Mug Rugs for My Granddaughters

I have been inspired by mug rugs for some reason.  Perhaps because it is a quilt with a tiny commitment.  Unlike most quilts with many squares, a mug rug has a single quilt square and maybe an appliquéd side bar or two.

   

For the mug rugs I made for my granddaughters, I chose two simple patterns.  I found them in this book, One Block Mug Rugs, by Amanda Weatherill. 

   

It has a lot of good patterns with clear instructions.

   

I made two different patterns with two different color palettes.  

   

Here's hoping for a lack of arguing over who gets which one! 

   

I've already started two more mug rugs. I will try to remember to take more pictures as I go. Maybe I can inspire you to try one or two!

Knitting and mug rugs

 I have been trying to keep busy.  COVID has kept me inside most of the time.  I started making masks in March and have sent a few to friends and family.  

    

Then I decided to make an afghan for my son-in-law.  After I got part way finished, I realized that I ought to make one for my other son-in-law.  I wouldn't want one to feel more loved than the other!  So I bought more yarn and started a second afghan. I was worried I wouldn't finish the second one in time for Christmas, but finished a week or so before.

    

Since Christmas, I have been looking for a project.  I have been checking out books with crafting ideas.  One of the ideas that I have collected, is mug rugs.  A mug rug is a quilted or appliquéd type of coaster for a warm cup of coffee with room for a snack. As it is fabric, the snack would have to be something dry, like a bagel or cookie of some kind. 

    

The local library didn't have any books that had patterns, but Amazon had quite a few.  I bought two with patterns I liked and tried to find fabric I own that would work.  I am doing daycare for my grandson and have quit going into stores, even with a mask, so I am limited in what I can do.  

    

The book has patterns to appliqué the cup and saucer.

   

I made this one for my friend Jackie.  It was my first and looks kind of busy, but I don't have a lot of pastel fabrics.

    

I made this one because I was intrigued by the bees and had some fabric with bees on it.  I may send it to my friend, Mary.  

She told me she wants to learn to quilt and this may give her some added inspiration.  

    Once the world gets back to normal, maybe she will come for a visit and we will actual go to a fabric store and PICK OUT fabrics and make some of these together.

Next I will  make some little ones for my granddaughters.

No More Chickens

   

I was excited about inheriting chickens when we bought this house. Not only did the previous owners have chickens, but a really sweet set up for them.  They had two chicken coops. and a lot of protective fencing.

After both of us got sick over winter and still had to go out and care for them on top of all the other things we had going on in our lives, we decided that if we could find a good home for them, we would let them go.  Another factor was trying to buy the food and bedding during the lockdown.  In addition, someone kindly went in to the feed store and bought all of the egg crates.  Hundreds.

   

Our daughter has a friend with a small farm nearby.  She had been planning on getting chickens, but their current coop was not fixed yet.  She was excited about getting the coop, fencing and chickens.  We waited for a few months, hoping the lockdown would be over.  As it got to be warmer, we decided it would be better to get them moved before the hot and humid weather made it dangerous for the chickens.

   

After debating methods of moving the one coop that she was taking, she decided to hire a guy who moved small buildings for a living.

   

We spent one evening moving fencing, so the chickens would have a safe place to go to.  Then a few days later we caged the chickens and took down one end of the fencing to remove the coop.  He winched the coop up, secured it and took it away.

   

Then Lee took down the rest of the fencing and took out the brush we didn't want any more.  We did save a few trees.  He used some of the excess dirt we saved from other projects to start leveling the area and filling in the holes.

   

We still have one coop.  It wasn't as nice as the one we sent with the chickens and it needs some repair.  But I think it will make a cool playhouse for the grandson we are expecting in September.  Obviously he won't use it for a few years, so we have time to fix it up.

   

The plan is to add a gutter to keep the water from splashing the from of the house and rotting the wood.

   

Then we will replace the wood on the front and paint the whole coop.

   

The top of the nesting boxes will be taken off hinges and secured as a roof with a roofing material.  Then there will be little cubbies inside for toys.

   

The roosts will be removed and the whole inside cleaned.

   

The house has lights and electricity, so it will have a bunch of options to put in fun stuff for a little boy for his "fort".  I will have plenty of time to plan for the "upgrades".  I'm open to suggestions. Also open to carpenters to do the work!!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Like everyone else, I've been stuck at home with nothing I care to do, until Virginia is allowed to open up.  So I have been doing some cooking.  I'm bored with all my cooking.  I want to got out to a restaurant and SIT DOWN and eat there. Not pick up and drive home with rapidly cooling food.

