Blessing Undisguised

Someone has been watching over us, and I've had a magical week.

My surgery on Monday went perfectly, and my daughter was with me almost the entire day. The snow didn't begin until very late, long after she was home with her dad.

Tuesday, while the wind swept blinding snow into deep drifts throughout the city, nurses pampered me and catered to my every need. In between naps I browsed the internet and came up with several ideas for new patterns. I didn't have my sketchbook, so I filled Pinterest with seed thoughts.

A half dozen phone calls or more calmed my panicked hubby, and he and our daughter spent a wonderful, relaxed day enjoying each other in the most meaningful way.

Public schools and city colleges took a snow day, so my grandchildren were thrilled with having a school day when they could sleep in.  My neighbor bundled up and spent hours playing with his new snowblower. He cleared my driveway and sidewalk several times - partly to help out, but mainly just for fun. To top it off, the groundhog didn't see his shadow so winter is almost over!

The snowplow came by and cleaned out street early Wednesday morning and I came home before lunchtime feeling much better than anyone had anticipated. I'll be having two nap days for awhile, I'm sure, but I think I'll have the energy and focus to work in my sewing room next week.

Yesterday, my new stove arrived right after lunch. The floor underneath the old stove was really dirty, but my deliverymen volunteered to scrub it for me before they set up the new one! As I said, someone has been watching out for me this week.

The new stove is so pretty! I didn't chose a fancy glass top because I won't give up my heavy cast iron cookware or my pressure cooker. Since my house is not set up for gas, the stove is very basic with coil burners. I've been promised that the oven will cook evenly, so I'm as happy as can be.

 

Last week slapstick comedy dominated, but this week was all guardian angels and fairy godmothers. February is looking good.

Blessings in Disguise?

My house is clean, groceries are purchased, and I've been cooking and baking like crazy this week. I planned it all out to make sure that everything at home glides smoothly along during my hospital stay and for the first week or two after I get home. I was so well organized with my to do list. What could possibly go wrong?

Famous last words. How did I get trapped in an episode of "I Love Lucy?


One "oops" after another.

Oops #1. Surgery is on Monday. I'm supposed to come home on Wednesday and, as my husband is unable to come to the hospital, my children have been planning to take turns sitting with me Monday evening and most of Tuesday. Now, the weather forecast calls for a blizzard and heavy snow on Tuesday. Eight inches or more, they say. The worst storm of the season, they say. Good grief!

Oops #2. Snow always blows down from the roof and lands right in front of our door and makes deep drifts on our driveway. Ed, who does our snow removal, had surgery yesterday. He'll be available in about six weeks.

Oops  #3. I broke my oven. Honestly. I broke it. It happened like this. I took the blueberry pound cakes out of the oven and turned it off, but, I turned the knob to "self clean" rather than "off". (Why are those two settings right together like that?) Then, instead of hitting "end" to stop the self cleaning, I accidentally hit "start". The door began to lock, so I panicked and yanked it open. I hit "end" again. And again. The oven was getting hotter. So, I raced downstairs and switched off the fuse for the range. After a few minutes I reset the fuse. The oven cooled down, but the lock mechanism for the self-clean is frozen. It sticks out and the door can't close all the way. 

Oops #4. I called the appliance repair folks. With parts and labor charges, replacement of the lock mechanism on the oven is about the same cost as buying a new range! 

Oops #5. I was all done with the second kitty block for the 2016 quilt along. I thought it was a darling block, so I showed it to Shelley, my cat loving friend. "Oh, how adorable," she exclaimed. Then she leaned back and frowned. "Those are awfully big pencils," she said, "or the kittens are awfully tiny. But it's still cute." Oh dear. Back to the drawing board. 

Pencils too fat? Kittens too small? Maybe both.

Blessings in Disguise 

Blessing #1. On Tuesday, I will be in a place with food, electricity, and all the help I need.  My children have promised to stay home and safe if the roads are bad. We have phones to keep the hubby up to date. :)

Blessing #2. My neighbor with the snow blower has offered to help out and clear our driveway and sidewalk of snow! Good neighbors are a true blessing.

Blessing #3. The burners on the stove work fine, so, although baking came to a halt, I made potato-bacon soup and two stove-top casseroles. In the process, I invented a new casserole recipe that my hubby really likes.

