January Goals

Baby, It's COLD outside!!!!

Some of you will remember my little Bertie's Year January wall quilt which I did several years ago.  I made all 12 of them and change them out each month.  Thank you Bonnie Sullivan for such wonderful designs :*)  Poor little Bertie will go to any lengths to make friends, even with a snowman in the depths of winter!  Unlike Bertie, I am staying inside!  My grandson asked if I made a snowman out of the snowfall we got this morning, and I told him I never even stuck the tip of my nose out the door.  He laughed at that :*)

In these frigid temps, I think it is in our DNA to be thoughtful about survival and eating well to stay healthy.  One of my goals for 2017 is to learn to cook more healthy meals.  (Well, basically, to learn how to cook period LOL!!!). We are both at the age where many foods bother us for one reason or another.  My Guy especially suffers reactions to MSG, and there are few packaged or processed food items that don't contain it.  We've found it in foods we would never have suspected!  Most gravies of course, and anything with flavorings, extracts, enzymes, etc.  Even crackers, bread and last week a bag of shredded Parmesan cheese!  For New Year's Day, I challenged myself to try one of the recipes I've been collecting - Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie....

It was absolutely DELICIOUS!!!

Now that's what I call "comfort food"!!!!  And it didn't take a village to put it together either.  I diced some celery and onions, as well as the turkey, and then all I had to do was gather the other ingredients and have them ready to add when needed.  One of my favorite things about this dish is that it cooks in my cast iron skillet!

I used the leftover turkey I had frozen from Thanksgiving.  Although it was really, really good, the dark parts of the turkey kept it from being a perfect meal.  Next time I will use fresh chicken breasts instead.  We loved it and will definitely be making it again!  You can get the recipe HERE if you are interested in trying it out yourself :*)

This first week brought my first finish of 2017!

This is a Kismet Trinket Box, a Sara Lawson (Sew Sweetness) design, and although it was not an easy sew, it wasn't too terribly difficult either.  Anyone with at least intermediate bag sewing skills should be able to make one.  There are six sizes/shapes in the pattern - this one is the Large Square box.

I made this as a birthday gift for my friend Susie who is a real-live artist, so I had to chose fabric worthy of her, right?  Jane Sassaman fabrics can always be counted on to give that extra "wow" factor!  These are two that I picked up when Jane came to our guild last September.  I have to say, there are few things that make me happier than working with beautiful fabrics like these!!!  You can be sure that I plan to follow this one up with one of my own!  Here is a quick peek at the back as well ....

Today I cut all the pieces for Block #6 of the I Believe Sampler UFO project and they are ready to be pieced as soon as I hit the "Send" button here!  First I had to repair my "oops" from yesterday on Block #5 - I'm sure you'll all be relieved to know that the bottom left unit is now correctly oriented :*)

Getting this top pieced together and ready for quilting will be my One Monthly Goal project for January.  You can see lots of other UFO's in various stages of construction HERE at the amazing Elm Street Quilts!

And Bonnie Hunter revealed her En Provence mystery quilt on January 1!!!!!!

©Bonnie Hunter - En Provence

I'm looking forward to getting back to this project!  I was caught up through Clue #5....

But then it had to sit for the past week.  I've begun cutting the pieces for #6, and hope to have them sewn by the end of the weekend.  If I'm really diligent I should have Clue #7 cut and started as well.

I've only made half the number of units called for in Bonnie's clues - mainly because I wanted to be sure I liked the quilt enough to work that hard on it - Bonnie never designs easy quilts!  Now that I know I like the design enough to finish making the quilt, I have to make a decision about the size I want it to be.  I really don't need more large quilts, so I'll stick with my original intention of just making a large throw.  I'm only going to have enough units to make 8 blocks, so my plan is to make one more block and lay them out 3x3 for a 70"-ish square throw.  I think that'll work!!!

Rocky is pretty much worn to a frazzle with all the extra workload lately.  He's demanding extra naps and treats. With good help so hard to find, I'm pretty much caving in to his demands.  I just hope he doesn't ask for a raise because he already gets top dollar!

My guild UFO number was #11, which is for me to quilt my Soul Searching top.

I finished the top in September 2014 at Runaway Quilters Retreat.  I suppose it's about time to get 'er done!!!

PS - for some reason my email account stopped allowing me to send out replies to your comments yesterday!  I apologize for not letting you know in person how much I love hearing from you, and I promise to have My Guy working on it first thing tomorrow!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

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