Sew On and Sew On - Mistake! / and the Cookbook Challenge

Sew on!

Fall Quilt is Coming Along

I am being very organized with this quilt - it's complicated and life is full of interruptions.  Each block has 34 half square triangles

so I put them into plastic baggies, not to keep them fresh :-D but to keep each tree block separate.  The triangle paper I used makes 6 of each batik fabric I used, so two stripes make one color for each of the 12 blocks.

I made a

"tick" mark in on the baggie when I added a new triangle to help keep track of how many triangles I have - and how many more to go!

I love the background - a watery blue batik.  Most of the fabric for the leaves are batik as well.  One of the best thing about using batik fabric - it's the same on both sides!

Now that I have finally completed all the leaves, I've added the rest of the block components to the baggie and so it's a complete kit - ready to be sewn together!

To remove the paper, I dip the triangle into to water - it softens the paper so it doesn't tug out the stitches 

like that :-(

I have a towel on the ironing board to help dry the triangles.

 Remove all of the paper - reduces bulk!

I made a "block butler" - felt on a sturdy piece of cardboard, secured on the back with duct tape to lay the block out on - got to keep organized!

and I always keep the pattern near by

and yet, with all this careful planing and marking and laying out before piecing - how did this happen??

That doesn't look like a tree trunk!?

The one on the left is alright - the one on the right, not so much.  I blame football. My local NFL team was winning for the first time in many a year - I guess I got distracted!

Cookbook Challenge!

This recipe was one of my first I collected when I started branching away from chicken nuggets and tater tots - and it's my husbands favorite.  So it's a go to when I rather be sewing with the game on - even with tree trunk screw up!

It's French Dip Sandwiches  from the crock pot!  The recipe is from a book from the library from long ago so I can't remember the source - but it's a winner. Simple salty beef, drizzled with le jus drippings, serve on a hearty roll with romaine lettuce and a Cesar salad side - what's not to like! Raspberries, pears, and cookies for dessert, how easy is this!

French Dip Sandwiches  a crock pot recipe 

1 3 1/2 -4 lb boneless chuck roast, trimmed

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 beef bouillon cube

1 bay leaf

4 peppercorns

1 teaspoon fresh or dried rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme 

1 teaspoon garlic powder

12 French sandwich rolls

Place roast in a 5 quart slow cooker.  Combine soy sauce and next 6 ingredients; pour over roast.  Add water to slow cooker until roast is almost covered.  Cook on LOW setting for 7 hours or until very tender.  Remove roast; reserving broth.  Discard bay leaf.  Shred roast with a fork; place in rolls and serve with reserved broth for dipping.  Yield:  12 servings

Yeah!

...now to fix that tree block

Pam