Two Months Worth of Catching Up

I was so excited to get the new job - and I still am.  But the learning curve has been steep and has seriously cut into my sewing time!  For 3 whole weeks I didn't step foot into the sewing room or touch fabric.  Slowly I am working sewing back into my schedule.  Now to get blogging back into the schedule.

I am working backwards to catch up on fabric in and fabric out.  Not sure if I have photos of things or not.  At least I am taking the first step of getting things reported.  Later I'll get details of the specific projects.

Fabric Out -

tropical hexagon quilt top finished - 4.38 yds

CWM commissioned baby quilt top - finished  3.24 yds

11 lined Halloween bags for craft fair - 2.2 yds

6 pincushion projects for October library class - 0.70 yds

mini basket for business cards - 0.3 yds

starter stash scraps given to student - 1.47

giveaway hexies - 0.5 yds

2 pillowcases Senor G took as hostess gift to Poland - 2.2 yds

striped flannel baby blanket w/ crochet edge - 1.35 yds

mother/daughter apron set for craft fair - 1 yd


Fabric In -

Hospice Thrift - 10.3 yds $10 - solid white, Christmas stripe, Christmas ornaments on green background, geometric Christmas trees

BEAM Thrift - bag misc scraps $1 - 1.5 yd



Fabric Purchased since last report: 11.8 yards
Fabric Purchased YTD: 106.81 yards

Fabric Acquired since last report: 0 yards

Fabric Acquired YTD: 22.65 yards

Fabric Used since last report: 17.34 yards
Fabric Used YTD: 153.9 yards

Total: 24.44 yards destashed

Linking up to QuiltPaintCreate to keep accountable.

Chevron Pillows

Back when I recovered the little stool I also cut the fabric to recover a pair of  pillows.  I finally got them sewn.  I had to think on it a bit because I wanted a flange edge.  Is that the right name for it?  

I figured it out and it worked on the first try.  Love it when that happens.  Then I was kicking myself for having put if off for so long.

They came out great.  I love the look with the new couch.

Now to move on to getting things on the walls.  I am trying to work all/some/any of the things we collected when living and traveling overseas into our decor instead of just storing it in boxes.

Weighted Lap Pads & Hot Pads

No fabric in this week.  None at all.  Whew!

Fabric out:

2 frog & turtle weighted lap pads for Craft Fair - 0.63 yds

I love this fabric!

2 ocean weighted lap pads for Craft Fair - 0.76 yds

The perfect use for a large print.

4 cloth napkins with mitered corners for Craft Fair - 0.71 yds

Before they were sewn.

24 signature squares for carnival auction quilt - 0.71 yds
(no photo - you know what a white square looks like - right?!)

6 quilted hot pads for Library sewing class - 0.72 yds

4 of the 6 finished hot pads.  Nice job, ladies!

Fabric Purchased since last report: 0 yards
Fabric Purchased YTD: 95.01 yards

Fabric Acquired since last report: 0 yards

Fabric Acquired YTD: 22.65 yards

Fabric Used since last report: 3.53 yards
Fabric Used YTD: 136.56 yards

Total: 4.65 yards destashed

This week I was in a kind of limbo not knowing from day to day when I would start the new job.  Since I didn't start the new job I started some new projects.  Thankfully they were little and got finished.  Now if I could just settle down and get some of the big projects done.

The Library class yesterday went great.  Quilted hot pads.  The ladies are all excited about setting up additional classes outside of the library, so that is encouraging.  I had my first sale on Etsy this week which was exciting as well.

Kate over at Life In Pieces has challenged us to try to stitch 15 minutes each day.  I was able to sew at least 15 minutes most days.  Some days more.  I am happy for that.  Labor Day I even got Little S sewing!

Days stitched since last report: 6/7
Days stitched this year: 236/258
Success Rate: 91%

Linking up to QuiltPaintCreate and Life in Pieces to keep accountable.

August Giveaway Winner

The winner of the leftover hexagons is...

Renee G who said:

 

"I haven't been very adventurous. I have only worked with hexagons."

Well, Renee, here are some more to work with. Have fun with them.  Let us know what you make.

Lots of potential!

Send me your address so I can get these sent off to you.

Monthly Goals - September

Today I am at a "pre-employment briefing" that is scheduled to be 5 hours long.  Not sure how that qualifies as a "brief"ing, but ...  If it means the start of the new job I am all for it!!

