Thursday check-in

Yeow is it hot out there! My thermometer hit 100 at one point but may have been about 4 degrees according to my ABC3340 weather app but still, what's a degree or so at that point? Currently it says the humidity is 88% and the dew point is 73% at 77 degrees. I am sure that heat indices are up there.

I DID walk this morning but as early as I could get out there. It was not too bad as the sun was hiding behind the clouds till the last laps. I laid off Monday as I had breakfast out scheduled and a boatload of laundry and errands to do. I also did not go Tuesday or Wednesday but I had read on Facebook Monday evening that the local Fire Department was doing a controlled burn of the old Senior Center building on the park property. They expected this burn to go on through the night so I stayed away. I have a problem with smoke! It was still smoldering on Wednesday when I went by so I passed again, settling for a couple trips in the lane.   This morning there was just littlest waft of smoke but the breeze was not blowing either.  The concrete blocks are all that remain of the building and I assume those will be bull-dozed down at some point.

In spite of the heat I did a little baking yesterday afternoon as Glynda had given me a large zucchini. I am nuts!!  I figured I would at least peel, seed and grate it up to see how many cups it yielded and could always freeze it to use later. I had enough for two batches of Mom's Zucchini Bread but only made two loaves of it.  If you should try the recipe, it makes a very stiff batter or mine did anyway.  I should have used my Kitchen Aid rather than the hand mixer.  Instead I added most of a individual container of unsweetened applesauce to the recipe and next time I'll use some grated apple too.  Since I had just grated up the zuke, I think that it had not had a chance to pull the liquid off and that may have accounted for less fluid in the mixture.  BUT often recipes will tell you to salt it, let stand, drain and rinse it off.  This doesn't mention any of that step.   I shared half of one loaf with Miss Kathryn (and Paul who was over for supper) and took the other half to Glynda and Robert.  The other one is sliced up and quick frozen.

While I was hunting through the notebooks for the recipe print-off, something happened which saddens me.  Oscar was whining and scratching at the front door, a little agitated.  I saw Kit Kit, the neighborhood cat was out there so I figured that was all it was.  He persisted.  Then I spotted what was wrong.  She had moved to a different spot but was obviously in distress and not moving.  The poor thing was drawing her last breaths and not a darned thing could be done for her.  I called Robert since I knew he would have to bury her with Mooch and the other departed dogs in the back acreage.  Miss Kathryn was just getting home from an appointment and I called her next.  The cat had been fine that morning at feeding time and it was just a regular day for her.   Kit Kit was definitely an outdoor cat but Miss Kathryn fed her primarily and she was in and out of her home.  Glynda, Robert and I guessed that perhaps a snake had gotten her or she had gotten into some poison as she was a confirmed bird, mouser, frog chaser/kudzu patrol kitty.  Later I ran into Glynda and Robert at the grocery store and she said their nephew who lives behind Miss Kathryn had hit Kit Kit with his truck (he thought) as she darted under it running away from a dog in the subdivision near us.  The accident could have happened to any of us since she often was under vehicles in the shade and was not afraid of anything.  Meet you, Pippi and Tyson Tubbs and all those good dogs at the Rainbow Bridge, Kit Kit.  She was feisty but a good cat who showed up, pregnant, back in April, May 2014.  We three paid to have her spayed and Glynda found homes for the babies.    I hate that this happened!

Well, on to other things.  While I have plans to do some closet purging in the near term, I'm going to pass on that for the time being.   Yesterday I was looking into some quilt ideas that take some pieced bands.  The quilt group and I are going to have a sew day with a potluck next week.  I've got a pile of used color catchers to use for a base if I chose so.  Railroad Crossing springs to mind as does two quilts from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company called Ashcombe and Grandmother's Scrap Bag.  I see a few of these images on Pinterest but it does not look like the link is active for Carrie Nelson's website.

Another possibility for 2 or 2 1/2 inch strips is a re-sized version of Ann Pahl's Four Patch Pinwheel.  Lois has done one of these and it makes a cool scrappy quilt and would not have to be on point.   Pineapple Blossom would work too.

 
I'm dithering, LOL.  I found that bolt of muslin from Jane in the closet and had I narrowed down what I personally want to do, I would cut some squares for us to use next week.   Leaning most to RR Crossing so that means just plain setting squares.  That quilt I started hand quilting is around here somewhere that I could pull for an example.  HMMM which closet??

I appreciate Jennifer labeling the bags as to how much batting is left after quilting my two quilts.  She also had provided a huge TJ Maxx bag to hold the quilts and I assume put the next one in there for her.  I started to say "that's not my bag but the other one is" when she told me what she does.  Later when I unpacked all the batting bits from the car and the bags I discovered the notations.  Good idea!

Here are the two tops.  Yeah, they look a bit blend-y laid out on the bed but part of that is because they both use the same Corey Yoder Prairie for Moda.  I have Jelly Rolls of the same stuff to make another--that neat Firecrackers Quilt from Fat Quarter Shop.  I love this line--can you tell?  Jennifer paid me a compliment when she said how nice it was to have square and well made tops to work with as I guess she has been working on some of those older, found tops.  I love the loose stipple on both of these as that is exactly what I wanted done with them though I had left the quilting up to her knowing that she prefers not to use pantos.

Since I am still a bit dampish around the edges from walking, I had swapped out the sewing machines and set the tables up so I can put the binding on.  It has been awhile since I've quilted/bound anything in spite of all the recently pinned tops and more to BE pinned.  Try May 2015 when I finished up that commissioned 100 Good Wishes Quilt.  I've always enjoyed piecing for more than quilting, though I love to hand quilt but I have quilted a ton of donation quilts since back in 2000.  Life changed and I can't stay in that sewing room for hours anymore.  I am probably going to have to close the door to keep Skyler off the quilts as I work and hope Oscar behaves himself in the meantime.   I'll have a hand project for the evening group and can leave the machine out of the car a bit longer, LOL.

and sew it goes...............