Washing the house!

It's good to hear from all of you, and I hear you about not knowing what the spring/summer will bring for those who are lacking in moisture this winter. I grew up in the prairies in Saskatchewan, and that winter snow was essential for growing crops! Fingers crossed that any further snow that wishes to fall will fall in your area, not ours! I'm done with shoveling! 

Although the anal part of me was out with a shovel yesterday, tidying up parts of the driveway. I know -- I must look crazy, but I hate when the snow encroaches on the sidewalk, and I hadn't cleared the entire patio area of the front step. As we get some melt from the glorious sun, I'll be out there to continue my quest to have a super clear and dry driveway. 

What amazes me is that most people don't care about that. As long as the snow is packed down. I don't get that, but then we are all different. And while snow blowers are great, they do NOT clear down to the pavement, unlike shoveling by hand. 

And NO Shirley -- those Quilts of Valour quilts are not UFOs!!! 

I cannot count! I was thinking I had to make twenty blocks, but alas, I need twenty-four! Good grief -- how does one make a mistake like that? Anyway, there are six blocks left to assemble. And this is all I can show you. 

Blue and green scraps from making blocks

Lots of green and blue scraps! Take a big piece of fabric and chop it up! That's what it looks like, and there are larger pieces of green and blue by the sewing machine! It's an unusual quilt design, but I like it, and I'll certainly use it when it's made! I can't wait to take this one off the visual "to-do" list! 

That quilt has to be my priority today, and should have been yesterday, but the sun was too enticing, so I sat in the living room with DH and the girls and read and napped for part of the afternoon! Today, even though I think we are getting sunshine again, I have no choice. I'd really like to have the top together by tonight! 

The clock is ticking, and I have all-day meetings on Monday and Tuesday! 

In preparation for our last session later this week to finish our haunted houses, I needed to rinse all of the pieces to remove the water-soluble stabilizer. I was going to be gentle about it, but then I just dunked the whole lot in a sink of hot water, and within seconds, the water-soluble stabilizer was gone. Don't worry -- I cut most of it away, so there was very little goopy stuff left in the water. 

The house pieces are almost ready to assemble

Even though this was vinyl with foam, they dried pretty quickly, and now all that's left is to punch holes and cut slots, and it's ready to assemble! If you are wondering about the piece at the front that looks unfinished, it got thrown into the water by accident. I had to redo that piece because something happened, and I abandoned it. I must find some battery tea lights before Thursday!

Well, you all know that kitchen duty is not my thing. I was making soup the other day when, for some reason, I burned the onions in my frying pan, and it was bad!! The onions were OK, but the pan was a big mess. I tried soaking it in water and soap, but it did little to help. So I asked Google what to do. 

Step one was to boil water and vinegar, which I did. 

Boiling water and vinegar

And then you add baking soda. Oh my --- I wasn't fast enough to get a picture of that chemical reaction, but it was neat to see. Here's a little bit of the action that was left when I could grab my camera!

The remainder of the chemical reaction

So that did remove some of the burnt marks, but not all. So the pan has sat with a paste of baking soda and water, and I'll see what happens. The worst case is that I need to buy a new pan. I'm sure it will be fine the way it is. GASP --- I really don't care. My mother still uses the same cast-iron frying pan she's used forever! Over 70 years and it's fine! I do not fuss about stuff like that. 

While digging through the papers in the filing cabinet, I came across M's birth certificate and the official Statement of Birth application, which the parents must complete. I remember that day - I was at our first check-up at the doctor's, and they handed me this form. I was in so much pain from the delivery - lots of pushing and stretched/strained tendons in my pelvic area - I needed a walker to walk. It was interesting! 

Anyway, I'm sitting there with this form and trying to fill it out. All I see on it is scratch, scratch as I tried to spell M's middle name! My handwriting has always sucked!

I'm surprised that she even got a name. DH and I could NOT agree on a name. I don't know why he was so fussy! I like Mikeala, but he did not. So we eventually put together a list of 10 names each, and one by one, they got rejected. Madeline was the last name on the list. That's totally insane! And then he wanted a middle name. I wasn't going through that same business for a middle name, so I told him if he wanted her to have a middle name, he would have to pick it, and Frances it was. 

Frances means free, and since she would NEVER sleep with her arms under the blankets from day one, this was where the name came from. I think she was about one week old when I filled out that paperwork. 

It still makes me smile whenever I see it, but it's now time to pass it along to her. She will need it more than I, and especially her birth certificate. 

Good grief -- it's time to take a break from reading! I read 12 books in January! Or listened to them. I have one to finish probably later today, and then NO MORE BOOKS for a while. I have some podcasts to catch up on, and I should do that instead of picking up new books to read. The next audiobook will arrive in a few days. I do NOT need to find one to read right now!

And here is our Muirphy. She had a bone that she had gnawed on as much as she could get, but when the marrow in the middle won't stay in place, and your tongue isn't long enough, you can't get to that part. So I jammed it in there for her, and that kept her entertained for quite a while before it finally got released and she devoured the savory bit!!

