Favourite thing of late and cooking!

New Teacup!

Such an unorthodox tea cup but I love it and it keeps my tea HOT for up to four hours.  That is what it said on the package of two travelling cups! And it is true!  I make my tea and can sip it an hour later if I’ve forgotten about it and it is still hot!  It also keeps liquids cold for up to 12 hours.  It is the little things in life that count! Like hot tea!

I didn’t do any sewing today.  Instead I ran and made two batches of spaghetti sauce:

Mega spaghetti sauce

From this: (Note the extra large cooking circle on the right! Another favourite thing)

To this:

13 jars of spaghetti sauce and a lasagne

Now I am tired.  Just finished cleaning the kitchen and it is after nine ….I love to can!

Well, back to the grind tomorrow but I have a quilting guild meeting tomorrow night so maybe I will be in with inspiration!

January “Hospitality” of Debbie Mumm’s BOM finished

January - Hospitality

Here is the first block in the Debbie Mumm Christmas BOM that I am doing with my SIL.

PICTURE HEAVY OF PROCESS!

Here are some pictures of the process, for you Paula….

Sewn together

A tad off on the side but worked in the end....

Half done!

Make sure the seams are ironed in opposite directions...

Top and bottom sewin together

Cutting off the extra triangle

On the Design Wall

Each block has a name, and this one’s name is “Hospitality.”  An idea flew into my head in that I think that I am going to put the names of the blocks onto strips and intersperse them between each block….Since this a a year-long project, I get to think!   Block #1 done.  Paula, I will probably come back to edit the pictures.

Decisions, decisions, decisions

Finally, an update:

Can't go further

So, here is the state of my house quilt …I am statisfied with the stabilizing sewing….somewhat.  Every so often the top thread length would get larger, so there are a few places where the stitch lengths are uneven but I can live with that.  I tried to solve the problem so many times but to no avail. Maybe someone out there in quiltland has an idea of why when using the walking foot, all of a sudden, the stitch length gets larger, but only for one stitch!   The part that I can’t live with is that I tried for over a day and a half to get the proper tension! I would get it on my sample but never on my quilt…the top stitching was sometimes so small and I wasn’t going overly fast or overly slow….and the bottome looks so bad…the top stitches are too tight where the back stitches are so long and loose! Any ideas?  So, decisions, decisons.  The quilt has now become a UFO until I buy myself a new machine.  I’m looking into Pfaffs and hoping! I have had this Kenmore, bottom of the line machine for over 20 years now so I think that I can start looking for a machine that I can quilt with.  Does anyone want to weigh in the what kind of machine they have?

So, I am not quitting sewin, I can still piece and make quilt tops so …..

Starting January Block

First mistake…..I had to redo them…

See the mistake?

The mistake is that the colours must match up, the green with green and the yellow with yellow.  Mine did not, so back to the drawing board!

Oh! There is a new quilter on the block.  My SIL Paula who is doing this Christmas BOM with me.  Go and welcome her to quilty, craftyland!

Here is the weather today:

Hiding in the bird feeder

A cold bird?

Winter!

I really should have the lights taken down but it is just too cold….it is so windy today.  I think the trees are going to be lopsided forever!

Debbie Mumm Christmas blocks cut out!

Christmas block material cut out

I got carried away and cut out all the material for my Debbie Mumm Christmas BOM! All in strips and put into labeled baggies! So now I am ready to do block #1.

Let’s here it for plastic shoe boxes in different sizes…not too sure if I like the smaller rectangle one but it holds a project!

Plastic storage boxes

I’ve been using these and wisely too.  My sewing machine stuff in one (includes bobbins) and BOMs in one, ribbons in another and so on!  I am on the verge of purging my tin collection too since I have trouble remembering what is in the closed tin. I am definitely visual!

The BOM will have to wait because my house quilt is still on the machine:

In progress

Slowly but surely.  I hope that I can work on it during the week! BALANCE, BALANCE, BALANCE, BALANCE…my mantra, my chant!

So many ideas…..so little time….need to balance!

BALANCE!

Anyhow, it is my day off today and I have spent all morning correcting and inputting marks …and I still have some schoolwork to do! My quilt is beckoning me, it sitting right there on the machine bed, waiting for me to outline some more rectangles! I am sure that if the poor machine had arms it would pull me over the next time I walk by .

Last night I pulled out the material for my BOM Debbie Mumm’s Christmas Quilt:

Debbie Mumm BOM Christmas Quilt

I am using ALL material from my stash….seriously! I even have some backing material! Yay!

Here are my swatches:

Organized swatches

I know, so organized….actually, I am going to write the colour names too.  My next step in the organization process is to cut the fabric for the first block but at the same time, cut the three colours and organize bags of monthly blocks….I am on a roll! .

Now, I really have to make a tea, water is boiled and I really must sit in my chair and drink the tea while it is still hot and NOT multi-task, which I seem to be doing and ending up with cold tea! Recharge, regroup, just sit and drink the tea. Do you think I can do it? Is it possible?