Under the Needle: March

 After many years (I've had this pattern since 2017), I finally really settled in to work on Old Dirt Road this month

March 15th was a horrendously blustery day with 40 mph sustained winds and 50 mph gusts so for once, the weather did chase me indoors. I only ventured out to the barn to chore and spent much of the day in my sewing room...a rare treat.

So this month I cut everything out and stitched about half of the blocks; popping in and out of the sewing room as time allowed.

Before that, I dug out this old Tilda Project

Of all of my UFO's, this one was closest to a finish with 42 blocks made so I focused on it, made 39 more blocks and it's now a top and ready to be quilted.

I'm not in love with it, but once it's quilted, I'll like it more and I have a feeling I know a dear friend who will absolutely love it.

I made 42 blocks for my camping quilt last month and turned them into a top this month. Binding and backing was made and it's up next in the quilting que

And I'm currently stitching down the binding on my Land of Enchantment quilt in the evenings

This Dusty Trails quilt made it over the finish line this month

As did Spring Fling. 

I'm struggling to stay focused on quilting projects as Spring hovers. I have so many outdoor projects to work on, but at this age I know I need to pace myself. And we get a lot of wild wind in the Spring so there will be time to add stitches, although, after all these years as a  as a ranch wife, the weather is rarely an excuse to hide indoors. And even though we have property and cattle, after 40 years I am no longer a ranch wife in the traditional sense, but some habits are hard to break.

Spring Fling Quilt

 The seeds for this quilt started in July of last year when I tackled my scrap bin and cut everything down for numerous projects.

This quilt is called Logs and Bricks and is from this book that I bought in 2022.

These bright, happy fabrics were such fun to work with

I renamed it Spring Fling when I found this fabric at a local quilt shop

I even went back for the rest of it when I saw how great it worked with my scraps.

I liked being able to incorporate my low volume prints along with these bright fabrics from my scrap bin in this design 

It's amazing what was hiding in those scraps so this is your nudge to start digging. 😉

At 60" x 80" it ought to be perfect for cat-naps in the hammock

...which is my cue to order one. 😉

I didn't think this was my usual color story, but everything came from my scraps and low volume stash so I must be mistaken. I love how it all came together and I'm glad that all these little pieces found such a fun place to land.

Fudgsicles

 I would make these when the kids were little and last week, I decided to introduce the tradition to the next generation.

Made me miss the carefree summer days when ours were small.

Fudgsicles

1 small box instant chocolate pudding

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C cream

2 C whole milk

Just combine and mix well until slightly thickened and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze and enjoy!

I'm grateful for good help in the kitchen

80 degrees, deck time, and the perfect taste tester...doesn't get any better than that.

Spring Break Adventures

 Little E stayed with us Wed - Sat while she was on Spring Break. She's such a joy and is good at entertaining herself, but we had fun things planned and adventure to seek!

Everything we do is simple

And folded into our daily lives, 

but according to this particular 4-yr old, "These are the best days ever!"

Wise child.

She spotted the 1st ladybug of the year

I wouldn't quite trust her with a paintbrush just yet, but if you need to dust, she's got it covered

She found this feather and none of our chickens have feathers like that. 

                                                            

She proceeded to tell me a very detailed story about a 'mysterious, sneaky night chicken' 😂

                                                         

Chores with Pap

And lovin' from the oven in the kitchen

After DH got out of the shower, he was teasing her and tossing M&Ms into the batter before the flour had been mixed in and she kept scolding him and picking them out. She finally looked at him and said, "You're a very cheeky Pap!" 😂

A bit later, as I took a sheet of cookies out of the oven, I went out to shut the chickens up and as I walked back to the house I could hear little E hollering. I knew she was ok because Pap was with her and the tone of her voice told me she wasn't hurt. As I approached the deck, I looked at my phone to turn the flashlight off and when I looked up I saw this

Pap had been sneaking warm cookies and Little E was chastising him and tattled when I walked up. 🤣 Cheeky Pap indeed!

I think I need a few days off. I'm knackered, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Monterey Chicken Spaghetti

 I had this pinned on a Pinterest board and made it yesterday

Monterey Chicken Spaghetti

I printed out the recipe because I strongly dislike cooking from recipes on my phone and warning...I almost didn't try this because the pop up ads were ridiculous. It gave me a headache just trying to read the recipe.