Since this is the beginning of the new normal for me I figured I'd better catch up on reports on the quilting/sewing front.  So from this point forward I am current.

I have not been good at reporting on monthly goals at all.  Granted it was a strange and hectic year, but I'm not giving up yet.

FINISHES

Alligator Baby Quilt - FINISHED in January & donated to Little Lambs through Hands 2 Help

Bright Hexagons - Finished in August

Carnival Quilt for Ms. D - FINISHED in February and auctioned off in March

Boxy Stars - DONE DONE DONE

Commissioned Carpenter Star - Finished in July

Commissioned Chinese Coins - FINISHED in May

Handprint Quilt - FINISHED in March
  
Scraps from a Friend Baby Quilt - FINISHED in January & sold 


Thrift Store Baby Quilt - FINISHED in January & donated to Little Lambs through Hands 2 Help

WORKS IN PROGRESS

BOM Challenge with Jo - I'm keeping up so far  


Commissioned Carpenter Star #2 - ordered, but not started

Cowboy Quilt - ready to be quilted

Curtain Quilt - flimsy is finished, backing is ready

Little Monkey - flimsy finished in June.  It is destined for our new niece. who we won't see until December, so not too much pressure, but I do need to get going on it.

Quinceanos Quilt - needs borders

Red White & Blue - went to the long-armer because it was too big for me to wrangle and is back, needs binding

Scrappy Mountains Majesty- needs borders and quilting

Spider Web - needs to be quilted

Strips That Sizzle - still trying to figure out what is wrong with the machine I use for quilting, since this is partway quilted and I don't want to unsew it

X Marks the Spot - needs to be quilted
 

Hmmm.  None of the older stuff was finished.  No surprise there.  I did make a lot of smaller product for the craft fair in October.  The cowboy quilt was a complete surprise.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tasty Tuesday - Chicken Kiev

Little S and I were looking for something to make for dinner the other night.  Our qualifiers were "chicken" and "quick".

I opened my binder of saved recipes and found this recipe for Microwaved Chicken Kiev.  The microwave part didn't appeal to me at all, but I knew we could cook it in the oven easy enough.  It was a copy of a magazine page, with only the date "December/January 2012" and no identifier as to what magazine.

The fun part was softening the butter, adding seasonings, and reforming it.  Sticky, but fun.

Seasoned butter cubes!

 The breading was messy, but that usually is.  It wasn't for company so I wasn't too worried about how it looked in the end.

The result was very yummy.  Unfortunately there were no leftovers.  This was definitely a recipe to be repeated in large quantities.

The last piece did not last long!

Chicken Kiev

5 T butter, softened, divided
1/2 t chives
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t white pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 oz each)
1/3 c cornflake crumbs (we used seasoned breadcrumbs)
1 T grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 t dried parsley flakes
1/4 t paprika

Combine 3 T softened butter, chives, garlic powder, pepper in a small bowl; shape into 4 cubes.  Cover and freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

Flatten chicken breast halves to 1/4 thickness.  Place a butter cube in the center of each.  Fold long sides over butter; fold ends up and secure with a toothpick.

Combine cornflakes, cheese, parsley, and paprika in a shallow bowl.  Melt remaining butter.  Dip chicken into butter; coat evenly with cornflake mixture.  Place seam side down in baking dish. 

Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes.  Since I was baking and not microwaving I had to estimate this part, but it was pretty close.

Delicious.  It would not be a bad idea to keep seasoned butter cubes in the freezer to have on hand.  Get all the messy part done at once.

Design Wall Monday

Another hexagon on the wall.

The yellow one is the newest.

In between mending and some smaller projects I got another hexagon finished.  It looks like the newer blocks (on the right) are larger than the older blocks.  Hmmm.  I will have to check on that.

I only need 3 more whole hexies and 2 4/6 hexies.  I have them almost all cut, but I need more white triangles.  I think my goal of having each hexagon be a different color might work.

Linking up to Small Quilts and Doll Quilts to show what we are working on.

Cloth Napkins, Pillows, Brown and More

A mixed review this week.  But for the sake of keeping it honest here it is.  This has been an unusual year for my fabric acquisition and usage and I am very curious how it will all play out in the end.