Murphy entertained by her bone

By the way -- that painting over the fireplace was done by Cynthis Frenette, whom I mentioned yesterday, who had done the artwork for a new jigsaw puzzle out. She painted a picture of our previous girls and included Lexi as well. That was before Murphy came along. And the trees are painted from photos of the forest!!!! She is a very cool artist!!!

The snow is compacting, so the girls have made a few more trails in the backyard, and should we get more snow, I will be able to wing it up over the existing banks! But we're not going to get more! Or are we? 

Anyway, I'm off to walk the girls. Good grief -- it's still cold out there. It says minus 15 with a wind chill of minus 25. But seriously -- if you are dressed, it's fine. I wear my fleece-lined jeans, with wool socks and running shoes. Then a long sleeve shirt with a flannel shirt over that, and two thin jackets, with a scarf and two pairs of mitts. Plus the toque! It seems to take forever to get dressed, but I'm toasty warm the entire walk. If I get hot, I can open one jacket! 

Well, I'm off. Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

I HAVE to cook!

 ACK -- I'm a bit behind in responding to your comments! I need to do that every day as I love to get comments from you all, and I feel bad when I don't comment back because often, that's the only way we get to stay in touch; otherwise, it's a one-sided conversation! 

Can you believe it's the last day of September? I've felt a bit "nostalgic" all week as this would have been the week I would have arrived in Santiago! I've been thinking about the people I met and figured many would be arriving this week. Well, it wasn't meant to be this year for me, so let's move on! 

In the meantime, I wisely used my downtime and quilted a ton of quilts for community projects. Here are two more for Quilts of Valour. 

Quilts of Valour #9

Quilts of Valour #10

That leaves one more to complete the goal of eleven quilts for Quilts of Valour. I'm happy to report that I got the backing made, I joined some batting bits, and it is ready to quilt later today. 

The eleventh quilt on the frame

Can you believe that all that Oh Canada fabric was in my house? The eleventh quilt is also made from the Oh Canada fabric, and there are FOUR more quilts in the "to be quilted" pile. Plus, we should have one scrappy quilt with all the leftovers. That's OBSCENE. 

I was able to get seven backings from that pile of black flannel. This is all that remains, and it is likely enough for backing a small quilt when I get back to those. 

Leftover flannel from the backings

I had two batting bits from the other Quilts of Valour quilts, and rather than cut a brand new piece, I searched my batting bit closet and found a piece that would make that last batting. 

The batting bit closet

There are a LOT of batting bits in the closet, and I'll be using that for the NON-Quilts of Valour quilts when I get to those; plus, there are two partial rolls of batting for those smaller quilts. I shouldn't run out of batting for a while. 

And that leaves this much of the batting roll for the next eleven. I think I did very well at being conservative with it. There's still quite a bit on the roll. That is good, as I wasn't sure how many quilts I could get from the one roll. It's back in the plastic bag to keep the dust off and labeled so it doesn't get used for something else. 

The current status of the Quilts of Valour batting roll

Finding the right size of batting bit is so easy, with each piece being labeled. Labeling will save you so much time for anything you do!! I never used to be a label maker, but I'm pretty OCD about it now! 

The other thing I'm OCD about is cleaning up the bits. The bits of backing and batting are all sorted into their respective home. I try to have that all cleared up before going to bed, and I usually watch an episode of The Great British Baking Show (Masterclass) while I do that. I'm almost at the end of those episodes, so I will have to find another way to entertain myself. 

I am listening to an audiobook and reading a physical book simultaneously. I always have a physical book on the go, but not always an audiobook, which can be tricky when you are trying to sew something or need to do some calculations! Both are good books, and I hope to finish the physical book tonight. I'll give you the name tomorrow -- it's an interesting story. 

So DH was away last night, and I had to forage dinner myself. He was all worried that I didn't have anything to eat. Good grief --- I know how to cook -- he just chooses to not like what I cook. Our neighbor had given us some kale from her garden the day before, so I went to the grocery store to pick up some supplies and made a yummy stir fry. I also used some red peppers our neighbor gave us that needed to be used up! I thought it was quite tasty!

My kale stir fry

Murphy is the weirdest dog around. What has she done now? She loves rocks! And she loves to bring those rocks into the house. Look at the little collection she was accumulating on the floor in the living room. Murphy! -- Rocks stay outside. Sigh................

Murphy's rock collection

Lexi was beside herself last night. Her Dad wasn't home, and how could she sleep on the couch? She won't do the stairs, so she decided to lie on the mat in my office. Silly girl!

This is NOT the same as the couch! 

Yesterday was a glorious day, and I hope you all got a chance to be outside for a bit. I'm back to walking (well, I never really stopped) about 12 KM a day. And when I get back from the afternoon walk, I have a snack. My schedule is so routine that it throws me into a tizzy when I travel! I sat outside (not in the gazebo) and read my book while the girls entertained me, and I had my snack! But it's pretty cool in the shade these days, so I didn't fall asleep!

