Time to toot my horn AND to fess up!

Well, the PhD Challenge is over at midnight tonight, and I know I won't be squeezing another finish under
the wire...

I committed to doing 6 projects, so, here I will show you what did, and didn't get accomplished.

1.) My QD Sampler...

Top is done, needs batting, backing, quilting, binding & label. Not done! 8-(

2.) Country Sampler 
the Rabbit Factory

DONE! 8-)

3.) Hidden Thimbles

Blocks made, but that is it! Progress made,
but not done! 8-(

4.) Holly Jolly

Disappearing 9-Patch done with 4 charm packs!!

DONE! 8-)

5.) Charm Packs on Point

DONE! 8-)
.

6.) Many Thanks
Art to Heart - Nancy Halvorsen

Being hand-quilted...
Progress made, but not done! 8-(

There you have it! My toots and fesses! 8-)

Three out of Six done...
I'm happy with that, and will continue to work at completing the last 3 by the end of 2011...

I thank all the lovely ladies that jumped on board with me to get some of their PhDs off their backs also!!  You all rock! 8-)

For those of you that followed our progress,
I hope you've been able to get some of your own PhDs/UFOs/WIPs done during this first
half of 2011 too!! 8-)

32*C - feels like 44*C
translates to
89.6*F - feels like 111.2*F
Very humid! I'm one of those that
cant handle the humidity... 8-(

Stay cool!!
Happy stitchings!

Myra

Rhubarb Torte Recipe

I was asked for the recipe for  

something I posted yesterday...

So, here it is! 8-)

This is a very refreshing dessert on a 

hot summer's day, especially nice 

after a BBQ'd meal! 8-) 

* Read through recipe before starting...

First:

1/2 c.  water

   2 T.  sugar

   1 T.  cornstarch

Bring to a boil in microwave safe bowl in microwave, or do stove-top. 

*** Set aside to cool for the meringue later...

Crust:

  1 c.  margarine, softened some

  2     egg yolks

1/2 t.  vanilla

  3 T.  sugar

  2 c.  flour

Mix ingredients together well and pat into 

a 9 x 13 inch pan.

Filling:

     2 T.  butter or margarine, softened

     4     egg yolks

1+1/2 c.  sugar

     4 T.  flour

      1     small tin Carnation Milk 

(or 1/2 of larger tin)

4 to 5 c. rhubarb, cut up 

Whisk first 5 ingredients of filling together well, then toss in rhubarb, stir to coat. Pour filling over crust. Bake at 350*F for 45 minutes.

Meringue: 

6      egg whites

4 T.  sugar

1 t.   vanilla

While torte is baking, beat together Meringue ingredients until stiff. 

*** Now fold in the cooled cornstarch mixture that you started with. 

Pour meringue over torte right after baking, and gently spread to cover; return to oven to brown under broiler. (watch it, as it doesn't take long to burn it)

Once counter cooled, cover and refrigerate till time to enjoy...

This can be made the day before a BBQ dinner.

 You will be asked for the recipe, believe me!

Enjoy! 8-)

Myra

A busy day and Sew & Tell...

 I spent a good amount of time in the kitchen today... If you know me, that is a rare event now-a-days... 8-)

First I made some Banana Nut Muffins... As you can see, they are half eaten already... That is what happens when you don't bake very often! 8-)

 Then I made 2 Rhubarb Tortes to bring to my CCC group tomorrow night... Mmm... Yum! 

We have a thing that if it is your birthday during that week, the birthday girl brings something to share in celebration... Kind of like making your own birthday cake!...?... Who does that!?!?! lol! 

We do!!! 8-)

I then went on to make a pot of Cream of Cauliflower Soup for supper. This time, after blending/processing the soup, I added fried and cut up Italian Farmer Sausage, as well as ripped up Kale for something different. 

It was good! 8-)

I then went to my Country Rose gathering. 

I hadn't been for a month, so it was nice to 

see the gals again!!! 

This is Pc's baby quilt she was binding... The rabbit is running away with a Log Cabin block!!!

 This is what she used on the back. Nice & soft!

 These are the blocks that Rs was putting together! Love the fabrics!

