Two steps forward and oops - a stumble

 Yep - another great day! I'm doing well at plowing my way through the list of things to do. What else is new - it's the story of my life. But if I had a "real" day job - I'd be doing the same thing! It's just that I'm the boss, so to speak! However, I'm governed by deadlines. 

No, the magazine quilt did NOT get quilted yesterday. Sigh... But it's on the long arm, and that's the first thing that gets done this morning once the girls go for their walk. 

My little stumble is that I have a block that needed to be done, well, yesterday. When I went to check on the block, I realized that I made the WRONG block. I know - how silly of me to do that. Well, while the magazine quilt is being quilted this morning, I'll be making the new block. The good news is that Block 12 is now made, so that's a bonus!

And I did manage to pick up those customer quilts yesterday. Turns out only three, not four, need to be done by Christmas, so that's more good news. But the list of quilts to be quilted in January is already full. Anything else that comes in goes to February, so if you want to get a quilt in the queue - it's filling up fast. 

Another customer quilt is done and almost ready for pickup. 

Customer quilt - DONE

A while back, one of my "friends" (I think it was Shelly who got the conversation going) talked about chicken bones. What the heck is a chicken bone? Relative to a drink and candy?? No idea. But apparently, it's a traditional candy at Christmas. Have I ever had them? I didn't think so. 

However, after searching the internet and seeing a picture, a memory came flooding back. Oh my - I've eaten many of these candies as a kid. Long, pink, and strings of sugar near the center, which is filled with chocolate and tastes like cinnamon. 

Chicken bones candy

They are made by Ganong, which is a Canadian company in New Brunswick. Well, I wasn't going to order the candy from New Brunswick, although I know a couple of people who shall remain nameless did. I was told I could find them in Bulk Barn, so I trundled off to see what I could find. Yep - there are the chicken bone candies. I bought a bag full. And when I tasted them, these are the SAME candies I remember as a kid, but it wasn't a big deal for us - it was just another candy among many that we ate at Christmas. 

Last year, Moonshine Distellery in New Brunswick made a liqueur using the chicken bones candy. Now, how sweet is that going to be? Well, during our last Virtual Retreat, I had to buy some. It arrived the other day, and this is what the bottle looks like. 

Chicken Bones Liqueur

Nope - no time to open it up and taste it, but if you want your own bottle, you can order it directly from Moonshine Creek. The shipping was very reasonable - $13 for two bottles. You can still order it, so be sure to pop over to their website and get your order in. 

I've been doing a bit of reading in the evening. Well, I'm trying to manage that huge stack of library books. I returned a couple yesterday as I found an audiobook version of them. I only have four audiobooks on my shelf, and that's very doable. And I've been listening to a lot as I putter around Studio B quilting. Holy - have you ever read Robyn Harding? This is not a murder mystery, but it's a thriller, and I'm afraid to see how this book, The Swap, will end. Yikes - scary! - Well, it's a physiological thriller. She's a Canadian author, and I got the impression that all of her books are of the same genre. If you like thrillers - then I would highly recommend this author. 

I'm also reading this book about the Mood fabric store in New York. It's an interesting story and loads of information about fabrics. I'm sure you all knew this, but COTTON is one of the worse fabrics to make from an environmental perspective. And they highly recommend buying QUALITY versus QUANTITY. In other words, buy the best, not the cheap stuff because it doesn't last. And I concur 100% on that one. 

The MOOD Guide to Fabric and Fashion

A couple of points about virtual challenges: YES - I need a wall hanging to put my medals on. They have these amazing metal wall hangings that you can buy. 

Samples of holders for medals

There are different styles, but I like it when the ribbon is hung on a flat bar instead of a nail. So perhaps after Christmas, I'll look at getting one. Because I'm less than 150 KM from finishing another challenge. 

Now, if you are looking for something fun to kick off your January, here's a neat and DOABLE challenge. It's 60KM, and you have between January 1 and 31st to get it done. That's 2 KM each day. That doable!!! And the medal is gorgeous. And to make it more challenging - do the entire 60K outside! Just because we live in this crazy climate doesn't mean we have to stay indoors!

Well, it's time to get moving! I've got a few things that need to be out the door by the end of the day! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!