SEW FREE MONDAY!

As in, "So free to SEW on Monday!" Catchy, non? I think so. I also think this is the first of many such wonderful Mondays! Know why? Because as of this week, I no longer work on Mondays! Hurrah! So (sew) I shall dedicate Mondays to days of quilting and the like! Isn't this absolutely wonderful??? It makes me SMILE!
What a super weekend I've had! It started Saturday morning. Todd chose not to work overtime, but to spend the day with me! Yay! We headed to Madison and the Cracker Barrel there for breakfast. From there we were going to go to Decatur to a quilt shop (don't I have the most wonderful husband?!?), but when I called them, they didn't have what I'd hoped they would have. Seemed a shame to drive all the way out there for something I could get in town, so we headed back to Huntsville and Hancock Fabrics.

It was my lucky day. Hancocks had solid flannel quilt backing - 108" wide. Yay again! When the clerk cut it for me, he commented that it was a new item -- they'd only just put it out within the hour. Wow! While I was there I found some really pretty autumnal fabrics that will make GORGEOUS applique leaves! I'm finally finding my fabric fetish, I think. There were lots of fun Christmas fabrics, too, but I held off! There's time . . . sorta! Are they pretty? They all have sparkle! Here's also the fabrics I got in the mail this week. I love mail ordering!!!



Anyway, from Hancocks we headed home. From there it was a domestic day. We picked the rest of the apples from our trees and then I picked tomatoes and the last of the cucumbers and a couple of cantaloupes, while Todd picked tomatoes and raspberries! He stayed out in the yard, tending to the garden and watering plants and trimming bushes and putting out birdseed. He also re-hung the bird feeder tray outside my yellow room window! I love to watch the birds while I sew! Plus Todd informs me that the squirrels are back -- perhaps they'll find their way to it too!

I high-tailed it into the kitchen and put up stewed tomatoes and green peppers, baked a pan of brownies, baked a raspberry cobbler, and got dinner ready; home made meatball subs, potato wedges, and a recipe from Eating Well magazine that my daughter had recommended to me -- Corn & Tomato Saute. It was really good! We had cobber & vanilla ice cream for dessert. Bliss!

After dinner, we camped out in the living room. Todd was going through his RV helpful hints book, and I was scanning. So many years ago, I got the bright idea to clip articles, ideas, recipes, etc. from magazines and filing them -- so I didn't end up saving a whole magazine for a couple of pages of interest. Great idea, right? Not so much, when you're moving into an RV that has a limited weight capacity, and my 'saved' clippings were already close to 50 pounds! Egads! So *then* I got the bright idea to SCAN all of my clippings, and store them appropriately on my laptop! They'd be a LOT lighter, and a lot easier to access, to boot! So, that's what I did.

And we watched the game. The GAME. The season opener for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Whew! They sure didn't want anyone to get comfortable, did they? What a four quarters! They played Virginia Tech, which is rather funny; my nephew Ben (the B in BBS quilt) is a freshman there. We texted back and forth throughout the game. Happy ending. For our home, anyway!

We topped off Saturday night by retiring to the RV. Yep, we slept out there! It was a good night's sleep. :)

Sunday we headed to church at Lighthouse, came home to eat dinner, headed to WalMart and Tractor & Supply, and spend a quiet evening with Todd playing xbox, and me scanning. And once again, we retired to the RV for the night. I could get used to it! (Ha ha, I know!)

Today finds Todd back on shift and me in the yellow room. Guess what?? I FINISHED IT! I need to square it up, and then it's off to the long-arm quilter!! Whooo whooo!

Now I'm going to finish piecing the gift quilted wall hanging. And some more scanning. Oooh--and probably some more reading. I finished the last of the Mitford series this morning; I'll start the Father Tim series (of which there's only one book right now) next. Lemme see; I think that's it. There's a pot of Constant Comment on the warmer, and a brownie for an afternoon pick-me-up. Life is good.

Sew Free Monday. Amen & amen!

:)

WHAT A WEEKEND!

First, let me repeat the four confessions of love:

1) God is perfect love.
1 John 4:18
2) Nothing can separate me from God's perfect love.
Romans 8:38-29
3) God pours His perfect love into my imperfect heart.
Romans 5:5
4) Accessed, I can love anyone through anything.
Philippians 4:13

What a good way to start off a glorious morning! I need to keep this in the forefront of my mind today, tomorrow, and the rest of the week! If God can be for me, who can be against me??? HA! Take that.

So . . . this weekend. I did finish the bulk of BBS quilt. Yay-rah! There's still the sashing that needs to go on, which will add about nine inches on all four sides. I'll get there! I promised a picture, so here it is. Phew!


