Time for updating Old Bernie ....

Back in the middle of June, a couple of friends and I attended a quilt show in Burlington, Vermont. It had been sooooo long since any one of us attended a quilt show. I didn't purchase anything, but I did look at the new Bernina machines. A gal can dream! 

Fast forward to the middle of July .... Bernie, my 1090, was acting up. The Shop Troll and I went on a road trip to Gloversville Sewing Center to get our Bernina serviced. Bernie is old. I love that machine ... but given his age, and being, again, a mother board issue ... I decided that it was time to buy a new machine. 

Meet Floyd .... 

I haven't used it yet ... I'm attempting to finish my flying geese quilt that I started, back in 2017, on Bernie. It's a work in progress. I had to make 440 more flying geese in order to bring it to a queen size quilt. 

It sort of reminds me of the time when I purchased Bernie ... way back when .... needing to finish a quilt on my old machine before I could use Bernie .... Can you hear Bernie panting? LOL 

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

It's been a while ....

I continue to hang on to my peace .... I've actually been quilting/sewing ... I know ... a shocker! 

In an attempt to reduce/declutter, I have been looking to work on quilting projects that have been hanging around my studio for way too long ... Jelly roll rug here I come. 

I bought the pattern back in 2017. 

I found the perfect jelly roll back in 2021 .... Lella Boutine - Christmas Morning for Moda Fabrics. Gorgeous fabric line!

It had been sitting around for quite some time ... high time I do something with it. 

The main reason for purchasing this pattern was to use up cotton batting scraps .... You know, those useless left over pieces. You can purchase a roll of pre-cup batting ... but why? Make do with what I have. Off I went cutting strips. I did not use any type of fusible to join the batting strips. I just butted them one after the other and it worked great.

I will say ... the most difficult part of the rug process is starting it ... the pattern offers various tips to ensure it works out. It would have been more helpful if the illustrations were in colour, as opposed to a black and white drawing ... I found it difficult to wrap my head around what I needed to do ... and yes, I made a mistake but I can live with it ;)

Voila! The rug ....

I like how it turned out ... so comfy on the feet! 

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers~!~

Moving towards self sufficiency ...

As the world gets more and more uncertain/chaotic, I find myself moving towards self sufficiency. More specifically, making/baking/preparing my own foods. I don't have space for a garden... yet ... but I can see that materializing in the near future ;) Until then, I can consume foods that are minimally processed.

I've been making my own pasta for over 15 years (I'm dating myself here! LOL). It's easy and so delicious ...  well worth the effort. I had tried to dry pasta, once, for future use ... it was a complete failure. It looked grayish and unappetizing. 

I recently became aware of my mistake, I used an egg & flour based recipe, which is not meant to be dried, but consumed within a short period of time. If you want to dry pasta, one needs to use a semolina & water base recipe.  BTW, if you are going to make shaped pasta, a semolina water dough is the one to use. It will hold your shape while the egg flour dough will not.

Armed with this new knowledge, I bought myself a dehydrator ... The Magic Mill Premium Food Dehydrator Machine. 

OMG, I love it. I always thought dehydrators were noisy but ... I was wrong. This one is quiet. Goes to show you that you get what you pay for ;).

I used it for the first time to make bread crumbs. I use the end of my sourdough bread. BTW, sourdough bread crumbs add a lovely flavour to your goods. I found the bread crumbs texture made in the dehydrator much better than in the stove. 

Next, I attempted to make dry pasta. I have the kitchen Aid attachment that's been sitting in my pantry for quite some time. I hadn't had any success until now.

 

One recipe gave me quite a batch ... multiple drying trays full.

I have not mastered, consistently, the fusilli pasta shape, but that will come. It's good enough for now. 

Another useful tip I learned ... when using fresh pasta, you need to add lots of salt and that because it has a short cooking time. Unlike dried pasta, which cooks for a longer period of time, less salt is needed.

I found this tutorial from Helen Rennie quite informative.

I've enjoyed watching her various vlogs.

In my search for proper instructions on dehydrating a variety of foods, I leafed through numerous books. I found this book  The Beginner's Guide to Dehydrating Food by Teresa Marrone to be the best. This is a how to guide, with temperature and time for most foods.

Most of the books I had looked at were focused on recipes .... I wanted instructions, a how to guide. So, if you are looking for a recipe book, this is not the one for you. She does have a section with recipes but minimal .... the bulk of the book is instructive. A great book to add to your collection.

On a sock kick ....

I have been wanting to create a wardrobe of mainly hand made clothing. The intention came to me while I was watching a vlog by Sandra Karls. 

Right now, I seem to be on a sock kick. It must be the subscription to the SockSquad2026 ;).

While waiting for the monthly yarn to come in, I worked on the following pair of socks.

I used my tried and true Vanilla sock pattern. For a patterned yarn, I find it works best to keep it plain.

I love how this is turning out.

I went for a purple heel, a yarn I received from my amazing and generous Aussie friend Cheryl. Worked beautifully with the patterned yarn.

Voila! A finished pair!

And managed to complete this pair of vanilla socks. Yarn Trekking (XXL), a German yarn sent to me by my Aussie friend Cheryl. It is 75% New Wool and 25% Nylon.

Slowing working through that sock stash yarn ....Thanks it for now. Cheers!

Creating away ....

I have been enjoying some quiet time ... alone .... attempting to hang on to my peace. Although I am at a crossroads in my life ... the quiet feeds my soul. 

I have some news to share and I do hope you are sitting down for this .... 

I did manage to get some piecing done .... I actually sat down and spent time with old Berni ...

It had been so long since I've actually quilted. I pulled out an old UFO from way back ... March 2017. The project has been kept neatly organized, waiting for me to pick it up again.

I had cut 5,070 pieces of fabrics for a flying geese quilt. It was imperative that I keep this organized. I'm using 1930's reproduction fabrics. I love feedbacks! 

I am at the last 100 flying geese to piece, then trimming ... onward to piecing. I am thinking that I may need to make it bigger. It would barely fit a queen size bed. I'm not looking for a long overhang, but a bit more would be nice. The quilt has no borders, and I like it that way.

That's it for now. May your world be bright and creative ... Catch you all later! Cheers!