more random things

My husband made a pecan pie!  He has been off all sweets for months (by choice) and he has been planning to have pecan pie as a reward.
I had saved a piece of our Thanksgiving pecan pie in the freezer but he wanted to try making one himself.

He looked up recipes online, bought his ingredients and turned out a lovely and delicious pie.

He did use a Pillsbury crust but they as good as homemeade.  Nice work, Lonnie!

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A friend of mine told me she was doing a big kitchen cleaning in January...sorting, organizing, tossing.  She said she had found a jar of spices that expired 9 years ago!

This made me think I'd better check my spices to see what was outdated.  Mine were okay but I did find this 20 year old package of food coloring!

I can't even remember the last time I used food coloring. The bottle of red was missing...probably used in strawberry pie.  I pitched the whole package in the trash. I don't think I will miss it.

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Can you see the erie glowing eyes in the photo below.  That is Puss - being bad.

I heard her jumping up there when my back was turned but it was too late to stop her.
I though I had her trained not to jump on the kitchen counters.

There was nothing I could do so I pretended not to see her but kept an eye on her with my phone camera until she got back down...to fridge...to counter...to floor.  I scolded her. I hope she made the connection and realized I don't want her to jump up there.

I have read that a few squirts of water from a spray bottle can discourage this type of thing. I think I will have one ready in case she tries it again, but I don't want to freak her out so bad that she hurts herself getting down...the little barbarian.

dryer balls

Not much has been going on around here. All I really have to write about are these new dryer balls.
I hope you can keep from dozing off!

I had heard about these a while back. They are wool balls - a bit bigger than a tennis ball. You put them in your clothes dryer while your clothes are drying and they supposedly help things dry more evenly and eliminate static and help with wrinkles.

I have used mine a few times and I think they might help with all that a little bit.  The best thing about them is that they let me know when the dryer cycle is finished because the sound of them klonking around in there stops.

You can buy them on line but I found mine at W-mart. This box of 3 was just under $10.

I have the little flannel quilt put together except for borders.   I am considering not adding the borders.  If I stop here it will measure about 44" x 56"....really a perfect size for a crib or toddler quilt.

If I add the borders It would finish out at about 56" x 68" "(not sewn on here  - just seeing how it would look).   That's getting awfully large to use as a baby gift quilt.

This is a close up of the border print fabric.  I didn't choose it - it came with the kit.

I will probably end up adding it on for borders.  I think it adds interest and besides, what else am i going to do with it?

I found this scary photo when I was transferring pictures from my camera.  It took me a second to figure out exactly what it was.  It looked like some wrinkly body part that I'd never seen before!

It's the side of my hand!   I accidentally snapped the photo while I was taking pictures of items for Ebay.

Gosh almighty...when did it start looking like that?  I need some lotion or a tan...or both!

still sewing the flannel quilt

I have all the blocks sewn for the flannel quilt and I'm starting to sew them into rows. It's a smallish quilt so it's going pretty fast.  I like these colors...mostly.   I don't really like orange next to green.

I am pressing the seams open rather than to one side so there isn't such a big ridge at the seam.

Puss likes to help with the lay out.

But she is a bit possessive when it's time to put things away!

I am thinking ahead as to what I will use as a backing for this quilt.  It would seem strange to use regular cotton on the back since the front is snuggly with the flannel.

If I used flannel on the back would it be too thick?  Would I use batting inside too?

Hmm, I will keep thinking about it.

the Sasquatch made gift tags

I have all the holiday decorations packed away now but I wanted to show these personalized gift tags that the Sasquatch made.  I will be using them as tree ornaments each year.

He is quite the multi-talented fellow. These are cross stitched....

"LJH" for Lonnie, and "Mom" for me!  He added the year, 2018 on the back.  He did a nice job and I really like the colors and the design he used for my tag.  Of course Lonnie's is nice too - but more manly.

Even better...mine was attached to a stack of fabric that the Sasquatch picked out as my gift.  I have been combing through my quilt pattern books trying to decide what quilt I will make from it.

Actually, the Sasquatch had cross stitched a gift tag last year too.  Isn't this one sweet?

Totally unexpected.

Thanks again, Sasquatch!

Also Christmas related...on Christmas Eve I won this pattern in a give-away on a quilter's blog I like to read...Timeless Traditions / Norma Whaley.

Believe me, I never win anything and mostly don't even try. But, I was up early and beat everyone else to it.

This is an applique pattern - which I'm not very skilled at. But this one uses wool for the applique so that means no turning the edges under. It should be easier.

I like her designs and now I feel kind of bad because I copied this quilt of hers a couple of years ago without buying her pattern.  

That's not very nice but I will try to do better.  It can be my New Years resolution.

And a photo of poor grumpy Puss.  Having to stay inside with this rainy weather.  