So I made some cookies.  I don't need to eat another carb for months, but that hasn't stopped me.  And if you are like me, you should make these cookies.  I found some macadamia nuts in the baking section.  I bought some white chocolate chips and started searching for recipes.  I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com

   

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
1 cup white chocolate chips

   

Preheat the oven to 350 °.

 

I use a kitchen Aid mixer for creaming the butter.  But you can use any mixer or wear yourself out by hand.  Set the mixer beating the butter while you get out the rest of the ingredients.

Add the sugar and scrape down the bowl.  Mix well.  Add the eggs and mix well.  Add in the flavorings.  Mix.

In a medium bowl place the flour baking soda and salt.  Mix with a fork and add in stages to the butter mixture.

   

Add the nuts and chocolate and mix until combined.

I use Silpat baking sheets.  If you don't, place walnut size lumps on an ungreased cookie sheet.  I use a cookie scoop for this.

   

Bake for 10 -12 minutes or until slightly brown on the edges.  Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack .

   

 Eat slightly warm with a cup of tea.

   

I wouldn't have thought to use the almond flavoring, but it was really nice and made these different than others I have tried.  Sad to say, these were worth the calories and I will make them again.  Hopefully after I have lost some of this lockdown, COVID weight.

   

But probably not.

Stump Pulling AGAIN

When we bought this property the owner had left part of it with uncut grass. We wanted to get rid of it.  Partly for the esthetics and partly to limit the wildlife.  We were tired of finding snakes and RJ was only too ready to chase the deer way past the property line that he is incapable of seeing.

   

We found a lot of stumps from long cut bushes that made mowing an obstacle course.  One of the advantages of a zero turn mower is that you can really zip through the mowing.  You can't do that if you hit a highish stump.  Our solution was to go over all 4 acres and mark the stumps with a reflecting pole. That way Lee could just avoid the areas until we got out those stumps.

   

We pulled a lot last year, but then winter came and we gave it up.  It is now spring and we are locked down from the corona virus and don't have any more excuses. Except we don't want to.

So we want to get the last of them while the ground is moist from the rain and the heat and humidity haven't hit.

   

Our routine is to dig around the stump, wrap a chain around it and pull with the tractor.  This rarely works the first time as the roots are long and the tractor is small.  There we chop a root or two with the pickaxe and try again.  And again.  And once more.  This is why we haven't gotten them all out. It's exhausting.

   

We have a large pile of dirt from the excavation for the shop.  So, after we finish pulling, Lee picks up some dirt with the front loader and fills and smooths the hole.

   

Then we do another one.  Until we give up for the day.  Lately three stumps seems to be our limit.  Getting old sucks.

But there are three more stumps, so with any luck, we can cross this project off our list by the end of the week.  

Face masks

In the middle of finishing the dress quilt for my granddaughter, I started making face masks.  The whole world is now in the middle of the COVID lockdown.  Face masks are becoming a more common sight and they are hard to get.  So a lot of people are making face masks from fabric they have in their homes.

I decided to make a few.  I found free patterns online and chose a shaped one. I made one according to the directions and then started playing around with it a bit.

   

I didn't have any elastic or pony tail holders, so I chose to make fabric ties.

My sister in law said the CDC recommended three layers of fabric.  I chose to use some remnants of batting material in the middle.  The I did a simple free motion top stitch to hold everything together.

   

I had some left over cut strips from my most recent quilt and sewed them together. One I made into a crazy quilt design.

   

I made one for my granddaughter and my son and daughter in law.  I also made some for their day care providers. They are considered essential workers, so they have to take their children to day care.


    



Hopefully this will help keep everyone safe.

A Pillow For The Dress Quilt

When I made the dress quilt for Rachel, I made a practice square. I cut out a dress shape and fused it to a scrap piece of off white fabric.

After I finished the quilt, I didn't want to discard the practice square.  I thought I could use some of the left over batting to make a simple pillow.

   

I added a simple border from the dotted fabric. and a yellow dotted fabric for the back.

   

I stuffed it with many layers of the batting.  Batting is pretty thin, so I used a lot, but the end result is still pretty flat.

   

I like the combination for a young girl.

   

I hope Rachel likes it.

I wish I could fly in to visit.  Guess I'll wait a few months until it isn't so virus-y.