13 years in the making

I have finished my first quilt of the year (and for a few years, actually). Since I'm participating in the UFO Challenge at Stashbuster, I had to get going on some quilts that I've started and not finished. This one, I'm sad to say, was started almost 13 years ago for my baby (who obviously isn't a baby anymore). Now that I'm at baby number four, who is already two years old, my oldest has been on my case about finishing her quilt.

So I took the blocks that I already had, the stars and cathedral windows, created some disappearing nine patches, and put it all together. I think I'd call it a lap quilt now. I look at it and see a ton of faults. My cathedral windows leave a lot to be desired. One of my stars was put together incorrectly. I'm not so hot at squaring blocks, so my new blocks and my old blocks are a bit different in size, which caused problems when I put them all together. I was in a rush to get my binding done, so it is so uneven that it's beyond sad. This quilt isn't winning any prizes, but my daughter is glad to have it, and that's what matters to me. That and being able to say that I've finished something.

Pickles!

I have to work on my "blog balance". I've been posting away over on my book blog, but I've been neglecting this blog. It could be because I haven't had a moment to do anything crafty.

I'm currently the UFO Challenge Queen over at Stashbuster, so I'm trying to finish the binding on a quilt. Hopefully I'll be able to post about that in the next day or so.

I also like cooking, so I tried to find a simple recipe that has been enticing me. I decided to try pickles. I feel like I've been seeing recipes frequently in the blogosphere. I have a daughter who loves to cook, and I tried to turn it into a Cooking with Kids moment, but pickles didn't excite her. Especially when I suggested pickling carrots. She thinks I'm weird.

I remember my grandmother making these with a bit of a kick. So I found a few recipes and riffed off of those. This was my first time making pickles, and I was rather surprised at how easy it was. I guess mine are considered refrigerator pickles since I didn't do any hot bath. I started with a small amount of brine that was supposed to be for two jars. but it wasn't enough for my big jars, so I had to make more.

Are you supposed to taste the brine? I didn't so I don't feel like I know how they will turn out. The brine smelled good, though. I sliced carrots into sticks, and added onion wedges and sliced red sweet peppers. It was easy and fun, and I think I'll experiment with different combinations of spices and different types of vinegars.

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