Vintage Finish

Good morning, my friends. It was a productive day yesterday. I didn't expect to finish off my art quilt, but it was one of those times when I kept telling myself I'd just do this one more thing, and then stop. Only I didn't stop. I'd just do one more thing, and then one more thing, and one more thing, and before I knew it...it was finished. I could not have done this without the help and encouragement of my faithful sewing cat.

Earlier in the morning, he was outside with Sadie stalking something they'd chased under the sorrel plant.

It might have been one of the squirrels mocking Smitty from beneath the bird feeder. You can see that rascally thing just at the top of the image below.

I was out checking to see what's new. The blueberries have me mystified. They haven't changed much since we came home. I was thinking these little green globes were blueberries.

Now I'm thinking they're flowers. These have opened, and so we should be getting some blueberries soon. If every flower turns into a berry, we're going to have a good amount of berries for the first time since we planted them.

The lavender is blooming now. It's one of my favorite fragrances.

And I noticed the calla lily is making an appearance. Sometimes this comes up, but doesn't bloom. Sometimes it blooms and blooms and blooms. Let's hope for a blooming year. It's a little late to the party this year since the stargazer lily just to its right will bloom any day now.

The Edda clematis has earned its place in the garden this year. I keep thinking it will finish, but it just keeps blooming away with new flowers every day.

Mike planted the bleeding heart at the former home of the Gracie Memorial Catnip Garden. The catnip garden was moved to a different location this year.

Also, we're replaced the daphne in the same spot as the one that died.

And I planted a Sunsweet cherry tomato in the whiskey barrel. We have to put a cage around it to protect it from the squirrels and deer.

The lithodora is in full bloom. It makes tiny blue flowers. This is a ground cover. It's hard to keep the vetch from taking over here.

The Red Cardinal clematis has put out a second flower. There are many more coming.

And the purple hydrangea has lots of flowers. Only just this one is starting to open.

By then, I'd made a full circle, and I found Sadie still stalking whatever was cornered here.

But you don't care about garden stuff, do you? You want to see the finish, don't you? Well, you know you only get a peek. The reveal will be August 1st. 

This is the most difficult art quilt I've made. When I was first getting started, I feared I'd bitten off more than I could chew. Happily, it turned out better than I could have hoped. It's hard to wait for the reveal, but wait, we must. Finishing this "Vintage" quilt was my goal for June's 

And so I'll link up there when the part starts next week.

If you think Smitty is looking pretty self-satisfied, it's because he's already seen the quilt, and he's good at keeping secrets.  His lips are sealed.

So today is going to be a kitchen day. I'm starting some chili in the slow cooker. Also, if you've been following the news, you might know that the Red Lobster chain of restaurants has filed for bankruptcy. We had one in our neighborhood when we lived in a different home. We only went once or twice, and so I can't say I'm a Red Lobster aficionado. Apparently, however, their Cheddar Bay Biscuits are very popular. I learned this from watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Here's a picture of what they look like.

(Image credit: "Cheddar Bay Biscuits" by Kodamakitty is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.)

After seeing his bit a couple of weeks ago, I wondered if I could find a copycat recipe online. And, sure enough. The Google never lets me down. There were plenty of them, but I settled on this one from Damn Delicious. (I've also realized there is a store-bought mix available. I still like making things from scratch.) So I'll be baking those to go with our chili tonight. Also, we're trying some "burnt ends" for tomorrow's dinner. I'll need to make a sauce and a rub for those. I'll make the rub today. The sauce can wait until tomorrow. As a side dish for that, I'm making a Dill Potato Salad. It's a family favorite, and it's been quite some time since I made it. Mike will be smoking and cooking the burnt ends tomorrow, and so I'll tell you more about them in a day or two.

So you can see there's plenty to keep me busy in the kitchen today. There should still be time to get back to quilting the Blackwork Baskets this afternoon. Right now though, I'm going to get busy with my slow-stitching. The weather has cleared, and it's going to be a nice day. We're expecting some nice weather for the rest of the week. It could get pretty warm, and we welcome it.