I also said I was going to make that chocolate cake on Sunday. I had to laugh. I consider myself a fairly decent hand in the kitchen. I've been at it for a long, LONG time. I've baked cakes from scratch many times. I love making new desserts and trying new recipes. *Never* have I had such a tough time as I have with the two cakes I've tried from the Mitford cookbook. Egads! The first cake looked simple beautiful, but tasted just mediocre. This second cake absolutely FELL APART! I do not know what happened. I did everything the way the recipe said to do it; I used the best and freshest of ingredients; I waited until the cake had thoroughly cooled before trying to position and frost it. Nevertheless, it simply fell apart. It looked like a huge earthquake fault line had run through the stinking thing! No, really. It looks like California sliding off the rest of the continent. Just look at it!

But oh. my. goodness. It tasted HEAVENLY!! I am not kidding, it was goooooood! The cake was feather-light, and the frosting was . . . well . . . ganache. My favorite! It really doesn't get any better than that. Even Todd agreed that it was simply terrific. I had to take pictures to show; it was only fair. Besides it's great for a laugh!!


It really was rather timely, too. The lastest issue of Eating Well came out this week. The first page I turn to when I get a new issue is the back page, which always has a funny story-like editorial on it. This month's story is about a girl who is a great cake baker and attempts to bake a cake for her boyfriend, who cannot do glucose and sugar and all kinds of things. Anyway, she uses all these special ingredients, bakes the cake and begins to frost it. As she spreads frosting, the cakes begins to crumble underneath her efforts. She piles the frosting on to hopefully 'glue' the cake together, but to no avail. I laughed when I first read it, but I'll admit, I really couldn't envision the scene. I must have read it with a tad of superiority, for God truly gave me empathy in my own mess. I was laughing as hard as my cake was cracking! Julia Child I'm not.

But let me repeat . . . it was GOOD!

This is a shot of last night's sunset, which was simply gorgeous:

In case you're wondering about my plethora of photos today, I got a new camera yesterday, and it's so much fun! It's a little Canon, with a big BITE! It's got lots of pre-set options, one of which is "SUNSET". I just happened to have found this option as the sun was setting in the backyard.

Opportunity taken!

I also took pictures of myself, Todd, us together (using the timer and a cool little flexi-pod that came with it), and Merlin!

Then I went back and took pictures of my first paper-pieced project. I actually took a class at Patches & Stitches and this was our classroom project. I took my completed pieced center and made it into a pillow. Cute, non? It was a great class -- the teacher was Barbara Black, who I really enjoy -- and I've paper-pieced several times since then.

This morning I checked on one of my favorite blogs, Mel's Own Place, and found out I had WON one of her giveaways from over the weekend! I am so excited!! Her button is further down on my blog on the left side. Check it out quilt lovers! She's lots of fun and a *fount* of information! I think I may have ended my "cook your way through Mitford" phase. Yesterday rather did me in. Perhaps I'll focus on quilting and outfitting the RV for now. Goodness.

Carpe diem!

:)

BLEH, I SAID!

Bleh.

I spent most of this day feeling that way. I don't think it was something I ate; on the other hand, I don't think it was the H1N1 flu, which everyone near me worried about. Except Merlin -- he licked my face while I was napping, so I know he wasn't too concerned. Ah, the comforts of a cat!

I'm feeling a little better . . . just . . . foggy. Which might actually be an indicator it's sinuses. Oh the joy!! :) No, really -- at least I'm breathing, right? Count it *all* joy! Harrumph.

I did stop and pick up some black thread, so I can continue working on the BBS quilt. I've been searching fabric shops (online and in person) looking for the perfect flannel to back it with. Is that bad juju, backing a regular cotton quilt top with a cotton flannel? It just seems to me that it would make for a nice, warm quilt, that a boy (young man) might be more willing to wrap up in on a cold day. If anyone is reading and has a notion about this, please let me know!

I read something in Proverbs 26 today that really caught my eye. The first eleven verses refer to qualities/characterizations of a fool; a dog returning to its vomit, one who binds a stone in a sling (think about it for a second), an archer who wounds everyone (this could mean two things), and so on . . . and then, in verse 12, it states that there is more hope for the fool than one who is wise in his own eyes. I finally caught that today. To carry on for so many disparaging passages about a fool, only to say he has more hope than one who sees himself as wise? Wow. That I could read and re-read that Proverb and have it just speak to me today is further proof that it is the living Word.

I'm nearing the end of Jeremiah. Woe to stubborn. I want to plead with them to wake up and smell the coffee!! Why do they refuse to see? Why did they persist in their own way? Oh. Never mind. I have only to look to my own stubbornness to realize the answer. Father, please don't harden my heart to Your commands. Thank You for the saving grace of Your Son!

