On January 31, I Made Bread

My post title is a riff on graffiti from the gladiators' barracks of Pompeii.  Where I would like to visit someday.

Meantime!

*rolls up to the quarantine, 8 months late, bearing Starbucks*

Today I made bread!

I've had the book Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day for a while now.  Yesterday I decided I wanted to actually use it, so I prepped the dough, popped it in the fridge, and then this morning baked the above two loaves, which accompanied dinner at my parents' tonight.  They came out pretty well, like a light slightly sourdough.  I might try baguettes tomorrow morning.  If I stick with this, I think I'll invest in a new baking stone and pizza peel.  Ours got respectively broken and downsized in the interstate move.

Being me, I also baked a blackberry pie to go with:

They always end up looking vampiric when I cut smiley faces for vents.  It's why I usually stick with either the pi symbol or a heart.

Ten for the stack

Writing word count: 453.  Finally hitting some uber-sweet drama that I've been plotting for rather a long time.

Sewing: ten more Garden Party blocks done:

Which brings me up to forty blocks.  But I haven't cut tomorrow's set out yet.

New Project!

Today's writing word count: 533.

Today was a getting stuff done day!  (Even I have those once in a while.)

I cooked, I cleaned, I finally got the baby quilts mailed off to my cousin and my friend.  And I also got started on my next sewing project.

Bonnie Hunter's Garden Party!  It's found in her Addicted To Scraps book.

I had apparently started working on the blocks while we were living in the apartment, because I found fifteen finished ones, and pieces cut for another five, which I stitched up over the weekend.  Today I pulled out the appropriate size strip bin, and cut and sewed another ten blocks, bringing my current total to 30:

Since these blocks finish at 5", it takes rather a lot of them to make a quilt!  (The pattern calls for 100... but I kind of want to enlarge it slightly? 121 if I do.)  I've got my next ten blocks cut and stacked, ready to stitch tomorrow.

I return, bearing pics

Don't mind me while I just vanish for a week or so due to various stressors.  I thought I would be able to just close my CNN tab after the Inauguration, you know?  But nooo....

In any case, I asked Wonderful Husband to hold up a couple project finishes!

First off is the black and white baby quilt:

I still haven't posted it, as I wasn't able to get to the post office before it closed today.  Maybe Monday!  I bound it in the same circles-of-stars fabric that's most of the back:

And then also, of course, there's the Christmas Stars wallhanging:

Which is also bound in its backing fabric:

(And, yes, I also used the backing fabric for the hanging sleeve.  Camouflage!)

So, three finishes in three weeks.  A pace I am not likely to keep up, but it feels good to have a couple long-term UFOs done.

Speaking of which, guess what else I've been working on?

I've finally got all seventeen 4" trees done.  Plus two more, because when I showed them this morning what I was working on, Jazzy wanted me to make him an "orange Christmas tree" and Squiddle wanted me to make him a red one.  Mummy obliged, and their blocks are currently pinned to their bedroom walls.  The empty space at the top is going to be filled with a star.  Guess my next step is combing through my yellow fabrics again, and figuring out which star cookie cutter is the best size to use as an applique template.

Sunday Stuffs

Word count: 803.  I got through two more prompt cards.

I also finished the black-and-white baby quilt, so that makes finish #3 for the year.  And I've pulled apart the stuff stacked in/by my sewing area to try to continue getting everything organized and into a home place?  Plus I unpacked another box in the garage that was mostly patterns.

I think I'm trying to figure out what my next project is going to be.  Wish me luck!

Saturday Summary

Word count: 671.  At this point I have done a complete lap of my plot thread cards, and am thinking I need to find my blanks to put in a couple more that are now coming into play.

I didn't do much sewing today, just getting the binding for the black-and-white baby quilt together, pressed, and ready to stitch.

I (and Wonderful Husband) did, however, end up reconnecting with an old friend who we haven't seen in person for... a decade or so?  Certainly more than eight years, since he's never met either of our boys.  It was lovely having about an hour-and-a-half Zoom call with Kyri, and hopefully we'll stay in closer contact from here on out.

What's black, white, and yellow, and has me feeling run over?

No writing today.  I'm stiff and sore for reasons unknown, and I'm counting last night's double writing for tonight's.

I finally got the Christmas tree stripped and everything holidayish except the outside decorations stored.  I also finally set down a thick layer of straw inside the chicken run.

And I finally got this quilted:

I trimmed the leftover backing and cut it up for binding strips.  But that is for tomorrow.  Tonight is an early night.