Saturday Sewing

Good morning, my friends. Things are looking up a little bit after yesterday's doldrums. Mike has located the source of the electrical difficulties in the fifth wheel. Now, he'll need to fix it. Sadly, it will involve removing the underbelly again. It should be easier than it was this past summer. The manufacturer, in its wisdom, used nails that had to be pried out with a screwdriver. When he put it all back together, he replaced all the previous nails with stainless steel screws that could be removed more easily. And thanks to those of you who left supportive comments. Misery loves company, and that helped.

It was still a slow morning. I was dragging my feet getting around. Eventually, I got to work quilting the Ties & Tails quilt. Smitty was my quilting helper. He helps control my speed.

He helped me stitch this cat...

and his bird. I like the birds.

Next was this tall cat. He was given toes like the rest of his kind.

And finally, the last striped cat. Here's where I'm not sure about that yellow thread. I've used it everywhere else, and so I guess it'll have to do.

That was all the quilting I did. I have to pace myself to avoid getting tendonitis in my left wrist. So, I left it needle down after stitching just a few patches of the desired motif. I think this will be fine for all the red squares. Today's goal is to try to stitch all the red squares. I'm not sure how much effort that will require, and so I'll have to exercise good judgment to protect my wrist. (Exercising good judgment is among the things I do least well.) On a positive note, I can turn the quilt sideways now so I won't have so much bulk sitting in my lap and dragging against the edge of the table.

From there, I committed to working on my art quilt for an hour. Sadie likes the selected fabrics.

When my hour was up, I was ready to quit. I'm happy with what I have so far, but the subject has yet to reveal itself. Sometimes it takes a while to see it when I'm doing these collage-type quilts. Here's your peek.

Any guesses?

So, I'll continue on with my quilting and my collage today. I have a little housework I should have done yesterday. (See above...dragging my feet.) I'm also starting a stuffed flank steak in the slow cooker. Who remembers when "crockpots" first came on the market? It was just before Mike and I were married. And the best cookbook on the market at the time was this one:

Here's a short stroll down memory lane: My mom was among the kindest most generous people I've ever known, but she had her limits. She really hated having people in the kitchen with her. She never really encouraged me to join her or to learn from her while she was cooking. When Mike and I married, I could barely boil water. And so a lot of our first meals came straight out of this book. There was one in particular for "Stuffed Flank Steak" that was elegant by my beginner's cooking standards. I made it many times, but then it fell off my radar for years...decades, probably. 

So, fast forward to sometime last week, and the old recipe popped into my head. Only, I couldn't remember it without the cookbook. Did I still have it? We got rid of a lot of old books, including cookbooks, after our plumbing disaster. I knew I'd held onto some, and so I was happy to find this one still on the shelf. Today I'm reviving that old recipe. I hope it tastes as good as I remember it. If it does, I'll share the recipe in tomorrow's post. I know...so exciting!

With that cliffhanger, I'm off to make some pancakes. I'm hoping for a more energetic day. What's going on in your world?