I used to think that May was a busy month. September is proving to be a close second - perhaps even beating it. This year we had a big crop of apples. We must have picked 5 bushels already and there are more on the trees waiting for a frost to ripen them. I am not complaining though. It has been 7 years since we last got a harvest of apples, so this is a good thing!
Above are the washed apples after wrapping the "perfect" (unblemished) apples...
They are being stored in 4 boxes in our basement, and are individually wrapped in tissue paper so the skins do not touch one another. These are Cortland and Liberty apples and should keep for a month or two or, (hopefully) more. I will be checking these weekly for any that have gone bad. Because you know what they say about one bad apple!
I tried my hand at making apple jelly WITHOUT pectin. Yikes! It reached the jelly stage faster than I could get it off the stove. Just look at those air bubbles. I now know what "sliding off a spoon in a sheet" looks like. Nice try anyway. I put these 2 jars in the frig to use up right away and one is already consumed! They are so good!
I cut up more apples and tried another batch using sure-jell. It worked nicely this time. I also had one cup of elderberry juice leftover from making elderberry jelly last month, and added it to 5 cups of apple juice. Oh my! I have a new favorite jelly! It is delicious and such a pretty color! You should see it on toast. ♥ Here you see them resting besides the second attempt at apple jelly on the left.
And there are STILL more apples to process! I peeled and sliced 18 cups to make pie filling for the freezer. It made 5 quarts and enough leftover to make a pie.
The downside is I didn't really like the filling that much. I'd rather use fresh apples for pies. But its done, and perhaps we can make cobblers and crisp from those frozen 5 quarts.
I froze 10 quarts like pictured here with the elderberry jelly. Freezing green beans is not nearly the work of processing them in a hot water bath like mom did, I am sure.
So I am longing for the long days of sewing in the sewing room. In the meantime, I am gathering and saving seeds for next year, and plugging away at reducing the amount of "stuff" we own. Are you minimizing too?
A big shout out to Gerdy and Dot for their fine work of finally laying some eggs! Dot, our Starlight green-egger laid the pretty one on the lower left. Gerdy, laid the small one on the right - even though this picture doesn't not truly represent how much smaller they are than the top two. Gerdy's is not green or blue, but it is textured. Its almost like a fine mesh was wrapped around it. They are both delicious, and we thank them all daily for their hard work!
Well, if you stayed with me this long, I will share my latest finish. I wrote about my red churn dash quilt in July. I fussed about the borders, and making do, and purchasing binding fabric on ebay. She is all done now and I am pleased with the outcome.
Its finished size measures 78" 87". I love reds and this is now one of my favorites. It will keep us warm all winter.
The churn dash quilt block really is a charming block. One that makes any quilter happy to construct. If I ever get caught up with my other ongoing projects, I would definitely consider making another. Maybe try the 3 1/2" block as linked below. I am sure there is a way to turn this block into a leader/ender project if the pieces were cut out before-hand.
This quilt began in 2019 when Temecula Quilt Company began a fun sew along called Dashing Through the Snow.
These 6" blocks (finished size) use 2 red 2 7/8" squares, 2 light 2 7/8" squares, and 1 light 2 1/2" square. 2 strips cut 1 1/2" x 10 1/2" - one light, one red. You can visit Temecula's site for construction directions if you need them. Her blocks finish at 3 1/2". So darn cute!!
I had 3 extra blocks leftover so I used them in the label on the back (to be signed and dated). The block in the middle is done by simply rotating the strip units so the light is next to the center light square.
I calculated the border fabric (3 yards), fabric for the 104 churn dash blocks (5 yards), 1/2 yard binding, and 5 1/2 yards backing. This brings the total to 14 yards.
This is my 9th finish and I have used up 87 yards of stash so far this year. Should I add the yardage I bought at the Ohio Shop Hop? WelI, I did purchase a total of 4 yards in remnants and, ah-oh, a kit!! I couldn't resist. It was the last one and deeply discounted. I will have to cut into it before the end of the year to claim it in next year's UFO count.
Did anyone go on the All Ohio Shop Hop? I understnad there are similar shop hops in several states. Is your state participating? More are joining in 2024. Check out the dates and lists here.
I visited a few shops with great restraint. I have enough fabrics, patterns, notions, etc., to keep me busy, but a couple of friends asked me to join them for a day of shop hopping and lunch. It was more like "shop till you drop". Sheesh, I came home sooo tired! Along the way I found this cute idea to use the little blocks that each shop gifted us hoppers with.
I hit a total of 11 quilt shops. Not even a fraction of all those participating state wide. So, see? I did practice restraint. Ha! I actually heard there were some quilters who book hotels and hit them all! Can you imagine?
Bosco loves pulling his toys up as a pillow and napping on them. He is still very much a puppy even though his first birthday was in August. He even self sooths by sucking on his toy's appendage. He cracks me up. And you know he is relaxed when his tail unfurls.
See you next month. Happy stitching!
Kris