Blessing #4. I'm getting a new range! My range is ancient. The oven temperature is uneven and one burner is unpredictable, but I've been putting off replacing it. Delivery is scheduled for Thursday, the day after I come home from the hospital.

Blessing #5. I've started fiddling with the quilt block design a bit today and I'll have some time to work on it tomorrow. The pattern will be delayed until later in the month, but it will be so much better with everything more proportional.

A final blessing - 
Slowly, but surely, we are moving toward spring. 

February, the month of love, is only two days away!!

Getting Ready for Surgery and Chicken Noodle Soup

I've been putting off this surgery, but I want to get it done quickly now so that I'll be fully recovered and full of energy before summer. I have no qualms about showing my age on the outside, but when the insides start to droop, life can become just a bit uncomfortable. Best to hitch it all up before it becomes a real problem.

The procedure is scheduled for a week from tomorrow, and that means I have a long, long list of things to do this week.

I'll spend two nights in the hospital, so I bought new pajamas first. I grabbed a couple of pairs of sweatpants, too. Petites are too short, mediums, too long. Sweats get shortened today. It's on my list.

Don't tell anyone, but since I was so close to the quilt shop across town I dropped in. Just to look around, and  ...  I know, fabric wasn't on my list. Hush! Don't tell!

Among other things on list, I'm doing some advance cooking for my freezer. I started yesterday with an easy soup, of course. Chicken noodle this time. In case you hadn't noticed, I do love soup, and it freezes so well for those times when there simply isn't time or energy to cook a meal.

This soup starts out with aromatic veggies and chicken broth for the base just like most of my other soup recipes do. The rest is pretty basic, and exact proportions are completely up to the cook. I used my crock pot so I could leave the soup cooking while I ran errands, but this soup turns out just as well if it simmers slowly in a pot on the stove top.

If making this with chicken thighs instead of breasts, the chicken broth can be eliminated.

Chicken Noodle Soup
 
Ingredients

• 1/2 chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
• 12 oz. chicken broth
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, diced  
• 1 T parsley flakes
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 oz. fettuccine or egg noodles
• salt and pepper to taste
• water

1. In a heavy skillet, saute onions until translucent.

2. Add garlic and chicken breasts. Flavor with salt. Saute until the chicken pieces are lightly browned on all sides. 

 

3. When the chicken is browned, place all ingredients except the noodles into a slow cooker or a stew pot and cover with water. Allow to cook until the vegetables are tender and cooked through.

4. Add the noodles and enough water to completely cover them. Simmer for another 15 - 20 minutes or until the noodles are cooked.

Serve. 

I'll post more about my preparations for surgery next weekend. I've only made a dent in my to do list. 

Have a beautiful last week of January!

Sailboats, Beef Stew, and a Question

It's been a cold, typical January week, but while I sat at my desk bundled in fleece, I concentrated on summer, sailboats, and the deep blue sea.  The summer thoughts resulted in a mug rug, and the keeping warm resulted in comforting beef stew. 

The Sailboats

Blue skies, blue sea, and two sailboats ride the waves. I'm so looking forward to warmer weather. 

"Sailboats"

Old-Fashioned Beef Stew

I wouldn't exactly call this a recipe because I basically tossed some beef and veggies into a pot and let it simmer, but this is how I made it. I didn't start this until mid afternoon, so I cooked the stew beef in a pressure cooker while I was getting everything else together. If you have more time the stew beef can be cooked in a pot before adding the vegetables. I much prefer using fresh herbs, but I was limited to the ingredients in my pantry.

Yum! Beef stew with a crusty baguette on a cold winter's night.

Ingredients: 

The measurements are estimates because I tossed in what looked good to me. You will need to adjust the vegetable proportions and quantities to suit your own taste.

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 lb. stew beef
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 4 stalks of celery cut into 1" strips
• About 1 1/2 cups of baby carrots
• 3 or 4 small to medium potatoes, cut into 1 1/2" cubes
• 1 T dried parsley flakes
• 1 bay leaf
• A pinch of dried thyme
• A sprinkle of ground cloves
• 3/4 c frozen green peas
• Salt & pepper
• Water 

Almost done. This is gently simmering, but peas haven't yet been added. 

