I Like Thursday: Improvements

Welcome to this week's linkup to Not Afraid of Color's I Like Thursday.

I like the unicorn fabric I found on Saturday.  Whimsical!  I just had to bring it home with me.

I am not fond of my morning burpees.  But I can't argue with the results:  I had my fastest swim time for a mile this week (32:41) - best in at least three years!  So I'll stick with them, thank you very much.

Never underestimate the power of some time with friends.  Enjoyed Game Day a lot.  (My friends seemed happy to see me, but it may have been Sour Cream Coffee Cake and Date Bars I brought.)

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I used to make this cake all the time.  Then I didn't for years.  I dug out the recipe last month when I needed to use up some sour cream.  The typewritten recipe I have is very terse, most of the method I had learned from watching my aunt.  I had forgotten a few of the tricks, like how to layer it in the bundt pan.  It looked funny, but was still delicious.

I made it again - just to make sure I remembered it all.  Maybe add a few more sentences to the instructions than:  Layer mixture/topping/mixture/topping in a 13x9" pan or bundt pan.  That way, if I don't make it for another five years, I'll still know what to do.

Looks much better this time.  Was a hit at Game Day.

I Went to Buy Just One Thing

Ryco had a sale for wide backing, so I went to buy one for my sister's quilt (the golden brown block at the top of the photo).  Ryco has a great selection of fat quarters, so I browsed through them for more backgrounds for the NYB blocks.  Of course I didn't stop there.  One always has to make a trip through the Bargain Hunter's Cove... and of course some of that fabric came with me.

I found seven fat quarters that looked like good possibilities for my sister's quilt (and if they don't, I like them anyway).  All of them are batiks, although that hadn't been my intent.  I was drawn to the pebbly grey fabric and a black flowery print - I seem to be on a black-and-white kick lately.  Then behold!  blue fabric with unicorns, maidens and castles.  It was in the fat quarter bargain bin - I had to come home with that!  Have no idea what I'll do with it, but it amuses me.

I Like Thursday: Sweet Remainders

I liked a lot of things in the last week. 

Did you see?  I have the fabric for my sister's quilt.  I'm discovering some of the pattern pieces are interchangeable, which is exciting - more variety with the patterns I have.  I misplaced one of the pattern pieces, but the rest are labeled and ready to go.

On the way home Fabric Place Basement I stopped by White's bakery for a belated Valentine's gift.  Note to self - don't go there at the end of the day.  Several trays were empty.  Still, I got some good stuff:  mousse cake, key lime tart and a peanut butter chocolate crunch cake.  It was delicious!  The mousse cake was tough to split; we each wanted the lion's share.

I Have Fabric!

Look at all the pretty colors!  My sister and I finally got our chance to go fabric shopping.  I was so nervous when I brought the bag of material home.  So many chances to screw up.  Eek!  But then I washed and ironed the new fabric and felt a little calmer.

I Like Thursday: Lovely Things

Happy Valentine's Day.  May you get to spend some time with someone you love.  Of course, some of your loved ones may not be humans.  Like some of mine.

I love Mabel and her moochie nose.  It's so hard to get a photo of her just chilling out, because as soon as I get near with the camera, she starts looking for treats.

Wedgwood, on the other hand, is much easier to capture all comfy and relaxed.

Pattern Adventure

My next big quilting project is a queen sized quilt for my sister.  She really liked these designs.  I bookmarked these patterns years ago (a NYB quilt has been on my bucket list for a while) which I plan to use for this quilt.  I'm still working out how big of a border.  My sister wants the design to really just be on the top of the quilt, which would mean a big fat border.  I think the circle patterns would look pretty draped over the edge, so I'm looking to do a border more in line with the designs on that link.

Ulla's New York Beauty patterns are for eight-inch blocks.  That many blocks on a queen sized quilt was a bit daunting.  Then my sister showed me the design she liked, I decided to enlarge the patters to be 12-inch blocks.  That was easier said than done.  The math was easy - enlarge the pattern by 150%.  After that I kept hitting problems.  Turns out my printer can't handle printing to a page that big.  Rob had access to a printer that could handle it, but then couldn't get any of the software to simply print a PDF file at 150%.  He did the heroic thing, pulled up all the pages in some software, resized each page to the correct size, and saved it all in one big PDF.  And then printed them (they fit on tabloid sized paper, if you're interested).  Yay!  I have printed patterns.

Selvedge Blocks

Now that I'm all done making selvedge triangles, I needed a new project for all the fabric ends I've kept.  I liked the design of this bright scrappy string quilt and thought it might work well with selvedges.

Two things:  I wanted to make 8-inch blocks and I didn't want to sew on a foundation.  Shiplapped was so heavy and bulky to work with because there was so much fabric in every block.  I decided to make a template for the center wedge and sew the strings to that.

I Like Thursday: A Smattering of Stuff

Welcome to this week's likes.  It's going to be over the place.

I have always been fascinated how people can pin their hair up with chopsticks.  I bought this pair of child-sized chopsticks years ago (possibly last century?).  I couldn't get them to work, so I split them up to use around the house.  Recently I found both pieces and gave them another try.  Hey!  It works! (mostly)

A Happy Recheck

We went back to the vet last Thursday for a recheck.  Good news all around.

First, I was excited to see Dr. Holmes.  It was her first day back after a leave of absence.  I was glad to see her.

Second, Mabel gained 100 grams in less than two weeks.  No stones detected - so hopefully she passed them.  We'll keep an eye on her in case they return.  In the meantime, she's back to her normal moochie self.

Third, Dr. Holmes saw Wedgwood for the first time since her surgery in August.  She was happy to see Wedg doing so well.  The tumor seems to have stopped growing.