one block at a time . . .

Yesterday was cold, cold, COLD.  I found an excellent recipe for bread HERE that requires no proofing, no rising.  It made a lovely loaf, from start to finish, in under an hour!  And it was very good -- there may or may not be some left over for today.

Bread fresh from the oven . . . MMmmmMMmmMMMmmMm!!  :)

I got two of My Orange Crush blocks marked out yesterday . . . marking the stencil is probably my least favorite part.  Which is probably why it's taken me so long to get these block finished!  Once I'd marked, I went ahead and finished quilting the inner square of one of them.

I loved the template for this one -- it's perfect!  All that's left on this one are the four squares in the corners of the block.

Here's the second one marked and ready to go:

I've got a stitchers' group get together tonight, so I'll definitely work on getting these finished.  Then it's down to THREE BLOCKS before I can assemble!

Today I'm headed to Joc's for an Ellie day!  I'm not sure what kind of lovely fun we're going to have -- I just know I'm itching to get over there -- I haven't seen Miss Ellie since Christmas Eve.  We were sick, she was sick . . . bleck on sickness!

Speaking of Ellie, someone's turning T-W-O on Friday!  And someone else is turning this:

Into a dress for Ellie (and a matching one for her dolly, too)!  Aren't these fun fabrics??!  Ellie (and her dear little dolly) will be smashing!

Go get 'em today!  

:)

out with the ... hmmmm . . .

You know, as I move my marker from "50", I'm not so sure I like that saying any more!  Out with the old??!  But why?  It's still perfectly good!  New is *not* necessarily better ... is it?!  NO!  Ha!

Todd and I did venture out for a bit yesterday.  It wasn't encouraging that right off the bat, the car decided not to cooperate!

A jump start and she was fine.  We even stopped and had the battery checked to make sure it didn't need replacing, but it was fine, too.  I think she may have been a tad jealous that we used the golf cart for our 'first' outing.  Persnickety thing!

We needed real food, so the grocery store was on our circuit.  Actually, I went there while Todd took off to see about the car.  Call me crazy but I'd been craving red meat.  With gravy.  And homemade yeast rolls (what is this affair with bread making lately?) . . .

Dinner was good . . . and so will be today's lunch!

I finished whipping up all my little pieces for the GC block and started whipping them together.

I remember now why I skipped this block.  I've probably made it a lot more difficult than it needed to be, but it sure looks pretty!

Especially when it's attached to the background fabric!

When I got tired of whipping pieces together, I pulled out my snowflake block fabrics.  I decided that since I really did want the look of a snowflake, I'd try it in blues and whites and grey.  Here's what I came up with:

I had to do a little refresher course on paper-piecing, it had been so long.  But once I saw the first step, it all came back ... like riding a bicycle ...

Yes -- I'm very pleased with the overall on this one!!  (I photocopied my one finished one six times so I could see what the finished piece would look like.  It's how I roll.)  Now only five more triangles to do. Hmmm . . . where is that GC block?

If my recollecting is correct, in addition to the snowflake, I started (and even finished) a couple of other NewFO projects in the merry ol' month of December.

Pretty darn productive and definitely worth a link up to the December NewFO linky party over at Cat Patches!!

Finally, the view out of the RV window this morning . . .

I love living in a place where this is what greets me in the morning!  Enjoy this last day of 2013 and let me wish you a very happy, peaceful and blessing-filled 2014!

:)

out of the grey . . .

Yesterday, the fog (both internal *and* external) started to lift and Todd and I ventured as far as the golf cart for a ride about the camp.  *Anything* to get out from the tiny walls of the RV for just a bit and allow some "clean" air in to clear the cobwebs!

Serenity Pond, looking off the deck.

From the deck of Serenity Pond, looking down onto Silty Bottom Pond.

It was a lovely afternoon.  The clouds finally started to break apart and a bit of sunshine can do miracles!

I'd also run out of bread the day before . . . but neither of us had the energy to leave the camp.  Luckily I had the makings for bread.

Give a gal a loaf of bread and her family eats.  Teach a gal how to make bread and her family will never go hungry.  Isn't that how that platitude goes??! Something like that.

Okay, so the final design wall of the year is still sporting Grandmother's Choice blocks.  I went through and did all the easy ones, so now it's back to the tougher blocks.  Or rather, the more 'involved' blocks, I should say.  I'm determined to do all of them.  No excuses!

Sarah challenged me to have made some progress on this one before evening's end (yesterday).  I'd say I accepted the challenge!  ;)

I popped in a DVD while whipping . . . 

If you've not seen any of this series, it's quite good!  There's some fascinating information and history.

I also ran across this foundation paper piecing block (actually, it's a set of blocks--called "Spike Your English") at Quilting on the Square.

It reminded me a bit of a snowflake (and as an added benefit, it finishes in the shape of a hexagon!!!!), and I had the urge to give it a try.

Originally, I was thinking about using batiks for it . . . 

But now I'm not so sure.  One of the things I love about this design is the simplicity and consistency.  I'm a little afraid that using batiks would make each triangle different, and so you wouldn't get the same sense of 'sameness'.  Any thoughts?  Linking up to Patchwork Times.  

Today I *have* to go to the grocery store.  Wish me luck.

:)