Broccoli & Chicken Stir Fry

 Going out can & is nice with friends & family but I absolutely luv creating & sometimes making up recipes when I'm out of an ingredient lol I didn't have chicken broth today so water had to do😄 but with a little brown sugar, sesame seed oil,sweet balsamic vinaigrette, you have chicken broccoli stir fry! I steamed the broccoli,grilled the chicken,didn't have baking soda to make a thickener so I  added a  pinch of flour to reduce the sauce a little

Peppers & onions are from what I canned last spring ,it's basically a chow chow recipe but I don't care to chop it all up,I can everything whole & use them in different recipes,there's also cucumbers in the recipe & since this recipe has more of a sweet taste it's a eon ein because you don't have to make your bread & butter pickles separately lol

Not much happening in the sewing room today as I'm getting things gathered up for a crafting party this weekend , we're going to try our hand at a stitching journal & go from there 

All Caught Up on Tiny Patch Challenge

 All caught up on weeks 1 & 2 of the tiny nine patch challenge ,today starts week 3🤔 with all the basic colors,the lights& darks of those colors ,the hours of those colors , deciding on this weeks color to make up should be easy right?🤷but for now I'm glad I'm all caught up!

The birds have really been showing out in the back yard ,I think they know Spring is coming!

Sunday Inspiration

 

Introducing Peanut Butter

 why do we wait till we're "older to try some things? LoL smear peanut butter on a paper roll ,lather with bird seed,hang it up & they will come,so they say😄 well here I am 2 yrs sky of 70 & decided to give it a try 😄 I think the idea still needs tweaking as some of the birds wasn't sure about letting go of the tree beach 

Catching Up On A Rainy Day

 Another rainy day makes for a sewing kind of day

at least today it's not a treacherous downpour  like it has been these last few days,I pulled in a soft blue ,with over 480 plus blocks im sure they'll be more than a few ways to mix up each color as I go along lol 

I'll focus mainly on these little things over I to the weekend ,I have a beauty pageant to attend for my twin nieces, getting things together for  a slow stitching party & since it's so close to my B'day  the buffet will be b'day themed 😄 meanwhile the cutting table is getting stirred up with ideas to make something for me😁

Is your weekend off to a great start?

Tennie Tiny Madness Begins

 No more sew alongs, no more starting new quilts  or projects till all UFOs are done,does this sound familiar?🤔seems like I heard someone say that,oh wait that was me!🤣🤣 I joined the tiny nine patch sew along but slacked off getting started,teenie tiny what was I thinking!

I decided to give the tiny thing a try ,this is the 2nd week already so I'm like 19 behind🤣

week 1 & 2 were to make 10 nine patch blocks Monday will be week 3 so I've gotta get cracking ,they are tedious but actually kinda cute,by the end of the year there should be around 480 tiny blocks 🤷what was I thinking lol

we've had  3 days of pouring rain ,today I made taco soup with a different twist 

Ann's Quilt& Sweet Memories

 

I'm not sure of the name or if there is a name for this block as my Aunt Annibell made her own from time to time, she gifted me her quilting frame which would be over 100 yrs old now ," mean ole tornado"! she lived life to the fullest up to the sweet age of 99,she always told me that you have to stay active to stay young & that she did!

If anyone knows if there is a name for this block I'd luv to know!♥️ she made me a sample block which is now tattered but I think I can salvage measurements & come up with a new one

I actually have a few of her quilt tops that she gave me back when she was teaching me to quilt ,perhaps one day I'll quilt them but for now I luv them just as they are, I know she's shouting from the heavens Hallelujah Helen finally  quilted that quilt!😄

she made the blocks on her old threadel machine,I to this day an amazed at the thought of how that thing threaded a bobbin lol shed expect me bright & early to work on putting the blocks together,hot homemade biscuits on the table & a cake in the oven,she luved to baked & baked a fresh cake from scratch every day,family & friends stopped by frengthly to check on her & in doing so had to sit down to a slice of cake,by the ending of the day the last visitor got to take the remaining  cake home, she'd simply tell you that if you didn't it was going in the garbage cause she's making a new one in the morning 

this quilt is perfectly sized for a full sized bed ,Aunt Annibell whom we always called Ann was a true quilter,old school to say the least,she had no interest in new ways,new rulers etc in other words don't go telling her you can see long strips together & cut them into blocks "I tried"😄 & I got HELEN! do you want to learn how to quilt?lol if if calls for 1" you will cut & sew a 1" no fancy quilt cams on the machine if you wanted a design ,find a pretty leaf or cookie cutter ,trac around & stitch 

new ways & shortcuts are great but nothing beats those good ole old school ways ,after all our great grandmother's way back further than we can count didn't even have sewing machines which brings us to why so long ? after we got the blocks arranged ,she sewed them all together & we laid them out on her bed ,this is how she determined how many blocks she needed ,once the top was assembled with the batting & the backing,she told me to go home & quilt it & don't be putting it under that machine! 🤣 my stitches were uneven,messy to say the least I ripped more than I put in till I folded it up & put it away with the intent of quitting it when I can make a straight line,well it's about 10 years later & I pull it out & decide to just go for it! I agree with Ann I don't know why I waited so long because my stitches are just as hilarious as they were back then🤣

The quilt is made with 42  12" blocks 

measuring out to 73x84

a polyfill type batting

cream full size sheet for backing

don't go wasting good quilt fabric on backing! she'd tell you "I swaney! you could of made a quilt with that!🤣 Oh how I miss her! 

