It’s a wrap!

As of about three hours ago, the postage stamp WIP is now a flimsy!  Woo hoo!

I’m absolutely thrilled with the way it turned out.  Man oh man, I thought the piecing would never end but it was worth every hour spent on it.   It’s what I call my six bobbin quilt because that’s how many bobbins it took to complete the top.

Next step?  Call Donna to ask when I can drop it off so that she can work her longarm magic on it.

The quilt top measures 60” x 80”, a perfect size for the layered look which I just love as you can see here in the guest bedroom.

Recognize the quilt?

It’s one of the two cuddle quilts from Allie and her world-wide posse which you can read about here, just in case you missed it.

As soon as I finished piecing the quilt, the clean up of my studio began.  It went from this…

to this…

in about an hour.

And while I was tidying up, I hung a few more mini quilts on the walls.

Whew!  Everything is clean, neat and tidy once again…until I start on my next project which I’m hoping will be very soon. 

I had some veggies left over from our shopping expedition to the Wolfville farmer’s market last Saturday and decided to use them up for dinner tonight.

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A favorite of ours is my ‘Harvest Veggie Casserole’ and this is what it looks like before adding…

the bread crumb topping.

Here it is 40 minutes later, piping hot right out of the oven.

Mr. Painted Quilt has an early meeting tonight so we’ll be eating soon.  

Here’s the recipe, just in case you ♥ your veggies as much as we do.

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Harvest Veggie Casserole

3-4 C diced rutabaga  (fancy name for turnip)

2 C diced carrots

3-4 C diced potatoes

2-3 C squash  (I used butternut)

1 large onion, chopped

5 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 C milk

1 C grated cheddar cheese

1 C bread crumbs

Butter a 3 quart casserole or baking dish.

Place the diced rutabaga, carrots and squash in a large saucepan.  Cover with water.  Bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add diced potatoes and onion to the veggies, adding more water if needed to cover.  Simmer covered for 15-20 minutes or until veggies are tender.

Drain and allow veggies to cool slightly.

In a saucepan and over medium heat, melt 4 tbsp butter.  Add the flour and stir until well blended.  Stir in salt and pepper then gradually stir in the milk.  Cook stirring constantly until thickened.  Add cheese and stir until melted.

Combine sauce with the veggies and stir gently.  Turn into the prepared baking dish.

Melt 1 tbsp butter and toss with the breadcrumbs.  Sprinkle over the veggies.  Bake uncovered at 350 F for about 35-40 minutes until brown and bubbly.

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We’re having ours with fresh pork sausage links.  Yummo!

Saturday Market Day

Bright and early this morning, Mr. Painted Quilt, Mac and I headed sixty miles up the valley to to the Wolfville farmer’s market.  Sounds like a fair distance to drive to go shopping, huh?  Well let me tell you, it was well worth the trip.

Does it get any better than this?

All the veggies are locally grown in the Annapolis Valley and are certified organic.  Fresh red potatoes, tomatoes, butternut squash, rutabaga, red onions, mini bella mushrooms, sweet potato and brussel sprouts…yummo!

And what about the French olive baguette?  I can’t wait until dinner to dig into all this goodness.  We also picked up a jar of ‘Pepper Garlic Jelly’ from the Tangled Garden booth.  We were given some to sample on a cracker and it was to die for.  Our mouths were still tingling fifteen minutes later!

My postage stamp quilt is progressing.  Eighteen blocks are made…

with thirty more to go.  I’m really liking how it is coming together, especially the ‘scrappiness’.

I also have some news to share with you regarding the 2-strand Aurifil thread that I spoke to you about in my last post.

Laura, the Etsy shop owner, emailed me to say that since my post, she has run out of the red colored thread.  With any luck, she is hoping to receive more sometime next week.  The thread is called 12 wt Bright Redwork #2260.  

Unfortunately Etsy does not allow the product to be shown on the site unless it is in stock so you cannot see the actual red thread but you can see the other colors that are available in the line by clicking HERE.

Here’s a close up of the thread in orange.  If you click on the photo you can clearly see the physical make up of the thread.

Laura told me that because of the inconvenience, she is going to offer a 10% discount to those who read this and order the redwork thread once it is back in stock.  To qualify for the discount, you must enter the following code when checking out…codered10. 

Good deal, huh?

Staying Busy

While trying to keep my hands and mind busy between doctor appointments, I did manage some progress on my postage stamp quilt.

I completed the sub-cutting of the strips on Tuesday evening.  Whew!  My rotary cutter was smokin’.

Then yesterday morning I pieced together six of the forty-eight blocks that will make up this quilt.

I just love the colors in both these lines of fabric and am hoping to make a dent in the mountain of remaining strips today.  It is turning out to be not so daunting a task as I initially thought it was going to be.  Actually, I love piecing squares together, especially where precision is involved.

When making a cup of tea last evening, it occurred to me that I never shared with you these lovely gifts that were sent to me by Elzaan, all the way from Mauritius.  Both Mr. Painted Quilt and I like our tea so the two varieties of tea and mug rug were very much appreciated.   The sheep softie fit in quite nicely with the rest of my flock.

Thanks again, Elzaan and please forgive my oversight.  The tea was delicious!

Candace and I have enjoyed an on line friendship almost since I first started blogging close to three years ago.  Just recently she shared  with us her finished Winter Wonderland quilt which you can see and drool over here.

I love all of Crabapple Hill’s designs but this one really caught my eye when I first saw it a couple of years ago.  Redwork and pieced blocks…does it get any better than that?

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Well look what showed up in my mail box just the other day!  Not only did Candace send me the pattern but she also included some red and white fabric to get me started and the remnants of the two-strand Aurifil  thread that she used for the stitching part of her quilt.