 And since I am seeing garden goodies on lots of blogs out there, I thought I'd show you what just opened up today in mine... There should be lots more tomorrow! 8-)

This is a volunteer that just popped up along the side of the house that we don't use, but where  the dogs "visit"... a bit of flowery fragrance? lol!

Finishes are constantly popping up on the PhD Challenge blog.  

Two days to go till the end of the challenge. Many of the ladies are making great progress... 

We have 134 finishes right now!

Pop on over there, click on the "DONE" label 

to view all the finishes...

That be it for tonight!

Hope you had the most wonderful day today!

Myra

Oh my...posts are getting toooooo long again!!!

Must change that... "again"...

A finish!!! 8-)

YES!!! I have my Country Sampler all done!!!

My 3rd PhD finish for the challenge!!!

Read more about my finish on the PhD Challenge blog...

On to making a baby quilt now...

Happy stitchings!

Myra

Sunday's Mini Retreat...

I had a great day at our Mini Retreat today!!! Sadly I was remiss with my photo taking, so
not much to show from the day... I spent most
of my time stitching, visiting, and getting to know another blogger!

I invited Corina, another Manitoban, to join us for the day, and Joanne also joined us again...
Here they are with their work in their hands...
Privacy, no smiles showing... 8-)

Corina was binding her Strings Quilt. It is lovely, as well as the gal making it! It was nice
meeting you Corina!!! Pop on over to Corina's blog to read up on it.

 Joanne was hand-quilting her Bear's Paws PhD, aiming to have it done for my PhD Challenge which ends on Thursday. Her quilt is wonderful (sadly I didn't get a photo, but you can see it on her blog), and it was nice to spend time with her at another one of our mini retreats!

Thanks for joining us gals!!! I look forward to you both joining us again in the future!! 8-)

I had also invited Irene (friend) to pop in for
a look-see. She is crafty, and is retiring
next week, so maybe we can talk her into
becoming a quilter!!! 8-)
It was nice to see you Irene!!

This is one of our CCC gals' quilt top. This was a
BOM our group had done last month. Sd liked
the block so much, she decided to make a
whole quilt for herself...

 Myself, I was diligently working on the binding of one of my PhD projects. (also posted here)
I managed 3 corners and only had 3 feet to go, but my hand cramped up tonight.
Thus it will wait till tomorrow...

 To all my CCC gals, it was another wonderful mini retreat today! Thanks! 8-)

Wallets 2 Wear
This was brought to my attention on Facebook, and I thought I'd share it with you.
Perhaps of interest? 8-)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Myra

A baby quilt being planned...

 I found this magazine while at Safeway (grocery store) the other day, 

and tossed it in my cart...

Looking through it I found 3 quilts that I 

thought could be the one to make for my 

first "grand-baby-to-be"... I'd been looking 

around for a while for just the right pattern... 

I showed my daughter all 3 patterns, 

she picked this one, we looked through 

my stash, picked out these 3 fabrics, and 

now I need to go buy a couple yellows for it..

I'll be digging in on this one once my PhD Challenge is over in 6 days...end of June...

Back to finishing up the quilting on the

PhD project in my previous post,

and get the binding on it...

Have a great day/weekend friends! 8-)

Myra

Still doing FMQ...

Yup! I'm busy quilting, though not fully 

enjoying the process... I enjoy piecing the 

quilt top, and hand-stitching the bindings 

more... It is looking much less than perfect, 

but I'm Ok with that. At least it is getting 

done... Working on the borders now...

 Should I have used an invisible thread? Probably... Oh well...

 

I am hoping to get the binding on it in time to do the hand-stitching on Sunday at the Mini Retreat my CCC group is having... That way I don't need to dismantle and set up my Pfaffy... The more I can avoid hauling my Pfaffy, the better, though I need to get my Featherweight serviced so I do have a machine that is ready to grab and go with a project for my outings...

Hope you are having a productive day!

Happy stitchings!

Myra

 

Quilting Progress

Does slow and steady win the race? 

Not always, but at least they eventually finish...

 That is how things are going with my PhDs 

right now... I am not going to get my 6 

committed done for my PhD Challenge, 

but I WILL get a 3rd one done!!! 

I've been quilting my Country Sample
(#2 on my list) the last 2 days...

 Had enough of it today, the rest can wait till tomorrow, and hopefully I'll get the
binding on by day's end...

