Sister's Choice Quilts

Cooking Success and Failure, Cute Archie Picture

This is Archie in his dog bed at naptime. He likes to sleep on his back, and he has a favorite stuffed toy, a puppy, that he positions next to him. Notice he has placed the puppy on its back, just like he himself is relaxing. Sometimes he uses Puppy as a pillow, but typically he just has it in his bed with him to snuggle up with. He has loved this toy since Day One with us and sleeps with it always.

Eva is staying with us this week, and requested enchiladas when asked what dinners she might enjoy. I made chicken enchiladas with green sauce, which actually were quite good, if not somewhat labor intensive. I also made basmati rice, flavored with lime juice and cilantro, which I thought was very tasty and refreshing. It was a great accompaniment to a Mexican-themed meal.

My failure was the refried beans, which I made in my instant pot. My mistake was making them way too spicy. Too much chile powder I think. I used chile adobe powder, which was way hotter than the usual plain chili powder I typically use. I am going to try to make pinto beans in the instant pot again though. I soaked the beans for 8 hours ahead of time, drained them and cooked them for 20 minutes in 3 cups of seasoned water. Once they vented for 10-15 minutes, I mashed them and added chile powder and cilantro. Whew, it was way hotter than Eva's comfort zone. 

Using the instant pot to cook beans is easy and effective, and I will give it another try soon.

How about you? Do you make beans in your instant pot?

Back in the Saddle

I actually had a fairly productive day yesterday. Still blowing my nose a lot, but I feel like I have some energy again. I did some easy sewing. I made 14 more square in a square units for the border of my Apple Sauce quilt. I've got a good-sized pile completed so far. I must recover my ironing table with some fabric that makes a better background for photos!

I also made another Moda Blockheads block 3 block, which is the paper pieced one. I am making a table topper for my son from the first nine blocks in that project. 

I have a ridiculous photo to share with you that is sure to start your day off with a smile.

My husband heard that we are getting a lot of rain this winter, so he bought Archie a raincoat. Honestly, that dog is so good-natured he let us put it on him without much fuss. Can you imagine taking him out in that get up? He's going to get a lot of attention that is for sure. 

Seriously, Dad?

End of October Activities

Eva's school has been having some special Halloween-themed events, and this past Friday was a big one for 7th graders. They had a Halloween dance and dinner which seemed to be well attended. Eva and her friend Riley were Power Puff Girls, a thing that was popular in the 80's or 90's. I can't keep up. Anyway, I have no clue if anyone "got" their costumes, but Eva was representing a character called "Bubbles" from a cartoon popular back in the day. Whether or not anyone else knew what the heck she was, she was pleased with her interpretation.

Eva hung out with us for most of the weekend, and we made some epic cookies. Honestly, the next time you have a tea party, or just want to serve some stellar cookies, give these Earl Grey Tea Cakes a try. This recipe was a keeper for sure. They were excellent. My favorite was the lemon-glazed version.

And this boy...What can I say? Archie is the cutest for sure. We are trying to give him a bit more free time to roam about the main floor of the house, and he is definitely finding his way around. He gets into trouble if he isn't supervised every moment, but is learning the rules. It's a process.

I sure do hope you all had a marvelous weekend.

Archie Went to the Groomer

Archie went to the groomer on Tuesday. No hair cut, but he did get a bath, a brushing, and a nail trim. According to the groomer, he was a good boy. He is super fluffy right now and looks like a stuffed toy.

He is full of mischief, mostly jumping up on things and not listening to us. He is nowhere near as destructive as Ozzie was, but that is because we don't allow him much freedom in the house. As the weather becomes more inclement, that will have to change. He is a picky eater, and only barks when he hears the dog next door yapping. We've been going to puppy training classes once a week and he has learned a lot of commands. He does great with "sit" and "stay", and "wait". He still pulls on the leash, and when we are on our walks, he often will just stop in his tracks to stare at gardeners, people passing by, or anything else he is curious about. He is very high-energy and often goes crazy without much reason, running around the yard with the "zoomies". Everything is a game to him. The main behaviour I'd like to work on is his jumping up. Sometimes he comes at me like a wrecking ball and it takes me by surprise. 

I've been sewing my block quadrants for Sampler Spree together and now have 15 done. 10 more to go. Sewing four blocks together with lattice goes pretty quickly. The next step is to make another lattice in brown and cream that will separate the block quadrants and give them more separation. A lot of effort has gone into making this quilt!

Eva has had minimum days all week so we've seen a bit more of her. She goes back to her regular schedule next week with her after-school sports activities keeping her busy until 4:30 each day!

Hope your week got off to a good start. 

 

 

Post Labor Day Catch Up

For about half a day yesterday, I was in the sewing room and completed four more Sampler Spree blocks. I am especially happy with the navy lightning bolt block. I was delighted with how the points all came out!

I spent the long weekend with my sisters at our dad's house. We organized all the remaining decorative items in one room on bookshelves so the family can have one more go at choosing anything they might want. The remainder will all be donated. We also went through about 1,895,000 photos that my parents had in a large cabinet. That was a project.