I was fascinated by the thread so I had to try it out straight away.  Two strands of thread come off the spool together which eliminates the step of having to divide strands.  The weight and performance of the Aurifil is divine and...

It was L-O-V-E at first stitch! 

I immediately sent an email off to Candace to ask her about on line sources which she gladly shared with me.  

Laura at LC’s Cottage was a pleasure to deal with and my order should be winging it’s way to me as I write this.  Not only did I place an order for 2 spools of the redwork thread but I also purchased an additional two spools of the black…just in case there’s a blackwork design in the offing.  *wink*

Thanks again, my friend!

Treat yourself to an early Christmas present.  You won’t be disappointed!

P.S.  Is anyone else having a problem getting used to the changeover to Daylight Saving Time?  I am wide awake at 4 a.m.  Perhaps we should have a virtual stitching party?    *yawn*

Monday Musings

I know I said that I would focus on smaller or mini quilts for the next little while but yesterday, these two jelly rolls finally got the better of me.  I gave into temptation and started a full-sized postage stamp quilt.

Way back in March, I saw this post on Carol’s blog and ever since then, the quilting gremlins have been gnawing at my inner conscience, insisting that I make one too.

I couldn’t hold off any longer and yesterday, I pieced together sixteen strip sets, using every strip in both jelly rolls.  The two I used were “Summer’s End” by Kansas Troubles and “Primitive Muslin” by Primitive Gatherings.  Both compliment each other really well.

Tonight I’ll begin the sub-cutting which will probably take me forever…never mind the piecing!

To digress a little, not too long after I graduated from university, I took my first of many trips to Britain.  That was back in the Dark Ages when you could do Europe and the British Isles on $5 a day.  Remember that book?  It was my travel bible.

Having just graduated and not having too much money, I stayed at B & B’s and ate lunch in the local pubs.  It was then that I had my first taste of Cornish pasties and I can assure you, it was not my last.  I can taste the pub pasties now, washed down with a half lager.  Mmmmmmm.

The photo below shows how individual pasties are usually served.  I took the liberty of ‘borrowing’ this photo from the internet.

I used to make individual pasties but they took forever.   All the rolling and cutting of the pastry made it an all day affair.  One day I got the idea to make an entire pie rather than individual ones.

I haven’t made pastie pie in a long time and when Mr. Painted Quilt asked me to make one for dinner tonight, I thought I’d share the recipe with you.  It is ever so easy to make and I promise you that once you give it a taste, it’ll become a favorite in your household too.

First, I gathered all the ingredients.

While the ground beef was browning…

I chopped the onions,

potatoes

and carrots.

The ground beef was then drained.

Next, the carrots, onions and potatoes were sautéed in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil…just until the onions became translucent.

I then placed everything…including the remaining ingredients…into a large bowl…

and stirred until combined.

I then spooned the filling into two uncooked pie shells…

and covered each with the top crust.

I made two pies and froze one before cooking.  These are great to have on hand just in case friends drop over unexpectedly and you need something quick and easy for lunch or dinner. 

An hour later and it was done!   Tonight’s dinner will be Cornish pastie pie with a side salad.  Mmmmm, mmmmm good!

Here’s the recipe.  Easy-peasy and oh so yummy!

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Cornish Pastie Pie  (makes one pie)

1 lb. extra lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tin cream of mushroom soup

1 tsp ground sage

salt and pepper to taste

2 unbaked pie crusts

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Brown the ground beef in a skillet.  While the beef is cooking, prepare the carrots, onions and potatoes.  When cooked, drain the ground beef.

Sauté the vegetables in the olive oil for about five minutes or until the onions become translucent. 

Transfer  everything including all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl and stir until thoroughly combined.

Spoon the mixture into an unbaked pie crust then top with the second pie crust.  Prick some holes into the top crust with a fork to allow the steam to escape.  Bake at 350 F for one hour or until the pie crust is a golden brown.

Note: If you’d like to make two pies at the same time as I did, just double the ingredients.  Also, if you’d like to add more veggies, go right ahead.  I usually add more carrots and potatoes just because we both like them.  Some pasties that I’ve tasted had peas in them as well but I find that they tend to get a little mushy and prefer not to add them.

I’m off to make the salad now and dinner will be good to go.   Then it’s back to the studio to begin the sub-cutting of all the strips.  

I’m tired just thinking of it!

First Friday Freebie #22

Can you believe it’s November already?  Where does the time go?

I finished this month’s First Friday Freebie this past Sunday, a couple of minutes before the lights went out.  We were hit with a wicked nor’easter, the same storm that brought 12” and more of snow to the New  England states.  Thank goodness the moisture that we experienced was in the form of large amounts of driving rain and 65+ mph winds rather than snow.  We lost power for 20 hours and that amount of time without heat or lights seemed like an eternity.

With the Holiday season just around the corner, I decided upon a seasonal design for this month’s FFF which I called Homespun Holidays.

The table topper, mini quilt or wall hanging finishes at approximately 22” square.  It is stitched in the traditional redwork style and is hand quilted.   It worked up relatively quickly and I think that it would make a great gift for a special friend or relative.

Here’s a closer look at the main design which features a festively adorned Canada goose perched on a quilt on top of a mantel, surrounded by a wreath of holly and berries.

I had forgotten about this Victorian toile fabric that I purchased a couple of years ago until I looked in my bin marked “Christmas fabric” and found it neatly folded with the rest of my seasonal fabrics .   Doesn’t it make a perfect backing for this design?

To download the PDF file which includes the instructions, photo and line drawings, please click HERE. 

Thanks for stopping by and as always…

Happy stitching!