Final Stages

It feels like it's been a while since I have posted a WIP, but I promise I've been working on things. I am trying to finish the sashing on the Bear Paw in the Honey quilt and then will only have the border left, which is a matter of piecing all the scraps together (it might take a while).

I also have been working on the Over the Rainbow Flower Quilt, but changed my mind on layouts AFTER I had sewn them together.  I went to the LQS and purchased more green so I could make more blocks.  Frankly, I wish I could make even more.  I still feel like it needs more yellow, but I think I'm all out. I might go back and check one more time to see if there's any way I can finagle a few more blocks together. Even if it's just four more, I really think it would help.

I finally got the Dr. Seuss quilt pinned and am just trying to figure out what quilting to do.  I thought about...

1) Bubbles of different sizes in the pattern fabric and a simple outline of the figures in the picture blocks.

2) Circles swirling out from each of the pictures and having a little overlap as they stretch out into each other. 

I think I'm going to use yellow thread, which will add a little color without being too overwhelming. What do you think? I admit, I am a little afraid of making the circles because I am not sure how to get them evenly spaced as the circle gets bigger and bigger. 

Besides all of this, I have also been in a major cooking/baking mood.  My son's birthday distracted me with trying to make the perfect cupcake from scratch (three batches later I am still working on it, although the kids are always willing to hide the evidence for me).  I have also been working on several new dinner meals; trying to mix it up a little. 

I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday. OMG, it's Wednesday!?! It seems each week is a little faster than the last. Can't wait to see what everyone else is working on. 

Experimenting with Beans

I love refried beans; at a restaurant.  But the can you buy at the store is just not so appealing.  You open it up and the beans slide out in one bug hunk, similar to dog food.  You squish it down with a spoon into the bowl and add some cheese to top in hopes of masking the unappetizing dish you are about to serve.
Living so close to the border, it seems I should have a better grasp on how to make refried beans, so I started investigating and found this recipe online.  I finally tried it the other day when I was making bean burritos for me and the kids.

Instead of using dry pinto beans, which I have but didn't have time to soak, I did use a can of pinto beans that I drained and rinsed. I cut the whole recipe in half so I wouldn't end up with a ton of leftovers, especially if they weren't well received.

The texture was fantastic! I had control over the amount of water I added and could make them a little thinner, which is what I like. I also had control over how mashed they were, so I was able to keep some whole beans still in the mix. I need to practice with them a little before I can post any recipe on it.  I found it to be a little too salty (and I am a salt lover!), and still a little to thick. I also want to try with dry beans to see if the flavor is different. I want to know if it's worth it to use dry beans.  I going to guess yes, but we'll see.
My daughter loved them, but my son was a little less impressed. I think he didn't like how salty they were.  Hopefully the next few batches I make will go over better with my at-home critics. :)

Still Working on the Garden

Still plugging away on my rainbow garden quilt. I finished the last of the blocks on my rainbow quilt that I could and made columns to see what it would look like put together.

I tried to lay it out so it would look like it had the arch of a rainbow...

And then I tried to create an up-and-down stagger to create a wind-blowing look...

So, I'm looking at it, and looking at it, and I realize I need more flowers. I hunted down some more green fabric (the color I ran out of) and I began work on them.  Hopefully I can get them done tomorrow and see how it looks with the new additions.  The blue in the background on the top of each picture was a fabric I picked up for a border, but I have since changed my mind and think I will just use the green to give it a real garden feel.

I am also thinking about making some little mini-flowers with the scraps; maybe for pillows? We'll see. I just love this fabric so much I want to use every scrap of it in something.