white board is the "Quilter's Choice" section. That's where I get to choose something...anything...that can be finished up quickly. I had in mind to start on a dogwood mosaic pattern I've had for a while. But then Erik and Mae told me one of their friends is expecting a baby in September. That means I want to make a baby quilt for them. They're expecting a girl, so I'll spend some time picking out a baby quilt pattern for the newest arrival to the planet. Baby quilts are fun to make, and that will be my quilter's choice "fun finish."

There was no time for slow stitching yesterday, and so I'm Jonesing for it a little bit. It's time to put myself out of my misery and warm up that embroidery needle.