Sensational Recipe, Bramble Blooms, New Spin on Backbasting

My second Odd Bunch box has arrived and I've been very pleased with both of them. For $20 a box, I think they are a good deal. All of the items have been fresh, nothing even close to spoiling or odd.  I am enjoying the variety of items included, a nice selection of vegetables and fruit.

 I got blackberries in the first box, a fruit I never buy so it was neat to try them. It also had a butternut squash in the first and an eggplant in this one. Two things I haven't cooked before.

I cut up the eggplant and roasted it in the oven last night following a recipe online. I didn't find it tasty till I added a little balsamic vinegar which someone suggested. Do you ever cook these things? Any suggestions for the squash? Getting these boxes is making me try new foods which I didn't expect but is a good thing.

But here is a recipe I tried and will definitely cook again. I found it when I was searching for pasta recipes a couple of weeks back and is a Tik Tok sensation apparently. Very simple and very tasty. It all begins with one of those little Boursin Cheeses and a pack of cherry tomatoes. My additions included spinach and extra cheese and penne for the pasta. Tony loved it.

This goes in the oven and I cooked the pasta separately and added it at the end. Here is the video and you can find many variations online. You could type in Boursin Cheese Pasta and find it for sure. 

Into the Sewing Room....First an update on the Bramble Blooms Improv Challenge...I need three one (sewed two last night) more little orange peel block to complete this border. It is always interesting to see what the camera will show as these are small 4 inch blocks but appear larger.

I've been joining my Panama Pyramid rows and needed to find the yellow fabric I'd used for the solid triangles. I searched high and low and got really down on myself because I couldn't put my hand on it. I had a memory of putting it somewhere I could find easily because I knew I would need more of it for the finishing. The next day I went in the sewing room and the very first thing I spotted was this... How did I not see it! With the Crossroads blocks off the wall, it was there all alone in plain view. It's official...I'm losing my mind! Please tell me something similar has happened to you so I won't feel lonely in the world of lost minds!

As promised, I must tell you about the scrappy project that caught my eye on Instagram and had to give a try. I like applique and have always used freezer paper for the shapes. I tried needleturn a couple of times but went back to the freezer paper.  I've never tried back basting till I saw Jeana Kimball's post where she showed how she was using this particular technique to applique a simply shaped quilt block, in this case, an hourglass. It's like a fresh twist on an old method. Jeana Kimball at Foxglove Cottage 

So I set about and stitched two scrappy blocks using Jeana's method. It worked well and I liked how easy it was for this simple block- no precise cutting. Anything that uses scraps is great too of course. The foundations are from a package of 5 inch Bella cream I've had for ages and wondered what to do with. Wonder no more. This could make for a good, on the side kind of project diving into the scrap bags...yes they are sorted into bags now this time round. 

This promises to be another busy (for us)week with tax stuff in the mix(which is loathsome but necessary). I did order some stitchy mail which will be here this week so it's not all doom and gloom. :) Hope your week is going well!

So happy to share this with Songbird Designs.

Three New To Me Sewing Things, Crossroads Quilt Blocks

We have had a pretty good week here at the wooden house. Tony's medical tests were inconclusive and further testing is needed. A bit disappointing but no news is good news in my book. He's most concerned about being tired and not having the energy to do all the things on the property he used to do. He feels defeated to let others do these things, like he's giving up or slacking off. It isn't easy for him to shake that feeling but we are trying to focus on the things he still can do both chore wise and for enjoyment. Any thoughts?...he reads your comments as well. 

We got the last of the fire wood moved up to our veranda. The wood fires have long stopped but we didn't want the wood left on the ground where it was and it looks neat and tidy up here all ready for next fall. 

It is Day 3 of pouring buckets outside...that would be the third day of ten straight with a forecast of rain. So a concern about ground water levels was probably needless. 

Two things I need in the sewing room for sure

This is the best feature of my sewing machine...that little sliding knob.

 Know what it does?  It controls the speed of stitching. It was ages before I discovered it and now is an essential feature as going slower really helps me keep it all straight and accurate. The slower I have this knob setting, the better my stitching looks and even at its slowest mark, it is faster than hand stitching, of course. I smile at that last bit cause I can picture some of you amazing sewists would be driven crazy with that speed. 

Thing #2...These scissors...some of you recommended these to me years back and I ordered them. They are Gingher scissors, kind of weighty and very sharp. 

Then I kept them in their package in the cupboard like I often do with things that are "Good", too good to use everyday or some weird idea like that. ( I come by this trait honestly being from a line of women who "kept things for good" with a line drawn between what could be used every day as opposed to only on Sundays or special occasions). Last week I opened the package and began using them for cutting fabric. Dear me, I can't get over what it feels like cutting with these scissors. So smooth- like cutting butter, as the saying goes. I could kick myself for not using them sooner. My usual scissors now feel like I'm practically hacking the cloth rather than cutting it.

