The Long and the Short of It

Good morning, my friends. Another week has nearly passed. It just means we're another week closer to D-Day, which in this case means "Departure Day." In the meantime, I'm continuing on my white board assembly line of quilt projects, trying to get as much done as possible before a lengthy absence from my sewing room. 

When I went downstairs after writing yesterday's post, I found the kitties blissed out on the new flannel quilts. Smitty had the rag quilt:

Sadie was snuggled up in the French Roses quilt.

It's fair to say that the feline family members appurrove of the new quilts.

After breakfast, I went to work finishing the second part of this Tiny Heart. Yesterday's part was to chain stitch around the border, and then add French knots.

After that, I finished stitching February's "Joy in the Ordinary" block. 

That one still needs some log cabin style borders. I'll get to that this afternoon.

There was time for some housekeeping and I walked on the treadmill. When I was able to get clear of other obligations, I watched the fifth and final video for the quilt-along series from Angela Walters. From there, I stitched the center star on the panel. I still need to stitch the adjacent areas, and I'll do that today.

There were a few other areas I missed when I went around the first time. I'll fill those in, and then I'll be ready to stitch the gray areas around the edges of the panel. Here's how yesterday's quilting looks from the back.

Downstairs, I wanted to make February's cat for the Cats in Pajamas quilt. When I started this project last month, I did all the cutting I would need for the whole quilt, except for the portions that would be the cat and the pajamas. Also cut were all the noses and eyes from black fabric, and muzzles from white. If I'm going to make two of them look like Smitty and Sadie, then I needed a new muzzle and new eyes for Sadie. Smitty's will need new eyes and a pink nose. He sat and modeled while I cut a pink for his nose. 

And then I went to work making Sadie's block. I texted this picture to Matthew. He's just about the only other person who has actually seen our shy Sadie. He thought she was looking very stylish in her red pajamas.

As I mentioned yesterday, I wanted to rework the tail to give it a stubby Manx tail like hers. It turned out to be easier than expected.

Here are the two cats I have for this quilt so far.

Of course we'll be visiting quilt shops on our trip. I'm hoping I can find a good striped gray to make Smitty's block. If I need to, I can use the same gray I used in January's block, but I'd like to find something different. Either way, I'll make Smitty's block later on in the spring when we get back from our trip. Also, I wanted to mention this is the first time I've made a pattern designed by Elizabeth Hartman. These are fairly complicated with lots of little pieces, but her instructions are excellent. It makes sewing them together a breeze.

That was the end of my sewing day. I wanted to try a new recipe seen recently in the NYTimes for Longevity Noodles with Chicken, Ginger, and Mushrooms. This was really good. It's a stir-fry dish, and so once I had all the ingredients collected it was done quickly in a single frying pan. We liked it.

The recipe called for Napa cabbage. When we did our grocery shopping, the Napa and Savoy cabbages were together in the produce section. Napa cabbage heads are about twice the size of Savoy, and they cost a dollar more per pound. They're practically the same thing, and so I used Savoy cabbage in mine. That worked out fine, and I would do that again if given the same set of circumstances. Also, this was another recipe that used "fresh" noodles. The only ones I can find in our grocery store are in kits combined with other ingredients. I had some at home that were packaged like the ones below, but mine were not made from "buckwheat." 

The point is that I believe you can use any kind of noodle in these noodle dishes. If you're using dry noodles, however, you'll want to use half the amount specified in the recipe. After they've absorbed water from boiling, they'll weigh out the same as fresh. I've linked to the recipe back there, but it's another one from the NYTimes. If you can't open it, please don't hesitate to email me. I'll be more than happy to send it to you.

Okay, so breakfast is up next. After that, I'll do the day's Tiny Heart, and then I'll take the first stitches on November's "Joyful Journey" block.

Also, I'll make some more progress on my quilt-along panel, and then I'll have to figure out what the next stop is on the white board in my sewing room. In a perfect world, I'd be starting to quilt the Blackwork Baskets. As I've been doing the designs for the quilt-along, I've considered how I can use them for this quilt.

Problem is, I don't think I can finish this before we leave, and I hesitate to get halfway through before taking a long break. I don't know about you, but it's hard for me to pick up exactly as I left off following a long absence. On the other hand, I'm excited to try out what I've learned on an actual quilt. Just as I'm writing these words, I'm sorely tempted to set aside the panel and work on the Blackwork Baskets instead. Maybe I'll decide I'm the boss of me again, and I'll get to work on this. It will give me something to ponder while I do my slow-stitching this morning.

Okay, my friends. It's time to get on with my day. As much as I love chatting with y'all, there's much to do. Time to get to it.