Progress on the sailboat quilt

 I'm making good progress on the sailboat quilt. I have all the boats sewn but they will get a border around each one to tilt them to the left or right.

I like this pattern...quick and easy to sew!

Some quilters have a flannel wall panel to hang their blocks on while creating their design.  I have been laying mine out on the floor for so long that I will just stick with this method. But Puss enjoys walking around and mixing up my layout,  so I snapped that photo to remember my arrangement of boat colors.

Here is another small project I was trying to finish before Christmas, but didn't get it done until now.

It was a printed panel of fabric designed to make a wall hanging.  I can't remember where it came from. Either it was in a pile of fabric a quilting friend brought in for give-away or something I bought from a quilter who was selling her stash for a dollar per yard.

I just layered it and quilted around the shapes printed on the fabric. Sort of messy because it seemed monotonous to work on.

I put it away with the Christmas stuff but unless I grow to love it next Christmas, I will donate it to the thrift store.

I also quilted this little mat that I had sewn from leftover scraps from a small quilt.  It was fun to do because I like that print fabric together with the blue.

 Nice cool crisp colors for January.

 Well, now back to work on the sailboat quilt!

starting a quilt

 I learned there is a new(ish) baby boy in the extended family that I hadn't  even heard about.

A good reason to make a new quilt!  It's always more fun to sew a quilt when there is someone to give it to.

I paged through my "Big Book of Baby Quilts" and chose a pattern with sail boats.

I wanted to use fabrics from my stash and I had plenty of colorful scraps for the boats and even some fabric with a wave (water) print to surround the boats.

I thought it would be cute to use the fish print as alternate blocks. Now I need to choose one more fabric.  I like the yellow print above but it's pretty busy looking.

Below, this blue print is calmer and matchy, but it's sort of "bleh" looking.

This gold print below is like a lot of little suns shining on the boats, but again, very busy.

I'll keep rummaging around in the closet and hopefully find something suitable.

I've made a couple if sailboat themed baby quilts in the past. Different patterns though.

This one made around 2008.

This one in 2017.  I like these sailboats best, because of the little flags, but I think they were tricky to sew...paper piecing.

The weather forecast shows a string of wet, gloomy, cloudy days ahead.

A good time to be inside at the sewing machine!

Cooking for a few meals

  Cold salads and sandwiches seem so unappealing during these winter months.

I've gotten into the habit of eating hot soup for breakfast. It's quick to heat in the microwave and stays nice and hot while I'm eating it. 

So, here is my soup for this week...

Celery, carrots and onions then later add broccoli, yellow squash,shredded cabbage and a bag of frozen lima beans.

Then added some leftover turkey from the freezer and a big box of chicken broth and some seasoning.

It came out pretty good.  The limas are a bit starchy for a lower carbohydrate way of eating...but with all the other veggies in the soup only a few limas end up in each serving.

While the soup was simmering I turned on the oven and cooked a pan of Italian sausages with bell peppers and onions.

That gives me a few days of meals to microwave too.  

Looks like it will be easy kitchen clean up this week!

a quiet Christmas

 Just a low key holiday this year.  I'm a lazy cook these days and chose things quick and easy to prepare. 

I also made a cheese ball and deviled eggs.

No baking up batches of Christmas sweets either...just a few packages of store bought cookies.

The Sasquatch was more industrious - he brought a foccacia bread he had made. 

So good...I cant resist it!  (so I didn't bake those canned biscuits)

A few more goodies under my tiny tree for the Sasquatch to take home, along with a few gifts.

He gave me a dash cam...and will hook it up for me too.

A peaceful simple holiday. Just the right thing for us this year.

Hope your Christmas was very Merry!!

a last goodbye

 My Uncle George, my Dad's older brother, peacefully passed away after years of successfully fighting a serious illness.

Even though he was up into his 80's he would soldier through the low points and soon be feeling well enough to ride his scooter through the grocery and to join in at family gatherings.

He was interested in a wide range of subjects. He enjoyed traveling and could remember details from places on his many trips. 

He liked dachshunds.

Uncle George had several collections...shot glasses, brass geese, key chains and more.

He enjoyed wood working and made many display shelves, benches and decorative figures.  

George on the tractor in the photo below and my Dad, Fred, standing.

He will be missed by our family. We admire him for his strength and determination during his illness. We appreciate his thoughtfulness.

At his funeral service his casket was  draped with a quilt I made for him a few years back.  Sort of sad to me but very special as well.

Uncle George, Rest in Peace.

Snow day

 Snow this morning and the forecast today is for a wintery mix.

Kind of early for it to snow here.  My red maple is still holding on to it's leaves.

So it's a good day to relax and get cozy inside.  I stayed in my flannel pants and baked a pan of frozen sweet potato fries.

Puss was excited about that. She likes them too...just a couple of small bites.

Then I turned on the TV to watch a few Netflix episodes of the new season of "The Crown".  It's a favorite of mine.

Lazy day!

A bit of hideousness

 Not for the squeamish!

Shortly after turning out my bedside lamp to go to sleep, I heard the cat come into the room making a big commotion.

I turned the lamp back on and found she wanted me to share in her enjoyment of having caught a mouse!

She must have been working with it for awhile because she had to toss it in the air a few times to pounce on it again and again.

She brought it right beside the bed...

...and decided to chomp it down right there.

These are the parts she doesn’t like...

Can you imagine if I hadn't been awake but got up later and stepped on these leftovers with my bare feet. Shudder at the thought!

So, I had to get up and get paper towels and spray cleaner to take care of the mess.

What to do with the assorted organs?

I flushed them down the toilet.  Ugg!