I Like Thurs #166 and RSC Pink Update

Sorry to disappoint but there was no pink sewing this week. There just wasn't time for that. I did start thinking about how I wanted to quilt the pink top I finished last week but that's only been a thought process with nothing to show.

As for things that I've liked this week, Saturday I took a Zoom class with The Applique Society group. Our teacher was Tina Craig and she was wonderful. She is a master at English paper piecing and has a "Wonder Window" tutorial that gets you precise positioning of the motifs on your fabric. Here's the block I almost completed. I guess it's got a little pinky-coral in there!?!?!

I also finished up a wool table mat, sewing up lots of pennies. It's a pattern by Primitive Gatherings called Winter Penny Mat. I'd bought the kit a while ago. I like working with wool.

We had quite a lot of snow lately. I've enjoyed seeing some of the winter projects in our neighborhood. Gracie admired a lot of it too!

I happily worked on my seashells puzzle while the freezing temperatures persisted all week. It was finished up this week too! There's pink in there too!

With Valentine's Day less than a month away, I decided to get started decorating for the next holiday. The lacy hearts were made by my friend, Vickie, with her embroidery machine.

Kitchen Hearts

Dining Room Hearts & Table Runner

There has been a long-running cross-stitch project. It is SO TINY! I finally finished it up and it needs a good press.

I'll take another picture when it's in its proper setting.

I'm enjoying the Australian Open. It's been a bright spot on my TV watching. I sure do like the major tennis tournaments. "The Nightingale" by Krisitin Hannah is still getting my attention too. What a great book. I'm under 100 pages left and I imagine the pages will really start flipping by! Lol!

I'll see about getting to work on some RSC Pink this next week and report back in on whatever progress I make. Have a great week!

Linking up with LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color and also with Angela at SoScrappy.

Getting Into Pink?

During the first full week of Rainbow Scrap Challenge Pink, I thought I'd dig into my pineapple blocks and get that taken care of right away. I needed two more of these blocks and figured I make them pink since that was the color Angela called for. Ta! Da!

And while I was at it, I finished sewing up the third dark purple pineapple too!

Next, I grabbed my bin full of pink scraps and quickly set to cut the first couple of blocks for the GemTones SAL with American Patchwork & Quilting. I decided this would be a great time to break in my AccuQuilt cutter. If I never use it, I'll never learn it. I converted the pieces into die numbers, grabbed my cutter & dies, nabbed the pink scraps and a background, and set about to the task. In really not that long, I had a bag of cut pieces for two 16" blocks!

I guess I'll find out later this week if I cut
the first set of blocks correctly when I start sewing!

 
I did go downstairs with the intention of sewing the pieces together and seeing if I was going to be happy or disappointed with my pieces, but then I spied a very pink project that just needed three borders and then quilting. After two separate days of sewing, I got the first two borders on! Look at all that pink!

A Portion of Grandma's Stars

This is the project I started a couple of years ago at a Kinderhook Retreat. I'd cut out all my 12" blocks and also that of Vickie's with my AccuQuilt cutter. The fabric was bought while we were at our husband' military reunion a couple of years ago in Florida. Of course, I'm lagging because Vickie's quilt was completed a  long time ago. Lol!

On Monday, we got quite a bit of snow -- 8 or 9 inches. We were recovering from that when yesterday, Friday, we got a couple more inches of snow. Goodness! Enough is enough until we catch up a bit, please! Here are a couple of pictures taken Friday morning before our walk.

Cleared Space on the Pond Dueto the Fountain

Ready, Set, Go!

I hope you've all stayed warm if you happened to have been in the snow belt this past week. I wish a speedy recovery to the people of California. Those fires have been too much to fully comprehend.

If you'd like to see more pink, visit Angela's blog SoScrappy! Have a good week!

I Like Thurs #165

Thursday has made its way once again and time to share a few likes from the past week. It's always nice to visit all who share their posts HERE as it has a positive effect. Thanks goes to LeeAnna for keeping us together to put up these posts. There's usually some tidbit of information to glean from someone else's sharing ... like a good book or fun TV show and sometimes there's a recipe to try!

So, how about that snow we got out here in the Midwest??!! My town got 8 or 9". I give credit to our road crew who had us all plowed out in no time. Even us way back in the back of the subdivision on a cul-de-sac! Here's a peek at some of the snow after we'd shoveled for the umpteenth time!

Believe it or not we're expecting a few more inches tonight! I'd say "Let's Sew!" except I have to get Mom out for her podiatrist appointment today and then there's the usual Friday hair appointment.