I'm on to Shepherd's Abiding for my current read. I looked at Jan Karon's website yesterday -- the newest in the Father Tim series doesn't come out until October 2010! Good gravy. I guess it'll give me another year and I can re-read the series again just before it comes out; it takes me about six weeks to finish all 10 books. That's my plan.

Speaking of which, I'm using my infirmity to call tonight a book night. I made a pot of French Vanilla tea. Tea, a good book, and a cat. Sounds like the perfect storm. Hasta la vista.

Baby.

:)

Addendum:

Shepherd's Abiding is probably my all-time favorite of the Mitford series. I adore Christmas and its season; perhaps that explains it.

I found a picture of the Patchwork Puppy -- I forgot that the mommy of the puppy's owner sent it to me!! I'm ready to make a new one for Fowler -- good thing I've got a photo pattern -- placing all those multi-colored squares was tedious enough the first go-round! I do *really*really*really* enjoy quilting. But I do NOT enjoy trying to put pictures in this blog!

BARK!

:)

Oh. My. Goodness.

And I've not even tasted of it yet! But it sure is beautiful to behold, if I do say so myself. Of course, I didn't come up with the recipe, I just followed it very, very carefully!! The true test comes after dinner tomorrow, when Todd and I slice into it for dessert! Shoot, if it didn't need to refrigerate for at least two hours before serving (and Esther notes that it's better when refrigerated overnight), I'd load it up in the car and take it to Station 6, and we'd get into the darn thing right now! :) Ha! At least that way I wouldn't have to worry about eating more than one piece!!!

I was very impressed with the whipped cream/sour cream frosting. It was superb. Very light, and not overly sweet. It will probably be the perfect compliment to the marmalade and the very dense cake. Man, with five eggs, four egg yolks, a cup of butter, a cup of oil, and a cup of buttermilk -- talk about rich! It needed a light frosting!

There are some things I would do differently next time, if there were to be a next time (which there probably won't be, since I'm not taking the Kitchen Aid mixer on the RV).

For instance, I would definitely only purchase name brands. I didn't purchase name brands for the heavy whipping cream or the marmalade. I don't know that it'll make any difference, but something niggled at the back of my brain that if you want to bake the finest product, use the finest ingredients. File that.

I don't think I did a good enough job tapping the air bubbles out of the cake batter pans, before I put them into the oven. It didn't seem to pose a problem, I just think I could have done better.

I would use a little more marmalade next time. Twelve ounces didn't seem to be quite enough to nicely cover both of the inner layers and to lay a nice showing on the top.

Other than those things, I believe it was GREAT! I can certainly now understand Esther's reluctance to make the darn thing, though. Good gravy, what a time consumer!! I remember in one of the books, Esther (Bollick) fumes that no one eats cake any more, much less bakes them from scratch. I don't wonder why!!!

Still . . . it did look awfully grand and impressive, sitting there on the counter. I will try to remember to take a picture of it before we slice it tomorrow night!

I think I'll try Lew Boyd's chocolate cake next.

Bon nuit!

:)

Finally . . . I thought to take some pictures this morning of the "Brights" BOM I'm working on . . .

There are two blocks that I've picked up, but that I haven't even really looked at yet, much less completed. Those are the two that were due July and August -- too much happened (like a wedding) and I didn't get them completed yet! But I vow to have them finished before the next turn in date, which is September 12th!

This quilt will be the 'sister' quilt to the BOM from the first half of last year. The patterns are different and some of the fabrics are different, too, but it will be close enough that they will look very cute together. This will grace the bunks in the quilting half of the bunkroom in our RV!

I need to finish up the pineapple quilt (as I've come to fondly refer to it) for the master bedroom in the RV. Since it was a quilt-as-you-go quilt, I've just got to figure out the center, put the parts together, and bind it. Perhaps by the year's end.

Tonight Todd and I are going to tackle the 5 gallons of apples that we have. We'll peel, core, slice and freeze the bulk of them. I sent Jocelyn home last week with a gallon bag of them. We should be able to enjoy cobblers and pies with apples from our own tree throughout the winter!

I'm hoping I'll get home in time tonight to work on that marmalade cake. Oh yes, I'm determined. We're having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner (with bread and salad, of course), which is already prepared -- just needs to be heated, so dinner will be a breeze. Yeah, I see a marmalade cake in tonight's future. We'll get a little bite and I'll send it on into work with Todd! Perfect!

Okay. So enough for now . . . but quilting surely is on my mind!

