Yesterday's sewing was a mish-mash of finishing things up. Of course, nil was genuinely finished, but a few projects moved on to the side past times side seat on the playing board. Of course, nil is e'er accomplished inwards the sewing room without my trusty assistant.
My outset draw was to complete sewing together November's blocks for the Garden Sunshine quilt. First, the cherries,
too thence the pumpkin.
After that, I went direct to piece of employment on December's block.
There are withal 2 blocks left, which are supposed to live released inwards January. Something is bothering me close this layout though. (You exercise desire to know what's bothering me, don't you?) I was trying to discovery the paradigm of the whole quilt on Quilt Doodle Doodle's blog, but wasn't able to discovery it. You'll stimulate got to stimulate got my give-and-take for it that I've copied the in conclusion layout inwards the paradigm below.
But banking enterprise represent out that 2nd block from the correct inwards the bottom row, marked amongst a pinkish arrow. It bothers me that the tulip is lying on its side. What's upward amongst that? I'll acknowledge my tulips similar to autumn over when they grow inwards the spring, but at to the lowest degree their leafage is standing upright. There's an slowly ready for this. I took the block inwards the side past times side row up...marked amongst a blueish arrow...and rotated it ninety degrees thence that its geese were flight inwards the correct management too placed it where the tulip block is.
Then, I took the tulip block...
And took it apart at the middle seam, flipped the geese over thence they're flight inwards a dissimilar direction, too thence sewed it dorsum together. This took all of close 2 minutes.
And this is the layout I came upward with.
Now...isn't that better?
Okay, thence I was able to movement along too complete the in conclusion Tiny Tree block...this one:
The finishing instructions were a petty low-cal on the "instruction" part, but I got this all figured out too trimmed into a tree.
The torso was added last. Somehow I missed the memo that told me the torso block was supposed to live done inwards browns. Mine is going to live green. It's 1 of those trees amongst hairy pino needles on its legs. (And who doesn't appreciate hairy legs inwards winter?)
And thence I sewed the sides together. The background stuff was used equally the quilt dorsum on the Snow Globes quilt...still non finished...still waiting...many months from straight off it volition live finished...I swear on my grandmother's quilts I volition complete it someday.
Then, I sewed a greenish border or thence the whole thing. I neglected to stimulate got a picture, but actually, I remember Smitty took his house on it thence chop-chop I didn't stimulate got time. I'm disappointed that I managed to cutting off the corner tip on the left side there. After studying it too giving it some thought, I remember I tin hand notice ready it.
Now I'm considering the layout too how to comprise the embroidered twelve trees or thence The Outer Limits. There nosotros become again...I can't seem to escape the macabre this month. But it was getting tardily inwards the twenty-four hr menstruum past times then, too math was involved. As I've said many times...I'm equally good one-time for math, too thence I but walked away at that point. I'll larn dorsum to it too figure out what to exercise today.
It was fourth dimension to brand dinner, too I made this upward a twosome of hours ahead of fourth dimension to live heated inwards the oven later. This is an Easy Tex-Mex Shepherd's Pie. Despite the name, this is technically a "cottage pie." Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 "shepherd's pie" is made amongst lamb, piece a "cottage pie" is made amongst beef. This 1 is made amongst set down sirloin, too I've linked to the recipe dorsum there. It makes a lot, too I made but one-half the recipe. If you lot brand the whole thing, it's made too baked inwards a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. It was easily scaled to one-half (in other words, everything was easily divisible). I cooked it inwards a larger skillet to hand myself some elbow room, but thence I assembled it inwards an 8-inch shape atomic pose out 26 skillet. (I used a regular nonstick pan for the cooking portion.) When it came out of the oven, it looked similar this.
Now Mike is non a picky eater, but he is suspicious of anything new. And I brand traditional cottage pies equally a favorite dish of his. Cottage pies are a non bad way to operate leftover mashed potatoes, too when I brand mashed potatoes, I brand a pile thence that I tin hand notice plow the leftovers into cottage pies. And mashed potatoes...what tin hand notice I say? If there's a win-win inwards cooking, it has to live mashed potatoes. So anyway, traditional cottage pies are a near-perfect recipe (link dorsum at that topographic point a few lines), too thence he was suspicious when I tried to alter them upward to brand this Tex-Mex version. Nevertheless, this turned out to live delicious, too he gave it 2 thumbs up. Here's how it looks on the inside.
Aside from cutting the recipe inwards half, I made a twosome of other changes. I used 1 loving cup frozen corn inwards house of a one-half tin hand notice of canned corn. I but remember it tastes ameliorate too has a ameliorate texture than canned. Also, there's the half-can of beans. I used a loving cup from the whole can, too I'll salvage the residuum to brand breakfast burritos. Also, I used regular love apple tree salsa inwards house of the "pico de gallo." And, honestly, isn't "pico de gallo" but a snotty way of proverb "salsa"? Finally, I mixed the salsa verde, cilantro, too greenish onion into the mashed potatoes rather than adding it after baking. And instead of spraying the transcend amongst cooking spray, I sprinkled but a petty to a greater extent than cheese over the top. So yummy.
Today I'll larn dorsum to the trees, endeavor to ready the cut-off corner, too endeavor to figure out how to complete it off. Hopefully, my kitty pals volition live at that topographic point to add together their opinions. Next calendar week is going to larn really busy, too thence I'm going to savor this in conclusion calm twenty-four hr menstruum earlier the Christmas storm.