You can tell by those laid back ears she she doesn't like it one bit!

so here is the quilt

Now I can show off the quilt I have been keeping secret.
It was a gift for my older brother and I gave it to him over the holidays...even though it's for his 60th birthday which isn't until early February.

I knew it was the quilt I wanted to make for Dennis when I first saw the pattern (called Dogs in Sweaters).

 When we were growing up we had a daschund mix dog named Wilbur.   He was loved by all the family members but he had a special relationship with my brother, Dennis, who gave him lots of attention.
Much of the time this attention consisted of play-fighting... in which Dennis would wrestle with the dog over a toy or a sock. Wilbur would end up showing his teeth and growling like he was ready to rip someone's throat out. Dennis would spin him in a circle in the floor, flip him on his back and pretend to choke him.
It all sounds horrible and violent but neither one would dream of hurting the other, and Wilbur was always ready for more.

Later on in life, Dennis even created a small robot and named it "Wilby Walker" in memory of his old friend Wilbur.

You can see a photo of the robot here, although the robot doesn't actually look like the dog.

So that is the story behind this quilt. Happy Birthday, Dennis!

I enjoyed making this quilt.  The pattern called for flannels for the sweaters, but I just picked out some prints and plaids from my stash - ones that I thought would make good shirts.

I cut the pieces for the entire quilt before I started sewing so I could concentrate on following the directions carefully.

I put them together in assembly line fashion but it was a bit tricky since some dogs face left and some face right. 

It was fun seeing all the parts coming together...turning into dogs.

This one is wearing fabric from a shirt that belonged to Chopper. 

This one is wearing a shirt that is printed with circuit boards.  I got that fabric with a kit one time and I wondered how I would ever use  up what was left over.  Perfect for this - keeping the Wilby Walker robot in mind. 

The pattern included a template for adding glasses so I chose this dog to wear a pair.

I added an extra border along with the checkerboard corners. The original pattern stopped with the gray borders but I wanted it a bit larger and more colorful. Final size - about 83"wide x 87" long.

I machine quilted in my usual meandering style...

I do wish the gray background was a little darker.

The pattern maker, Elizabeth Hartman, did such a nice job writing the pattern and including helpful tips, that I am now a big fan of hers. I bought another of her patterns (Lamas !) to add to my "some day" list.

 But first...finishing up things I have started on!

how is our new kitty?

When I last mentioned the little black kitty who just showed up in our yard one day, I had just finished making a sleeping shelter for cold weather for her...which she refused to use.

Lonnie and I discussed bringing her in to the basement on freezing nights if she could learn to use a litter box.
But before that we knew we had to get her to the vet to be spayed.

That went fine, but guess what?  After the surgery she had to be kept from being too active and kept away from male cats for 2 weeks!  So we had no choice but to start keeping her inside.

She did really well and used the litter box just fine so we ended up letting her have the run of the house. Now she also goes outside for a good part of the day if she chooses.


Our floors are a bit drafty so I put her bed near a heat vent.  Doesn't she look like she is enjoying it?

We tried out a lot of names trying to figure out a good one, but nothing seemed right.  In the mean time I started calling her "Puss", and that's the name I wrote down at the vet's office so I guess she is stuck with it.

You can still see the patch where they had shaved her belly for the surgery.  She was a good girl and didn't lick or bite the stitches too much before she had to go back and get them removed.

She likes to keep me company while I'm at my desk.  Seems like she could do a little dusting while she's up there though!

Puss says "Don't even think about closing the door when you go in to use the bathroom. NOT allowed!"

She must investigate every room in the house. High and low.

                                                 

 She does her part around here by bringing a contribution for our next meal...and leaves it right on the door step!
 

 She likes the Christmas tree and especially the tree skirt - which she must remove daily and try to bite off those pesky pom poms.

All in all a well behaved and affectionate little kitty.  We are glad she chose our house when she was lost and scared.

finished one - started another

I finished up the quilt I've been working on but I still can't show photos.  Here is a corner again after the quilting and binding.
The lighting is not great here so it looks like the main fabric is dirty white but actually it's a light gray chambray.  Wishing now that I had went a couple of shades darker on the gray.

 The backing is perfect for a man quilt. It looks kind of like mattress ticking.  I ordered it online from "Connecting Threads" during a clearance sale.

At the same time I ordered this little flannel quilt kit, also marked down, and I started on it immediately after finishing the above quilt.   

Because, I (ahem) temporarily forgot that I was supposed to be finishing up old projects before starting any new ones.  Can you believe that?

I made a goofy mistake when cutting the blue and green plaid.  I accidentally cut several of the squares too short on one side.

Well, you can trim down but you can't trim up so I had to sew a strip to that side.  It's visible but it won't show up very much when the quilt is finished.

I've decided I am not going to sew with flannel after this quilt is finished.  Not only does it leave a lot of fluff in the machine...my nose starts tickling and my eyes feel scratchy when I start sewing with it.

Maybe I need goggles and a dust mask!