Vaarwel!

:)

I got to spend a little more time in the quilting room yesterday evening and this morning. Not enough to finish the second BOM, but enough so that the nine squares are pieced and ready to piece together. I really did think that when Jocelyn got married and we were living child-free, that I would have more free time. I've yet to see it! This week has something scheduled in every evening; add a full 40+ hour work week, housekeeping, and meal-making -- whew! Just try to get a little down time in there! :) C'est la vie.

Anyway, I am almost finished with the second of my BOM's for August. They aren't due until September 11-12, but since I procrastinated terribly with the last two months, I figured I'd jump ahead on this month's. It's full of flying geese, which I think is my least favorite pattern. I can never make my blocks work correctly when they have flying geese in them. Even when I'm exacting and precise and *sooooo* careful, it doesn't quite work. I guess the answer is to keep doing it until I master them! Or find a full-proof way to work them!

Anyway, I'm really ready to finish up the Boy Scout Quilt next. I've got the sashing cut and ready to piece the top together. I haven't decided what to do for the back, yet. I think I'd like to back it with a flannel -- perhaps something camouflaged-looking. That would suit my nephew, I think. I'd really like to have this to him by Christmas!

I cannot decide what I want to do for my sisters this year. Perhaps a quilted wall-hanging? Hmmmm. That will take some thinking. When I have time. Hah!

Tonight, Todd and I are headed to Jackson Way Baptist Church for the Sunday School appreciation banquet. Should be fun. Daniel Edmonds is the speaker again this year. I really enjoy Daniel's wit. I wonder if anyone else I know will be there?!

I started to make Esther's Orange Marmalade Cake out the the Mitford Cookbook last night, but only got as far as purchasing the necessary ingredients. Do you know how hard it was to find cake flour? The only kind Publix carries is the Swan brand. And is it with the rest of the flour? No! It's on the very bottom shelf under the cake mixes! I guess I semi-understand the logic, but then again, no. It's flour. They don't sell the bread flour in the bread aisle! And is the rice flour found with the rest of the rice products? No! Cake flour should be housed with the rest of the flours! Just my personal opinion.

Ah well, enough for now . . .

Plus tard!

:)

So, for some odd reason, I find that I cannot sign into my blog from the firefox browser. Ugh. I hate it when technology tries to get the better of me! :)

I can blog. I have thoughts! But would I really want to spend a year cooking every recipe in a cookbook? Maybe. But which cookbook would I pick? Therein lies the dilemma!

Perhaps, instead, I just stay focused on my daily quiet time in God's Word, and working on quilts. One thing at a time, right?

I had planned to be so faithful to journal my way through my quilt-making projects. You'd think it would be easy, as much as I really do enjoy writing. But for some reason, I just can't keep at it consistently. I guess, with only so many hours of the day, I choose other things. I also suppose that if I *really* want to be faithful, I'll set aside a pre-determined amount of time every day and JUST DO IT!

Well, then. I'm currently behind on every quilt project I have on the burner. My Patches & Stitches BOM are now two months behind (and I'll have to pay $5 to pick up this month's installment)! Joc's wedding quilt squares are just sitting there looking like they want me to get busy. Although, to be fair to myself, I am waiting on the next installment of the Round Robin to send out additional squares for relatives to sign. Ben's Boy Scout quilt is waiting on me to cut and sew borders. And there are at least two baby quilts I need to be working on! Hahahaha (psychotic laughter) . . . no wonder I'm not journaling my quilt making processes!!! OH! One positive; I did fill out the entry form for The Grand Hand's quilt to be in Huntsville's quilt show!

The thing is, I don't wanna just talk about quilts. Not when there's all of life out there too!! There's our ministry, and our church activities, and our new RV, and our empty nest, and our soon-to-be grandbaby . . . I mean, WOW! Why limit it to just quilting (or cooking, or whatever)????

My current quiet time is in the book of Isaiah. I just got to the section that really starts focusing in on Christ. I'm reading through it in the NASB version, but I think I'll go back and re-read it in The Message (for the sake of readability). I'm amazed at the levels of prophecy in Isaiah, as well as the message of freedom it contains (and the One who frees). But I still sometimes feel like I'm reading the words, but not understanding the meaning. Hence the reread in a different version. Who knows of a really good commentary or study of Isaiah?

Back to food. We're having chicken packets tonight. I let Todd pick. Why not? I've already done the prep work; it really doesn't matter what he picks! Isn't that FUN?! That's why I love monthly cooks!

Perhaps the Mitford Cookbook. Maybe I'll cook my way through that one. On the RV.

Or perhaps I'll just write wide open.

Arrivederci!

:)