Sajou redo & October Mini

I know, I know--I was adamant that I was not going to remake my Sajou (again), even though I wasn't crazy about my finish. Well, I lied. The border was just too bland, and I loved the pieced border Lori had on hers. Just because I didn't use the round of the setting triangles, there was no reason why I couldn't do the final border.

I like this so much better. I guess the third time IS the charm. 
 


I did draw paper foundations and copy them onto newsprint to use for foundation piecing, making sure the borders would fit properly.



 







My October mini was finished just in the nick of time, but I was too tired to post it last night. This is the Jewel Box mini I made with leftovers from other projects.

It is posing with a jewelry box that my grandmother gave me for my birthday when I was a young teen. It still sits on my dresser. It has been decades since I wound the key and tried to get the music to play, so I did it today. I got a very slow, but perfectly in tune version of the love theme from Dr. Zhivago.

The day before Halloween I had been in my LQS and had picked up the last FQ of a very cute owl fabric. I didn't know what I would do with it, but it had to come home with me. So when it came to layering the Jewel Box mini for quilting, I decided that since it was my Oct. mini for Wendy's Mini a Month challenge, owls would be a fitting back. I felt like I was channeling my inner Barb (who is the queen of fun backings).

You can see I simply quilted (wobbly) diagonal lines. Aren't those owls great?

Color: Boysenberry--looks like plum to me

On a non-quilty note, my kitchen just received a new addition this week. I have been using my MIL's 25 year-old, refurbished, white KitchenAid stand mixer for about 3 years now. Seems almost every gluten free baking recipe I like calls for the use of a stand mixer, and I didn't have one. I had been a Bosch user all my life, but had to get rid of mine when I was diagnosed with celiac disease. The old KitchenAid still worked well, but I wanted larger bowl capacity. And if you are going to get a new one, why not get a fun color, right? This arrived yesterday. (You can see my distorted reflection in it as I take the photo.) It makes me smile whenever I see this on my counter.

And to break it in I made a batch of my new favorite gluten free muffin recipe from King Arthur Flour. They are a delicious gluten free pumpkin muffin that you can dress up in a variety of ways. I have made them with pecans or mini chocolate chips. These are the pecan version--so yummy! The grandkids prefer them with chocolate chips. I am just happy to have a great pumpkin muffin again. They are fluffy, moist and flavorful, and they taste good even several days after making them. That is rare for gluten free baked goods.

One final note--I have finally made and sent blocks to the 70273 Project, something I have been intending to do since I first read about it on Lori's blog over 2 years ago. 
 
It is very important, and deserves its own post (which it will get). In the meantime, click on the link above and see if you are inspired to participate.

Until next time,
Janet O.

Sajou, and a new pinkeep

I don't do many SALs anymore, but when Lori (humblequilts blog) starts one of her little doll quilt SALs, I have a hard time resisting. Well, actually, I don't even try to resist. But my downfall with SALs is that if I fall behind I tend to drop out. So when I learned that Lori was starting her SAL just before we cross the country for Massachusetts, I knew I had to scramble to get this stage completed before we left.
So here you have my version of step one of Sanjou.

I didn't set out to make a patriotic quilt, but the French General print I envisioned for the center had too large a design. As I kept digging through the stash to find something else, this print (which I think I got from Barb) was the first design that worked, so I ran with it. I kind of went overboard on the fussy-cutting.
In fact, Lori said we should find something like a striped print for a future step, but I think I may have already over-striped mine. We'll see what happens when that part comes.

This is the only other sewing since my last post.

This pinkeep kit was the little surprise that came when you preordered Pam Buda's new book. I just tweaked it a little.

You can see the pattern in the photo below. I fussy-cut some stars from a Barbara Brackman fabric that was in the pile of patriotic fabrics I was sorting through to make Sanjou.

At first I was just going to put one in the center, but then the corners starting begging for one, and I couldn't resist.
Love this new book. I am pretty strict with myself about purchasing new books, but I couldn't resist this one. It has a dozen sweet little projects, and each one is named for a classic work of literature.
I will be absent for a while, but will check back in when we return to our little mountain valley.
Until next time, 
Janet O.

I'll leave you with some shots from around the farm. You can click to enlarge.

  

I've had fun observing these three Sandhill Sandhill Cranes that have been hanging around.