I Like Thursday # 162 ~ Signs of Spring

 Signs of Spring ~ 2023.

It has been gray and stormy off and on here,

but these beautiful little flowers have braved the wind and weather.

How can I not do the same?

Today is 

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

This week LeeAnna asked us if we have a special traditions for Easter.

We have one: 

getting together as a family to celebrate rebirth and renewal.

It does not matter what we do, what we eat, 

how we manage our get together.

Our celebration shall be modified by the current state 

of our home improvement projects 

and the fact we are far flung across the country.

Our feast will be modest.

Our get together will include an online meeting.

We will celebrate life, renewal, redemption,

 and being together.

May you and yours find joy and love and peace together.

May you be safe and well.

May you have a Happy Easter Weekend!

No Sewing in the Scrapatch

 

That is my sewing machine and table and lamps ...

tucked away and under wraps in the wrong corner of my living/dining room. 

The new living room floor is almost done. 

That is Cassian looking perplexed because I interrupted his play 

with the many cat toys that have been found under the heavy furniture 

when I took this before and after photo.

The baseboard of the archway is pulled off because Mr. Scrapatch discovered that the old floor was laid after the baseboards were installed in our circa 1900 home.  So he has had to remove and cut the bottom edge of each baseboard and then repaint the baseboards in order to tuck the new flooring under them so there will be a clean, secure edge. There are many quirks in the construction in this house that we have found over the years.  So it is always a longer than planned process whenever we do home improvement projects.  

The new flooring project is on temporary hold while he starts his new job and we get ready to host our family Easter in our "unrenovated" dining room.  The food will taste good and it will be good to get together and celebrate. 

So, no sewing for me for a while longer.

I am continuing to play with the yarn and my crochet hooks.

This one was made with the Size 2 (2.25mm) steel crochet hook 

and these small balls of crochet thread.

This is a little small for my achy hands. 

So I think I will go back to using the slightly larger DK weight yarn 

and no smaller than my Steel Size 0 hook. 

 If I was sewing, my kitties and I would be working

 on my Scrappy Irish Chain Quilt ...

... and starting a new project

This fun Quilt Along Starts Today:

Home Again Quilt Along Kick-Off @ TheJolly Jabber

Look at all these lovey color samples!

Home Again Quilt-along Announcement Here

Which would you choose? 

In order to sew along, you would need this pattern: 

Purchase Home Again Downloadable Pattern Here

For the kit for the lovely red and white version: 

Purchase Cover Quilt Kit Here

I was fortunate to receive a printed copy of the pattern in this lovely bundle of

affiliate gifts from Fat Quarter Shop

The links in this post are affiliate links and I would receive a small commission

 at no additional cost to you,

if you purchase using these links

 or the banner at the top of my right sidebar.

Thanks to everyone who helps support my fabric habit by purchasing via these links.

I am still thinking about stash fabrics 

that I would choose for this quilt along. 

What would you choose?

I Like Thursday # 161 ~ Yarns and Oats

Good Morning and Happy Thursday! 

These are my most recent crochet motifs.

These are little pansy, or maybe violet, faces from the book by

Chris.made.this

 My sewing machine is still under wraps and will be at least another week. 

Mr. Scrapatch is starting a new job on Monday and will be only able to work 

on all our home improvement projects on the weekends again. 

Our Boys are coming over Sunday to help.

Mr. Scrapatch was laid-off in January and although we are both officially retired, he likes to get up and go to work in the morning. So he has found a position that will enable him share his extensive experience with the younger generations. 

I will miss having him home during the days 

but will look forward to our evenings together.

Today is 

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

This week LeeAnna asked us if we have a special baked good for Easter.

We have many and they have changed over the years.

One constant has been that Mr. Scrapatch likes to have

 this French Toast Breakfast casserole.

If we have an Easter Brunch this is always on the table with ham

 and fresh fruit and all the other yummy food. 

This recipe  was given to me by a friend many years ago:

His preference is for raisin cinnamon bread; 

mine is oatmeal bread,

so I combine both of them in my version.

I also add a 1/2 cup of maple syrup to the saucepan syrup for the bottom of dish

This was never anything that my tween to teen to young adult children enjoyed

and I can take it of leave it, so I make it for my guy for early morning breakfast

 when we will have big family holiday meal like Easter in the early afternoon. 

He happily eats the leftovers warmed in the microwave for days. 

Lately, I have been trying to tempt him to like less sugary and healthier options.

Like Oatmeal.

He was never a fan and refused to eat it for most of his life.

I make overnight slow cooker oatmeal for myself.

The recipe is simple.

Slow Cooker Oats

Lightly grease a 2 to 2 1/2 quart slow cooker with a pat of butter.

Add 

4 cups water 

2 cups oats (I use old fashioned or steel cut)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Stir gently and cook on LOW setting for about 8 hours.

Turn it down to warm as soon as you get up.

Stir very gently. 

The texture will be silky and smooth and not too runny,

just the way I like with a splash of milk, 

drizzle of honey or maple syrup

 and fruit and nuts choice of the day. 

A good size dollop of Greek Yogurt is good, too. 

Play with the amounts to achieve the texture you prefer.

I have never gotten on board with the trend 

for making the cold overnight oats in the fridge.

I do store the leftovers in the fridge

to warm for a quick oatmeal and fruit breakfast the next day.

I have always liked my porridge warm. 

Leftover Oats Snack Cake

I sometimes use my leftover oats for making something like this.

The add-in variations of this are endless and all delicious. 

Even Mr. Scrapatch enjoys the snack cake version and so 

has finally started enjoying a bowl of oatmeal with me in the morning 

right out of the slow cooker.

