One More Block

Good morning, my friends. It was a grocery shopping day yesterday. We were late out of the starting gate and so it was after lunch before we were home again. And after a harrowing trip to the grocery store, naps are a requirement in order to fully recover. We indulged. And that didn't leave much time for sewing. Also, I decided to do some baking, and so there was even less time.

Last month (or maybe even earlier), I bought some Fuji apples for making applesauce. I used all but about half a dozen. I've been eating them one by one, but I really wanted to find another way to use them. Then, there were leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving, and I finally got around to trying a recipe for this Cranberry Apple Walnut Bread. My friend, Elecmar, shared the recipe with me some time ago, and I'm only just now getting around to baking it. The link I've given you there is to the identical recipe. Here's how it looked coming out of the oven.

The batter has two cups of chopped apples, and almost no liquid. The only liquid is from one egg and two tablespoons of oil. I worried it would be dry, but it turned out nicely. I believe the liquid generated from the baking apples is what puts it over the top. When it came out of the oven, I left it to cool, and then went to work on my sewing.

Smitty was waiting for me when I arrived. And, yes, I did blur my challenge quilt there behind his head. You guys are so sneaky trying to get some accidental peeks.

My quest was to make the twelfth block for the Homestead quilt. And let me just say that in four days, I've made three quilt blocks. I'm going to have to sew faster if I'm going to have any hope of finishing my projects before I die. This block is called "God's Eye." It has a lot of pieces, but it was not difficult to sew together.

Here's what the pamphlet says about this block:

America was founded on the principle of religious freedom, so quilts that reminded the homesteaders of their devotion to God were especially meaningful. The trip to new land was filled with danger and daily challenges which tested even the strongest men and women. It was a rare person who did not lose a family member, often a child, along the trail.

The practice of using quilts as burial shrouds was fairly common among westward travelers. Wood was often scarce for coffins, so families used what was available and appropriate. Wrapping a loved one in a quilt was a way of not only preparing the body for burial, but of giving reassurance to the living that the deceased person was still linked to his or her family. A quilt that carried a Biblical name was a source of comfort, and with their enduring faith, kept the family going.

It's the last block I'll make for this "Homestead" quilt. Here are all the blocks together. 

The blocks in the bottom row are different sizes from the other nine. The rest are all 12-1/2 inches. I'll have to do some creative sashing to fit them all into one quilt. I'll figure something out.

Getting such a late start meant it was late in the day by then. When I went upstairs, the bread was cool enough to taste. Here's how it looks on the inside. Isn't that pretty?  

We each had a slice with our leftover turkey noodle soup for dinner. It was very tasty. Thank you for sharing the recipe, Elecmar.

While we were eating, we caught a cat in our cat trap. We've tried this before, and this kind of cat trap works splendidly.

We're saving boxes right now since we'll have to be emptying things out for our new carpet in January. We have a date of January 16th now. Oy. I'm happy about the new carpet, just overwhelmed at the effort to purge things between now and then. I've assigned myself a drawer or a shelf a day. At that rate, I should have plenty of time to finish the job without too much time out of any given day. It'll be good to rid ourselves of a lot of junk, and the new carpet will be very nice too.

Also today, some movers are coming to take our neglected piano away. It's going to be sold on consignment by a local piano store. I was forced to take piano lessons for 11 years as a child. After 11 years of lessons, I was able to play the most difficult of classical music. Still, it was never my dream . Having epic performance anxiety made it difficult for me to enjoy playing. As an adult, I still played when I had some free time. When I learned to quilt, I lost interest in the piano completely. I haven't touched it in years except to dust it. In my mind, a musical instrument shouldn't sit silent. I sold my two classical guitars about a year ago for lack of interest, and now I've decided to let the piano go as well. It will not be missed. 

There are a few housekeeping chores on today's agenda, but it will be a mostly sewing day. I'll get back to the Painted Ladies today. They're fun to sew together, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they'll look with another vertical row added.

The clouds have moved in, and we're expecting rain to start up today. It'll be a good day to stay inside and stay dry.