A glorious day

Don't forget to check out QUILTsocial, where today's topic is tips on raw edge and invisible machine applique. You can never have too many tips on that. If you have the right tools and supplies, this can be a deal breaker if you do applique. 

And I'm off to a quilt show this morning. I'll be at the Brant Heritage Quilters Guild show. I must remember to bring CASH for the entrance fee. Gosh -- when have I used cash last? It should be fun to get out and see some quilts and vendors. I don't need anything as I've found what I needed, but there might be something there to peak my interest. 

Regarding the quilting marathon, by my best count, I completed 41 (possibly two more -- not sure -- I lost count) of the smaller quilts -- the largest being 50" by 60" and the smallest being 37" by 37". I quilted one for the RCMP; after today, there will be eleven for Quilts of Valour. The grand total is 53 (possibly 55). I started on September 7, so that's just over 2 quilts per day for 24 days! I think I can take a break! 

I still want to do another eleven quilts for Quilts of Valour by November 11, but it's a lot of work to get the backings made and prepare the batting, so I need to give that a rest for the moment and focus on customer quilts! I have no idea why I became obsessed with this quilting project or where the discipline came from to continue day after day! But it did, and that's all that counts. 

It proved to me that I could actually get all those quilts quilted in a relatively short time if I put my mind to it. Was that the purpose of my Camino? To prove that I can focus when I need to? We'll never know, but it has been a great experience, and I'm happy with how the events turned out. 

On that note, I'm out of here! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

About being healthy

ACK -- I had some writing that had to get done this morning and I have a Sit n Sew day today so there's not a lot of time! Can you believe that I get "complaints" if the blog isn't posted by 7:30 AM!!!!  So certain people can read the blog on their way to work. Oh, there are some troublemakers out there! Just so you know, I do try to get the blog posted by 7:30 AM because I have two girls who like to go for a walk at 7:30. It's all in fun and I sure had to laugh when I got that call!

While I got a lot of work done yesterday, I'm not able to share any of it with you. You'll see it all in due time. Matter of fact, you'll see it all next week.

In addition to running the long arm and the embroidery machine and a sewing machine, I managed to make a big pot of soup. I know - ME? In the kitchen? Hell must be freezing over.

Two things inspired me to make that pot of soup. First, when M and James were here at Christmas, James made us a big pot of soup and it was great to run to the fridge and grab a bowl and heat it up for lunch. I've been meaning since Christmas to make the soup once again. Then earlier this week, the new Canada's food guide came out and well - guess what? Cook more at home! OK - it's time to make that darn soup.

I got out all the ingredients. Did I have a recipe? Of course not! I don't cook with recipes. I may bake with a recipe, but cooking with one? Boring! It's a vegetable soup so seriously - how could one go wrong?

Ingredients for vegetable soup

Seriously - it's basically a "clean out the fridge" kind of soup. So I chopped some veggies and put them in the pot. Ran downstairs and kept feeding bobbins to the embroidery machine or the long arm. Then back up to chop more veggies and that's how the afternoon went.

I was happy with the progress on all fronts and I got loads of Fitbit steps in as well.  I almost forgot to put the spices in the soup. Now how did I remember which spices James put in his soup? I had taken a picture of course!!!  I opened up the picture, saw which ones he used and added a glop of that one and a glop of this one and a couple of bay leaves and we're good to go! I couldn't find one of the ones he made but no matter - let's just go with it!


This is what the final pot looked like. I think his soup looked different but no matter - this is MY soup. It has lentils and chickpeas so full of protein.

My veggie soup

I had soup for dinner. I took my first taste - OH MY GOD - it was amazing!!!!  I LOVE the flavor. OK - I'll make that again!!!  Well - I guess I have to since these days, we're all eating way healthier in this house.

As for Canada's Food Guide - I'm going to chat more about that one day. I have to say that I'm impressed. Probably because it follows the philosophy that I've been adopting all last year. Reducing refined sugar, eating more fruit and veggies, cutting down on dairy and meat. I may not even introduce dairy back into my diet - I've been off dairy for a couple of weeks and I don't miss it, except maybe those little pots of yogurt from Riviera. No caffeine, no chocolate. I always like something sweet to finish off a meal and I'm finding that I'm totally satisfied with an apple or some cantaloupe. That never used to happen. Does this mean that I'm finally converted away from all refined sugar???  I sure hope so.

My weight has been super stable - right in the middle of that 5-pound buffer zone. Other than my minimum 10,000 steps in a day, I haven't really been to the gym much in the last couple of weeks. I need to get there - even if it's for stretching and I love the sauna and steam room!

In keeping with the healthy, green lifestyle  - I love using these beeswax wraps for food. We have a couple but never seem to have enough so I bought some more last night. I get mine at Oh Look Fabric in Milton. I paid $30 for five. You may think that's expensive, but how much do you pay for saranwrap and you have to replace that. These are totally reuseable and very environmentally friendly.

