Someone, who was very kindly vacuuming, put my spinning wheel up on the couch. Of course Riley could not resist investigating and knocked it down onto the floor breaking the spinning head. It’s been given a wood glue bandaid while I wait for a replacement to arrive. I sure hope it gets here in time for SPA!

I’ve been waffling over preparation for the 2012 stash party block of the month. This time we were given fabric amounts so we had the option to make a more planned quilt. I knew I wanted to use the dark blues for my star points but didn’t have anything in my stash that would work for centers. I finally went shopping and bought some batiks in medium tones to use as my centers. I really need to get on the stick with block #1. I have until Feb 11th or so to turn it in for the next pattern.

I finished up the first Oriental Baltimore block, Maple leaves. I really saw a lot of improvement as I worked on this and am pretty please with the result. I have to do applique in small chunks as it really bothers my back but I quite enjoyed it. Next up will be an iris block.

I’ve been very happy with the homemade deodorant though I hadn’t found a delivery method I was happy with until I found empty deodorant tubes on Etsy. Having just finished up batch #1 I made up another batch to try out my new tubes. This time I let the mixture cool in the refrigerator, stirring frequently to keep everything in suspension. When it was about as thick as pudding I transferred it to the tubes. It set up very fast so that went well with tube #1 but not so well with tube #2. I won’t chill it quite as much next time. I let those solidify in the fridge overnight before using them. They are quite stable at room temp now and I am very happy with my new tubes. When this batch is gone, I plan to try adding some BioKult probiotic as a modification to the current recipe. I got the idea from this recipe.

Not finding a sourdough version of Pain au chocolate I was happy with, I modified King Arthur Flour’s Rustic Sourdough bread to fit my wishes. I added about 3/4 cup of sugar and about 4 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate for a really lovely (not overly sweet) version of Pain au chocolate. It was enormous so I have lots left in the freezer for later.

Someone visited our patio during the night looking for something tasty to eat. We long ago moved the trash into the bulkhead where the raccoons cannot get it after Jason observed them tip the trash can over and rock it from side to side while jumping on it to dislodge the lid. It looks like they still come visit but all they’ll find now is seed the birds have tossed about or some veggie bits in the compost.

Sometimes a girl just wants brownies. I used chopped dark chocolate in the batter and added semi-sweet chips over the top just before baking.

Brown chicken in all sides in a little olive oil. Add 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped ribs of celery and some bay leaves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until vegetables have softened then add 4 cups chicken stock and 4 cups water. Bring to a simmer, cook 30 minutes, covered,  and turn off heat. Let stand 60 minutes, covered. Remove chicken to a cutting board,  pick meat from bones and return it to the pot. Bring to a simmer. Rub 1/4 cup butter into 1/3 cup flour to make a paste. Add the flour paste in small bits to the pot, stirring often. Let simmer about 5 minutes. Stir together 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 large eggs and 3/4 cup buttermilk. Drop by spoonfuls into the simmering soup, cover and cook ten minutes.

One of the techniques I am learning with this first applique block is a “Suffolk Puff” aka “Yo-yo” with a turned edge. You stitch around the edge of your circle about 1/8″ in, insert a circle template, cinch it up and iron. Then you remove the template and stitch right on that folded edge, cinching it up a second time to form the little puff. This block is meant to be maple leaves but there’s some artistic license here as that puff in the center with little French knots in it seems much more like a flower than a leaf.

Gabby’s creativity when it comes to nappy spots knows no bounds. Sure enough she has decided the new shelf full of mittens, hats and gloves is a very cozy sleeping spot indeed.