Monday mystery solo robin

January 11, 2021

Another Monday and another day I am glad I have a routine, if a bit more minimal than it used to be. I nearly said normal, but that’s not right. Life moves on and for now this is normal and I need to remember that and work with what I have. Which also applies to shopping (front of my mind as I was just doing it). A lot of products are currently not available. That isn’t to say there isn’t plenty to buy just that I need to adjust and plan different meals. That might actually be a good think, it is very easy to get stuck in a rut and this does prevent that. I also notice a lot of bigger packs of basic foods are no longer available. I am guessing this is an attempt to help everybody get some. If I am right I think that is a very neat way to go about it. Anyway, I doubt you came to hear about my theories on grocery shopping, you probably wanted a quilting task for the week.

This week our design idea will be

Octagons

That doesn’t feel great for me. I wonder if this is the point I have to make the hexagon into a square. Or i have to get really creative to almost hide 8 sides within all my 6s. Certainly food for thought. OK, next step how much space do we have to play with,

Add a total of 10″ to two opposite sides of your quilt.

OK that I like. I want to add 8″ of octagon to one side just because it feels the right sort of number. I know that actually from a drafting point of view it may be the wrong number but it feel appropriate to me. Now I just need to work out how to make 8 sides look like 6. I am sure there is a way I just need to work it out.

 

Monday mystery solo robin

January 4, 2021

Here we are again, the first part of the new year and yet we are drawing close to the end of this quilt. Sadly the distraction is still very much needed so rest assured I have plans for when this one ends. I think we have something like 10 weeks left, I suspect someone will let me know how close I am with that guess. I just watch the deck shrinking as we work our way through it. This week our technique will be

Spiral / rotation

Ahh, honestly I was hoping for this one weeks ago. Just because of the potential it had for my design. I guess coming up later does mean i have more space to play with it though so maybe the cards know best. The borders we have to work with are,

Add 4″ to each side of your quilt.

Well dang that really would have been so cool way back in the quilt. Still it is what it is and now I need to work on a design that fits this. On a “normal” rectangular quilt this will be amazing. I think it is a lovely week to have a unifying ring of something. The options for flow and movement are so cool. I wonder what my discussion group will make of this one.

2020 Roundup

December 31, 2020

It seems mostly people are not looking back at 2020. I think I might be able to see why. However, there has still been a lot of good things this year and I feel there is merit in remembering those. Let’s face it we aren’t going to forget the bad bits for a very long time are we. Today Radio 4 had a phone in on what have you done this year you are proud of. It isn’t quite how I look at things, or would phrase it but I am very pleased I decided to do the Monday quilt. I still think it is valuable to have something to think about for the week that is creative and nothing to do with pandemics. I am so pleased I had a distanced quilt designed already.

This may sound a bit odd but I am glad I have managed to get some of my students back into classes, even though they are online. No I don’t mean I am pleased to have the income, its nice but the thing I feel is far more important is it gives a routine to the week, and a familiar routine at that. I can’t quite believe I have managed to get almost comfortable with a camera. I hate them but it is becoming normal. I absolutely love that teaching online lets me have students who could no longer travel to classes even without the pandemic. I am planning ways to keep remote classes as well as in person when that is an option. I hope that this may really open up all sorts of learning to people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to participate.

In a similar vein I have really enjoyed virtual events this year. No a virtual concert is not the same as a live one, but, I can attend with my dog, I can attend with friends from all over the world, I can attend with people who cannot travel, and it was a lot cheaper too. Yes I want to got to live events again, I also really hope the virtual ones continue.

It has been wonderful to rediscover cooking. Some has been weird and wonderful. We have reduced our food waste a lot this year which has led to discovering new recipes. Some have become new staples. It also led to me baking for winter. As we couldn’t see people we shipped them food and drink. Which in turn has led to me discovering that I really like making sweets. I am making plans for future creations.

I have been disappointed by  how little time I seem to have. Shopping online for groceries seems to take a lot more time and energy than going to a supermarket did. Though I do really like having everything delivered. I know having a puppy has taken a lot of time, other than that I guess its just the junk in the news taking up brain space. Whatever I never seem to have any spare time. I hope that I can get things better organized as I get a more set routine again.