Fabric In:
bolt of brown - 8.75 yds  $5

That's a lot of brown!!

peach 2.7 yds $0.50  (missed a photo, but you can imagine solid peach)

baby panel 0.69  $0.75
lt brown w/ feathers 0.7 yds  $1
lt moss green with + signs  1.19 yds $0.50

Fabric Out:
5 tissue covers for August library class: 0.27 yds

2 decorative pillows for Studio class - 0.58 yds + trim

gave away - fabric that was not cotton - 0.49 yds

chevron pillows  (hoping for a post about them this week) 1.11

feather napkins  0.58

I love this fabric.

Fabric Purchased since last report: 14.09 yards
Fabric Purchased YTD: 95.01 yards

Fabric Acquired since last report: 0 yards

Fabric Acquired YTD: 22.65 yards

Fabric Used since last report: 3.03 yards
Fabric Used YTD: 129.5 yards

Total: 1.12 yards destashed

Hmm.  That was a week in the wrong direction.  But at those prices it would be unwise to not buy it.  Also, looking forward with the new job I know I will not be able to get to the thrift store as often, so my future reports should be better on acquisition.  How the job affects usage remains to be seen.  My hours are not going to be much different that the previous job, but I don't know about taking work home and energy level yet.

Kate over at Life In Pieces has challenged us to try to stitch 15 minutes each day.  This was an odd week with getting things done for the pre-employment process and then getting a miserable cold.  Some days was only 15 minutes, but that's okay.

Days stitched since last report: 6/7
Days stitched this year: 230/251
Success Rate: 92%

Linking up to QuiltPaintCreate and Life in Pieces to keep accountable.

BOM - Month 9

This on sure snuck up on me.  I had finished it a while back, but not written it up. 

My Goal!

This was a cute little block.  Once again I am going to say I love the pre-cut format for these.  So easy to whip up quickly.

Month 9

But I will also say that I don't think I would like pre-cut for all of my quilting.  I even saw a similar set of Joann's pre-cut BOM blocks at the thrift store and I passed them by.  I didn't loving the colors or block designs and I have enough on my plate right now that even the speed of pre-cut wasn't tempting.

Linking up to Jo's Country Junction to share how we are progressing on our BOM.

I had better get out Month 10 right now or it will get forgotten in the next weeks!!

Thankful Thursday

This is possibly my last full week of sewing and blogging for a while.

!!!!

It was a long spring and summer of trusting God.  School has already been in session for over 2 weeks and I hadn't gotten a full time teaching job yet, so I figured my options were down to substituting and getting my foot in the door that way.

Surprise - I got called late Thursday afternoon to schedule an interview.  Interviewed Friday morning and got the call back within 45 minutes.  It is the position and the school I had wanted all along.  Close to home, transportation for Little S from her school to this school after school, and the schedule allows me to keep my tutorees.  God is good.

So while I wait for the paperwork to work its way through the system I will sew my last "free" days away.  The school hours will not be much different than my previous job, but the pay and benefits are better.  But it won't be like summer vacation for sure.

I am so thankful for this opportunity.  I can't wait to get started.

Design Wall Monday

I finished another hexagon.  This one is from the pastel/baby grouping.  Four down, 4 4/6ths to go.

My designs are taking over my inspiration or is it the other way around!

I was thinking maybe I would aim for a different color for each hexie for this quilt.  Not an unreasonable challenge to myself.

Linking up to Small Quilts and Doll Quilts to show what we are working on.

Cloth Napkins, Burp Clothes & More

Last week I reported that a lot of fabric had come in, but I was missing some of the numbers - and some of the fabric.

Fabric In: Filling in the gaps this week.
White 100% cotton fabric still on the bolt.  I finally took it off the bolt to wash and it was 5 yard 16 inches.  For $2.  It had a musty stored smell, but once it came out of the washer it was nice and fresh again.

White cotton - very practical!

Aqua and gray chevron 100% cotton flannel  0.75 yards.  I had already used it so I had forgotten all about it.

Great color combination!

FQ scraps from the thrift store.  0.33 yds

Gray & Yellow/gold

Fabric Out:
4 burp cloths - chevron flannel backing w/ gray fronts 1.5 yds

Might make a chevron quilt to go with these.

2 burp cloths - John Deere w/ green and yellow flannel backings 0.75 yds

Fall cloth napkin set of 10 (14" square) - 1.56 yds

These came out as well as I imagined!