Beeswax wraps

I'll show you one picture from yesterday. I was doing embroidery with blue thread. I thought I only had two spools of the blue and wouldn't you know it - I was soon playing thread chicken. Except that I lost big time! I still had thousands of stitches to stitch out when the second spool was done. I went back to the thread box and wouldn't you know it - I had a THIRD spool of that same color!!!!  How cool is that!!!!

Thread chicken -a win/loss

I seem to be ripping through spools of thread this year. I think that's about three or more that I've emptied so far. I'm going to have to stock up on embroidery thread one day. Yikes - that's going to hurt the pocketbook. What I need to do is take my boxes of thread to the store and look at the colors I have and what I don't have. Otherwise, when I go shopping, I end up buying the same thread colors which I already have which is why I end up with three spools of the same color!!!!

Last night, I had a class at Oh Look Fabric. It's a learn to quilt class. There are six in the group. Six amazing and super eager students. It was so much fun. I didn't get any pictures, but I bet Andi has them up on her IG pages. I can't wait to see the blocks next time we get together. I love teaching new quilters - they are so eager. I remember when I first started - before I finished the first quilt, I was onto the second and haven't stopped since.

OK - so for those of you who read the blog at 7:30 AM - I've made the deadline!

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

It's weird and just a sign that life is passing us by. M is home for Christmas with James and of course little Bear. I guess it's technically our first Christmas with the whole family together. We didn't do a lot of shopping, I didn't do a lot of decorating. That's not what Christmas is all about. It's about being together and enjoying each other's company. We do have a "tree" with decorations - I'll share that with you tomorrow once all the presents get under it.

I'm in total slow down mode at the moment. I'm good with that. I can be a slug like the best of them at any given moment - even with a deadline which I don't have right now.

I whisked myself down to that studio and worked on this while I listened to an audiobook or maybe that was when I was sewing.

Yes - the 1,000 piece puzzle is together.

Completed puzzle

I hadn't assembled a puzzle in a long time and I have to say that it looked daunting when I had sat down to do it. But logic prevailed and I picked "like" colors, things, shapes and got it together in a fairly short time. Yeah!!!  Technically, it's no longer together as I put it back in the box. No missing pieces. Now it's on the list of things to move out of the house. Yes - they are naked skiers - naughty naked skiers.

Hey - it's Christmas - we're all allowed some downtime so I went to the closet where the puzzles are housed and I pulled out another one. This one is only 500 pieces but they are NOT cut in a grid. Very weird shapes. I bought it at Value Village. No guarantee all the pieces are there. This is what I did yesterday. The border is VERY hard to define. That will happen as I assemble it.

Progress on the next puzzle

 The puzzle has quilts on it - go figure. There are a LOT of puzzles with quilts as the theme. Ask me how I know. I think over half of the puzzles I have in the closet have quilts as the theme. This one will be up for grabs once I'm finished with it. Any takers?

A Diane Phalen quilt puzzle

I completed all the flying geese for the Misty Pines quilt. That was a wee bit of a slog as I wasn't too much in the mood to sew, but I wanted to get that part done. And it's done!!!!

Now I have to make blocks with the flying geese units. I got a couple made yesterday and decided to start laying out the first column. There are three or four blocks missing from the bottom, but it's a start. There's definitely a light at the end of this tunnel and I can see that it'll get finished before the end of the year and I can knock off another UFO.

The start of Misty Pines assembly

Yesterday was all about food at our house. I do NOT want to see the grocery bills from the last couple of days. At lunch, we all sat down and went through the menu over the next couple of days to see what needed to be bought. M is vegan so that means two different meals for Christmas day. The list went on and on, but finally, everyone was in agreement and they went off to shop and I went to sew.

We had the most amazing lentil soup for dinner. Thanks, James. I think my kitchen is in shock! Never have all the counter surfaces been used at the same time. Nor have all the appliances been used in the same meal prep and well - the BODGERS in the drawers were delighted to be used. Look it up - bodgers is a "mishmash" of things. Pauline's family calls all the kitchen gadgets - bodgers. They have a bodgers drawer in their kitchen!!!

The end result - we have a LOT of oatmeal raisin cookies. They are my favorite. I won't look at the sugar/fat content in these. I'll just eat them, enjoy them, and know that my detox starts in January.

Oatmeal cookies

 I noticed them all stacked on a tray in the kitchen before I went to bed. I did move them to the corner so a certain someone couldn't help themselves last night. However it looks like someone did help themselves, but I doubt that was Murphy as I know she would have eaten a whole lot more than two or three.

Seems to be missing a few cookies here

But that wasn't all. Shelly gave me a fruitcake the other day. A HOMEMADE fruitcake that was laced with brandy.  (Oh gosh - I think it was brandy!)  Anyway, it was time to crack open the fruitcake. Well - good thing I wasn't in too much of a hurry as it took a wee bit of time to unwrap it. Two layers of foil, two layers of saran and finally the cheesecloth.  AH - it was well worth the wait. So moist - that's because of the booze I'll bet!!!  Shelly -  I LOVE the fruitcake and thanks so much.

