August OMG

 

I added some more Bricks, Pebbles and Cobblestones to make the quilt rectangular.  I added hearts because the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild suggestion was for rainbow heart quilts.

I added some big hearts on the back.  I quilted it with the back facing up and started at the edge of the hearts, then echo quilted the heart shape multiple times.  I used lime green thread on top and bottom.  I expected it to show up more than it did.  It was mailed off to the Orlando Modern Quilt guild for the Orlando Pulse victims and families.  It is sent out into the world.  My OMG is complete.

First Heart

I get so excited when I can use my scraps to make something.  I just finished 1 of 6 hearts necessary to piece the back of my quilt.  When the scraps are die cut, they go together so quickly.  My sister suggested a book some years ago about mastering scraps.  I followed the directions in the book so I have a stack of 5 inch blocks to look through.  Recently I sort of organized them loosely by color.  It has helped to find what you want easily.  Glad I spent the time doing that.  If I don't have enough to make six blocks, I will just add some big solid block to fill in.  Back to work.

Bricks Pebbles Cobblestones Backing

My plan was to use this red fabric to make a gigantic heart on the back of the quilt.  When I unfolded it I determined that it has so much sun damage that it is to be sent to the rag bin.  So now what do I do???  I headed to my scrap bin and pulled out my 5 inch blocks.  I decided to make some scrappy hearts out of them.  Here is the first one in process.  I hope my sewing machine holds up.  Today the bobbin case got stuck in the race.  After a call to my Bernina dealer I followed their directions to free it.  The case is quite scraped up by the little screw driver that came with my machine.  I will have to order another.  For the moment the machine is working.  It took quite a bit of doing with extreme angst.  Back to work.

Orlando Pulse

I had been working on Gyleen X. Fitgerald's QAL Bricks Cobblestones and Pebbles.  It had been placed on the back burner while I finished some projects with deadlines.  I am now getting ready to make the backing.  I hope to get this done this week so it can get to the Orlando Modern Quilt Guild
before the September deadline.  I am contemplating what to do for the back and binding to finish this off.  The request of the guild was for Rainbow Heart Quilts.  I added quilts to the top of the front but am thinking I might put some big hearts on the back.  I grabbed some wadding before I came over to my mother's.  I don't actually know how much I have.  I may have to get to the store and get some more.  Hmmmmmm.  Off to check on materials.  BFN M

August OMG Goal

The plan is to make this into  a rectangle and make it a quilt for a project on which my guild is working.  

Happy Birthday Baby Sister

 Another use for these great clips.  I usually use them for binding but I have used them for pinning, keeping pieces together and so much more.  Here I am weaving fabric tubes to make a basket for a wall quilt.

 The quilt directions did not make a basket that could hold anything so I reconfigured this one so that it can actually hold things.  Maybe cards or receipts or kitchen tools.

 I did a little free motion quilting and a little ditch stitching and this quilt is ready to be a birthday present for my sister.

I did make a label by using my home made light box and traced over the lettering that I had printed from my computer.  This year I am working on my UFO's.  This falls into this category because I bought the pattern decades ago.  Now I feel I have not wasted that purchase.  I got some curtain hardware and some of those hooks that can be removed without marring the wall. I rolled it up and  tied it with a fabric scrap.  I hope she likes it.  I had fun making it.  The leaves are much more pronounced that I had anticipated.  The blue/green fabrics look more blue than green but I still like the result.  On to my next. project.  I am getting a stitchery project ready to go because I have jury duty and I want to be prepared to have a portable project on which to work.

April block with Baked Pear/Peacherine Goat Cheese Salad

 I grabbed 3 different greens from my scrap box.  The nice thing about pulling from the scrap box is that the cutting is done or almost done.  I made the flying geese units out of the darkest green, the rectangles were out of the lightest green and I used a medium green with a little flower in the 4 patches. I added a fat quarter  for the backing and binding and another scrap of green for the hanging sleeve.  I here is the April block.

In the spirit of this month's blog hop that I have been following, I added a recipe.  Here is a Baked Pear/Peacharine salad I made for lunch for my mother and I.

My mother had spent a week at my sister's in PA and came home with a collection of olive oils and balsamic vinegars.

Step 1.  Melt some butter in the microwave. Toss walnuts seeds in the butter, scoop out with slotted spoon then toss the pumpkin seeds in the butter. Roast walnuts and pumpkin seeds in 450 degree oven for 5-7 minutes.  I drizzled some honey on the walnuts and added some bacon crumbs to the pumpkin seeds, then popped it back in the oven for another couple of minutes. Set aside.

Step 2.  While the toasting was happening I halved and pitted a peacherine (something I had never heard of before), a red pear  and and an avocado.  I sliced the avocado and slivered some fresh ginger and put the pieces in the cavity of the fruit.  I drizzled some onion flavored olive oil which was  spicy hot on the fruit.  I filled the cavity with some goat cheese and sprinkled it with thyme. Pop the cheese filled fruit in the oven for 20 minutes.

Step 3.  While the fruit was baking I put some baby romaine in a bowl, added some chopped green pepper, small cauliflower pieces, dried cherry infused cranberries, chopped celery, chopped honey walnuts, and bacon crumbed pumpkin seeds.  I drizzled some honey ginger flavored balsamic vinegar over the lot and tossed.

Step 4.  The fruit had a couple more minutes to go.  When I looked in the fridge, there were some hard boiled eggs.  I decided to make a deviled egg.  I halved the egg and to the smashed yolk I added some of those bacon crumbs, a smidgen of honey mustard, and some of that honey-ginger balsamic.  It looked a little dry so i added a little sweet relish and filled the eggs.

Step 5.  I divided the  tossed greens in 2 dishes topped them with the fruit from the oven, the sliced avocado. and the deviled egg.  I topped the cheese with  whole walnuts that I had set aside.

To me the red pear was better than the peacherine.  With the random slivers of ginger, you sometimes tasted the ginger and sometimes not.  I quite liked that all bites were not the same.  It was a good lunch.  Everything was done in less than a half and hour.