In the Middle of Fun!

 Spending the week with this little Sprite!

Which means adventure is the just around the corner! Wishing ya'll a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

When she first saw the headband, she was so excited and called it her 'broccoli' hat. 😂

Out & About

 Ya'll were sweet about yesterday. With raging winds and no electricity, you wisely suggested  I linger over a cup of coffee (tea for me) or enjoy some hand quilting. That sounds so good in theory, but I guess we're not very good at dialing it down. Almost as soon as I published that post, DH suggested we drive to a town 2 hours away to pick up a welder and we'd make a few stops to inquire about baby chicks.  They are in high demand this year. So we tended to chores and headed out.

We loaded up a small anvil that the previous owner had left. He had expressed interest in keeping it and we'd be close to their new place.

DH has a big one at the barn for when he shoes horses and one in the shop

One stop for a new little stick welder for the shop

One stop for some extra quikrete for the new flagpole

3 chick stops, but we came home empty handed. However we've got a date to pick some up in a few weeks.

1 stop to pick up a little side table so that I could stop using a still packed Uhaul box to set a glass or mug and my hand binding supplies.

I didn't want anything big or bulky and this little metal table with a wood top is perfect. 

Then we spent a couple of hours visiting with the kind couple from whom we bought this place  before heading back. They have become friends and we're so glad we're staying in touch.

We hadn't eaten all day and it was 4:30 when we stopped at a favorite little spot on the way home.

Home at 6, in time to chore. And we have electricity. Yay!

I'm in the kitchen today, cooking...we have family coming for the week!

Off Grid This Morning

 With the strong winds (60 mph) whipping across our mountains, we figured we'd hunker down today. They even closed schools and many businesses in town today. No electricity this morning here, but that doesn't phase us much. I am surprised we have phone service as thats been spotty. So I guess we're not completely off grid. We are looking into installing a generator. That's been on the list since we bought this property.

 DH had to hunt around in his shop to unearth the lanterns since we hadn't needed them yet, but its nice and cozy in the kitchen this morning  as the winds continue to howl and the sparse snowflakes dance between rain drops.

I trudged out to the storage container when I got up at 4:30 to find the French Press so DH could make coffee

I need to get back in there to organize things better. I'm so grateful to have this space - makes it so easy to find seasonal and stored things and it keeps the garage from being cluttered.

But that's a project for another day. My cozy kitchen is calling. 

Quesadillas

 I've been making these for a long time...at least 15 years. They are a family favorite. We rarely eat out, but when we do, I would often order them if they were on the menu. If you share dishes they were easy to share. I no longer order them because we think these are better. 

We went to one very  popular local Mexican restaurant last year and I ordered them. They were awful. Truly. They had just tossed some unseasoned canned chicken between two soggy tortillas. I could not believe they would even serve something like that. 

Here's a better version. 😉

Quesadillas

Chicken

Pepper-Seasoning Salt-Granulated Garlic

1 large diced onion

1 large green pepper, diced

1 diced jalapeño 

Freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese (I find it melts better and adds more flavor than the pre-grated cheese)

* Season chicken with pepper, seasoning salt, and granulated garlic in cast iron skillet. Brown in a little oil and butter. Remove from skillet and cut into small pieces. I buy the large bags of chicken tenderloins at Sam's and use those.

In same skillet, add a touch more oil and over low-medium heat, saute onion, green pepper, and jalapeño until vegetables have softened and charred a bit on the edges - about 15 minutes. Stir in diced chicken.

Heat another cast iron pan (I have a cast iron griddle) over low heat and place a tortilla on it. I don't put anything on the griddle. Top with grated cheese. Layer chicken mixture, then a 2nd layer of cheese. Top with another tortilla. Flip when bottom tortilla has crisped up and browned a bit to cook other side. Remove and cut into wedges. Repeat. 

Serve with salsa, sour cream or Mexican crema, and guacamole. If you come and stay for a few days, chances are pretty good that these will be on the menu.

Animal Crackers Quilt

Last night I finished binding a UFO from last year

I don't watch a lot of You-Tube videos, but somewhere along the line a Moonkin Stitchery clip popped up somewhere and I liked what I saw. Her tutorials are no nonsense, easy, clear and concise. Her older videos include a PDF download, but these recent ones do not. However, her tutorials are easy enough that a printed pattern isn't really necessary. She's gracious enough to share her designs at no cost. The videos I've seen all use layer cakes and with the exception of fat quarters, I'm not a big precut fan, but on occasion, I will pick them up on a good sale or just cut 10" squares from my stash. If I like a pattern, I'll often add fabric from my stash to a pre-cut in order to make a quilt bigger or just to add more variety.

A while back she shared a tutorial for a Deep Dive Quilt and I knew I was going to make it. I have a Sweetwater Layer Cake of an old line called Animal Crackers (2020) that I thought would be perfect. I loved that line so much that when I found a fat quarter pack on sale I bought that as well. I love Sweetwater's collections and I am really smitten with this one

Last June I thought, "I'll just cut up the layer cake, put it in a bin, and have it ready to sew when I get back to sewing and then I just could not help myself. DH had saddled his horse at 3 a.m. and trailered out to a ranch in Yeso (2 hours away) to help them brand and I found myself with time, and a strong desire to stitch.

So stitch I did and before he got back, I had a quilt top. I often listen to an audio book when I sew, but this time "animal crackers in my soup..." ,ala Shirley Temple, kept playing in my head as I sewed so I had to turn the audio book off. LOL.

Jackie and Sandy quilted this fun, whimsical swirl called Misty Jade across it 

I backed it with this print from the Animal Cracker line

And pulled a red grunge for the binding

This made a 48"x56" quilt, a great size for little monkeys.

I may keep this one here for grandbaby adventures.

