To Do Tuesday 1-4-22 - Happy 2022!

Welcome to the first To Do Tuesday in 2022! Our New Year's Eve PJ party was pretty tame, with us not being able to stay awake past 11:00 - lol! How are things going with you - have you made goals for 2022? I hope you will share with us by adding your post to the link party below. If you are new to this event, just click the logo above for more details.

Final blocks from 2021 Monthly Color Challenge hosted by Patterns by Jen

Here was my list of goals last week:

☑1. Wedding Quilt - cutting - I cut a few pieces then began to waffle about the pattern

✅2. Take down Christmas decorations - done last Tuesday, finished by 10:00am!

✅3. Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail - last block, layout, and post - done and posted here

✅4. Color Challenge layout and post - finished the block - no post but you can see the all the blocks in the photo above. These will likely become orphan blocks.

My goals this week:

1. Work on Wedding Quilt. 

The Wedding Quilt is a quilt for my great-nephew and his fiancée who are getting married this month. We have sent "regular" wedding gifts but I hope to complete a quilt for them by the end of the month. This will be my main focus in the sewing room for awhile. I'm still undecided on the "Sprinkling" pattern by Coriander Quilts, but I am using a layer cake of Vert Fusion by AGF against a background of Spotted Graphite by Zen Chic for Moda. The bride and groom like grays and sage-y greens, so I am hoping this will be to their liking. It will be different for sure!

Now it's time to share your stuff! Let us know what's going on in your world by adding your link below.

Because Inlinkz continues to have issues with Marsha's Spot, I will post her website for you to visit her blog. She may or may not have a post for To Do Tuesday, but here is her address just in case:

Marsha's Spot

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

November Color Challenge - Blueberries

Today's post for the 2021 Monthly Color Challenge for November is short and sweet. I'm pretty late to the party this month and am barely squeaking in my post to Jen's linky party, which ends later today! The theme for 2021 is fruits and veggies, and this month is blueberries. Jen provides a pattern (available free during the month, $1 after the month has passed) with options for 12-1/2 inch and 6-1/2 inch sizes. My 6-1/2 inch block is a blueberry with purply-pinky notes!

A pile of Color Challenge blocks from this past year

Next month will be the last block for the year, so it will be interesting to see what kind of layout these make. In the meantime, go look at other versions of Jen's block right here.

October Color Challenge and Grapefruit Margaritas!

The month of October has sped by so quickly, and it's already time to post the October block for Jen's 2021 Color Challenge. "Pink Grapefruit" is the color for this month, and I'm including a recipe for grapefruit margaritas! Pink grapefruits are typically yellow with a pink blush. As I looked at my accumulation of blocks for the year, I decided to go with something a little bit different.

Each month Jen provides a free pattern and a color suggestion pertaining to the theme and with options for both 6-inch and 12-inch finished blocks. The theme for 2021 is fruits and vegetables. Last year the color theme was birds. It's a fun challenge, and there are prizes each month. Last month I won a fat quarter bundle from Benartex!

Although I have not tried this recipe, I've intended to since I first bought Martina's Kitchen Mix cookbook by Martina McBride. It sounds delicious!

Grapefruit Margaritas

Serves 2

Margarita salt

3/4 cup freshly squeezed Ruby Red grapefruit juice (from 1-1/2 grapefruits)

2 limes, juiced (1/4 cup) 

3 oz silver or blanco tequila

2 to 3 tablespoons Simple Syrup (see below)

Garnishes: sliced grapefruit, lime wedges

Rub rims of 2 margarita or highball glasses with wedge of grapefruit. Invert each glass into shallow bowl filled with thin layer of margarita salt. Gently twist glasses to coat  dampened rims in salt. Add ice to glasses.

Combine grapefruit juice, lime juice, tequila, and Simple Syrup in cocktail shaker filled with ice. Cover with  lid and shake vigorously until thoroughly chilled (about 30 seconds). Strain into  prepared glasses. Garnish with sliced grapefruit and lime wedges.

Simple Syrup:

Combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water in small saucepan. Cook over medium, stirring occasionally, just until  sugar dissolves, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool completely. Makes about 1 cup, which can be stored in refrigerator for up to one week.

I'm linking to Jen's linky party, where you can see all the beautiful versions of her block pattern!

September Color Challenge - Pineapple

This block is for Jen's 2021 Monthly Color Challenge. This year the colors are from fruits and vegetables, and you can read all about it on Jen's blog, PBJ Patterns by Jen right here. The color challenge this month drew inspiration from pineapple, and that is a mouth-watering challenge if there ever was one.

