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Wednesday 28 January 2015

Having some more fun.

The day dawned, wet and windy, very windy. I managed to get Ben out between the downpours, then picked Maggie up for our weekly foray to Lidl. I did my shopping for the week and it was under £14, £2 of that was food for my visitor cat.
She is a very slinky grey striped girl, wary but getting more confident by the week. She started calling in towards the end of last summer every week or so. Then as the visits got closer together she started to "talk" to me. I responded with a saucer of Ben's food. When the cold weather started I fed her every time she came and now it is almost daily. She is not a fat cat but equally she is not a bag of bones. She has been in the house a few times and I hang on to Ben, just in case. He puts his head on one side and gives her a quizzical stare, almost as though he can not decide what she is.

If the situation improves enough that I feel she is safe I will let her stay in as and how she wants. Until then she is a visitor only. I will try to get a photo.

The frame was assembled yesterday, but I was too late to worry about posting it.

 
Here it is, single size and ready to go, but............. The "Muscle" thought that I may as well have the extension on it as most of my quilts are Queen sized. So this morning and afternoon he was busy, and now I have this.


 
There is a lot of empty floor space under there, at least there was.
My large plastic boxes of fabric are now underneath and there is still space. I am going top get a quilt layered tomorrow and have a little FMQ playtime.
 
And now for something completely different.
Remember my pink roses from last week, well just look at them now.
 
 


 
The tulips finally bit the dust Monday so I got some more from Lidl, £2 a bunch as the roses were.
 


 
I love the colour and look forward to another 2 weeks of them.
 
Knowing that today would be busy, and that there would be a hungry man at the end of it, I got the slow cooker on first thing.
I soaked some chickpeas overnight and then as I was up very early I drained and rinsed them and got them in the slowcooker. I poured on a kettle of boiling water, chucked in a couple of bay leaves, 4 peeled cloves of garlic and a small piece of root ginger, I bashed it a bit to let the juices flow. That lot went on high for about 4 hours.
I drained them and added diced peppers, onion and some more ginger, this time I peeled and minced it. about a pint of passatta, and some chicken stock, enough to just cover the chickpeas and veg. Then I chopped and threw in half a smoked pork sausage, the end of a pack of cooking bacon and a small chunk of chorizo, all of these were dug out of the freezer and needed using up. I added a squirt of some spicy tomato sauce and a good glug of Worcestershire sauce, stirred it well and put it on high. About 5 hours later I dropped it down to low.
 


 
This was around 11.00 this morning.


 
This was at 6.30 this evening, just before I set to it, yum, yum, yum. The muscle had 2 lots and now can not move.
 
I have had lots of fun today, playing in the kitchen and turning lots of nothing very much into a delicious dinner, 2 helpings left for another day.
Watching my quilting frame rise from a couple of boxes of bits.
Getting my visitor cat fed and doing the shopping in the dry spells.
A very good day for me.
I nearly forgot, Maggie has made me a lovely bracelet, I will share it tomorrow, and hopefully let you see the frame at work.
I am going to buy a machine to go on the frame permanently, I think it will be a wise investment. I would hate to drop my Janome while transferring it from frame to sewing cabinet.
 
It is quite amusing, Ben and "the muscle" are side by side on the sofa, both snoring gently. While the madness that is Top Gear unfolds on the TV. I am not a petrol head but I like James May and the Richard Hammond.
 
Now I am off to wash up and then decide which quilt is going on the frame in the morning, I also need to reposition my sewing cabinet and table.
 
  TTFN                                                                  Pam


20 comments:

  1. Pam, look at the Janome 1600, its just a straight stitch machine with a big harp. My friend has one and is very happy with it.

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    1. I had just about decided that it will be that or the Pfaff Grand Quilter, I will be going to Swansea next week to check them both out.

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  2. Well, get a good night's sleep so that you can tackle that monster and show it who's boss. Look forward to seeing some yummy quilting. Hope your Mr Muscle is behaving well.

