Set Sail Baby Quilt

 Quite a bit going on around here which explains my lack of posts, but all is well. I figured I'd pop in and share my latest quilt finish today because it looked like this outside yesterday

And that is dirt. No fog or moisture. Just dirt. 60 mph sustained winds all the live-long day with 70-80 mph gusts and thankfully it was Sunday and we didn't have 'must-do' projects on our list. I love our little old leaky ranch house, but I'll be shoveling dirt from it today after work and then picking up roof shingles that have blown off of the shed and bunkhouse. We finally saw a little bit of the sky late in the day, but the wind was still howling so I think all of the dirt has simply left the country.

This is the 3rd little quilt I have made with these fabrics. Apparently this desert rat is indulging her inner Jimmy Buffet because that's the only way I can explain why I am drawn to these nautical prints. I bought these from Craftsy a long time ago and I have since learned that it doesn't take that much fabric to make a baby quilt, but I still have 1 more to piece and the bin will be empty.

I backed this one with a blue Minky and it just makes the cuddliest quilts

I love the versatility of HST's.

                                   

This time I appliqued one little boat off center and I love the end result

Sandy quilted it using a pattern called Bubbles and at 48 x 53 it's a nice size for a baby quilt

                             

Another little quilt finish!

Reuben Sandwiches

Last Fall, we were both in town together, but in a hurry to get back to the ranch (which more often than not is the case). I needed to pop into the grocery store for a handful of items and I promised DH I would be quick. I was flying through the store, with DH on my heels and he piped up that we should make Reuben Sandwiches some time. He also mentioned Posole so I started mentally adding to my list. I don't know why he doesn't mention these things when we're not in a rush, but I guess it was a convenient time since we were already in the grocery store even though we were in  a time crunch. Then I reminded myself that men are just wired differently. I mentioned this in a conversation with our girl a few weeks back and I added that you cannot rewire them or they'll short out. 😂 

I made Reuben Sandwiches one time a few years back when I found Russian Dressing at HEB, but the dressing is just too sweet for us. Ditto for Thousand Island so I turned to Pinterest and found this recipe

Reuben Sandwich with Homemade Russian Dressing

 and it turned a ho-hum Reuben Sandwich into one of our favorite sandwiches. I made these yesterday and realized I wanted to post about them so I'd be able to easily find the dressing recipe.

Reuben Sandwich

1/2 # Corned Beef from the Deli

1/2 C Sauerkraut (drained and pressed dry)

8 slices Swiss Cheese from the Deli

4 slices Rye Bread

Homemade Russian Dressing

Unsalted butter

Russia Dressing:

1/4 C mayo

1 1/2 tsp chili garlic sauce

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp horseradish

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 Tbsp onion, finely grated

1/2 tsp Worchestershire

1/8 tsp paprika

pepper

*Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside.

Drain and press sauerkraut dry. This keep your sandwich from getting soggy. Warm corned beef on cast iron griddle. Spread one side of each bread slice with Russian dressing. Add swiss cheese to both slices. Add corned beef and sauerkraut to one side. Top with second slice of bread. I like to add the butter directly to my cast iron griddle and then set the sandwich on top of the melted butter and let it cook on low heat to warm the sandwich through, toast the bread well, and melt the cheese. So good!

I cooked mine too fast and didn't let the cheese melt. 😏

Finally Sewing

 I carved out some time to sew this past weekend. Besides stitching some bindings to the front of quilts, I haven't been in my sewing room since the first week of December. I really needed to start this quilt for a friend. I'm starting with the Branded collection from Sweetwater and pulled numerous prints from my stash to scrap things up a bit.

 I hemmed and hawed for weeks over a pattern. I wanted something masculine and simple and finally settled on a design. I've seen this called many things like Framed Squares or Square Dance. Here's a tutorial using a Layer Cake that I used as a starting point

                                                                        Square Dance

I'd forgotten how much fun it is to start a new project

Blocks come together fast

Then I pulled this pattern from my binder 

and thought it might be fun to pop in some hourglass blocks in the center of some of the squares. 

The blocks finish at 9" and I think I'll shoot for a 10 x 11 block layout. I made 42 blocks, using the Layer Cake I had and now I'm cutting into the FQ Bundle and the other fabrics I pulled from my stash.  I'm so glad I've finally settled on a plan. I think this might work! 

On Deck Baby Quilt

Probably 5 or 6 years ago, I bought this sailboat collection called On Deck from Craftsy on clearance:

I made this baby quilt a few years ago and finally finished it last year

I put the fabrics away when I originally pieced the top, but a couple years later, I decided it was time to clear out some bins. I pulled these out again and just cut everything into 5" squares. I still think these prints are so cute. I made 3 more quilts and this is one I just finished. I made HST's and set them in a herringbone layout that finishes at 40 x 48

I've always liked this simple design and I'd love to make a biggie-sized, super scrappy one at some point. I backed this one with a matching print that they sold with the fabric at the time

And bound it with a solid blue from from my stash

Sandy quilted it with an all over pattern called Surf's Up that fits it perfectly although it's hard to see:

I've stashed it away in my armoire for the time being. It's so nice to have a few extra quilts made up and ready to gift when a baby arrives. 

I'm currently binding the next little quilt made with these fabrics so that's up next.