BLACK AND WHITE AND A LITTLE RED

 I started making this quilt on August 11, 2019.  I made six blocks and decided it was done.  I put it away and a few years later got it out and thought it should be bigger.  I made one more block, got bored with all those precious seams needing matching and put it away.

I ran across it again a few days ago and went back to work on it.  I made more blocks and now I think it really is done.  It's a quilt top, 54" x 72", and it only took one day short of seven years.  Maybe that should be it's name.  The Seven Year Quilt.  But then, really, it's still not a quilt.  It may be an Eight Year Quilt before I get it quilted.  We'll have to wait and see.

TOMATO JAM

 Darrell gives a lot of his sawdust to a gardener friend who sometimes brings us eggs from his hens.  Today he gave us some beautiful tomatoes, ripe and lucious.  I wanted to make some Tomato Jam, but needed a few more Romas to make a batch.  So, this morning we went to the West Seattle Farmers Market.  I bought some Romas, some Dill flower heads (for pickles later)  and some Rhubarb.

When we got home I started making the jam.  I peeled, chopped and cooked the tomatoes,  Then, along with some garlic and herbs, sugar and balsamic vinegar, cooked everything into jam. 

Then processed the half pint jars in a water bath.  Yield: 5

WINNOWING THE SCRAPS

 My scrap buckets, but only 10 out of the 12, are overflowing.  So, I decided yesterday to do something about that.  I sorted them into pieces that are strips, pieces that are small and can be cut into 2-1/2" squares, 3-1/2" squares and 5" squares.  The strips will be sorted by width and joined together, someday.  Today I finished them up.  

Yesterday, after sorting most of it.  It still needs to be pressed and cut to size.

Trimmings

After everything was sorted and cut to size, this is what is left.

This bucket is now under control.  Success!

ENCHANTED QUILTED

 This quilt was made with a charm pack of 42 5" squares called Enchanted.  So, this quilt has been named Enchanted.  Me and Erik quilted it today.  Erik was making problems for me again.  But, that was okay,  I'm getting pretty good and finding ways around his problems.  So, the quilt got quilted and it looks good.

FINISH #14

 I made some bias binding and got it sewn onto the Patricia quilt I quilted yesterday.

It is 36-1/2" by 45-1/2"

It's done.  It's Finish #14 for the year.

I really like it.  I might not donate it for a while.

NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS

I had nothing but problems quilting this quilt top.  The top was made in a Patricia Belyea Workshop years ago and has some Yukata cotton prints in it.  I ran across it in my UFO bucket a couple of days ago and thought it deserved to be a quilt.

I started out with a quilting pattern of a geometric type pattern.  I set it up on the longarm and started it.  It made the first part then went around the first part again, and then started on it again.  I stopped it.  What the heck.  It had went over the same lines repeatedly for no apparent reason.  And I didn't want it to do that across the whole quilt.  So,  stopped it and picked all that stitching out - which took a while.

I erased that program and picked another and set it up.  Then got the machine working.  This one was stitching out right, one time around to make the pattern.  But, when it got to the next section of the panto the program would stop and want me to pull up the threads so it could go on.  Those of you who longarm will know what I mean.  For the rest of you, that meant I had to stand there and push the button to get it to do each section.  So, I did.  It's a small quilt.

,

And I got it done.

GRAPEFRUIT MARMALADE

 I made some Red Grapefruit Marmalade today.  

Peel the rind off, leaving any pith (white parts) behind

Peel, peel, peel.

Chop, chop, chop.

Then (no photo) I extracted the inside fruit and juice, omitting anything white which will cause bitterness (this is a little difficult).  Added it to the cooking rind, added pectin and sugar and then boiled.

Boil, boil, boil.

Pour into jars, seal and put in waterbath to process.

Wait for it to cool.  5 half pints.

I can hardly wait to give it a try!