1. In a pot or pressure cooker, saute onions in olive oil until translucent and lightly golden in color. 
2. Add stew beef to the pot, brown on all sides. Add water to cover and cook until tender.
3. Toss all the other ingredients except for the peas into the pot. Add water to cover the veggies. Some of this will evaporate during cooking, but if you like the stew to be more soup like, you can always add more water.
4. Cover and simmer on medium low heat until the veggies are cooked through and the juice has thickened. (30 minutes to 1 hour) 
5. Add the peas into the pot. Simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes to heat the peas through. Serve.

The Question

I'm working on an idea for a quilt about sewing/quilting. I want to place some words on it, and I'd like your input. Rather than the names of tools or items used in sewing, the words should be more descriptive of feelings or thoughts you might associate with it. What words come to mind when you think of sewing or quilting? 

Keep Warm!!

Valentine Butterfly Kisses and Other Sweet Things

Valentine's Day is coming up, but sweetness can come at any time of year. I've had a very sweet start to my week.

My daughter spent Sunday afternoon with us just because she hadn't seen us in a week, my son brought me chocolates yesterday for no reason at all, I've received several sweet notes from customers who have made my artistic efforts so very worthwhile, and I had a brain flash that resulted in a mug rug filled with love.

You know how one random thought can lead to another. I was trying to come up with an idea for a very quick Valentine's Day pattern for this year. The day is all about love, and I had a flashback to my babies. Sometimes I miss them those sweet little hugs and their fluttery, butterfly kisses.

When I thought of them, I knew that butterfly kisses were exactly what I wanted for this project.  I do believe that a butterfly kiss in fabric might look something like this.

I chose some romantic fabrics from my stash, but wouldn't this be sweet in kiddie fabrics? 

The mug rug is really very easy, but cutting out and stitching around the little heart cutouts can be tricky.

These are some tips that may be helpful.

1. Use a very small, sharp scissors when cutting out the hearts. It can be hard to manipulate corners and small curves when you are working through the double layers of fusible web and fabric.

2. If you are stitching the appliques with a buttonhole stitch, you should definitely shorten the stitch to take it around those inside curves. I adjusted the width to be narrower as well.

3. Practice using the blanket stitch before starting. I don't usually have to go around so many inside curves with my blanket stitch, and these are very tight curves, so took it very slowly.

4. If the blanket stitch is new for you, or if you want to review using it for applique, check out this page on my blog.

http://klee2strings.blogspot.com/p/one-of-my-very-close-friends-happens-to.html

Wishing everyone a week filled with sweetness!

I'll be nibbling on chocolate while I work on the next project.

"Kitty Craft", the B.O.M. for 2016 is Underway

I'm so excited! In spite of a week of computer/printer woes, the pattern for the first pair of blocks in this year's Block of the Month quilt is finally finished! 

I've named this wall hanging "Kitty Craft". The quilt combines four large applique blocks containing cats with several smaller pieced blocks. The center section will be 24" x 30", but with borders, the quilt will grow to 36" x 42". I'll plan on getting one pattern pair up each month. If all goes well, the B.O.M. will be completed in June.

I hope you are a cat lover, because this wall hanging is all about cats - cats in the craft room doing exactly what one might expect of them. In this first pattern the kitty has found the yarn basket, and she is having a grand old time. These first two blocks will fill the spaces in the upper right corner of the quilt.

I can easily imagine the single 12" yarn basket block in a mini quilt. It would look great alone with a pretty border, but it could also be combined with the spools block.

The center section will be 24" x 30". 

Full layout plan. 36" x 42".

I love a scrappy look, and this design works beautifully with scraps. This time, though, I've chosen to use fabrics from "Farmhouse Quilts" by Fig Tree on a cream colored background. Other bits will be tossed in, too, of course. I'll use blacks for the cats and a few coordinated smaller prints from other lines.

The pattern includes two options for making the spools block. There are instructions for traditional piecing of the spools block, but, since I much prefer paper foundation pieced patterns for small bits like these, I've added templates for that construction method, too.

I hope you'll join me in a bit of cat play this year. Remember, I want to hear all of your ideas. 

What might the kitty be up to next?

Wishing you a very happy week!