Ready for Binding

Good morning, my friends. It's a new day. We had a week of summer last week, and now we're back to a rainy spring. It's been cloudy and cool all week. The sun is shining this morning, but we're still expecting some rain later today. Next week is supposed to be better. We're setting our sites on the latter part of the week for planting the vegetable garden.

In case it wasn't obvious from yesterday's post, we were both exhausted after two days of medical appointments for Mike. As for Mike, he's thrilled with the results of his surgery so far. He's worn glasses since he was a young boy, and he's seeing better than he's ever seen. Now, he's anxious for the other eye to be completed. That will happen next month. After his appointment yesterday, we ate breakfast out, and then we both came home and took naps. I only slept for about an hour, but it was a deep restful sleep, and I felt refreshed when I woke up.

Newly energized, I went to work finishing off the quilting for the Merry, Merry Snowmen. Each of the border cornerstones was given a snowflake.

It's easier to see that from the back.

In the borders, I did an upsy-downsy snowflake motif (technical quilting terms). I tried to do something fancier here. It turned out to be beyond my skill level, and so I took it out and opted for something simpler.

When it was finished, I laid it out on the floor for the quilt inspector to have his way with it. Happily, it passed inspection with flying colors.

Here are a couple of peeks of the back.

No pleats, and that's always a good thing.

Here's a look at the whole thing. I'll be adding this pattern to my Quilt Pattern Yard Sale page.

Today's top priority will be getting it squared up and sewing the binding on. After that, I'll probably spend some time on the hand-sewing.

While I was working on that, I had another project going in the kitchen. In my quest to use up the remaining jars of homemade sweet cherry pie filling, I tried this recipe for Cherry Pie Bars with Cherry Pie Filling. They're very tasty. Mike declared them "sinful." They aren't hard to make, but they take some time. 

The crust ingredients are whisked together. Then, 3/4 cup of the crust mixture is set aside. Three tablespoons of sliced almonds are added to that for the topping. The pan was lined with parchment, and I left overhang on both sides to help me get them out of the pan. The remaining crust mixture is pressed into the bottom of the pan. The crust is baked, then cooled. The pie filling is thickened with some cornstarch, and some flavorings added. Then it is spread over the cooled crust and the topping is added. Then, it bakes for even longer. After that, it is allowed to cool completely. Then, it's frozen for 15 minutes before cutting it into bars and adding the glaze. For sure, I'll do this again sometime. We'll enjoy these with our afternoon cup of espresso.

Okay, so as I mentioned, I'll be working on that quilt binding today. There's one housekeeping chore on the list, and I simply must get back to my PT exercises. I have one more PT session next week, and then I believe I'll call it quits on my shoulder efforts. It isn't completely pain free, but I believe it will continue to improve. Certainly, I don't need a surgery, even if it doesn't get any better than it is right now. So, I'll probably cancel next week's return appointment with the doctor and move on from this annoyance.

Mike has his heart set on a new and improved 3-D printer. He started with a printer that was adequate and relatively inexpensive. Now, he's so completely engaged in his 3-D printing hobby that he wants to sell this one and purchase a fancier one. (Think of it as a sewing machine.) A guy is coming by today, and so it means I'll have to make myself presentable. Oh, the humanity! And with that, I'll leave you. Slow-stitching is next, and then I'll work on that "presentable" quest.