And that's my stack of Crossroads quilt blocks up there...all 56 are finished. Yea!

Then I realized there is a third common item that is new to me. As you can imagine, with all the hand stitching here at the wooden house, I go through a small mountain of spools of thread. I caught sight of this below on a You Tube video and had one of those ah ha moments...yes even late in life, that can happen. So after a tiny bit of investigation, I ordered one from Amazon. I wonder how long will this last me. 

A little catching up to do...I missed LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt for last week which was answer which would you rather- a day at the beach or the amusement park. That is tough as there is something sublime about being on a beautiful beach. But amusement parks, which around here would be fall fairs with all the rides, are so much fun and in recent years visited with a grandchild so very special. A toss up I guess. What about you?

And the prompt for today is Night Owl or Morning Person? For many years I was a Night Owl mostly because that was my reading time and I would read late into the night. But I've switched in retirement to being more of a Morning Person. What about you?

Next time I'll share a sewing technique I saw on Instagram that I just had to try and is scrap busting too. And also a wonderful and easy pasta recipe I tried that we both loved. Do hope your weekend is great and gives you time to do what you love.

Happily sharing with Quilting Patchwork Applique, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

Garden Beginnings, Tiny 9 Patches, Cross Stitching, Turkey Pot Pie

 The storm is past and power has been restored for everyone. Then it was really cold like we had dialed back a season back to winter.  However today, spring hopes are revived as it is going up to 15C.  I did pick up my seed packets while out and about yesterday. I found out last year that these are classified seasonal and only available on the shelves for a brief time, so have to get them early. I bought more of the Zinnia packets because I had good luck growing those last year and they stayed in bloom so long. 

I'll be setting up my makeshift green house in the large back room of the garage again this year. A very large window there provides enough light. 

We've eaten our very hearty turkey pot pie I made from the various Easter meal leftovers. Beth took the carcass to make soup. I used the gravy that was left but yet the pie was on the dry side. Perhaps I should have had it on a higher rack in the oven.

It does look a little dry, doesn't it.

 My stove is very old and I've had to add a few degrees to get the recommended temperatures; perhaps the pie didn't need that as it looks a little overdone. I've never had that dry pie problem so I really don't know. It was very tasty though and we gobbled it up.:)

 I've stitched more of the tiny 9 patch, 3 inch squares still alternating sewing methods. Here are a few in various yellows, April's RSC colour. Mostly cheddar it seems.

Took a close up photo so you can see that tiny village on the vintage table cloth, another of my thrift finds. I don't know why, but I always feel nostalgic seeing these kinds of illustrations, etc. That's about the books of my childhood I guess. 

Slow stitching is helping my Pileated Woodpecker grow his beautiful red crest. It gets its name from the Latin word for that crest. The main red is DMC 347 and is an interesting shade, sort of soft red and my eye sees a purplish tinge to it. Officially it is described as a deep salmon colour.  Not possible to see its' true hue in this photo. 

Petey stayed overnight with us recently. He is very loving and much more demonstrative with us than Ned is. That may be because he lives with Abbey and feels he has to compete for human affection. Here he's asking me to close the computer and go play ball. He'd brought the ball to me a minute earlier.

Ned idolizes his brother!

Thank you for remarking on my Second Best Thrift Find post. In particular, I heard from so many people familiar with the Petit Point china set. Though the pattern is discontinued now, it was very popular back in the day. Since cross stitching is having such a revival, perhaps the Royal Albert folks should bring it back. Or develop an updated modern version. 

And thank you, P, for pointing me towards this set, the Royal Winton Grimwades Queen Anne pattern, also very popular and their design depicts the linen lines too which is unique. 

Here is the tea pot. I just love looking at the designs of things. Stitching a tea pot quilt is on my bucket list. I think Kaffe has one. 

Seeing this made me wonder if it was inspiration for the beautiful Tilda Flower Embroidery Pixel Quilt pattern. HERE is the link to the free pattern to stitch this beauty which is labelled EASY, btw.

Meanwhile, next post I will tell you about two small but important things I happily discovered and use in the sewing room. 

Hope your week is off to a great start!

 Happily joining the linky parties at Songbird Designs, A Quiltery, It's a Small Town Life, Creations Art Quilts, So Scrappy, Kathy's Quilts and Alycia Quilts.

April Snowstorm, Chookshed Challenge, Crochet

 Mother Nature had a surprise in store for us. A winter snowstorm began last night and is continuing this morning. Woke up to this...