Unwrapping the fruitcake

And here's our beautiful fresh flower centerpiece thanks to M and James. 

Fresh flower centerpiece

Some of the presents are under the "tree". There are two that I should wrap to make it more authentic. I'd better go find some paper for that.

Christmas morning in our house has always been a very relaxed affair. M would get up and sit on the couch and look at the presents, but wouldn't touch a thing until everyone was assembled.

She better get up before we need to get to our rendezvous as I really, really can't wait any longer for her to see her present. GET UP NOW!!!!!

All in all, life is good. I wouldn't wish for it to be any different and I'm thoroughly grateful for everything we have. I also love the fact that our Christmas is calm - no hustle, no bustle, no running around, no eating three huge meals in one day. We take it nice and easy and I'm so grateful for that. I might even get a wee bit of sewing done. Of course, it helps with all the kitchen staff around. Even though my kitchen is a decent size, there is no room for one more!!

On that note, I'm out of here to give the girls a walk.

Have a very Merry Christmas

Ciao!!!!!

How to cook a perfect bowl of oatmeal

The tests are done, the verdict is in - I've at last discovered how to cook the perfect bowl of steel-cut oats in the microwave.  Let's me honest, it wasn't because of me - it was because of YOU!

And yes - there is quilt stuff in a minute!

I started with an ordinary bowl from the kitchen.  That's the one on the left. A huge mess as the oatmeal boiled over.  I were searching for another vessel to cook the oatmeal in and purchased the red cup.  It comes with a heat vent lid and it's deep.  But same problem - a huge mess in the microwave - I had NOT used the lid. I have visions of exploding oatmeal which would be bad.

Two different vessels for the oatmeal

Then someone mentioned cooking the oatmeal at a reduced power in the microwave. That was a Eureka moment.  I lowered the power and very tentively cooked the oatmeal.  AHA - that is perfect - why didn't I think of that?  60% seems to be good.

When I use the red cup (which I haven't had a chance to try in my microwave), that oatmeal stays hot, hot, hot.  That must be the cup used by Papa Bear. If you're in a  hurry, well, you can't be as that ceramic bowl keeps the heat in for a long, long time.

Then I got this bowl from Lynn.   Hmmm - it also has a lid with a steam vent.  I'm very suspicious of that.  Does it really work???  I'm not a confident cook!  Even for something as simple as oatmeal.

Plastic cup with a steam vent lid

Let's just say that it cooked the oatmeal beautifully.  With the lid on, steam vent OPEN.  Now here's the difference between the red cup and the green cup.  The oatmeal cooled quickly in the green cup.  The plastic doesn't retain the heat.  That is Momma Bear's cup.

Now I have options, I can keep one cup at work and one cup at home. Since I'm likely to have more time at home, I'll keep the ceramic one here and the plastic one at work.  And now to buy a package of oats for both places as I did forget to take it to work one day and no breakfast!

I also learned something about my microwave and that was how to set the time and the power in one swoop!  I know that sounds so silly and well - uncookish-like, but I seriously NEVER cook.  I don't think of those things.  My brain is full of quilt stuff and quilt stuff ONLY.

Oh, the other thing, I love about the green cup and the red cup is the fact that they have handles.  It's less easy to drop the silly bowl, which would be a HUGE mess.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions on the perfect bowl of oatmeal.  I'm a very happy camper!


And now for some pictures from the retreat.   Oh shoot, not before I show you this other mug that I bought when I was in the US.  I have a couple of green ones like this - well, those can go now as I found an orange one!!!!  And I have to try cooking soup or even taking my lunch in those other cups - they would be much better than the one that I currently have for lunch!

New orange cup

The place we stayed at for the retreat was amazing.  I can't say enough about how fabulous it was.  This is the room where we sewed and ate. It was HUGE, it was bright and it was a pleasure to work there. There were cutting stations and ironing stations along the far wall and part way along the side wall.  We each had a decent sized space to sew - two to an eight foot table which is plenty. The table in the foreground was the eating table, the table to the right was the snack table - it was empty when the picture was taken and there was a large table (above the snack table in the photo) that was perfect for laying out blocks.

Our sewing room at the retreat

It was truly an amazing space.  And if we wanted, we could go through the patio doors and out into a gazebo or relax on the beautiful chairs on the back patio.  What more could you want????

The ladies took turns cooking the food and here's a shot of them lining up for dinner. I bought supplies so no cooking for me.

Lining up for dinner

There were two design walls and it was protocol to put the finished projects on the walls so we could all ooh and aahh over them.  I didn't realize that and so my first two projects didn't make the wall.  No worries, you can't see either of them anyway as they are slated to be revealed at a later time so you have to wait for that.

