I Like Thursday # 106 ~ Making It Up As I Go

Welcome to I Like Thursday, where each week my friends, the

I Like Thursday Bloggers @ Not Afraid of Color

share the smiles and small joys of life. 

One of the things that has made me smile this week

 is making the improv blocks for the 

30 Days of Improv Blocks QAL

This week is all about improv stripes.

Cutting free style (no rulers) can be very freeing indeed.

This week I did not use the lines on my cutting mat to cut my strips.

Today's prompt called for embracing the wonk and sewing seams

 together in the same direction. 

I also sewed narrow end to wide and ended up with these free form fans.

I took a 10" square from my layer cake and cut free style setting triangles

and sewed them to each side of the fan.

This was the result.

See the quilty kitty helper foot in the photo?

Can you name that quilty kitty?

I added a narrow strip down the middle.

Then I trimmed the sides and top square and added setting stirps on the side.

There is a little bit of wave from the wonkiness but it should be okay in the quilt.

I am happy with this block, which looks like a free style butterfly block to me. 

Here are some other things that have made me smile this week:

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

The intense summer heat has returned and yesterday's heat factor brought outdoor temperatures up to feel like 112°F (or 44°C).

I stayed inside and sewed and made no bake treats.

I have has this recipe since I was a teenager and my rebellious streak ruined my penmenship and made my handwriting was a hasty scrawl. I can still read it, but I do not really need to read the recipe to make these. 

Here is the recipe in legible form:

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

1 cup peanut butter, creamy or chunky

1 1lb. box of 10X powdered sugar

2 sticks margarine, melted (or butter or coconut oil)

1 cup graham crackers, finely crushed

Stir all ingredients together in a bowl.

Spread in a waxed paper lined pan.

Refrigerate for a few minutes.

They taste like peanut butter fudge at this point.

To make the icing, melt 1 cup of semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips 

with a couple of tablespoons of butter  and stir until combined.

Spread carefully on chilled peanut butter layer.

Put back in refrigerator and chill.

If you cannot wait and cut them too soon they get crumbly edges like in the photo.

Store in single layer in covered container in refrigerator.

When my kiddoes were young these disappeared fast.  Now they last a month or so, as Mr. Scrapatch does not like peanut butter.  

I have made these look like real peanut butter cups for gifts by making them in paper liners.  To do so I put melted chocolate in the liner, a small spoonful of the peanut butter mixture and then top it with more chocolate and let it set. 

This photo made me smile.

Mr. Scrapatch snapped this cute photo of Nutmeg burrowed in his quilt.

Apparently Nutmeg does not like the air conditioners running full blast. 

Nutmeg has come out to help me sew and it is her foot you see in the improv block photo above.

Mr. Scrapatch also caught this goldfinch on the seed sock this week.

The seed sock has been out there all summer and I had not been seeing the goldfinches this year.  They are shy birds and they sometimes shy away from the big birds that flock to our feeders. 

It is the time of year when I cut back on the seed we put out.

This is for a few reasons:

(1) The breeding season is at and end and I want all the little sparrows and such to learn to forage for food.  Seeds and berries are in abundance now so it is the best time for them to learn what they need to know to prepare for winter.

(2) The pigeon population on our roof grows too large by the end of July and leaving the feeders empty for a few weeks reduces the flock to the family of three who must nest nearby.  I cannot afford to feed every pigeon in the city and they do make a mess and the smaller bird stop coming.

(3) The big flocks of seasonal blackbirds arrived and eat everything and chase away the other birds.  They have already moved on. I only see a couple of grackles now.

I only put a few handfuls for seed out in the early morning or late evening for our constant feathery friends to nibble.   

The bonus is that I get to see the goldfinches again of the seed socks and the other finches and the titmice and cardinals and  such in the bushes when I venture outside. 

All is well in my scrapatch.

May you and yours stay safe and well. 

Happy Thursday!