quilting days and snowy days

 

January days are just right for staying inside and catching up on quilting projects.

I had a couple of small tops to layer and pin baste.

This one is crib sized. The lighting in the photo makes the colors look weird. The light strip is actually an orange print that matches the orange duck beaks.

This one is throw sized. It's one of those 3 yard quilt patterns.

I sewed together some of those blocks that I cut out earlier this month. This one still gets a black border added.

Puss thinks that anything laying on the floor is there for her to test out.

We've had some snow. At first, just a bit. 

A few deer out and enjoying the day...five...is that a herd?

Here are  four of them zoomed in closer.  They are probably searching the property for any plant or tree that I've planted - to make it a delicious snack!

Later more snow.

And gray winter skies.

I made something pretty good. It's a ham and sauerkraut casserole, with Swiss cheese and some 1000 Island dressing added. Sort of like a reuben casserole.

Enough for quite a few meals.

I had a laugh over this...

I had a pair of white Capri pants that somehow developed a mysterious yellow stain on the front (no, not what you're thinking).  Anyway, I decided to try dying them to wear on an upcoming cruise.

Well, the fabric was dyed nicely but all the stitching remained white! I guess the thread was polyester and wouldn't accept the dye.

So I won't be wearing these on the cruise!

Winter days

 I've spent a couple more evenings cutting out fabric for quilt patterns. It's nice to have them ready to sew together and it's a good activity rather than settling down in front of the TV.

This one will be one of those "Three Yard" quilts. I bought the fabric set and pattern at the Paducah quilt show a few years ago.

This next one is a kit that I bought on clearance from Connecting Threads back when they had some real sale deals. (Maybe I even bought 2 of them! - don't judge! )

Such pretty fabrics! I don't normally choose big florals.

Puss kept me company in the kitchen. She must have heard a mouse under the dishwasher. She was watching and waiting for it to come scurrying out.

I noticed one of my toilets was running water (sigh). I've replaced the working parts in this one before so I ordered the replacement parts.

I guess no one really wants to see in my toilet tank...but just so you know...I got it fixed and working.

I noticed the bottom of the lid is stamped with the date "4-24-73". 

Sheesh, this thing is over 50 years old.  

It does sit a bit low. My mother used to always comment on that when she came for a visit. It seems odd if you are used to the newer taller toilets.

I finished that quilt I made for the Christmas contest. I have it laying around waiting to stitch the binding on but I've been using it to snuggle under in the recliner while watching TV.

It's warm. The bright colors add a bit of cheer to these short gray January days.

A new year

 We had mild weather the days before the new year, so Puss and I got outside for a stroll around the property.

We went just a little way into the woods where Puss imagines herself to be a wild vicious jungle beast.

I wish she was a huge jungle cat...then she could prey on the deer that are determined to tear up my trees.

Here's where they have peeled the back off a branch of my small Paperbark Maple.

It could have been deer that girdled this little Ginkgo tree trunk or it could have been a rabbit eating the bark.

I see this plant sometimes in the weeds. It looks like little yellow tomatoes, but nope, it's Horse Nettle.  Poisonous fruits and leaves.

This bright spot of green caught my attention! A little patch of moss in the driveway.

Such a lovely color and so soft looking.

I started off the new year with a healthy batch of soup...turkey, cabbage, and vegetable.

Then I wanted to do so something with the bread that we didn't eat at Christmas, so I diced it up and baked some croutons.  They're good in the soup or tempting just to eat as a snack.

New year - new broom! I ordered this one on Amazon. The handle came in sections that screwed together.  The dustpan has "teeth" that you can use to comb hair and fluff out of the broom bristles.  Ooooo, fancy!

My quilt group, Crazy Quilters, is going to switch to daytime meetings this year.

 I'm so glad because it's easier to dig into working on a project early in the day.

A lot of us like to avoid driving after dark too, so that's another good thing about switching to daytime meetings.

I decided to cut fabric for some quilt patterns so I would have something ready to work on at each monthly meeting.

This quilt will be just simple squares.

I'm cutting at the kitchen counter because my sewing room table is piled up with stuff, as usual.

 I'll get this set cut and bagged up and then cut enough for maybe 3 more quilt tops..That will last awhile!