Decisions...Decisions...Decisions...

 Sometime I hate having to make decisions.  Up at the top of the list is choosing what color of floss to use.  That is what I spent a lot of the last week doing...matching DMC floss.

The first thing that I had to match DMC floss for was the flowers on a piece of sample upholstery fabric that was sent to me.  After careful consideration, I think  this will be my color palette--more or less.

It has taken me most of the week just to get this little bit of stitching done.  I have ripped out, or frogged as some call it, the stitching 2 out of 3 times.  Still I will stick to these colors and stitches so far.  I was going to work on another section of the flower but I'm on the second round of taking out the stitches.  We'll see how it goes.  :)

In addition to doing that, I am working on my September block for the swap I'm in.

After going through a ton of colors, I think I've settled on these.  

The leaves have already been stitched down.  now it is time for the vase and flowers.  The background on the flower fabric is a very light purple (almost pink) with red flowers.

That's not all of the projects I've picked up and put down this week.  Today was the day when the next block for the Blackwork came out.  I didn't work on it today but I'll work on it in the next day or two.  I have a week before the next section is put out so I know that I can get this block done before then.

I also received Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornaments magazine today so after I finish posting this I will sit down to relax with some caffeine  and/or water and read a bit.  

Oh, before I forget...I cut out the batting for my blue table runner.  Now I have to figure out what fabric to use as the backing.  Once I get that figured out, I'll have to figure out whether or not if I'll machine quilt it or to do it by hand.  It will just be straight lines so it will be simple quilting.

I also pulled out my hexie storage box and pulled out some hexies that were only partially put together.  Here is a sample of them.  I will need to make more and sooner or later will have to sew them together.

I'm sure I might be missing something else to report but I will catch up next time.  I'll end this post with a cute picture.\

Doesn't that little elephant look so happy?  It was a picture from a little elephant who had been allowed in the swimming pool at one of the zoos for the first time.

So be like the little elephant.  Enjoy life and take pleasure in the simple things in life.

This week's crafting and more...

 What a week!  

       I made progress on my blackwork.  I'm all caught up but tomorrow a new block comes out.  I will be ready for it.  I didn't think that this week's block was hard but I still messed it up a couple of times.  Perhaps I let my guard down (let my brain drift away).  Nothing too bad and you'd have to look pretty closely at it to see here I messed it up.

Here is more of a close up of the new block and side stitching.  I will work more on the border after I start to stitch down the right side blocks.  I have plenty of time.

The blackwork isn't the only thing that I worked on.  I finally got Lilly fused down but it took me more than one try.  

As you can see, I didn't throw away my mistakes.  The dragon on the left, underneath the eagle, was a mistake.  The eagle is also a mistake that I decided to keep.  I believe that I will be working on an island of misfits.  Those two will be used in that.  Not sure who else will join them but I don't have a specific time or person that I am going to send it to so there is plenty of time.

I did have a surprise this week.  My friend Connie, who I used to work with at NIU in Illinois, came down to take me to dinner.  I still can't believe that her and Wes drove all that way in one day but I was sure glad to see them.  It was fun catching up with them.  Have fun on the erst of your vacation Connie and Wes!

I know I'm jumping all around on topics in this post but I know my readers are nice people and will forgive me.  :)  I just remembered that I wanted to share with you what Craftsy says various sizes for baby blankets should be.  I can't say that I agree, or disagree even, with them but I thought I'd share it with you and let you decide.

You all know how much I love dragons so it isn't a surprise that when I see a cute meme featuring a dragon, I'd have to post it.  Ta Da!!!!  Isn't this little dragon so cute?

The last thing that I wanted to share with you is this little reminder to enjoy food and life.  

I hope everybody has a good week and I'll share other updates next week.

What's Bonni Cooking Up This Week

     Most of my leftovers have been used up so now it is time to restock the fridge.  What will I stock it will?  Who knows.  I am thinking to make:

Balsamic Chicken Thighs

Mocha Coffee Steak

Polenta 

     All of these recipes are very easy to make (according to the cookbook I found them in) and I like that they don't have many ingredients.  For instance the Mocha Coffee Steak uses extra virgin olive oil, the steaks, salt and pepper, cocoa powder, and instant coffee powder.  The amount of each varies from 1/2 teaspoon to 2 tablespoon (The olive oil).  Not bad at all.  The Balsamic chicken thighs only has 4 ingredients and the polenta only has 5,  Not bad at all.