This is the basic recipe for

Leftover Oats Snack Cake

1 to 1.5 cups leftover oatmeal

2 cups flour (white, wheat, almond, etc.)

1 teaspoon baking powder.

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon (nutmeg, allspice, ginger, etc.)

1 teaspoon vanilla (lemon, almond, etc.) extract

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup melted margarine or oil of choice or applesauce or nut butter

2-4 tablespoons of milk (yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, etc)

1/4 cup maple syrup (honey, molasses, etc.)

1/4 cup brown or white sugar (or omit) 

Mix together wet ingredients in measuring cup.

Stir together oats, flour and dry ingredients in large bowl.

Gently fold in wet ingredients.

Now the Add Ins:

Choose your taste of the day!

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/3 cup nut butter

1/3 cup yogurt or sour cream

1/2 cup dried fruit

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 cup of fresh berries

Lemon (or other citrus) juice and zest

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

1/3 cup fruit cup such as pineapples

1 cup of grated carrot, spices and 1/2 cup raisins

... as I said the possibilities are endless. 

This one has greek yogurt, fresh blueberries, chia seeds, 

lemon juice and zest, orange extract.

For this Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake version, 

I mixed 4 oz. of softened cream cheese with 1/3 cup greek yogurt,

2-3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and lemon zest

and dolloped it on top and swirled before baking.

Pan is an 8" square lined with parchment paper for easy removal.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes

or until tests done with toothpick.

Dusted with a little powdered sugar, this is my guy's favorite so far.

Here is one with two kinds of chocolate chips, pecans and raisins.

Drizzle with a little powdered sugar glaze for a little extra yum for dessert.

Enjoy!

In the Scrapatch, all is well.

My biopsy results were negative.

I feel good. It was just a routine test.

Happy Thursday! 

Slow Sunday Stitching ~ Crochet Collage Garden Progress

 

Crochet Collage Garden Progress

I have enjoyed a week of slow stitching while the home improvement project in the living-dining-sewing room part of our home continues. One thing has lead to another and the trim paint on the baseboards and doors and windows is also being redone. 

It will be lovely when it is finished.

(I will probably be asking to have the walls redone soon, too.

... shhh! ... 

Don't tell Mr. Scrapatch, who is probably ready to be done with this.)

I am really enjoying making the many little motifs in this book:

I started making these flowers and leaf motifs about a week ago

I first posted this project Here ~ Last Sunday.

I have started making multiples of each motif.

The first leaf I made has an error in the center which I did not pull out.

I just adapted and made a one of a kind leaf.

Can you see which one is different?

I have been finding more of my vintage hooks.

My boxed Boye set is complete again as I found not one, but two, I hooks.

I also found a partial set of Boye steel crochet hooks ...

... and some Hero aluminum hooks that I do not recall having,

but they are worn and well used.

The smallest one, the C Hook, is actually bent in the middle. 

Here is a chart I found online at Crochet.com to help me remember

 and understand the sizes and types of hooks. 

To see and feel the difference, I made two leaves with the same weight yarn ...

... one with the 2.75mm aluminum C  Hero Hook

and one with the 3.5mm steel 00 Boye Hook.

This Hero hook is stamped that is was made in Germany,

although others of the Hero Hooks were made in the USA.

These hooks are probably over 50 years old.

I think I have decided that I will be using the steel hooks

 as I continue to make these garden motifs

I had thought I would never use the small gauge steel hooks again

because of my eyesight and achy hands, 

but my hands do not tire at all.

They feel like old friends.

I do have to use my bright LED light to read the patterns

 and see the stitches as I work.

I am happy to be playing with these treasured hooks again.

More on the yarn and other tools I am using soon.

Linking up today with

Slow Sunday Stitching @ Kathy's Quilts

Happy Stitching! 

I Like Thursday # 160 ~ Garden Thoughts and Stitches

My Crochet Garden is Growing.

This was day four and it is already starting to look like a collage. 

This is Wednesday's motif and it was made late at night

 because it was a busy day.

I carried my book and yarn and hook with me

 but did not have the chance to stitch.

This is Thursday's flower which I made this morning.

It does not take long to make one of these, 

but it is fussy work for me and my eyes tire easily.

I am happy that so far I have been able to keep to my plan of making one per day.

I am hoping to maybe make a second one later today.

Today is 

I Like Thursday @ Not Afraid of Color 

This week LeeAnna asked us if we plant a vegetable garden or pots of herb

 and, if so, what our favorites are to plant.

The answer is: yes.

Our efforts are limited by light and space.

Our city yard is small and we are in a northern 5B zone.

There are other houses, high fences and glorious maples and oaks and pines

 that block the sun for much of the day.

The best light is in our paved driveway.

So we grow veggies and herbs in containers that are placed

 and sometimes move them around during the day.

A big tomato plant, 

a cherry tomato one, 

a box of lettuce, 

a hill of summer squash

 and one of cucumbers are our favorites.

I tuck garlic cloves and cut green onions in boxes, too.

I may try potatoes in a laundry basket this year.

Mr Scrapatch likes his container of strawberries 

though we lost a lot of them last year and he may be starting over again.

For herbs, my favorites are basil, oregano, parsley, dill and thyme.

This year I have plans to try to grow them on a windowbox rack 

to try to keep the groundhog and bunnies from eating our bounty.

We cannot grow much inside our windowsills 

because the kitties like to munch the greenery, too.

So I plant seeds directly into the containers and buy tomato plants from the garden center and hope for the best.

A garden tomato and lettuce sandwich is a special treat in late summer.

I received these seeds today! 

It is far too early in season here to do anything more than plan and

dream of green growing things and pretty flowers.

Looking forward and making plans. 

May you have a Happy Thursday!