I have another stay at home project planned for next year, which will start March ish. I have a few show quilts I want to work next year, for when there are shows again. I am planning a virtual retreat/summer school, sorry I can’t see spending 8 hours in a room with 9 other households being a good idea this year.

For me this year hasn’t been too bad. Yes I have been at home. I like my home (I am so thankful we moved when we did). No I didn’t get my holiday this year, I stayed at home and did virtual Wacken, complete with BBQ and ciders we had never tried. I am very lucky the people I know who have had Covid have all recovered. That speaks highly of how careful a lot of my more vulnerable friends have been. I know I have had it far easier than many people, and believe me I appreciate that. I cannot imagine how hard it has been for those with large families and small spaces. I know a lot of people who have had to arrange or attend funerals this year. Never good, this year it has to have been worse.

I am hoping that people will see this issue is not going to be over next week and keep helping each other. I hope people will work with the situation we have now and find ways to do as many things that are important to them as possible, and not wish their life away waiting for “normal”. None of us know what that normal will be or when, we do know we have a life to live today.  I hope I can keep encouraging people to keep up with their hobbies and maybe start new ones. My main goal for 2021 though will be to survive it. It seems that is the biggest achievement any of us can manage any year.

Good luck and I wish you find some fun and happiness in 2021. I now need to try and see out 2020 playing board games online.

Monday Mystery Solo Robin

December 28, 2020

Sorry folks I came upstairs to blog and got distracted preparing for the New Years Day mystery quilt. Still better late than never I guess. If you are interested in the one day mystery it is here.

This week the technique will be,

Miters

Hmm, that’s got some interesting connotations as well as some more simple and obvious options. I am deeply tempted to attic windows depending on the size of border. Speaking of which the border will be,

Add 6″ to one side of your quilt

Fiddly but I guess it would be possible to make 2″ finished attic windows. It is tempting. Maybe not a whole length of the border but I do like the idea of a window in the quilt. I will be very interested to see what folks come up with tomorrow. The nice thing about the discussion sessions is we can all help ideas to evolve. It is always surprising what we come up with.

Monday Mystery Solo Robin

December 21, 2020

It’s midwinter today. I am not working, so this is a very quick post. I will see some of you tomorrow for the weekly discussion as usual.

Technique card says,

Far East

and the border size will be,

Add 4″ to at least 2 adjacent sides of your quilt.

Eat drink and be merry folks. Do not starve or freeze to death. Remember the sun starts to return tomorrow (well if we woo it enough today :). Take care, don’t panic and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Monday Mystery Solo Robin

December 14, 2020

I am sure everyone is getting busy by ow, but I will still make sure you have something to think about this week. I have to be quick I have a canine serenade but let us find out what is in store for us this week. LOL, this card actually made me laugh. I swear they know. This week we shall be considering designs with,

Trees

Couldn’t be much more prefect for the season could it. I predict a lot of rather Christmas shaped trees. Or I suppose branches if we get a small border. Let’s have a look and see what the cards have for that.

Add 6″ to one side of your quilt.

I guess that makes it whole trees then. That was rather kind of the cards. and just one side so we don’t have too much to do. That’s a really nice balance and I am highly amused by the timing. Now I need to empty and exercise a not so little chap. Have fun.

Monday Mystery Solo Robin

December 7, 2020

Another manic weekend followed by an even more crazy Monday. Sorry folks this is the first time I have had to get to my computer, and even now I should be out with the dog. Still we need our inspiration so here we go. This week our border needs to have

Parallel lines

Lol well I can see a few sneaky ways to do that, but I guess the question is really what fun thing can we do with that. Our border size this week is,

Add a total of 12″ to two opposite sides of your quilt.

Weird that is so similar to last week. I guess that is the nature of random though. Hmm, that might me do some thing similar to my center block with that much space. Tempting. Hopefully soon I can talk about what has been keeping me so busy. For now I had better take the dog out before we lose the light totally.

Christmas party preparation – recipies

December 3, 2020

Next week is our last class this term so we will be having our party. As I can’t be there in person to mix the drinks you will need to do your own. Hopefully some of you have had a go at making the cranberry liqueur I have and will be using that as the base of the alcoholic options. I have written this recipe to be deliberately vague, I am hoping as many people as possible can get close to it. I will tell you the general shape which is the same with alcohol or not then give you the specific combinations I have tested.