Little Things Warms The Heart

 For me it's the little things that matter more so than the big things,it has been a rainy day today so some good comfort food was needed

sisters stoneware pitcher holds sweet tea ,the cherry glass is a set she gifted me a few years before she passed away, there's a pitcher that matches that I like to use in the Spring & Summer months ,she had gave me two of the little white bowls,one met the fate of my wood grain floor,there's really no name for what's in the bowl, we just call it orzo🤣 sister tweaked from an old beef & orzo recipe to make it low carb friendly

ORZO 

1lb ground beef

cook & drain

add 1 cup orzo pasta

2 cups water

1 can Rotel

I use the original but if you like the extra kick go for the hot lol

Bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer ,stirring from time to time as it will cook quickly once done add a large spoon full of butter

This is especially good with good ole cornbread! 

It rained off & on most of the day & by the time the sun came out it started getting dark,it almost too dark to get a good photo shoot of Ann's quilt but I think I got  in some good ones ,so got some pictures done,got it measured ,just right for a full size no too big ,no too small but just right said Goldilocks 🤣

How often do we hear never say never? I said I'd not join any sew alongs till all UFO's are finished & focused on the ones I'm doing  * the Rainbow Scrap challenge , new color each month The Bamble Blooms quilt challenge,new block every 3 months but nooo I had to see teenie tiny 4 patch challenge 🤣

Getting back to the quilt 👀 be sure to stop in tomorrow & go down memory lane with me about Ann's quilt

Anns Quilt Update

 My Aunt Annibell taught me how to quilt old school back years ago ,more on that later ,there is no name for this block so I've always called it Anns Quilt in memory of her,but finally every strip,line nook & cranny has been hand stitched

coming up to the finish line ,sewing the binding down im using my walking foot,I found that placing the ironing board beside the table helps keep all the bulk of the quilt level 

Ann's quilt hold so much history & memories,I can't wait to share with you

Today is National  Polka Dot Day, are you wearing or making anything polkadottie today?

Sunday Inspiration

 

1 Block 2 Blocks 3 Blocks More

 Somewhere along the way ,a long ways back I had the urge  to make yellow scrappy blocks,the more I pulled them out the more I wanted to scrap them lo

Out of sight out of mind as they say ,I decided on the block for my 2024 RSC quilt,green is the color for January ,I made the  second block & I 'm thinking I'll just need 2 of each color but we'll see as the year progresses,now just waiting to see what the color for February will be

still having thoughts of  doing away with those yellow blocks,I remembered Angela always telling us don't throw any away they'll all magically coordinate in the end so since I had the green fabrics out I made a few green scrappy blocks

then it went a little further,I proceeded to make a block with each color theme

So now am I making 2 quilts? how'd this happen🤣it must be the mad block disease 🤣 my main focus will be the 12" blocks for my 2024 RSC quilt& so since they take (2) 6" blocks,(4) 3 1/2" blocks & (16) 2" blocks I suddenly feel the urge to cut out the whole year so to not run outta fabrics🤣

I found an orphan hot pad block in my scraps & decided to save it & add a binding

meanwhile blocks are in a safe place,I think I'm done with the block madness for now  lol

Our Alabama weather is crazy to say the least, the sun is shining but don't let that fool you, it's bitter cold! we're in for another freeze,then it'll jump up in the high 60's next week bringing rain ,if all goes well I hope to spend Saturday in the sewing room but no blocks!🤣

HAPPY SEWING!

Soup Makeover & Fry Bread

The other day I made cabbage & tomatoes soup with sauteed roasted onions,today I turned it into chicken stew 😄I cooked a few green limas & grilled a few chicken tenders on the little George like grill & was las! a new soup lol

I don't buy or eat a lot of bread but when I get a taste for it I just make up some fry bread,which is basically a fried biscuit,just make a little biscuits dough with flour butter & a little milk ,flatten out like a pancake & pan fry in a skillet had the eye up a little high ,they look burnt but they didn't taste burnt,we use to also call this poor man's bread🤣

temperatures are still below freezing ,a lot of roads are closed due to ice ,no sooner than input water out for the birds it freezes over,now that's cold! there was a Spotted Towhee at the feeder today,the resemble the Robin a lot ,at first glance I thought he was ,Robins ate not know to hang out at bird feeders,he is the first to come out for the New Year,I'm not sure when they started coming to the feeders last year,I'll have to check my journal notes 

earlier this morning I made 4 sets of 4 patches for another 12" block in the greens

I finished reading   the last book in Debbie Macombers  Rose Harbor series,there are 5 in this series 👀 now what to read lol 

for the remainder of the evening I hope to make a lot of progress on the camo print dress & cardigan & get Ann's quilt ready for a post reveal

First Block for 2024 RSC & A Little Snow

 These blocks measure out 12" hopefully I'll just need to make 2 each month but we'll see,there's just no way of getting away from the little when making blocks lol,all this to make one 12" block

But I like how the block turns out 

We've had a heavier frost before than the amount of snow we got,it looked like it was sprinkled onto the grass 🤣 but it did bring the birds out in all their glory,Grace  was on seed ,& water duty making sure they had plenty

Although we just got a dusting of snow the birds didn't disappoint,the temps dropped even lower spite the sun coming out making icicle's

Temps are supposed to drop as low as 10 tonight so tomorrow will probably be an icy messy very cold day💨 I didn't get a beautiful snow but there was still beauty in my day,stay warm & stay safe & if you're stuck at home,just sew! LoL