     I will also round out the week's cooking with ramen noodles and some leftovers that I put in the freezer.  All in all not too bad.  I don't go to the grocery store until the first week in September but this should last me ok.  

What are you making this week?

Updates on crafting ---

    Wow!  I actually have things to report this time.  LOL.  

    Where to start?  Well I'll start with the Blackwork update.  I am so happy that I can report that I am caught up on all the blocks, even the block that came out today, as well as have one side of the final frame almost done.

    Since I took the pix tonight, the color is a little off.  The fabric is an oatmeal color and the floss is the traditional black (DMC310).  It is not wonky on the fabric but wonky design wall but you get the idea.  The border on the left side is the final border.  As I work on the top, I will fill in the top border but I am taking a break on it for the rest of the week.

    I have the pieces for my block exchange copied onto Heant n Bond. I have the colors picked out for the leaves but not the flowers.  I might wait until I find out who my partner is and then see what colors they like.  In the meantime I can start to stitch the leaves on.  I might pick a color for the flower buds I am still not sure on that.  I can wait for a bit on that.

    I ran across some helpful PDFs from Just Get It Done Quilts the other day.  If I can find the link to them again, I'll share.  They are Quick Block Calculations in a Grid Format.    Here is a sample of the 12" finished chart.

    

           

     I have a couple of other projects in mind.  I just have to find the fabric that I want to use first and then I'll let you know.  I did receive a quilt pattern in the mail the other day and I pulled out some patterns that I liked.  I won't make them exactly like how they were shown but it will be a good start.  One involved a cat pattern (blocked and not appliqued) and some pumpkins on it.  I haven't made a cat pattern in awhile.  This one reminds me of the pattern that Missouri Quilt Company did which I have done before so we'll see if I make it.  I need some that will be for hanging on the wall for in between holidays.  Mostly in August and September.  I have a couple of ones that I received shortly after moving to Arkansas but I would like to have a couple more to switch out.    We'll see.

    That's it for now.  I thought there was another thing I was going to report on but since I can't remember it now, I'll have to tell you next time.  :)

    Everybody have a safe day. 

    HUGS!

End of week update on what's cooking...

 I went to the food pantry and Walmart yesterday and now have a full fridge.  Of course that means I have some prep to do otherwise I won't find anything.  That means that today is a prep day and some cooking for the freezer day.  

First of all, let me talk about what I made this week.  I had too many leftovers in the fridge that I postponed making some of the dishes.  I had planned to make:

Ramen noodles
Rotel Chicken - if I remember to pick up Rotel tomatoes
Sloppy Joe Quesadillas - might be next week though
Taco Bell Meat.

I did made the Ramen noodles but they weren't that  much different then what I normally make.  It was a good reminder to use the sesame oil a bit more when I make ramen.

I remembered to get the ingredients for the Rotel Chicken,  Here are the ingredients for the three recipes.  The Sloppy Joe and the Taco Meat recipes are pretty much self explanatory.  cook up the meat, add spices, etc.  As a side note:  I just use whatever shredded cheese I have on hand no matter what the recipe calls for.  So here are the ingredients needed.

Rotel Chicken:

   4 small chicken breast

   1 teaspoon cumin

   1/2 teaspoon EACH:  chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper

   10 oz Rotel, drained

   1/4 cup heavy cream (I'll use evaporated milk which is a 1 to 1 swap)

   1/3 cup chicken broth

   2 oz. cream cheese

   1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (divided)

      - Combine the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl and set aside

      - Heat a 12 inch skillet over medium heat, spray with nonstick spray or add up to 1 tablespoon olive oil.

      - Sear the chicken in the skillet 2-3 minutes on each side until nicely browned, remove from skillet and set aside

      - add the drained can of Rotel, heavy cream, broth, cream cheese and reduce heat to low

      - Stir mixture until cream cheese melts completely and add 12 cup of shredded cheese to the sauce, stir well

      - Add the chicken to the skillet and cover with the remaining cheese

      - Place a lid on the skillet and let simmer over low for 6-8 minutes

Sloppy Joe Quesadillas:

   1 pound ground beef

   1/4  onion diced

   2 teaspoons minced garlic

   1/2 cup ketchup

   2 tablespoons brown sugar

   2 tablespoons yellow mustard

   4 burrito size flour tortillas (10 inch size)