The first project I took was a pre-cut kit from Shabby Fabrics.  It was completed by Mary Beth.  I believe she said the corners were missing (on the white border) in case you think it looks a bit weird.  It was the cutest thing ever!!!   It's called Christmas Keepsakes 2015.   Check out the link - it's NOT cheap and the quilt is only 36" by 36", but the embellishments, backing and binding are also included in the kit.

Christmas quilt

Which brings me to the thought - do you like the pre-cut laser kits???  It's a huge trend at the moment.  Costs you a bit more to buy all the shapes, pre-cut and pre-fused, but no more tracing, no more fussy cutting????  I'm not 100% sold on the idea.  That takes away part of the fun or does it???

That's it for me today.  I've got a date all day with my sewing machine and I'd better not be late.

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!

Now why didn't I think of that?

OK - so maybe I do cook from time to time.  If you read my blog yesterday, I made it sound like I never cook and well - I do from time to time.  I just don't get any pleasure in cooking and little in eating (unless it's chocolate or candy!). It's just one of those things that has never interested me and likely never will.  I eat well - don't get me wrong - I just don't cook anything other than very basic stuff.

I would NOT cope well in our US office - they have cook offs every week.  They pick a dish and everyone brings in their variation of the dish.  Now because there is fun involved and I know they would appreciate all the dishes -I think I could get into that. But when you have a family that doesn't like this, doesn't like that - doesn't eat this - no one appreciates what you do - so why bother.

However yesterday I did actually start some soup from scratch!  Yep - I've put myself down to bring squash soup for one of the lunches at the upcoming retreat and I had put that task off long enough.   Normally when I make squash soup - the one time per year! I cut the squash open and take out the innards and then bake it.  I was researching on the internet for recipes - god forbid that I use the same one twice!  And someone mentioned that they baked the squash first and then took the innards out.

I've now tried it both ways and although it is HARD to cut that darn squash open when it is raw - I think it is much less messy to cut it open, remove the innards and then bake it and remove the skin than to do it the other way around.  Well - it was worth a try, nothing lost and my squash got baked.  Now to whip up the soup tonight.

I have taught a LOT of bag classes and I've fused a LOT of Decor-bond and Fusible Fleece in my day.  Sometimes the fusing process works well and sometimes it doesn't.  When I was in Sara Lawson's camera bag class at Market, this subject came up. One of the store owners said that she uses her big Elna Press.  NO WAY!!!!!   I have one and the thought never occurred to me to use it for fusing interfacing and other products.

When I got home, I found a nice simple pattern on the internet and thought - here is a great fast project to experiment with.

Now to dig the Elna Press out.  Can you see it hiding in the middle of the picture - right beside the sewing machine cover just above the orange throw that still has the wrappings on!  But we are not here for that - we want that press.

Can you spot the Elna press????

 Oh my - it has sat for a little bit - look at the coating of dust on it!!!!

A tad dusty!

Now to plug it in and remember how to use it. Look at that nice pressing surface!

Pressing surface of the Elna press

I cut the pieces of the bag, cut the fusible fleece (this smaller bag is a great way to use up those smaller pieces that I've been hanging onto!)

And it didn't take too long to figure out how to heat up the press.

Fusing with the Elna press

It did take a bit of experimenting for how long to fuse and what temperature to use.  And my decorator fabric is very hard to fuse at the best of times.  This is that outdoor fabric so very coarse and not nice, but again - using up scraps to make cute bags.  Didn't cost a penny!

Fusible fleece fused to the outer bag parts

Oh shoot - that's the end of the pictures!   I prepped all the pieces and then took it to Monday last week.  I'll get the camera card into the computer tonight and edit some more pictures so I can show you.  The bottom line, the Elna Press is now sitting on one of the work tables.  I love it and I will definitely use it again!!!!


Amazing how many times we buy a tool because we think it is going to be great. This press was actually purchased for DH so he could iron his shirts.  He used it for a while, but prefers a regular iron. So I inherited it and never really used it.  I'm thinking it will be awesome for fusible applique as well. Got some of that to play with later this week.


Speaking of fusibles, I have several fusible applique projects on the go.  I am good to get the first block or two done and then - POOF!  The project gets shelved.  But I am NOT going to let that happen to this new one.  So the other day when Sharon was so early for Misty Pines class - I dug out some fusible web (the NEW Steam a Seam) and proceeded to trace the designs.  Seriously????   (now I do believe this problem has already been solved),  but the product comes sandwiched between TWO papers - one is mat and one is shiny.  You would think you would trace on the mat side - which I did. Only to realize that the mat side was not really adhered to the fusible webbing and in fact, I needed to trace on the shiny side.

Sure - with what??????  I tried (and knew they wouldn't work - but tried anyway) - pencils, pens, and other various tools.  The only thing that worked was a Sharpie and the only one I had handy was a big one.  Thank goodness none of these pieces are small and detailed.

Tracing designs onto the fusible web with a Sharpie

You can barely see the lines once it is ironed to the fabric. Shiny side??????   Seriously????