My "yellow" is really more of a yellow-ish cream that doesn't show as warm in the photos.

Here are all the blocks I have so far in this challenge - some are the 6-inch size, and I do need some more of those. (I have to fix the embarrassing cat pulls in my design board!)

Each month Jen provides a pattern for the challenge, and it is free for the month. Be sure to check out the pattern for next month - the color is pink grapefruit! You can find other participants' versions of her block at the linkup right here.

To-Do Tuesday, August Color Challenge, And An Announcement!

From the front: Granddaughter #2, DIL, Papaw/Hubby, Granddaughter #1, Grandson #1,

Grandson #2 on Son's lap, me, Daughter, and Granddaughter #3.

Whew that was a fast week! Our kids have come and gone and it was just a blur of laughing and talking and eating. The sleeping situation was not the best, but they are a kind and tolerant bunch - lol! Because our guest rooms have become my sewing room and my husband's office, everyone was bedded down in our living room on the recliner sofas and an air mattress. Turns out the sofa recliners aren't the best sleeping options (although we fall asleep on them regularly - ha!), so we will get another air mattress for their Christmas visit!

If you have a second, watch this video of Everett with his contagious belly laugh

while playing with cousin Brandon!

Laney loves the quilt I made for her (quilt details right here)

As far as sewing? Not much got done, but that's OK! Here was my list last week:

1. Work on piecing a backing for Exploding Heart - No Progress

2. Start on Welcome Autumn cross stitch - No Progress. I did get this lighted magnifier from Joann to help me see the 28ct squares!

3. Continue to big-stitch on RBD quilt - No Progress. While at Joann's I got this lap frame to give me better access to each block.

4. Continue to stitch and piece on Christmas project - No Progress

5. Continue to make Dash-Along blocks - No Progress

Mushroom blocks for August Color Challenge

Here is what I did get done. Each month Jen at Patterns by Jen hosts a color challenge, and 2021 is based on colors of fruits and veggies. The color for August drew inspiration from "mushrooms", and with that I got to rifle through my brown and tan scraps. I am really enjoying Jen's patterns, and this one was easy. Each month a free pattern is offered with instructions for 6-inch and 12-inch included. I made the 6-inch size yesterday and was only going to make one, but it was so cute I had to make another one!

See more "mushroom" blocks right here at Patterns by Jen.

My goals are simply the same as last week, and I should be able to make some progress. I have included time for a Squirrel-spiration, and more on that later! Hint: think "fall" and "plaidish". 😉

This week you can find more inspiration for To-Do Tuesday right here at the blog of Chris at Chris Knits. After today, Chris will be stepping down as host of To-Do Tuesday and I will try very hard to fill her awesome shoes. She has been a wonderful host -  funny and kind and supportive - and we will all miss her. Thank you so much Chris!

Be sure to check back here at Texas Quilt Gal next Tuesday for the first September To-Do Tuesday!

July Color Challenge Block And Key Lime Pie

The 2021 Monthly Color Challenge is hosted by Jen at Patterns by Jen, who provides a new pattern each month. The colors this year are from fruits and veggies, and for July "lime" is the star. In keeping with my "toned-down" theme so far, I chose muted dark greens.

Since I am using prints instead of solids for this challenge, I decided to vary from the pattern by adding a third fabric. To blend with the corner dark green from Holly Taylor's Enchanted Pond collection, I found a long hoarded Cotton + Steel text print as well as an older Timeless Treasures circles fabric, and away I went. Each month I've made at least 2 or 3 block, including one of the 6-inch finished size, but this month I made one 12-inch size only, because I knew I could not handle the 3/4 inch cut pieces required in the 6-inch size!

Naturally when I think of lime, I think of Key Lime Pie. When I had my catering business, I used to make this one for a coffee shop in Edmond, OK. The recipe is from Mar-A-Lago Club in Palm Beach, FL, and it is a good one.

Mar-A-Lago Key Lime Pie

Serves 8

9-inch graham cracker crust, purchased or from scratch

4 egg yolks

Grated zest from 1 lime

1 - 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake graham cracker crust about 5 minutes, remove from oven and prepare filling.

Beat egg yolks and lime zest at high speed till fluffy, about 5 minutes. (I use a KitchenAid mixer with wire whisk attachment.) Gradually add milk at lower speed, till thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Lower mixer speed and slowly add juice and mix until just combined. Pour into crust and bake 10-15 minutes, or until filling has just set. Cool on wire rack, then refrigerate before serving. Serve with whipped cream on top.