   1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded

   1 cup Monterey jack Cheese; and 

Taco Bell Meat:

   1 pound ground beef

   1 tablespoon all purpose flour

   1/2 teaspoon onion powder

   1 teaspoon chili powder

   1 teaspoon paprika

   1/2 teaspoon cumin

   1 teaspoon beef bouillon paste

   2 tablespoons tomato paste

   1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

   1/2 cup water

 I cooked up the Sloppy Joe mixture and then decided that I would freeze all but one serving of it.  I will finish putting it all together when when I serve it.  That would be the tortilla shell and shredded cheese.  I tasted it and it has a little bite to it which is good.  That would be the yellow mustard in it. 

Next up for cooking today is the Taco Bell Meat.  When I was doing some of my meal prep last night, I took some onions and chopped them up as well as dividing the hamburger and ground turkey meat.  I decided that I would package the meat into a 50-50 mixture.  50% ground meat and 50% ground turkey.  The ground beef will give the ground turkey a little bit more flavor and extend it at the same time.  That's in the freezer now so for both the Sloppy Joe recipe the Taco Bell mixture I will use the mixed ground meat.    

I will wait a few days before I make the Rotel Chicken recipe.  I have all the ingredients now but I need to eat up some leftovers from last week as well as use up some fresh produce that I received from the pantry haul.  Dan bought me a 3 pound bag of chicken breasts so I will be using the chicken from that when I make the Rotel chicken recipe.  It was interesting to look at the chicken breasts in the bag.  One was HUGE (think more like Purdue chicken size chicken breast) and some were small enough that it almost looked like the size of small chicken thighs.  That will work out well for the Rotel Chicken though.  It calls for small chicken breasts.  I'm not sure if I will use as much as what it calls for or use part of that and then part of my bags of chicken again.  It will extend the chicken and better hide the texture of the bagged chicken.

A Short Post

 This going to be a short post.  I'm caught up in doing the blackwork but now I don't want to stop quite yet.  LOL.  Soooo, here is the latest update on the progress of my blackwork.

The ladder looking part on the left side is part of the final border.  It will be so exciting when I get to the very last part.  This is up to week 31.  It is coming along.  Now to figure out what else to work on.  :)

Remember when I said I forgot to take a picture of the August block that I sent to my swap partner?  It was received and here is a picture of it.   My swap partner for August and I decided that the color for the vase is a cross between green and gray and we'll call it marble.  :)

Now on to the September block.  I know what I will be making but I'm not sure of the color combo for it yet.  It will have flowers in it. 

While looking through some magazines, I found this from the National Quilter's Circle.  I thought it was good info to have so I'll share it with you.

That's about it.   I thought I would end this brief update with some recent pictures of my cats and kittens.  Usually around one times a day I will have 5-7 cats/kittens but the standard is usually 3-4.  I put out the food and whomever shows up shows up. 

Have a delightful week everybody.  Stay safe and I'll see you here next week, if not sooner.  :)

What's for dinner this week?

     To tell the truth?  I'm not sure.  I do have a few things on my list to try but I haven't been grocery shopping yet nor have I been to the Food Pantry yet so who know.

     Today I might have some ramen.  I'll flavor it with some sesame oil and garlic.

     I did have, however some yummy food this week.  I made:

        Chicken Parmesan Pasta - will have to go on the make again list.

        Slow Cooker Garlic and Onion Beef Roast - will have to go on the make again list.  You can serve it over mashed potatoes or rice or just about anything.

        Chicken Dressing Casserole - Also was good.

    I gave Dan leftovers and he hasn't given his opinion on everything yet but the Garlic and Onion Beef Roast was a winner.  He had it over rice.  All the recipes were winners, unless you count my weight gain from eating too much.  That is one reason why I give Dan part of what I make.  hehehe.  

    What for this coming week?  I'm not sure but so far I am contemplating:

    Ramen noodles

    Rotel Chicken - if I remember to pick up Rotel tomatoes

    Sloppy Joe Quesadillas - might be next week though

    I might also make, if I get the ingredients, some ground beef for the freezer which is entitled Taco Bell Meat.  Yeah, it is a copy cat recipe.  It will all depend on what bills I have to pay and what food pantry has to offer this month.  :)  

Until next time, I hope everybody stays safe.