Cartwheels Quilt

My latest quilt was completed using Moda's fabric Charlevoix and the pattern Cartwheels Quilt. The piecing was not too difficult but this is the largest quilt I have made on my own. Here it is ready to be pinned. 

The back of the quilt is a cream color and has a stacked coin band running across it.

The binding is is red, here is a look at the back, binding and front of the completed quilt.

I liked this quilt because it looks like it is moving from a distance but up close  it is an alternating pattern of rectangles.

The quilt also has a border at the top and bottom of little squares which completes the quilt. Overall I am very happy with how it turned out.

Lemon Curd

Lemons have been arriving regularly in my weekly box of vegetables and fruit. With the abundance of lemons we searched for something to do with them and found a recipe for lemon curd. I recently purchased a pressure canner and was eager to try it out.

First the lemons were zested and juiced. The zest is mixed with super fine sugar and sits for awhile.

Next eggs are separated and whisked.

The zest is slowly whisked in to the egg mixture.

It is then placed on a double boiler and butter is added and melted.

The result is bright and smells great.

Into jars and the canner it went.

The result was not quite as I had hoped. The jars leaked and it was a massive failure. Not only did the curd leak into the canner, water went into the jars.

Gone is the pretty yellow and in its place was a dark mysterious substance. It was the first attempt as using the new canner we will see what happens next time.

Recycled Shelving

My library has been undergoing some reorganization and moving of furniture. Part of this process was removal of shelving. The shelving was old solid wood, a perfect opportunity to obtain some good wood for projects.

One of the first projects my brother wanted to build was a planter box. He began cutting up the shelves into the needed sizes and constructing the box.

After the box was built it needed legs, it is quite heavy and was going to need substantial support. Again he cut the shelves into the pieces needed.

The box fits into a space against the back of the house.

We filled the box with compost, mulch and some other things to help create a good soil.

We have put lettuce, carrots and other vegetables in the box and so far they are doing well.