We kept any decent photos of people. Our plan is to scan them and give a digital copy to everyone in the family. Do any of you have experience doing that? The majority of the photos were of landscapes of various trips our folks had taken. And they traveled a LOT. There was the African safari, the trip to the Arctic to see polar bears, and trips to France, England, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Korea. Omg, it was a lot. In the end, we just couldn't justify keeping those photos of all their trips. The photos represented important memories to our parents, but they were their memories, not ours, so we decided to let them go. All three of us felt kind of sick about it though. But no one has the room or interest to hang on to boxes of photos of someone else's vacation trips. 

Here is a little Archie update. We started puppy training classes last week, and since no one but us signed up, we are having private lessons! This week's big success was the "leave it" command, which has been working brilliantly. Not just for getting him to leave something nasty alone on our walks, but to get him to stop the puppy nipping. When he starts chomping on my bony wrists, I say "leave it", and good heavens, he stops! It's a miracle. Now for those bruises to heal up and fade!

In the photo of him above, he is napping in his crate. When he naps, he arranges all his stuffed toys around him in the crate. He uses them to cuddle with and as pillows. He is such a sweetheart. We got a good one I think.

 

The Good News Is, I'll Have More Time On My Hands

If you read my blog regularly, you may recall me mentioning that the company I work for has been using AI more and giving their freelance writers less work. Whelp, they pretty much pulled the plug on me last week. All my work assignments just disappeared from the company spreadsheet we use to see what our upcoming projects are. No phone call, no email. They just removed my work assignments. 

When I emailed my boss in a panic, she ominously replied "I'll call you in a moment". Which she did. It turns out the company won't be using us freelancers much in the future because they are "cutting back". And she said the cutbacks included her. Her last day is August 30. She's worked for and supported this company for 10 years, and made all of us who reported to her feel like we were a team.

She was great to work with. The company itself clearly has some issues regarding the way they treat their employees. They didn't even exactly "fire" me. They just took away my work and said there wouldn't be more. I feel very disrespected and unvalued. At least the new AI robots won't get hurt feelings like the real people they used to employ.

So, I will be broke but will have more time to sew, train my new puppy, read books, and blog regularly.

Speaking of said puppy, here are a couple of pictures. In the first photo, he was sleeping in his crate with his head on his own little stuffed puppy. He uses it as a pillow.

In the next shot, you can see the setup we have rigged in our foyer. It is a really large space, with room for a crate and puppy playpen. Archie is great about using it. He can keep an eye on us from that central spot, which he likes. We get him out about every two hours for a walk or a play session.

Besides feeling extremely sorry for myself this weekend, I did some sewing-related puttering. I brought out my Designer Mystery 2023 project to see where I was with it. I had finished the 12 monthly blocks and five of the alternate blocks. I have eight more alternate blocks to make in a log cabin design which is going to take some time. Here is my layout minus the missing blocks I have yet to make. 

I'll keep you posted on those log cabin blocks!

Hope you all had a better weekend than I did.

 

 

Archie at Almost Five Months and New Fabric

Time for an Archie update, and other updates as well. Archie will be five months old on August 13, and he has definitely become more civilized in the month he has been with us. But. He has a way to go. He is a cheerful, upbeat, clumsy, and super-friendly little guy. His main bad habit I'd like to change is the puppy biting. OMG, it is something else. Our arms look like we have been through a war. He's getting better. His biting is more gentle and he does stop when shouted at and threatened with "KENNEL!!". 

We've bought him every puppy toy on the market and what does he prefer? A stick. Any stick. He is overjoyed to find one on a walk or in the yard. It doesn't even need to be a natural stick. A random piece of lumber is just fine.

He's friendly and curious and wants to please. We adore him. So far, he is nowhere near as destructive as Ozzie was, but that is mainly because we have gotten a clue and are not allowing him free access to the whole house. He has a crate and a large pen, and lots of outings during the day. Gradually we will allow him more free time with us around the house.

An interesting thing about Archie is that he doesn't bark much. If he utters a peep, it is a "whisper bark" Just a quiet "Ruff" in a breathy undertone. That I think I can live with. Ozzie wasn't much of a barker, but when he did bark, it got our attention. Mostly his barking was directed at deer and the UPS guy.

He doesn't cry when he's in his pen, and we don't have any potty issues at all. So, all in all, the Archie saga is going pretty well.

Now for some recent fabric acquisitions and an upcoming Moda sew-along. 

Just look at this gorgeous collection. I bought "Rustic Gatherings" by Primitive Gatherings, thinking I would join a sew-along hosted by Lisa Bongean featuring the collection. Only I realized the sew-along "Triangle Gatherings" is a repeat of a sew-along she hosted a few years ago, which I did. Of course, I haven't had it quilted yet, and my flimsy is in a different fabric collection, but I decided I had no interest in doing it again. So I will save this gorgeous fat quarter bundle for some future project. It is pretty fabulous, don't you think?

Just look at this. Another Primitive Gatherings fat quarter bundle in a collection they call "Joyful Gatherings". Those reds are too beautiful. And I love the low-volume lights. What will I do with this group? Well, it turns out Moda is doing another BlockHeads sew along, starting in September. BlockHeads 5, if you can believe it. 