Hopefully winter 2024's very last blast. I'm not at all upset as I've been worried about the lack of ground water the very early spring might cause. Perhaps this will help. And we have not lost the power, which they were warning us about, so fingers and toes crossed...

Deanna at Dreamworthy Quilts chose #9 for our Chookshed Stitchers Challenge this month. I was so happy to get out my #9 which is this project, the oldest I think of the WIPs I chose for this QAL. This is my Panama Pyramids.

 I used a marking pencil to outline the triangles and they were all joined by hand. Happy memories of enjoying the process very much and it truly does deserve my attention this month. I have five more strips to join unto those pictured. I began that last night so I'm confident I will work on this one at least to the flimsie stage. And happy to set it as my April OMG over at Anne- Marie's Stories From the Sewing Room blog.

I'm also learning how to crochet a solid granny square. Of all the crocheting I've done, I've never made this particular pattern. YouTube is my friend so often. 

My little corner of the tv room...I enjoy gathering all my projects around me near at hand.

I'm using my Cubii most nights for 20 minutes or so while watching some bit of tv. Year 3 with this. I do believe it is helping to keep my legs strong. 

We watch a lot of BritBox and Masterpiece Theatre. I always like the way tea and a biscuit are offered in their shows no matter, seemingly, the circumstances....so civilized. Tony drinks several cups of tea a day but only has a treat with one. Often I will look for different biscuits like these I found in the international section at the big Walmart. The Fox's Crunch Creams have ginger in them and I like them too. Do you have a favourite small treat like this that goes well with tea or coffee you could recommend?

 Presently, we are working our way through Spooks which features Matthew MacFadyen; he looks so young, like a teenager in this series. Such a good actor and we were happy he won a Golden Globe for his work in Succession. 

Bad weather always looks worse through a window...so I'm dragging out my parka, retrieving my winter boots from the downstairs cloakroom, hauling on a tuque and Ned and I are heading out in the storm. 

Happy to link with Alycia Quilts, Quilting Patchwork Applique, It's a Small Town Life, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, So Scrappy and A Quiltery.

Second Best Thrift Find, Easter Feast, Spring's First Flower

 I get sad sometimes when I see how many folks have stopped blogging; several I had quite a nice email friendship with so I miss them. I guess Instagram is gradually getting more popular, but to me, it doesn't offer quite the same level of communication or connection. I'm going to carry on blogging for as long as I enjoy it. You, my blogging friends, have become an important part of my life!  And it is good for my brain too keeping up with all the little bits and pieces of writing a blog...the linking up, searching, cutting and pasting as we called it in the old days, etc. 

We had our Easter feast, a turkey dinner with all the trimmings, on Sunday and everything went well. I enjoyed it all...the lead up- getting the house all clean, a spring tablecloth out, planning the meal and the special shop.  And then the food preparations. I still appreciate not having to rush about like in the old days juggling a work life along with these events. 

I used my Royal Albert Petit Point dish set. The perfect dishes for a cross stitcher!

 I shared this set as my best ever thrift store find back a couple of years ago. (Now I consider it my second best with This quilt find  being the very best). I paid $130 with 10 % off at checkout because I was spending more than a hundred dollars. I learned it had come from a nearby farmhouse. Included were all the side dishes including coffee mugs and even sugar still in the sugar dish. Just for reference the gravy boat alone can cost between $40 and $90 American on Etsy with the underplate going for $40. I realized again that my set included two gravy boats which made me imagine similar Easter dinners at a very long farmhouse dining room table.  

For dessert, I made (should say assembled because I didn't actually bake them) the Profiteroles with chocolate sauce and then decided not to make the Ambrosia salad.  As it happened, while in the bakery section of the store, I spied meringue nests and thought those would be a little nod to spring. I filled them with whipped cream topped with fresh fruit salad.

Kind of on the lighter side (though probably not calorie-wise) which I thought suited after a big dinner. And everyone seemed to enjoy it. 

And still in mind with petit point, well not quite... how I admire folks with the eyesight to stitch petit point! But I did slow stitch a fair bit since my last post. Included was making a start on my Pileated Woodpecker piece stitching around the eye. This is going to be so enjoyable to work on as I love stitching on the 28 count Cashel linen. I use a #26 tapestry needle for those who wondered and I enlarge the pattern too. 

Meanwhile on the Shady Branch Trail walk last week, I photographed this flower that was dotting one side of the path for quite a long stretch. It is the first flower I've seen this spring. It is Coltsfoot, an amazing dandelion like flower that appears before any leaves on trees or other foliage. A welcome sight!

Hope all is well in your little corner of planet Earth!