Jen's patterns are easy to follow, well written, and free for one month! You can find other interpretations of the color Lime at the link at the bottom of Jen's post.

June Color Challenge And A Recipe

The color challenge for June is pumpkin! I like any reminder of autumn, especially this time of year, so looking for appropriate fabrics was a joy. Go look at the nice variety of pumpkin blocks at Jen's linkup right here.

12-inch block

I did struggle a bit with the pattern and was positive none of my points would match up. In fact at some point I began to question Jen's instructions, but of course in the end, Jen's brilliance became evident. Yes some of my points weren't perfect, but the points police have not visited here in a long time, so I felt safe.

Two 6-inch blocks

I've been making at least three blocks each month, in both the 12-inch and the 6-inch, so I should have an interesting layout at the end of the year!

Pumpkin is an ingredient in many of my autumn recipes, but here is an icebox cake for summer that hits the spot! And it's easy to make with a cake mix as the main ingredient. I use my KitchenAid for this, but a hand mixer works just fine.

Caramel Pumpkin Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

3 eggs

1/4 cup water

15 oz can pumpkin

1 cup caramel ice cream topping 

8 oz Cool Whip

1/2 cup toffee bits (either Heath Bits O' Brickle or Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits)

Whisk cake mix and spices together; add eggs, water, and pumpkin and beat about 2 minutes. Pour into a  prepared 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cake springs back when touched and/or toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan completely.

Poke about 30 shallow holes in cake. Pour caramel topping into holes and all over cake. Spread Cool Whip to cover cake and sprinkle toffee bits all over. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving, then dig in!

To-Do Tuesday and May Monthly Color Challenge

May Monthly Color Challenge Block - 12 inch

It has been since the end of March (right before my foot surgery) that I participated in To-Do Tuesday. This event is hosted by Chris at ChrisKnits and is a chance for bloggers to review their accomplishments and make plans for the coming week. I did manage to finish a few blocks this past week, and I look forward to more time in the sewing room to get stuff done!

6 inch sizes for May Monthly Color Challenge

The blocks for the 2021 Monthly Color Challenge are inspired by fruits and veggies. The humble potato was chosen for May, and with that in mind I pulled a wonderful dark brown mini check fabric and a vintage print from my stash - see top photo. My potato is brown with blue eyes - lol! This linkup is hosted by Jen at Patterns By Jen, and she provides a free pattern (for one month). Jen has instructions for two sizes in her patterns, so I made one large (12 inch finished) and two in the smaller (6 inch finished) size.

I detailed my completed blocks for the Riley Blake Designs Quilt Block Challenge in this post right here. Now I need to get busy on red blocks for the RSC Challenge before the end of the month. With that in mind here are my goals for the coming week.

1. Start on RSC red blocks

2. Sandwich rose quilt

3. Plant zinnia seeds

A big Thank-You to Chris and Jen for hosting these fun events. You can check out other To-Do Tuesdays here and find more "potato" blocks for the May Monthly Color Challenge here!

April Monthly Color Challenge Block

The monthly color challenge is hosted each month by Jen at Patterns by Jen, and she provides a pattern (free for one month) and a color prompt. The color for April is cherry!

I like this pattern for the subtle pinwheel in it. I think all of Jen's patterns rock this year! I made two of these before I had my surgery, so don't be fooled into thinking I'm using my foot to power the Janome! My foot is healing and getting better each day. I still have swelling that I control with ice packs and elevation, but I have been granted permission for partial weight bearing with a boot and crutches. That really helps me move around!

Naturally the color cherry reminds me of one of my favorite pies. I grew up eating my Granny Mitchell's pies and cobblers, and I loved everything she put between her flaky and delicious crust. As a kid I would eat the filling first then slowly enjoy the crust! She grew gooseberries and canned them, and her gooseberry pie was my favorite (let me know if you want the recipe). But it was followed very closely by her tart cherry pie. The pie isn't tart of course - it is sweetened with sugar!

I have a go-to recipe for a streusel cherry pie made with tart cherries right here, but today I'm sharing my tart cherry recipe for Cherry Streusel Coffee Cake. It's delicious anytime, but especially warm for breakfast.

Cherry Streusel Coffee Cake

Cake
1-3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup salted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream
1 – 14 ounce can tart cherries, drained
3 tablespoons sugar

Streusel
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons salted butter
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 9-inch square baking pan with baking spray.

In a small bowl whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside and cream butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix medium speed until smooth. Mix together vanilla and sour cream and add to mixture. Mix until smooth. Slowly add flour mixture until just blended.

