Made in Cherry Mini

So, I guess I missed the actual end of the quilt-a-long, but I did finish!

The star is various scraps, the solid is Kona Pomegranate, and the back is Joel Dewberry print (that I got on sale, yay!).

I echo quilted 1/2" lines on the pomegranate. Inside the star, I echo quilted at 1" intervals. That turned out to not be the best choice, as it shows every little piecing error (and there are plenty of not-quite-perfect intersections). Another case of live and learn. I seem to have a lot of those.

Final dimensions of this mini is 19 1/4 inches square. Though it isn't, ahem, perfectly square. The pieced squares are finished at 1".

Linking up:

Stitched in Color Scrap Attack

Radicowl #1

I am feeling so on top of things.

This week I started and finished an end-of-year teacher gift! And it is February. Yay me. It is not quite as overwhelmingly bright as it looks in the picture.

The pattern is Radicowl. The yarn in Knitpicks Swish Tonal in Wine Tasting and Knitpicks Swish DK in Lotus. You can see it on Ravelry here.

I did this in about 5 days—which really means it took about 1 movie and 3 episodes of Downton Abbey. Great easy pattern, I love the yarn I chose, and have two more to make. One for another teacher, and one for me.

Linked up at:

our first egg!

Foggy the 23-weeks-tomorrow white leghorn laid her (and our) first egg. We know it was her, because she's our only white egg layer. Right in one of the nest boxes. Two more chickens are doing egg squats, 2 are not, and 1 we haven't been able to get our hands on. Happy happy day!

Chicken and Cilantro Pesto Tamale Pie

OK, maybe not a tamale pie per se. But for lack of a better term. But this is just soooo yummy.

Cilantro Pesto
1 bunch cilantro, including stems
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup rough-grate parmesan
1 garlic clove
1/4 t salt

Put the cilantro and olive oil into your food processor—it should be full of cilantro leaves and stems, but don't pack it. Blend, then add rest of ingredients and blend until it is uniform.

The bowl goes from full to not so full when the cilantro is all chopped.

Dough
I took my basic dough recipe from here. (I love allrecipes.com!)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup masa harina
4.5 t quick-acting/bread machine yeast (= 2 envelopes)
1 T sugar
1/2 t Kosher salt
3/4 c 120–130° milk
3 T canola oil
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients, add milk, oil, egg. Mix well. Spray a square casserole pan with cooking spray (I use olive oil), spread batter in the casserole.

Scrape pesto in bowl you used for the batter. Add chopped cold chicken—I use leftovers from a roast chicken. I add 1/2 cup to 1 cup, depending on how much I have. Stir the chicken in. Then spread the pesto/chicken mix onto your dough.

Heat oven to 350°, and put pan in immediately, when the oven is till cold. Bake 30 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!

Serve with a salad, or black beans, or fresh pan-fried spinach and crockpotted great northern beans like I did. Or whatever!

finally actually quilting

After a crazy week that ended with our Cub Scout pack Blue & Gold Dinner, silent auction, and Arrow of Light Ceremony, I am finally actually quilting my Made in Cherry mini.

Did I mention I am silent auction chair (and entire committee, haha), and I am also the Advancement Coordinator, so had to have all of the Arrows of Light and certificates ready.

Yeah.

I also have thank you letters to send, but I am so happy the auction reconciled that I decided to let myself quilt!

Modern Mini Challenge

Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts is hosting a modern mini challenge starting...today. I am looking forward to all the samples and techniques shown during the blog hop. Though I admit, I already have some ideas. OK, one idea. One big small idea. Involving this:

But am not going to start until the bloghop is well underway, and I finish the made in Cherry quilt-a-long. I swear it.

Mini Cherry Top Is Done

In spite of last night's panic attack regarding triangles, seam allowances, and matching points, today the top is done. Yay!

So, a roll call of the fabrics used, as best as I could figure out: Nicey Jane (3 prints), Timeless Treasures cupcake prints (2), Chez Moi Posh by Moda, Joel Dewberry Heirloom Rose Bouquet and Paisley, Larkspur Bright Multi by Alexander Henri, Mary Englebright  (1), and several Cranston Print Works prints. There are also a few that might be Cranston, but there are no selvages. These were donated mill run ends that I used for a school fundraiser quilt years ago.

The solid is Kona Pomegranate—which you may recognize as my Emmeline apron scrap color.

I admit that I went and bought a backing piece today, I don't have any scraps large enough. It needs to be washed. My (on sale) choice to be revealed later.

When bound, this will be about 20" x 20". My first mini.

Linking to: Fresh Sewing Day, Small Blog Meet, Made in Cherry Quilt-a-Long