Bits of Show and Tell

It was so cold and snowy for most of this week!

My backyard.

I have a walkout basement, and my sewing room is on the lower level of my house. This room enjoys a garden level window view, but it can get rather chilly down there during cold snaps like the one we had this week.

The view from my sewing room window on Monday

Instead of shivering at my sewing machine I've tried to work on things I can do upstairs, so I have tons of odds and ends to show you.

First, though, you absolutely must see this photo sent to me by a fellow quilter. It warmed me through and through. Shawn chose twelve summer mug rug patterns from my silhouette series and turned them into quilt blocks. The result is simply delightful - such a bright and cheerful, summery quilt. You can't imagine how thrilled I am whenever I see another personal interpretation of my patterns. Do send me your photos. I'll be sure to post them here on my blog.

If you look closely you'll see that all of the pets are dachshunds. So clever!

As I said, I've been staying upstairs as much as possible this week and trying to keep warm. Where better to do that than in the kitchen? My freezer is getting stocked with all kinds of goodies.

First, there was soup. I freeze it in one cup disposable plastic containers with content and date labels on the lids. I made chili, of course, and then I raided the pantry.

My attitude toward soup cooking is pretty cavalier. If I have it in the kitchen, it goes in the pot. This is what I found: fresh turkey stock, onions, carrots, celery, lentils and rice. I tossed in parsley, a bit of garlic, some curry powder, and a dash of cinnamon to spice it up. Salt and pepper of course. Super tasty! This recipe is a keeper.

Muffins on Thursday. I found a yogurt, banana, and oatmeal breakfast muffin recipe on Pinterest. These taste a lot like soft oatmeal and raisin cookies. So filling! I had one for breakfast and I was stuffed! I didn't even have a mid-morning snack. You can find the recipe here:  http://honestfare.com/yogurt-banana-oat-muffins/

I played with my little cottages, too. I couldn't help myself from making two of the cottages with fabric. I have one drawer totally filled with Civil War reproduction and French General fabrics, so I'll try to use pieces from that bit of my stash. The applique pieces are laminated to background fabric, but I won't take it any farther just yet because I have no plans about how many blocks I'll make or what I'll do with them when I decide to stop.

These are each 5" x 7". I'll keep the height of the blocks constant, but the width may vary. 

Finally, there is one addition to the name mug rugs for my daughter's office pals. Chris has triplet boys, so I had to design something special. The little bicycles are so adorable, but they are pretty tiny. I hope the blanket stitching around them goes well. It may be a bit tight, but if need be I'll remake the templates and draw them just a touch fatter.

That makes one more template to add to the alphabet soup pattern! Next, I'll move on to the pet owners. Hmm...

A warm front is blowing in from the south today. I went for a walk yesterday afternoon when the temperature was 14 degrees and the snow was squeaky crunchy. Today the temperature is in the mid 40s and the city is one big pile of slush. Such is life in Nebraska. The weather is never boring.

Since my sewing room is nice and warm and comfy now I can get back to my sewing. I have no other plans, so I'm looking forward to being able sew all day tomorrow.

Have a super week, everyone!

Happy stitching!!