The above pictures reminds me that I forgot to share my latest hand stitching project. I've been working with wool and wool pennies on a project by Lisa Bonjean of Primitive Gatherings. I love her STUFF!!! The project is called Winter Penny Mat and is a great portable project.

My Center is Done

Almost Done with the Pennies

Now that my Christmas company is gone and the weather turned to Winter Wonderland, I broke out a "warm" puzzle. Can't you just smell the beach?

Taken Sunday -- Good Start

Yesterday's Photo

Those large shell pieces make for some very wonky pieces next to them. It also makes things difficult to keep the puzzle square.

On TV we finished watching Season One of "Man on the Inside" with Ted Danson. He is definitely NOT one of my favorite actors, but he is very good in this Netflix comedy series. His "handler" is wonderful too but I don't recall her name. Supposedly there will be a Season Two released sometime this year.

I'm still enjoying "The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah. I know there are several of you out there that also love Kristin Hannan.

My beautiful amaryllis plant is in full bloom. My very sweet neighbor brought me another one this year for Christmas.

Taken Last Week
Small Bud on Right

Taken a Couple Days Ago
Bud has Stretched Tall & has Color
The Bud has Started Opening Now

I'll finish up this I Like post with a couple of recent family pics. After all, I like my family too. Well, most of my family and most of the time! LOL!!!

Sarah's Feelings on Shoveling Snow

Jacob has a Friend at Day Care

Mom Stepping Lively at P/T
That's Her Obstacle Course on the Left

And that wraps up another week of Likes from around here. Look around you and appreciate all the good things near you. It might just be a surprise how good life can be!

Finishing Up a Project & Looking Forward to a Pink January!

The new year brings about a new outlook for the new year. While I'll still be sewing with colorful scraps, I'm also looking forward to finishing up several UFOs this year. I am DETERMINED to bring several projects to the finished stage. I'm tired of the piles of "almost done"! I'll look through my things and come up with a list of UFOs that I would love to complete. I'll share the list in a later post.

Will I then not start any new projects? What a laugh! I just can't say "No!" to new projects. My LQS will be starting a mystery quilt-a-long this month and I'm already game. There's a quilt-a-long that started a few months ago in American Patchwork & Quilting magazine that I want to catch up with and continue on. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to convert and cut a lot of the pieces (maybe all) with my AccuQuilt. I'll also need to decide on a project for the 2025 Rainbow Scrap Challenge. January's color has been determined to be PINK and I'm anxious to finish up a pink quilt that I started at my last overnight retreat. Was that two years ago? My brain is swirling with ideas and Absolute Must-Finish Projects.

As the company left earlier this week, I did manage to finish up a set of Christmas placemats. I bought the panel with six designs and knew they would make pretty placemats. I only needed to dig through my stash for red/green/white fabrics and come up with a quilt design. Ta! Da! Here they are. Not perfect, but finished. I love them all! They'll be ready to use next Christmas.

Aren't they pretty? No pink scraps sewn yet but that'll come later this month. I'm looking forward to seeing the plans of my fellow Rainbow Scrap Challengers. Won't you join us in emptying your scrap bins? Check it all out right HERE.

Happy New Year! & I Like Thursday #164

2025 has arrived and we let the new year swim in with some shrimp. I made Crispy Orange Shrimp and served it with rice and roasted broccoli. We'll enjoy some split pea soup using the leftover Christmas vacation ham bone later this weekend when the weather goes frosty again. Snow is expected!

Besides my house returning to normal, I am enjoying a bit of peace & quiet. We're apparently expecting quite a bit of snow on Monday and bone-chilling temps the rest of the week. I'll be huddling down sprucing up the house and hopefully sewing up a storm.

I did finish the book "Afterwards" by Rosamund Lupton. It could have been a depressing book but it was written so well. There's also a mystery to solve which also kept the book moving right along. I definitely recommend this one.

Read about it HERE

Yesterday I started  "The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah. Even though I only managed about 15 pages last night, I can already tell I'm probably going to enjoy it. It's a WWII historical-fiction story taking place in France. Kristin writes beautifully. Enough said.

Read about it HERE

Since I was serving a crowd for Christmas morning brunch, I decided to make three very different breakfast caseroles. All three were delicious and everyone loved them. Of course we also critiqued each and I'll pass along our notes to you as well as the recipes.

