Bits and Bods

For the past 24 hours I have been nursing a migraine. I am on the other side of it now... otherwise I would NOT be looking at this bright computer screen!!! I spent much of last night and this morning lying in my bed in my dark tomb bedroom. Very rarely do I get physically sick with migraines. I might have done that twice in my life. Usually I get the flashing light on the side of my eye and the intense throbbing head pain, one of side of my face goes numb and I can actually say even my teeth hurt!!! I usually get 2-3 of these migraines a year. They don't come on by food or wine (although I have learned to stay away from Merlot wine for this reason). I can eat all the chocolate and cheese and coffee I want and not get a migraine. They just happen. I thank my Mum for inheriting her migraines. Mum and Trevor looked after Sweet William today while I nursed this migraine. It was such a nice and sunny day outside, and when I was up I had to wear sunglasses in the house as the light was waaaay too bright for my eyes. When I did get up to try a bit of lunch, I took my bagel and tea down to my sewing room where I kept all the lights off and closed the blind. It was just light enough down there for me to see what I was eating.

I am still a bit wonky and it usually takes me a couple days to get back to myself again, but I did feel I wanted to spend an hour or so in my sewing room tonight and feel a little bit productive. So, I managed to keep myself occupied and mind off the head by making all the rows for my green scrappy quilt. My goal is to at least finish the quilt top by month's end.



I also worked on this little embroidery darling that will be going into a little mug rug swap I am involved in. I did the embroidery work tonight while working on the green scrappy quilt rows. Tomorrow I will sew it into a mug rug.



Before the migraine started yesterday I was in the mood to try out a new cheesecake... So while Bambino was down for his morning nap I made this OMG yummy yummy Caramel Apple Cheesecake!!!!!!!!!!!





I loooooooove making cheesecakes!!!

Ohhh one more thing before before I head off to bed. Last week Mum shared with me this really funny news article she cut out of the newspaper for me. There is a small column in our local newspaper called "News of the Weird". Okay so before I get started and type it out, I just want to say I am glad to know there are others out there that are more crazy than I when it comes to making insane projects. Don't get me wrong there are many of us quilters out there that love to come up with crazy and insane quilting projects that require a TON of pieces of various sizes, shapes and colours. But I have to now say I don't feel so bad any more!!!

Okay, so here it goes.
"Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum is already home to an artist's rendition of da Vinci's "The Last Supper" made from burned toast, and now comes a version by Laura Bell of Roscommon, Mich.: da Vinci's masterpiece made with clothes-dryer lint. Bell said she did about 800 hours of laundry of various-coloured towels to obtain lint of the proper hues, and then worked 200 more hours to construct the 14-foot long, four-foot-high mural."

My question is this..... did she hand stitch all this lint down????? I also would hate to see her power bill for all that electricity she used up washing all those towels!!! LOL Something to ponder!!!

Quiltingly Yours
Andrea

Crumb Quilt Update and Other Stories

The Crumb quilt is now machine binded!!! woooo hoooooooooooo!!! All the left over threads on the back of the quilt are also now trimmed off and tucked away within the layers of the quilt. All that is left is to hand stitch down the other side of the binding and remove all the basting threads. I'm already coming up with ideas on the next big scrappy quilt I want to make!!!! I have a number of designs I want to do, I just need to narrow it down to the one I want to do first.

Tonight I did a bit of clean up and tidying up of my sewing room and work space. I need to make it look a bit more sane before picking up the next project I want to complete. I set about making a short list of projects I want to complete or get started on before the month is out. I also have 2 more birthday parties to attend from William's playgroup, plus organize his own for the end of the month. I can't believe my little boy will be 1 year old April 29th!!!!! It is amazing just how fast this past year went!!!

We took him to get his first hair cut at the barber shop on Thursday afternoon. Because he is so active and wiggly, I had to sit in the chair with him to get his hair done. God love the fella who did his hair. What patience!!!!


(Before shot. I miss those cute little wispy hairs... unfortunately they were getting down into his eyes.)





My little boy has lost that little baby hair look and looks like a real little boy now. The baby is starting to go... sigh.... sooo sad. Afterward, we went up to the shopping mall food court and celebrated his big haircut day with Tim Horton Timbit donuts!!!! Needless to say he enjoyed his first chocolate Timbit!!!

Tonight I got a little head start on Scrap Saturday. I managed to get the first two rows of blocks sewn together.



I will work on that quilt top again Saturday evening after William is gone to bed. My goal for this weekend is to get as much of that quilt top completed as I can.

While I worked away in my sewing room, I also warmed up my ole Embroidery machine and stitched out this little darling.



It has given me an idea of what I want to do for a mug rug swap I'm involved in this month. I need to have that little project completed and mailed out before the middle of the month. My days are getting numbered, so I better get my mojo going.

