January Last

Good morning, my friends. Please be honest...does this new carpet make my typing look fat?

It's good to see you this morning. I'm back in my office, and sitting at my desktop computer for this post. The laptop has been fine, but it's always good to be seated more comfortably with a good view out the window. The carpet is in, and we're in the midst of setting things back to right and restoring ourselves to sanity. (One of my Facebook friends says that sanity is highly overrated. There's some truth to that.) My office is almost fully restored. Here's a look at the new stuff under our feet.

The old stuff was a light steel blue. It was probably about 30 years old. The quality was good enough, but there were places where it was showing its age. Truthfully, it was time for a change. When I left for my pedicure yesterday, I told Mike if I had my druthers, I'd druther he reassemble the mid-arm first. He needed some help reassembling the table, and he was busy putting the machine back when I left yesterday morning. Looking at the image above, we rearranged the room a little, having rid ourselves of two big file cabinets in this process. As I'm writing this, I'm sitting in the far chair. If there's time today, I'll spend some time seated at the nearer chair, trying to catch up on the Dot-to-Dot FMQ Challenge. The fifth (and last) video was released yesterday, and I'm still back on week three.

Setting up the machine, I wanted to rearrange things a little. In the image below, you can see the little rolling craft table on the right side. Having more room means I can open up the leaf on the right side. That gives me space to move the bobbin winder off the quilting table. It was often in my way there when I was quilting a large quilt. Oh yes, and just FYI, that's a magnetic strip on the front where I put needles that have been used, but aren't used up yet. The little notes indicate their size.

So I'm set to get back to my quilting, but there is still much to do today. On the right side of the first image, you can barely see some white cabinets. There's a bookcase there too. All the stuff from the bookcase and the cabinets is still stacked downstairs in the dining room. Today's goal will be to put all that stuff away. Fortunately, there was time left yesterday to put everything back in my dresser drawers and night stand. At the end of the today, I suspect reassembling the closet shelving will be the only thing left to set things back to what passes for normal.

Okay, and in all of that, I had a little time for sewing. Let's just take a look, shall we? Smitty was no help at all. 

So I was all alone finishing up the next two blocks for the Shop Hop 3.0 quilt. The first one was from Be Lazy Quilting in Three Forks, Montana. Three Forks has a rich history, visited by Lewis and Clark in 1805 in search of the headwaters of the Missouri River, the longest river in North America. The Headwaters, just four miles from Three Forks, is where the Jefferson, Gallatin, and Madison rivers flow together. This quilt shop was located in the tiny town of Three Forks. When I told them I was looking for something to represent the area, they directed me to this batik fabric that was custom-made for their shop. That made it an easy choice. 

This next one is from Rather-Be's Quilt Shop & Retreat Center; Pomeroy, Washington. Pomeroy is in the Palouse. The Palouse is a distinct geographic region encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is a major agricultural area, primarily producing wheat and legumes. The harvest was on when we visited the area, and that made this fabric another easy choice. 

That makes 14 of 20 blocks completed. I have two more fabrics in the bin for this project. The rest will be acquired during our upcoming trip.

So carpet day turned out to be lovely. There was a pretty morning sky, and there was no rain. Dry days at this time of year are a gift in the Pacific Northwest. It's as if the weather gods were trying to make up for the two delays we'd already experienced.

The same two guys who did the carpet in the basement were here for this job. They came in and went to work, and they work, work, worked all day long. When they took a break for lunch, I snuck in for this shot of the stairs.

That stinker Sadie had nearly destroyed the carpet on the bottom step, using it as her scratching pole. Possibly, we've broken her of that habit. If we see her doing it again, we'll apply some double-sided sticky tape to the bottom step. That'll give her little murder mittens something else to think about. Here's a shot of the stairs all finished now. The cats in the Mewseum are happy about the improvement to their digs.

Okay, and so to keep myself entertained while they were here, I spent some time making these From-the-Freezer Blueberry-Cinnamon Muffins. The batter is mixed up and spooned into paper muffin cups, then frozen before baking. After three hours, I gathered them up and deposited them in a zip-lock bag for storage. They'll keep in the freezer like that for two months. But how did it work? How did they taste? Well...let me just say they were surprisingly good. As I collected them for the zip-lock bag, I held back two of them. These are the frozen muffins in the image below. You can see that the turbinado sugar topping was still visible. I worried that it would simply dissolve before it could freeze.

So I baked those for yesterday's breakfast. They came out looking great. Here's the thing, though. I was experimenting with these foil baking cups. Supposedly, they'll stand on their own without the need for a muffin tin.

And, okay, well I beg to disagree about that. Here's how they looked from the side. The one on the left is in a cup that has the foil on the outside. The one on the right has foil on the inside. The one on the right did a little better, but you can still see they flattened out as they baked. I'd use a muffin tin next time, but I think giving each its own custard cup might work too. This will require more experimentation. (What a shame.)

They were very tasty. Here's how they look on the inside. So yummy. These will be great for traveling, and they're easy enough to make up a batch in the RV as well.

So, I've linked to the recipe back there, but you'll need to have a subscription to America's Test Kitchens to open it. If you want the recipe, email me. As always, I'll be happy to send it to you.

Okay, and I spent most of the carpet day on my slow-stitching. I *really* wanted to finish up the Girls' Getaway piece. It was started way back in December, and I'm ready for something new. So, I didn't finish it on carpet day, but I had some time to work on it yesterday, and that puppy is done.

Here are all the blocks and the one panel I have for this quilt so far.

Okay, so today will mostly be spent putting things back and getting organized. I doubt there will be any time for sewing. Not to worry, however, because the "Patterns in Nature" reveal is tomorrow. Finally, you're going to get a look at the challenge piece I finished back in November. Here's another peek. Get ready for a look at the whole thing tomorrow.

And that's all I have for you today. I hope y'all are doing okay in your part of the world. We're expecting another "atmospheric river" to slam into the west coast over the next day or two. You folks in Southern California might want to get out your waders. I'm afraid you guys are in for it. So sorry. Stay safe and dry, my friends.