Momentum

It feels so good to have the futon out of the sewing room, thanks to the wonderful friend who took it off my hands.  It seems lighter and more spacious in there now.  After some cleaning and a bit of rearranging this weekend, the futon area has gone from this:

to this:

Things are still in a state of flux, though, as there will be some shelves going up for folded fabric on this wall.  I bought two of these units and they're awaiting assembly.  By the way, thank you for your links and suggestions on sewing space organization.  They were very helpful and inspiring.  I feel like I am moving in the right direction.

I also took six yards of fleece out of the room over the weekend by sewing it all into pajama pants, some for my daughter and some for myself.  Doesn't make for a very exciting photograph, but I am pretty excited to have new jammy pants that the seat hasn't worn through.  I pretty much live in these things when I'm at home (and, truth be told, I've been known to occasionally wear them to work in the evening too, when it's just me and the cleaning lady). 

The pattern is an oldie but a goodie.  Only one pattern piece for the pants!  Can't get any easier than that.  So why did it take me so long to get them sewn?  (Don't answer that.)

Many months ago, I won a gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop from Tabatha at Bending Pins.  I finally used it last week to buy some Vintage Modern by Bonnie & Camille for Moda.  It's so pretty!

I ordered more goodies from Fabric.com (which hasn't arrived yet), as well as Hancock's, some of which came today.  This is from the Spintastic fabric collection by Laura Berringer for Marcus Brothers.

Some of the new fabric will end up in a very cool project I'll be working on soon with Sandi at Piecemeal Quilts, which I'm very excited about!  More details on that later as it unfolds.

Meanwhile, I have more Christmas stuff to get done, so I'd better get cracking! 

Greta Von Riding Crop

It was snowing this morning as I went to vote.  The holidays will be here in a blink!

PS - For Downton Abbey fans, while we wait for the new season to begin in January, have any of you been watching Upstairs Downstairs on PBS's Masterpiece?  I got hooked in the middle of this second season, and this past week watched the first season on DVD from the library and got caught up.  It's very good!  Claire Foy plays Lady Persie, an entirely different kind of woman than her sweet Little Dorrit character.

PPS - Happy 25th Birthday, dear daughter!  Love you lots!

Sunday Sundry 3-25-12

It's been a pretty good week, all things considered.  Spring continues with its early show.  The daffodils, among other things, are in full bloom already, a full month ahead of schedule.  

Dad has set up his lawn furniture.

If you're thinking, What the hillbilly is that? you are not alone, my friend.  That was my reaction exactly.  All except for one word, that is.

"If you've re-purposed your dining room chair for the outdoors by screwing the seat to a stump...you might be a redneck."  Jeff Foxworthy would be more eloquent than that, but good lord.

Anyway, Dad seems happy with his creation.  "Glad you got to see me!" as he likes to say.

Iron Work
Come Friday night, I needed some therapy...sewing therapy, that is.  I headed on down to the basement sewing room and got started on blocks for the Iron Work Quilt Along.

I have one more "bar" of the asterisk to finish on these smaller blocks, but the big ones are done.  

I did swap out two of the solids for their deeper colored counterparts.  I'm using what I believe is called Pumpkin instead of Apricot, and another deeper turquoise for Ocean.  The other ones were just a tad too light, it seemed.  I had just barely enough of the orange and turquoise from a previous project to cut these pieces out, but I'm glad it worked out.  I really like how this is going together.

Mad Crazy!
I'm pretty stoked for the season premier of Mad Men tonight.  Will you be watching?  I believe it's a two-hour special.  It's been on hiatus for so long, I can hardly remember where things left off, though I'm sure it'll all come back to me once it starts.

We also watched Sense and Sensibility, the 2008 BBC version, this week and it was excellent!  Dan Stevens plays the part of Edward Ferrars.  He is the one who played Matthew in Downton Abbey.  And the "bad boy" character in Sense and Sensibility is also in the movie, My Week with Marilyn, which we watched last night, as is Jim Carter, the actor who plays Mr. Carson, the butler in Downton Abbey.  But the shining star in My Week with Marilyn is Michelle Williams.  Brilliant!

Something's Fishy
We laugh at this sign on a regular basis.  Today, I managed to snap a picture while we waited for our food.  Would you like fries your peanut butter chocolate banana WALLEYE?