This was a big hit though. Even little E loved it and 4-yr olds can be very leary of new foods.

It's hard to go wrong with peppers, onion, mushrooms and bacon

I used freshly grated Sharp Cheddar, and switched out Monterey for Pepper-Jack because that was what I had on hand. I also used a garlic clove instead of garlic powder. DH suggested using fettucini next time so I made a note to try that. I'm also not a fan of cream of chicken soup in a can, but I used it this time. I need to make a batch of the dried Cream of Anything mix again. And...if you know us, I would love to add fresh roasted green chile to this. 😉

I forgot to add the fresh parsley once it was plated, but shook on a good amount of red pepper flakes. 😉

This was definitely a keeper.

Monterey Chicken Spaghetti

2 C roasted or browned chicken (I probably used 4 C)

3 Tbsp butter

1 diced green pepper

1/2 of 1 large onion, diced

1/2 C sliced mushrooms

1 garlic clove, minced

5 cooked bacon slices, chopped

8 oz spaghetti, cooked and drained

1 can cream of chicken soup (or homemade equivilant)

1 C sour cream

1/2 C milk

1 C sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/2 C Pepper Jack cheese, grated

Pepper - salt - red pepper flakes

Fresh parsley

* I cooked my bacon, removed it from the pan and then seasoned and cooked my chicken tenders in the bacon drippings with a little added butter. Remove when browned and cooked through and cut into bite-sized pieces. Add onion, green pepper, and mushrooms. Saute for 6 or 7 minutes. Stir in minced garlic clove and bacon. Add soup, sour cream, milk, seasonings, and 3/4 of the cheese. Combine everything and add the chicken and drained pasta. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Plate and top with red pepper flakes and fresh parsley.

Bon Apetite!

Dusty Trails Quilt

 Back in November, I unearthed this panel from the bottom of the bin that houses my collection of western fabric while I was searching for something else. It's been hiding there for quite some time, but this time I felt inspired to finally use it

I pulled a variety of fabrics from my stash, cut the panels to 6 1/2",

and built economy blocks. 

Ì ended up ripping that top left block apart because I thought the yellow was too harsh. I replaced it with a softer yellow.

I had 30 blocks so a 5x6 layout worked well for a 60"x72" cuddle quilt.

This rustic print has been in my stash for many years and it made the perfect backing with plenty left for another quilt or two.

Sandy quilted it with a meander that had a little star along the path that suits it perfectly.

The brown binding also came from my stash.

I'm not a fan of panels, but I am tickled with the way this one turned out.

Sunday Baking

 We haven't been home much and my 7 day dirt road vacation did not materialize. We were home on Sunday and I was planning to sew some, but I spent most of my time in the kitchen.

We're pretty remote and it takes 45 minutes to get to the closest little village and an hour the other direction to get to an actual town so we don't just run in for 1 or 2 things and when we DO go, it takes a while and we've been going more than I like.

We went to another bull sale on Saturday and the sale barn owner is a rancher and a friend of ours. He has bought our calves in the past. He walked up to me and the first thing he said wasn't "Hi.". He hugged me and said, "Did you bring me some of those cookies?" 😂

'Those' cookies must have made an impression because he bought those calves 5 or 6 years ago.

I swear that will be carved onto my headstone:

She baked cookies. 😂

That sale barn room was crowded and heads swiveled and several perked up, "Cookies?" Whoo, boy. Please don't advertise. 

So Sunday, I made a double batch. For the record, 'those' cookies are my Cowboy Cookies that I've been making for almost 40 years.

 It'll have to do. Monday was another bull sale. 'Tis the season. We also stopped in at the local nusery to drop off a plate of cookies for the manager. He's been incredibly kind and helpful. We are out of room, but DH couldn't help but browse. I about had to rope him and drag him out of there.

I also made another batch of this granola...that DH got into before it had cooled off and before I added the cranberries

When I walked through the kitchen the other day, DH shook the empty jar at me with a hopeful grin...hint taken. 

And I made Dirt Road Granola Bars.

I also wrapped up and delivered my most recent quilt finish, because J (the owner of the sale barn) and his wife just became grandparents last week and that new baby needs a quilt.

 I guess cookies and quilts are my love language 😉

Maybe I can sew tomorrow 🙃