What a week this has been! My birthday was on Sunday the 14th, but on Wednesday the 10th I found myself being massively surprised with a surprise party! My friends, who are like family to me, worked with Brad and the kids to really get me good. I can usually see surprises and/or presents coming, but not this time. I was had! Also, I should note that if you are a Pinterest user and have awesome friends like I do, there will be a Pinterest test. The theme of the party was All About Christine, and they went through all of my pins to decide on the menu for the evening. The fact that I had not pinned one vegetable was noted. Although, I did pin quite a few potato recipes, so that counts… right?!
On Sunday I was spoiled rotten. No cooking, whatsoever! Breakfast at my favorite hole-in-the-wall diner, an afternoon showing of Suicide Squad, Pizza for dinner, and delicious cupcakes from a local cupcakery, Smallcakes. I had to share the amazing presents the Mister and the kids got for me (Yay for Amazon wish lists)! Mister picked out The Quilt Block Cookbook and the Round Up tool for me, Josh picked out The Ultimate Guide To Machine Quilting, and Callie found this adorable Les Amis print and a bunch of face masks (not pictured). They know me so well!!
One day before my birthday I added the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker to my Amazon wishlist for Christmas. I was blown away to find that the Mister had purchased it for my birthday the week before! I am super excited about this, but my first use of it was an epic fail. I tried cooking rice according to the book directions, but it was a gummy, mushy, ucky mess. SO GLAD I had Minute Rice in the pantry!! I have done some research and realized it either cooked too long, had too much water, or both. I hate to “play” with food to find what works right since that is so wasteful, but I am going to make another batch tomorrow and my fingers are crossed that will cook correctly. If you have a pressure cooker and some favorite recipes, I’d love it if you’d share!
I did get the Churn Dash quilt assembled and put the borders on. Up close I really love how it all works together, but it looks very soft and almost pastel because of the print used for the snowballed corners and the border. I have grown to love it though, and while it probably won’t work as I envisioned in the living room of the Oregon House, it will go great in the upstairs bedroom. I am excited to get this one done and start on another quilt with some of the new fabrics recently purchased. This week I will make the backing, baste the quilt and begin quilting. It would be awesome if I could finish the quilting by next week, but it’s hot here and I’m not sure how much quilting I will want to do in this heat.
This week’s To-Do list:
- Piece backing
- Baste Quilt
- Begin Quilting
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Stitch ALL The Things 
Yay for being surprised by your party and awesome gifts! BOO for gummy rice. It’s the worst. Your Churn Dash quilt looks amazing. I am more convinced than ever that the lighter red was the right red. I think it’s beautiful!
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Thanks!! I am loving the quilt more and more. It looks different in real life, and of course in better lighting too! I rarely throw out batches of food since they can usually be salvaged somehow, but that was just a nasty mess. Hoping for better luck today.
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Happy birthday, lucky lady! I’m totally jealous of that instant pot! If I were you, I would join one of the many Facebook groups devoted to its use. There’s one that’s vegan (that’s the one I belong to, but I probably wouldn’t join that one if I were you), and the others aren’t. The groups are so helpful, though! They’ll have you working that thing like a pro in no time! As for me … one day … 🙂
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Thanks, Ivy! I did join one of the facebook groups on Sunday, but immediately became overwhelmed by all of the information. I am going through files and posts more slowly this time, and hopefully that will help me out!
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Happy Birthday, Christine!!! It sounds like you had a great two days. A suggestion about your churn dash quilt, if it is not too late, would be to use one of the darker fabrics from the churn dashes (the blue/navy) for the border. This would help define your quilt and make it not so pastel. If you do not want to remove the border, just add another border. Just a suggestion. I really love the quilt. Your quilts always turn out great! Also, pressure cooker envy! I’ve been wanting one for a while now. Good luck with your recipes!
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Thanks so much! I thought a long time about whether to add an extra, and darker, border. I almost ordered fabric, but realized I don’t have enough backing fabric and it’s very hard to find now. I have two prints to use as options for the binding. One is the plaid teal, which may keep it looking soft and pastel, and another is one of the darker navy prints. I’m thinking the Navy will be the winner as it will give it a frame. I’ve got some fabric auditioning to do this week!
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Christine, I agree. The Navy would be perfect and I can’t wait to see the finished quilt. Try to stay cool!!! At least the days are starting to get shorter.
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Happy Birthday! The churn dash quilt is lovely – the setting creates so many intriguing patterns.
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Thank you! I really liked how the snowballed corners added a bit extra to the quilt! Glad I ran across the Missouri Star youtube video on their version of the Churn Dash quilt!
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Happy Birthday! The kids and Mister sure did a great job on your gifts! And what fantastic friends you have for pulling off a surprise for you! I hope your celebrations continue all week! I’ve never used a pressure cooker, so please do share your successes, I’m curious now. Your Churn Dash looks fab. Have fun finishing it up!
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Thanks, Sharon! I sure was spoiled rotten! I don’t think I’ve had so much attention over a birthday in over 15 years!! All of it was quite a surprise! I will let you know how working with the pressure cooker goes. I have four meals planned using it between now and next Tuesday. A roast, a couple chicken meals, and pasta. So I’ll have a bit of feedback on a variety of meals!
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It sounds like you had a great birthday! Mister and the Kids did great!
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It was wonderful, and they really did! I am still in a bit of shock from all the goodness! I have been excited to use the Instant Pot and just got back from picking up various ingredients for several meals at the grocery store. Bonus: everything was on sale! Woo Hoo!!!
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That is the best! Enjoy!
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