Let's Do This

I was thrilled to see this vintage bow tie quilt sold for a good price. As I studied the photographs more, I see that the bow tie blocks on the quilt are made in this manner with templates and inset seams. And given the blocks are only 2-3/4", probably hand pieced. And hand quilted. Color me impressed. Ain't nobody got time for that these days.

My free time this weekend was spent in my studio chopping fabric and making bow ties. I'm up to 70 blocks or so. I took the easy way out with no templates or inset seams. My blocks will finish at 3-1/2". I'm not sure how many of these I'll make, but playing with my old fabric stash has been a blast. I was able to reduce the bin by 2/3 too, so there's that. I'm only keeping the prints I love. Tonya reminded me to include cheddar as seen in the original. Wouldn't you know that my old stash has not one orange print? I'll have to sub in newer stuff, which should be easy since orange is my favorite color.

These Salted Pretzel Caramel Brownies are on my radar this week. I made the kiddos red velvet cupcakes yesterday, but Inspector Gadget is not a big fan, so I kind of owe him. Ha!

We love this roast sticky rotisserie-style chicken. Inspector Gadget buys the biggest chicken he can find when he hits Wally World each week. Since it cooks for five hours, I'd recommend doing two smaller birds. I remove all the meat and get the carcass going for stock while we eat and clean up. That's an onion falling out of the cavity. I propped the bird up on my beer can chicken stand.

My food styling skills stink, but this chorizo potato salad was a big hit. Easy, too. I love buying those fancy new potatoes. These were a combination of red potatoes and fingerlings. We had a full house for dinner, so I threw everything together buffet style. I might have to eat leftover grilled jalapeno poppers for breakfast. There are worse things. Happy Monday.

Linking up with Made by You Monday. RIP Google Reader. Feedly is way better anyway. So there. :p