Stormin' Norman
Norm had a followup appointment at the orthopedic surgeon on Thursday.  The fracture has not started healing yet but it has not moved either, and that's a good thing.  So he is to remain in the Stormtrooper-like immobilizer at all times, except when showering, which is what he was doing when I snapped this pic.

He's got the dance down now for getting in and out of the shower.  Face west, feet together, left foot over the tub edge, extend left arm to reach the grab bar, shift weight from crutches to left foot, bend right leg until you say ouch, "point your right toe like a ballerina," I remind him, so it clears the tub edge, aaaaaaand in.  He's getting pretty good at it.  I'd give him a 9 for choreography and style.

Whether You're High or Low...
Now this woman, Janelle Monae, gets a 10! Go on, dance along like nobody's watching!

Sunday Sundry 3-4-12

It has been a few weeks since the last Sunday Sundry post.  I feel kind of bad about that, but there have been other things competing for weekend time.  You know how it is.

Now that Downton Abbey Season 2 has wrapped, are you suffering withdrawals?  You are not alone.  Google "Downton Abbey withdrawals" and you'll get over a million hits.  Entertainment Weekly did a piece on a reading list for fans of the series.  Some of the titles sounded interesting.

As for me, I'm already onto something likewise compelling, the new series "Awake" on NBC, starring Jason Isaacs (otherwise known to Harry Potter movie fans as Lucius Malfoy). 

Is it getting hot in here?  

Hormones aside, this is an fascinating story line (click on the photo to read EW's synopsis, which says it better than I could).  

In case you missed the premier on Thursday, the entire first episode is available to watch online at nbc.com (that link will take you directly to the video premier episode).  You might also want to check your "On Demand" TV programming.  My local cable company has it available through 3/5/12.  I'm telling you, I was hooked within minutes.

What are you watching, reading, or listening to lately?

And Sew it Goes
There was a little bit of sewing yesterday, as I finished sewing together the wall hanging or table mat sized A Patch of Sun and made a backing for it too. 

I decided to do a disappearing nine patch for the back from some colorful scraps.  

Sort of looks like an Easter basket exploded, doesn't it?
I'm also working on a backing for the Hubcap Diamond Star Halo quilt, using some of the leftover kaleidoscope triangle cuts.

Sweet Nothings
Every day, as part of my job, I listen to people summarize various types of business matters.  As you can imagine, there is a certain amount of jargon involved.  What is amusing to me (or annoying, depending on the day), is the buzzword phraseology that is bandied about, which essentially means nothing.  For instance:

"At the end of the day, I told him we'd drill down and do some due diligence and then circle back and go from there, and then we should be good to go."

If you say so, Chief.  Of course, what is actually meant may be more along the lines of, "We will investigate Situation X, call So-and-So back to discuss the information obtained, and then make a decision."  I'm thinking a little more specificity might be appropriate in corporate America, but what do I know.  In the meantime, I'm creating more Autotext entries.

Stevie Ray Vaughan doesn't need any stinkin' words, yet I understand him completely.

Friday!

I am so glad it's Friday and officially the start of the weekend.  I did a lot of sitting in front of the computer this week (working, or otherwise known as growing my bum).  So what am I doing still sitting here on Friday night?  Uh, you got me there.  I guess I feel like I've been neglecting things around here, though there really isn't much to report—but I'm sure I'll find something!

I did sew another string Dresden ring together.  This one features a bold blue print.  I hope to knock another couple of these out in the next week (though I'll be happy with one, at the rate things are going).  I have some new scraps from Jenny that she tossed into an Etsy order for me this past week, and I'm looking forward to playing with those and working them into the string Dresdens.

Jenny was de-stashing and putting some fabrics in her shop, so I had to go have a look.  I can't believe she was selling this piece of Michael Miller fabric.
But it's mine now!  

Is it possible to be in love with a piece of fabric?  Because I think I at least have a serious crush on it.  And I'm pretty sure fellow Pyrex fans would agree that everything looks (even) better in Pyrex!