Black & White cloth napkin set of 6 (11.5" square) - 0.6 yds

July fabric giveaway - 0.8 yds

Already being made into something by the July winner!

Backing for the Cowboy Quilt got made and the quilt is sandwiched and ready to quilt, but I'll hold off reporting until the quilting is finished.

Dark brown backing

Fabric Purchased since last report: 6.58 yards
Fabric Purchased YTD: 80.92 yards

Fabric Acquired since last report: 0 yards

Fabric Acquired YTD: 22.65 yards

Fabric Used since last report: 5.21 yards
Fabric Used YTD: 126.47 yards

Total: 12.18 yards destashed

Nearly broke even this week.  I'll take it!

Don't forget to check out the August Giveaway.  Help me get more fabric out of the stash.

Kate over at Life In Pieces has challenged us to try to stitch 15 minutes each day.  This week was a bit more normal so I had a more progress overall.  Most days well over 15 minutes!!

Days stitched since last report: 7/7
Days stitched this year: 224/244
Success Rate: 92%

Linking up to QuiltPaintCreate and Life in Pieces to keep accountable.

Tasty Tuesday - Scalloped Potatoes with Cheese

Today's Tasty Tuesday is brought to you by Little S.  She loves potatoes - anything with potatoes!  So when she requested scalloped potatoes I suggested that she make them and post about them.  So without further ado -

Scalloped Potatoes - With CHEESE ! made by Little S

I, Little S, am typing this on Monday which just so happens to be National Bacon Lovers day. So happy belated bacon lovers day readers!

The source

So for the actual scalloped potatoes recipe we got it from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook 125th Anniversary edition. The full and original recipe requires:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 small onion, chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milked, warmed
1 tablespoon salt
1/8 teaspoons black pepper
2 pounds all-purpose potatoes (how can potatoes be all-purpose?) (6 medium), peeled and thinly sliced

Peeling

Prep: 30 minutes          Bake: 1 hour 30 minutes

We added cheese because I love cheesy anything. We didn't get the exact measurement and you don't have to add cheese. I just think it tastes better that way. If you are going to add cheese use however much you please.

 Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. (Because the butter and onions took so long to cook we went ahead arranged the first layer of potatoes while we waited.)

Butter & Onions

Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. With wire whisk, gradually whisk in warm milk. Cover over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until sauce has thickened and boils. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, 1 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper; remove from heat.

Step 2 (go here if your butter and onions are taking a long time): Grease 9-inch square baking dish or a shallow 2-quart casserole. Arrange half of potatoes in single layer (it was more like a double layer but it's fine who cares it's food) in prepared dish; pour half of sauce on top. (We put the cheese on before the sauce.)

Potatoes & Cheese waiting for sauce

Repeat layers.

Last bit of sauce on top.

Cover and bake 1 hour. Remove cover and bake until potatoes are tender and top is golden, about 30 minutes longer. Makes 6 accompaniment servings.

Needs to go back in for another 30 minutes!

The original recipe gives these nutritional facts: Each serving has about 199 calories, 5g protein, 28g carbohydrate, 8g total far, 24mg cholesterol, 484mg sodium. We added a whole lot of cheese so it probably wasn't this exactly but it's cheese.

Served with ham steak!!

We normally only make this if we have a family dinner with our cousins or something so its kinda cool that we are having it on a normal Monday night.

I hope you guys enjoyed that.

I don't know what you guys were expecting. I might be back for like book reviews (my mom and I were just talking about that) or if I happen to make food on a Monday night that my mom wants on her blog. I honestly don't know if I'll write something on this blog again.  I had fun but you guys get to choose if you liked this.

                                           Sincerely, Me (Little S)

Cowboy Quilt is Getting a Backing

A Design Table today.  I am trying to decide what backing for this quilt.

Cowboy Quilt 

There is not enough of the aqua with dots.  My next best choices are dark brown from the inner border or beige.

Dark brown or beige?

The beige is a lot darker than the cream, so I don't think it looks quite right.  Also,  this is likely to be a quilt for baby to play on the floor, so light isn't as practical.

So dark brown it will be.

Now - is there enough?  I will work on that today.

Linking up to Small Quilts & Doll Quilts to show what we are working on.