Well it is just after midnight, my tea is almost gone and I need to get some shut eye. William and I have a birthday party to go to in the afternoon. Before we go there, I need to run to a card shop to pick up a birthday card and then off to Fabricville as I want to get some more polar fleece to make a couple bunting bags for William. The two I have now are starting to get too small for him. I still don't want him to sleep with a blanket overnight as he moves so much from one end of his crib to the other. At least with these bunting bags, he is still keep cozy and warm and he doesn't get caught up in a blanket.

Good Night. I hope to post again Saturday evening to show you the results of my Scrap Saturday evening.

Quiltingly Yours
Andrea

Crumb Quilt Update

I am on a roll now with this quilt and I just want to get it completed!!! Last night I dug down into my scrap rubber maid container and found a bunch of fabrics I want to put into my binding. Since this is such a scrappy coloured quilt I want to make my binding multicoloured.

Here is the pile of fabrics I picked out.


The night was still young, so I got them pressed and cut out.


And not to end there, I decided to sew the pieces together. Tonight I will press the binding down properly and start sewing the binding onto the quilt.


ohh, btw, the other night (Sunday night) Mum and her good friend Theresa (who is also part of our Wednesday night sewing group) between the three of us we got all the remaining paper off the quilt!!!! Yippeeeee!!! That job would have taken me a few days of Baby nap times to get that paper off. We finished the paper removal in just under an hour!

Today, with the help of Mum who will be spending some Baby/Nana time with her little boy, I will play a bit of catch up on my housework including cleaning out my deep freeze. I need to take a little inventory of what I have and what I need to get. I want to start getting some casseroles made up and get my freezer set up for the Spring/Summer season. There are days during the summer when you just don't feel like cooking much and it is much easier to just take something out of the freezer and reheat something up. I'm also hoping to make a Taffy Apple Cheesecake at some point before the week end.!!!

So on that note, with breakfast finished and my tea almost gone, I am off to start some laundry. Fun day!!!! Sigh.. I would rather be sewing!!

Quiltingly Yours
Andrea

Crumb Quilt QUILTED!!!

Wooooo hooooooooooo!!! The Quilting is FINALLY done!!! Now the fun job of removing lots and lots of paper!!!!





I decided since this is going to be a very dull and boring job, I will need to do it in short stages. So, saying that, I will work on it while William takes his morning/afternoon nap. These days he sleeps from 1-2 hours during this nap and then he is good til bedtime. That way, I can do it in stages and I won't feel like all I'm ever doing is removing paper!! LOL

I also decided since April is Purple for the Rainbow Stash Challenge, I will be taking this month as a semi month off. I have a few things I need to play some serious catch up on with some of my sewing projects. Not to mention William and I have at least 4 more birthday parties from our playgroup to attend this month as well as plan his own 1st birthday at the end of the month!!! I want to scrapbook his invitations. I also want to try and finish up another recipe binder. I started my pasta/rice/fish binder but didn't complete it.

But if time does permit, I did pull out a little Purple UFO I had stashed away for several years in my UFO cabinet. It was a Row by Row Robin I did back in the late 90s when I was living in Nova Scotia. I'm not a big fan of purples, so I will make this quilt up and donate it to the Iris Kirby House along with the other quilts I am making for this organization this year. By doing this I am making the effort to tackle a UFO as well as donating it to my charity organization. I will post a photo of these rows at another date. Right now they are still sitting all folded up nicely in a clear bag.

I will still be watching and participating a little on the sidelines this month. I will still be watching and getting inspired by all the rest of my Rainbow Stash Challenge blogging friends. I also still have to get quilting on the red month quilt, as well as, get the green quilt top together. So I definetely need to take this month to play a little catch up before starting up another Rainbow Stash quilt for next month.

Well I'm off to bed. William and I have a birthday party to attend tomorrow afternoon, and I also am seriously thinking of trying out a new cheesecake. Every now and then I get the craving to make a new cheesecake. I LOOOOVE making cheesecakes. I think the one I have my eye on this time is a Taffy Apple Cheesecake!!! mmmmmmmm


William has decided to claim poor Alexi's bed. I suppose if Alexi is not using it, its fair game!

Quiltingly Yours
Andrea

Just A Short Note

I will try and post more again tonight. I had a few more tests done (medically) this week so have been off my groove. When I'm not tired I am back in my sewing room working away on my Crumb Quilt. I am hoping by the end of the night to have the last two sides of the final border quilted!!! I will only have to remove the rest of the paper, take out the basting threads, then start the binding process. I'm sooooo excited!!!! This was a project I started a few years ago. I was never in any big hurry to finish it as I was still not living in the house I am in now but sharing a small condo with Trevor. Now that we have a much bigger house and I have more room to leave my projects out and about I am working more at getting this project from a UFO, to a WIP to a COMPLETE!!!! My goal for April is to have this quilt finished!

