Snow!

 Well, there’s no snow as I am writing this, but we are expected to get socked with 10-14 inches starting on Sunday. There is also a chance for freezing rain and/or sleet. We are as ready as we will ever be. Just hoping the power stays on. We have someone who comes to do the shoveling/snow blowing. 

If the power stays on I will probably be at my sewing machine in the basement. I cut out all the necessary fabric for my younger granddaughter’s I-Spy quilt. Here is the layout. It will be about 42 inches square before a border is added.

I’ve sewn all the rows that have the nine patch blocks. I am working on the rows with the 4 patch novelty fabric blocks. 

This quilt will soon be a flimsy and ready to sandwich and machine quilt. I wonder if I have any batting for it? Hmm...

There are only 2 “blocks” left to hand quilt on Having a Ball. I’m not looking forward to quilting the small navy block. I’m going to work on it next so that the last block to quilt is the easy pink one. 

My first sock attempt is going well. I was so proud of myself when I knit the heel flap and turned the gusset. Even more proud when I picked up stitches and connected them to the main part of the sock. 

I did watch a few videos to help me understand the written instructions. 

I made my first recipe from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook I received as a Christmas gift. It was just a basic roasted chicken thigh recipe and it was delicious. I must admit that, although I love to bake, I really don't like to cook. This was an easy recipe, but drama ensued. Since the bone-in skin-on thighs were cooked on a preheated sheet pan in a fairly hot oven, they gave off a whole lot of grease. When I opened the oven to turn them over as directed there was a lot of smoke that set off the smoke alarm in the hallway next to the kitchen. That was easily dealt with by waving a towel under it and then opening a window. At least we confirmed that our smoke alarm system is working. Of course, said smoke alarm decided it would start chirping at 11:30 that night. Hubby got up and changed the battery without much drama thankfully. The next day saw me putting the oven racks in cleaning solution overnight and setting the oven to self-clean. Although the recipe was delicious, I am not sure I will be making it again any time soon. 

I finished reading The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness.

 It was fantastic! As interesting and fast moving as the first book of the series. Supposedly there is a 6th book on the way. I am so looking forward to reading it. I'm not sure what book I will read next. 

I will be joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch on Saturday and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. I hope you take some time to relax with some tea, coffee or hot chocolate and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

PS: If you comment on my post and are "no reply", I usually try to reply on my actual post. For some reason, Blogger is no longer allowing me to do so. If your comment appears at the end of a post after moderation, please know that I did read it and greatly appreciate your kind words. I will try to determine what is wrong and remedy the problem.