2021 Five and Dime Quilt.

This is my oldest quilt waiting to be finished and yesterday was the day.

Laying out a quilt can be back breaking. I am lucky Mr. b is always willing to help me. I lay out the layers on a board in our garage and then begin pinning.

I tried to pick out fabrics that you would have found in a Five and Dime store in the 1950's. I love vintage. Today it is supposed to  reach 104 degrees so you can find me in my little sewing sweatshop in front of the air conditioner quilting this old/new quilt.

There may be banana bread for my coffee break. I have an oven in the basement that comes in handy on hot days.

Stay cool...b

Kombucha

 I have been brewing kombucha for weeks and today I poured my first bottles. Kombucha is a fermented tea that is good for just about everything that ails you. While we waited for mine to ferment we have been buying it in the store to drink.

I tried growing my own mother from a jar of tea. When I failed or just grew impatient I ordered one from Amazon. Who knew you could order a mother from Amazon right?

I didn't think Mr b. would be on board as it has a strong vinegar taste but he may like it more than I do. We each have a half cup of it first thing every morning. 

Once in the bottles they need a couple of days to carbonate.  I made these blueberry.

I am enjoying this experiment like the sourdough I maintain.

b

Are you crying?

 We pulled our camper to North Dakota for a week where we got to watch our two youngest granddaughters play ball. While we were having a discussion on sports I told them "There is no crying in baseball."

We really had fun with the movie lines from A League Of Their Own. Tom Hanks did a great job. "Zip it Doris!" may have been our favorite.

b

pink

 

This has been the most flowers my Weigela bush has ever had.

It is years and years old and has been a bit of a struggle for it but I'm glad we both hung in there.

I put my North Dakota rhubarb to good use yesterday.

And that's all the pink I have to show you today. I love pink don't you?

~b

Mark your spot

 We rolled away in our camper yesterday which meant packing books. Which led me to sew up a few bookmarks. They are a fun project using up nothing but scraps.

It's absolutely necessary to mark your spot with a cute bookmark when reading this summer.  b

Chop shop

                           Another beautiful hardwood cutting board made by dakota man.

I enjoyed painting the carrots on a small canvas...not to be cut up on the cutting board.

b

Dandelions...

 ...aren't just weeds. I made salve today with the dandelion heads I've had soaking in olive oil and marinating in the sun for three weeks.

Olive oil, beeswax, Shea butter and dandelion heads.

Benefits include moisturizing, lip balm, pain relief for sore and tired muscles or achy arthritic joints and healing minor wounds.

Or you can take those dandelions and make wine.

"A weed is but an unloved flower."

b

Easy salsa

I preserve a batch of salsa most falls but I have really been on a mission to find an easy salsa to make in my blender. I went at it again this week and finally found THE one for us.

I wanted it to as easy as I could get it. Open a few cans, minimal chopping and no cooking involved.

I will be able to whip this up in our camper which is a big plus.

As we waited in the check out lane at the grocery store I noticed the guy behind us had his cart full of salsa supplies also. We are all ready for some summer I think.    b

Mother's Day

 We took our camper out for a short stay over the weekend where I finished stitching up this flour sack towel.

My Mother's Day Sunday was so fine. After spending months in our camper over the winter a short trip seemed especially nice.

I needed hot dot dog buns today so a first for me I shaped some of these for them.

They were very easy and good.    

We watched two orioles in our bird bath today. It's a once a year stop over for them and we were lucky to observe them.          b

Sew many quilts

 Another quilt done. This one won't go on the pile but will get shipped out for a high school graduation gift.

                                                 Lucky girl right?       b

Spring chores

 It was a perfect day to hang a few quilts on the line before gathering up some dandelions to make a dandelion salve.

I put the dandelions in my dehydrator for an hour to dry them out before putting them in a jar with olive oil where they will marinate in the sun for a few weeks. I'll let you know how this project turns out.

b

Under the sea

I finished the binding on my mermaid quilt and it's ready to add to the quilt mountain.

It's a very sweet quilt with hours and hours spent working on it. They are all a labor of love for me.      b

Some like it hot

We bought three different dried peppers in Texas, hatch, ancho and chipotle to experiment with here at home. We ground up a few of each for our spice cupboard. 

Mr b has taught me to spice things up in the kitchen. He has a much higher tolerance for peppers than I do but we do chop a lot of jalapenos for cooking.

New on my bucket list is visiting Hatch, New Mexico during the hatch chilies growing season.   b

Sew what?

I'm always digging through my fabric scrap basket. I will take these hot pad holders out to our camper to replace some that are looking...well not as fun as these.😊

They are backed with some of Mr. b's old blue jeans. He's realizing nothing is safe when I'm sewing. I have two layers of quilt batting in between.  b

Skills

 I needed a quick project this weekend and also to brush up on my zipper pouch skills. Hundreds of these over the years and I still had to look up the instructions. Next up will be a large tote bag that I want to take on a trip.    b

Leaf it alone

  

I finished piecing this leaf quilt top this week. I spotted a mistake in it so I guess I'll give myself a few days to see if I get my seam ripper out or decide to just leaf it alone and enjoy it's imperfection.

 Dakota Man made this cutting board and as he does most of the chopping here it must be his. Anyways it's a beauty. And like my quilts it's from bits and pieces he has laying around his woodshop.    b

Finish line

 This week I have been planning the finish of two more quilt tops.

I was lucky enough to find two upcycled sheets in my mystery tote. The bottom sheet is one I thought I would never be able to use but I rather like it with all the different fabrics I used in the quilt top. I love using my scraps and then recycling the back piece. We really live in a disposable world. 

                                                                                     b

Just out of the oven and frosted...

Cinnamon twist loaf because the nearest bakery is 34 miles away.

eggs

I am so tired of the price of eggs...who ever thought we would be complaining 

about the price of eggs.

If there was ever a food item we could depend on for an economical meal it was eggs.

Our two youngest granddaughters were here and they requested tomato soup twice and yes I fed them tomato soup TWICE! That was just too easy.

And egg salad sandwiches are perfectly paired with tomato soup.

The grands asked for grilled cheese however.

And with chicken and eggs on my mind

 I finally got around to new potholders for myself.

 ~b

Magnolia Table

 Look what we ran into on our way out of Texas. We were just sitting there waiting for a repair when I looked up and spotted The Magnolia Table. So we took our chance with no reservation and got in for breakfast.

 This place lives up to its reputation. We left wondering why all places can't be this hospitable.

 I was sure to order something that I don't generally make...Farm Eggs Benedict. I may be making Hollandaise sauce soon however. I love a poached egg and the biscuits...well I bought one of Jo's cookbooks.

                 

                                                                                  b

Seaside

                                      You can't live seaside without making a key lime pie.

And then stitching up a sweet towel to match.

                                                                              b

Jam'n

 I like to pick fresh strawberries when we are down here but with the cooler weather they weren't ready. I found some nice looking organic ones in the HEB grocery store so I still got my jam on.

b