Bear paw

 

Aidan went with the traditional layout for the Bear Paw quilt I am making him. I will be setting it in a diagonal setting since I showed him one I had done as a baby quilt that way and he liked it. So, decisions made and lots of sewing to go! The Graduation quilt - so far. Each block will finish at 14 inches. I have not calculated how many I need yet.

Slow Sunday Stitching

 So far, the day has started off nice and slowly. I got to sleep in, which was nice since we got home from a dinner and visit with Grandma close to 11 last night. It was a nice dinner out and then some CLR games at the dining room table and chatting. Good family times. 

I took this photo on Saturday when I was out gathering eggs. That reminds me, I need to let them roam today since I forgot to let them out yesterday. They have been out in the back yard roaming most of the week as we got some rain... and that means good bugs on the ground to gobble up! 4 eggs - not bad for 3 chickens we got in September 2000 and the other 2 I think we got a few years ago. Looking at the colors - Either Poppy or Eggnog did not lay as they both provide green eggs.

Aidan got me this set of puzzles by Thomas Kinkade for Christmas and I picked up this puzzle board that swivels and has 4 side pull out drawers at Aldi this year. I realized after laying out the pieces, that the plastic is to go over the puzzle while you are not working on it... I'll do it correctly on the next puzzle. I started with getting the pieces turned over and out and started the edges. Aidan has done the majority of the puzzle, but I do add a few here and there as I walk by. 

I've been stitching on the back porch a little this week and got these into sets of four. I dug into the bag and have some more prepped and ready to stitch. I need to add some pink and red to the mix on the next prep round. These will make row three that I want to add to my existing QAYG hexagon quilt that is asking to be made a little bigger. I have 2 columns done and plan 2 more. 

This is the existing quilt at 88x66. 

Lots of progress has been made on the cross stitch this week.

Last Sundays for a reference. I'm going to work on the bottom grassy area before I finish off the last quilt block area, then move onto the first page of the pattern which is to the left of this.

Linking up with the Slow Sunday Stitchers. Hope you all enjoy a little relaxing stitching today. 

Rsc houses

 These are the last two pink houses for the month. Notice the dinosaur peeking out the window? 

We won't mention that I sewed the house top on wrong... three times before it came out correctly. I might have left them after the first try for lunch.... then managed to sew them wrong again two more times before I got it right. Thankfully it is a 6 inch block so the seams that kept being pulled out were not too big. 

I've been enjoying the low humidity in Florida and cooler temps for April (unusual) and stitching out on the back porch in my new chairs in the afternoon for a bit after work. The dog is not happy with me. Seems he can't fit in the chair with me and is not happy with that fact. I tried putting his quilt onto the other rocking chair and patted the chair for him to jump up. He disliked his quilt being outside the living room and tried to pull it off the chair to put it back where it belongs! I thought it was funny. My dog does not like a change in his routine... and it was sit in the recliner with Mom while she cross stitches time! 

Linking up with the RSC on a peaceful Saturday. 

Bear paw and a concert

 

It was All County band last night with a guest conductor from FSU.  Got a smile. With 3 practices and all day yesterday,  they played some amazing and challenging music. It sounded great.

There are four identical blocks in each pile.  I added the light blue yesterday and have another blue in process.  I think I have a few more somewhere so I guess I need to go searching and organize the sewing area this weekend. 

Sauces?

 I've been trying out different sauces for things in the kitchen lately. I'm going to make some Tzatziki today to go with some falafel I have in the freezer, Greek pita and a greek salad (lettuce, red onion, cuke, tomato, feta) for dinner this evening. 

Over the weekend we had some grilled chicken and I had bought a package of parsley planning to make chimichurri. I used this recipe from Love and Lemons. Really simple and tastes great on chicken and steak and veggies.

I like the Good Seasons Italian Seasoning packet, but don't like the sugar in it or the price, so I've been making my own version for years. I have a pint mason jar of the seasoning mix in the pantry and use that to make a jar of Italian dressing for the fridge. 

Italian Dressing Mix:

1Tbsp Garlic Powder

1 Tbsp Onion Powder

2 Tbsp Oregano

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp basil

1 Tbsp Parsley

1/2 tsp celery salt

2 Tbsp salt

Mix and store in an air tight container. It makes quite a few batches.

To make: 1/2 cup vinegar, 2 Tbsp water, 2 Tbsp mix. Mix well, then add 2/3 cup oil. Shake well. You can also use the lines on the old Good Seasons salad dressing containers. I have two of them =).

I have lots of lemons, so was doing a lemon/oil and some herbs blend last week for my salads for lunch. I cooked up some quinoa and add a few spoonfuls of it to my salads at lunch.

Taco seasonings - I stopped buying the packages years ago and just make my own version from a recipe I found online. I use this one. 

All that to say.... what sauces do you have in your rotation of foods that you like and enjoy? 

I'm trying to mix things up a bit and try new things.

Monday - I went back to an oldie but good recipe -  a Lemon Chicken with thyme. I added rice and some peas for a veggie.

Tuesday was a rainy and dreary day - so I swapped things and did a baked green chicken enchilada.

Wednesday will be Greek - I do need to shred a cuke to make the tzatziki.  I need to find the pita in the freezer and pull it out. I already pulled one baggie of falafel out of the freezer as I made a double batch the last time I made them. Since Emily is not home for dinner, it was a good night to make this one! Lactose intolerant girl doesn't do tzatziki since its made with yogurt.

Thursday - no clue but I'm assuming the boy is expecting something to be made for dinner. We have Emilys concert across town that evening. 

A little stitching has happened. Must put the phone down tonight and actually do something rather than death scroll. Was pretty nervous last night with the worldwide threats. Just waiting for someone to find some straight jackets and take care of things. 

 The girls enjoying the rain!

 

Little house sew along

 I got some sewing time in on Saturday and was able to pick fabrics and sew up block 5 of the sew along. When it was done, I realized that my middle block is not matching what was presented... but I'm leaving it. I guess I tend to just put my rail fence blocks in this design, despite it not being correct! 

Linking up with Melva and the others following along with the Little House Sew Along.

Here are the first four blocks. 

Easter Sunday

 I've been plugging away at the November Cross Stitch from the book A quilt for all Seasons by Paula Vaughn. I filled in more of the blue sky and one partial block in red and started the orange one in the top left corner. This is just the second page of the pattern... I still have the left side to do for page one. I do love how it is turning out. I am using 14 count Aida.

This is where I was last Sunday, so a good bit of progress.

The dog is waiting for a walk. The Easter Bunny came this morning and could not find the real easter baskets, so they have Tupperware with the fake grass in it for the kids. The parents just have a little pile and the Sams package of Peeps (yuck!) are for the other 3 to divide and conquer. I was considering putting things in eggs and hiding them like when they were little.... but I went to bed instead!

Wishing you all a Happy Easter to those that celebrate it. A Happy Sunday to everyone!

Linking up with the Slow Sunday Stitchers.