Here are a couple other pieces I am the new owner of.  I didn't buy these with the intention of using them together, but it would totally work.  Love the little vintage floral!  Anytime you want to weed through your fabric stash, Jenny, just let me know. ;)

What's for Dinner... and Breakfast
I made some fantastic barbecued chicken in the crockpot yesterday, and I wanted to share the recipe, which I cobbled together.  In former times, I may have just dumped a bunch of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce on the chicken and called it good (and there's nothing wrong with that, if that works for you).  But as you may know, I'm trying to eat less sugar and refined stuff, plus I am gluten and dairy intolerant.  I know there are others who may have similar issues.  Even if you do not, this goes together in under 5 minutes and tastes wonderful!  So good, I also had it straight out of the plastic container, cold, for breakfast this morning.  It's one of those things that is even better the second day.

But before I get to the recipe, I have to tell you something.  My husband, when it comes to chicken (let's get that clear before I complete the sentence), is strictly a breast man.  In all the years I've known him, I have yet to see him eat any other part of a chicken, or turkey for that matter.  He claims it's the only part he likes.  End of story.  

So I sort of tricked him with this chicken dish (though I haven't fessed up to it yet...well, except for admitting it here to the entire internet), because I made it with chicken thighs.  Shhhh!  I thought for sure he'd notice something "fowl," but I was willing to take that chance because all it would mean was more leftovers for me.  See how that works?

So when I asked how he liked the chicken (with as much nonchalance as I could muster), he said it was GREAT!  He ate his shredded on sandwich buns, I ate mine with rice, with steamed asparagus on the side.  Yep, it was a winner of a chicken dinner!

I will tell him...eventually.  I'm going to make it at least one more time before I do, though, and see if the response is still the same.  Then I'll give him the full disclosure.

And let me apologize here for what may be the most unappetizing food photo in the world, but it was an afterthought, right before the leftovers went into the fridge.

(Now, even with those prettier dishes and photos above, what do you want to bet this'll be the photo Google/Blogger features in the preview?) 

Crockpot BBQ Chicken 
1/3 c. tomato paste
1/4 c. soy sauce (I used low-sodium, gluten-free San-J brand Tamari)
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrin's is gluten-free)
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 t. dried onion flakes
1 T. honey
1/2 c. water
1/2 t. black pepper
1 t. smoked paprika
1/2 t. dry mustard
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1-2 t. chili powder
1 pkg. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (6-8)

Lay chicken in crock pot. (I used a brand of chicken with "Healthy" in the name—sorry for lack of specifics—which I found at Walmart, which packaging said there were no additives and the critters had all led happy and free lives before they came to live in the refrigerator case of the big box store...or words to that effect). 

Whisk all the above ingredients together and pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on Low setting for 4-6 hours.  (My generic crockpot cooks a little faster than most, even on Low, so it was already falling-apart done after 3-1/2 hours, but I let it go for a total of 5.)  Serve as is or shred for sandwiches, if desired.  Enjoy!

The chicken dish was my Favorite Thing this week, so I'm linking to Favourite Things Friday.  And I think the Dresden, though not much, is still something to Whoop about!

Scrap Block Challenge

It's funny where inspiration can be found.  The tiles on the bathroom floor, a zigzag coffee mug—you name it, some quilter is bound to be inspired by it.

The day I decided to bounce down off the no-sweets wagon and bake something dense and chocolatey*, I wasn't really looking for inspiration.  But there it was, staring me in the face on a chocolate bar wrapper, of all places! 

I was admittedly giving in to some serious cravings that day, as well as trying to use what remained of the giant bar of dark chocolate I'd bought over the holidays before my husband could eat it all.  He'd already polished off half of it before I'd found out and hidden it deeper on the pantry shelves.  So let's say I was managing a security risk by deciding to bake with it that day.  Yeah, that works.

After rough chopping the chocolate, I set the wrapper aside.  Then while waiting for the chocolate to melt in the microwave, I happened to study the wrapper a little more closely.  Probably checked the carb count to see just how much dietary damage this baking venture was going to do.

That's when I saw it.  Take a look.

A quilt block, no?  And I was supposed to be creating a quilt block for Sarah's Scrap Block Challenge.  Could this be just the ticket, the inspiration I needed to get started?  I thought so!

The challenge was to use the sizes in the scrap management system described in the book Cut the Scraps!  Fabric scraps are cut to measure 2 inches, 3.5 inches, and 5 inches square.