Happy to link with Kathy's Quilts.

Easter, Stitching, Food

 Easter seems to have crept up on me. I'm just now noticing all the bunny and egg patterns and realizing how fast time is spinning by for us here at the wooden house. We are both convinced a week is now feeling like five days not seven. I remember wondering how would I cope with all the free time in retirement...how in the world to fill all those hours not spent at work. Like so many idle wonderings, this one also turned out to be a waste of time and thought...time speeds up it seems.

So Easter is a surprise. I plan to have the family here for a turkey dinner so I'd better get in gear, make a grocery list and get to the store. For Dessert I'm doing something easy like store bought profiteroles with chocolate sauce. Who doesn't love cream puffs, as we always called them. And make one of those Ambrosia salads; Robbie would probably love a "salad" that includes marshmallows. 

 Speaking of food, I've decided to give this a try...imperfect produce. A small company sources imperfect produce in our area and offers a weekly drop off to our door. The price for the smallest box of mixed fruit and vegetables is very reasonable and savings off what we'd pay at the grocery store for like items. Beth has been very pleased with her boxes so I thought we'd give it a try too. The Odd Bunch

So happy to have all the blocks for the Crossroads quilt finished! That makes two fairly large projects soooo close to the flimsy stage. Here are the last of the blocks on the sewing room wall together.

 Figuring out their arrangement will be a bit of a challenge as I don't have a design wall space big enough for all of them at once. Maybe with half at a time I could work it out.

I've sewn a few Tiny 9 patch blocks using the FPP method. And I'm still stitching the blocks with EPP that I had previously prepped. Pleased that this is a year long challenge so no pressure. That's my bobbin tin there.

What did not get even taken out of its box was the Diamond Patchwork Quilt, my Chookshed Stitchers Challenge project, for this month. But that's okay. I feel good about all the March stitching I did accomplish along with a whole bunch of other things.

LeeAnna's Prompt this week is if we could have any wild baby animal, which would we choose. I thought the baby guinea pigs Sally showed in this post on her Crafts, Cavies and Cooking blog were adorable but they are not wild. Of the wild animals, all the babies look adorable to me. Close to home here, I sometimes glimpse a tiny rabbit so I'm going to go with that. They are furry and seemingly tame and entirely pettable ( not a word but should be.) And since my nickname as a child was Bunny, that would suit, wouldn't it. What about you? Is there a baby animal that stands out?

We had workers here for two days, early light to dusk, and they got a main log and three new struts made and up for the front veranda roof. The original main log had rolled a little. They made it a little more decorative than the original brothers who built it had. And the stain looks nice too.

They also removed extra boards which has opened up the view; I notice it through my kitchen window. I don't really like having strange people around here but sometimes you just have to. Don't get me wrong; these guys were really nice and came highly recommended by our chimney sweep. They work together at a local lumber company and were moonlighting. But, you never know... Tony says I watch too much Dateline.

Hope your weekend is great and if you are celebrating Easter...Happy Easter!

Happily linking with Quilting Patchwork Applique and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

Hockey Fun, Stitchy To Do List, My Tiny Video

 I thought of some of my blogging friends on Sunday...those who spend time in arenas with the children involved in one sport or another. This is where I was this Sunday...the Kingston Invista Centre, watching Robbie with his team at the final tournament of the year. They'd won all their games right down to the very last one which they lost and there were tears. Life lessons of course, but much satisfaction that the boys had certainly come a long way skill wise. Overall, a wonderful season of hockey. 

On my To Do List this week...

I've sewed more of the Crossroads quilt blocks. Trying to balance the colours and still using scraps for the strips. But that doesn't seem to be making a dent in the scrap bins. How is that possible! Nearing the end of this project and want all blocks finished this week.

Finish the orange peel blocks for the next border of the BB Challenge. Hand stitching in the evenings so a little slow going.

Finish Block 7 of the HRH cross stitch....very nearly done. I'm stitching the fireworks now.

 Practice the block for my next crocheted blanket. An easy solid Granny square block; really just have to refresh my memory about how it goes. I'll be using this tutorial on YouTube.  What a marvel YouTube is!

Tony has medical appointments this week that will take up a couple of days. But I am hoping to get to the thrift store for a shop. Something to look forward to as well as my stitching. And we are still enjoying our cozy fires. Here is a tiny video I made showing my stitching chair. 

After heat breaking records we returned to usual March temperatures with double digits wind chill temps. So what crazy weather here in southeast Ontario! But sunny and no snow so still no shoveling. 

Hope there is lots in the upcoming week, this last one of March, for you to enjoy!

Sharing with Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, Alycia Quilts, Kathy's Quilts and A Quiltery.