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    1. Mr Muscle is on tip top form, I could not have done this on my own. The quilting will begin asap.

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  3. That looks the business Pam, how exciting :-)

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    1. It is soooo big, I knew the dimensions but in the flesh it seems huge. I am glad not to have the next size up as it would have gone into the doorway.

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  4. What a positive day Pam - there'll be no stopping you with the quilting now. Your chickpea and choritzo stew is something my daughter Tam often makes and it is SO tasty. Sadly now I have to watch the histamine content of my grub and so both chickpeas AND choritzo are off the menu. Grrr!

    Have fun choosing your new quilt-making machine - ooh, you must be so excited! I can see I may have to call on your expertise for where I have gone wrong with the blocks for Tam's quilt!

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    1. The machine has been chosen and will be here on Monday, weather permitting, I will be posting my journey of discovery, warts and all.

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  5. Oooooh! That looks amazing and scary!! Incredibly complicated and I cannot wait to see it in action!

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    1. I agree. I have watched a few videos, both by the manufacturers and by bloggers. I look forward to some practise but it will be next week.

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  6. It looks very interesting, I'm not a quilter, so I don't know how it works. Your tea looked colourful and scrumptious, I love it when there are extra portions.

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    1. I know how it works but making it happen is a whole different ballgame. Practice quilts will be the order of the day. Leftovers are always good.

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  7. Little Grace looks very professional! I hope she is kind and plays nicely while you get to know each other. I love my Pfaff sewing machine, although mine is a different model. Have fun! I can't wait to see what you make together.

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    1. I am sure that we will become the best of friends, my new machine as on its way.

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  8. Oooh! I always wanted a proper quilting frame and even more so since my fore finger got so arthritic - due to decades of sewing and marking exercise book. But am I productive enough to wrrant the expense and the space in our teeny cottage?

    I can't wait to see your next few posts. Good luch with using the frame.
    Jenni

    PS Your dinner looks very tasty!

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    1. It is huge, and this is the smallest model, the next one up would fit but would partially block a doorway. This size will be fine, I can not envisage making a 7'+ quilt any time in the foreseeable future. Dinner was very tasty, pizza tonight with lots of topping.

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  9. So pleased you've got it assembled, I know that the space I'm hoping to put mine won't take the bigger size. Looking at your second pic it looks to be about double what it was. Mr B would have loved being at your dining table for that meal, I'm not a chickpea or charitzo fan. I made him spicey meatballs and pasta last night it was the first time he could have something that wasn't bland.
    I will be drooling over your page even more if you buy the Janome as well, it's one I love but at the moment the cost is prohibitive. It has a great 11" throat space and I've only read and heard good about it.
    We are now getting the promised snow so I think a little stitching is the order of the day, Mr B was supposed to have his staples out and I was supposed to be going for further tests to see if my enemy has returned but we have almost 4" of snow now so I may have to cancel the appointments! My dogs are loving it though.

    Enjoy playing and take care if you're out and about

    Peg xx

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    1. The extended size is about 11', any bigger would have been too big. I can not think that I would need it bigger. I have ordered my new machine and will be sharing it.
      We have snow at the moment but it is falling on very wet ground so it should not settle.

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  10. I thought it looked rather large 11' would be almost the whole of the width of the room here so if I do keep it I think I'm going to have to stay with the smaller size. Mind you even if I could only do small quilts on it it would be worth it. I hope the weather stays good for you, my son lives near Lady Bower Dam and they've had just over 8" we've not had anymore although it tried. I wish you many happy times on your machine and your frame so pleased for you.

    Take care

    Peg xx

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    1. My mistake, the frame is around 8' but I have it sitting in an 11' by 4' floor space, when I pull it away from the wall to load a quilt on that 4' will become around 8', I like lots of room to move around in. I am allowing room to walk behind but may not need it, fingers crossed. It is a big chunk of my sewing space but I figure that when I am quilting I will not be sewing, so the horn cabinet can be folded down and pushed against a wall.

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