In another bowl, combine dry ingredients for streusel topping; cut in butter with pastry cutter until the size of peas. Add almond extract and toss lightly.

Spread two-thirds batter in pan. Toss cherries with 3 tablespoons sugar and distribute evenly over batter. Spoon one-fourth streusel over cherries. Top with remaining batter and sprinkle with rest of streusel. Bake 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

While cake is still warm, mix together powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract until smooth, adding more milk or powdered sugar as needed to make it pourable. Drizzle over top of cake and serve warm. My husband tops his piece with butter!

Be sure to check out other pretty cherry blocks at Jen's linkup right here!

March Monthly Color Challenge and a Sweet Potato Recipe

The Monthly Color Challenge, hosted by Jen at Patterns by Jen, draws inspiration from fruits and vegetables. This month the color challenge block is the red-orange of yams. I've never had an opportunity to eat a yam, but I love sweet potatoes. Alton Brown has a hilarious segment on the difference (click here)  - it's less than four minutes long and I highly suggest it!

I love this pattern from Jen. I think it's genius. It's like a ghost pinwheel. I love her patterns so much this year that I'm making 2 or 3 at a time in the 6-inch and the 12-inch sizes. The above is a 12-inch.

12 inch block

Growing up in Oklahoma every Thanksgiving involved a sweet potato casserole, always with marshmallows on top. I still love it, and I have a wonderful non-marshmallow sweet potato casserole involving a brown sugar streusel that I would be happy to share with you. But during the past few years I have found a new love in savory sweet potatoes. My dear Mom lived with us from 2002 to 2010, and she would often ask for a baked sweet potato for dinner. She had me bake it until it was caramelizing then she would eat it with a bit of butter and a little sprinkle of salt. Only during the past few years have I started enjoying sweet potatoes in the same way as well as in savory dishes - Mom would be so pleased! I developed this recipe to incorporate sweet potatoes, and it is my very favorite soup. It is low-fat, filling, good for you, and delicious. The touch of sweetness imparted by the sweet potatoes is perfect with the spiciness. Try it with tortilla chips - yum!

Turkey Taco Soup

1 pkg ground turkey

1/2 onion, chopped, or 1 tablespoon minced dried onions

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 can hominy, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, undrained

1 7 oz can diced green chilis undrained

3 tablespoons La Costena chipotle sauce*

1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Brown turkey with onion. Add sweet potatoes and stir. Cook until turkey no longer shows pink. Sprinkle mixture with garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin and stir to coat everything. Add broth and bring to boil. Add hominy, beans, chilis, sauce, and salt; stir and cover. Simmer 30 minutes with lid on and 30 more minutes with lid off. Stir occasionally and cook until soup is slightly thickened and sweet potatoes are tender.

* You can add more or less to taste. Use the actual chipotle peppers in sauce if you prefer.

6 inch block

If you are interested in joining this fun challenge, click the corresponding button in my sidebar, and check out the "yam" interpretations by other quilters at Jen's link party right here.

February Monthly Color Challenge

 

The color challenge for the month of February is lemons! Monthly Color Challenge is hosted by Jen at Patterns by Jen, and each month a fruit or vegetable is the inspiration for color. Jen provides the pattern in either 6-inch or 12-inch size.

In keeping with the look of my eggplant inspired block from last month, I chose a less vibrant tone of yellow, and I elected to add a bit of interest in the center. The background is Decostitch in Cloud, one of my current favorite fabrics.

Next month the color is "Yam" or reddish orange, and I already have a fabric in mind - just waiting for the pattern to be revealed. Be sure to check out other versions of Jen's pattern at the linky right here.

To-Do Tuesday

Crochet project started!

Today I'm joining Roseanne and her friends for To-Do Tuesday. Roseanne has faithfully and generously hosted this event for the past 78 weeks, and today is the last linkup for her website. I'm giving her a big round of applause and a standing ovation! She is passing her well-used baton on to Chris at Chris Knits.

This past week has been an interesting one at our house. I've been caring for my sick husband, taking him for a COVID-19 test last Friday (it was negative), then taking him to receive a COVID-19 vaccination this morning. He is better now with no fever but still coughing. At any rate, our kids were supposed to drive in from the Houston area this coming Friday and celebrate a belated Christmas, but due to their Dad's illness decided to play it safe and wait until first of April. And it's probably a really good decision, because we are due for ice, snow, and sub-freezing temperatures for the next several days.

So in spite of all that, I did manage to sneak into my sewing room a few times. Let's take a look at the status of my goals for last week and see if I met any of them:

✓1. SAHRR Round 3 -  add flying geese border and post by Feb 7 - DONE and posted here

✓2. Project Quilting - create a project using the theme "Virtual Vacation" and post by noon on Feb 7 - DONE and posted here. 