• 2 parts cranberry
• 1 part orange
• pinch of spice
• lemon juice (optional see below)
• garnish – slice of orange and cinnamon stick

For the alcoholic version I used the spiced cranberry liqueur and Cointreau as the cranberry and orange. Other orange drinks will work and I have plans to try this with Martini fiero too. I think that will be fantastic in this. As my cranberry liqueur wasn’t as spiced as I wanted I added half a teaspoon of cinnamon honey, cinnamon syrup would work or maybe even a cinnamon vodka. If you add honey or a sugar syrup you will need to add as much lemon juice as sweetness, unless you like very sweet drinks. This is the exact recipe I used,

• 50ml cranberry liqueur
• 25ml Cointreau
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

I put all of that into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. If you don’t have a cocktail shaker maybe a sports drink bottle or a tupperware type container would work instead, we are trying to get the drink really cold and add just a small amount of water. Serve in a glass (I think a martini glass or coupe is ideal) with a slice of orange and a cinnamon stick.

For the non alcoholic version I went for an unsweetened cranberry juice and a orange juice. I saw no reason to buy anything fancy just what was cheap we are going to be adding flavour to this so the base is a lot less critical. Again I used the cinnamon honey (it’s just honey mixed with a lot for cinnamon) as I was only making one portion. If I were making a larger batch I would use mulling spices instead and let this sit to infuse for longer. For my one (large) mug I used

• 1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon honey
• 2 slices of orange
• 1 stick of cinnamon

I put all of these into a small saucepan and heated slowly. if patient allow to simmer gently for 15 minutes, I only managed 5 but it was still reasonably infused. I just poured it all into a mug no need for new garnishes Lazy I know but waste not want not.

I should say I am not a huge cranberry fan, but I have really enjoyed all these options. I did try the cranberry liqueur in orange juice, it works, not as good in my opinion but works. I suspect orange liqueur with cranberry juice would also work. Having the combination of flavours with the spice is the key element. For those who aren’t fans of cinnamon, try a slice of fresh ginger. Also festive if a different flavour. I hope you will give this a go and let me know if you liked it and what I could try in future. I am enjoying designing drinks and love new ideas.

Monday Mystery Solo Robin

November 30, 2020

After a hectic weekend my festive preparations are well in hand. I am very pleased it is Monday and I am back at work, I need the break. Lol, I say that when I still have the monster stitch in the ditch to work on, and I mean it. Still the weekend was fun as well has hard and I learned some new skills which is always good. I also got an evening of virtual board games in so pretty good really. I also managed to get some knitting done while watching the Grand Prix. following the crash (and yes I know fire in crashes is really rare now) can the medics have better fire suits and maybe an optional full face helmet in their car. I don’t feel we should be singeing the medics, and yes I understand the idea is they wait for fire crews but these guys care about their patients and will get as close as they can. We can fairly easily make that safer for them so why not.

Anyway, you didn’t come here for that you came he for a quilting task to think about. So let us grab the cards and discover our fate. This week our design idea is,

Buttons bows ribbons

Ooooh, I have been looking forward to this one, maybe its a week or two early it would have been a perfect one for the festive season. perhaps the cards feel we should be doing our wrapping now. There are several border patterns that look like folded or interlocked ribbons that I would like to do for this one. Oddly one of my favorite borders yet one I rarely use, nope no idea why. OK, how much of this do I have to play with,

Add a total of 10″ to two opposite sides of your quilt.

Hmm, not quite where I was thinking but could be fun. I could do a couple of different ribbon borders maybe a thick and a thin. Or that would be enough space to make some button quilt blocks for one side and maybe a narrow ribbon on the other. Or maybe I can join the buttons with ribbons. Yup lots of food for thought. Just what I want from this something to keep me out of trouble for a week.

Sorry I am a bit quiet

November 26, 2020

Things are amazingly busy. I have work that HAS to be done before the end of the year and I have decided that making is the way for this festive season. Obviously I can’t advertise what making I am doing, other than I really want to get some sloe gin on the go for next year. Rest assured everyone is well. The girls still run the house and the little lad is not so little now.