Here is a link to Anna Dineen, a pattern tester for Moda Blockheads 5. She has an Instagram account where she talks a bit about the upcoming MBH sew-along. There is also a FaceBook group. The sew-along starts Sept 6. The sew-along will be done in two "rounds". The first round, Sept. 6 through Nov. 15 is a smaller number of blocks that can be made into a small quilt. They are suggesting a Christmas theme. Going forward, in the second round, you can keep making blocks in those Christmas fabrics, or switch gears and do a larger quilt in the fabrics of your choice. The sew-along concludes in June 2024. And, if you aren't up for a year-long sew-along, just do the first round, make a small quilt, and have fun.

I think I will do all the blocks in the Christmas theme fabrics, Joyful Gatherings. I believe I read that the blocks will be in two sizes, 6" and 12" if I remember correctly. I have really enjoyed doing these long Moda BlockHeads projects and have learned a lot and improved my skills in the process. 

Well, that's a fabric investment right there! Whew. It's only money, right?

 

 

 

 

Why Can't I Get Anything Done?

Why can't I get anything done? Ahem. This naughty boy would be the reason. He actually is fairly mellow, compared to other dogs I have owned, but he is a puppy, and therefore, a handful. He demands a lot of attention, that is for sure. He is a total sweetheart, and we love him, but he has a lot to learn!

I have a Halloween block of the month I joined and I need to make up this month's blocks, so wish me luck. Love these fabrics, but have kind of lost focus on what the final project is.

Here are the backings for several quilts I need to send out to the quilters. I need to focus on that task too. I think I have four quilts that need quilting and it isn't serving me well to let them sit.

At any rate, my life right now seems to be in a loop of puppy care, grandchild care, and trying to get through each day with a dinner at the end of it.

Please forgive me if my content isn't as scintillating as I would like it to be!

I do seem to keep coming up with good dinners, in spite of everything else going on, and this quiche recipe was one we enjoyed a lot last night. Southwestern Bacon Quiche, with bacon, chiles, and pepper jack cheese. It looked just like the picture and tasted delicious. 

Hope to sign in later this week with some quilty content, but my life is 24/7 puppy training right now. Thank goodness, it seems like we got a good one!

 

 

 

 

Life with Archie So Far

Cuteness overload here. Archie is adjusting very well to living with us. His breeder is from Nevada and lives in an area where Parvo is a terrible problem, so he had been kept inside for the four months of his life until we got him. He had been trained to use a cat litter box, if you can believe it, and had never experienced so many things we take for granted. He is amazed by birds, cars going by, airplanes, plants, and open spaces.

His absolute favorite thing (outside of his new family) is experiencing grass, which was unknown to him until he came to us. He pitches himself into it with a running start, rolls around in it repeatedly, and acts like it is the best discovery ever. He also figured out that it is an excellent place to pee and poop (in the first 24 hours he was with us), which means the cat litter box and 50 pounds of cat litter we bought were a complete waste of money. My friend Sue has a cat and I am hoping she will take both off my hands. Honestly, what self-respecting puppy wants to use a litter box when he can go outside in his own backyard?

We bought a boatload of toys for him, and you know what his favorites are? Ice cubes we give him and sticks he finds on the grassy lawn.

He follows my husband and me everywhere, so we aren't too worried he will try to escape. He doesn't seem to want us out of his sight, which is fine. He is affectionate and knows "sit" and "stay" and "come" and his name. His first appointment with our veterinarian is this afternoon, so it will be interesting to see what she thinks of him.

We did purchase something called a "snuffle mat" for him. It consists of a mat with various textured objects attached to it, where you can hide dog treats or tiny bits of kibble for your pet to "snuffle" out. It is supposed to be a dog "puzzle toy" that keeps your pet mentally stimulated. He did seem to enjoy that when Eva and I put it out for him. Naturally, he found all the hidden treats in short order.

Now to teach him "leave it", "no biting", and "no". Omg, you should see my hands and arms. I look like I fell into a bramble bush from all the accidental bites, bruises, and scratches. Old skin is thin and bruises easily apparently.

We are having a blast with him although he is definitely a time commitment. Eva comes over every day and helps us by playing with him and trying to train him to have some basic manners. She has been just great to have around. He is so darn cute and their mutual attraction is apparent.

Wish me luck. During his naptime today I hope to get upstairs and work a bit on the Sunny Patches project Coriander Quilts is hosting.

Introducing.....Archie

We have a new puppy! This is Archie, a Wire Hair Terrier. He is four months old and is the sweetest little guy ever. I hope I don't jinx things by saying he seems to have a rather mellow personality! He has yet to bark or make a sound of any kind. We are taking things slowly, introducing him to things gradually. He has never been on grass until today, and the joy he exhibited when he stepped on it brought a smile to all our faces. He literally pitched himself onto the grass and rolled in it. Then he got the zoomies and careened all over the backyard grass.

He doesn't mind being in a crate.

But prefers it when Eva joins him. 

We are so happy getting to know him! You will be seeing a lot more of him here, that is for sure.