Fall Fabric and More

Last week I missed a report.  Pretty much just missed the week altogether with everything that was going on.  I did do the Thankful Thursday posts, but it turned out both of them were on Fridays.  I don't know how I was that far off!! But now I think I am getting back to normal.

Fabric In: I cannot tell a lie.  Fabric came in.  Lots of it.  I was out thrifting on my first day in 20 years that the girls went back to school and I didn't.  That was strange.  I was looking for something specific, so I took the opportunity to make the big loop of thrift stores.  I didn't find what I was looking for but I did find some great deals on fabric - and I have a purpose for all of it.

White 100% cotton still on the bolt $2.  I haven't measured it yet so will carry this over to next week.  I can always use white, especially with another hexagon quilt finish fast approaching.

Dark green with brown details: 2 1/3 yards $1.50

This just says "fall" to me!

Lilac flannel: 1/2 yard $0.50  It has already been made into burp cloths and reusable makeup wipes.

And the lilac said "baby burp cloth!"

I had been telling myself I could just use what I have to make items for the craft fair in October, but at these prices I can't not buy it. 

Fabric Out:

These are pretty addicting for a car ride.

Flannel blanket with crochet edges.  Ladybug blanket was finished a while back, but not reported.  Pink rosebuds was finished a week or so ago.  Farm blanket got finished on the trip to get College E back to school.  4.02 yards

More burp cloths. 

Made some more burp cloths.  I love making these.  Sure hope they sell at the craft fair.  3 yards

Love the polka dots.

Bright hexagons got a binding.  0.34 yards

Pillowcase set.

Second pillowcase was completed.  Little S made one at the library class a while back and there was just enough fabric to make a matching case, so I finally did.  It sure would have been easier if they had been cut at the same time so I didn't have to remeasure to make sure they were identical.  2.2 yards for both.  I don't think I reported the first pillowcase back in June, but if so I'll readjust my numbers later.

Fabric Purchased since last report: 2.83 yards
Fabric Purchased YTD: 74.34 yards

Fabric Acquired since last report: 0 yards

Fabric Acquired YTD: 22.65 yards

Fabric Used since last report: 9.56 yards
Fabric Used YTD: 121.26 yards

Total: 10.81 yards destashed

Don't forget to check out the August Giveaway.  Help me get more fabric out of the stash.

Kate over at Life In Pieces has challenged us to try to stitch 15 minutes each day.  This was definitely an odd last few weeks.  Considering everything that was going on I am happy with my progress.  I love that 15 minutes can make a difference in productivity and attitude.

Days stitched since last report: 12/14
Days stitched this year: 217/237
Success Rate: 92%

Linking up to QuiltPaintCreate and Life in Pieces to keep accountable.

Thankful Thursday

When I started my summer sewing class at the library it was an experiment of sorts with a lot of unknowns.  First of all - would anyone come?  Then - would I enjoy teaching sewing?   Could I come up with appropriate projects?  Lastly - where do I go from here?

Would anyone come?  Yes, they came!! I had the young girl who started it all because she wants to become a designer and needs to learn to sew.  Her mother came along for the ride.  My Little S was a captive participant, but with a good attitude. Then we got a library volunteer who saw us sewing and dropped everything to join us.  After the pajama pants party we got another young girl.  Plus, the library ladies stopped by as they were able to see what we were doing and ask questions.  Then the library asked me to teach a monthly class that they would promote.

Pillowcases

Did I enjoy teaching sewing?  Without a doubt!!  I am a teacher.  I come from a long, long line of teachers on both sides and I love teaching.  This was different than teaching academics and there were no discipline problems since everyone wanted to be there.  But teaching is breaking things down into understandable manageable steps and I can do that with any subject you throw at me.

Could I come up with appropriate projects?  With a bit of research and creativity, yes!!  We made a travel tissue cover, a pillowcase, a reversible fabric bin, and a tote bag with pockets and handles.  All straight lines.  All finished in 2 hours or less.

Reversible Fabric Bins

Where do I go from here?  Teach sewing as a business.  Grown Up R is putting her natural skills and her college degree to use helping me set up a sewing business.  Since I am in the middle of a job search this makes sense for me. This time next week everything should be ready to go.  I am excited with a little nervous thrown in there for good measure.

Tote Bag with Pockets

So today I am thankful for my daughter for her unwavering support, my students who were willing to be my guinea pigs at the library, and my friend who only sees the possibilities.