Happy stitchings!

Myra

DEDON NESTREST... I want one!!!

Isn't this charming? 

 Can you see yourself here, in a DEDON Nestrest, reading a good book, flipping through some quilt magazines, doing some hand-stitching, sharing a glass of wine and conversation with a friend, or just
taking a good long snooze...?

I SURE COULD!!! 8-)

Love it! ...?... Not that I have a place for one,
nor could I afford it... To dream...

Thanks Mrs.A for bring this wonderful 

daydream product to my attention!!!

 Myra 

PS: I finally figured out how to add the comment option on my "Pages" now! Yippee!! 8-)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY 

to all the dads in the world!!

May you all enjoy this day with your families! 

SIL on the left, is a Father to be very soon...

DH on the right, Father of three...

My Father, of two, Grand-Father of three...

Wishing you all a good day of sun,

fun, food, games, and laughter... 8-)

Hugs & blessings,

Myra

 ********************************************

PS: Here is my progress on my knitting. 

Two sweaters, and one pair of leggings started...

Some Wonky Bits Show & Tell

 These photos are from the last few Wonky Bits gathering days. We gather twice a month...

Lp's strip of hexagons, 

and my blimp of hexagons...

 I have learned, if I ever do hexies again, I will do them in strips instead of groupings... 

Live and learn!!! 8-)

 This is Lp's finished Tisket a Tasket BOM, 

that Bunny Hills offered.

Pg's Star quilt. This was a class that MPQ offered a while back... You can see De's here...

Here is a MPQ Challenge quilt Pg whipped up in a week, from start to finish.

 Here is my latest knitting project. Another sweater for the bun that is in the oven, which is my darling GrCh (grandchild)... I'm learning to read knitting instructions, and what the abbr meanings actually are. I am also learning that not all instructions are error free... 8-)

I finished knitting the yoke of this little sweater, only to realize that the instructions didn't have me put in button holes for the future buttons!!! Duh!! 8-(

Another little pattern booklet and yarn for a future project for GrCh...

 OK! Enough playing on the comp, and blog hopping! There is time for more of that tonight! Time to get back to my FMQ!!!

Hope you are all having a productive day! 8-)

Myra

Show & Tell

 Lots to catch up with yet after my
comp problem hiatus...

This is the May CCC BOM grouping that
I won on June 1st...
Yaaay!!! I finally won one!!!

 Here they are displayed on my wall at home...

 There are a few more blocks to come in yet...

At our small group retreat that following weekend, we were pleasantly surprized to find that there was a lovely stone patio added to the cottage since we were there in April...
We made good use of it! 8-)

 First thing I did was finish up knitting up this baby afghan that I'm making for my G-Babe to be... Silly me I thought 3 balls would be enough...NOT!!! Now I have to go find more...

 Very soft, and fun to knit up...

 Then I made June's CCC BOM scrappy
block for the next draw...

 ...and since I won May's block, it is up to me to whip up a block along with instructions to present to the gals for the July BOM... Already made, but can't reveal it just yet... Surprize ya know!?! 8-)

This is Yn's Iron Carrier that she made
at the retreat.

 Here she is opening it up.

 The outside when flattened out.

 The ironing pad side up... Very handy!!

 Too cute! I'll be making one!! 8-)

This is A's "quilt as you go" double sided butterfly project that she was working on...

 This is De's Lone Star and Log Cabin quilt. It took a bit of fussing and ripping, but she got it put together!!! All it needs are the borders now...

 Dl started her 2 fabric paper-pieced project...

 De's Star Quilt... I believe it was done like
a stack & whack...

 Ls' baby quilt gift. Panel pictures and Disappearing 4-Patches.

 Ls's finished raffle donation quilt...

 Ls's redwork snowmen that she received as a gift. She started making the pieces to sash them...

 The gang that was out for this retreat...

 My work station. Putting the binding on one
of my PhDs for my challenge...

 Here it is finished a few days after the retreat.

  You can read a bit more about it (my frustrations) on the PhD Challenge blog here...

Glad I got a 2nd one completed, and now I am
on to my 3rd, hoping to have it done before
the end of the month...

Will have some Wonky Bit Show & Tell
in the next day or two...

Thanks for visiting!

Happy stitches!

Myra