Outdoor Projects Continue

 Now that Fort Knox (that's what I'm calling my chicken coop/yard DH built since NOTHING will be able to get in there, when the chickens and guineas are shut in, due to his engineering and design. They will free range during the day though.) is complete, we're tackling other projects. 

DH did put up some expanded metal on the 2 windows so now we just keep those open unless it gets super cold

Showed this photo to a friend of ours and he said it was so nice that he'd live in it

So I then sent him this shot and told him we were installing a sun shade in his new yard and that room service would be available, but sporadic. 

We had another dumpster delivered and filled it quickly with the dismantled old chicken coop, old pipe, and old wire and fence.

DH trimmed and thinned out trees in the back yard and we grubbed out all of the cactus - that took a couple of days.

Eventually, we'll replace the chain link fence as we're not fans, but that'll be a future project. The previous owners had it for their dogs. We'll also do some terracing and maybe build a retaining wall to discourage erosion since it's pretty steep. I don't see us spending any time in the back as it doesn't get any better than the view from the deck, but we still want it to be nice. It took 5 loads to clean things up

We took somewhat of a break over one weekend for the Southern New Mexico Safari Club Banquet. It is a 2 night event and DH is on the board so we actually work it. We were so busy that I only snapped one picture, but it was a full house with all 500 seats occupied. I tell folks it's the 1 weekend a year that we socialize. Such a great group, but it just wears us out.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch 😉, DH shod horses one morning while I mucked out the stall that the old chicken coop had been in. I shoveled and hauled no less than 15 heavy wheel barrow loads out. It was mostly packed dirt and it took me 3 hours and I was smoked. It takes me longer as I have to mind my knee and go slower, but I got it done. 

No plans for surgery as of now. It just aches and swells up when I tackle physically demanding tasks and then I just take some Advil and ice it once in a while. I have a pair of really good, supportive hiking boots (they are from a company called Shnee and I bought them 10 years ago when we went to Zimbabwe. I almost cried spending that much money on a pair of shoes, but they have been absolutely worth every penny). They help SO much so I've learned to reach for those even though I automatically want to just slip my feet into a pair of Sloggers I have, to run outside for a minute.

Then I spent another afternoon taking down old wire fencing and rope that the previous owner had put up in the horse runs. DH had taken it down in one of the other runs.

It was such a pretty day that it made a not so fun job enjoyable

Then we cleaned up all the odds and ends that were in the area that had previously been designated for the chicken yard.

With Skeet's assistance, we replaced 1 1/2 miles of pipe

 (not so easy in mountain terrain) 

and have restored spring water to the property

Next up: the orchard and garden spot. DH is researching trees on the computer as I'm working on a quilt binding, providing input when requested 😉

Under the Needle: February

 Last time I checked, there were still 24 hours in a day, but they sure are flying by. Seems like I just did the last Under the Needle post. In January, I started this scrappy Christmas quilt and got all the blocks made. I pieced the top  this month and made the binding so it's ready to hand off to Jackie

Our boy brought the quilt I made him when he went to college (2008), home over Christmas, and asked if I could repair a small hole in it. Of course! I love that he loves it. It is definitely showing it's age. A college kid, turned Marine, turned husband, turned Daddy...this quilt has earned its wrinkles. The binding is looking tattered as well so I made new binding, attached it to the back and am currently hand stitching it in the evenings.

I hear, all the time, that hand sewn binding is not as sturdy as machine stitched binding, but I'm hear to debunk that myth because this quilt has been used hard, loved hard and has traveled the world and not a single stitch has loosened.

This quilt was also made with fabric from Walmart. I hear the gasps. It was almost the first quilt I made and I didn't know about quilt shops, but I had access to Walmart and they had a lot of fabric back then. 

Now, through the years, I have handsomely supported local and online quilt shops, and Walmart is my least favorite place to frequent in general, but this quilt is made with love and brought to you by Walmart and a newbie quilter and it has stood the test of time.

I also pieced the Peppermint Bark Christmas quilt. All the blocks parts were made last year so I only needed to set those together and make the binding.

And speaking of binding...I made a lot

I started a new project...a Winnie the Pooh baby quilt that included fussy cutting the focus fabric

I dropped off 3 quilts and picked up 3 more. Then 2 weeks later, Jackie called and said they were ready so another 3 were exchanged. 

I am running out of quilts to give her. I had better stitch faster. LOL. The first three got binding attached to the fronts and I finished 2 this month. The Sweetwater  Follow Your Heart quilt was finished

                                           
And this little Charming Baby Quilt also had the last stitch applied to it.

Both of those have been on the list for too many years so it feels good to have them finished. It doesn't feel like I sew much, but posting what I DO get done each month makes me realize I actually  am getting time to stitch. 

Charming Baby Quilt

 Today I have another baby quilt finish to share. I missed adding this one to my list of quilts I hoped to make this year so I'll just count it as a bonus quilt

This is one of the first fabric lines I bought when I began quilting and  I've made numerous quilts with it. It was a Moda collection called Lily & Will from Bunny Hill Designs. Circa 2010-ish I think and after all these years, I still love it. 

                                                    

I love the versatility of HSTs and this time I set them into a broken dishes design. Jackie and Sandy quilted it with a design called Feather Flip using  a Linen colored thread

I cobbled the backing together with 3 different pieces I had left

and used  a brown print for the binding with what, I think, is the last of the leftovers, but I'm sure I will uncover more if I dig deep enough.

At 40 x 50, it'll be a nice way to welcome a new little one. It's been very handy to have a collection of baby quilts on hand and this one will be added to the armoire until it is needed...and as I was about to hit publish on this post, we found out that friends are expecting their 1st grandchild. If it's a girl, this will be perfect.