A snowy day

January 11, 2025
Woke up to a winter wonderland

The snow began around 6:30 a.m. This was the scene that greeted us when I took Sadie out around 9:00 a.m. Big Girl has never experienced snow this deep. I had to walk out in the snow first to show her it was okay to go out. As predicted, we played several versions of the in/out game. She waited patiently to be toweled off after every round.

Total snowfall was about 3 inches. More snow and freezing rain are expected overnight. Late this afternoon, our HOA hired a contractor to provide snow removal and road salt services. I’m glad they did because the slush started to melt and is expected to refreeze overnight. Should make it easier for neighbors who need to get out tomorrow morning. Sadie and I may take a walk tomorrow mid-day, but I’m not planning to leave in my SUV until Sunday afternoon.

Doing EPP while I watched the local news coverage of our winter weather

Today was a lazy day. We watched the neighborhood kids slide down the hill in front of our house and visited with the next-door neighbors as their 3 year old experienced snow for the first time. So much fun! I did venture downstairs to my sewing room for a bit, but returned upstairs to the warmth of the fireplace and a mug of hot tea. Making a few EPP hexie flowers, reading a book and taking a nap were about as productive as it got today. Dinner consisted of leftover Hawaiian Chicken, jasmine rice and macaroni salad – my homemade version inspired by Mo’Bettahs that I enjoyed while at the Riley Blake Garden of Quilts event a couple of years ago. There’s even enough left for lunch tomorrow to pair with a small garden salad!

The local news anchors just reported some power outages in my area. Hopefully, we still have power in the morning. Regardless, all devices are fully charged, the laundry is done and my flashlight is handy.

Wintry mix forecasted

January 10, 2025

Snow, ice, freezing rain, or just plain old rain? Local weather forecasters keep revising the forecast. We started with 3-6″ of snow. The latest forecast shows us receiving less than 1″ of snow on Friday, changing over to freezing rain the remainder of Friday into Saturday. Expected ice accumulation is about 1/4″, which should be cleared up by lunchtime on Sunday.

My plan is to hunker down until Sunday afternoon. A little bit of snow isn’t the issue – it’s the ice you can’t see when driving on the hilly, shaded streets around my home. Said ice on the power lines could potentially cause power outages (not fun). From experience, I know the house temps will settle in the mid-50’s if there’s no heat and outside temps are in the single digits. We’re forecasted to be at least 20 degrees warmer than that this weekend. The front of our house faces the sun, so the front bedroom is the best place to bundle up and hunker down while it’s cold with no heat. A hot meal can be had if I fire up the Big Green Egg.

I’m ready for whatever happens: a stack of books, handwork projects, my journal, a deck of cards and Sadie to play 9,000 iterations of the in/out game.

Projects made from my fabric stash

January 4, 2025
Stitchin’ Heaven New Year’s Day QAL Blocks 1 & 2 made from fabrics in my patriotic bin
Curvy, lined zipper pouch for class sample. Pattern drafted by me using Boxed Bag template by Carolina Moore.
Placemats using Mini Yellow Brick Road pattern (basting outside at the library during Sew Day)

What do you do with leftovers from previous quilt projects?
How about using them in new projects? It doesn’t have to be an entire quilt.
1. Make mug rugs, pot holders, placemats, table runners, journal covers, pillow covers or zipper pouches.
2. Use the larger leftover bits make quilt sandwiches for FMQ practice.
3. Use some of the smaller leftover bits to make a practice blocks to try out new patterns before cutting into your project fabric.

How to store your scrap and leftover fabrics?
Your system can be as decorative and elaborate as you wish. Personally, I prefer simple. I keep small bits and partial strips in a pretty basket. Random 5″ and 10″ squares are kept with my charm packs and layer cakes. Cut strips that are WOF are stored with my jelly rolls. Larger chunks are stored by color with FQs and yardage. Novelty, dog and patriotic theme fabrics are kept separately.

Periodically, I will go through my scrap bin and cut the leftover jagged pieces into 2-1/2″, 3-1/2″ and 4-1/2″ squares. The smallest size kept is 1-1/2″ strips and I’ll cut 1-1/2″ squares from them as needed because they tend to get lost in the scrap bin.

With the current Bonnie Hunter Winter Mystery quilt, I’ve made good use of random charm squares, forgotten FQs, white/cream hunks leftover from previous quilt tops, and turning all the leftover triangles from trimming stitch & flip units into 1-3/4″ HSTs.

The key to managing your fabric scraps is to organize them, then actually use them.