You can barely see the lines

 There is enough of a line that you can see - but I believe that problem was fixed.  I hope someone got fired for that mistake.  They were having issues with the product and then you screw up again?????   Fortuantely I didn't buy much of the "new" version to try.


Remember the other day when we were sewing Misty Pines and I was telling everyone to label????   Well - I would just like to add that when labelling - it is a good idea to make sure the label is meaningful. I found this label on my sewing table the other day and what exactly does it mean?????

What is the meaning of this label???

Out of context - it is meaningless.  But I remembered that it came from my Misty Pines kit where the bag with fabric number 3 was missing.  I had removed it to find another scrap (that I got from Mary) and in order to remind myself that number 3 was missing -I wrote this note. But I must have removed the note when I replaced Bag number 3.


On that note - I am out of here.  Got loads to do at work today and I must get the day started.


Have an awesome day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P is for photos and paperwork

ICK - right now my four letter words are PHOTOS and PAPERWORK.  I spent most of yestserday working on both. As a result, I do NOT have lots to show you.

The good news is I did make progress on both, the bad news - there is still tons to be done.

I have to admit that the photo situation is a bit overwhelming. One of the bogus categories has 10,000 photos in it. I can't just leave them because many are my GOOD photos.  Oh dear - I should have learned how to do this tagging business a LONG time ago. Oh well a bit a day is the way to go. And I am excited by what I can do with my photos when they are sorted and that is what keeps me going. I will actually be one of the few people who can say "I KNOW where my digital photos are and I USE them".

As usual, I got a book from the library to help me out. It is pretty easy to follow and I am learning all about importing photos, placing copyright info on the photos, tagging them and also NOT to move anything unless I do it inside Lightroom.   Oh boy!   But it is awesome software - no doubt about that and really - it is pretty easy once you get into it. 

One day - I will have all my pictures in electronic form on the computer, nicely filed and tagged. Oh yes - it will happen, just not tomorrow.


Speaking of books - M and I were given a copy of "oh she glows". A vegan cook book.  (Thanks Linda)   We had our first meal last night. M chose it - she made up the grocery list (after checking the pantry!) and then I did the chopping and she cooked the rice and mixed the spices.  OK - she did everything BUT the chopping. For some reason onions are NOT her friend. She was just stirring the onions in the fry pan and her eyes teared up!!!!!

oh she glows by Angela Liddon

It was AWESOME. Even DH commented on it and the recipe is a KEEPER. Can't wait to see what we are going to have next!!!!!


Check it out, Angela is Canadian - lives in Oakville. Pretty amazing success story!!!  


So I also received a nice bottle of wine. And you can see why!!!!!   (thanks Pauline!) Yep - there is a bicycle on the label. Well I was saving it for a special occasion which was the retreat. However I didn't drink the entire bottle while I was there. DH had been away this week and god - the FIRST thing he spotted in the fridge was the open bottle of wine. Let's just say that I finished it off last night (and M helped a bit!)

My cool BICYCLE wine (and now how do I get that label off?????)

Since I did so much paperwork yesterday, I got little (OK - NO sewing done). But I managed to cut ONE more bock for Farmer's Wife this morning.

One more Farmer's Wife block - cut

I will cut another one later today.

And while M and I were out driving around doing errands, I snapped this picture of the mall.  Yikes - it won't be long and all that tower structure will be GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!    I wonder how long before they start putting up the new roof.

The mall

It is going to an amazing transformation.  Have a look..............



Wow - I am impressed. Can't wait to see that HUGE ball go up.



On that note - I have to get those four quilts trimmed and bound. The lady in charge of our core program wants them STAT!!!


Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas is coming?????????????

I am sorry to go on and on about my spin classes, but I am in LOVE with them. I went this morning and had a super workout. You just can't leave the class without feeling good even though you are sweaty and tired and hungry!!!!   I haven't been going on Wednesday morning as they changed the instructor and I had NOT heard good things about her. I try to get to the Wednesday evening class, but I can't go tonight so I went to this one. While I wasn't that thrilled with the instructor - I really did try to keep an open mind, but she doesn't present the same level of motivation that the others do. She doesn't seem to connect with the participants. That is hard to describe but there is a difference.

Well no worry - I had the batteries changed in my heart rate monitor and I sort of did my own thing and it was awesome. And I had to laugh because there was a video playing when I went in (there always is) and I thought - I recognize this. Yep - it was around the mountains in BC!!!!!    So I felt like I was riding across Canada again!!!!

Weighed myself (hey - you have to keep on top of these things). Body fat percentage is even lower than when I got home. Weight is down a bit - my metabolism is going strong and I intend to keep it that way. I even had to tighten up that heart rate monitor (haven't really worn it since I got back because the batteries in both parts were dead) and it kept falling off this morning. But now it is tightened and should be fine for Friday morning.