So I scribbled something on paper that more closely resembled a primitive cave drawing than a quilt block.  Did some mental gymnastics on the math, trying to wrap my head around how to orient the center square in the way it was depicted on the wrapper.  On failing to come up with a solution, I modified the plan somewhat.  Close enough for rock and roll!  Then I chucked the cave drawing aside and went to play with fabric.

And voila!

Here's how it went together, using 5-inch and 3.5-inch squares.

For the string-pieced centers, you are going to sub-cut a variety of your 5-inch blocks into 4, 1.25-inch strips, and then sew four different strips together.  Cut the other 3.5 and 5-inch squares on the diagonal.  

I am using two different background fabrics, ash gray and a gray/white print, and two different corner fabrics, a black polka dot print and a wine colored print.  (I was literally just grabbing what was lying around on the table, so it is what it is—scrappy!)

Sew the diagonally cut 5-inch background squares to the string-pieced centers. Try to center the diagonally cut pieces; they will be about an inch longer on each end than the centers.

Sew the diagonally cut 3.5 inch pieces to the opposite ends, as shown above.  Press open and trim blocks to 6 inches square (actually, 5-7/8 inches square might give you a slightly better match of the corner squares, especially if you sew with a scant 1/4 inch seam, but that's sort of a fiddly measurement and it came out close enough when trimmed to 6 inches square).

Arrange four units into one block and sew them together.  The block will measure around 11.5 inches square at that point.  You can orient the corner triangles so that there is all one color in the center, or do like I did and alternate.  Same thing with the background fabrics; you can use two different ones like I did here, or all the same. You have options, is what I'm saying.

So there you have it!  I'm sure it's nothing original, although the way in which it came about for me was.  I mean, how many blocks have been inspired by a chocolate bar wrapper?  (Quilters, don't answer that!)

I can't wait to see what others have created for the Scrap Block Challenge.  Visit Confessions of a Fabric Addict today for the linky!

*I used this recipe, but substituted 1/2 c. honey for the sugar and ghee for the butter, and left off the glaze.  It was fabulous and totally worth it!

Whoop-Whoop Friday ~ Chain Linked

Temps in the mid-40s, hardly any snow, in January?  In Wisconsin?  It's true!  It felt almost balmy today as I hung my latest flimsy on the clothesline.  I am not complaining; I'll take this any day over all the snow we had last year at this time.

I finished the Chain Linked quilt earlier this week.  I'm loving the pops of yellow and orange and turquoise!

The pattern is by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter.  It was a fun one to put together, once I figured out what my sashing colors were going to be (Mink is the dark brown, and Ash is the gray, from Connecting Threads).  I ordered a pile of other solids spread out over several orders because I just couldn't seem to hit upon the right combination.  Finally stumbled upon it, though, I think.

The other browns and tans and creams that didn't make the cut will get used in something else eventually.

I've got it hung sideways in these pics, because my clothesline is only so high and I didn't want it dragging the ground.

The print fabrics I used included Central Park by Kate Spain for Moda, among others.  I combined two different FQ bundles won in giveaways this past year, plus a couple others thrown in, some Paula Prass Woodcut Garden, the orange and turquoise from Joann.

 
Now I'm wondering what color thread to quilt it with.  Always an afterthought!

How about you?  What have you been working on this first week of the new year?

Starting at the End

I know it's been pretty quiet around here lately, but fear not, I have not been sitting on my hands (much).

Today is a gray day with light snow falling like powdered sugar.  Although nothing has yet accumulated in the way of the fluffy stuff, I do have a couple piles of quilt squares to show for this week.

In fact, I have all the squares pieced, I just have to lay them out on the floor and fiddle with the order before sewing the top together.

I'm working with a pattern by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter, called Chain Linked.  The colors of the framing squares don't show true against the beige carpeting with camera flash, but that is a gorgeous dark brown called Mink, and the gray is Ash, both solids from Connecting Threads.

I'm linking to Sarah's Can I Get a Whoop-Whoop? linky party, the last of 2011.  She suggested we show one of our favorite accomplishments from the past year.  That would be my kaleidoscope quilt!

I love the bright, happy colors and fabrics that went into it.  It makes me smile!

Wishing you all your creative best in 2012!