Fish stitchin'

I've spent the last few evenings prepping craft projects for my son's preschool.

This one I call "Flying Fish":


The theme is still underwater exploration, so a flying fish seemed like a good fit. And I even got some stitchin' in! I cut out the fish shapes and then used my sewing machine (and an old needle) to stitch around the edges. I stuffed the fish with shredded paper, and then did a little more stitching to close it up. And now the fish are ready for the kids to decorate.


I thought stitching would actually be easier/quicker than glue, and I was right. But, this was still a pretty labor-intensive craft preparation, particularly since I had to prep 70 of them!

I did find some fun facts about flying fish too:

• There are over 40 species of flying fish.
• The most striking feature of flying fish are their unusually large pectoral fins (located on the sides of their bodies).
• Flying fish use their large fins to leap out of the water, allowing them to take short flights through the air.
• Flying fish can glide up to 665 feet through the air!
• Flying fish can soar high enough that sailors often find them on the decks of their ships.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_fish
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/flying-fish/

St. Patrick's feasting

Ooof! This week has been rough for me. But I'm still here! Hopefully, I'll start feeling more myself again soon and build up some energy to take some more pictures so I can share some crafty goodness. In the meantime, I'll show you this:

Chocolate Guinness Cake!


And, YES, it tastes as good as it looks! I made this for our annual St. Patrick's feast we hosted this past Sunday. Super easy, super yummy. The recipe is from the domestic goddess, Nigella Lawson (though I actually used this one, because I'm lazy metrically challenged). The biggest hurdle in putting it together was in not drinking the rest of the Guinness. But I was a good girl, and didn't even take a taste.

I wish I had a picture of the rest of the feast (which included soda bread, corned beef, colcannon, pan-roasted carrots, festive green fruit salad, and roasted brussels sprouts and horseradish), but I got distracted and didn't manage to get one.

One thing I learned: corning an already corned beef = crazy, overpowering corned beef flavor. But at least it was edible (I was a little concerned we'd be ordering pizza). Next time though, I will definitely make the effort to find a plain brisket to start with (my regular grocery store doesn't carry beef brisket of the non-corned variety).

Another thing I learned: hosting a big ol' feast when 35 weeks pregnant is maybe not such a brilliant plan (and I've been suffering for it these last few days). But, it was still a lot of fun!

Jane Stickle Quilt: K-2

Block number/name: K-2 “Grandpa’s Chickens”

Date completed: March 19, 2010

Number of pieces: 40

Notes on block: Evidently, I had problems with my seams in this block. The center came out way too big and I essentially had to crush it to get the borders to fit, and it shows. It’s also not my favorite fabric, but it does seem to fit the block (it makes me think of chicken scratches). This one may end up being a do-over. If I happen to get motivated enough.

In more exciting news: we got a new camera! Woo hoo!!! My irrational fear was that the baby was going to come at any moment because we didn’t have a camera. So, it was with great relief that we went out on Saturday and found a new one. It’s pretty spiffy too! We picked up a Sony DSC WX1-- just a point and shoot, but it has lots of handy settings and takes great pictures in low light. It should meet our needs really well.

Kaput camera

Alas and alack! Our camera has finally met its maker. And since I feel weird writing blog posts with no pictures, I guess I'm taking a blog break until we are able to replace it. Boo.

In the meantime, I shall continue plugging away at all of my projects, and hopefully will be able to share my progress again soon!

Jane Stickle Quilt: TR-10

Block number/name: TR-10 “Precious Gems”

Date completed: March 12, 2010

Number of pieces: 32

Notes on block: Of the 182 blocks that I have completed, this is the first one on which I’ve actually bled. And on a white section, no less. Ugh! As soon as I noticed, I tried to mitigate by rubbing in some saliva. That actually worked pretty well. But, there’s still a faint stain.

So now it is official: blood, sweat, and tears have all been a part of the making of this quilt. Here’s hoping I don’t do any more bleeding.

Jane Stickle Quilt: BR-11

Block number/name: BR-11 “Tartan”

Date completed: March 11, 2010

Number of pieces: 33

Notes on block: The lack of symmetry in this block drives me crazy! But, after carefully scrutinizing the original block, I determined that Jane’s wasn’t symmetrical either. So, I went with it. But that one missing diagonal bar near the bottom still bothers me.

Party on!

While the boy sat "reading" (really, he recites stories he knows really well... it is the cutest thing ever!), I found a few minutes this morning to put together block 2 of the Pinwheel Party quilt along:


These fabrics just make me feel happy.