3. Work on blocks in "lemon" for 2021 Monthly Color Challenge and yellow for 2021 RSC to post by end of month - have not started yet

✓4. Continue to work on Exploding Heart quilt - PROGRESS - I made more blocks but still have not caught up to the QAL schedule. 

✓5. Decide on a crochet project to start on - STARTED - I've done a couple rows for an afghan with Lion Brand Thick & Quick Mandala yarn - see photo above.

I might have started on a Squirrel involving hearts!

Now on to my plans for the coming week:

1. Sandwich and start quilting roses quilt 

2. Sandwich and start quilting Guns and Roses (Meadowland) quilt

3. Add checkerboard border for SAHRR

4. Continue to work on Exploding Heart quilt

5. Continue to work on crochet afghan

6. Finish Squirrel (see photo above)

Check out the linky party by clicking here to see the awesome participants and their projects! If you would like more information about any of my projects, please see the corresponding buttons in my sidebar. 

To-Do Tuesday: I'm A Dropout

 

Welp. February is an early month to drop out of something that I started so enthusiastically in January, right? But drop out I did. All People Quilt UFO Challenge is the victim in this case. My first goal in this challenge suffered from "not enough backing fabric" and "waiting for backing fabric".  Plus I decided that trying to finish a UFO each month might be too much for me, especially when I want to leave time for any Squirrel that might visit my sewing room!

So here is the report on my To-Do from last week, and I'll be joining in with at Roseanne and all her buddies, who valiantly host this event each week:

1. Cut additional pieces for Exploding Heart QAL and finish blocks B through F - Progress - I finally got the rest of my background fabric, finished cutting and making blocks A-D with blocks E and F still to go. I'm behind schedule but that's OK.

✓2. RSC blocks - finish and post by end of month - DONE and posted here

✓3. SAHRR - the prompt for this week is to add plus block border - DONE and posted here

✓4. Post about and link up my "eggplant" block for 2021 Color Challenge - DONE and posted here

5. Sandwich, quilt, and bind Meadowland quilt (I'm supposed to be finished by Jan 31!) - No progress. The backing fabric I intended to use was short, and my husband (God love him!) suggested we go find something else at a LQS. In the meantime I found a flannel backing I love online, so I ordered enough of that to back it.

On to the list for this coming week:

1. SAHRR Round 3 -  add flying geese border and post by Feb 7

2. Project Quilting - create a project using the theme "Virtual Vacation" and post by noon on Feb 7. I've got an idea, but it is for a full quilt - wish me luck!

3. Work on blocks in "lemon" for 2021 Monthly Color Challenge and yellow for 2021 RSC to post by end of month

Exploding Hearts blocks

4. Continue to work on Exploding Heart quilt

Yarn stash begging to be used!

5. Decide on a crochet project to start on. I haven't picked up my cross stitch for over a week. I think I need a new TV-watching activity!

Check out Homesewn By Us to see what is going on with other participants!

Feeding Two Birds With One Scone - January Monthly Color Challenge and RSC

Since I'm posting about the completion of two different blocks, I started to title this post Killing Two Birds With One Stone. But since I have become a bird feeding person, I don't like the sound of that, so I am using PETA's suggested animal-friendly idiom instead - LOL! Anyway, here are the blocks for two challenges.

The theme for the 2020 Monthly Color Challenge was birds, and this year the theme is vegetables and fruits. Eggplant is the color for January. I found this vintage-ish fabric in my stash and whipped up this pretty pattern from Patterns by Jen in no time. This one finished at 6-1/2 inches. I hope to eventually catch up on the August through December blocks from 2020.

And just because I like to keep things real around here, see the first block I made (pictured below), and note that the top left unit was squared up incorrectly (green arrow), and also that the pinwheels are turning a different direction than those of the pattern. I didn't notice these things until I started loading photos to my post, so I stopped and made another block!

Wrong!

Four-patch Irish Chains

Scraptastic Star

Geese Migration

Strings

Although I am still catching up with the 2020 Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC), the first color of pink for 2021 was too hard to resist. As for the 2020 RSC, I made Four-patch Irish Chain blocks, a Scraptastic Star block, a Geese Migration block, and string blocks. And as in the past, the scraps in my bin multiplied as I used them.

You can find all the information about both these challenges in the corresponding buttons in my sidebar. I'm joining January 2021 Color Challenge linky at Patterns by Jen and SoScrappy Saturday linky hosted by Angela.