Block Project - Block 12 - Nelson's Victory

I finally was able to get to the sewing today.  Wednesday was crazy busy and yesterday I was suffering from a case of the blahs.  But today I made it back to work on the blocks.

I have been thinking a lot about how just one block doesn't really show the versatility of a block.  You can't tell if there are secondary patterns, etc.  So I have been kicking around the idea of making multiple blocks of each to see if any secondary pattern emerges when they are put together.  I had intended to do so on today's block, but I got distracted by another issue.

Today made me really appreciate the value of doing a test block.  I had picked out the colors for the block and thought I'd like them, but when the block is put together I can see that my 'medium' is really too light and kind of washed out.  I think for this block to shine there really needs to be a bit more contrast.

I really enjoy making the blocks because I feel like I'm learning so much as I move along.

Without further musing on my part, today's block is Nelson's Victory which is block number 6 on page 57 of Jinny Beyer's The quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns.  This block is 4 inch finished.

I did the half square triangles by using the method where you cut two squares, draw a line and sew on either side of it and cut them apart so the first picture has the half square triangles already made.

Jam Thumbprint cookies

My husband requested these.  They are pretty rustic, since I really did use my thumb to make the center for the jam.  He loved these cookies as a child and says these are better than he remembers them as a kid.  I had one and they are pretty tasty.  :)

I got the recipe off the web somewhere and it was very non specific about how much flour to use so I had to do some experimenting with the dough.  It also didn't have any salt, but I changed that and added some.

I really enjoy baking things he loves so I was glad these turned out well.

No block today

I worked for a bit to make one of the blocks today, but I needed to be able to get to some fabric that was under some heavy boxes.  My arm is still not problematic so instead of incurring my husband's wrath by hurting myself I decided to wait for his help to move it.

I'll post two blocks tomorrow!

In the meantime, I thought I'd leave you with a couple of pics...

These are the blocks I've made so far:

And here's the blocks I'm working on for a quilt for a friend.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My husband requested cookies as my next baking project, so last night I whipped up a quick batch of my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.  I've tried a variety of premium chocolates and I happen to like Guittard a lot.  My grocery store carries their Milk Chocolate and their Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips.

My husband likes Chocolate Chip Cookies made with Milk Chocolate chips and so that's what I used.

I really love baking.  I like to eat the stuff too, but more than anything I get an intense satisfaction out of people enjoying my baked goods.

Block Project - Block 11 - Lights and Shadows

I'm back on the block project now that I'm mostly healed up.  I did a couple of blocks before my surgery and didn't post them because the pictures were not very good.  As an aside, the baking pictures are all taken by my husband...you can tell who is the photographer in the family.  :)

I may post those at some point, but for now I'm going to start fresh.

The block is Lights and Shadows block number 5 on page 57 of Jinny Beyer's The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns.  The block is 4 inch finished.

Lemon cake

I'm really trying to bake several times a week and so I'm trying a lot of new recipes. I saw a recipe in Everyday Food. The recipe uses the entire lemon, which intrigued me, though I was somewhat skeptical of how it would turn out.

The finished cake looked fine, though it had a strange texture, almost like a cross between pudding and cake.

I don't know if that's the intended texture or if something went wrong with my baking.  But aside from that... there was an unpleasant bitter taste, presumably from the lemon rinds.  I'd really like to know if it was me or the recipe, but I definitely won't make this again.

Baking!

Yesterday I didn't quilt.  My arm is giving me fits still and I was worried about hurting it further, so I decided to bake my husband that coffee cake he's been wanting me to bake.

I have a tried and true recipe that I know he likes, but I enjoy experimenting.  A few months ago I bought the book Flour 

Everything I've made out of this book so far has been incredibly delicious and she had a recipe for coffee cake so I thought I'd give it a go....

This is how the cake turned out:

Notice that huge dent in the top. Here's a better shot:

The cake tastes great. I just have no idea what I possibly did that caused that cratering effect.

What happens next...

My machine is back from the hospital.  :)  I asked what had been wrong with it and the clerk taking my money said they hadn't written it down.  Since I don't know what the problem was, I certainly hope it got fixed..  I'm ready to dive in sewing again and see.

It seems such a long time since I was able to sew and I can tell my arm is still going to give me issues, but I'm really anxious to get back to my "block a day" and to sew some quilts.

When I started this blog it was going to only be about quilting and other blogs would be about the other things I wanted to talk about.  I don't know why I segmented things so much, perhaps because I sometimes feel my life is rather disjointed with parts that don't quite fit.  I'm an older woman married to a much younger man with an adult son.  I love my family, quilting, MMOs, reading, baking and our dogs.


I've decided that I'm no longer going to confine this blog to quilt stuff alone.  Especially since I'm writing it as a personal thing and not because I expect any readers.


This past weekend I wanted to get some fabric cut out for a quilt.  That didn't happen.  I ended up playing Rift on Saturday.. I think I'm going to do a whole separate post on video games and me.  I believe I'm the only 50ish woman who quilts and plays video games...

Today's goal is to get the fabric cut out for at least one quilt....