OK - now what did I get done in the quilting department????   Well not enough, but I did get through some of the items on my written TO DO list (nothing on the visual list) and now I have made a NEW TO DO list for today.   No - I lied - I did get something done on the visual TO DO list.


I went through a bit of that stuff that was donated to the guild. Now a bunch of it has already gone to our boutique for the quilt show. It is for sale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Come and see us!!!

I found these mini patterns - if you look close you will see that they came from Quilter's Fancy!!!!   Remember that store??   That was one of the FIRST quilt stores that I ever went to and I was in SHOCK when I saw the QUANTITY of fabrics all lined up by colour. I will never forget that!!!!!   And funny, but I drove past that location yesterday on my way to visit my client - more on that in a minute.   No date on these patterns. 

Mug rug patterns from Canadian Quilter's Association - dated 1990.

Two orphan blocks which went in my orphan block box

This cute pattern by Angie Krotowski. Remember her - she is the one that made that big CBC quilt many years ago. Seems like she had a store - the address is on the pattern. There was ONE block done. I kept the pattern and the block and the rest of the fabric got donated to the guild. 

Lots of photocopies of patterns. 

Everything that was photocopied - I put in the recycled paper bin. What are you going to do with all those???  You can't sell it and no one is going to want it - so recycling it went. This is a HUGE problem - people copy patterns all the time and NEVER use them. So that is a HUGE waste of resources. I used to be really bad for that. Now if I do copy, I am EXTREMELY selective about what I copy.

There is still this to go through. Looks like a lot of patterns with templates. These might be worth keeping, but I am thinking I might see if they can be sent to Africa or somewhere where they will actually be used. I doubt they will get any use here.

More cutting on the Farmer's Wife blocks. I think I got about 5 cut yesterday.  Some of them are FIDDLY to cut - small pieces and LOTS of them. 

See - loads of pieces for that block and SMALL

And I really hope I have enough fabric to cut all the blocks. The pieces I am left with are getting smaller and smaller, but there is still a LOT in the book. 

Bagged, tagged and ready to sew blocks for Farmer's Wife!!!!

OK - so Sunday evening was vegetarian night at our house. What to have????   Well DH was in charge of a tofu stir fry. All I can say is that we all need some practice in the kitchen. At first bite I could taste that it was LADEN with oil. Now DH thinks that MORE is better but in the case of oil??????   He toasted the tofu in oil, did part of the stir fry in oil and then ADDED more oil to cook the other veggies and then added SESAME OIL - oh yes - it was swimming in oil.   I rarely cook with oil - I hate cooking with oil. I hate greasy food!!!!    When we asked how much oil he had used he wouldn't tell us, but he did admit that he used too much. Oh yes - it is a learning experience for all of us.

My issue is with spring rolls which was my menu item.

Can you see my rice paper waiting to be rolled up????  

 Well my issue was not following a recipe - just the general directions from M. Hmmmmm - she told me to bake them - with OIL. I put a bit on, but I didn't like the texture of them.

Ready to bake - those rice paper things are STICKY

Baked spring rolls - very chewy texture

Anyway - then I tried them fresh. I DO NOT like the texture of those rice papers. Too sticky and gummy for my liking. Reminds me of dim sum which I HATE because of the texture. I guess that the only way I am going to like spring rolls is if they are fried and I NOT eating them fried. So no spring rolls for me!!!!

M got off easy again with a salad. But onions - holy cow - the thing was FULL of onions. I like onions but not that many. 

Oh yes - we are learning a whole lot with this new cooking venture. And indeed there is a LOT of dinner discussion as we try to figure out whether the meal (or item) is worth repeating!!!!    Ah - the things that a family does for entertainment!!!!

Meanwhile, Sparky just sits on the sidelines - hoping something will fall and she can make a dash in to scoop it. 

Went to Wal-Mart last night (a rare occurrence for me) to find rubber cement and they had NONE. But look what we did find.......................

The LEGO advent calendars are OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of Christmas - here is a prezzie from Ronda. A gorgeous nutcracker and I got the pressie early so I could put him out with the rest of my nutcrackers. Well it is a bit early but he will be ready!!!!

M and I spotted a magazine with all kinds of cute Halloween stuff and she remarked - Oh wouldn't it be nice to do all that stuff for Halloween. Well yes it would, but it takes time. I was motivated to get out a few Halloween decorations last night!!!!   Including a BIG spider for the front door.    Beware if you come to my house.


And my client. This is the same fellow that I made the FOUR quilts from his neck ties. Now he has TWO of his wife's dresses that he would like a quilt from each.

The one on the left should be easy as there is already a HUGE star for the center. Then work a border from the sash and the top and find something to match to make it a bed or lap size. The other one is fair game - got to think about what to do with that one. They are both long - the one on the left was made (and you can tell it was probably home made) - anyway it was made in 1967 - the year of the centennial. The other one, he has a photo of the entire family and his wife was wearing that dress. I am going to put it on the label. 

On that note - I am LATE LATE this morning and my HUGE TO DO list beckons.


Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!