Anyway, again I just wanted to drop a little note here. I will post more again tonight along with some recent photos.

Quiltingly Yours
Andrea

Bit of Sewing.. Bit of Food

I promised a few days ago that I would post some recipes, but a few things came up and I just never got the chance to get back to my computer. In fact I haven't touched my computer in a few days... OMG!!!!!! no Internet in DAYS!!!!!!!! No blogging in DAYS!!!!!!!!!!! Not reading up on my peeps BLOGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sigh....................... I've missed you all!!!!!

So here are the recipes and a little photo of the Salmon and the Orzo I made.



Salmon Fillets with Creamy Dill (Serving of 4)... (I downsized the recipe for only two fillets)

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup prepared mustard
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chopped fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
2 tsp dried dill, or to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C)

In a bowl, stir together mayonnaise and mustard. Stir in the thyme, oregano, and basil. Place salmon fillets on a baking sheet, and spread with the mayonnaise mixture. Sprinkle with dill weed.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the salmon is easily flaked with a fork.

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

2 Tbsp butter
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
pepper to taste

Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in orzo and saute until lightly browned.

Stir in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.

Mix in parmesan cheese and basil. Season with pepper to taste. Serve.

ENJOY!!!


One of my favourite online recipe websites is www.allrecipes.com. I found both of these recipes at this site.

During the last few days and weekend, I did get to do a bit of sewing. I think I mentioned that I have all my green blocks made. I put them into rows to make up the quilt top the other night, but it wasn't until after I had them set up into rows and then off the floor did I remember I should have taken a photo!!!!! I'm not sure how much sewing I will get to do on this quilt this weekend as William and I have TWO birthday parties to go to. Most of our playgroup friends have birthdays in April. It is going to be a busy month!!!! Hopefully in the evenings when William is put to bed for the night, I will try to sew the rows to the green quilt together.

I did finish the two bunting bags I mentioned the other I made for my friend's baby shower. Now that she has been given the gift, I can now post them here for you to see what I did.






(I now need to make a couple bigger sized ones for William. I will embroider frogs on his as he loves frogs)!

I also decided to take out my crumb quilt to get a start on the first border. I have one side of the first border completed. I will probably work on this quilt for the next few evenings as I really want to see this quilt quilted.









OOOH and one more thing!!!! I treated myself to a brand new cell phone! I got the HTC Android Desire and oooooooooooooooooooooh its pretty!!!!!!!!!



I haven't had the phone 24 hours yet, so I am still learning to use all its features. However, the guy at the cell phone kiosk who sold me the phone did a very very bad thing. He told me about this application called "Angry Birds"... He NEVER EVER should have told me that!!! I'm now addicted to slingshotting birds across the sky to knock now glass and wood and bricks to knock out ugly green snorting pig faces..... sigh............... I was playing it from 11pm - 12:30am last night!!!!! Oohhhh dear what have I got myself into.. well on a positive note, it will make the wait times at doctor's offices or other places easier to pass the time!!!! LOL

If the Angry Birds don't keep me awake at night too long, or take over my sewing I'll be okay. And hopefully those Angry Birds won't keep me too long from posting again lol

Quiltingly Yours
Andrea

Little bit of Show and Tell

In between sick moments and mourning a sweet uncle, I have been keeping myself occupied with some stitching.

Here is a photo shot of the progress I did make on my green scrappy blocks this week. Earlier this week I took my blocks up to the kitchen counter and pressed and pinned







while William kept himself busy going through my plastics.



I managed to finish making my blocks and William was satisfied with making sure every plastic container was out of the cupboard and onto the floor. Later that afternoon he found the drawer I keep all my placemats, hot pads and oven mitts!!!! Sigh..... ooh well he was happy.



I never took a photo of it yet, but I did complete the hand binding on my second coffee themed mug mat I made myself. It was part of the pile of hand binding that I have lined up to do!

Tonight, I finished making a baby shower gift for a friend of mine who is expecting twin boys in May. I want to wait until she is given the gift before I post the photo just in case she peeks on my blog (which she says she does from time to time). I loved how it turned out so much that I will be making a couple for William too. I did some really cute embroidery work on them too. Funny whimsical dragons!!!!

I also made an old classic dish for supper tonight. I made creamy herbed dill salmon with a Basil/Parmesan cheese orzo. I haven't made orzo in ages and just felt in the mood for it. I will post those recipes in the morning while William is playing. Once again I am sitting up in bed typing out this blog. And well it will be hard to balance a recipe binder on the bed while there is a sleeping dog by my side lol!!!!

Well its off to bed for me as it is heading towards the 1am mark.. Yawwwwwwwnnnnn I'm tired too. Both William and I had a rough night last night, so hoping we both have better zzzzzzzzzz tonight.

Quiltingly Yours
Andrea