Work on it Wednesday

I have so much personal sewing to catch up on. I can't believe how I've let these unfinished projects pile up. I think it was the mad rush to finish the TMQG blocks and the quilt for O's teacher. Well that's all behind me now and I have to get back to my UFO basket. What's in there you ask? Well, I have a lunch bag for my mom, a backpack for O, a top for me, a quilt for me and a quilt for E. That should keep me busy for the next six months, lol.
Oh, I almost forgot, I took the foot pedal to my neechi apart to rewire it. I really need to get that back together and back on the machine.
But best of all I found an inexpensive singer 15-91 at the thrift store last week. I'm jazzed. It's suppose to a wonderful machine to quilt on. Speaking of quilting, that was an education for me. A machine you use for piecing might not be the best machine to quilt on. So, even though I adore my Brother PC6000, the harp area is pretty small. I have quilted a full size quilt on it, but it's not ideal or easy. The harp area on the 15-91 is over 7". Nice! It's also a straight stitch, direct gear driven machine, so super powerful with a lovely looking stitch. I found so much useful info online about this classic singer. I'm also going to attempt my first full rewiring job. I've rewired foot pedals before, but I'm a bit intimidated about the machine motor. My TMQG friend Lisa's husband, Mike just finished doing her 15-91 (and an awesome job he did) so I hope he can walk me through the process.
I can't decide what to do first. I know I should finish the sewing first, but I'm anxious to tear apart the 15-91. Decision, decision. Hmmm....sewing first!

A day at the zoo

We recently went to the zoo. It was a blast. Unlike so many of the other trips, the animal were actually out and could be viewed. I got some great shots. I'm trying to be better about taking pictures.
We were able to spend the day with a good friend and her son. The weather was perfect and best of all all the walking tired the kids out and I had a quiet ride home, lol.

Monday's Meal

Scored an awesome deal on whole pork loins at the grocery store. Here's a super easy delicious way to serve one up.
For those of you who checked in earlier. Sorry about the snafu. Somehow two different pork recipes got merged into a mishmash of nonsense. That's what happens when you sit down late at night and try and blog, lol.
The recipe below should all make sense as well as be tasty.

Apples and Pork

1 (1.5 lbs) whole pork loin
3 large apples- peeled, cored and sliced
3 tsp of minced garlic
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tbsp of paprika
grated zest of one lemon
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large skillet, brown your pork loin, about 5 minutes each side; set it aside.
Arrange apple slices in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add paprika, lemon, nutmeg, cinnamon,brown sugar, cumin, salt and pepper to sherry and mix well. Pour the sherry mixture over the pork loin. Cover and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until tender and internal temperature of pork has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Traditional with a modern twist

I have to send props out to Lisa for telling me the name of the style of quilting I like. I realize that I'm not a true "modernist". I don't really dig free form quilting. I don't always like wonkiness. I like things to look like what they're suppose to be. But, I love modern fabrics.
To try to stretch my quilting muscles I'm participating in a block swap with the TMQG. All I can say is that I'm relieved it's over. I find making stuff for other's entirely too stressful. I'm not a perfectionist with things I make for myself or as gifts in general. But, somehow knowing that these are going to other quilters has filled me with dread. Will they be checking my seam allowance, which way I pressed the seam. Is my block square? Did I clip all the threads. It just doesn't seem worth it to me. The swap was fun in principle, yet in reality...not. I am however excited to see what blocks I might get. I asked for square in square and I hope that I can piece them all together for a little throw. I have a bit of left over fabric that I can make a few more blocks if I need to.
Anyway...I finished. I did it. Take a look. The inspiration fabric is Oydessa by MoMo for Moda with bits from my own fabric stash thrown in for good measure. Each participant was to make 12 blocks. The people you were making the blocks for could request a specific type of block. Most people were open to anything so that was nice for me. I think my favorite block is the wonky stars and the crosses. The fabric was really fun.

Flickr bee blocks

I'm participating in a couple of block swaps through flickr. These blocks are for Tammie and Rick. I hope that they likes them. I really liked the fabric choices. I loved making the log cabin block and the map of states allowed me to do a bit of paper piecing using freezer paper. It was a new technique for me, but I will definitely try it again. The cross block was so fun and Rick's instructions were the best. I've filed them away to use again in the future.

The Decline

Oh my gracious! I think I want to die! Ok, maybe not die exactly, but go to bed for a week. Here's the back story. I began running last August using the couch to 5k method. Through starts and stops I kept up with it and by the winter I was up to being able to run continuously for 30 minutes without feeling like I was going to pass out. I kept that up until about January. For the last few months my workouts have suffered and been sporadic at best. I rarely ran and when I did it was on the treadmill, which in my opinion is vastly easier than running outdoors. Well, I got a bee in my bonnet to get back out on the road. Reality check. I could barely run 50 feet without panting and gasping. I have to admit, I am deconditioned and will need to start the whole couch to 5k thing over again. Bummer! I don't even like running. But, the harsh reality is that I've accepted that exercise has to be a regular part of my life. Not just for the health benefits, but for the psychological benefits too. I feel more relaxed when I get regular exercise. I don't get that whole runner's high thing, but in general I do get some benefit from the satisfaction of knowing I'm making my health a priority.

Monday's Meal

I love to read and once upon a time I belonged to a great book club. It kind of floundered and I stopped going, but recently a friend (hey Jamie!) decided we all needed to get reading again. Our first meeting is this month and we're reading "The Help". It's a great book full of southern charm and real issues. In honor of the book I thought I'd share a recipe for cornbread. I mean really, what's more southern than that? Be warned, I like a sweet cornbread.

Corn Bread

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup corn meal
1 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Grease and flour an 8 inch pan.
Cream together butter, brown sugar, egg and milk in medium bowl. Set aside. In another bowl sift together baking soda, cream of tartar, cornmeal and flour. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, mix well. Pour batter into your prepared pan and bake for 25 mins. or until a fork comes out clean.