1. Tex Mex Slow Cooker Breakfast by Spend with Pennies. I didn't cook it in the slow cooker. I checked my phone for swapping out in the oven (since my oven was already going to be on with the other casseroles). 350 degrees for 45-60 mins worked perfectly. I served it with salsa. Sarah said it would be even better with sour cream. We also thought it might be good if black beans and/or corn was added.
2. The Best French Toast Casserole by The Stay at Home Chef. This was probably the all-around favorite here. The only notes we added were to fill your pan 100% with the cubed French bread. We made it perfectly level. The directions said to be sure to saturate the bread with the custard. I actually stirred the bread to ensure this and it was perfect. I had some blueberries which I sprinkled over the top. Next time I might try tossing the berries among the bread cubes
3. The Best Breakfast Casserole by The Recipe Critic. Perfectly wonderful. We used all cheddar inspite of the ingredients calling for 1/2 cheddar, 1/2 pepper jack. There are some in our crowd who don't like spicy. It could have used a little more flavor, maybe use sharp or extra sharp cheddar next time. Also maybe shred some pepper jack and some cheddar to add on top for the last 15 minutes of cooking. Can there ever be enough cheese? Lol!

The last of the company have arrived home with the exception of my nephew who is in OK with his wife. He'll head back home this weekend to NM. I'll sign off here with a picture of my brother's dog, all propped up in the back of the van. His bed is laying across my mother's upside-down card table which is laying across the living room end tables. The dog has the best seat in the house! Lol!

I'll share my I Like Thursday post with the others on Not Afraid of Color. Happy New Year!

End of 2024 RSC ...

 ... As well as the beginning of 2025. You can probably tell by my lack of posting, things have been busy around our house. At least I've managed to read a couple of blogs here and there and saw that we will be starting the year with Pink! Thank you, Angela -- our fearless Rainbow Scrap Challenge leader, for giving us a heads up already.

The holidays here started on Dec. 18th with the arrival of our daughter and the two grandkitties. Two days later on the 20th was the arrival of my brother, my SIL, and their German Shepherd. Saturday, the 21st came our son with his wife & the two grandsons and then right behind them was our niece Kelli and her fiance Jack. Out of their car also jumped her Golden Retriver, Mac! My nephew & his wife flew in on Sunday. Whew! Lots of names for my mother to remember. Lol!

Not everyone was at our house at one time -- only one dinner actually -- but there were multiple meals where we had ten. We swapped Christmas gifts, we talked, we laughed, we remembered good times, we played games. Have you ever heard of the game Double Ditto? It's a great one for a crowd.

Here are some pictures I've got to share. NOTE: There are a lot so feel free to scroll down for a quilt picture.

Grampa with Jacob
Hase & GG watching

Kelli & Jack in the St. Louis Arch Car
Preparing to Go to the Top

The Gateway Arch with Busch Stadium in the Background

Kelli & Jack Enjoyed Ballpark Village

Jared Daring to Touch Polly

Grampa Showing Brody How to Ride His New Scooter

Karen & Me Posing for Our Picture
Gracie in Front

Mom, John III, Kelli, Jack, & John Jr
Mac in Front

Karen & Me

Sarah, Jack, Kelli, John III, & Katharine
Gracie in Front

Katharine & Karen Have Matching Shirts!
(DIL & MIL)

Pile On Katharine!

Grandkids & Mates with Mom

Sarah got me a Lego Poinsettia project. We assembled it together. Good thing since I'm not good at pictures for instructions (give me words!) and spatial relationship gives me fits!

We Finished Step One

Step Two Completed

Worked Out Step 3

Step 4 Had Us Blooming

And Done!

It's very sweet and makes a great centerpiece. I'll bag it up later for next year.

Polly Wondering About the Tree

Sarah left this morning from our house for Virginia. Kelli & Jack left from her other grandmother's house and are headed back to NC. Jared & family have spent the last few days at my DIL's house and are on their way back here right this minute. John III & his wife fly out of here tomorrow morning, Oklahoma City-bound. Jared & family will depart on Monday for their Maryland home and my brother & SIL will go home to NC too.

Quite a couple of weeks. No sewing done to mention. Of course, there was some handwork and don't forget my Lego Poinsettia! Right before Christmas, I did manage to mostly finish-up a couple of placemats. Well, poop! Guess I didn't take a picture. I'll catch up with those another time. I did get the final borders on this beauty though! Even managed a quick picture!

So that's been my story lately - very busy and it ain't over yet! Dinner for 7 tonight, breakfast & dinner for 9 tomorrow, and lastly dinner for 5 Monday night. Even though it's been great having everyone here & there and I know that family comes first, I'm looking forward to kicking back and petting my sewing machine! First thing I'm going to sew up will be the final pineapples and it looks like they'll be pink!

Sorry this ran on so long but I wanted to get it down for posterity. If you or family are traveling this time of year, I pray everyone gets where they need to go safely. Happy New Year!